From Ashes to a New Beginning. Aemond Targaryen

𝟬𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗲.

Narrator:

After hours of being unable to sleep and crying into her pillow, the little girl finally succumbed to exhaustion. Her sleep was so deep that she didn't feel the door open.The young maid who had escorted her into that room entered behind the queen, who was a beautiful woman wearing an elegant long dress with reddish-brown hair.

Her brown eyes scanned the sleeping child coldly, and the maid, with her head bowed, tried to excuse herself as if she had made a mistake.

"The prince left me no choice, my queen... I had no option but to obey his command" She murmured.

"I understand... Prince Daemon can be quite inflexible" The queen muttered without much emotion in her tone. She turned her head to face the woman to issue a new order. "If he prince want to bring your illegitimate daughter, him may do so, but it is not appropriate for her to stay in the Royal Tower... it is not suitable."

"What should I do, Your Grace?" The young maid asked, with some fear in her voice.

"When the girl wakes up, take her to a room outside of this tower... let the prince decide where, but not here" Queen Alicent retorted with an apparently calm tone, and the maid could only worry even more about her command. She lowered her face further as she whispered.

"But, my queen, the prince might..."

"It's the queen's order... if he disagrees, he can talk to me or to the king, because he will also agree with this decision."

Without waiting for further disputes, the higher-ranking woman gave one last look at the girl with some suppressed pity as she left the room with the maid behind her. 

Even in little Aelyssa's dreams, she couldn't find peace.

...

When her eyes finally opened, she stretched her small arms along with a yawn, got up from the huge bed, and began to observe the room more closely. Since she had arrived at night, she couldn't see anything, but now she realized she was in a fairy-tale-like place.

Aelyssa's lilac eyes roamed around the room; she stretched her neck upward to see that even the ceiling was painted with beautiful images. Her little feet made their way to a huge window, as large as she had ever imagined could exist.

As she looked out through the glass, she noticed the incredible view. She could see the sea and several houses in the city, thousands of them, which caused a wider smile than ever before. The squeak of the door opening forced the girl to turn her head to find her father, who gave her a gentle smile as he approached with a tray.

"You're awake... I brought you breakfast."

The man places the tray on a small table within the girl's reach. Aelyssa's eyes turn sad when she notices bread and a fruit tart; she stares at Daemon, furrowing her brow and pouting.

"I want the bread and tart that my mom makes."

The prince's eyes narrow as he murmurs with suppressed annoyance.

"Sissel is not your mother, Aelyssa".

"She is! She's mommy! I want to go with her!". She cries, looking up at her father, her eyes welling up as if she's about to cry. The prince softens his expression with a sigh, kneeling down to her level and speaking with the gentlest tone he can muster.

"It's okay, Aelyssa, don't cry... I know you want to see her, I promise we'll visit her soon, okay?" At these words, the little girl's expression changes completely, smiling and asking eagerly.

"Really? We'll go see Sissel and Noran, they can live with us here, right?"

"Of course they can" Daemon lies with a smile that, to his young daughter's eyes, seems genuine. He reaches out to caress her cheek and kisses her forehead affectionately. As the girl eats her delicious breakfast, she looks at her father to ask another question.