Lady Arianwyn Targaryen, Lady of Runestone, was not born of love. Nor passion. Nor even a sense of duty. She was seeded by her father, the Rogue Prince Daemon Targaryen, in an act of unbridled hatred, and borne of her mother, the late Lady Rhea Royc...
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Aemond and Aria spent whole days hidden away in her room, devouring the book of runes. Small booklets of parchment containing their scribbled notes were bound in green ribbon and tied to nearly every artifact of House Royce within her apartment. It was quickly revealed that Aria seemed to have a preternatural sense of which theories in the book held true and which did not.
"Look at this one," she said one evening in her sitting room. She pointed to one of the markings on the breastplate before them. It was larger than those surrounding it and depicted two lines, converging in parallel before each end split and angled back, reaching for the others but not quite touching. "According to the book, this is a star and grants endurance."
"Well, yes," Aemond said, tracing a finger over the Rune, connecting the ends. "See? Four points."
Aria turned away, rifling through yet another stack of papers lying lopsided on the couch. "But in all the tapestries and artwork from the First Men, stars have five points. Why would this one have only four?"
"To make it easier to etch into metal?" Aemond was rewarded for his joke with a pillow to the face. He quickly fell into a chair, laughing. "Well, obviously, you have an idea." He had a few of his own, but would rather listen to her talk. She was so passionate about the Runes, far more so than anything else, except perhaps Emrys. When she had a theory, she spoke with an elegance, energy, and confidence far beyond her age. Aemond could listen to her for hours.
"I don't think it's a star at all." Aemond almost didn't hear her, for he was struck with the thought that her eyes looked like stars in the firelight. "Though I do think it grants endurance."
"Then what is it?"
A great smile broke out on Aria's face. "I think it's more abstract. This mark only ever appears on armor in one place – over the heart." She retrieved a list from the bottom of a tall stack of parchment next to his chair. "The only other places we've found it are on vases, necklaces, crowns, and rings. Why would those need a blessing of endurance?"
She spoke as if he should know the answer, but he didn't. So Aemond just shrugged.
"Vases and jewelry are traditional wedding gifts!" she exclaimed, launching herself on the couch next to Aemond, showing him the full accounting she had made of all the artifacts with this particular Rune, along with her own rendition of the mark. "It's not a star. It's on the heart because it is the symbol of something even more enduring: love."
Though he did not know why, Aemond blushed.
-
Three months passed, and after much hard work, Arianwyn and Aemond had nearly completed their translations for the Runes, though their progress had slowed as their other endeavors began to pull their attention away.
Arianwyn spent much of her time training in the Dragonpit. For her nameday, King Viserys had ordered a new saddle made for Emrys, one that would be able to accommodate him as he continued to grow. It took several weeks of careful coaxing from both the Dragonkeepers and Arianwyn herself for him to not only allow it on but to leave it there.
