The Flames We Bear

Chapter 22 - Aemond

I followed her in silence, my horse trotting beside her stubborn form as she walked ahead, refusing to acknowledge me. Of course, she would do this—make everything more difficult than it needed to be. I should've expected it.

"Visenya," I called out, my patience thinning. "Stop being so stubborn."

She kept walking. Not a single glance in my direction.

"You're really going to walk all the way back to camp on foot?" I pressed. "Fine, then. Suit yourself."

Still nothing. Typical.

For a moment, I let her be. Let her stew in her ridiculous defiance. But the silence was grating, and the temptation to poke at her grew too strong to resist. She never could ignore a provocation.

"You know," I continued, "your stubbornness will be the death of you one day. You'll get yourself killed out here. And when you do, I suppose I'll be expected to come running, won't I?"

Not even a twitch. But I saw that furrow in her brow.

"Or maybe you'll trip over a pebble and fall face-first into a bush," I added, smirking. "The great Princess Visenya, felled by a rock."

I thought I saw her jaw tighten, but still, she didn't respond. That only made me push harder.

"Nothing? Not even a witty comeback? You usually have plenty to say," I mused, baiting her further.

She kept her head down, determined to ignore me, and I let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Ah, so this is how it ends. I marry a mute."

That got her.

She whirled around, fire in her eyes as she snapped, "What did you just say?!"

I couldn't help the smirk that spread across my face. Finally.

"I knew you couldn't resist," I said, watching her march over to me, her temper flaring.

"You're impossible!" she fumed, pointing an accusing finger at me. "How do you manage to make everything worse? Every time you speak, you find a way to be insufferable!"

I jumped down from my horse, pretending to be confused. "I'm simply being honest. Isn't that what you claim to value?"

She glared up at me. "There's a difference between honesty and being a royal ass, Aemond."

I bit back a laugh. "I'm simply stating the facts. You did get lost, didn't you?"

"I was thinking!" she shot back, and then in a quieter voice, "And maybe if you weren't always looming over me, I wouldn't have wandered off."

I was about to respond when she suddenly stomped over to a large rock by the lake and climbed on top of it, clearly trying to bring herself to my eye level. Standing tall and defiant, she jabbed her finger at me again, continuing her rant.

"You think you're so clever," she spat. "Always acting like you know everything, like I'm some child who needs to be watched every second."

My gaze flicked to the rock beneath her feet. It was unstable, wobbling slightly as she shifted her weight. I bit the inside of my cheek, holding back a smirk.

"Careful," I said, raising my hands slightly, ready to catch her if she fell.

But she wasn't done. "No,  you be careful! Because I am tired of you treating me like—"

The rock gave way beneath her, and she let out a startled yelp, losing her balance. I reacted instinctively, lunging forward to grab her, but my horse shifted at the same moment pushing me foward. Before I knew it, I lost my footing as well, and we both went tumbling into the lake.

The cold water hit me like a punch, soaking me through. I surfaced quickly, pushing my wet hair out of my face as I spat out a mouthful of water.

"Damn it, Visenya!" I growled, glaring at her.

She was already standing, sputtering and wiping water from her face, but instead of being angry, she burst into laughter. Laughter.

"This is your fault," I snapped, pushing my drenched hair back as I tried to gather what dignity I had left.

She was laughing so hard she could barely breathe. "My fault? You were the one who tried to pull me in!"

I shot her a glare, but the sight of her laughing—genuinely laughing—was... disarming. I tried to stay irritated, but her amusement was infectious, and despite myself, I could feel the corner of my mouth twitching. Typical. She's always quick to find humor in anything that inconveniences me. I shoot her a playful glare at her, though the sting of the cold water is nothing compared to her laughter.

"You're impossible," I muttered, shaking my head.

"And you're soaking wet," she shot back with a grin, splashing water at me.

I rolled my eye, but I didn't push her away. The tension between us had shifted, something lighter replacing the sharp edges of our usual banter. For a moment, it was just the two of us, soaked to the bone, laughing in a lake like fools.

And for once, I didn't mind.

"Are you done being foolish now?" I mutter, wiping water from my brow. She smirks, flicking a bit of the lake in my direction again as if I hadn't been dragged down by her antics. I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

But then, out of nowhere, she falls silent.

I notice it immediately—the shift in her, the way her teasing expression fades. Her brow furrows slightly, and those damn brows that always gave away her emotions tighten in thought. She looks at me with an intensity that unsettles me, as if she's seeing something she hadn't expected, her expression softening as she looks at me. It's unsettling.

"What?" I ask, a bit more sharply than I intend.

Visenya tilts her head, studying me for a moment longer before saying, "You look better when you smile."

I pause, caught off guard by her words. There's no hint of sarcasm in her voice, only something honest and perhaps a little vulnerable. Her gaze lingers on me, and for the first time, I feel the weight of it.

I raise an eyebrow and smirk, leaning in slightly. "Do I now?" I say, mirroring her own words from the other night, reminding her of the moment at dinner when I'd told her she looked prettier when she smiled.

Visenya's lips curl into that same sarcastic smile she'd worn then, the one that both challenged and intrigued me. I can't help but roll my eye, just as I did before. She was impossible—infuriating, really—but there's something about this back and forth that I find... almost enjoyable.

The water laps against us as we both sit in silence for a moment, and despite the cold, I feel a warmth that has nothing to do with the sun above.