CHAPTER FORTY TWO
❪ devils tongue ! ❫
for a more in depth reading to this chapter, please listen to running up that hill - epic version by samuel kim.

Aenemera righted the black leather strap around her waist that kept the sword she carried securely against her body. It was the same sword that was made for her and used for practice purposes only — as Aemond insisted.

He told her she would never need to defend herself against anyone as long as he was around.

The last thing she added to her attire was a pair of black riding gloves used to protect her fingers when riding Baeselyx.

She wasn't sure where her children were or where they were being taken to, but she was going to spend the entire night trying to find them.

She gathered a small satchel and put the strap around her shoulder before stuffing the bloody white sheets inside. She was going to use her dragons sense of smell to track down her children.

Whoever took them was unprepared for the gory night they were about to endure from the princess.

A small but firm knock pressed against the door of her bed chambers. She didn't respond and kept her glare through the mirror to finish getting herself dressed.

Gareth slowly made his way into her room, a shocked expression clouding his face to see the princess dressed in war leathers. He was used to see her in the most beautiful gowns that hung down towards the floor. Her hair was always flowing down her back but now it was braided several times into one big one.

This was the most expression Gareth has ever displayed while working beside the princess. The woman who once read in gardens for hours and spoke to Queen Helaena about bugs was now ready to go to war for her children.

Aenemera finally acknowledged his process by giving him one look over before turning back to the mirror. "Ser Gareth, inform the dragon keepers that I want Baeselyx ready for me in the next several minutes."

Gareth lowered his head in silence. Guilt was flooding his system and practically suffocating his lungs to disobey her orders.

"The king doesn't want anyone leaving the castle, princess. His orders."

Aenemera tightened the strap of the sword once more and nodded to herself in the mirror. "Very well, I'll do it myself." She marched towards the door until Gareth quickly shifted in front of it — blocking her passage out of the room.

"Gareth." She gazed up at him slowly with a warning tone. "I suggest you move out of the way, right now."

Only a single heartbeat passed and Aenemera unsheathed her smaller blade before swiftly pressing it up against Gareth's neck without much of any hesitation.

Her sworn protector slowly raised his hands in defense as he stared down at her with a look of plead. "Okay," was all he managed to whisper until she moved the knife from his throat.

"I'm sorry," she responded hastily and moved past him to exit the bedroom without force.

But the time she left the room and made her way towards the guards on horses by the back gate — Gareth quickly went off to find Aemond and inform him about Aenemera.

The prince could be found in a small room where he was previously seen with Criston Cole.

Aemond was kneeling on the floor with a small coin in his hand, gazing at it closely while Gareth charged into the room eagerly.

The prince looked up from his current position and arched an eyebrow at the knight. "What — "

"Aenemera is leaving Kings Landing."

Aemond slowly rose to his full height and clutched the coin within his fist. "Repeat."

Gareth inhaled slowly through his nose to gather his breathing. His left hand clutching the hilt of his sword desperately. "The princess is leaving to find the girls. She's riding Baeselyx straight into battle."

It was like the wind had been kicked out of Aemond's chest as he sucked in air but wasn't able to release it. Gareth almost wanted to shout at the prince to start moving and go after his wife. She was putting herself in danger without knowing the numbers that could possibly be waiting outside these walls.

Aemond had already spent the last hour retracing every step of not only himself but his brother, Cole, and other guards to understand what happened. He wanted to piece together who killed his nephew and took his children.

He was already in the mix of handling things himself but Aenemera wasn't going to sit around and do absolutely nothing.

She didn't know if the girls were cold, hungry, or scared. If they were already dead and their bodies were taken as proof. If they were being tortured or thrown into the ocean or left somewhere in the woods for bait.

Even if the girls were dead — Aenemera needed proof. She wasn't going to rest until she knew.

Aenemera was already out of the building by the time Gareth found Aemond and informed him of her leaving. She managed to sneak up on one of the city watch men and pointed her knife straight towards his crotch.

He nervously looked down when he felt the tip of the blade piercing through his pants. "Take me to the dragon pit," the princess ordered through a strong gaze.

"The king informed us nobody was allowed in or out of the castle — "

"I will cut off the very thing that's most precious to you and feed it to the dragons." Her upper lip curled devilishly and forced the knife closer towards where his crotch. "Take me the dragon pit, now."

The male didn't waste another second of hesitation to help the princess onto the back of his horse and guide her straight towards her destination. But the blade remained visible — if by any chance he decided to do something stupid.

The dragon keepers gathered Baeselyx upon her arrival and had her saddle ready for the flight.

Baeselyx nudged the tip of his nose against her head as a sign of greeting all while she dragged the sheets out from her satchel. "I need your help," she informed her dragon and held the ball of blankets up towards his nose. "Find them — please," tears began flooding her vision just as Baeselyx let out a deep coo at her shift of emotion. "Please find my girls."

His snout nudged against the sheets like a hound dog, aggressively searching for the scent the wasn't Aenemera or Aemond.

It was a mixture of two newborns that carried a scent similar to Aenemera's but the third scent was different. Baeselyx was also sensing the distress in Aenemera's body as her hands began to shake with anxiety.

When Baeselyx had a clear identification of the scent, he turned his head and encouraged her to climb up onto his back.

She stuffed the blankets back into her satchel and quickly climbed onto her saddle. She didn't have to make any instruction for Baeselyx to take off in one swift dive towards the East.

They soared over mostly land after getting far away from Kings Landing and the smaller villages that surrounded the outskirts.

Aenemera paid close attention to anything and everything that they passed by — searching for strange movements or any clear sign that someone held her children captive.

Baeselyx changed his direction towards the Northeast before slowly landing himself down on a large empty hill. His chest began to rise and fall from the extent of his heart rate picking up.

She knew he could sense something.

Aenemera unbuckled herself from the saddle and stood up to peer out towards the forest in front of them. There wasn't any sound coming from deep within but as Baeselyx's head lowered and his chest rumbled with burning fire — she knew they were in there.

"Sōvēs," she gripped the reigns of her dragon and Baeselyx used his back legs to launch them forward. ❪ fly ❫

Baeselyx soared right above the trees — his belly nearly scraping against the branches as he pointed his nose towards the direction of which the scent was coming from. Aenemera felt the rage in her blood brewing and the only thing she was chanting inside her mind was for her girls to be alive.

Baeselyx let out a powerful growl at the same moment two horses appeared out of the forest at great speed.

Without any order he skillfully rounded them like cattle and landed on the other side to keep them from continuing forward.

Aenemera quickly climbed off Baeselyx like the speed of lightning and removed her smallest blade as she stormed towards the cloaked figures. One of them tried to get around the princess but when Baeselyx let out a piercing roar — the horse stood on its back legs to retreat and the sound of a babe crying flooded the forest like a tidal wave.

"Get down from the horse," Aenemera ordered the strangers with a warning tone. "I won't repeat myself twice."

The two figures hiding behind large grey cloaks shared a small glance at one another. The one that tried to escape remained still until the other raised its hands and pulled back the cloak that shielded their face.

Maverick and Aenemera shared a burning glare with one another. She tilted her chin towards the second person on her left. "Genevieve, I can only assume."

All the cards were not laid out on the table as the second hold was removed and she was revealed to be exactly who Aenemera had guessed.

"Hand over my children, or I will make your deaths as slow as I can possibly make them." Her grip on the hilt of the blade tightened. "Either of you try to run and I won't stop my dragon from burning you alive."

Genevieve looked back at Maverick as if she was waiting for a response.

Aenemera could see the thick cloths wrapped around their chests, used like a satchel to hold the girls — their crying did not stop. Her heart was beating heavily against her chest with anticipation to see them — hold them, and make sure they were safe from harm.

Maverick gave Genevieve a curt nod and she slowly climbed down from her horse with a hand hovering over one of the girls body.

"We were not sent to kill them," Genevieve whispered curtly under her breath.

Aenemera pointed the tip of her blade towards Maverick. "Get off the horse and don't move. Give Genevieve my child." She tilted the blade towards Baeselyx's tail with her eyes ablaze at Genevieve. "I want you to put both of them down near his body. If you try anything else — he will kill you."

Genevieve slowly looked towards Baeselyx nervously. Her gaze remained locked onto the dragon as Maverick handed her the other babe and she now cradled both in her arms.

Aenemera kept her blade pointed towards Maverick but watched as the woman placed her children as close as possible towards Baeselyx's tail.

Once the girls were close enough and out of arms reach — Baeselyx swiftly moved his tail and wrapped them protectively around the babes. A deep growl bellowed in his throat towards Genevieve's direction until she finally stepped away.

"This was part of the plan, Aenemera." Maverick finally spoke with his hands raised towards the air. "We were meant to coax you into following us — and it worked."

"But now I get the pleasure to watch you die," she spat through gritted teeth. "Tell me who was behind this."

"Where do you think we were headed?" He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head in the direction of which Dragonstone was upon. "You must know by now — you were bound to figure it out at some point."

The princess swallowed the thick lump down her throat and shook her head anxiously. It couldn't have been her mother — she refused to believe it.

Suddenly Genevieve appeared behind Aenemera and forced her into her chest with her own blade pointed towards the princess' neck.

"Genevieve," Maverick spoke with a warning tone — just as Baeselyx released a terrifying growl that caused the babes to start crying again.

"Let's just get this over with!" The maid spat. "I want what was promised to me!"

"You will get it once we deliver them to Dragonstone," Maverick inhaled sharply. "Now put the blade away. She's not meant to be harmed."

Aenemera glanced at Genevieve from the corner of her eye. The dark haired girl may have been fragile, but her emotions made her disoriented and less calculated.

It gave the princess the opportunity to knock the blade out of Genevieve's hand and force her back into Aenemera's chest. This time with her own blade threatening to split the maids neck wide open.

"I will kill her," the princess stated. Not a threat but a clear promise that nothing was holding her back.

Maverick didn't even flinch. "What makes you think she's important to me?"

Fear suddenly appeared in Genevieve's eyes and before she had the chance to scream or beg, Aenemera allowed the blade to pierce her skin and cut her throat open. The blood from her neck seeped out over the princesses hands and she allowed the maids body to drop to the ground.

"Good." She sheathed her blade and pulled out her sword afterwards, taking a step over Genevieve's dead body. Mavericks face shifted from concentration to pure terror as the princess walked towards him. "I told you it's not the guards or my husband that you would have to worry about."

"I'm not going to fight you," he bit out. "He didn't want a hair on your head harmed."

The anger in Aenemera's body began to surge as she raised her sword in his direction. "You took my children! And now I'm not letting you leave this forest alive. I'll make sure whoever paid you to take me and my girls receives your head in return."

Maverick lifted his chin and nodded with understanding. "Very well." He unsheathed his own sword and quickly slammed the blade against the princess' in hopes to catch her off guard.

Their blades made of promising steel rubbed against each other and created a jarring sound throughput the forest. Baeselyx remained still with the girls at his side but his desperation to protect his mother was running thick.

He stood up on his back legs briefly while keeping his tail and released a heavy cry towards Aenemera has their blades continued to clang against one another.

The princess was by no means a warrior. She had little to no training with a sword — only what Aemond managed to teach her all those years ago but training stuck to her like glue.

She knew without her dragon she wasn't much — if not anything at all — to fear. But nothing was more scary than a mother that loses her children and fights to get them back — even if it means killing several people in the process.

Aemond had began his search for Aenemera on Vhagar after being informed from Gareth. He was fueled by anger and worry.

Furious that Aenemera continuously put herself into danger but terrified that any moment she does put herself in danger — it could be the very last. He knew he had to save his children and that they would be his legacy, but nobody would be able to replace Aenemera if she were to die.

Maverick threw a solid punch at Aenemera's jaw and she flew back onto the ground with a solid thud. Her bottom lip was cut and there were splotches of blood sprinkled over her face from Genevieve.

Maverick's eye was turning a dark shade of blue from the hit he endorsed from the hilt of her blade. As well as a cut running along his cheek. Both of them equally exhausted but neither of them ready to give up the fight.

With Aenemera's weakened state, Maverick took it upon him to sit on her stomach after kicking her sword to the side. His weight caused her to exhale heavily and repeatedly push at his chest to get him off of her.

He dropped his own sword to the side and pulled out the smaller blade from her waist. He heaved heavily with hot breaths of exhaustion, the tip of her blade circling around her throat — taunting her.

Maverick turned his gaze towards Baeselyx and grinned slowly. "He won't kill me — not by risking killing you or harming the babes."

Aenemera bucked her hips forward with a grunt, forcing Maverick to shift his gaze back towards her. He clicked his tongue and shifted his knee over her left arm while using his free hand to hold her other. His right hand still had a firm grip on the hilt of her blade that he intended on killing her with.

"Doesn't matter," she hissed up at him. "He moves by my command and if i'm hurt in anyway — he will kill you."

"I plan on getting what was owed to me," he growled in response. "And i'm taking what was promised to Genevieve as well — seeing as you had to kill her ruthlessly. You really are so much like him."

With his focus based on the princess — she busied herself by reaching out for his sword that he managed to forget about. Her fingers wrapped around the hilt and she nearly slashed the blade against his throat before he stopped it with the palm of his hand.

He released a painful howl but tightened his grip in the blade with his blood dropping onto her face like rain.

"Se mērī reward bona jāhor sagon given iksos se mēre nyke jiōragon ondoso spilling aōha ānogar ry toliot se ground!" Mera spoke in thick high valyrian, the language going straight over Mavericks head. ❪ The only reward that will be given is the one I receive by spilling your blood all over the ground! ❫

Maverick started pushing the blade towards her own, the metal getting dangerously close to her cheek. "Killing us what change what your father had us do!" 

She jutted her jaw upwards to keep the blade from piercing her skin. Her eyes locked on his as they filled with fiery range — the entirety of the situation falling into place.

"No, but it's a start!" She bent her knee and forcefully aimed for his groin, lurching him forward in surprise. With one swift lift of her arm, the tip of the blade pierced his neck straight through the other side.

Aemond had Vhagar land on the opposite side of the field. His body went rigged when he saw Mavericks body lying on stop of Aenemera.

Baeselyx let out one last terrifying scream that Aemond took as indication Aenemera was dead. There was no other movement and his heart stopped beating against his chest.

He quickly climbed down from Vhagar and raced towards the scene. "Please." He whispered to himself.

Aenemera used whatever strength she had left in her to push Mavericks body off of hers. The action caused Aemond to stop abruptly as she slowly pushed herself up from the ground and started walking towards Baeselyx.

The dragon willingly unwrapped his tail from the children and cooed at Aenemera again, lowering his body towards the ground once the princess fell with a choked sob. She gathered the girls in her arms, both of them crying uncontrollably as she tried to rock them gently to sooth them.

Aemond dropped to his knees right behind Aenemera and leaned his head against her shoulder. Relief washed over him to see all three girls safe from harm — minus the obvious pain Aenemera had to endure in the last hour.

Delaenya and Rhaenyre's continued to cry while Aenemera pulled them closer to her chest. Her own tears dripped onto their small frames and all the previous anger that coursed through her blood was beginning to erupt again. She was a volcano ready to explode and the only thing her mind could settle on at this very moment — was Daemon Targaryen.

dylan
this chapter turned out longer than i anticipated.. so im sorry about that. it took ALL MORNING and afternoon to write this so hopefully its not horrible. next chapter we get the aemond and aenemera ufc/boxing match...will heavy smut...good luck!

also i'm VERY tempted to write a ewan mitchell social media/au fic that links with this story and im curious to know if you guys would read it? but there's also partial stress because i've MADE my own oc for this fic and im not sure who i would use as a faceclaim for the ewan story. the reason i made my own oc faceclaim in the first place was because there was genuinely nobody i could see playing my precious aenemera and i obviously wanted her to look so much like rhaenyra which is why i always edited emma's photos. unfortunately the face app i was using to merge those photos, no longer has the face swap option which is dumb as hell. so if i DO actually write a social media fic,,, ill need some help finding the perfect faceclaim. do you guys have any recommendations or ideas? <3