Through Morning's Eye

Twenty-Eight: Reflecting

As planned, an Aemond POV chapter reflecting back on everything starting at the petition for Driftmark. Also, my friends told me I should dedicate this chapter to Rose Milburn, the cunt that you are. Miss Milburn told me that this story is a mess and I should stop writing. 

When Aemond had seen Kris standing with her brothers at the weapons table about seven moons ago, his world had been flipped around. He felt resentment, he felt an age-old hatred return. He had blamed her for the eye incident. She may have not taken his eye, but she did not stop it. She stood there with those bastards. She stood there against him.

She had been his only friend as a child and he fucked it up by listening to his mother. She put those vile beliefs in his head, telling him that Kris was bad like her brothers. But if she was so bad why was she always calling him a friend?

He had wanted to apologize at Laena's funeral for his previous behavior, and to support her while she mourned her father. But she was cold towards him and he did not blame her, he had been awful to her.

But all those years later, he had grown comfortable in his hatred for her. He knew that she would come with Rhaenyra for Vaemond's petition, but he did not expect her to look as she did. Her chest and hips had filled out, her face hat set with beauty, and he was hating himself for how much he noticed.

When he set out for Storm's End, he did not expect her and Lucerys to arrive. When he saw her in Targaryen riding leather was the first time his cock grew hard for her. He had never been a lustful man, but all he could think about was fucking her in that dress. And yet at the same time, he wanted to strangle her. He wanted to make her pay, he wanted her to suffer.

He raced outside to Vhagar to chase Luke down, to scare them both and make them run back to Dragonstone with their tails tucked between their legs. He did not wish to truly kill them, he did not want to be the hand that started the war.

As he stood outside in the rain, he watched her try to mount Arrax behind Luke. He could already tell it was a failed attempt, Arrax was small and Lucery was commanding him to take off before Kristyne was fully seated.

When she fell to the stone, he felt thankful. She was dead and he would suffer no longer. She would not be there to remind him of the worst night of his life and arouse him at the same time.

He walked over to her to make sure she was dead but he felt the pulse in her neck. Weak, but steady.

He took her to Alicent. In his mind, it was a safe option. He did not believe his mother was capable of hurting a girl of only seventeen years, younger than most of her own children. And if she was locked up here, nothing would happen to her.

So he kept his distance. He went over a month without seeing her, assuming she was being fed and kept relatively safe. She was just a girl, what reason would Alicent have to harm her? It was not until he heard something in passing.

"How is she still alive down there?"

"Barely, but still holding on. The queen instructed for her to be kept alive, and her uncle took a special interest. Death would be a vacation in comparison."

"The Strong family is unlucky it seems."

Aemond had hoped they were speaking of another prisoner until he heard her family name. He decided it was time to see exactly how his mother had been treating her. And he regretted the action immediately.

The first thing he noticed was the smell, and then the fact that she was still in the riding leathers but all torn up. She had not even been allowed to change in over a month. And from what he could see, the clothing was much looser. She had lost a significant amount of weight.