Blood of Old Valryia (Aemond Targaryen FF)

Chapter Eighteen

AEMOND

Aesira was radiant.

He'd known she was in the Keep, had felt the ground quake when her lively dragon landedt. Though he knew she was in the Red Keep, he couldn't help but feel his heart race as she stepped up to the balustrade and climbed atop it.

In that moment, everything else faded away. The world around him became a blur as his gaze was fixed on her. He tried to maintain an aloof exterior, but the sight of her took his breath away. She was a vision of beauty and grace, and he couldn't help but feel a deep longing in his heart. He tried to shake the feeling, but it only intensified as he watched her, like a moth drawn to a flame.

Aemond, at the request of his mother, the Queen, had been making his way to her Chambers in Maegor's Holdfast when he'd caught sight of the woman he hadn't seen in years, decades, centuries. As she gazed almost dreamily up at the grey skies, Aesira effortlessly took his breath away. He knew little of the afterlife, but if he did, he would wager that the glazed over look on her face was enough to bring even the gods to their knees.

And then she'd glanced at him, and his heart stopped dead in chest.

As Aemond laid eyes on Aesira again after so many years, he couldn't help but notice how much she had changed. Her hair cascaded down her back in long, flowing tresses, and her body was lean and toned. She moved with the assurance of someone who had grown into themselves. Her face had filled out, no longer holding the softness of youth, but instead exuding the elegance of adulthood.

He searched her eyes for any trace of the love they had shared in their childhood, but found nothing but a blank expression, untouched by any memories of their shared past. Her eyes were unreadable, and it felt like she had moved on and left all the memories behind. He felt a pang in his heart as he realized that the kindling love he had kept burning for her may have been one-sided.

Aesira remained still and expressionless, until the Queen appeared and beckoned her to follow her out of the King's Chambers. Aemond was familiar with the look of disapproval on the Queen's face, as she often wore it around Aegon. He had no doubt that Aesira's choice to sit atop the balustrade had offended the Queen's sense of decorum and elegance.

Aemond pushed himself off from the pillar he had been leaning against and quickly made his way to the King's Chambers. He ran up the stairs in Maegor's Holdfast, taking them two at a time. By the time he reached the hallway leading to the King's Chambers, he saw the Queen making her way to the steps that led to the courtyard.

"What is she doing her?" His question was quiet, and obvious. No one had said anything to him about her arrival being this early. He'd been informed that Aesira's visit was still two weeks away.

"The missive Viserys sent mentioned a fortnight," the Queen said, rolling her eyes, clearly annoyed by Aesira's sudden early arrival. "But the girl has decided to come early."

"She's not a girl anymore, mother," Aemond corrected her, his tone was a mix of annoyance and sadness.

The Queen raised an eyebrow in surprise, then sighed, "My apologies, Aemond. I'd forgotten how tightly you've been wound around her pretty little fingers."

"Mother..." his warning was soft, cold. The comment was unnecessarily cruel and though he wanted to express the cruelty of it to his mother. He knew his mother didn't have a good relationship with Aesira and that she often found her presence to be a nuisance.

"Why did you call on me?" he asked, trying to steer the conversation away from Aesira and towards the reason for his visit. He knew that his mother was prone to lashing out when she was irritated or wounded, and he didn't want to fuel that fire.