Born to Die

Chapter 7

Aemeryn was slowly sinking into the tub when the door opened. She looked over to see Aemond stroll into their chambers like a whirlwind. She could see that his fist was clenched, but she wasn't sure if he was holding something or if he was about to start punching things in the room.

Aemond finally stopped when he saw Aemeryn sitting in the tub watching him. He walked over to her, and Aemeryn tilted her head back to keep his face in view. He stayed silent as he sat on the edge of the tub and reached in to grab her left hand. Aemeryn felt him slip something onto her left ring finger and looked down.

"Aemond, what-?" The question died in her lips when she saw what he put on her. The ring was on a simple silver band with a sapphire that matched Aemond's in the middle and two amethysts on each side of the sapphire.

"An apology," Aemond whispered as he let her hand fall back in the water. He wouldn't admit that he had bought this for her as a wedding gift the day after the fateful dinner. "I'm sorry."

"At this point, it needs to be carved on your forehead. That way when you say or do something idiotic, I only have to look at you." Aemond pulled his dagger out of the holster and handed Aemeryn the handle. She looked at Aemond, then the dagger, and back to Aemond again. "I wasn't serious. You already have enough scars on your face."

Aemond smirked and resheathed the dagger. "I'm going to try, Em. I promise I'm going to try to be a better husband to you." He knew that Aegon's words would haunt him for the foreseeable future. Aemeryn sat in a stunned silence while Aemond reached over and began to wash her hair for her.

"Aemond?"

"Hmm?"

"Why do you think our mothers are around each other?" Aemond's hands froze on the top of head as he thought about the question.

"They've always been around each other, Aemeryn."

"Only when they had to be. They've never held hands in my entire life; they're holding hands! It's odd."

Aemond moved back to his original position on the tub, and Aemeryn looked up at him. She tucked her knees to her chest as she became lost in thought. Everyone knew something had happened between the Queen and her mother years ago. Aemeryn had remembered seeing the longing in her mother's eyes for years until Alicent had demanded the eyes of her children.

"They were best friends once." Aemond said the statement so quietly that Aemeryn had barely heard it.

"What?" Aemeryn could vaguely remember a conversation her mother had with her once night after they moved to Dragonstone.

"Why are you crying, sweet girl?" It had been almost a year since they had moved away from King's Landing. It had been almost a year since she lost Harwin and Aemond.

"I miss them," Aemeryn sniffled into her pillow. Rhaenyra placed her hand on her daughter's back and rubbed it lovingly.

"Harwin and Aemond?" Aemeryn nodded. "I lost my best friend as well."

Aemeryn jerked her head up, and her mother's face came into view through her tears. She never knew that her mother had lost a friend as well. "How?"

Rhaenyra smiled softly, but her eyes held immense sadness. "Sometimes things happen as you get older. As women, we are forced to marry at a certain age. She married someone very close to me, and it hurt me very deeply. We tried over the years to become friends again, but sometimes a knife can cut too deep. It can cut so deep that it never heals, no matter how hard you want it to."

"Where is she now?" Aemeryn sniffled as she sat up. Rhaenyra pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"She's around, sweet girl."