The Death of War

Chapter 15

Aemond is trying to come to terms with his return and everything he learned. Rhaenyra and Daemon talk about Jace and Joffrey and they receive an unexpected visitor. I hope you guys like it. 🥰

Aemond had almost fallen to the ground once he realized he was truly back home. The feeling inside the walls of the Red Keep was so oppressive that he could not breathe. He moved to his balcony and opened the doors taking deep breaths as he looked towards the water. This Kings Landing was much different than the one he had spent the past few moons on. There was no sweet smell of flowers, no cheers, no warmth. There were no children's laughter and loving arms. Most importantly, Visenya was not here. His niece, who was just a babe in this world, but he still felt the overwhelming need to be by her side, to protect her. One day she would be his wife and she would give him the family he had always wished for, one very different than the family he had now. But for that to happen things needed to change. If Aegon won the war his sister and her children would die, Visenya would die and Aemond could not allow that to happen.

He wanted to scream, to throw things, and to kill someone as he thought about all the lies he had been told, everything he had believed, and the things he had killed for. His mother had lied to him, his grandsire had lied to him. They had known Rhaenyra would not kill them once she took the throne, they just did not want to lose the power they had. His grandsire refused to let Rhaenyra take the throne because that would mean he would be exiled or executed, Aemond thought the second option sounded really good.

The doors to his chambers opened and he turned to see his mother, she had been angry with him since discovering Lucerys's death. He knew her anger was not because she sympathized with Rhaenyra's pain, it was because she was afraid. She knew that there was no chance for peace now, not that there was before. There would be no peace as long as Aegon was sitting on the throne.

"We need to come up with a strategy." Aemond did not say anything, he just looked at his mother. For the first time, he could see all her lies and her manipulations. "We will need to send troops, there is talk that Rhaenyra is crippled with grief."

"And let me guess?" His voice was sharp. "Ser Criston and the others believe that now is the best time to attack her."

"Yes, she just gave birth a fortnight ago and now one of her children is dead." Aemond tensed when his mother mentioned Visenya's supposed birth. "She is too weak to fight us at this time, we need to move quickly."

"And then what?" His mother gave him a confused look. "Let us say we attack and we win. We take Rhaenyra and her family prisoner, what will happen then?"

"We will kill them." The way she said that, like it was so easy like Aemond had not been drowning in guilt since he killed Lucerys. "We could have attempted to make peace before, but we cannot now. Rhaenyra will never accept a peace treaty since you killed her son."

"And your solution is even more bloodshed? I am already a kinslayer and now you want us to kill even more of our family members." He wanted to scream at her, for his mother to notice that he was drowning, he needed air. He wanted her to notice he was suffering, but she never had before, just as she did not notice then either. "What about your gods?" Because the seven were not his gods any longer. They were no ones's gods since they were false. "What do the gods say about kinslaying? Someone who slays a member of their own family will be cursed forever in the sight of gods and men. And even with all of that, you want to curse us even more?"

"You have already killed one of Rhaenyra's children. What do you think will happen once she gets a hold of you?" His mother moved closer, her eyes pleading, a concerned look on her face. But Aemond was not fooled, he could see clearly now, that she was trying to manipulate him. She just wanted him to do what she wanted, just like he always had in the past. "She will kill you Aemond and if she takes the throne she will kill all of us."