ELLIPSISM, aemond targaryen

[048] the beginning of something new

WHEN AEMMA VELARYON was younger, she was never able to understand the hidden meanings behind some of the terms she read in books. Despite the fact that she was always more intelligent than was usual for her age, looking for a logical explanation for what she considered pathetic metaphors in stories and poetry was a waste of time for her, not to mention that some of them made her stomach turn.

The word 'heartbreak' was one of the first words that, despite its clear meaning, Aemma had to look for in order to understand it perfectly. It turned out to be a metaphor associated with a situation in life that causes a person to feel things like grief, anguish, distress, despair, pain, sorrow, misery and so on.

When Aemma asked her mother, Rhaenyra insisted that it wasn't just physical pain but mental as well, one that couldn't be treated with any medicine but time or good feelings to overcome the bad ones.

Aemma had no idea what it felt like to have a broken heart. Since the death of Harwin Strong and Laenor Velaryon, she always reacted the same way to bad things: she felt absolutely nothing. Whether voluntarily in an attempt to save herself from pain or unintentionally, over time it became so natural for her that she forgot to even feel good things and half the time she seemed to be completely numb. Only rarely did someone or something manage to arouse any feelings in her, and it was always only like a small ripple on the calm surface of the sea.

But now Aemma felt so many emotions that she felt like they were coming at her like a tsunami and she would drown in them. It was as if someone had stabbed her directly in the chest with a dagger, and even though Aemma involuntarily ran her hand over the place, she did not remove any invisible dagger from there and none of her teas or herbs helped to ease the pain she felt.

And so she simply accepted it.

Sitting in front of the hearth on soft fur with a bottle of Arbor gold wine that Aegon had sent her by Helaena as an apology and at the same time the only support he was able to offer her in the current situation, she stared into the orange flames and was silent.

Helaena sat next to her with a glass of wine that she didn't even touch and looked at her uncertainly. She knew that Aemma wouldn't talk, she hadn't said anything since she entered, but she definitely registered her presence. Apparently, Aemma didn't feel like it and had nothing to say, and Helaena respected her enough not to force her to do anything.

Her shoulders lifted a little when she noticed that Aemma had shifted in her place and was looking at her expectantly. But Aemma only shifted so that her back was leaning against the chair, then took a sip of wine and let out a heavy sigh.

And that was all she did.

Helaena got sad again looking at her best friend who seemed to be in almost as bad a state as she was when both of her fathers died and just like then and now she didn't know what to do. She tried to grab Aemma's hand, but as soon as she noticed that Aemma stiffened at the slightest touch and her jaw automatically clenched, she quickly pulled her hand away with sad gaze. After a while, however, Aemma slowly turned her hand palm up and left it like that until Helaena hesitantly put her hand in hers and gripped it tightly

Helaena breathed a sigh of relief. Little progress, but at least it's something.

"I thought Dyana informed you that you were no longer confined to your chambers," Rhaenys remarked standing in the doorway with an emotionless face.

Helaena looked over her shoulder at Rhaenys and paled, she tried to stand up but Aemma's grip stopped her. When she looked down at her she saw that Aemma was still staring calmly into the fire as if she couldn't care less about Rhaenys.