ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋ ꜱɪꜱᴛᴇʀ - House of the Dragon

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Disclaimer: please read the note at the end 🫶🏻.

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Aemond had disappeared for the entire day.

I had forced myself to get dress again, cursing him in every language I could speak, and decided to share the daymeal with Helaena and the children, regretting it the moment I caught sight of Alicent sitting at the table as well. Fortunately, Larys Strong didn't join us, and nor did the Hand or Aegon. It was simply us women and Jaehaerys around the wood of the table.

The Queen, far from her father's insightful vision, had begun a casual conversation with her daughter, visibly desperate for me to be part of. I would've had refused, ignored her until she grew bored of speaking, if not for my aunt's sweet smile as her mother asked me about my dragon. I wasn't in the mood to deal with Alicent, but how could I say no to Helaena?

Jaehaera had adored the time with me, listening to my words about Stormy as if they were law, and began questioning me about the things I could teach her once her mount was big enough. Alicent didn't like that, but Jaehaerys agreed with his twin and Maelor, on Helaena's lap after he woke up from his midday nap, had bubbled something I understood as an agreement as well.

The presence of the three children was enough to improve my mood, as if they were my boys instead of the little people I met a moon prior. And I had shared with the twins one of the stories Ser Harwin told us when we Jace, Luke and I were children. The children's version, since Ser Harwin told Jace and I the terrifying version after much insistence and begs. My older brother had to sleep with me for a week after that, but I barely reacted to our true father's words. I still didn't understand how my mother gave him permission to tell us such a tale at the mere age of seven and eight, but I supposed it was Laenor who did it, and Rhaenyra only found out when Jacaerys threw up after a nightmare.

"I do not understand men." I said, bouncing Maelor on my knee as the twins played hide and seek with themselves.

They had grown fond of that game, after playing it with Egg in my nameday and the other multiple times they did it with me. Though it was sad, that they only had each other to play it since Maelor had now, after two years, begun to walk, and the Keep was full with old people too depressed to even look at the children.

"I don't think men understand themselves."

Helaena was sitting next to me, preparing her things to start a new bracelet and muttering one of the songs I had taught to Jaehaerys and herself. Her High Valyrian was good, better than Aegon's yet worse than Aemond's, but it still felt as a hug to my soul, hearing her speaking our mother tongue in that delicate and quiet tone of hers.

Aemond.

I was obviously speaking of him, though I had no doubts Helaena already knew that. He had acted odd before he left, and I couldn't ignore the fact he had lied to me about his meeting in the Small Council, since Alicent had eaten with us and I had used the art of manipulation taught by my stepfather to make her talk about said meeting, which didn't exist. There was not a meeting in the Small Council. My uncle had lied to me.

There were little things I hated, but lies was in the top three. I was a great liar, yes. But lying to someone you supposedly trusted, I couldn't stand. I never lied to my mother. Well, to Luke, better said.

I had understood his words, yet I didn't know why he had reacted that way. He said he wanted children one day, I simply wished him good luck with that because I knew how complicated children could be. Was there something else I should've had said? Should've I said 'I hope you have an army of them'? I didn't even wanted to speak about children with him. It was clear we were not in the same page of whatever we started, since he wanted children and I did not. In order for him to have them, he needed to find another woman, and I didn't even wanted to admit the sudden kick in my gut whenever I imagined him bedding a woman that was not me.