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A year had passed since Oldtown. Daena had been a girl of three and ten and much had seemed to change. Her childish figure seemed to vanish and she slowly began to grow into a young woman.
Many at court seemed to notice, much to Daemion's frustration. It seemed the young man was consistently shooing boys away from his niece. The girl was naive, not seeing the issue. But Daemion was a man. He knew exactly what they wanted and it would cause her ruin.
The boy who seemed to notice most of all was Aegon. Seeing her once as a friend, Aegon seemed to notice the girl in a way he never had before. The liking had always been there, but he had never imagined herself in the way he found himself thinking about other ladies around him.
Daemion had been blind to it, clearly trusting Aegon around the girl. They had always been close, after all. Inseparable, even. He knew of the girl frequenting the boy's chambers to sleep in bed with him but he also knew it wasn't in the way many would assume.
She loved physical touch. It brought her peace and comfort. It was her way of expressing she cared about someone.
Daemion knew Aegon to be the opposite, knowing his mother had barely even held her children when they were babies, let alone shown them care and affection as they grew older. It was why they were more cold and distant than their cousins.
A few moons older than her cousin, it wasn't long before Aemond's thirteenth name day crept around. And surprisingly, Aegon told him he had a gift for him. Aemond knew it wouldn't be anything of importance. His brother always had a secret plot when it came to his kindness toward his younger brother. It was never anything genuine.
Aegon ended up telling him they had to travel into the city for it. The younger prince had been hesitant, fearing Aegon was going to prank him in some way. But when Aegon told him Daena would be joining them for the surprise, it calmed the boy a bit.
After what occurred at Driftmark, Daena no longer teased him as Aegon still did. She refused to join in and a part of Aemond believed it to be guilt. Regret, even. She felt at fault for his lost eye but she failed to realize Aemond didn't care. For he gained a dragon.
A part of Daena had been excited when Aegon said he was finally going to show her where he was always running off to when he refused to let her go with him. The other part was nervous, wondering if she even wanted to know. He had been so secretive about it. What had changed?
It wasn't long before Aegon had brought the two younger teens to the Streets of Silk. They had snuck out through the passageways after their parents had gone to bed. Aegon knew they had no problem with him venturing into the city. They would not feel the same way about Aemond and Daena.
