ELLIPSISM, aemond targaryen

[021] that's how the world works

TO AEMMA'S SURPRISE, the visits of the rich nobles stopped for a while and she suddenly didn't know what to do. Ever since Rhaenyra had taken up the idea of ​​marriage, every day she came to inform her daughter of a visit that would come that day or a visit she should prepare for in the future. However, now that Rhaenyra hadn't come to lecture on marriage for two weeks, Aemma was getting worried.

Did that mean she gave up? Or is her next visitor from so far away that it takes him a long time to come here?

Since she didn't receive any instructions and didn't want to remind Rhaenyra of her search for a husband (what if she would think she cared about it?) she created her own program.

Every night was the same, Aemma woke up from a nightmare (several times the things she saw made her feel so sick that she had to vomit) and then went to find something sweet to eat to calm down. She then tried to sleep at least for a few hours, had breakfast with her brothers in the morning and spent the rest of the day with them.

In addition to her and Luke's regular outings (which they managed to talk Jace into too), Aemma agreed to Luke's suggestion to visit the beach the two of them used to go to. And so later three more people joined their trio: Rhaena and Joffrey who wanted to fly with Aemma on Meraxes precisely because of her speed, and Gwyn with Jace on Vermax, as Gwyn insisted she would scream the whole way if she had to fly with Aemma.

It turned out to be a very good idea. None of them even realized how much time they had spent behind the walls of Dragonstone until they smelled the sea air again. While Rhaena and Gwyn tried to entertain Joffrey by building a sandcastle to which they gradually added leaves and seashells as decorations, Aemma, Jace and Luke first sparred and then Luke talked her into helping him with the archery.

"You are too tense," Aemma called, sitting on a rock and watching her brother.

Luke tried to relax but was too focused on the tree trunk he was about to hit.

"Your elbow is too high. It should be at shoulder level."

When he didn't listen to her even then, Aemma rolled her eyes and came to him to fix his arms. When she finished she didn't leave, she stayed behind him and stared at the target.

"Do not hold the arrow in place with your whole hand, two fingers are enough, and you also only have them on the string," Aemma lectured him. "Calm down, Luke, that bow isn't going anywhere."

Luke exhaled and nodded distractedly, following his sister's instructions. Jace leaned against the rock Aemma was sitting on earlier and watched as Luke tried to aim.

Aemma bent down to Luke's level to see better and nodded, eyes narrowed. "Yes, now it is correct. Shoot."

Luke released the arrow and it hit the ground just behind the tree.

His shoulders fell with disappointment. "I missed."

"The effort is appreciated," Rhaena called from her place with a small smile and soft eyes.

Luke looked at her uncertainly and Aemma nodded. "She's right. You can't expect yourself to be successful immediately. There is a lot of work behind everything."

"I think you're overthinking it. You focus too much on aiming, it makes you uneasy," Jace said, leaning of the rock and approaching his siblings.

Aemma raised an eyebrow, her face unamused, while Luke frowned in confusion. "You think so?"

Jace took his bow and nodded. "You don't have to focus so much to be accurate. It doesn't matter where you hit the target, he still dies."

"That sounded like Aegon Targaryen. Are you feeling good, brother?" Aemma frowned and put her hand on his forehead to check if he had a fever.