The Mouth of the Dragon, The Eyes of the Lamb

Chapter 22

The sound of swords clashing interrupted the temporary silence. Lucela blocked Jace's first swing easily enough and moved to strike one of her own. Aemond watched in stunned fascination. Lucela managed to dodge most of Jace's hits, but everytime one connected, Aemond wanted to jerk his arm from its socket.

Lucela scowled before she swung at Jace again. He wasn't hitting her with his blade but with a shield. She should have grabbed one for herself if she thought he was going to play dirty. Of course, he was probably trying to show off in front of Aegon. He had always brought out the worst in Jace.

With silent fury, Lucela thrust Dark Sister forward and connected with the shield. The blade entered the wood easily enough, and Jace's dark eyes grew when he saw the tip get dangerously close to his body. With a tug, Lucela removed Dark Sister, and Jace dropped the shield. Lucela arched her brow, and he immediately realized his mistake.

Jace barely had time to block her swings before they began to rain down on him. He shuffled backward as he swung his sword around wildly before he lost his footing and fell backward. Lucela held the tip of Dark Sister to his throat, and Daemon smiled behind her.

"There she is!" Daemon yelled proudly before he gripped her shoulder. She knew that Daemon was fiercely proud of her fighting skills in the training yard, and he always had been. With a small smile, Lucela handed Dark Sister back to Daemon and began to walk off the field.

Another hand gripped her shoulder, and Lucela turned. Aemond stared down at her in shock. He hadn't been aware he was running after her until she was in front of him, and she frowned.

"What?" Lucela muttered as she looked over his shoulder and quickly back to his face. Aemond turned to see what Lucela was staring at and caught everyone looking at the duo in confusion. All except Daemon. Odd.

"You can fight?"

"Daemon expected all of his children to do well with the sword." Lucela turned to walk away again, but Aemond stayed by her side and followed her.

"But yesterday? You didn't fight back, Luce. Why?"

Lucela huffed out something too bitter to be considered a laugh and shook her head. "In the yard? In theory? I am the perfect warrior. I am everything Daemon Targaryen wanted me to be." Lucela nodded to various lords and ladies as the two made their way through the Red Keep. "But in reality? I freeze. I forget everything I was ever taught and get hurt."

"Has this happened before, Luce?" Lucela glanced up at him but stayed silent. Aemond frowned and didn't think twice as he followed her into her chambers. She arched her brow, but he was still deep in thought.

"Yes, it's happened before."

Aemond closed her chamber door without thinking after her sudden confession. "Is that why Ser Greyson was hired on to protect you?"

"Yes."

"Does this have anything to do with the skeleton hanging outside Dragonstone?"

Lucela flopped down on her bed and sighed. "Why are you so concerned about this, Aemond? Yes, I can fight. Yes, I'm useless in an actual fight. Just leave it."

"I want to know all I can about you," Aemond whispered with a shrug. Lucela sat up so quickly that the room spun. Aemond had grabbed a chair from the table and had moved it by her feet and was simply sitting. He had meant what he had said. He did want to know all he could about her; her life on Dragonstone was a mystery to him, and it had apparently been rough at times.

Lucela sighed and ran her hands down her face. She hated talking about this, about him. Aemond wasn't rushing her; he wasn't demanding that she spill her dirty little secrets out to him. Only three people know what truly happened with the Dragonstone skeleton- Daemon, Rhaenyra, and herself.