The Fire That Burns Within US - Aemond Targaryen

The Second Born Sons

138 - Harrenhal

"They will be fine," Aemond assures Ben; he finds that the knight is having a more challenging time dealing with the departure of Visenya, and after Rob had left for Runestone, the knight had fallen into the deep end.

Ben looks at the table before him, enemies to the North, East, and West, but they still hold the advantage until Cregan can gather his men. Till the North marches South, until then, they will be able to deal with this, but Ben can't help but fear that the friendship that Cregan has with them will not matter now. Cregan is a Stark through and through; he would not take what they are doing lightly, even if he does agree with them.

"You don't know that. You don't know what is coming," Ben tells Aemond. The prince doesn't know what he is doing. He would think that Aemond would be smart enough to know that Visenya or Rob might not come back, that his fears would become a reality.

Aemond smiles to himself as he stands beside Ben, the lords had not taken him seriously when they had been trying to plan for what they were going to do next, but the second that Ben had to stand up to his true height, they all had shut up and listened. Aemond can admit that Ben and he were friends, and he knows that Ben might need some cheering up because of the lack of Visenya and Rob.

"Winter?" Aemond tries to joke, and he is satisfied when Ben lets out a snort. He needs Ben to get out of his head.

"Very funny," Ben tells Aemond as he relaxes his shoulders. He knows he can trust Aemond, but part of him wishes that Visenya was here so that he could confide in her rather than her husband. "I had a dream of wild blue flames, cries of dragons, death,"

Aemond lets the words hang in the air; he knows that Ben is in touch with the old ways. Not in the same way that Alys is, but, like Jojen, he had always suspected that there was more to the knight than he was letting on.

"What?" Aemond asks as he fully processes the words, he knows that this war will lead to death in both men and dragons, but from the fearful look in Ben's eye, he knows that there is more than he isn't telling him.

"I don't think that we will make it out of this war," Ben says quietly, but Aemond can hear him,

"Because of a silly-"

"Dreams should always be taken as a warning. You could ask your sister, but you left her in the fucking castle," Ben spits out at Aemond; he would have never left Helaena alone in King's Landing. He had only left her before because he thought Aemond could protect her, but now he regrets not stealing her away with them.

Aemond is slightly taken aback by the now hostel tone Ben now has. He isn't stupid, he knows how close Ben and Helaena had become while he stayed in King's Landing, but he didn't think that it had gotten to this point, to the point where Ben would be this upset about leaving her safe in the capital.

"Helaena is safe," Aemond assures Ben, resting his hand on the knight's shoulder, but Ben shrugs it off and shakes his head. He doesn't believe Helaena is safe; she would have been safe with at least one of them. Helaena isn't like Visenya. She wouldn't hurt someone to protect herself.

"Just like her son?" Ben asks bitterly, and Aemond looks down at his hands. Ben might have said the words straight forward, but Aemond knows what he means, that one of the two people that he thought didn't blame him for Jaehaerys did.

"What is your relationship with my sister?" Aemond asks, and he enjoys watching the knight's body language turn from anger to discomfort.

"We enjoy each other's company, that is all," Ben mumbles and Aemond smiles; he had only seen Ben be like this around Jojen.