The Grey Wolf & The Golden Dragon | Aegon Targaryen II

Turn of the Tide

**Notes: I am neck deep in the thick of editing and working on my novel, so please bear with me on the sporadic updates! I promise I will not be abandoning this fic, or any of my other projects, they'll just be coming a little slower! **

Alysanne

"This one: Se zōbrie hontes kessa sōvegon toliot se kasta guēse." Aemond spoke the words slowly, giving Alysanne time to process them as she gently bounced Aelys in her arms.

"The black bird flies—"

"Can fly," Aemond corrected with a small nod. Damn... Knowing she should have translated that correctly, Alysanne felt disappointed in herself for forgetting the tense of the sentence.

"Can fly... over the green forest." Alysanne finished.

"Wood. Forest and wood are nearly the same word, but the good new is that you're improving, Lys." He handed her a new book, one that no longer contained pictures and translations. "I want you to take notes of the words you can't understand, and I will go over them with you in a few days." Setting the books aside, Alysanne stared down at her son, reminding herself that he was the reason she needed to learn this. She wanted him to grow up learning the language of his house. "How are you, otherwise?" Aemond asked, taking a seat beside her.

Two moons had passed since the illness that had nearly killed her son, and Alysanne found herself waking multiple times throughout the night to check on him.

"Tired," she replied, "I'm always tired, but it's a good sort of tired..."

"Worried?" he prodded. The pair knew that Aegon had been worrying. In fact, since Aelys had been sick, all her husband seemed to do was worry for his son and wife. He'd spent the entire morning telling her that Rhaenyra was an entitled brat, and his uncle was a cunt.

"About the petition?" she clarified, "Hardly. What care do I have for the rule over Driftmark?"

"If the bastards' legitimacy is called into question in front of the entire court, your husband may very well be the next King," he told her. Alysanne cocked an eyebrow at him. Behind closed doors, she was certain Otto and Alicent still plotted to see Aegon on the throne, regardless of what happened at the petition.

"If?" she echoed, "You and I both know that the Hand is going to rule against Rhaenyra, regardless. Vaemond would be wise to keep his mouth closed when it comes to the Velaryon boys' parentage. The entire court will be in an uproar."

"Mm," Aemond agreed.

"Have Rhaenyra and Daemon sent word that they will attend?"

"No," Aemond replied, "But I'm certain that they will. Rhaenyra will not stand back and allow anyone to take something she believes is owed to her children, bastards or not."

"Why do you call them that?" Alysanne asked suddenly. "No one knows for certain whether they are Laenor's children, save for Rhaenyra herself."

"The realm will whisper as they choose, but it was commonly known here in King's Landing that Laenor Velaryon preferred the company of men." Aemond informed her. Alysanne snorted.

"As if that is a crime? As many people as he's fucked, the same has been whispered about your elder brother, I'm sure," she told him.

"And yet, you have produced a visibly Valyrian child, as my mother did four times over." Aemond argued.

"Someone could just as easily claim Aelys is yours," she replied, the pair of them staring at one another before Alysanne burst into a fit of laughter at her own jest. Anyone with eyes could see that she and Aegon were in love, and Aemond only had affection for Elin.