The pain in Aemond's eye was striking.
He tried to blink it away, in vain. It felt like fire was burning in his empty socket, and no potion the maester gave, no amount of milk of the poppy could bring him complete relief.
The milk of the poppy drugged him heavily enough to fall asleep, however as soon as he would wake up, the pain just came back, perhaps even worse than before.
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He hated everyone. He hated Lucerys for taking his eye. He hated Baela and Rhaena for accusing him of 'stealing their mother's dragon' (which is ridiculous; dragons are not property of men). He hated Jacaerys for laughing at him. He hated Aegon for not doing anything. He hated Helaena for having failed to warn him of the danger (if she really was a dreamer, why couldn't she have told him?)27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5fQkw6JN0
Daenerys... how could one hate her?
His mother had said multiple times that girls with such a reputation were only good for a brothel. Most beautiful girl of Westeros. Except Daenerys wasn't of common birth. She was not a sheep. She wasn't even more Andal than Valyrian, unlike her bastard Strong half-brothers.
She was Valyrian. She was a Targaryen princess.
Before, when he was at King's Landing, his father would always talk about how sad it was that he never met his only granddaughter in front of Aegon, Helaena and Aemond. Aemond had always found it unfair. Why did his father prefer Rhaenyra and her brood to him and his siblings? What had he done to make King Viserys hate him so?
Aemond hated Jace and Luke, even before the incident. They had mocked him alongside Aegon, and whilst Aegon was his brother (and so he had to tolerate him), he would not tolerate Jace or Luke. Never.
Oh, how it was so much easier then!27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1w6mBJ8Dv0
When the carriage had arrived at Driftmark and he had laid eyes on Daenerys, his first thought was not about her beauty. It wasn't about how her eyes twinkled with intelligence. It wasn't even about her lack of resemblance to her brothers.
No, it was about how hard it would be to hate all of Rhaenyra's children now.
Beauty always made a better shield than strength or birth, for beauty enchanted men and gods alike. Aemond's mother always said that beauty was a curse, an attribute that the Seven granted people they believed worthy, but those women would always become too vain or too stupid.
Aemond's mother was pretty, but she wasn't beautiful.
She wasn't anything like Daenerys was, with her silvery-blonde curls and her lilac eyes and her milky complexion. She didn't even compare to Rhaenyra, with her straight silver hair and dark purple eyes.
She was common. Awfully, dreadfully common.
That didn't mean Aemond did not love her (of course he loved her, she was the only parent who showed love towards him), but she would never really be a part of the Targaryen family. Not in the way Rhaenyra and her brood were.
Heck, Aemond and his siblings weren't even a proper part of the family, and their father was the patriarch of it all.
His thoughts drifted once again to Daenerys and her beauty. He had seen Aegon's lecherous gaze fall onto her when Rhaenyra had introduced Daenerys to the King. He had seen the way she brushed the gaze off, as if it did not scare her. He had seen the way she held her head high, not too proud, but definitely not invisible.
She really was a mystery.
A mystery he was willing to solve.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ryvVWgmX7
Pain gnawed at his eye again, and he sighed. He was thinking about putting an eyepatch to cover it. He hated the long red scar that marred one side of his face for the rest of his life. It would be a reminder of yet another battle lost to the bastards and Daemon's daughters.
A reminder that he was not really a part of the family.
He almost jumped out of bed when he heard a firm knock on the door. Who would want to visit him? His mother was asleep at this time, and Aegon and Helaena had already visited.
Before he could say a word, the door creaked open, and a lovely face poked into his now awful and blurry vision.
"May I come in?" Daenerys Velaryon asked him.
He was so shocked that she had come to visit him that his jaw dropped wide open. She laughed as if she was used to such behaviour, and for all response came in and sat on his bed, being careful to gently shut the door when she entered.
Her gaze raked over his injury and missing eye, and instead of the pity that his mother and maesters had shown, something else gleamed in her eyes.
Sympathy.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZf2vXD52pT
"I won't say I'm sorry about your eye, because I think you've heard that enough already tonight. All I can say is that I apologise on behalf of my brothers, Baela and Rhaena for your eye," she began.
He did not reply, too focused on how she kept her composure, not betraying a hint of discomfort, even looking at him right in his remaining eye.
"I won't pretend that you did not have a part to play in it, however. From what little I have heard, it appears to me that you called my brothers bastards. Though this is the truth, I advise you to shut your mouth when it comes to these matters," she said firmly.
If possible, his shock level attained new heights. How dare she speak to him like this?!
However, she did not appear to notice his shock, and continued.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPrjiT8wxQ
"However, my brother should not have taken out a dagger. What was a children's fight became a war in less than a millisecond due to him being bad at wielding a dagger. I deeply regret it. I do not expect you to forgive my brother, however please accept his sincerest apologies," she concluded.
For the first time in this exchange, Aemond had the courage to speak up.
"Why should I accept?" he challenged coldly.
"Because you know deep down that the only way you are going to be accepted by my mother, and so your father and my grandfather, is if you accept Luke's apology and present one to Baela, Rhaena, Jace and Luke," she casually replied.
He disliked how unaffected she appeared to be. Was she always this calm and collected? He did not want to know.
"There is nothing to apologise for," he scoffed. He was tired of people making him believe that there was something to apologise for when there wasn't. A dragon is not the property of a single soul, and Jace and Luke are bastards.
She sighed, as if she expected his answer.
"Look. You have to admit that it was not very tactical on your part to claim Laena Velaryon's dragon the night of her funeral. Baela and Rhaena were still grieving. They are still grieving. You must apologise for that tactlessness. You also called my brothers bastards. Aemond, please understand that we are all Targaryens at the end of the day. And stop saying such things about Jace and Luke. It is not their fault," she insisted.
He was surprised at how mature she was. It shocked him, in a way. She was young, even younger than him, but she was around his height and a lifetime wiser.
He was prepared to refuse outright (why should he apologise?) when she lifted a beautiful finger and pressed it gently onto his lips.
"Please. I beseech you. Think about giving them their apology," she murmured.
He did not reply, shocked at her gesture. It was familiar, but it was kind. It was loving. Why should he reprimand her?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsPg0tUQSa
She gracefully bid him goodbye and got off the bed. He was amazed at how effortless she made it seem; how she walked, how she gathered her skirts, how she smiled.
Perfect. Utterly perfect.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLPZNAG38Q
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