#hotd: 204 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

visionsofcarnality · 6 months ago

Text

Ptolemaea:

Aemond Targaryen x Daemyra’s Daughter!fc

Ptolemaea: To betray a guest that has been invited into your home.

a/n: The original concept for this came from @ellijg who dmed me this concept and i added my own little details to it. The original concept was Daemon and Rhaenyra’s daughter was best friends with Aemond during childhood and the daughter was at Rook’s Rest which triggered Aemond to think about when he killed her brother Lucerys. Obviously spoilers for both Fire and Blood and HOTD 204 are below. This short story deals with violence, grief, betrayal, and more than one stabbing.

Other notes: Ptolemaea is also a good song to listen to during this.

"Do you think Aegon and Helaena will be happy?" She asked him? turning her violet eyes to try and find his. "Married?"

"I hope so..." Aemond murmured softly, running his fingers over the softly carved wings of a wooden dragon toy they'd stolen from the King's chambers. "But I think not."

Alysanne frowned softly, turning her head back to the sky where they could just spot Sunfyre and Dreamfyre circling the city. Not quite touching, just observing each other. Each a spectator to the other's solitude. Even in her young mind she wondered if the beautiful beasts were mimicking their riders. Caution reigning over curiosity.

"Pray to the Seven..." She settled deeper into the grass, trying to push the thoughts of unhappy partnerships behind. "I hope I will never marry."

"I will marry you." He countered, causing her head to snap back in his direction, mouth open to protest before he continued. "You can live on Dragonstone, I'll stay in the keep. No one will ever be able to make you do anything."

"Except you." She hedged, clearly looking for the catch in this vow.

"I could never command you." He scoffed, a faint smile leaving his lips. "Zaldrīzes dohaeriros iksos daor."

(A dragon is not a slave)

She matched his smile with her own, laughing softly. "We could be free."

"We could be free." He conceded, watching his niece instead of the clouds when she told him one looked almost like the dragon she'd claimed. The she dragon once ridden by the Queen she was named after; Silverwing.

Alysanne screamed in pure horror when Vhagar's teeth closed around Meleys' neck, crunching disturbingly. She felt a sob tear from her throat as the dragon stopped fighting and finally fell limp, hurtling towards the earth at the speed only a creature the size of a dragon could achieve. Even from her distance she could just see the arms of her beloved Cousin Rhaenys, lifted by the rush of the fall like she was surrendering to her fate.

The explosion from the impact of Meleys' body on the ground shook the castle she was circling and a pained wail left her. One that Silverwing matched, trilling a sound that onlookers would describe in the history books as despair.

There was no time for grief, not as Alysanne, still with tears in her eyes, saw Vhagar circle back around and turn towards the castle of Rook's Rest. She pushed aside the image of Rhaenys falling through the blue sky and focused on what was in front of her. Meleys had blown a passage through the wall of the Keep, one the footsoldiers were now running through. If her faction were to stand even a small chance, she had to distract Vhagar to let Rhaenyra's soldiers close in behind them.

"Dohaeragon, Silverwing." She sobbed into the Dragon's large neck. "Īlon līs jikagon va." She encouraged her, fastening the straps holding her to her saddle even tighter until the skin around her armored hips felt pinched. "Nābēmagon, Gēlenka Tīkun."

(Dohaeragon: Serve/Serve me. Īlon līs jikagon va: We must go on. Nābēmagon Gēlenka Tikun: Attack, Silver Wing.)

Silverwing chirped a high, almost musical, roar and obeyed. The she dragon violently whipped her light wings against the air current below them, launching her and her rider higher. They were now almost level with Vhagar and Aemond.

Aemond twisted in his saddle at the sound of Silverwing's call, eye widening in dread. "No," He shook his head, willing Alysanne to turn her mount away from the battle. "Stubborn girl..." The words were followed by a soft curse as Vhagar inevitably circled to face Silverwing. "No! Vhagar, no!" He cried, yanking uselessly on the reigns.

"Vhagar, no!" The sound of bone crunching could be heard even above the thick rain as Vhagar's mouth closed around Arrax's body... Around Lucerys.

"Vhagar, stop! Not her!" He screamed. "Not her! Dohaeragon, Vhagar. Rybagon issa!" Vhagar paid him no mind, raising her mighty neck to deliver a killing blow to the smaller dragon.

(Rybagon issa: hear me.)

On Silverwing, Alysanne watched the great beast move like a fanged glacier, the slow speed somehow making her movement all the more intimidating. She swallowed her fear, closing her eyes for half a moment and letting herself remember Rhaenys. Her death could not be in vain. She would not lose this battle.

"Come on, girl." She called harshly, gripping the reins tight. "We can take them." Silverwing answered lightly and beat her wings harder, launching them higher.

"No..." The sight of Arrax's wing tumbling to the dark water like a maple tree seed. Spinning and circling as it still spewed the steaming blood of the young dragon. He wondered absently how much of the blood on Arrax's scales was his... and how much was Lucerys'.

The ride back to King's Landing was numb. Even the cold rain and the pain in his hands from his grip on Vhagar's leads couldn't shake him from his stupor.

Vhagar roared with a sound that was more felt than heard, but there was no mistaking the answering melodic call of Silverwing as she met the larger beast without fear. Aemond pulled Vhagar back with all his might, crying out with the effort of trying to turn such a massive beast away from the woman he may have once called his wife.

It was barely enough, Vhagar finally banked with a roar of outrage, but not before Silverwing made impact with the larger she dragon's hind leg, slicing savagely through to the bone. Vhagar moaned in anger and writhed in the air, shaking the reflective dragon off. Alysanne and Silverwing hung on, bravely tearing chunks from Vhagar's flesh until the jade queen twisted in a slow death roll and brought her tail up towards her leg, smacking savagely into the side of Silverwing and sending her flying.

Aemond watched in horror as his nightmares became reality. The flashing of Silverwing's light scales as she spun out of control looked all too similar to the way Arrax had spiraled as bits of him fell to the ocean. He could just barely see Alysanne, clutching her dragon's neck like she was attempting to comfort her even in the free fall. Even though she would surely die should the impact come for them both.

Silverwing crashed into the trees below them, knocking more than a few of them down with her momentum, a shrill, ululating whistle of pain rising above the screams and clanging of steel.

"Down, Vhagar, land." He instructed without emotion, letting Vhagar carry them both to the ground near where Silverwing had made impact.

Alysanne nearly screamed in effort, trying to pull the clasp of her strap from the saddle as it had become crushed during the fall, the metal loop closing entirely on the latch of her riding lead. When it was made clear the metal wouldn't budge she huffed and drew her dagger, slicing clean through the crafted leather. No sooner was she free than she was sliding down Simverwing's back to rush towards her head, checking the dragon over for injuries.

"Oh, my girl." She crooned, pressing her forehead to Silverwing's nose with a soft sob. "I thought we were lost." Silverwing purred against her rider, the sound carrying a soft whistle with it.

"Alysanne!" The harsh shout of her name had the hairs on the back of her neck rising, followed by the crunching of leaves and twigs under hurried feet.

"Ssh..." She soothed her mount with a soft kiss to her face. "It's okay." Silverwing rustled nervously but obeyed with a soft chuff that blew smoke up through Alysanne's silver-gold hair, joining the smoke and soot that already covered her rider.

"Alys!" Aemond called the nickname he'd used for her when they were children, clearing the last of the branches to reveal Silverwing on her side, laying calmly among the destruction caused by her fall. Weary, but alive. There was no sign of Alysanne.

Or so he thought. A primal yell came from his flank and he turned just in time to catch Alysanne's sword arm as she swung a dagger over his head. His hand just stopped the impact of the blade a finger's length from his good eye, and they locked in a stare. Alysanne was covered in soot and smoke, smeared by the tears running down her face and looking in her eyes. Though the tears were not betrayed by her expression, her mouth and brow twisted in fervent wrath.

"Alys-" He started, trying to wrestle her arm down and away from him. Before he could finish she suddenly dropped the dagger and caught it with her other hand, driving it towards his side. He had just enough time to sidestep her so that the blade met him in the thigh instead of the gut where she had intended.

"You!" She wailed, the sound almost animalistic. "Kinslayer! Traitorous, two-faced villain!" Her words cut him deep and he felt his face fall as he beheld the ferocity and rage she threw at his feet.

"Alys, stop!" He shouted, grabbing both her flailing arms and twisting her wrist until she cried out and dropped the dagger. "Listen to me!" She did no such thing, kicking out with both legs to try and force him off her. The impact cleared the air from his lungs but only served to topple them both to the scorched forest floor, his body on top of hers. She writhed in his grip, growling like a harpy, but he was stronger and larger than she was , nailing her arms to the ground with both hands and sitting down harshly on her hips to keep her from squirming too much.

"Stop fighting me!" He roared into her face, and she only fought harder, drawing her own blood as she clenched her hands into fists, digging the nails into the meat of her palms with her effort.

"No!" She screamed in response, trying to bring her legs up to knee him in the back. "I will never stop fighting you! I will kick and scream and fight you until you either kill me or I kill you!" She sobbed, her fight losing some of its momentum as she cried.

"Alys-"

"You killed them!" She wailed, choked sounds of grief leaving her as she continued to fight him. "You killed them both! Your kin!"

"It was an accident!" He matched her cries, feeling his own tears start to well. "What happened with Lucerys... I never meant for Vhagar to harm him!"

"He was three and ten!" She wept miserably, her arms and legs starting to slacken in his hold as he grief overcame her sadness. "He was a child, Aemond! A babe! Him and Arrax both!"

"And what of our children?" Some of his tears dropped to her face and she shook them off agitatedly. "Jaehaerys? Maelor, who will never forget how his mother wished him dead? Jaehaera, who lost her twin?"

"Rhaenyra had nothing to do with that!" She hissed through her tears. "It was Daemon who ordered your head be brought to him. He did not plan on your chambers being empty. You were too busy whoring to protect your own nephew!" Her voice rose through the sentence until she was screeching in his face again.

"Enough, woman!" He snapped, lifting her briefly to slam her back into the ground in an attempt to stop her from spewing more of his darkest regrets. "You think I wanted this? You think that I wanted my nephews dead?"

"Mayhaps not." She panted coldly, eyes icing over as she looked between the patch and his single purple eye. "But you wanted your brother dead." Aemond's blood ran cold. "I saw you. I saw you order Vhagar. You fired upon your own brother with no regard for his life. Your King! You were too blinded by your own hatred and ambition to stay loyal to your brother!"

He leaned into her space, so close their noses almost touched and he could smell the salt in the tears cutting through the soot on her cheeks. “That fire was for Meleys. Aegon was the idiot who held on and didn’t order Sunfyre away.”

At that, she did the unthinkable. She laughed at him.A disturbing, humorless laugh that made a chill run down his spine. “Your convolutions may be enough for your mother and your small council, but you cannot fool me Aemond.” She sneered, venom dripping from every word. “You never could.”

“Have you no memory of us as children?” He was grasping now, trying to find a way to pull her close as she only tried to get farther away. “What has become of those children?”

“You did this to us!” She cried, rage awakening anew. “It was your actions, not mine! Your ambition! Your anger! Your ceaseless vengeance and need for retribution!” Silverwing shifted uncomfortably at the sounds of her rider’s distress, but did not rise. “Your constant need to be feared and loved! You claim loneliness, did I not love you enough?” She was sobbing again. “Have I not given everything I could to you and your complexes? Was I not enough for you, Aemond? Or did you think that I could love you and fear you at once?” She finally stopped fighting him, laying lax against the soot-covered ground as he processed her deepest questions. “If I had loved you better would you have spared my brother?” She mewled through her tears. “If I had feared you the way you wanted Luke to fear Vhagar?”

Aemond did not answer, and another tear rolled down his face and he watched it land on her wobbling bottom lip. She looked away from him, arms shifting restlessly. “Even now…” She mused, sounding truly broken. “You cannot answer me.” She scoffed. “Nothing will ever be enough for you, Aemond. You ride the largest dragon, you claimed your vengeance on my little brother, you’ve now deposed your brother as King…” The expression she turned on him was nothing short of disgust edged with pity. “You will never be happy.” She sighed, “Never satisfied.”

“Alys-“ He was cut off from finishing her name when he felt a sharp pain in his side, just below the crest of his hipbone. The only place on his body she could reach with her arms restrained against him. When he looked down he saw the hilt of Aegon’s dagger protruding from his doublet. She’d taken the dagger he plucked from the crater of Sunfyre and Aegon…

Aemond loosed his grip on her in shock, feeling blood pool under his clothes and soak his riding clothes. Alysanne scrambled from beneath him as he hitched to the side, catching himself on one hand and breathing heavily.

“Alysanne!” He called out, watching her hair fly behind her as she sprinted to Silverwing and deftly climbed onto her back, strapping herself into the saddle with quick, shaking hands. “Alysanne!” He repeated, louder now, desperation tinting his voice as he simultaneously tried to stem the bleeding from his side as well as from the dagger still lodged in his thigh.

She paid him no mind as she ordered Silverwing into the sky and the downwind from her mighty wings hit Aemond full force, knocking his weakening body to the ground on his back, helpless as he watched her fly away.

He watched her until Silverwing was just a reflective dot on the sky, and the last thing he heard was a knight shouting his title before he succumbed to sleep from the blood still flowing under him.

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