The Prince and His Flower

E I G H T Y - N I N E

Aemma gripped her fork so tight her knuckles turned white as she forced herself to act calm and collected at the table. Alicent insisted on everyone dining together, hoping to relieve some of the tension that had risen over the past few days. The host had begun their march and had already reached Duskendale. Ser Criston guessed that they would reach Rook's Rest by the morrow once they were done with their sacking.

Aemond was noticeably absent, no doubt avoiding the hateful glares from Helaena and the constant mocking by Aegon. His only sibling who seemed to have any sort of love for him anymore was Daeron, who deemed the entire situation much too complicated for him to get involved.

Aegon watched Aemma with a burning intensity, his eyes rarely leaving her face. Sometimes she would glance over, wondering if he was still looking only to be startled by his already-established eye contact. When he would open his mouth to say something, she would simply drop her eyes back to her plate and keep eating. 

"How was the journey to Winterfell? I imagine it was long and restless." Alicent spoke, pulling her out of her thoughts and breaking the silence that had settled over them.

"It was fine." Aemma looked over at Otto, who watched her with a cold stare. She debated outing his spying but instead decided to hold onto his little secret, holding it over his head until she needed something from him. "Have any of you ever been to Seaguard? It's a lovely town with the loveliest inn."

"I don't believe so." Alicent shook her head.

"I've never had the pleasure myself." Otto sipped his wine, his cold eyes focused on Aemma. "It's nice that you enjoyed your little trip."

"Her 'little trip' secured the North as our allies." Aegon pursed his lips and glanced over at Aemma. "I hope she enjoyed it; it can be tiresome to work all the time with no chance for pleasure."

"There is no time for pleasantries in war." Aemma frowned and picked at the table. It was strange knowing that she held the most power at this table, she could send for her lords and have their armies march on Kings Landing and take the city whenever she wished. But the time wasn't right and she still needed to find a way to deal with Daemon before he pushes this war any further.

"You deserve to let loose a little." Daeron piped up. "I mean no offense, but you were pretty tightly wound in the Riverlands."

"Tightly wound?" She asked with a sneer. "I was fine."

"I thought you were going to hit that poor old lord!" Daeron laughed. "I'm just glad the soldiers weren't faced with the same verbal lashings you gave me."

"Verbal lashings?" Aegon asked. 

"Respect is needed to keep yourself in power. As a woman, sometimes fear is the only way." Aemma shrugged.

"You wouldn't believe the things she said! I could have sworn she sent one of our knights away in tears, and the amount of injuries she doled out in simple drills..." Daeron shook his head. 

"It seems the hour has grown late." Aemma stood, not wanting to listen to Daeron repeat how 'cruel' she was over the past few months. She wasn't cruel, she was preparing the men for war and it would do them no favors if she went easy on them. 

"Or your embarrassment has grown to be too much." Daeron chuckled.

"Perhaps it's that foul stench coming from your hair." Aemma turned to Daeron and sniffed the air before making a sound of disgust. As she left, she could hear Daeron asking Alicent if he truly smelled and resisted the urge to walk back in and confirm his fears.

Aemond sat alone in the kitchens, moving his food around like a glum child. He used to love solitude, but now he felt lonelier than ever. All he wanted was to undo his actions and end all of the pain and suffering he had caused. He craved Aemma's company more than anything, but he didn't want to seek her out knowing she was hard at work the past few days. 

Lately, he felt more connected to Vhagar than ever; she was an infamous war dragon who couldn't even fit in the confines of the Dragonpit and he was an accursed kinslayer who was welcomed nowhere, his mere presence striking fear into the hearts of others. He often found himself sitting with her whenever he could, speaking about all that bothered him. Sometimes he would stroke her scales and tell her it wasn't her fault or how one day things would be better.

"I don't think it's fair that you have to eat alone." Aemma sat down across from him, a small smile playing on her lips. It was so beautiful Aemond couldn't help but smile back. He reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently. 

"Shall I fetch someone? What would you like to eat?" He asked. 

"I had my fair share already, another plate and I think I'll rip my dress at the seams." She shook her head before grabbing his fork and quickly taking a bite of his roast duck. "Delicious." 

"Here." Aemond slid the plate to the middle of the table and gestured for her to take more. He could watch her do the most mundane tasks and never grow bored, even if she was doing something as simple as reading a book. "How was your dinner?"

"Uneventful," She popped another piece of duck into her mouth. "Your grandsire is so..." She trailed off, knowing the servants were most likely his eyes and ears, ready to report anything interesting back to him. 

"You look lovely today." He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. "More lovely than usual." He felt his bad mood float away once he saw her cheeks redden. Despite her cold exterior, he could still make her blush like a maiden.

"Why don't you join us for dinner on the morrow?" She asked. 

"I don't think Aegon and Helaena will welcome my presence." Aemond frowned. All he wanted was for this war to end, no matter what. But he wouldn't sacrifice more of Aemma's happiness in order to do that, not after he already took so much. 

If it were up to him he would storm Dragonstone with Vhagar and the rest of their dragons, drag Daemon back to Kings Landing and slit his throat in front of the throne he craved so desperately. Then he would begrudgingly sit Rhaenyra on the throne and force Aegon to swear fealty, followed by the rest of his family. Perhaps his older sister would be so thankful that she would name him her Hand, and he could help rebuild what had been destroyed. Then he would have children with his beautiful wife and watch her rule over Driftmark like the proper ruler she is while he spends his days with his family.

"Aemond?" Aemma asked. He had been sitting in silence for the past several minutes and it had become rather concerning. He seemed to snap out of his trance and smiled softly.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about the next small council meeting." He sighed. "What were you saying?"

"I said that we can dine together from now on then, just you and I." She felt pity for him, knowing how lonely it can be without the support of one's family. "This may come as a shock, but it can get lonely when you're alone."

"Ha." Aemond laughed dryly. "I would like that. It feels like we never get time to ourselves as of late."

"Perhaps it's for the best, I wouldn't want to grow sick of you already." Aemma paused to sip at Aemond's wine. "Well, more than I already have."

"I just can't imagine spending the rest of my days with a beautiful, intelligent, driven woman like you." Aemond dramatically feigned a sigh. "However will I cope?"

Aemma rolled her eyes and continued picking at food off his plate, wondering how long he had been sitting there before she joined him. The rest of their shared meal went by pleasantly and soon they were walking back to his chambers, hand in hand. 

A/N Sorry if I haven't been updating as much! Life's been busy. I also have another fic up, I hope you guys like it! (it's wlw a bit and still HOTD)