Little Lamb ✧ [Aemond Targaryen x Reader]

Chapter 5: Family Line

Lord Larys does not try to speak to you again in the days following, but you cannot help but always feel eyes watching you. Unfortunately, you could not be certain that it was only him observing you, as you knew that if he suspected your private dealings, others inevitably did as well. This made you feel nervous, but not nervous enough to stop allowing Prince Aemond visit your chambers to sleep.

Unexpectedly, the Prince slipped into your room the next evening, and you accepted this without protest. Previously, you drank yourself into oblivion during the evenings, but with the Prince there, you did not feel the need to. Though his presence was threatening, by having him there, you felt sure he would not kill Jayse, as long as you appeased him. Hence, the two of you had a quiet understanding, and honestly, it was one which you did not mind all that much.

Surprisingly, Aemond did not bother you in the evenings, letting you get on with mundane personal dealings, such as cleaning and writing letters to your parents and siblings.

Also, with him there, you were finally able to continue doing something you enjoyed: reading. At first, the one-eyed Prince would watch as you read, which you found distracting, so you proceeded to pull a random book from your well-stocked shelf, in the hope that he would keep himself busy. Instead, he proceeded to retort that he had read it. So, you picked another, and the same occurred. And then again.

"From where did you think these books came from?"

This surprised you, causing you to blush, and the next evening, the Prince had brought his own. It was a philosophical book written by an Archmaester Rigney, someone you were unfamiliar with, and when you curiously asked about its contents, the Prince got adorably excited.

"I have just started studying it, and there is a proposal I find acutely true." Pulling you onto his lap, he opened the book towards the beginning, flipping through until he found what he was looking for.

"Yes, here it is... 'history is a wheel, for the nature of man is fundamentally unchanging. What has happened before will perforce happen again.' It reminds me that we cannot remain complacent, because war is never truly over. Peace never lasts."

Brushing his loose hair, you smile at him. "Well, I hope it does last. Peace, I mean."

In a way, you have come to enjoy having the Prince in your company. But most of all, you appreciated how you managed to sleep soundly. You did not wake exhausted anymore, and though a man, he never pushed for anything more. You knew it would not last, but you convince yourself that once you know that Jayse has healed and left King's Landing, you will put an end to this. Your reputation may be soiled, but you will protect your chastity. No future husband will be able to discount you on account of that, for it would not be a lie.

While your nights have changed with the roguish Prince's presence in it, your days pass as they normally do, quickly, as you become consumed with your duties.

Breakfast had unsurprisingly become an awkward ordeal for you, as you actively avoided making eye contact with your Prince, feeling both bashful and humiliated to be near him so soon after sharing a bed. You also felt guilty, as you knew that you were deceiving people who have been so kind to you, particularly the Queens. Unlike you, the wayward Prince found this all very amusing, often making concealed commentary referencing your shared evenings, much to the confusion of his family, apart from King Aegon, who you suspected knew about your illicit affair, based on his returned jovial interactions with Prince Aemond. You could not help but suspect that perhaps, the wayward Prince has started confiding in him about something, if not about you, as you started to see the King Aegon lively for the first time since stepping foot into King's Landing.

You also noticed a new worrying glint in the Queen Alicent's eye. It would not surprise you if she knew, for she is the Queen Mother after all, but if she did, she had bestowed another kindness onto you, by ignoring it and allowing you to continue serving her.