#and his brother and vhagar came out unscathed

[pookiebearhelaena]

“I want my mother”

King Aegon the Usurper and Prince Aemond “One Eye” Targaryen, Battle of Rook’s Rest.

[leiabird]

Taking what I’m owed

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen/Lucerys Velaryon

Rating: Explicit

Tags: Smut, Fluff, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Aemond Targaryen, Omega Lucerys Velaryon, Manipulation, Hair-Pulling Kink, Manhandling, Aged-Up Lucerys Velaryon

Word Count: 4,409

Inspired by my own Drabble here on tumblr and can also be found on my ao3

“Give me your eye or I will take it bastard!”

His voice had sounded strange to his own ears. Manic and Frantic. It had burst out of him without any control, all this anger and resentment over the loss of his eye. All this pain of his disfigurement.

But of course the bastard had escaped unscathed. As always. Lord Baratheon’s voice had echoed through the hall. There would be no vengeance for him today. He was not allowed to harm Lucerys who had come only as an envoy. They would both spend the night at separate ends of the castle, as far away from each other as possible, until the storm would pass.

As if Aemond would accept that. He was the brother of the King after all, no matter how useless said King was. A little lord in a castle plagued by storms wouldn’t keep him away from what he was owed.

Silent as a mouse Aemond was sneaking through the hallways of Storm’s End. He knew how to avoid the guards in their rotations. There had been many times when he had snuck out of the castle whether it was to retrieve Aegon or to go on a midnight fly on Vhagar.

Aemond continued his journey with determined steps. A part of him almost wanted a guard to appear in front of him. He wanted the fight, the thrill and the blood that came with it. But he would soon have enough of that. When he was holding his nephew’s eye in his hands. His pace quickened with anticipation.

When he heard the chattering of guards he knew that he was close. Peeking around the corner he made out two guards positioned in front of a door.

Aemond couldn’t supress the smirk creeping up on his face. There was no way they were guarding just any guest room in the castle.

Out of reflex his hand went to his dagger, but then he stopped himself. The dagger was for Lucerys and Lucerys only. He would manage the guards on his own. Aemond took a deep breath and then the rush came. Often when he fought he almost couldn’t remember anything of it afterwards. He would lose himself in it so deeply that his conscious mind wasn’t able to follow.

He took the guards down in a matter of seconds. They were both tired and surprised and didn’t put up much of a struggle. One he knocked out quickly before putting the other in a headlock, effectively silencing him, before the lack of oxygen put him out. Aemond let him silently sink to the floor, not bothering to check if he was still breathing.

His hand reached out and then hovered over the door knob. He took a deep breath and the sweet smell of revenge reached his nose. Aemond smiled. Finally.

The boy hadn’t even bothered to lock the door. He must have been so sure of Lord Baratheon’s protection. As if there was anything in the world that could protect him from Aemond.

Silently Aemond entered the room and carefully closed the door behind him. This time he turned the lock. Looking up he tried to adjust his eye to the dark. The only faint source of light came from the window.

That was when a lightning bolt lit up the skies above Storm’s End and for a glorious moment Aemond could clearly see his nephew’s figure on the bed. Lucerys was sleeping so deeply that not even the following thunder made him stir.

Aemond crept up on him and took out his dagger with delicate fingers. The very same dagger that Lucerys had refused only hours before. This time he would have no choice.

Eagerly getting closer to the bed he had to stop. Lucerys was moving. Aemond held his breath. But instead of opening his eyes and getting up the boy only turned until he was on his back, his arms splayed out beside him. His deep breathing continued.

Aemond nearly chuckled. Lucerys had presented himself for him perfectly.

Creeping ever closer and again getting a hint of that sweet smell that promised his retaliation, Aemond loomed over Lucerys. He took a moment to imprint Lucerys’ soft and delicate features, the upturned curve of his nose, the sweet freckles, the porcelain skin, before he would mutilate and disfigure this pretty face forever.

Aemond jumped upon the boy the moment another lightning bolt illuminated the room. Lucerys’ eyes shot open (it would be the last time he opened both of them) as he laid eyes upon Aemond. His hand on the boy’s mouth muffled his scream and the dagger pressed right under his eye silenced him quickly. The blade was glinting in the light of the lighting outside the window. Realising what situation he was in, Lucerys let go where his hands had tried to press against Aemond. Instead they started to shake.

“Hello taoba” (boy) Aemond couldn’t hide the smirk in his voice, his sapphire eye gleaming down at his nephew. He hadn’t bothered to put his eyepatch back on. He wanted the boy to see exactly what he had done and what Aemond was about to do to him.

Lucerys was shaking in his grasp. It only spurred Aemond on further. He chuckled and leaned in closer to his nephew’s ear.

“Did you really think that a little lord would be able to keep me from what I’m owed?”

Slowly Aemond trailed his dagger down, sliding it softly over Lucerys’ cheek, his jaw and settling under his chin. Lucerys let out a scared whine.

Again Aemond chuckled and whispered in his nephew’s ear “I can take any part of you I want right now. Your eye, your tongue. I could break that pretty nose again. I can disfigure you as you have disfigured me.”

A tear rolled down Lucerys’ cheek and Aemond took his hand away from his mouth to catch it. His nephew’s breathing was erratic, he was panting nearly. Aemond looked deep into his eyes, wanting to relish in the fear inside them. Lucerys’ pupils were dilated and in them he saw…

All of a sudden Aemond jerked back. He sat up, still pinning his nephew to the bed and finally taking in the smell. The sweet smell of revenge he had relished in. He wanted to kick himself. Blinded by vengeance he hadn’t picked up on what the sweet smell surrounding his nephew meant.

“You’re an omega”

It was not a question he asked Lucerys, it was a fact. There was no denying it. His sweet, sweet nephew, the delight of the family. An omega.

Aemond furrowed his brows and looked down at Lucerys, his mind spinning from the realisation and the scent that was growing thicker and thicker.

“But how?” He asked bewildered.

Lucerys sniffed and answered quietly “Mother told me to hide it. She said it would question my claim to Driftmark even further.” Again he sniffed.

Aemond tried to make sense of the situation.

“But how the fuck did you hide that?” It didn’t make any sense.

Lucerys cast his gaze downward and admitted “Mother gave me scent blockers, but… I forgot to take them with me here” He nibbled at his lip.

Desperately Aemond tried to look away from Lucerys’ lips and focused on the boy’s eyes again. His nephew, the heir to Driftmark, the family’s delight, the boy who had taken his eye at only eight years old, was an omega.

Aemond should take his eye now. He should collect his debt, be done with it and return to his chambers. That was what he should do.

But as Lucerys’ scent drew him in further and further he couldn’t help but think that now, there was another way. Another way for him to collect his debt. Another way for him to take Lucerys.

“Uncle?” Lucerys tried tentatively “Will you please let me go? We can-“

Whatever his nephew wanted to suggest was lost when Aemond threw the knife to the side and buried his nose in his neck. He deeply breathed in that sweet smell of honey and sunshine and … was that the sea? A true Velaryon after all.

Lucerys choked on his own words and his hands flew up into Aemond’s hair. Whilst Aemond’s nose and mouth brushed alongside his nephew’s neck, Lucerys let out a whine so sweet that Aemond wanted to drink it from his lips.

Then the fingers that had found their way into his hair grabbed tight and tugged hard. Aemond moaned as the pain send a shockwave directly to his cock. Forced by the strong hands in his hair he looked up and directly into his nephew’s eyes.

Lucerys was panting and looking at him with a dazed expression. His porcelain skin seemed to glow, decorated by his freckles. His soft curls were ruffled from sleep and created a halo around his head. He looked like a saint. Ethereal and stunning. Aemond didn’t know how he could have ever thought about ruining that perfect, delicate face.

“Qȳbor” (Uncle) Lucerys sounded breathless “W-What…?”

Leaning down again Aemond placed his forehead against Lucerys’, their noses brushing. His breath ghosted over his nephew’s lips as he answered “I’m taking what I’m owed”

A shiver ran through Lucerys and Aemond caught a glimpse of something in his eyes. It was a fire, not fueled by hatred, but by lust. It was the annoying defiance that sweet Lucerys would show him and only him. This was the boy that had taken his eye. The boy through who’s veins ran dragon fire. A little dragon himself.

Tugging at his hair again Lucerys pulled Aemond down and violently crashed their lips into each other.

Aemond practically began to devour him. Every gasp that slipped from the omegas lips was swallowed by Aemond. His nephew’s hands were still in his hair, tugging him even closer and driving Aemond insane.

He slipped his hands underneath Lucerys’ tunic and dug his fingers into the soft skin. The boy arched his back up into Aemond. Lucerys pressed up into Aemond’s cock straining in his breeches and a growl escaped his lips. Taken aback the omega broke the kiss to lock eyes with Aemond, suddenly coy.

But before the boy’s shyness could take over, Aemond tightened his grip on him and pulled him upward. He manhandled the boy until he was sitting in his lap and dug his hands into Aemond’s shoulders, scrambling for purchase.

Not taking any more time Aemond grabbed the hem of Lucerys’ tunic and tugged it over his head. His nephew’s curls got even more ruffled in the process and Aemond finally gave into the urge and buried his hand in Lucerys’ soft hair. Continuing to devour the boy’s lips, Aemond placed his other hand low on his nephew’s back. He pulled Lucerys flush against his chest. The boy understood the message a little too well and ground himself against Aemond’s erection. It was too much and not enough.

He answered Lucerys’ whimper at the contact with another growl and pushed the boy back down onto the bed. There he laid sprawled out beneath him, a beautiful flush sprawling across his cheeks and down onto his chest. He was panting and his lips were swollen and glistening from spit. Lucerys looked like the embodiment of every sinful desire Aemond had ever had.

Aemond made quick work of his own clothes, discarding first his tunic and then making quick work of his trousers. Lucerys gaped at his naked form and for a moment Aemond feared the boy would draw back again, overcome with shyness. Instead his nephew began pulling at his own pants, trying to get them off as quickly as possible.

Smirking Aemond leaned down to help the boy. When they were finally both free of their clothes Aemond settled himself between Lucerys’ legs. His nephew immediately put them around his waist, locking his ankles, and his hands made their way back into Aemond’s hair to pull him down into another desperate kiss.

He felt as if every part of him that was touching Lucerys’ naked skin was on fire. He couldn’t get enough of it, trying to engulf his nephew with his form. Placing his hands on either side of Lucerys’ head he ground himself against him. They both moaned when their cocks brushed against each other, the friction feeling heavenly.

Aemond trailed one of his hands down over his nephew’s shoulder and to his chest. Placing a kiss on Lucerys’ jaw, he played with a nipple. The boy’s moan which was now no longer muffled by Aemond’s mouth sent shivers down his spine. He continued nipping and kissing at Lucerys’ jaw and his neck getting closer and closer where the boy’s mating mark would go. The scent of honey, sea and sunshine was thickest here and it made his mouth water.

He wanted to bite. He wanted to sink his teeth into the tender flesh and claim Lucerys. He wanted the boy to be his and no one else’s. He wanted to be the only one in the world who got to see Lucerys this way.

Sucking bruises into his nephew’s skin Aemond let his hand wander down further until he reached their cocks. He took them both in hand and began to stroke. Lucerys let out a sob. Wanting to see his nephew’s expression Aemond pulled himself up a bit and oh… Lucerys looked completely blissed out. His eyes were shut tightly and his soft lips formed a delicate o. Aemond wondered how the boy would look like when he would finally actually fuck him.

The thought deepened his desire and he let go of them both, his hand reaching down. Brushing his fingers against Lucerys’ hole he could feel the boy leaking slick. He was practically gushing. And he wasn’t even in heat.

Agonizingly slowly he pushed one finger inside. Rubbing against his nephew’s tight walls he began to work him open as gentle as he found himself capable.

That was when he heard it. “Aemond.” It was a moan, nearly a whisper but his name on Lucerys’ lips drove him near insane. He added another finger, going faster, trying to get into this warm engulfing heat as fast as possible.

Lucerys was writhing underneath him, not seeming to know if he should try to draw back from this intense onslaught of pleasure or try to get even closer. He was moaning and babbling nonsense, moaning Aemond’s name every once in a while. It was all Aemond wanted to hear for the rest of his life. It was heavenly.

When the boy was easily taking three of his fingers Aemond pulled out. Lucerys whined at the loss and seemed to be about to complain when he drew in a sharp gasp at the sensation of Aemond’s cock at his entrance.

Aemond positioned himself feeling as if he would truly go mad if he wasn’t inside of Lucerys right now, trying to ease his way in as gently as possible. The tip was about to slip in when-

“Umbās” (Wait)

Immediately he stilled. It was agony and it was torture but he kept still, not moving an inch.

“Are you going to claim me, qȳbor?” (Uncle)

Aemond was panting, his mind a mess.

“I… what…?”

Lucerys placed his hands gently on either side of his face and made him look into his eyes.

“Are you going to claim me as your mate and bring me back to Dragonstone?”

Aemond didn’t know how Lucerys was forming cohering sentences. He couldn’t even think coherently much less form words.

“Lucerys … Kostilus...” (Please…) Aemond tried to answer but his tongue seemed to fail him.

“Will you wed me and fight by my side for the rightful Queen?”

“I…” Aemond was gasping, his mind trying to comprehend what Lucerys meant.

“Kostilus qȳbor” (Please Uncle) Lucerys was begging now “Kostilus kiviōs issa se verdās issa aōhon” (Please promise me and make me yours)

That little dragon. How was Aemond supposed to refuse him?

“I swear it, issa zaldrītsos” (my little dragon) he whispered against Lucerys’ lips “Jaehossi uēpossi arlȳssī” (By the old gods and the new)

He was doomed in that moment and he knew it. But he just simply couldn’t get himself to care about it, not when his nephew was smiling up at him so sweetly and happily. Not when he was feeling things he never had before. And he never wanted it to stop.

Once again Lucerys dug his fingers into his hair and pulled him closer.

“Pār derās issa, qȳbor” (Then take me, uncle) Whispered Lucerys into his ear “Mazemās issa” (Claim me)

And finally, finally Aemond was being engulfed by Lucerys’ tight and wet heat. His mind was spinning and there was a buzzing in his ears but he still heard the near scream his nephew let out.

He looked down, trying to focus his thoughts again and took in the sight beneath him. Lucerys had his back arched off the mattress, his hand clinging onto Aemond as if he was his life line. His eyes rolled back in his head and then he came with another shout, completely untouched, all over himself.

Aemond let out a hiss as Lucerys’ walls tightened around him. His nephew was sobbing and tears were welling up in his eyes from the intensity of it all.

“Please…” he was babbling “Please… qȳbor”(uncle)

“Shhhh” was Aemond’s answer, trying to soothe the overwhelmed omega “It’s alright, issa zaldrītsos (my little dragon), I have you.”

When Lucerys seemed to have won back at least a bit of his composure, Aemond pulled back a little only to thrust back in.

“Kessa” (Yes) his nephew moaned desperately “Kessa, qȳbor” (Yes, uncle)

Aemond began thrusting into Lucerys in earnest now. At every thrust his nephew let out the sweetest moan Aemond had ever heard and he tried desperately to not start pounding into Lucerys like a madman. He wanted to be gentle with him, his sweet nephew deserved that.

Dragging himself in and out of Lucerys slowly he once again buried his face into the boy’s neck and started to kiss the delicate skin. Beneath him Lucerys tried to move up into him and meet his thrust until Aemond grazed the spot of his mating mark with his teeth. The boy let out a whine and became completely pliant, moaning sweetly “Kessa” (Yes) and “Please” and “Qȳbor” (Uncle).

When Aemond pulled away from Lucerys’ neck the boy suddenly grabbed his hair and again tugged hard. Aemond moaned at the feeling and looked at his nephew who gazed upon him defiantly.

“More” his little nephew demanded like the little dragon he was “I want more”

Again, how could Aemond ever refuse him?

He grabbed Lucerys’ hips so tightly he was sure it would bruise. Good. He wanted to leave his marks all over his nephew’s body.

Then he started again but this time without holding back. He pounded into Lucerys over and over again until the room was filled with the obscene sound of their bodies meeting each other. Ever still there was more and more slick dripping out of Lucerys. His little dragon was surely leaving a mess on the mattress. Neither of them cared.

Lucerys by now had let his hands fall down from Aemond’s hair and they were lying uselessly next to his head as he was sobbing and crying, absolutely pliable. The tears streaming down from his face made him look even more like a saint with a halo of brown curls. It should be impossible for anyone to turn from a saint to a dragon and to a saint again and yet Lucerys seemed to be the embodiment of every prayer that had ever left Aemond’s lips and every dark desire he had never dared to utter.

Leaning over his nephew again Aemond took one of his hands from Lucerys’ hips and instead grabbed his wrists above his head. With this new angle he could thrust even deeper into his little dragon and –

Lucerys let out another scream as Aemond hit the exact right spot within him. His walls clenched around Aemond again and it was too much, it was simply and wonderfully and heavenly too much.

“Issa zaldrītsos” (My little dragon) Aemond groaned against Lucerys’ lips “I’m going to… I will…”

His mind was spinning again and he was panting hard.

“Kessa (Yes), please” Lucerys was begging again “Please, qȳbor (uncle), I want it.”

In this moment Aemond knew that there was in fact nothing in the world that he could ever refuse his nephew, nothing he could ever deny him. Not ever.

It was Lucerys’ begging that pushed him over the edge, that made his knot swell in the tight heat of Lucerys until he finally spilled. As his knot tied them together his nephew’s eyes rolled back into his head again as he too found his second release of the night, sobbing and shaking and pliant in Aemond’s arms.

Again he didn’t know how Lucerys found the mind to form coherent sentences but he heard him loud and clear against his ear.

“Mazemās issa, qȳbor” (Claim me uncle) he didn’t beg but commanded Aemond. His boy was a little dragon again. “Kostilus, verdās issa aōhon” (Please, make me yours)

And with that Aemond buried his face in the heavenly scent of Lucerys’ neck and bit down hard. Blood as sweet as honey spilled on his lips. He felt as if he had arrived in the seven heavens.

It took a lot of willpower for Aemond not to simply break down and crush his nephew, but he remained propped up on his forearms next to Lucerys’ head while they waited for his knot to come down. The boy’s hands had found their way into his hair again where he carefully and gently threaded his fingers through it. Aemond had never felt peace and comfort quite like this.

When he was finally able to separate from Lucerys’, he slipped out of him carefully. His nephew let out another whine at the loss and if Aemond hadn’t been so exhausted it would have been enough to get him hard again. Instead he let himself crash into the mattress next to Lucerys, feeling completely boneless. Looking up at the ceiling he immediately felt his nephew snuggle close to his side and reflexively put an arm around him to hold him tight.

Aemond glanced downward at Lucerys and the dark bruising mating mark he had left at his neck. For a while neither of them dared to speak.

Then it was of course Lucerys who broke the silence.

“I didn’t think you would do it.”

Aemond sat up a little to look at Lucerys’ face and furrowed his brows.

“You didn’t think I would do what?”

Lucerys fiddled with a strand of Aemond’s hear, nibbling at his lip.

“I didn’t think you would actually claim me.”

Dread arose inside of Aemond. He wasn’t his brother. He never wanted to force anyone to do anything like this.  Immediately he began scrambling away from Lucerys, feeling disgust for himself and what he’d done-

“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that!” His nephew desperately clung to him, trying to stop him from leaving. “I wanted it! I do still want it! I just…” He looked down. “I just didn’t think that you would keep your promise.”

Gently Aemond placed a hand under Lucerys’ chin and made him look up at him.

“You think me an oath breaker?” He asked sternly.

Defiance flashed in Lucerys’ eyes and Aemond had to hide a smirk. His little dragon had returned.

“You came in here with the intend to take my eye!” He defended his fears. “What was I supposed to think of you?!”

Cradling his nephews face Aemond took a deep breath. Then he softly said “There you are right.” Lucerys looked overly smug at those words. Aemond kept himself from rolling his eye.

“But your are not so innocent yourself, issa valzȳrys” (my husband) and Lucerys gasped at the title “Have you not made me swear my allegiance to you and your queen when you knew I couldn’t refuse you?”

At that Lucerys gave him a sheepish but sly smile. He reached out with one hand and ran his fingers gently along Aemond’s scar around his eye. Aemond shuddered at the sensation.

Then the boy looked at Aemond and said plainly “I would have let you take me even if you hadn’t sworn yourself to me”

Snuggling closer Aemond put his mouth right next to his nephew’s ear and whispered “And I would have sworn myself to you, even if you hadn’t let me take you”

A shudder went through Lucerys’ body at those words and Aemond could feel the boy’s smile at the skin of his neck.

Laying down comfortably Aemond arranged Lucerys to lay as closely next to him as possible and held him tight. His nephew put an arm around Aemond’s chest and entangled their legs. Aemond sunk his face into Lucerys curls and inhaled the deep scent of the sea and sunshine and … himself. He could smell himself in Lucerys’ scent now that he had claimed him. A warmth he had never known before spread inside his chest.

Breathing contently he whispered “Sleep now, valzȳrys” (husband) Lucerys hummed certainly pleased “Sleep, issa zaldrītsos (my little dragon). Tomorrow I will take you to Dragonstone and wed you in the tradition of our house.”

Sleep took his nephew immediately, surely exhausted after their coupling.

Aemond couldn’t help but lie awake and let his thoughts run wild. In the back of his mind he could hear a voice, quite resembling the one of his grandsire, complaining about what a fool he was to be so cuntstruck. But again he couldn’t get himself to care much about it. Not when the feeling of Lucerys’ body against his felt so right and heavenly.

He didn’t know if the god’s were laughing at his stupidity or smiling contently at him finally understanding what he had ached for all these years. But as long as he had Lucerys, he quite simply didn’t care. He had finally collected his debt, had finally taken what he was owed. He just couldn’t help but think that Lucerys in return, had taken from Aemond once again. But instead of only his eye, this time Lucerys had taken him whole.

[lya-dustin]

Someone will remember us

Chapter 61

Cw:postpartum bleeding

Taglist:@stargaryenx @mercedesdecorazon

Gif by: @theonewiththeimaginaryboyfriends

He has a son.

Rhaenyra had thrown in a sketch of Aemma and little Aemon at his mother’s breast to wound him and it had worked.

“You will have your son, after your brother heals, we will take Dragonstone and finish the job.” Cole promised him as if that could make him feel better.

Daemon would have killed him if Rhaenys hadn’t been killed by Aegon.

Out of the three dragons, only Vhagar came out unscathed.

Sunfyre will never fly again, and it might as well be joining his rider in hell soon enough.

Aemond loved his brother because he was his brother, but these recent months had him praying he would die in his sleep.

If Aegon dies, Aemond can usurp the crown knowing the Small Council would agree.

As Prince Regent and Lord Protector, he plays the loyal brother only to keep his mother’s dagger out of his back.

Mother hates him now, blames him for Rhaenys frying Aegon inside his armor, blames him for being king in all but name.

It should have been you.

She doesn’t say it, but he can hear it in her brown eyes.

Yes, it should have been me, he had said with his eye back at her.

“You must rule the realm now, until your brother is strong enough to take the crown again,” the Lord Commander said putting a hand on Aemond’s shoulder as if her were a boy again.

He is seven and ten and yet he can’t remember the last time he felt his age.

‘It looks better on me than it ever did on him,’ that was what Aemond had said when Cole gave him his brother’s crown and named him regent.

“I knew it! I fucking knew it!” Aemma paced and to her great displeasure didn’t have the strength nor courage to attack Daemon once more.

She is bleeding heavily after the birth, something she will do for the next forty days.

Her body is in a general state of discomfort even if it’s been ten days since she gave birth and could barely handle coming to see her grandmother against everyone’s advice.

“I told you that wasn’t my father and no one,  not even you, believed me.” Only Teora claimed to believe her, but she is dead and likely said it to humor her.

Gods everyone had said she was mad, mother too.

“Does mother know? Cole once told me mother had ordered father’s death and I told him he was wrong, that surely Daemon had acted on his own, that mother wouldn’t kill father.” Tell me he is wrong, tell me my mother didn’t kill your son.

“She told your grandmother that Daemon told her Laenor had staged his death and ran away to Essos. She had no reason to doubt his word until she learned the truth.” Her grandfather explained the part her mother played in her own husband’s death carefully.

Gods, why had her mother been so stupid.

“What will we do now?” she asked the only questioned that mattered.

“We wait, little dragon, we wait until the time is right for us to avenge them.” The Seasnake said proving to be as treacherous as his name.

“He looks like you did when you were born.” Mother is cheerful and not at all bothered by the fact that her baby didn’t live while Aemma’s did.

Her first grandson and he carries the blood of her son’s murderer.

“Aemon Targaryen, first of his name.” she coos and the baby looks up at her as if he recognized his own name.

Its makes Aemma feel terrible because of the revelation she stumbled upon downstairs while mother took care of the babe.

“Mama, I know.” Aemma bites back a sob.

“What?” mother looks at her in confusion, unsure of what she means.

“I know Daemon killed my father."

After Corlys officially becomes Rhaenyra’s Hand, both Queen and Hand make sure the world knows Aemma is a Dreamer.

‘A dreamer like Daenys who saved our house and Aegon the Conqueror who made us kings of Westeros.’

“Did you know this?” Hightower asks Aemond who doesn’t flinch like he did as a boy.

Everyone flinched around Otto, Otto who did not bother hiding his penchant for hitting those he can control.

“Yes, why do you think I counseled you against starting this war? We are not meant to win, she has already seen it.” Aemond wearing his brother’s crown looks smug. “But it is too late to sue for peace, Lucerys died by my hand and Jaehaerys by Daemon’s, the only thing we can do is die on our terms.”

He has never been an optimist, why does it surprise them to know their fame of war ends so badly?

“How do we die then?” his mother asks.

Cole dies by a volley of northern arrows, grandsire and most of you get your head lopped off for treason and Ser Tyland, for his brilliant plan to bankrupt the Iron Throne in case my sister wins, gets mutilated and left alive to atone for his sins.

You, dear mother, die mad and alone.

Can he say all that?

He could, but he doesn’t.

“The gods cannot make up their mind, some may not come true like in Vaemond’s case and some like Rhaenys, comes true no matter what.” He answered, even if his own life hangs in the balance, it wouldn’t matter what he said.

“Gorghan of Old Ghis once wrote that a prophecy is like a treacherous woman, I would not be surprised to see them make a mistake due to overconfidence.” Larys Strong hardly spoke, but when he did, he seemed to be the only adult here with any sense. “And when they do, they will turn against their sweet princess. We must get her to change her allegiance.”

“How do you propose to do that, Lord Strong? She has made it clear that she would never set aside her own claim and that of her son because it is stronger than the King’s himself.” Orwyle looked uneasy at the suggestion, he knew of her fits. He knew of the potions given to the prophets in Essos and how the Shade of the Evening kills those who consume it.

They want to use her just as they had feared, but Aemond would rather burn the world to ash than let them hurt her.

“We make Prince Aemond king.” The man gives an unsettling smile, Aemond wouldn’t be surprised to see fangs instead of teeth.

“No.” his mother said, sick to her stomach at the man’s suggestion and the swift way the lords agreed. “Aegon has an heir, Maelor is Prince of Dragonstone. Jaehaera will be his queen just as she would have been Jaehaerys’.”

“No one would follow a child, your grace. No one wishes to wait four and ten years for a king, we simply cannot afford it.” Cole said softly, speaking to his mother as if she were his lover.

Concerning, but not as concerning as Larys Strong’s familiarity with her.

Even his grandfather who sees him as the Maegor to Aegon’s Aenys, has come to his side this past week.

“Then it is agreed. By the decision of this council, we appoint Prince Aemond Targaryen as King Aegon’s heir due to the precedents set by the Great Council of Harrenhal in the year one hundred and one after Aegon’s Conquest.” Cole makes the second and perhaps only good ruling as Lord Hand.