Innocence// AEMOND TARGARYEN ✔️

Chapter Eighteen

"Did Aemond tell you this himself?" Helaena asked.

"Yes, he did" Eirlys answered.

Eirlys had decided to confide in Helaena about the entire situation of Aemond, her and his visit to the whorehouse, feeling lost about how she ought to handle it and move forward.

"That's unlikely of him" the older girl said, confused "Aemond has never been the one too keen on visiting brothels"

"I'm aware it's a norm for the men to pay such visits" the princess sighed "but I just thought Aemond would tell me about his insecurities regarding his inexperience instead of a complete stranger"

"I suppose he must've found it difficult to do so" Halaena tried to look at things from her younger brother's perspective "he's known you since you were a babe, maybe he felt abashed to engage in such talks. Besides, for the sake of your reputation I doubt he would suggest.."

"I know" Eirlys responded, knowing that Halaena was referring to the idea of having sex, something she still had very little knowledge about "but I just can't seem to get past this"

"Have you spoken to him about this?" The older girl asked.

"Once, but it wasn't much of a conversation" Eirlys recalled their first and only time they spoke about this "I was upset and kept asking questions and he tried to explain himself. I don't really think I explained how I feel about this entire thing"

"Perhaps avoiding him and the subject isn't the best thing to do" Helaena told the younger girl, giving her a gentle smile "things will only get worse if you decide to suppress your feelings"

"I just- I-" Eirlys was slowly letting the frustration take over "I just sound childish. It's okay for the men to relieve themselves, it's nothing uncommon. And Aemond isn't even my husband as of yet. I don't understand why I am so distraught about this"

"Talk to him" Helaena told her once again "you needn't forgive him if you aren't yet ready. But at the very least, make him aware of the depth of how perturbed this has left you"

Eirlys was grateful for the older girl who listened to her and offered council on how she could perhaps manoeuvre around the situation.

She decided to address the matter on the morrow, feeling too emotionally drained to hold a conversation presently.

Everything thing had changed between herself and her dear Aemond. And even though she never showed it on the surface, it pained her. She found it difficult sometimes to cope with the distance that had formed in between them.

Eirlys had on some days cried herself to sleep, desperately wishing that when she woke up she would find out all of this was just a bad dream. She slept with the same hope each night and woke up disappointed each morning.

The princess headed to the library, hoping to get lost in some book so that she may momentarily escape her current reality.

Even now on her way to the library, she thought about the times she and Aemond used to visit this same place together or read together in one of their chambers, when Aemond used to help with her high valerian.

As always the library was dimly lit, quiet and engulfed her with the smell of burning candles, dust and old parchment.

She skimmed through some of the books, trying to settle on which one she would pick.

"Eirlys"

The girl turned around to see Daeron standing at the end of the isle. He held a number of books in one hand while he had one book held open with the other.

"Daeron" she simply greeted, not wishing to partake in a conversation.

"The hour is late, what are you doing here?" he inquired as he shut the book he was holding "and you weren't present at supper, are you alright?"

"Are you alright?"

No.

Eirlys' emotions got the better of her, causing her voice to hitch in her throat as she felt tears beginning to form.

She quickly turned away the moment she knew she could no longer hold back her tears, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth as she silently cried.

Daeron hastily placed his books on the shelf closest to him, not caring that two of those books had fallen to the ground. He made his way to her and hesitantly placed his hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concerned about Eirlys.

"Nothing" the princess sniffled as she desperately tried to calm her breathing and cease her crying.

The boy took a few more steps forward until he stood in front of her. He engulfed her in a hug, catching Eirlys by surprise. Yet the gesture only made the girl more emotional and she buried her face into his chest and sobbed some more.

She didn't know what had come over her, but for some reason she couldn't seem to stop crying.

"Has someone upset you?" The boy asked with a saddened smile as he held her close. Daeron had grown up alongside Eirlys and even though he wasn't as close to her as his older brother Aemond was, he still cared about her and over the years had grown rather protective of her.

He sensed the growing tension between Eirlys and Aemond and how they seemed to grow more and more distant as the days passed.

He took her silence as a confirmation after he put two and two together.

"It's about my brother, isn't it?" He softly asked, trying not to strike a nerve.

Eirlys wiped away a tear.

"We were best of friends" she simply stated amidst her tears "but he.. he.."

"What did he do?" The prince asked, his voice growing ever so slightly stern. He knew Aegon was the kind who would say or do things without thinking twice but he never took Aemond to follow in his steps and treat anyone with little to no regard for their emotions, least of all his closest friend and betrothed.

"I don't wish to talk about it" Eirlys wiped away another tear "but it hurts, it hurts so much even though I try to forget-"

"Shh" Daeron patted her back as he hugged her a bit tighter "my brother is a small brained arseling for making you cry like this"

Eirlys chuckled at his descriptive insult.

"Does he even know how upset you are? At whatever it is he's done" the boys asked "to a point where you're crying uncontrollably"

"N-no"

"What gentleman treats his betrothed like this?"

"I'll handle it" she responded as she sniffled after each word "it's just something I need to come to terms with"

"You shouldn't have to" Daeron mumbled "it's not fair for him to offend you like this and then have you just agree to get over it"

"I'm not sure how I am going to manage holding a conversation with him without breaking down" she admitted "I can barely think about it without crying"

"It's alright if you're this upset by whatever happened" Daeron ran his fingers through her silvery white hair "and Aemond needs to see how much pain he has caused you. He's only seen the best parts of you, it's about time he ought to learn how to handle and comfort the broken parts as well, most of which are credited to him"

"I suppose you're right" Eirlys pulled back to look at him before kissing his cheek "thank you Dareon"

"You can come to me anytime" he smiled warmly at her "I'm always on your side"

Eirlys managed to offer him a smile before she left the library, not in a mood to read anymore.