Desires Be Damned • Aemond Targaryen

Chapter Seven

Dyaena

The half-moon hung low in the sky in the east, its glow faintly illuminating the water of Blackwater Bay, as the last light of day faded in the west, a wash of colors that set the horizon ablaze behind King's Landing. The brightest stars could already be seen shining alongside the larger celestial body, with more appearing as the darkness of night slowly draped over the land.

Dyaena was leaning on her terrace watching the city below--her chambers were the first place she went upon returning to the Red Keep, and she hasn't emerged since. Her anger had subsided hours ago, but the pain, both physical and spiritual, remained.

Her palms had scraped the small stones on the ground of the dragonpit when Aegon pushed her. The small beads of blood that had emerged from them dried but the wounds still stung with every pulse, never letting her forget their presence and how they came to be.

She watched as distant flames appeared from torches being ignited in their sconces to light the streets. On her left, the Grand Sept could be seen standing tall atop Visenya's Hill. To her right, seated upon the Hill of Rhaenys was the Dragonpit, mocking her every time her eyes involuntarily wandered to the great domed structure. She was sure that only the gods could have manifested something as cruelly poetic as having both monumental buildings in her chambers' view, to eternally remind and shame her for asking for too much. If their intention was for her to learn the hard way, the message was well received. She peeled her eyes down towards the lesser buildings with a shake of her head.

From afar, she could only imagine the bustle of its residents and wondered what all there was to do when the sun went down. Did the smallfolk become bolder as the mead filled their bellies? Or did they use the cover of darkness to help camouflage themselves from the City Watch in order to carry out heinous deeds only suited for the shadows? She hoped she would be able to explore someday, preferably disguised and unsupervised, going wherever it pleased her.

A rumble in her stomach jarred her from her thoughts. Dyaena dreaded to hear the summons for tonight's dinner--the thought of seeing her brothers and parents made her almost lose her appetite... almost. She heard from a handmaiden that the kitchen was preparing lamprey pie, a dish known to be irresistible to her, and she assumed it to be bait to lure her into the angry maw of the dragon that will be her mother's scolding. She had slapped Aegon, a prince, and Queen Alicent would not allow Rhaenyra to let Dyaena go without some form of punishment, the severity of which would depend on if she could plead her case and appeal to Alicent's better nature.

A gentle knock on her door sounded through her chambers.

"Enter," she called over her shoulder. Her doors opened to reveal the person she least expected: her Aunt Helaena. Turning fully around, Dyaena watched as the timid silver princess walked further into the room, the doors closing behind her.

"Aunt, your visit comes as a surprise." She wasn't quite sure what else to say. The possibility of Helaena being angry at her for assaulting her older brother crossed her mind just then, and she would not put it past Aegon to morph the story to make himself appear faultless. Dyaena approached her with caution, not knowing on what terms she stood with Helaena.

"I know what happened at the dragonpit today." Her aunt stared at her with round purple eyes, a distant look flashing behind them before she was brought back to the present. "You needn't worry, though. My mother and I heard all of it from Aemond first, of Aegon's cruelty. And she knows he shoved you to the ground after you struck him, and concluded no further justice was necessary."