Blood of Old Valryia (Aemond Targaryen FF)

Chapter Fifty Four

The following morning, Aesira awoke early, her mind still swirling with the thoughts and emotions of the conversation she had with Jace the previous night.

She made her way to the small table in her room, where a plate of fresh fruit, bread, and cheese had been prepared for her. Though she tried to focus on her breakfast, her mind was elsewhere, constantly thinking about the possibility of being granted freedom.

Aesira picked at her food, her appetite dulled by her anxious thoughts. She knew that Jace would give her an answer today, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of unease as she considered the possibility that he might deny her request.

But at the same time, Aesira knew she'd been right to say she was no position to make any sort of demands. Aemond was their enemy, he was...a monster. Choosing to protect him, behind closed doors, cast her loyalties in a dubious light. Publicly protecting her husband aided their scheme, but in private, it aided to Jace's distrust of her.

As Aesira sat lost in thought, her attention was suddenly drawn to the sound of footsteps outside her door. With a sense of anticipation, she watched as the door opened and Jace strode into the room. He nodded in her direction as he approached, a subtle gesture.

Jace stopped to speak with Ser Loreth and Ser Adrian, who'd been stationed just outside of her doors. "By order of the Queen, Aesira is no longer remanded to her chambers," he announced, his voice firm and authoritative.

Aesira's heart skipped a beat as she heard the words. She had been granted her freedom, but with certain restrictions. Jace turned to Ser Loreth, "Please ensure that she is followed like a shadow. She may visit her dragon, but mount it, she may not."

Aesira understood the restrictions that had been placed on her freedom, as she knew it was a necessary measure to demonstrate the limited nature of her newfound autonomy. As Jace gave her a knowing look before leaving the room, she felt a pang of sadness. Her choices had put an insurmountable rift between them, and nothing Aesira ever did would fix that.

She finished her breakfast in silence, her mind racing with thoughts of the day ahead. She knew that before the sun set, she would be on her way to King's Landing, where she would finally be reunited with Aemond, her heart fluttered at the thought of seeing him again.

As Aesira stepped out of her chambers for the first time in two weeks, she was struck by how different everything looked. The smallfolk were bustling around, cleaning the passageways and changing flowers, filling the air with the aroma of fresh blooms and the faint smell of dragonfire. Despite the restrictions on her freedom, she ventured out of the castle and towards the dragonmount.

With Ser Loreth and Ser Adrian following her closely, Aesira made her way through the castle, taking in the sights and sounds around her. The familiar stone walls and flagstones seemed new to her, as if she were seeing them for the first time. She couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude for the small pleasures of life that she had taken for granted before her confinement. She doubted that she'd ever see Dragonstone again after this.

The sight of the magnificent beasts in the dragonmount, with their scales glistening in the sunlight, was breathtaking. She longed to mount her dragon and take it to the skies, but she knew that it was not to be.

Aesira wove between the five resting dragons and the keepers that meandered through the lot of them. She found Sakaris curled in a corner closer to the back of the cave. It was the holes she saw first, the holes in Sakaris' wings. The valiant dragon that she'd used to defend Luke and Arrax, had flown away with scars of her own. Sakaris didn't deserve those wounds, she deserved to be whole and healthy. If Aesira was destined to fail in her mission, then the Gods should have protected Sakaris. It seemed wholly unjust to lose Luke and have Sakaris maimed.

The wounds had healed over, sealing the rough jagged edges to give the holes a permanence. Aesira sidled up to her dragon and stroked the beast's face, feeling the warmth of the dragon's blue scales with golden streaks under her fingers.

"How far we've come, you and I." She whispered against the dragon's face. Aesira didn't need to think hard about the rocky and unstable introduction to their bond. They'd become a formidable pair over the years, but at the very beginning, she'd been content to see the dragon ended. Now, Aesira would set entire kingdoms ablaze to save her oldest and truest companion.

Sakaris let out an almost deafening roar as she swivelled her head to gaze at Aesira. The roar held no malice, or irritation. No, she would have felt it. Sakaris felt a knee-buckling relief to see her rider again. The roar was merely the only way she could express it.

Aesira giggled before stepping back and turning to the dragonkeeper standing beside her. "How is she?"

Sanlow would have been ready for her questions, she might not even have needed to ask them. But Bantu was not Sanlow.

"The wounds will not close." Bantu said, voicing what she'd already guessed. "Maester Gerardys looked into it, and has confirmed this. It will not impact her flying, but the holes are permanent, my Lady."

Aesira swallowed hard, though she'd expected the news, some part of her had hoped Bantu would give her cheerier news. But she wouldn't let this dampen her spirits. She had enough to worry about.

Besides, Sakaris had fought nobly against Vhagar and had heeded every one of Aesira's commands. That alone was a merit most dragon riders couldn't claim.

Aesira glanced at the somewhat beaming dragon and felt a deep bond with her. What she felt from the dragon wasn't obedience, it was respect. Aesira had felt it that night in Storm's End, the exact way she felt it now. Sakaris respected that Aesira wouldn't lead them into a slaughter, just as Aesira respected Sakaris to act rationally and not succumb to impulse.

Sakaris was wild, as any beast that powerful could be, but she was not without her wits and in the end, that kernel of intelligence meant everything. Aesira knew that her dragon was a powerful weapon, but she also knew that it was a living being with thoughts and emotions. And she was grateful for the bond they shared, the trust and respect that they had for each other. Aesira knew that with Sakaris by her side, she could face any challenge that came their way.

"I'll be back for you." She whispered to the large beast. "You'll never wait so long for me again."

The sky was cloudless, the sun shining bright and the air was crisp as Aesira made her way back to the castle. In the lower bailey, the hustle and bustle of the small folk going about their day caused the majority of the sounds and distractions.

Aesira kept her head up as she strode through the inner courtyard, passing the knights that had monitored her windows and courtiers that were all deep in conversation. Though the castle's exterior seemed to be teeming with life, the interior was tense with anxiety surrounding the brewing war.

Finally arriving in the room of the Painted Table, Aesira found the members of the black council discussing the escort across the Narrow Sea. Aesira noted how much quieter they spoke upon her arrival and chose instead to make her way to the small table to pour herself a glass of water.

She'd barely put the glass to her lips when Maester Gerardys rushed in. He raced down the stairs to thrust an opened letter into Jace's hands.

Confusion spread through the room as Jace read the letter, and then he paled.

"Well, what is it?" Lord Corlys pressed.

"It seems that my uncle has followed through on his promises," Jace said sternly, glancing up at the Lord of the Tides. "Aemond is using his war beast to lay waste to Rook's Rest, with an army of one thousand men-at-arms on his horizon."