The Prince and His Flower

F I F T Y - E I G H T

The weeks passed by, and Aemma did not hear back from her mother. Mya had ensured the letter reached Dragonstone, so perhaps Rhaenyra was trying to find a way to deliver a message of her own undetected. Helaena often walked with Aemma around the castle, sometimes bringing the children with them. Aemma had become a woman of few words, instead opting to observe those around her. 

"Aemma!" Maelor grabbed her face, startling her out of her thoughts as she looked down at the little boy in her lap. He was so sweet and kind, he reminded her of Luke at times. 

"Sorry." Aemma brought her attention back to Maelor as he continued showing Aemma his toy knight. It had been hers when she was a girl, and she hoped he would play with it as she did. 

Jaehaerys and Jaehaera were sitting together on the floor, seemingly engulfed in their scribbles while Alicent and Helaena watched from their chairs. Maelor quickly lost interest in his toy in favor of Aemma's long hair, grabbing it and giving it a light tug. Aemma pursed her lips, but let the boy continue as he inspected it. He lost interest in her hair, and instead brought his chubby little finger to her eye, gasping as she reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"I do not wish to look like Aemond," Aemma said, pulling the boy's hand away from her face. She and Aemond had been on somewhat civil terms as of late, but Aemma still struggled to speak to him at times. 

"Shall we say a prayer before you two take the children back?" Alicent asked. She had moved into the Tower of the Hand after Viserys had passed, opting to live in the apartments under her father instead of the Holdfast where her husband died. 

"Of course." Helaena stood and rounded up Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, bringing them to Alicent, who smiled warmly at them. Aemma stood, holding Maelor in her arms as she too joined them.

Aemma set Maelor down and perched on the arm of Alicent's chair, her eyes closed as Alicent began her prayers.

"We thank the Mother for blessing us with these three healthy children..." Alicent droned on as Aemma felt the urge to cut through her own eardrums. She had been forced to listen to Alicent's prayers over and over again for the past few weeks, and she was sure she would die if she was forced to listen anymore. 

Aemma stood in an instant, pushing the children behind her as she heard the stone wall slide open. Two men, one huge and intimidating, the other slender and quick, stood at the other side of the room. They both held blades in their hands, and the smaller one held ropes. 

"Ah!" The large man pointed his sword at Alicent as she opened her mouth to scream. "If you do that, we'll just kill all of you and force you to watch." The man sauntered forward, chuckling as Aemma stepped in front of him.

"Leave and we will tell nobody what we saw." Aemma wished she still had her sword with her. The man leaned down into Aemma's face and inhaled. 

"You smell lovely, Princess." The man's breath smelled like rotten meat, and his teeth were yellowed and crooked. "I suppose that is one less thing for us to deal with." The man turned to look at the smaller man.

"Don't move, or else we'll take turns fucking you until you can't walk." The small man said as he tightly bound Aemma's hands behind her back. "Maybe we'll do it anyways." He tore off a strip of fabric and gagged her with it.

The men moved to Alicent, binding and gagging her before dragging them all to the wall.

"The name's Blood." The large man pointed to himself. "And that's Cheese." He pointed to the smaller man, Cheese.

"A son for a son, a daughter for a daughter, but it looks like it's your lucky day." Cheese grabbed Jaehaera's face, laughing as she began to cry. Aemma moved toward the man, but Blood backhanded her, sending her reeling to the floor.

"No! Stop, please!" Helaena begged, taking a step toward Aemma before Blood stepped in her way. Aemma's ears rang as she struggled to sit herself up, watching as the two men dragged Jaehaerys and Maelor to the center of the room.

"Keep screaming, and we'll fuck the little girl before we kill you." Blood leaned on the tip of his sword, smiling as Helaena covered her mouth, silently sobbing. "You owe a son for a son. Pick."

Aemma's face paled as she watched Helaena fall to the floor in hysterics. "Me!" She wailed. "Kill me, leave my babies!"

"Oh no, it don't work like that." Cheese wrenched Helaena up and forced her to look at her two sons. "Pick, or we'll kill everyone in this room, except you. Then you can watch as we fuck their corpses." 

Moments felt like hours, and Aemma didn't take her eyes off Maelor, who clung to his older brother as if his life depended it on it.

"Maelor," Helaena whispered. He was so young, he wouldn't even understand what was happening. 

"No!" Aemma's screams were muffled by the fabrics wrapped around her head, and she brought herself to her feet as she struggled toward Maelor. 

"You just don't listen!" Blood grabbed Aemma and delivered a strong punch to her face. He watched as she crumpled to the ground and punched her again. Aemma cried out in pain as Blood kicked her in the stomach, laughing as she struggled to suck in any air. 

"You hear that, boy? Your mother picked you to die." Cheese whispered in the boy's ear. "Leave her be, Blood." Cheese called out. Blood had already begun pushing up Aemma's skirts, and he frowned at the interruption. 

"You're lucky, bitch." He spat in her bloodied face as he turned to the boys once more. Helaena was wailing, covering her eyes with her hands.

"Oh no, you can watch." Cheese pried Helaena's hands away from her face and pinned them behind her back. 

"Goodbye, little Maelor." Blood raised his sword. "On second thought..." He chopped off Jaehaerys' head in one fell swing, laughing as the boy's head bounced off the floor. Helaena screamed now, her nails digging into her face. Aemma righted herself as she watched Blood pick up the head. She struggled against the ropes until they began to loosen, and she freed her wrists. 

"Well, I think it's time we-" Cheese was cut off as Aemma wrapped her rope around his throat. His eyes bulged out of his head as he tried to wiggle his fingers under the rope, but Aemma only pulled tighter. She grabbed his dagger that was strapped to his thigh and let go of the rope, instead grabbing his hair and yanking his head back. 

Aemma sawed back and forth, watching as his blood spurted out in front of him and his hands flayed wildly. Aemma began to chuckle as she continued to saw back and forth, feeling Cheese's tendons and muscles give way to the blade. Aemma felt his head come away, and kicked his lifeless body to the ground, holding the head by its hair. 

Multiple guards burst through the door, stopping in their tracks as they saw the Princess sobbing, holding the severed head in her hand, blood dripping from her face.