The Mouth of the Dragon, The Eyes of the Lamb

Chapter 18

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since Dragonstone. Two weeks of Aemond and Lucela avoiding each other except for meals. Two weeks of Alys and Greyson not being enough to itch the scratch they both shared but refused to act upon.

Lucela, in the event that she decided to fuck Greyson, found herself imagining his honey colored hair turning Targaryen silver and becoming longer. It was wrong; it was beyond wrong, but she couldn't stop herself. Instead, she stopped trying to have sex with Greyson altogether. She could still feel Aemond's tongue dragging along her cheek; she could still feel his erection digging into her hip. She felt cursed.

Aemond was fairing no better. Every time Alys came to visit, he imagined her already dark hair turning dark brown and becoming fuller, more curly. Her already pale skin became paler, and if she looked at him for too long, her green eyes would turn violet. It didn't help matters that Alys was technically Lucela's aunt, and they already were similar in appearance in the ways they looked Strong. The shared meals were becoming too much, especially since Aegon refused to switch seats back.

It wasn't until the morning of Lucela's nameday that anyone mentioned her moods. Margery had come to help her dress for the day and had apparently grown tired of Lucela's moodiness.

"Out with it already," Margery demanded as she pulled a brush through Lucela's curls. Lucela frowned but kept her eyes downcast.

"Out with what?"

"Out with what," Margery mocked and earned a scowl from Lucela. "Out with whatever is bothering you. Something obviously is, and your family isn't apparently worried about it at all."

Lucela stared at her best friend in the mirror. Margery was focused on fixing her hair and didn't meet her gaze, but her face was stern all the same. She was right; her family didn't really seem to care that something was eating at her. Well, that wasn't completely true. They had asked if she was okay but hadn't pushed when she said she was fine. The air was always tense when she was around Aemond, and she knew her mother had picked up on it.

Rhaenyra had been staring at them during meals more frequently. Lucela wasn't sure if it was because Aemond would stare when he thought no one was looking, or if it was because she was doing the same. It was obvious to everyone that something had gone on between the two, but the only one that had a clue was Helaena. And she was staying silent.

"I've been having.....impure thoughts about someone lately. Someone that isn't on the list of potential husbands that my parents have picked out for me," Lucela said in a rush. Margery finally met her gaze in the mirror and seemed to be fighting back a grin.

"So? I've known about Greyson for a long time now. You haven't been this worked up over him before."

Lucela blanched as she turned in her chair. Margery finally did grin as she turned Lucela back around by her shoulders.

"What do you mean you know about Greyson?"

"I know you better than you give me credit for. But it obviously isn't him, so who else could it be? I highly doubt it's Jace or Luke- you've never fancied them." Lucela made a look of disgust at the thought of being attracted to her own brothers. While it was very common in her family, it had never been her thing. "And this didn't happen until we came here..." Margery's voice faded as an evil grin spread across her face. Lucela's eyes widened slightly. "It wouldn't happen to be a fellow Targaryen would it? Say, one with long silver hair and an eyepatch?"

"Shut up," Lucela said quickly, too quickly.

"Gods, it is!" Margery rushed out as she slipped the dragon hair pin into where she had Lucela's hair pinned back and away from her face. It was an overall simple look, but Lucela was stunning with it.