𝙺𝙰𝙻𝙾𝙽 ° aemond targaryen

Act Three, Scene Five

┍━━━━━━━━━━━━┑
"𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚂𝚊𝚏𝚎𝚝𝚢"
𝟷𝟸𝟾 𝙰𝙲 - 𝙳𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎
┕━━━━━━━━━━━━┙

SOFT HUMS FILLED THE SILENCE of the room, passing through the lips of the new mother as she rocked her little one in her arms. Since her talk with Rhaenyra, the girl had been allowed to stay in one of the smaller rooms in the keep. Though she was still a prisoner to the queen—the locked door keeping her from leaving said as much—she was rather content on the island.

It had been days since Vaella had last seen or spoken to the elder Targaryen woman, thought she did not doubt that was more on Daemon's accord than her own. She knew her father was not pleased that she was out of the dungeon, seeing as she was only the enemy in his eyes and nothing more. Vaella believed that the man always viewed that way.

      The babe in her arms started huffing, his arms coming up towards his head as his face scrunched up. The girl immediately started hushing the boy, hoping to ease his cries before they began. It seems to do the trick as Saellor's face relaxed once more as he went back to his state of slumber.

     "You're good with him."

     Her head whipped around, startled by the voice behind her—she hadn't even heard the door open—and was surprised to see Rhaenyra standing just a few feet from her. There was a softness to her eyes as she looked upon the pair.

     "I had not heard you come in." Vaella answered honestly, slowly turning back to her son. "I was not expecting you."

     The woman sighed softly, moving around the chair the younger Targaryen sat in and taking place in the seat across from her. "Apologies, my lady. It was not my intent to frighten you."

Rhaenyra fell silent, as if seeming to be tiptoeing around further discussion with the girl sat across from her. The younger narrowed her eyes at the woman, picking up on her nervous behavior. From what she had seen of the woman, she was fairly direct and open—this was a side she had yet to see from the queen.

"What is it?" Vaella questioned sharply, causing Rhaenyra to turn towards her from where she had been looking around the small room.

"What ever do you-"

"I can tell you have something to say. So, just say it and get it on with."

The room fell silent, only the soft snores of the sleeping babe filling the tense void. The queen sighed softly, fidgeting nervously with her hands in her lap. She did not make a move to speak for a long while, causing Vaella to shake her head and look back down at the child in her arms, opening her mouth to spit another remark at the woman.

      "I am sending Saellor to King's Landing."

      Her words cause the younger girl to snap her head up, her head spinning slightly as she looked in shock at Rhaenyra. She did not think she heard the words correctly, but the woman would not meet her eye.

"You...you're sending my son...away?" Vaella could not quite comprehend the concept. It did not add up in the girl's mind—with both her and Saellor on Dragonstone, the Blacks had two prisoners of war, and valuable ones at that.

     "It is for-"

     "Do not tell me it is for the best!" Vaella hollered, causing the boy in her arms to stir, but her anger blinded her. "This is not for the best! My son, my only child, needs his mother!" The boy had woken now, whining softly at the loud volume. "I get that you are angry with Aemond for killing your son, but that does not mean you can take mine from me!"