The Dove and The Lady | House of The Dragon

Chapter Twenty Seven | A Good Man

Sitting Aemond down on the side of her bed, Viserra took off her cloak and her gloves to get a tiny bit more comfortable.

"Is it true?", was the first thing she asked, breaking the silence, looking down toward where he was sitting.

"What that I-i'm the monster parents tell their children about at night", he stuttered, trying to joke around with the rumors about him, but his feelings ultimately getting to him.

"Aemond 'the one eye' Targaryen. Aemond the Kinslayer. The Monster", he tried to blink away the sudden tears that tried to escape from his eyes as he mocked the rumors about him.

"The lords and ladies of Westeros are sheep. Are you a sheep? No. You're a dragon", Viserra walked forward taking his hands in hers as he looked up into her eyes.

"You are a beautifully entwined soul even when you don't show it. You are diligent, attentive and an all round pleasant human being", the tears finally flowed from Aemonds eye as he looked up captivated in awe at the words spoken to him.

"I am reckless. I am heartless", it was like when Aegon was repeating everything he had ever been told, only this time it was Aemond. "I am scared that these things are actually becoming true."

He had heard comforting words like these from Naella and Alicent but he thought it was because of their unconditional love for him, but hearing it from someone as sincere as Viserra was inspirational.

In this moment, Viserra could see the young Aemond looking up at her.

The Aemond that wanted...needed this boost.

So desperate for love and care, that the child in him highly clinged for that he was a lot of the time denied.

As she had told her mother and grandfather earlier. He's just a boy.

"You are the most humane and gentle person i know even if you can have a guard up around others. I see you! You are the farthest from a monster."

Now even Viserra was crying, as she spoke having moved from holding Aemonds hands to full on holding him as he weeped into her shoulder.

Viserra could only guess that since Aenors death, Aemond didn't want to be bothering Naella with any of his troubles, not wanting to bother her.

You'd think that Viserra would ask why Aemond did it. Why he chased Luce on a dragon used to war.

She didn't have to. She knew he didn't mean it, even if he told everyone he did. Aemond didn't set out to kill Lucerys Velaryon.

Outsiders would think that after Luce took Aemonds eye that, that was that. Stitch it up and it's fine.

It took years of healing. Mentally and physically.

Could you really expect him to not be a little salty, especially when Luce grew up to think it was alright he did it because there were no repercussions for his actions.

Rubbing his back in silence, Viserra let Aemond hold onto her for dear life, giving him time to speak instead of rounding up on him.

It took time, maybe a few minutes, maybe an hour, but Aemond finally pulled back a bit as he spoke.

He felt like Viserra deserved at least some type of answer, some explanation.

"I don't enjoy hurting people. I don't enjoy it. I do it because I have to, because I've had to.... Because it's part of the illusion", he then reached up and pulled off his eyepatch, the only people he ever did that with being Naella, Alicent and the Maesters.

To say this was a big opening of trust between the siblings would be an understatement.

Aemond was laying his weaknesses and self hatred on a silver platter.

"It's the cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear. A desperate play for control", he revealed as he looked down at the patch sitting in his hands.

With a snippet of confidence he raised his head, looking at Viserra as she got a good luck at what should have been an empty hole.

Though in replacement of the hole was a bright, glistening blue Sapphire, gleaming against any light that bounced off it.

The Sapphire Naella had found for him on the beach the day on Driftmark, one of the happiest and saddest days of his life.

"Aemond...-"

"I truly didn't mean to do it", Aemond cut her off as he once again looked down at his hands ashamed. "I just wanted to scare him a little, i wanted him to feel how it felt....how i felt."

His breathing got deeper as he tried to get ahold of himself, not wanting to ruin Viserras dress more than he had.

"I-i...it was horrible, i chased him on Vhagar. I should've left him alone, turned away. But it was like the adrenaline made me continue...I felt untouchable. As close to the Gods."

He then gulped as he got to the next part of his story. Reliving the sequence in his mind.

"Arrax then flew into a ravine where Vhagar couldn't fit, their size difference was uncanny, before i could think more i could hear Luce screaming at Arrax to stop", his eye once again became cloudy as he relived the moment.

"It all happened so quick", he told her. "Arrax shot out of the cave and blew fire at Vhagar, then like Luce had lost control, it was like something snapped in Vhagar making her chase Arrax at an ungodly speed."

Watching her brother closely Viserra waited for the punchline, the end of the story, she already knew the outcome to.

"I tried to get her to stop believe me, you have to believe me", he begged. "She just opened her jaws so wide and i looked down and could see the fear in his eyes."

His hands were shaking from where he held them, his fingers beginning to pick at the skin surrounding his nails, a trait he had despised that both his Mother and Naella carried.

"I know that look. That's the look i would see in the mirror for most my life", here came on the waterworks again. "I reached my hand down, i knew it was pointless as i was to high up, but i had to try at least. But in a flash it ended as i watched the butchered remains of them fall into the clouds."

Shakily he stood up as he knew what Viserra was thinking. "I am the Monster."

The reoccurring theme of being unwanted in his childhood and seeing himself as some kind of monster and how he feels like he has to move mountains to get people to like him.

"War makes monsters of us all", she disagreed. with him. "When bad things keep happening to good people, you start to question what is right and what is wrong."

"There's no such thing as good guys and bad guys there's just people", he responded with no emotion on his face.

"When did you become so wise?", she humored to try add light to the situation.

"You see everything when the world doesn't see you", his words laced a stingy feeling in her heart.

Having done enough of letting his walls down to his sister for a lifetime, Aemond began to walk toward the door, stopping as he heard Viserra speak up.

"I know this might sound foolish of me to say especially in our circumstances", she trailed off not knowing if she should be honest. "I sometimes am keen on the fact that you would be more a more suited and greater King than Aegon."

"I would rather be a good man than a great King."

Taking off on a good note as he then left Viserra to process the man who was her brother.