#and i’ve been wanting to get some of aemond’s perspective (or alicent’s children’s perspective in general) on this

[terrorofthetrident]

i definitely wasn’t trying to condemn alicent :( the point of my post was just to look at it from aemond’s perspective. the fact that he’ll never be able to understand why his mother cares for rhaenyra or wants to spare her. i think to aemond, alicent choosing peace is her choosing rhaenyra. however, i don’t think alicent is wrong for wanting the war to end since she knows the war will only lead to more deaths (among them her own children) and destruction. and of course alicent being upset with aemond after what happened at storm’s end is what i have always expected and she wouldn’t be wrong for that.

when he says “would you not have us prevail” it’s like he’s also saying “why are you not on our, my side”

of course aemond has always seen it as us against them and seeing his mother more than reluctant to take his side and instead being neutral/wanting to make peace with his half sister, who once called for him to be “questioned sharply”, has to hurt.

[noodles-doodles01]

Ok I know I’ve been standing on this soapbox for a hot minute now but I keep seeing takes that irk me, like yes opinions are a thing but if you’re deliberately ignoring stuff like stop

Aemond has always been set up to be the way he is presented this season. One of the major recurring themes of this show is how second sons act in the face of their own powerlessness (Otto, Daemon, Aemond and Vaemond).

Aemond grew up a mama’s boy, he constantly comforted his mother and went to her for comfort when the other boys hurt him. Alicent defends Aemond relentlessly when he’s a child (in turn taking it out on Aegon, but still). Furthermore, Aemond is the child that openly talks about Rhaenyra’s kids being bastards, and it’s made clear in S1 that he hears Alicent saying it, which implies he spends more time with her. All that to say the boy is close with his mom as a kid.

All that changed when he loses his eye, Alicent is in major distress and can’t get the justice he deserves, she acts out and is frazzled. He steps in to comfort her saying he got Vhagar, which is worth more than his eye. The dynamic switches then for a lot of characters after this episode, including them. He goes from being her son to being her emotional support. We know this because when Aegon goes missing in ep 9, she goes to Aemond and he knows exactly how to calm her down.

Not to mention it wouldn’t be surprising if Alicent constantly reminded him of his eye and how he deserves better, it would add to his anger toward Luke.

Now onto the major stuff:

In FnB, when Aemond comes back from Storms end and announces he killed Luke, Alicent is horrified and prays to the Mother for mercy. Now, assuming the same reaction was given in this case, Aemond is to some degree annoyed with Alicent. Yes he regrets killing Luke, but Alicent has Aemond removed from the council, and she doesn’t speak to him thus far. I can imagine he feels a bit betrayed by her out of everyone, seeing that she spend years shit talking Rhaenyra and her kids, and dumping all this emotional weight onto him and making him feel like he deserved better. Not to mention Alicent knew of their teasing etc, so imagine you make one mistake which is correlated to this behaviour and your mom essentially shuns you for it?

(I’m not defending him I’m just giving his perspective)

It’s why Aemond tells Cole that she speaks with two tongues: she speaks of playing fair when she usurped the throne with Otto and Viserys’ own council. She berated Rhaenyra behind closed doors but defended her the moment any true harm came her way. She says she does all this to save her children, yet essentially discards them when they don’t follow her idea of what they should be.

It’s what makes the brothel scene so sad, Aemond goes to a woman who we know he does not feel all to comfortable with in S1, knowing she will tell him what he wants to hear bc it’s her job. And he airs out all his feelings to her about Daemon, Luke, and hints of his childhood. You know, stuff you’d open up to your mom about.

That act of going to the brothel and being vulnerable is to tell us that he has distanced himself from Alicent, seeking her comfort elsewhere. So to keep track: Viserys and Alicent are both not in the forefront of Aemond’s mind as family atm.

Now ofc when we’re talking about terrible family members, we have to talk about Aegon.

Aegon has hurt anyone that gets near him and he’s depicted to be cruel since s1. He leads the bullying against Aemond and constantly sexually assaults the maids. With Aemond specifically, it’s clear that their relationship is very hit or miss. Either they’re quiet and civil or Aegon is dragging Aemond through the dirt. And I feel like that dynamic is implied (and I personally believe it stems from Alicent clearly favouring Aemond over Aegon and it’s just resentment).

We first are introduced to this when Larys makes up the lie about how the townspeople are talking about Aegon being tricked by his council to head to battle such that Alicent and Aemond can rule in his stead, when you look at Aegons expression, he looks so devastated, and he shakes his head refusing to believe it. However, he ultimately chooses to stay, meaning that some part of him truly does believe they would do such a thing to him.

It is followed by Aegons friends mentioning getting one of the new squires drunk, and Aegon again seems to be hesitant l, but ultimately agrees. Aegon gets very drunk as he does, and when he finds Aemond with thé madame he tears him to shreds. It’s to a point where even Aegon’s friends are very uncomfortable. It’s absolutely humiliating and ruins Aemond’s place of peace.

And we see with that flicker in his eye that he is done. He has done everything he needed to prove himself and it isn’t enough, he isn’t respected by Aegon, isn’t comforted by his mother, unloved by his father and honestly just seen as a tool by his grandfather. It’s finally made clear that playing the role of the helpful second son to his family is no longer an option.

He has to make a name for himself by himself.

(Ofc my opinion may change depending on how the plot moves forward, but if they go the route I think they are, then I stand by this)

[rhearoyces]

For the OC of your choice:

❓ - Estranged family/relatives they've never met

🏆 - Best friends (past, current or future)

🔪 - Enemy/nemesis

❓- estranged family/relatives they’ve never met

daena’s relationships with her younger siblings are pretty complicated. i’ve done a whole post about her and her sisters, but if anything her relationships with her brothers are even more distanced. as i’ve said before, by the time that daemon marries rhaenyra, his relationship with daena has fully broken down. they rarely interact, and even then it’s on the rare occasion that court forces them to. daena never puts any effort into building a relationship with her brothers. her priorities are so divorced from her father and his new life, and rhaenyra, who knows how devoted daena is to alicent, likely wouldn’t want daena to interact with them anyway. by the time war breaks out, any hope for any kind of relationship has long since been dead in the water.

🏆 - best friend (past, present, and future)

daena has a bunch of friends, but her closest is probably larra belmore. larra’s her sister in law through their husbands, and the future lady of gulltown, and the two of them become pretty intertwined after their respective marriages, and daena begins to develop political interests and a desire to bring them back to the vale. as one of the chief ladies in waiting to the queen, daena spends a lot of her time at court, and relies on larra to push their political agenda at home. the council of gulls and the subsequent march of the vale houses loyal to aegon could not have happened without larra.

they’ve got this very fun co conspirators energy, and they trust each other implicitly. larra is the sister daena feels she never had, and is the only person that knows the ins and outs of daena’s relationship with alicent.

🔪 - enemies/nemesis

daena’s in the business of war and conspiracy. she’s got a lot of enemies. chief amongst them is, of course, daemon, but i talk about that relationship near constantly so i’m going to talk about rhaenyra instead.

before hotd starts rhaenyra is daena’s cool older cousin she doesn’t see very often, but who has the latest games console and lets daena play on it sometimes. rhaenyra’s a proper valyrian princess with a dragon and parents who love each other. that first half is everything young daena imagined would get her father to love her (a probably accurate but fairly twisted image considering how it’s those traits that lead to daemon grooming rhaenyra).

after aemma’s death and rhaenyra’s subsequent ascension as heir, daena is initially on her side, one heiress to another. but when she comes to court for rhaenyra, she sees alicent again, sees a girl not much older than herself married off to her uncle, sees the hostility that rhaenyra shows her for a match she seems miserable in, and her loyalties begin to shift. in daena’s eyes she’s giving support to a girl she knows and likes and who clearly needs it. from rhaenyra’s perspective it’s yet another person in her life betraying her.

the rift only widens as they grow older. daena comphets through the early years of her friendship with alicent and her own marriage before larra gently shakes some sense into her, but through that whole period becomes increasingly protective of alicent and her children and her happiness. rhaenyra begins to irritate her, seemingly ignorant to the privilege of still being named heir after her brothers are born, seemingly uninterested in developing any kind of political or governing abilities, flaunting her bastard sons as though the rules do not apply to her. and then driftmark. and then aemond’s eye and lucerys’ utter lack of punishment and laenor’s death and rhaenyra’s marriage to daemon, the man that daena believes murdered her mother. by that point, any friendship that they might have once shared is long gone, and daena is out for blood.

[theroguedragon3]

House of The Dragon 1x07

High Tide Incident Analysis

Something that I have noticed in regard to the children’s fight at Driftmark, is how both hardcore stans of the Greens and the Blacks refer to this event while defending their side, refusing to consider the other characters perspective. This type of mindset I feel hinders the complex aspect of the characters themselves, as I’ve seen some hardcore supporters claim that Aemond deserved to lose his eye or Luke deserve to die because he took Aemond’s eye. I wanted to unpack this scene and I’m not going to sugar-coat the children’s actions because, they were all at fault and played a part in the escalation, that ultimately caused an accident that resulted in the loss of an eye. This analysis will examine my interpretation of the characters possible intent, motivations and feelings in order to understand each character’s viewpoint and how it got to the point of no return.

 Aemond Claims Vhagar

Before I dissect the actual fight scene, I feel like it is important to examine Aemond’s state of mind when he successfully claims Vhagar. Aemond has been obsessed with having his own dragon, the fact that he doesn’t have one bothers him, as this insecurity is utilised against him in the Dragonpit when Aegon, Jace and Luke play a prank on him.

I feel like I have to address the prank, as Aemond apologists utilize this to demonize Rhaenyra’s children, when at no point does he state to his mother that they always pick on him or that he is tired of being picked on, indicating a prolonged bullying experience. I would like to point out this is the first and only incident that the viewer is aware of Rhaenyra’s children picking on Aemond. Viserys even alludes to Aegon being the ring leader being the oldest, while the younger boys follow him. That’s not a far stretch to consider, as they could look up to Aegon and see him as an admirable cool older boy. While on the flip side, Aemond is also shown knocking out Jacaerys’ wooden sword out of his hand during the training yard scene for no reason. Was it to get back at him after the prank, if so Aemond is clearly no push over and also likes to pick on his younger cousin.

Of course, it’s not fun being the laughing stock at the end of the day they are children, but I feel like there is more to Aemond’s mindset other than the prank and it involves his upbringing. Viserys is an absent father, and it falls to Alicent being the parental figure present in his life. Her clear dislike towards Rhaenyra is reflected in her parenting style, as I believe she instilled her belief into him, that he is better than Rhaenyra’s children, because they are bastards, and he is more Targaryen than his nephews. I feel like this distinction contributed to a sense of self-entitlement, only the biggest obstacle that bothers him about their differences is that their dragons hatched, while he simply doesn’t have one. This is a bruise to his ego, something considered a symbol of house Targaryen, yet Rhaenyra’s bastard children have dragons, when he the legitimate second son of the King, doesn’t even have one.

Aemond’s obsession in getting a dragon to validate his Targaryen lineage and self-importance over Rhaenyra’s children, especially after the prank, contributes to his decision to claim Vhagar on the same night as her previous rider’s funeral. He does not think or care about the repercussions his actions will have to those that it affects such as Rhaena and Baela. When Aemond manages to successfully bond and claim Vhagar as his mount, he receives a sense of validation and a huge ego boost. He now has claimed the largest dragon in Westeros, how could he not let it get to his head. This validation feeds his self-entitlement and superiority complex, as he now perceives himself above Rhaena, Baela, Jace and Luke, which is reflected during the confrontation. I also want to point out that I’m not simply hating on Aemond’s character, but I’m merely trying to dissect his different layers, as I enjoy the aspect in understanding all of the characters complex natures.

Confrontation

When the other children confront him, he is still riding the high of having just claimed the largest and fiercest dragon. He doesn’t shy away or is hesitant to engage with them head on, instead he is arrogant, which supports the idea of his self-entitled beliefs. Aemond chooses to use his words as a weapon with the intent to hurt and provoke Rhaena and the other children. He possibly went into this situation already anticipating a fight, as he chooses to face the confrontation, wanting to prove his self-worth to himself and utilize his newfound position of power after having claimed the largest dragon, to either defeat or intimidate his cousins, further validating his position over them.

Rhaena calls him out by choosing to remind Aemond that Vhagar was her mother’s dragon, the same person they just held a funeral for earlier in the day. She is responding out of anger at the lack of respect Aemond demonstrated by claiming Vhagar on the night of Laena’s funeral. Aemond disregards her grief by stating she’s dead and confirming Vhagar has a new rider, only further upsetting an already heartbroken Rhaena and by extension Baela.

Rhaena angrily states that Vhagar was hers to claim, while from a viewer’s perspective, we know dragons are not a family heirloom passed down to family members and it is ultimately up to the dragon to choose who they bond with, as they are not possessions. But sticking to this idea and criticizing Rhaena for her reaction, hinders the viewer in understanding Rhaena’s perspective. She also doesn’t have a dragon and is desperate to finally have one of her own. Her intentions on hoping to claim her mother’s dragon could be a result of her desire to finally have a dragon of her own (just like Aemond) and it just so happens that the opportunity presented itself being her mother’s dragon. It could also be that she did want Vhagar because of the connection to her late mother, there is nothing wrong in that, as viewers need to be mindful, she is still a child, who has the opportunity to learn about dragons and change her beliefs about them.

Rhaena is a little girl still mourning the death of her beloved mother. She is not in the mindset of claiming any dragon, as she probably was intending to properly grieve her mother. Allowing time to heal the rawness of losing a parent, before acting on her own desires to try and claim Vhagar. We will never know if Vhagar would’ve bonded with her or not because that opportunity was taken from her, which contributed to her anger towards Aemond.  

Aemond’s response is to completely dismiss her feelings and basically point the finger at her and claim it is her own fault for not being quick enough to claim Vhagar. This highlight’s his superiority complex and arrogance, as the underlying insinuation is that he was the smarter one to act quick enough, regardless of Rhaena’s emotional turmoil at the loss of her mother.

He continues by mocking her by referring to the pig prank, something that she had no part in and uses it to belittle her, as he now has the justification in putting himself above her. Instead of being mindful to avoid the subject regarding Raena’s lack of a dragon, he uses it against her, knowing it would hurt and upset her, because he was once in the same position as her not that long ago. He tilts his head in a nonchalant manner when he smugly suggests a pig would suit Rhaena. This shift in character illustrates his superiority, as he feels enjoyment by intentionally taunting her, through the use of targeting the same insecurity he himself struggled with against her.  

 Fight Sequence

Rhaena lashes out and lunges at him, he throws her to the ground, as Baela steps in and punches him, but it had little effect as he quickly recovers. Obviously, from a viewer’s perspective the girls’ actions were wrong, but we have to be mindful that they are children who are acting out based on their emotions. They do not have the ability to think of the consequences of their actions.

Baela’s actions are a result of anger, after listening to Aemond’s utter disregard for her late mother on the night of her funeral and then mocking her sister’s lack of a dragon, followed by throwing her to the ground.

Aemond punches her back in retaliation and Green hardcore stans argue he had every right to because he was defending himself, without taking into account the differences in the children’s background. Aemond is training to be a warrior, while the girls are not and are expected to learn feminine etiquette and household duties. The one who poses the biggest threat out of the two in that exchange is Aemond, he is better skilled and it is a testament, when he manages to overpower all four of the children.

After punching Baela, he proceeds to threaten her, stating he would feed her to his dragon should she decide to attack him again. I doubt Aemond had intentions on murdering Baela in such a manner and his character gave the impression that he was just running his mouth, without serious intentions to actually follow through with his threat.

This dialogue illustrates his confidence from the power trip, as he most likely just wanted to scare Baela in attempts to prevent her from attacking him again, knowing he wouldn’t hold himself back just because she’s a girl. This emphasizes his cold personality and hints towards his ruthless nature, as he doesn’t distinguish those that are weaker and would attack regardless of the opponent’s strength.  

This prompts Jace to step in, as Baela cowers on the ground while Aemond yells at her. Jace punches Aemond in the face, only further escalating the situation, as he feels the need to protect Baela.

Jace continues trying to hit Aemond, as he dodges the attack and ends up kicking him. This can be seen as a call back to Ser Criston’s teachings during Aegon’s match against Jace, where he instructed Aegon to use his feet. This highlights the differences in the skill level between Aemond and Jace, as he and Aegon received closer attention to hone their fighting abilities.

Despite being the significantly weaker opponent Luke intervenes once Jace is kicked to the ground and only manages to grab onto Aemond’s left arm with both of his hands, allowing him to freely swing a direct punch into his face which resulted in a broken nose, as he falls to the ground and crying out in pain. At this point in time, this is where a de-escalation should’ve occurred, where someone should’ve yelled at the ongoing fight to stop or threaten to get an adult, but the kids are now rushing with adrenaline and acting on emotions of anger.

Jace gets up and proceeds to push Aemond to the ground. Jace, Baela and Rhaena take advantage of his helpless situation and jump him. All three continue to take out their anger on him and repeatedly hit him. They are all worked up from the emotional turmoil, as the girls mourn their mother and Jace cannot properly mourn Ser Harwin, someone he looked up to. All three are at fault, as they choose to physically react at the taunts aimed at them, instead of choosing to walk away from the situation.

Aemond manages to kick Jace away from him and grabs Rhaena proceeding to throw her towards her sister, who was on the opposite side of him. Luke runs at Aemond, as he quickly stops him by grabbing his neck. His free hand stumbles across a rock, as he stands up and holds the rock above Luke, posed in a striking position.

This is where things really enter the point of no return, as Aemond is the first one to introduce an object as a potential weapon into the fight. Of course, once again hardcore stans assert he had the rock for self-defense and is not the one in the wrong, as the other children had jumped him. I can to some extent agree with this conclusion, but we have to keep in mind that despite being outnumbered Aemond did gain the upper hand, without the need of a weapon. The introduction of the rock served as a dangerous element in escalating the fight, as he already restrained Luke by the throat with one hand.

Out of all the children there Luke is the smallest target, therefore physically he posed no threat to Aemond in this specific situation. He didn’t have the strength to break free from his chokehold, while the rest of the children can only watch in horror as Aemond once again runs his mouth after gaining the upper hand. Aemond is at fault for continuing to verbally provoke his cousins, as he knows which buttons to push to get a reaction, further supporting the idea that he wanted to fight them all, to prove himself worthy as a Targaryen, that just claimed the largest dragon.

Aemond threatens Luke stating: “you will die screaming in flames just as your father did, bastards.” I interpreted Aemond’s threat as being directed to not only Luke but to Jace as well, as he glances over at him while he spits out the word ‘bastards’ in clear contempt for the two boys. I consider this line as an indicator to Aemond’s upbringing, as he upholds the notion on the importance of being a pure Targaryen, while he views his nephews as lesser than, due to the rumours regarding their parentage. This highlights his mother’s influence that shaped his belief and disdain for his nephews, that he willingly committed the highest of treasons by insulting the heir to the Irone Throne.

Luke struggles against his hold as he states his father is still alive. Aemond lowers the rock only to direct his attention towards Jace, as he mocks him on Luke’s lack of awareness regarding the rumours. To me there are two interpretations on Aemond’s use of the title ‘Lord Strong’. One, is alluding to the deceased man himself, Ser Harwin Strong. The other is Aemond using the title to taunt Jace on his identity, by addressing him while using his rumoured father’s last name.

This insult triggers Jace to pull out his concealed dagger. Jace knew he had no chances on attacking Aemond with just his fists, while he has a rock in one hand. He is now clouded by his anger, wanting to hurt Aemond for insulting a man he considered an important role model in his life. He is also battling his inner conflicting thoughts on his own parentage, as he is at an age where he is aware of the rumours, which would only cause further confusions, as he tries to cope with the loss of his potential biological father.

Rhaena shouts his name and I believe there are two different interpretations on why she called out his name. The first one is she is concerned about his safety before he engages in a serious altercation with the addition of weapons and the second is that she called his name to hopefully make him regain his senses, prompting him to stop the fight. This is where both girls should’ve shouted at the boys to stop, before someone ended up getting seriously injured. But also, we don’t know if words would’ve been enough, as the situation continued to snowball out of control.

Aemond punches Luke again in the face, which was completely unnecessary as he could’ve easily pushed him away. This portrays the influence of Ser Criston’s training, as he still felt the need to hit Luke despite him being the weaker opponent that is at his mercy. Luke stumbles into an armed Jace, where he could’ve accidently hurt Luke, but luckily, he withdrew the dagger and quickly pushes him out of the way, to allow him to attack Aemond.

He swings the dagger, as Aemond jumps back and manages to successfully dodge the blade. Seeing an opening he goes on the attack and hits Jace on the head with the rock. I agree that Aemond’s reaction to hit Jace was in self-defence, but that argument is invalid when he proceeds to hold the rock aimed at a defenceless Jace. Aemond apologists love to absolve him of any wrongdoing and responsibility, something that I will not gloss over. He could have stopped the altercation from further spiralling out of control, by immediately dropping the rock, after disarming Jace and just state they should stop fighting, as it wasn’t going to change what has happened.

But unfortunately, he allows the position of having the power dictate his actions, as he enjoys having control over the situation. This hints to his sadistic nature by his decision to raise his arm, holding the rock aimed in a striking position towards a helpless Jace. He glances at the girls as Rhaena shakes her head, indicating for him to stop, before he went too far.

Luke crawls towards the discarded dagger, as he just witnessed Aemond hit his brother with the rock and acting on instinct to protect his brother, he intends to arm himself, knowing he was no match against Aemond. I wouldn’t be surprised if Luke recalled Ser Criston’s ruthless teachings on not allowing the opponent to get up, once they’re knocked on the ground, further contributing to his fear for his brother’s safety.

Aemond did himself no favours in stopping the unfortunate outcome, as Jace most likely felt that Aemond would seriously injure him or at worst kill him, after the numerous threats he dished out.

Aemond approaches Jace with his arm still raised, as Jace glances over to the side and notices Luke with the dagger. Trusting his brother to rescue him, Jace grabs a handful of dirt and throws it into Aemond’s face, successfully distracting him.

Aemond covers his face with his hand upon reflex and lowers his hand, as he turns his head towards Luke, while he swings his arm with the dagger and ends up accidently slashing his eye.

Luke was motivated by his desire to protect his brother and I doubt he had any malicious intentions to purposefully blind Aemond, which is also a ridiculous claim Aemond hardcore stans believe in. I interpreted his actions were to hurt Aemond with the intent of causing pain by probably cutting his hand or arm, but not to severely injure him, as he possibly just wanted to deter him from smashing his brother’s face with a huge rock. He just didn’t realize the severe repercussions that his actions would end up leading to, as he couldn’t have predicted Aemond lowering his hand or turning his face towards him.

[sansaorgana]

— TARGARYENS DO HAVE QUEER CUSTOMS

PAIRING — Prince Aemond Targaryen x fem!Reader // Princess Rhaella Targaryen (OC)

SUMMARY — Is it the way of Targaryens or is it a sickness of your minds? Your mother says it’s a sin but you can’t get away no matter what you do. You love your brother the same way lovers do.

AUTHOR’S NOTE — It’s written from the Reader’s perspective but she is a Targaryen and she has a name (Rhaella). Also, in this AU Alicent keeps being opposed to the idea of siblings marrying, therefore Aegon and Helaena are not married. I’ve never written a fic with incest before (only with cousins looong time ago while writing for GoT lol). I didn’t feel comfortable enough to write the whole smut scene, you must forgive me. 🙈

WARNINGS — incest, dark themes, religious Reader/OC

WORD COUNT — 2,740

ENGLISH IS MY SECOND LANGUAGE.

TARGARYENS DO HAVE QUEER CUSTOMS

You were your mother’s favorite daughter just like Aemond was her favorite son. She loved Helaena dearly just like you did but Helaena’s way of being was rather distanced and secluded; it seemed to be impossible to form any deeper bond with that odd girl interested in bugs. She was living inside her own world and she would only very rarely let others inside. You and your mother were no exceptions to that rule.

As the youngest daughter and almost the youngest child – with only Prince Daeron younger than you – you were the apple of Queen Alicent’s eye and just like her, you were devoted to the sense of duty and faith.

Faith was important for you both and you would spend long days praying with your mother at the Sept; whispering soft, quiet prayers. You knew what she had been praying for: peaceful life, quiet, a future without the war, an alliance that would keep her children safe and happy. She had been praying for the truce.

Your thoughts often wandered, no matter how hard you were trying to keep your eyes shut; squeezing the eyelids forcefully like you were ordering the sinful thoughts to go away. What could a Princess pray for? A good husband perhaps? Peace in the land? No more suffering for the poor and ill?

No, you prayed for freedom. You wanted to be free of the burden that had to remain a secret deeply hidden.

Finally, one evening you made a decision your mother approved, although not without expressing her surprised face. You wished to become a Septa.

“This will mean giving away your title and your surname, Rhaella,” she reminded you as her gentle hands cradled your cheeks. “I am very proud of you, my love, but are you sure? You’re still young…”

“I am sure, mother,” you nodded your head with tears forming in your eyes. “The surname is nothing but a burden. It’s a curse to be a Targaryen,” you sniffled your tears back.

She only nodded and hugged you while caressing your head. Queen Alicent understood – or at least she thought she did. She didn’t and couldn’t know that you wanted to get away from your brother Aemond.

Aemond was only two years older than you and while growing up he was the closest to you. Aegon was mostly ignoring you as his baby sister, Helaena was expected to spend time with you but she had her odd customs that you weren’t interested in that much, while Daeron was a little baby. Aemond was the one you’d spend most of your days with and both of you were your mother’s favorite children.

There was only one thing Aemond couldn’t seem to live with and it was the fact that you had owned a dragon – Shadowfyre. Once, when you both were children, your brother had been trying to steal him from you and almost got killed in the process.

Aemond was also your first kiss; shyly stolen in the garden when you were seven years old. It was a simple, innocent peck on the lips after listening to Aegon’s bragging about making out with the young maids of the castle.

And after that, nothing was ever the same.

Aemond was overprotective of you and he seemed to always have some sort of excuse to be around you, dance with you, sit next to you during feasts. For everyone around you it was a sign of a bond between the siblings but you had stopped interpreting it this way. Especially when he seemed to look through the depths of your soul while staring at you in his teenage years. You would shyly look down, try to focus on different things but it seemed to be impossible. It was like you two had been destined to fall from grace together.

You knew about Targaryens’ traditions – your father’s first wife had been his cousin and his ancestors often had been marrying their own siblings to keep the blood pure. But had it really been about nothing else? Had they truly been forced to marry each other? You weren’t so sure anymore.

Your mother had always been founding those customs queer and sinful. Marrying your cousin was nothing extraordinary in Westeros but marrying your own sibling was considered to be abnormal, wrong, evil.

But every time Aemond was around, you couldn’t keep your eyes off of him. When your friends were drooling over knights and young lords, you had your eyes set only on your own brother. Flesh from your flesh and blood of your blood.

In your teenage years, the kisses became more frequent; done in secret here and there and with each time they grew to be more and more passionate, leaving you both breathless but you would always step aside to stop yourselves from any further actions. You never spoke about it with anyone, not even Aemond himself.

The burden of this secret was unbearable. You wanted to throw up every time he entered the room and he remained following you everywhere, hoping for a moment alone, another kiss you would gladly give him despite everything. It would leave you feeling dirty and sinful but you couldn’t deny him a kiss, you couldn’t deny the burning feeling in all of your limbs whenever he was near. His smell, his smile, his stare, his cold slim hands. You wanted all of it, all over you, at all times. It was a constant, bugging thought that no amount of praying could ever wash away.

You were praying at the Sept, squeezing your hands tightly and pressing them to your forehead, trying to focus on the prayer.

You didn’t want to become a Septa. What kind of Princess would give away her titles and surname, the comforts of living in the Red Keep? But you couldn’t see any other way for yourself. You had to get away from him, you had to devote your whole body and soul to the Faith of Seven instead of your own brother.

You were alone at the Sept, staring at the candles in front of you and how their flames danced in the air. You wished to be as free as those flames. Burning brightly, without a care of anything else, being free to do and be anything they wanted to.

The heavy doors opened loudly and you heard the familiar, rushed steps approaching you. Damn him, you thought, shutting your eyes and whispering the prayers faster and faster but it was done mindlessly. Your thoughts were with your brother again.

“I’ve heard you were going away to become a Septa,” Aemond stood in front of you. He sounded angry and you ignored him. “Is that true?” he asked, impatiently but you kept pretending he wasn’t there and whispering your prayers. “Is that true?!” he screamed eventually and you flinched before raising your eyes to meet his intense gaze.

He was beautiful and madly dangerous, you never knew if he wanted to kiss you or hurt you. He had to have mixed feelings just like you did – after all, both of you had been taught by your mother that the customs of your ancestors were sinful.

He had to hate you for craving you the same amount as you hated him for craving him.

“I have to get away from you,” you whispered. “It’s for the both of us,” you added.

“What a sacrifice, my sweet sister,” he smirked and you stood up from your knees to make it less awkward.

My sweet sister, he would always call you that. Was it a reminder for the both of you that you had been nothing but a sibling by blood to him? However, he would always make it sound so deliciously sweet to the point it was inappropriate.

“One of us has to sacrifice and it’s going to be me,” you took a deep breath in. “Being a Septa is much better than being married off for the political alliance one day to some old and disgusting Lord.”

“Much better than being at home?” He raised an eyebrow.

“You know very well I would be sent away sooner or later, if not to become a Septa, then to marry someone. We were never destined to be together,” you lowered your voice as he stood right in front of you; dancing flames reflecting in the pupil of his eye as he looked at you.

“Rhaella…” he whispered your name so sweetly, so… desperately.

“You are nothing but a poison coursing through my veins,” your breaths became shallow as your voice grew weak. “You’re a poisoned thorn in my side I have to remove quickly and painfully. You make me wish I was dead so I didn’t have to go through this torment.”

He remained silent for a while and then he smirked.

“So you feel the same as I do, my sweet sister. Whenever I raise my sword at the training grounds, I think of you, I think that you would leave my thoughts with all the blood and sweat but you never do. You never go away, not even for a second, not even when I’m with other women. I’ve tried everything and you’re still there, you’re a part of me and I am a part of you. You may go even to Essos, my sweetest, but you won’t ever run away from me because I am in you like you are in me,” he leaned in and you swallowed thickly before looking away.

“Do you think we are sick?” you asked and dared to lay your eyes on him again. “Or is it just the way Targaryens are? Please, tell me it’s not that we’re sick.”

“Honestly, I don’t give a fuck whether it’s sickness or not,” he confessed before clashing his lips with yours. You muffled a squeal of surprisement but you gave the kiss back, opening your mouth to let his tongue inside as his hands landed on your shoulders, tugging on the sleeves of your dress.

“Not… Not here…” you gasped between the hasty, hungry kisses. “Not here, please, Aemond…”

However, he wasn’t listening. He had only one thing on his mind.

“Promise me you won’t go… Promise me you will stay in the castle,” his words were slurred as he continued to kiss you messily. “Forever. You’re going to stay here forever, promise me.”

It was making you feel dizzy. Your heart full of desire was at the war with your brain, your sense of honor and duty. Your mother’s teachings against your ancestors’ blood boiling in your veins.

The disgust on your mother’s face when she found out about the wedding of Princess Rhaenyra to her uncle Prince Daemon and the way your heart skipped a beat after hearing those news. How you flustered, how you looked down to hide your fascination… and Aemond’s smirk at you. Even back then, when you both were children. You already knew you had been destined to be together. Sinful or not.

Love had never cared about sinful or not.

“I’ll stay, I’ll stay, I’ll stay,” you chanted breathlessly like a prayer.

You never made it to the bedroom chambers.

“I will speak with her,” you watched Aemond fixing his clothes for the last time as you focused on adjusting the corset of your dress so it would look presentable again.

“No! Don’t you dare!” your eyes widened. “She cannot ever find out. She will disinherit us, cast us out.”

“Would it be so bad, my sweet? It would give us freedom,” he pointed out and you grabbed his sleeve.

“No, I’m begging. Don’t tell mother.”

“You either become my lady wife or I burn this whole Kingdom down,” he gritted between his teeth and walked away after getting away from your grip.

“Your haughtiness will bring you death one day, Aemond,” you whispered but he wasn’t listening and left the Sept.

You ran after him, trying to stop him on the way and reason with him but he remained walking with a serious face on.

When you finally reached the doors of Queen Alicent’s chambers, he pushed them open without knocking and you spotted your surprised and scared mother sitting by the table with your grandfather Otto Hightower. They had been playing cards and gossiping but now they were staring at you both suspiciously.

“What is the meaning of this? Aemond?” your mother stood up. “Why are you entering my chambers without knocking so late in the evening? Has something happened?”

“Aemond, don’t…” you looked at him pleadingly. Not only your mother but also your grandfather was there and you just wanted to die at this very moment so you didn’t have to go through the whole scene.

“Your Grace, I am humbly asking for your permission to marry my sister Princess Rhaella Targaryen,” he stated and you took a step back, scared of your mother’s reaction.

Your grandfather’s eyes widened but Queen Alicent only froze in one place.

“What…? What kind of…? Aemond, Rhaella, this joke is not funny,” her voice trembled. “Whatever you two are doing, this is not funny. Rhaella wants to become a Septa, Aemond, she doesn’t concern herself with marriage anyway.”

“She cannot become a Septa,” Aemond pointed out and you could feel your heart pounding in your chest.

“And why is that so?” your mother raised her eyebrow at him.

“No…” you whispered to him.

“Because I have spoiled her,” he confessed and the silence so thick and deadly filled the room that you could hear your blood coursing through your veins. “And to restore her and mine honor, I would like to take her hand as soon as possible,” Aemond added to break the silence.

Your mother turned her head around very slowly to finally look at you. There was a great amount of disappointment in her eyes. And even a hint of disgust. Your own eyes welled with fresh tears.

“It’s their tradition,” your grandfather surprisingly stood up and joined the conversation. “Allow them to wed each other. Aegon, Helaena and Daeron might straighten our alliances but Aemond and Rhaella can focus on keeping the Targaryen bloodline pure.”

“If you don’t allow us to marry, I will go to my father and speak with him instead,” Aemond added, which made both you and your mother gasp.

“You would betray me and go to the man you hate so deeply?” she asked.

“You know how deep my love is for you, mother, but yes, I would. I hope that makes you understand how determined I am,” Aemond nodded.

Queen Alicent pursed her lips in a thin line before eventually laying her eyes on you once again. You were trembling but you bravely kept looking back at her instead of lowering your gaze.

“And what is it that you want, Rhaella?” she asked you.

“My heart has belonged to Aemond since he was nine and I was seven,” you whispered almost inaudibly but she could hear you very well.

“How could I be so blind?” she sighed. “You two should have been separated much earlier.”

“No separation would ever make any difference, mother,” Aemond explained.

“Don’t blame yourself,” you took a step ahead and approached her to put your hands on her shoulders. “It is not your fault, you were nothing but the best example for us. I know you have been trying your best to raise us properly and your teachings have always been right. It is not your fault that we are cursed with Targaryen blood,” you tried to cheer her up by showing sympathy. “But we are still your children and we love you dearly.”

Queen Alicent looked at her father and Otto Hightower nodded his head.

“They say that the Targaryens are the strongest when united,” he said.

“You are,” she whispered eventually to you and caressed your face. “You are my children,” there was no disgust in her eyes anymore and you sighed with relief. “I knew that the man I had married was of a different blood and so would my children be. I love you, Rhaella,” she cracked a smile, “Aemond,” her eyes found his. “I will allow you to marry if that is your wish even if I personally find that idea repulsive at least.”

You hugged her tightly and after a short while of hesitation, she put her arms around you as well to squeeze you tighter and kiss your temple.

MASTERLIST

[darylandbethfanforever9]

I’m in agreement, where’s vengeful Alicent.

when he says “would you not have us prevail” it’s like he’s also saying “why are you not on our, my side”

of course aemond has always seen it as us against them and seeing his mother more than reluctant to take his side and instead being neutral/wanting to make peace with his half sister, who once called for him to be “questioned sharply”, has to hurt.