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DAENYS DETESTED THUNDERSTORMS. Ever since the night she was born, in the midst of a fierce tempest, they made her uneasy and fearful.
She twisted around in her bed, pulling the sheets higher above her head, and covered her ears with the pillows. She tried her best to drown out the awful sounds, but the storm raging outside her window was too loud to be ignored. The lightning bolts that struck near the Red Keep illuminated her chambers and made her shudder in a panic.
A heavy knock on her door momentarily distracted her from the thunderous noises. "Who is it?"
The door opened abruptly and Aemond entered her quarters, closing it immediately. "It's me."
"What are you doing here?"
"Can you sleep?"
"Does it sound like I am asleep?"
"Why are you hiding under all of that?"
Daenys uncovered her head and tossed a pillow at him. "I hate thunderstorms. I cannot sleep."
Aemond dodged her attack and caught the pillow with ease. "I know. Move aside," he ordered, walking over to the left side of her bed to have a seat. "Come on, Daenys, let me get in there."
The strike of another thunder nearly made her jolt. "Fine, just get in here already."
Aemond lied down comfortably next to her and covered himself with the blankets, leaving a respectable space between them. Daenys placed her head on the pillow and gazed at him, trying to comprehend why he had decided to move into her bedchambers in the middle of a fiery storm.
"Does it scare you?" she whispered, her tone dripping with conspiratorial curiosity.
"The storm? No, I think it is beautiful. A true testimony to the power of nature," Aemond said, lying on his side to look at her. "I knew you would be scared, though. If you were wondering why I came here, there is your answer."
Daenys focused on the violet in his eyes and admitted to herself that she found them beautiful, especially in the dark. A small part of her envied Aemond for being born with such features.
"Do you think the rumors are true?" she inquired, her voice slightly wavering. "Be honest."
Aemond was at a loss for words. Did he believe the rumors about Daenys being a bastard? Neither of them knew the answer. Only Alicent knew what she had done, and given her social rank, she would never admit to such transgression. It was a known fact that his nephews were bastards and continued to attend court as if it were nothing, but he didn't want to believe that his sister was like them.
"People at court think I'm too young to understand, but I've heard them whispering about me so many times," she continued, furrowing her brow. "I am not stupid, Aemond. I just want to know if you believe it too. Do you think I'm a bastard?"
