ELLIPSISM, aemond targaryen

[051] time to start playing

AS AEMMA DRAGGED herself into her family's headquarters, she felt like the weight of the entire world was on her shoulders. Maybe it was. After all, it was the job that the Targaryens did, that her father Harwin Strong did, and now it was time for her to accept the overwhelming responsibilities that every human must -- except for the fact that Aemma, unfortunately for her, was more intelligent than the others and therefore her burden was even heavier.

But she was the Princess of the Seven Kingdoms, the daughter of Rhaenyra Targaryen. And therefore she was determined to carry it with her head held high.

When she opened the door, she didn't even have time to process what was happening when two people jumped at her with cheers and hugged her tightly. Stunned, Aemma looked over one of their shoulders into the room to see Daemon, Jace and Luke sitting in front of the hearth looking at them with neutral faces while Gwyn softly smiled.

"You're here! You're finally here!" Baela exclaimed and hugged her closer.

Aemma blinked. "Well, of course I am, I kinda have nowhere else to go."

"The wait was endless!" Rhaena continued and slightly pulled away to look at her.

"I was gone for less than an hour," Aemma muttered and they both pulled away.

"So?" Baela asked impatiently. "How was it?"

"How was what?"

"Your walk with Ben," Rhaena explained with bright eyes.

Aemma furrowed her brows. "How do you--"

"Rhaenyra told them," Daemon called from his seat with curious face watching her reaction.

"Oh," Aemma let out slightly defeated.

"Did he do it?" Baela asked her expectantly. "Did he ask you to marry him?"

Falling and falling into the emptiness . . . "He did."

"And what did you say?" Jace asked her with an emotionless face, his fists slightly clenched.

Aemma then looked at Daemon, Jace and Luke who were watching her and none of them looked even half as excited as Baela or Rhaena.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and gave them a firm nod. "I accepted."

The room was filled with more cheering from her sisters that contrasted the reactions of her brothers and Daemon. Jace's jaw clenched and he looked away while Luke slumped in his chair with a defeated look on his face and Gwyn put a hand on his shoulder. Daemon watched Aemma as if he was still searching for something. No, he definitely knew she wasn't lying about it. Rather, he tried to find out how she felt.

"I can't believe it!" Rhaena clapped her hands happily. "We will be sisters!"

"You and I are already sisters, Rhaena," Aemma tilted her head with a small smirk.

She waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, you know what I mean. Ben is like my brother and if he marries you -- that will be just amazing!"

Yeah, that doesn't sound strange at all.

You say that as if you weren't chasing your uncle just three days ago.

Shut up, just shut up.

"Show us the necklace," Rhaena demanded and then her eyes widened. "He did give you the necklace, right?"

Gwyn's brows furrowed in confusion. "A necklace?"

"Betrothal gift," Daemon told her while rubbing his eyes tiredly.

At the urging of her sisters, Aemma took off her coat, making the necklace around her neck more visible. The silver was in the shape of a circle and was decorated with many patterns all around and it all revolved around a small gray gem in the middle. It seemed that in the North they didn't care about coloured gems as much as in King's Landing and rather focused on the very pattern of the metal in which they put the stone, and Aemma might have liked it if she didn't feel like that in a way it is strangling her even though it is relatively loose.