CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
❪ devils tongue ! ❫

Aenemera took longer than she had wished to change into something more suitable, all while fire still burned outside the castle walls. Almost every second she had was slowly going to waste every time she had to pause and catch her breath. The babe in her belly was swimming and moving around as fast as its mother was, and by the time Aenemera finished suiting up for battle; she was feeling nauseous.

"Princess Aenemera!" Gareth shouted on the other side of her chamber door before crashing through with a rough kick. He watched the princess struggle to pull his boots on and his facial expression immediately changed to something more distasteful. He couldn't believe what she was trying to do.

"Gareth," she called his name sternly while slipping on her last boot. "I want you to find my husband if he is not already out there."

The guard stalked towards the princess and quickly seize her hands from moving any further. "Aenemera," he said her name with caution. "I cannot let you go out there on your own. This is not your fight."

The princess shook her head quickly and pulled her hands from his grasp as she began tying her hair back into a long braid. "I'll find Aemond. Make sure you gather as much people as possible to safety. Protect the queen — your work for me is done for the night."

Gareth bit down on his jaw with a twitch on his left brow. "Aemond would forbid you from ever going out there."

"What kind of future queen would I be if I didn't fight for my people?" Her soft eyes stared back at Gareth's dark ones while she placed her hands upon his shoulders. "Now as your princess I'm ordering you to protect the rest of my family. I won't say it again."

He looked down at the floor with stubborn thoughts and a headache growing at the back of his head. He was ordered to look after Aenemera and if anything happened to her — it would surely be his fault. But he also knew that she wasn't easy when it came to following instructions and she would slip from his grasp at some point.

He would never say it out loud but he began to see the princess as a friend. She was one of the most dedicated people he's ever had the chance to protect over the years. Aenemera was the people's princess.

"Very well," he stood on his feet and bowed his head. "I'll have the women protected under my care and will report back to you when this is over."

"We will cross paths soon," Aenemera promised.

When Gareth and Aenemera went their separate ways from the bedroom chambers, the princess started making her way towards the top of the castle where she could reach the roof. In any case of emergency, she knew where to meet Baeselyx and knew he would be waiting for her at the top.

The large dragon was perched on top of one of the old buildings with its wings spread wide. A large scream rumbled up his chest and through his throat as he watched Vhagar begin to make her travels through the sky.

Once Aenemera opened the door to the roof of the castle, she quickly looked around for her dragon and was immediately met with his face as he leaned down close for her. A small worried cry came from the dragon as she began to climb up his wing and onto her makeshift saddle. Her pregnancy was only days away and even her dragon feared the absolute worst to come. He was going to die protecting her tonight.

"Fly." She ordered Baeselyx and he took her above the clouds where Vhagar and Sunfyre were located. This moment would surely be a lot for Aemond to unpack but for the time being he would have to allow Aenemera to be on dragonback.

Some of the ships below in the water were on fire and slowly sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Several men from house Lukka had broken through few gates and were handling through combat against the gold cloaks.

"Be careful," she whispered to her dragon while looking over his large body. She noticed Vhagar flying quickly across a handful of ships while burning them down. She could also hear Aemond spitting out commands before pulling back on the reins and forcing her to fly up into the clouds.

Something had just zipped past them both like the speed of lightning, shock stretching across the princess' face as she recognized it to be a large spear.

House Lukka had surely come prepared just like Maverick stated they would to Aemond not too long ago on their journey. Fishermen with not only the right equipment, but several other houses joining their fleet against the Targaryens. And they had a vendetta out for the dragons.

The princess' face twisted with anger as Aemond started making his way down towards his wife with his own concerns. He could see the wheels turning in her head as another arrow shot through the sky just barely missing Baeselyx now.

The dragon turned just in time before the arrow could pierce his body but a loud growl from his wide mouth sent a chill down the princess' spine. He was waiting for her order to begin their fight against the enemy. The aggression from below was getting louder and louder, showing no sign that they have won just yet — and maybe even falling short on the winning side.

"Aenemera!" Aemond called for her strongly. "Get back to safety! There's too many of them!"

Her eyes flickered towards Aegon as he took Sunfyre away from the battle field, she was much too small compared to Vhagar or Baeselyx to be out here. The king was meant to stay alive but with Sunfyre gone and Dreamfyre away for Helaene's protection, kings landing could only rely on the prince and the princess.

Aenemera tighten her grip on the reins and leaned her body foward gently over her dragon, silently instructing him to fly forward. Her gaze turned away from Aemonds as Baeselyx soared through the clouds and began spitting fire across the boats in the sea.

One boat they passed by carried a catapult that shot out a large fishing net in hopes of stringing up Baeselyx's feet but he soared right past them before doing a loop around and taking down more boats.

The biggest boat that held the large crossbows used against the dragons shot out another arrow through the sky. The object spun in perfect position aimed right for Aenemera but Baeselyx quickly carried them upwards so it would miss them just by a breeze.

As her dragon carried them both upwards, the pack of men carrying bows nocked their arrows ready before one shouted "loose!"

Baeselyx spun his body around to shield the princess from the arrows. They hit against his hard scales and barely making a pinch against his skin before he faced the fleet and spit another breath of fire in their direction.

Men started screaming and jumping from their boats as Vhagar made another appearance to help aid Baeselyx.

Baeselyx bellowed out a welcoming roar to the female dragon, his attention stirred away briefly but just enough for the men to load another large arrow onto their crossbow. Aenemera pulled at his reins quickly with widen eyes and called out to her son. "Baeselyx!"

The arrow was released at the same moment Baeselyx turned towards the general direction of the weapon and tilted himself away while flapping hims wings. But his left wing just barely missed the shot as the arrow pierced through his wing and sent him flying towards the water with a loud painful screech.

Aenemera could hear Aemond screaming her name from above but all she could do was focus on holding onto her saddle without slipping free like she had done once before. But before Baeselyx could collect himself, another arrow was sent flying through the air and hit his shoulder directly.

The dragon started free falling through the sky while doing several belly rolls on the way down. Aenemera could feel herself growing sick on the way down but continued to pull at the reins and help Baeselyx regain his balance before they both could hit the water.

It only took the dragon a second to regain his natural flight again and hover himself over the boat with the crossbow.

The men on board were scattering around like scared rats and throwing themselves overboard before they could be burned alive. Aenemera glared down at the men on board and growled viciously to her dragon. "Dracarys." The man sitting on the crossbow quickly removed himself from the equation as well, as he threw himself over the edge and into the water.

Baeselyx bobbed his head backwards before releasing an ear screeching scream followed by his fire to burn the boat to a crisp.

By now Vhagar had taken down most of what was left of the ships while very few tried their hardest to sail away. Baeselyx redirected his flight towards the dragon pit and landed himself out front where it was safe enough for the princess to dismount.

He let out small angered cries from his wounds while he tried to use his mouth to rip away the arrows with his teeth.

Aenemera watched her dragon with concern until she decided to jump in and help him retrieve the arrows from his body. But as she started to pry the one from his wing out, he screeched and snapped in her general direction.

The princess flinched backwards with sudden fear filling her bones but then Baeselyx looked at her with regret filling his eyes.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered to him. "I need to get these out, let me help you, please."

The dragon turned his head away and allowed her to continue pulling, his body flinching from the pain but remaining still until she could pull the first arrow out. The second one was much harder, due to being so deeply rooted into his body; this one caused him more pain and the princess couldn't help but shed a few tears.

He croaked once with a broken cry just as she yanked the rest of the arrow out and threw it onto the ground. She didn't hesitate to reach up and try to comfort her dragon, but Baeselyx immediately lifted himself towards the sky to find a place to rest — leaving Mera completely alone.

She exhaled heavily as she watched him disappear into the clouds. For him to leave her must've been too easy, considering the intense amount of pain he was in.

He'll be okay, she told herself as she began to check her surroundings.

It was quiet and the area seemed to be emptied from another lingering; including the dragon tamers. Aenemera would need to take a carriage ride back to the castle — if she could find one, or even a horse.

Unfortunately for her, her luck was beginning to sink beneath her feet as she felt a sharp pinching in her low stomach. The kind that felt like a menstrual cramp but something far more heavier and worse.

It had her suddenly choke on a breath of air as she quickly held onto her low back to keep her from tumbling over. The sweat that had collected on her forehead during the battle started to follow down her eyebrow and she quickly wiped it away with the back of her hand.

She started making her way slowly towards the castle only to stop short due to another sharp pain once again.

The princess flinched with a small choked sob, eagerly biting down on her lower lip to contain her cries. She could feel her child moving around in her stomach, practically begging to be brought out into the world.

It wasn't until Aenemera then felt a sharp pain down her spine that she knew something was wrong.

Her eyebrows fluttered together in panic as she braces herself against the nearest brick wall. Her hand grasped onto her lower belly and her fingers dug into the hard cement before she uttered another breath. "Fuck."

     ❪ dylan ! ❫
tears !! nobody move