Innocence// AEMOND TARGARYEN ✔️

Chapter Twenty-nine

The flight to Dragonstone was indeed a short one.

Aemond made quiet a fuss the morning of the departure, peppering Eirlys with kisses before she left her chambers.

It would be her name day a few days after her return back to the Red Keep and he kept reminding her to not prolong her stay since it had turned into quiet a ritual for them to celebrate their name days with each other. Aemond knew it was selfish, to ask her to spend her birthday with him instead of her brothers; especially since she was seeing them after years. But he did not care for them, Eirlys was his and his alone and if that made them hate him even more, so be it.

Besides, it was not their love he was after. It was their sister who his heart belonged to.

It was no secret that the prince had grown rather too attached to the princess but the extent of this attachment became very clear to her that day and in turn revealed to her that Aemond Targaryen would be a very protective yet needy husband.

The one-eyed prince kept his composure once he was  within the company of other nobles at court, sending off his beloved wife-to-be with a lingering kiss to the hand and a smile.

As much as he wanted to seize her by the waist and kiss her senseless, him and her both knew that such a desperate display of affection would only create more gossip and not the good kind. Aemond didn't care, he took no offence and bore no shame when it came to showing his love to his beloved but he knew such bold gestures would only speculate rumours within the narrow minded people at court and put to question their virtues. They were both royalty in their youth, and it wouldn't be a complete surprise if it were rumoured that they both had humped one another several times. Why else would there be such affection between two people who were in an arranged marriage?

Small minded people indeed.

Ember had been spotted from afar from one of the guards at the watchtower of Dragonstone. The men weren't able to identify the dragon but Daemon, who had already marched toward the narrow bridge that served as the entrance of the castle, knew at once it was Eirlys and her dragon, and asked one of the guards to inform Rhaenyra; thus alerting the princess of her daughter's unannounced arrival to their home.

Rhaenyra did not care that she was not dressed in one of her finer dresses, she was simply in an excited rush to see her daughter after all these years. Jace and Luke too did not bother to change out of their messy clothes that were a bit muddy due to their training.

They all rushed to the entrance while Ember took his time to make his descent, circling the grounds a few times before gliding down toward the gates.

Rhaenyra smiled when she saw her daughter from a distance, who was eagerly undoing the chains of her saddle.

Her hair was long but she had it styles in soft curls, much similar to how Alicent wore her hair. Even though she did have a few braids incorporated into the style, Rhaenyra could tell that the queen had a minor influence on how Eirlys presented herself.

Eirlys wore a coral blue dress, to signify her being a Velaryon princess. Yet a few minor accents were of sage green, a symbolism of her union with the prince Aemond, who wore the colours of his mother's preference: Green.

Eirlys effortlessly got down from the saddle atop her dragon. She gently rubbed the scaly neck of Ember, muttering something to him that the others could not hear because of the distance but it seemed to put her grumpy dragon a good mood, who made it noticeable by making a low rumbling noise and nudging his head to her belly.

With one last pat to the Dragons's head, Eirlys made her way toward her family.

Rhaenyra was the first from the lot to step forward, arms outstretched and a warm smile to greet her beloved and only daughter.