✦ New Faith ✦ Aegon Targaryen

○ fourty two ○

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Tanda sat in the dim light of their chambers Aegon had decided they should take a ride on Sunfyre tomorrow, with Aemond at rooks rest there was just no time, so she sewed her needle tracing delicate lines across a deep blue cloth. She worked with slow precision, each stitch guiding her thoughts toward something small and certain amid the chaos that had overtaken their lives. The flicker of the candle flame beside her felt almost like a heartbeat, steady and warm, and for a moment, she allowed herself to settle into its rhythm.

But the peace was short-lived. She heard the heavy footsteps before the door swung open, and she looked up, needle paused in midair. Aegon staggered in, his face flushed, his eyes clouded with a wild mixture of anger and fear. His hands trembled, clenched tightly at his sides, and he seemed barely aware of her as he shut the door behind him, leaning against it as if it were the only thing keeping him upright.

“Aegon?” Tanda’s voice was soft, tentative. She set her embroidery aside and rose, feeling the weight of his turmoil settle over her as she approached.

His gaze found hers, and for a moment he only stared, the faint glimmer of unshed tears in his eyes. “Aemond… he fought her, Tanda. Rhaenys.” His voice cracked, and he looked away, jaw clenching. “On dragonback, over the cliffs. Vhagar and Meleys nearly tore each other apart.”

The words hit her like a blow. She knew the tension between the two sides had reached a breaking point, but to think of Aemond and Rhaenys locked in such a deadly dance… She swallowed, feeling a chill settle in her bones. “Are they…?” Her voice trailed off, not wanting to speak the fear aloud.

“Aemond came back,” he said bitterly, sinking down into the nearest chair, his face crumpling as he put his head in his hands. “I thought I’d lost him. Thought we’d lost them both. But he just came back… smirking, as if he’d done something clever.”

He looked up at her, his eyes pleading, as if she might somehow make sense of it all. “Do you know what he said? He said he’d shown her ‘our strength.’ He’s become so… so reckless. And Rhaenys the bloody queen who never was! – she’s blood, Tanda! How did it come to this?” He let out a shuddering breath, hands still trembling.

Tanda felt a pang in her heart at the desperation in his voice. She reached for him, sinking to her knees beside his chair and placing a hand on his arm, feeling the taut muscles beneath his skin. “The gods test us, Aegon,” she murmured, her voice barely a whisper. “They test our faith, our resolve. We must hold on to what we have, for what comes next.”

Aegon scoffed bitterly, though he didn’t pull away. “And what do we have left, Tanda? Brothers who would kill for a crown, kinsmen tearing each other to shreds… I feel like I’m sinking, and there’s no shore in sight.” His voice softened, raw and jagged, as he looked down at her with an expression that was both hopeless and vulnerable. “Why did the gods put this crown on my head? I never asked for it.”

Tanda’s hand drifted up to his face, her fingers brushing the lines etched by stress and doubt. “Perhaps it is not for us to understand why,” she said quietly. “We can only trust that there is a reason. A purpose beyond our sight. And even if we do not know it, we must rise to meet it.” She placed her hand over his, squeezing gently. “I prayed for you, Aegon. I prayed for the strength to carry this burden with you.”

He looked at her, his expression softening, though the despair lingered in his eyes. “You and your gods,” he murmured, a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. “If they’re listening, I’d ask for a little more wine and a little less war.”

Tanda couldn’t help the faint smile that touched her lips. “The gods work in strange ways. Perhaps the wine is a test as well.” Her voice was soft but steady, her gaze unwavering as she held his, willing him to see the comfort she offered.

He let out a shaky laugh, reaching up to touch her face, his thumb tracing her cheek with surprising tenderness. “You’re the only good thing in this whole cursed castle,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “And now… we’re bringing children into this world. A world where even our kin are at each other’s throats.”

Tanda leaned forward, pressing her forehead to his. “Then we shall make it better for them, Aegon,” she murmured. “Together, we’ll protect them from this madness. We will keep them safe.”

For a long moment, they stayed that way, wrapped in each other’s warmth, a fragile island in a sea of uncertainty. And as Aegon finally let his head rest against her shoulder, she felt his breathing steady, his hands easing in their grip on her.

In that quiet moment, Tanda allowed herself to believe, if only for a heartbeat, that they could weather this storm – that somehow, through the chaos and the bloodshed, they would find their way back to peace.