Blood of Old Valryia (Aemond Targaryen FF)

Chapter Fifty Eight

Aesira snuggled up against Aemond's chest.

His hair was flowing freely over his shoulders and he had taken off his eye patch, showing off the sparkling sapphire. Aemond was propped up against the backboard of her bed, with his arm wrapped around her.

The bed—Aesira's—was fairly large, with a cosy canopy draped over it. The sheets were silky soft and pale blue, while the bedspread was a rich velvet with gold thread embroidery. The bed was set on a raised platform and had four tall posters.

With her eyes closed, Aesira could pretend that they were back at the Inn before they were weighed down by the responsibilities of a crown that was not Aemond's to wear. In those days—just a few months ago, ironically—they'd been happy and free. Their biggest concern had been how to tell their families that they'd wed in secret.

Aesira let out a deep sigh, her gaze directed at Aemond and let go of the memory. With their reunion passed, the question that had been plaguing her mind for a while now finally found its way to her lips. "Why'd you do it?"

She referred to the siege of Rook's Rest, and the killing of the Princess Rhaenys. The siege would be an event that left its mark on the history of the land and its people. Centuries from now, the battle would still be spoken around fires. The first dragon battle of the civil war within House Targaryen.

Aemond's reply was immediate and resolute. "I had to make sure that you would be returned to me and that my half-sister would never take you back."

He spoke with a calm confidence, as if the lives that had been lost were merely a necessary sacrifice to achieve his goals. As if they meant nothing in his grand scheme.

Aesira felt overwhelmed by the grief and heartbreak of what his words meant. She couldn't comprehend how so many lives had been taken and how so much destruction had been wrought, all in the name of bringing her back to Aemond. The thought of all those people, who had once had their own dreams and ambitions, reduced to nothing more than casualties in a war that had nothing to do with them was too much for her to bear.

Aesira couldn't shake the image of mothers and fathers who had been torn from their children, of young children who had lost their families and had no one to turn to, of people who had once lived in homes filled with love and laughter, now reduced to rubble and ash. She couldn't help but imagine the pain and the fear that these people must have felt in their final moments, and the sense of loss and emptiness that must have consumed those who had survived.

Aesira's heart ached for all those who had suffered and lost their lives in the siege of Rook's Rest. She felt the weight of their loss, and the burden of guilt for being the reason behind it all, like a heavy stone in her chest. She wept for them, and for all the other countless lives that had been taken in the pursuit of power and control.

Aemond leaned down towards Aesira, pressing his lips gently against hers in a soft kiss. He then pulled away and looked into her eyes, his voice filled with tenderness as he asked, "Would you have come back to me if not for my actions, my love?"

Aesira was unable to respond, overwhelmed by the enormity of the tragedy that had taken place in the name of their love. The loss of life was a burden too heavy for her to bear. It sent shivers skittering down her back that Aemond could justify such destruction and death, all in the name of bringing her back to him.

Aesira sat up on her elbows and looked at Aemond, her voice trembling as she spoke. "I would rather you had never loved me again than carry the weight of all that has happened. Those people, their families, their children, they are gone now because of me. How can I live with that?"

Aemond's expression hardened, "I would make the same decision again. I could not leave you in the hands of those who lacked the vision to see the true state of Westeros or the bravery to stand up for their beliefs. My family and I are working towards a stronger kingdom, one that cannot be not ruled by a woman. Anyone who fails to understand this, must face the consequences."