The Tragedy of Liliyana Lannister 𓆗♡ AEMOND TARGARYEN ♡ 𓆗

Chapter Fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Her.

Aemond seated Liliyana beside his sister once arriving at the Dragonpit. Their carriage arrived third. Only the council remained.

"There is a beast beneath the boards," Helaena whispered.

"What kind of beast?" Liliyana asked her, equally quiet. If Aemond heard her, he did not acknowledge it. He remained fixed on adjusting his wife's dress in her seat. A small stool was brought out before their arrival. It sat between the couple.

"Your leg, Liliyana," he said. His fingers delicately wrapped around her ankle. She moved her leg upward, letting her husband place it on the stool.

Helaena did not answer Liliyana, which was not surprising. She only continued her quiet ramblings. "He lies in the rain and she cries in the dark."

"I will return shortly," Aemond told his wife. He made to separate from her when she gripped his wrist.

"Aemond..." I don't want to be alone? Your sister's words lately turn my blood cold? I don't want to be part of this charade? Rhaenerya deserves the crown? I am no substitute for a lost eye?

Her husband patiently waited. He would wait as long as she needed. But the right words never came. Liliyana unhooked her fingers from his wrist and slapped on a weak smile.

"Liliyana is frightened of the dragons, brother," Helaena supplied. "I will keep her company."

Aemond tore his intense gaze from Liliyana. "Thank you, sister. I will return quickly."

Guilt lingered in Liliyana as she watched Aemond's tense back walk off into a darkened hallway. He trusted Helaena and had a keen soft spot for her. Liliyana understood this was the only reason he left at all.

She had time to find an excuse for when he asked later what troubled her.

"It is a glorious day, Princess," she told Helaena, unsure of what else to do. They were not close. The princess preferred the company of herself and her collection of insects over people. But she was always kind, innocent in the way a child was.

The approaching carriage halted any further conversation.

Tyland's shaggy dark blonde hair came out first. He and Jason had the darker hair in the family. Liliyana spent most of her time in the sun, on the porch with her husband. Her hair lightened considerably as a result. Still, none could dissuade the three from being siblings.

Jason wrote to her when he could. He was understandably busy with becoming Lord of Casterly Rock. Liliyana also needed to include his recent marriage to Lady Johanna, a woman from House Westerling. Liliyana knew little of her. Perhaps a visit home would do her well.

But what of Mother? She would not be pleased to learn of Liliyana's visit...

"Princess!" Tyland greeted Helaena. "Or Queen, I should say!" His booming laugh tore at Liliyana. She missed him.

"Congratulations on becoming master of coin, ser."

What?

When did this happen? Had something happened to Lord Beesbury? The man truly was quite old...

Her brother bowed. "Thank you!" When he rose, his green eyes briefly covered Liliyana's marred face. "Hello, sister."

Self-consciousness bloomed in her belly. His hesitance said all Liliyana needed to know: Aemond's conversation earlier frightened Tyland. Still, did he need to be so cold to her?

"Hello, Tyland." Her voice did not peak about a whisper. Tightness closed around her throat. "Tis good to see you."

Rarely was Tyland Lannister at a loss for words. His sister shared his hesitance. What had that damned boy done to his sister? He, like his brother, believed Aemond Targaryen a suitable substitute for them. She was getting older. The need to find her a husband closed in around them. Her sweet nature and naivety would not pass well in court. A strong match was needed to keep her safe. But Tyland worried now that the match backfired. Liliyana's bruised skin and scabbed lips told the story better than gossip ever could.

The unmistakable sound of Lord Larys' dragging foot signaled his presence beside the man.

"Lady Liliyana," he greeted, then bowed as best he could. "Princess. I must say I'm so very sorry for the abuse you suffered in Flea Bottom yesterday. A tragedy, truly. I do hope those men will receive swift justice soon!"

"Thank you, Lord Strong," Liliyana whispered, eyes focused on her lap.

"Come, Tyland. We are needed upstairs to help prepare." The man limped away, eyes never straying from the tension being produced by brother and sister.

The need to scream nearly broke Tyland. The spy he shooed away at his door late last night replayed in his mind. His sister had been attacked and Tyland wasn't there to help her. Or comfort her. He believed whatever news the spy had could wait until morning--as was normally the case.

Her uncomfortableness and fear made sense now...she believed he did not care.

Tyland could not speak. And nor did he care if his dismissal from the soon-to-be-queen would produce a punishment. With a hand against the stone hallway to steady himself, the Lannister followed Lord Larys with equally stilted feet. He nearly collided with Aemond Targaryen's purposeful strides back into the room he left Liliyana in.

Helaena watched her brother fuss over his wife. She did not need the water he offered, nor a change in seating position. She only took his hand in hers, blaming her pain on her injuries and not on the disheartening interaction she just had with her brother.

In certain lights, Helaena thought Aemond looked so much like their uncle Daemon. Two second sons, both with fearsome dragons. Tall, lean, unforgiving warriors with equal tempers. A blurry vision overtook her: a bloodied dagger in a thunderstorm. Two dragons fighting high above the sky.

She came to with a shuddering breath and rushed whisper only she could understand. "The mirror murders the snake's soul."