The Prince and His Flower

N I N E T Y

Aemma crawled through the passageway, silently cursing Maegor the Cruel for making such tight spaces. She felt her way through the darkness until she reached the familiar passageway that would take her to the beach, to Terrax.

Helaena had wept and pleaded for her not to go, holding onto her arms so tight Aemma feared they would bruise. When Aemma finally pried herself away, Helaena simply sat in her chair and began to embroider as if nothing had happened.

The climb down was slow and she was glad to be on solid ground again when her feet sunk into the sand. Sensing her impending arrival, Terrax had met her on the beach, waiting to be mounted. He cooed happily once he spotted her, bowing down so that she could easily climb into the saddle.

They had all thought she was going to sit idly by while they trap one of the Blacks, and they were sadly mistaken. 

The flight to Rook's Rest felt longer than ever, but Aemma knew she was close once she saw the smoking remains of Duskendale. She urged Terrax to go higher so that she could see what was going on below.

Her stomach felt like it dropped to her feet once she saw what was going on; Vhagar was flying in wide circles, slowly burning more and more of Lord Staunton's army. Sunfyre and Melys were swooping around each other, just brushing against one another before darting away again. 

Aegon had promised he wouldn't hurt them, and he chanted his promise in his head again and again as he commanded Sunfyre to dodge Melys's attacks. He could faintly hear Rhaenys shouting commands to Melys, urging her on but still he prevailed. 

Terrax entered the fray, snapping at both dragons but not outright attacking them. 

All of the dragons seemed confused, snapping at each other and spewing flames. Aemma pressed her face down into the saddle and closed her eyes, no longer knowing who was who. All Aemond could see was a flurry of scales and flames, the roars of dragons echoing louder than the crackling flames and screams of men. 

He could just barely make out the dark shape of Terrax, his jaws clamped onto Sunfyre's wing. Sunfyre had locked his jaws around Terrax's neck and Melys threatened to split Terrax open from belly to tail.

Aemond urged Vhagar closer, his mind racing. He should intervene, but the dragons were all tangled together and he wouldn't be able to do it safely. 

Sunfyre bit down harder on Terrax's neck and the massive dragon let out what sounded like a strangled scream. He nearly tore Sunfyre's wing off completely before turning to Melys, mauling her face. Sunfyre spewed flames just over Aemma's head, the heat nearly melting her on the spot. His jaws snapped at Aemma, getting dangerously close. Terrax flipped himself midair, protecting her from the golden dragon.

Aemond closed his eye and blindly sent Vhagar toward the fighting dragons, praying that all of them would walk away unharmed. No, he prayed Aemma would walk away unharmed.

"No Sunfyre, no! Don't hurt her!" Aegon pleaded, yanking on the reins as he tried to turn Sunfyre away from Terrax. 

"This is for Aemma! For Luke!" Rhaenys screamed.

Vhagar descended upon them, her jaws nearly taking Sunfyre's head off in one bite. The dragon fell limp but was still alive as he crashed to the ground. She turned on Melys next, savaging her wing and spewing flames, sending the Red Queen crashing down as well.

Terrax turned on Vhagar of his own volition, his only desire to protect his rider. The two dragons exchanged flames and bites, locking their legs together as they crashed into the ground.

Terrax had angled himself at the last moment, allowing his side to take most of the impact to avoid crushing his rider.

Ser Criston had always been fearful of dragons; he had seen the damage and destruction they brought. But as he picked his way through the burned field, ready to retrieve the bodies of the Princes and Princess, his fear turned to sorrow. 

Sunfyre moaned and groaned, letting out strangled cries as he struggled to try and rise to his feet. Melys looked dead, but her shallow breaths were the only indication of anything otherwise. Vhagar was relatively unharmed, laying on her side in an almost aloof manner. Terrax was the closest, his neck oozing smoking blood, and threatening to set the field alight. His leg looked nearly torn off and a chunk of his face was missing, exposing his long, sharp teeth. 

"Aemma?" Ser Criston called out. 

No response.

Aegon was sprawled out in the field, his legs bent at horrifying angles and his lungs screaming for air. 

Aemond was still strapped in his saddle, knocked unconscious but relatively unharmed just like Vhagar. 

Aemma's arm was bent at an unnatural angle and her leg was all but unusable. Her ribs ached horribly and blood was pouring out of her mouth from where she bit the inside of her mouth on impact. 

She shakily undid the straps holding her in place, allowing herself to drop to the ground. The pain from the drop was nearly enough for her to fall unconscious, but still, she persisted. She couldn't find the strength to stand so instead she drug herself with one hand in search of someone, anyone.

Rhaenys lay curled on her side next to Melys, much of her body burned and broken. She was still alive though, her breathing shallow and wheezing.

Aemma crawled toward her grandmother, pausing to catch her breath and spit out the neverending blood. Her eyes searched through the smoke in search of Aemond, holding out hope that he was still alive.

"Grandmother." She choked out. Rhaenys groaned but said nothing. Knowing she was alive was enough, and Aemma turned away to continue her search for her husband, crawling like a helpless child.

She could faintly see the outline of Vhagar through the thick smoke and swallowed the fear that had risen. 

"Aemond?" She called out. "Aemond!"

Aemond could faintly hear someone calling his name, but they sounded far away, underwater even. 

"Aemond!" The voice yelled again. A woman's voice. Aemma.

"Aemma?" He called out. He fumbled with the straps to his saddle and slid down. He was stumbling and his vision swam, but he staggered through the smoke nonetheless in search of his beloved.

When he finally caught sight of her he smiled, forgetting the destruction around them or the way her broken, bloody body looked. He was so relieved he could have sung to the Gods. Then everything went black, and the last thing he felt was the ground rushing up to meet him.