Haven't I Given Enough? (Always The Fool) - Aemond Targaryen

14: Dragonstone

"I was just searching for you, Lady Harlys."

Fear arced through her, replacing the anger she had previously felt. The blow to her head was not helping much; the tunnel around her seemed to be spinning, and Daemon was going in and out of focus.

Unable to scream or draw her blade, she tried kicking at his legs for any kind of advantage she could use to run. But Daemon predicted her attack easily and slammed her against the stone wall harsh enough that she knew her shoulders would bruise.

If she survived whatever he had planned for her.

"I'm assuming your little princeling will come searching for you through here?" Daemon grinned, looking into the darkness through the tunnel she had come from. Panic began to seize her chest; what would happen if Daemon were to continue on his original path? He claimed to have been looking for her, but who else would feel pain at the weight of his hand before he became satisfied?

Daemon slipped Lathar's blade from its sheath at her side and Harlys felt her eyes go wide. This, surely, could not be how she met her end. Alone in the dark, bound and gagged in the walls of the Red Keep?

But it was not her throat Daemon slit. Instead, used the dagger to cut a swath of her skirts away and tied it to the handle of the blade. Confusion arced through her as she watched, unable to move, as Daemon withdrew a letter from his pockets. Using her blade wrapped with scraps of her dress, he pinned the letter to a wooden beam.

For Aemond to find when he came searching for her.

The sting of his betrayal was still so fresh, and she was not sure if she could ever forgive him, but she wanted to remain at the Red Keep where she could ensure Rhaenyra's rise to power. After the queen was seated, perhaps she would leave King's Landing.

But she needed to survive until then.

"Now, don't fight back," Daemon's hand curled tightly around her neck as he pressed her painfully against the wall. She was totally at his mercy, and suddenly she was only a child again in the alley beside House Strong, the death of her father just having hit her ears.

Would the Mother ever show her mercy?

"It would send a much bigger message to the usurper king should he find his brother's wife without a head."

His brother's wife. Was that all she was? Harlys had fought long and hard to establish herself as someone separate from her father and brothers in the court of the Red Keep. Was she to die solely because she had been wed to the prince?

Daemon released his hold on her incrementally, and she struggled to catch her breath. But before she could truly get her bearings, he gripped her harshly just above the elbow and tugged her along beside him.

Still unable to fully get air into her lungs, Harlys found herself outside sooner than expected.

The wind beat rain into her face, soaking her completely and chilling her to the bone. Daemon led her through back alleys she had never even come across in all her time spent navigating the city. Only a few times did she try to struggle out of his grip, but every attempt was met with Daemon tightening his hold on her.

Close to the water's edge and in a blindspot of the scout's towers, Harlys spotted the great beast Caraxes. Fear gripped her once more. She knew exactly what Daemon's plans for her were.

As she was dragged on top of the dragon's back, Harlys recalled Helaena's mumblings just prior to everything going to absolute shit.

There is a snake in the walls; he strikes on the storm cloud.