C U R I O S I T Y | Aemond Targaryen

S I X T Y - T W O

Cordelia's P.O.V.

I can't do this anymore. I won't do this anymore.

My heart burns in agony, burns with more pain than I ever thought it could. I've never felt so hurt, so crushed, in all my life. Not when my brother skipped town on me, nor when my ex boyfriend abandoned me in a foreign city. Not after Aemond or Aegon lied to me for months. 

This is it. This is the last straw.

With eyes blinded by unshed tears, I stumble down the steps of the Red Keep mansion, letting my feet take me anywhere but here. My movements feel numb, as though they are out of my control, and my head throbs as everything comes crashing down on me. The realization of how Aemond, Aegon, and even Daeron view me shatters the part of my heart they once vowed of cherishing.

My body screams to fall into a thousand pieces right here, but I hold myself together, like I did with every heartbreak before this. But this is different, and nothing like all the heartbreaks in the past. This hurts beyond reason. This hurts more than a thousand cuts, more than broken bones, worse than anything I could imagine.

This hurt inside me... Is more than I deserve. It's killing me from the inside out.

"Cordelia! Cordelia, wait!" Aemond shouts, his footsteps loud on the stone steps behind me. "Baby girl, where are you going?"

"Leave me alone, Aemond."

I try to sound stern and determined, like how I've heard him on a work phone call, but my words come out frail and strained. I'm practically tumbling down the steps, my feet barely making contact with each one as I refuse to slow down. My thoughts only turn worse with each step I take, but I know if I stop, all my agonizing thoughts will hit me at once.

By the time I get to the last step, my lungs and heart burn, but not from rushing down the stone stairs. I stride away from the prized Targaryen mansion, feeling depleted in the worst of ways and crushed like a bug underneath a very expensive shoe. Storming down the cobblestone path, rushing away as though someone will twist the knife in my back, one of my heels sinks between two smooth stones in the grass.

I crash onto the ground with my heel stuck between the rocks, landing on my hands and knees. With scraps on my palms, I slip out of my heels and push myself to stand on my bare feet. The sting on my hands is a welcoming distraction from the burn in my chest, and I wish all the pain I feel was physical.

It would be easy that way.

"Baby, baby... Just hold on a minute." 

Aemond voice is right behind me then, panic and worry trickle out from his words. I take a step further from him, but his hand is already latching onto my elbow and turning me around to face him. I'm recklessly yanking my arm in his grip, but he only holds on tighter while forcing us to stand inches apart. 

"What is it? What's wrong?" He asks desperately, voice hoarse with uncertainty and concern. His hand raises to cradle the side of my neck then, as he pleads like a tortured man. "Talk to me."

"Why did you bring me here?"

Every word that escapes my mouth unleashes a tear that I fought so desperately to keep from falling. Aemond's expression is torn, as though he's confused by my question while also terrified at the sight of my pain. With a tormented gaze, he shakes his head and clings to me firmer than ever, as if afraid I might vanish.

"W- What?"

"Why did you bring me here, Aemond?"

"I don't understand." He wipes the few tears that bled from my eyes with his thumbs. "Baby girl, I... We brought you here because we wanted to spend Thanksgiving with you."