❝I am not a dragon, Aemond Targaryen. You may have claimed me as yours, but to think I'd bend that easily? That is beyond foolish.❞
⟼ Ayla Bolton & Aemond Targaryen: bound by marriage, strengthened by love, ignited by madness.
𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗻𝘆 |...
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››as allies, not enemies
The island we landed on is a tiny patch of land in the middle of the sea, completely untouched by humans. I can't help but sigh in relief as soon as my feet reach the sand, landing turned out to be more awful than taking off. Flying it is absolutely beautiful, though. It makes you feel powerful and unstoppable, a kind of thrill I wished to feel for so long.
The sandy soil I am sitting on is cold, but the sight of the sea melting with the sky is just too marvelous, and it is definitely worth such an uncomfortable position. Aemond is somewhere behind me, fiddling with Vhagar's equipment who had crawled lazily far from the shore, where the sea clashes abruptly on the sand. On her majestic body, she brings scars of ancient battles I might have read somewhere when I was younger, but I was too fond of running around the woods to pay enough attention.
"Can I?" I glance up at Aemond, his silky hair unable to be messy. Even after such a turbulent flight, he still looks so put together a pinch of shame hit my mind. I am probably looking like I have just got out from a tavern fight. I nod with a smile, waiting for him to sit next to me.
"How did you get her?" My question seems to startle Aemond, I feel his body tensing up against my side. I glance at him, trying not to pressure him into giving an answer.
"I claimed her." He just says.
"And, it is of common use... claiming a dragon?" It would be easier if I only knew something more about Targaryens, but, apart from their look and their dragon-riding abilities, it is very rare to obtain real information about them.
"Usually not." I lean closer, out of instinct, until my head is against his broad shoulder. I can not explain how I felt the urge to be next to him, but he doesn't look like he despises it. "Usually, a dragon egg is gifted to you, before your birth." I arch a brow with surprise, it is indeed a peculiar tradition, but it seems nice to be bound to such a majestic creature even before you are born. "Mine didn't hatch." Is tone is bitter as his eye wanders from the blue of the sea to the blue of the clear sky. "I waited, and waited. But nothing happened." I am enchanted by his voice, disclosing a few of his memories, and somehow, I feel special to receive glimpses of his past. "Until I claimed Vhagar, the biggest of them all, when I was ten." My smile grew bigger as his younger self pictures in my mind.
"You were ten?" I let out. "And you went for the biggest one, in the world." I repeat with great amazement. Aemond turns his head, finally looking at me. He has one of the fairest faces I have seen. My words seem to have pleased him lightly.
Or he might have understood my concerns.
He has not shied away from my closeness, nor fended away any of my questions.
This man confuses me evermore, as the day passes by.
"I—" For the second time in the day, he hesitates. I bite my lip lightly, worried that I have might have pushed some levers I did not want to. I understand that marriage is a political act, but as such, husband and wife should be trusted allies. Not enemies. Timing is irrelevant, when it comes to wedding ceremonies, I could find myself wed to him at any moment. Timing for noble families is fairly different from how the smallfolk perceive it, their concept of 'right' and 'wrong' being dictated only by what the nobles allow them to see.
