House of the Dragon One-shots - Volume 2

Seeing The Sapphire - Aemond Targaryen

By: aemonds-war-crime - Tumblr

You carded your fingers through Aemond's silvery hair, the light from the fireplace flickering on his relaxed face.  You had loved him since the day you saw him, standing in the throne room, upon your first arrival to King's Landing.

His eye was closed, head comfortably laying in your lap.  Your fingers wandered across the planes of his face, lingering on his soft lips.  His mouth twitched upward as you traced a pattern there, he hummed softly in contentment. How you longed to kiss him there, the thought of your lips on his lingered often in the back of your mind.  Instead, you contented yourself with the rare quiet moments the two of you would relax together after reading long hours in the deserted library.

You turned your attention toward the leather eyepatch you always saw him wearing, frowning slightly as you were tempted to lift it off his face.  He must've felt your intention because Aemond sat up rather suddenly, putting some space between the two of you on the sofa.  His one eye surveyed you for a few moments, inexplicable tension radiating off his shoulders. "I do not wish you to see me without it."  He ran his hand along the strap of his eyepatch, making sure it was secure.

You twisted your fingers together in your lap, guilt washing over you.  "I'm sorry Aemond, I didn't mean to upset you.

"It is I who desires not to upset you, Y/N."  Aemond responded, looking everywhere but at your face. "Without the eyepatch I look like a 'monster'. Or at least," he chuckled mirthlessly, "that's what I've overheard some say."

You caught the flicker of pain that briefly twisted Aemond's features, but he mastered his emotions in an instant, finally meeting your eyes with his own. 

"Aemond, don't say that."  You leaned forward, reaching toward him. "You could never look monstrous."

He did not move or look toward you, instead fixing his gaze on the crackling fire.  With a swift movement you got down on the floor, scooting until you knelt before him, forcing his focus onto yourself.  You read anger in his face, as well as something else...something akin to hope.

Taking his hand in yours, you tried again. "You are the most handsome man I have ever looked upon."  Aemond made a derisive sound, glancing at you dubiously, but you soldiered on. "Your hair is the color of moonlight, your eye lilac bright.  You are learned, clever and the best fighter I have seen."  You knew you were laying it on thick, but the stiffness of Aemond's shoulders seemed to have eased, his fingers loosened around yours.  There was still doubt on his face, as his eye flitted between your own, as if deciding something.

"If you truly want to see me as I am, I will not begrudge you."  In a fluid motion, Aemond reached to his face, pulling the eyepatch off his head.

A multi-faceted sapphire lay inside the socket of Aemond's missing eye, it refracted the orange light from the fireplace on its many surfaces.  He misread the awed expression on your face, looking away from you quickly once more.  "I was ten years old."  He spoke quickly, as if trying to justify his appearance. "I had just claimed Vhagar as my own.  The Strongs...Rhaenyra's children...and Daemon's ambushed me on my way back to the castle.  They attacked me, all four of them, I fought them off until Lucerys came at me with his knife and...well."  Aemond gestured angrily to his face.  "You see plainly how that ended." 

"What did you say to them?"  You asked gently, prompting the prince to give you the whole story. "When they confronted you, I mean."

Aemond breathed a sigh through his nose, his hands balling into fists. "They accused me of stealing Vhagar, the idiots."

"Aemond."  You chided softly.

"I called them 'bastards'...and I might've mentioned something about feeding them to my dragon, and how their father perished in a fire."  Aemond looked up at the arched ceiling, a small smirk climbing up his face at the memory. "I didn't anticipate Luke bringing a weapon.  You have to trust me when I say I had no intention of actually harming my kin."

"I do."

"I claimed the largest dragon in Westeros, and for it I lost an eye.  Many at court abhor me, seeing me as something lesser." Resentment dripped from his low voice, his lips now twisted in a frown. 

You reached forward, hooking his chin with a finger, pulling his gaze back to you.  "You are perfect just as you are, Aemond."  Leaning up to place a gentle kiss beneath the sapphire eye, you felt his breath catch in his chest.

"Y/N..."  He breathed, turning his head so your noses brushed.  "I am not a whole man. For this reason I have remained unbetrothed so long, I am not viewed as a desirable match for any nobleman's daughter."

"They are all fools and belong in the seven hells." 

This drew a chuckle from him.

"I see you as desirable."  You didn't know quite where that bold statement came from, as they lingered long in the space between you.

You noticed the proximity of your face to his, feeling his warm breath upon your lips. 

"You are truly lost, then, if your words are sincere."  Aemond ran a finger along your jaw, his hooded gaze on your mouth.

You were hardly breathing, your voice just a whisper of anticipation. "If I am lost, I never want to be found."

Quick as a striking snake, his lips were upon yours, pressing with such desperate intensity you gasped against him, feeling his tongue take full advantage as it twisted around your own.

You moaned, the feeling of his lips and tongue upon yours sending little shockwaves down to your core.  His fingers had taken hold at the back of your neck, pulling you further against his body, causing you to curve around him.  Your own hands were buried in his thick hair, eliciting small sounds of pleasure from him as you tugged at the silken strands.

Aemond pulled away first, taking in your dazed expression, his blue gemstone eye sparkling in the dim light.  "You don't know how long I've wanted to hold you like this, Y/N.  To feel your body close to mine, taste the nectar of your lips, hear the sweet sounds you make."

Heat pooled in your stomach; your cheeks burned at his intimate admission. Aemond smiled, kissing the tip of your nose with affection. "I didn't want to risk frightening you, as much as I crave your company."

"You don't have to hide anything from me, Aemond." You turned your face into the hand that cupped your cheek, placing a kiss to his palm. "You could never frighten me."

He looked away from you, turning back to the flickering flames. "Hmm.  I hope you're right."

In companionable silence, you curled into his side, leaning your head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around you.  Sitting comfortably together, the two of you passed most of the night, stirring only when the grey light of morning could be seen out the window accompanied by the song of waking birds.