Stelsa, the girl crafted from the broken leftovers from the Gods, is far from the expectations of a normal lady. Her father, Aaeron Meryls, and her uncles sought to train her in the way of the blade. Many whisper about her origin - is she bastard li...
"Because no Gods, no man, and no dragon could keep him from BEING BY HER SIDE."
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THE GARDENS ECHOED WITH life with every turn of the head — flowers had blossomed, the days grew longer with each day, the sun grew warmer, and life continued forward. Tiny hands clutched onto Stelsa's, gripping her fingers like their life depended on it. The sweet Jaehaera stood on her two feet, legs trembling as she adjusted to the height. Stelsa hummed a soft tune, tilting her head to watch as Jaehaera's lilac eyes looked around the blossoming garden. She wished she remembered what it was like to see the gardens for the first time, it had become washed away with all the time she spent here.
Stelsa glanced over towards Jaehaerys who sat beside his mother, watching as she worked on her embroidery and quietly babbling — encouraging Heleana to smile. Jaehaera fell back suddenly, back pressed against Stelsa's front as she nestled her way in the gap of Stelsa's legs. Stelsa reached up and smoothed down her wildly growing hair, still as soft as it was the day she was born. Her tiny fingers wrapped around Stelsa's fingers again, toying with them and quietly babbling nonsense to herself. Stelsa rocked back and forth in her spot on the grass, glancing up towards the prince who had joined them.
Aemond Targaryen looked every bit of a prince in this moment, so much so that Stelsa wanted to tease him for it. Teasing him seemed like the best option, yet all words died at the tip of her tongue. He sat on the bench close to them, a philosophy book balanced in one of his palms while the other toyed with the next page. Unlike Heleana whose hair seemed to frizz the moment the sun rose recently, Aemond's hair fell in place without a single hair out of line. The platinum hair seemed to glow with the sun he sat under, opting to give his dearest sister, Stelsa, and the twins the space beneath the tree. Stelsa felt almost envious of how poised Aemond looked, purple eye scanning the text before him in a calculated behavior. He would occasionally lick his lips to prevent them from chapping, and Stelsa found herself mimicking that action. His behavior is completely calm yet regal, it slightly infuriated Stelsa. This was the boy she had thrown a book at, who she teased endlessly and endured the same teasing back. In their garden, Stelsa liked to believe she knew the true Aemond. Not just Prince Aemond, or what cruel name had the court given him? Aemond moved to flip the page and Stelsa caught sight of her ring — still wrapped around his knuckle as it had been since that day in the garden. The court could call Aemond the One-Eyed Prince all they wished, but it did not fit him in Stelsa's eyes. To her he was... the Dragon Prince. Yes, that sounded much better to Stelsa compared to the One-Eyed Prince.
Stelsa smiled at the thought and broke her gaze from Aemond, glancing down at Jaehaera who had leaned forward and began to crawl towards her brother. Just a few feet away, Heleana had stopped her embroidering and was looking at Stelsa — a soft smile on her lips. Stelsa looked over at the two toddlers as they peered at the flowers near them. Tiny fingers reaching out to tug at the petals curiously. Stelsa leaned down against her elbow, stretching her hand out to stop Jaehaerys from destroying any more flowers. He looked at her with his lilac eyes, blinking his wide eyes at her sudden interference. "Rūkluni (Flowers)." Stelsa told the twins, hoping to teach them her limited knowledge of their tongue. What she had was theirs, till the day she drew her final breath. She felt the burning gaze on her without turning to look. Stelsa fought the smile tugging at her lips as she glanced back at Aemond, the boy who had been teaching her High Valyrian for a few years now. "Surprised?" Stelsa teased, no longer able to fight her smile as Aemond looked away.
