𝓔𝓵𝓪𝓮𝓷𝓪 𝓣𝓪𝓻𝓰𝓪𝓻𝔂𝓮𝓷
The day had been long but worth it in all the best ways. Aemond had been wonderfully attentive in my mourning even roping in my brothers and sisters in ways to distract me, bringing me back to something of my usual self by the time I'd retired to my chambers.

Baela, Rhaena, and I had spent all evening trying on different dresses and jewelry, giggling like the small girls we once were before the war and death tainted our lives.

I'd been expecting Aemond to be waiting for me in our chambers but whatever trouble he and my brothers had gotten into, had kept him until late in the night.

It wasn't until I'd tossed and turned for hours that I hear the soft click of the door handle followed by his light footsteps entering the room.

My eyes flutter open struggling to find him in the darkness of our rooms.

Moving ever slowly Aemond leans both of his palms on the table rolling his shoulders to relieve a bit of tension before he cracks his knuckles.

He takes a deep breath, still not realizing I'm wide awake and watching him as he goes to unclasp his tunic followed by taking off his rings one by one letting them fall to the wood table.

Finally, as if feeling the heat of my stare he turns to meet my eyes, the tension falling from his broad shoulders.

"Elaena," he breathes and my heart stops when he catches me, hardly moving until he prowls toward me, tossing his tunic over the chair.

The bed dips under his weight and now that he's closer I can see his dirtied face, his darkening lavender eye giving me a peek into just how exhausted he is.

"You should be asleep, love. Did I wake you?" His voice is rough, and I wonder if he'd been yelling at my brothers all evening while they sparred.

Shaking my head I sit up to meet him, "I couldn't sleep... have you been with my brothers all this time?" I ask, reaching to rub away the smudge of dirt above his brow.

Aemond's thin-lipped expression sinks even further but he nods, resting his heavy head in my palm.

"I just got through speaking with your mother."

"My mother?" I ask, running my fingers through his braid to loosen the waves. He hums in reply but avoids my eyes with what he says next.

"I took your brothers to the cells with me. We saw to Ser Arryk... I cut off his fingers and made him bleed until he screamed for death. And he finally cracked." His voice is hollow and I wonder if it was the means or the end weighing him down so heavily.

Waiting patiently for him to go on I take his hand in mine. Finally, he lifts his chin to meet my eyes, his uncomfortable expression unsettling me.

"I killed him, Elaena... and he used his last words to utter my brother's message for us, a threat."

Aemond had killed before but they'd been nameless men, a swing of the sword to protect who he loved but this was different.

It wasn't often I saw fear in my husband's eye. Aemond had always been fearless, my fierce protector.

"What kind of threat, Aemond?" I ask softly, my voice barely a whisper.

Taking a deep breath he smooths my wild hair away from my face reluctant to tell me but we'd sworn long ago to complete transparency.

"He'll never stop until he's taken everything from us... Aegon has been pressing for an attack on Dragonstone." Aemond's voice sends chills up my spine and my hand goes to his over my growing belly.

My heart climbs to my throat and before I speak I take a gulp to catch my breath.

"I suppose we knew that... but we outnumber them it would be a ridiculous plan-" I start, but he shakes his head, far from finished. Standing from the bed to look out the window, his back is to me once more.

"No, I suppose he'll wait until we least expect it. Years from now maybe when we lie in our beds, and our children sleep soundly down the hall." He struggles to force the words out whether it be rage or the tears he refuses to spill in front of me.

All at once the fear rushes in, a mother's fear of the endless possibilities in which we couldn't protect our children, our family.

Every goblet that passed their lips would be chanced to poison, every dark night a monster under their beds but it wouldn't be just a nightmare, it would be their own Uncle, come to take them from their mother and father in the night, all for the sins of their forebears.

Closing the distance between us the cold air caresses my skin beneath my thin shift but once my body comes flush to Aemond's back his warmth seeps through me and he turns to hold me against his chest, his grip tight and unrelenting.

"Then he's given us no choice," I mumble, pressing my lips to the opening of his undershirt, just in the middle of his chest.

Aemond sucks in a sharp breath at the touch of my cold lips against his burning skin, his rough hands going to my waist to tug me closer, "No choice?" He asks me, his voice already coated in curiosity before I reply.

One by one I work on the buttons of his thin undershirt, the rise and fall of his chest quickening the closer I got to his waist. Pushing his shirt from his shoulders he lets it fall to the floor, entranced by my every movement and I'd sorely missed the power that came with the desire he held in his heart for me.

For a month or more my pregnancy had made me not only uncomfortable with my own body but uncomfortable with Aemond seeing just how much I'd changed. I was no longer the innocent untouched girl he'd first fallen in love with all those months ago.

Leaning in to press another tender kiss to his bare chest I utter my response, my words sounding lighter than the true weight they held, "We have no choice but to kill him."

My lips brush against his chest with each word and whether he shudders at my cold statement or my cold lips I can't be sure.

"Hmm," is all he can manage, both of our minds wandering as my hands traveled south to unbutton his trousers.

Painfully slow I move my hand beneath the hem, cupping Aemond's growing erection and a sharp hiss passes his lips in the form of my name, "Elaena,"

Truth be told I couldn't dive headfirst into this threat, not right now. All I truly longed for was an escape. With time it had gotten harder and harder to find the peace in our everyday activities as it used to.

How I longed to relive those first months together.

Simply thinking of Aemond's predatory gaze sent a spiraling heat through my veins, and as I look up to meet that very same gaze there was a question in his eye.

"Are you- hmm," he hums, distracted by the rolling movement of my wrist, pumping him using the slickness of his precum.

At the swipe of my thumb, the question is gone from his gaze, and his lavender eye rolls to the back of his head as he grips the windowsill to help hold himself up.

"What are you doing, Elaena?" He asks, afraid to give in to the side of him I'd so sorely missed but I can hear it in his voice, it was taking everything within him not to reach out and grab me.

Stepping closer to him I give a slight tug to his trousers and his erection springs free, another sharp hiss passing his lips.

I tip up my chin to press a kiss to the sharp curve of his jaw and then another going down the side of his neck.

"Has it been that long, my prince? That you've forgotten?" I whisper but his smart mouth has gone, his complete attention occupied by the slow rhythm of my hand.

His tongue darts out to wet his dry lips, his chuckle a strangled sound buried deep in his throat as his free hand comes to my neck, giving it a slight squeeze.

"I could never forget, my love, but are you sure? We don't have to-"

Stepping on my tiptoes I capture his mouth with mine, his rough lips responding instantly and I can still taste the sweet wine on his tongue.

My prince's fingers tighten only slightly to keep me planted there as he deepens our kiss and the heat building in my core is amplified tenfold by his dominance.

I groan into his mouth for more and he happily obliges, reaching for the hem of my sleeping gown slowly working it up my body until he has to break our kiss, tossing the fabric to the floor.

When we both go to take a breath I selfishly watch his toned chest rise and fall with each attempt to ground himself.

Aemond was always a man crafted beautifully by the gods but he was aging like the finest of Westerosi wine, he even wore his scars well. Over the months home Aemond had trained with whatever free time he could manage and it showed. His chiseled features have already set deeper with the help of his stubble and his broad shoulders are even broader as he hovers over me.

Gods, he's beautiful.

And he's mine.

There was a time not long ago when I'd dreamed of calling him mine. To be married and carrying his children, but the war had never been a part of those plans.

I could never wager to know precisely what Aemond was thinking but a solemn expression that mirrored mine washes over his features and I wonder if he'd been thinking the same thing.

Timidly I take his hand, backing us up toward the bed and his lavender eye settles on me once more his question lingering there before he ravages me as he desired.

"Nothing has ever been certain for us... nothing except one another." I begin, taking another deep breath and the corner of his lips tip up into a smile, nodding to agree with me.

Aemond leans down to tenderly rest the side of his nose against mine and I'm already a puddle at his feet, suddenly aware of my bareness and my whole body flushes a deep red.

"If only for tonight I want to forget there's a war raging outside these walls. I'd like to pretend we did run away like we dreamt. Would you allow it, my prince?" I ask sweetly, brushing my thumb across his jagged scar and for a moment sadness floods his gaze at my statement.

Closing his eye he pictures it, both of his hands going to my waist to lift me easily and place me on the bed. For an eternity of a moment, Aemond watches me, his eyebrows knit in with concern for all we couldn't control but as he mulls over my words he takes a deep breath.

With the pad of his thumb, Aemond traces my bottom lip, and in an instant he makes his decision, colliding his lips with mine.

This kiss is unlike anything we've shared, it's desperate and unrelenting as his tongue works magic within my mouth while his hands grazed over every inch of me.

My body melts against him and any fear that was harbored in the depths of my mind is forced down and away by the defining need that came with Aemond Targaryen's touch.

With one hand on my thigh and the other holding my face, he uses his knee to push my legs apart and the cold air hits my wet desire like ice.

Breaking our kiss Aemond peppers his lips down my neck and his long fingers find my center, delving in between my slick folds. My body can't help but buck against his hand, squirming for him to plunge inside of me one way or the other.

But my movement only serves to entertain him, his kissed swollen lips tipping up into a wolfish grin and I'm his prey, ripe for the taking.

"Have I been neglecting you, darling?" His growl of a voice turns me inside out and my heart is drumming in my chest just below his lips.

When he nips at the skin above my breast I arch my chest higher with my reply, "I'm afraid you have, husband."

Aemond only hums in response, taking his lips further south where I ached for him. As he presses one last heartfelt kiss to my swollen belly he slowly pushes me back onto the bed and I practically whine at his absence focusing solely on the gentle graze of his fingers against my clit. 

"Hm, my needy little wife. You and you're pretty wet cunt never disappoint,"

At his filthy words, I throw my head back, gripping the sheets for support as his hot breath tickles my flushed skin, "Please, Aemond," I beg but what for I didn't care, I wanted something anything from him to fan this flame. 

"Shh, sweet girl don't worry. I'll take good care of you," His graveled voice is soothing but it holds the promise of what's to come, and my raging pulse drums in my ears in anticipation.

Finally, he forces my legs further apart and settles in between them but instead crouches without breaking eye contact. Before I can ask him what he's doing he plunges his tongue through my slick folds and the cry that leaves my mouth is one of pleasant surprise. 

Introducing his fingers I almost come undone at the circular motion alone but I bite my lip, desperate for this to last forever and he notes this, his grip on my thighs growing tighter as I trembled.

"Gods, you taste heavenly Elaena- fuck," He groans, brushing his wild hair from his face as he studied me, licking his fingers clean of the mess he'd made but I can't focus on anything other than his very erect member pressing against the inside of my thigh.

Aemond's mouth was magical but nothing compared to the feeling of him inside of me, taking me over and over again until I was sore the next day.

Growing impatient I slide down the bed toward him, locking my legs around his waist in an effort to show him what I want without saying but he takes hold of my waist, slowing us down before he takes me.

As Aemond stands up I get a better view of his grin and he takes a small step forward to press his tip against my entrance but he doesn't thrust into me, not yet. Bending down to press a kiss to my stomach he loops an arm around my back to help with my weight as he lifts me, his true destination my lips.

In a slow meaningful kiss, his mouth caresses mine but I'm still ever conscious of his cock straining against me and I arch myself into him, knotting one of my hands through his long white blonde hair to deepen our kiss.

Pressing my tongue into his mouth he groans at the rhythm I'm building between us and whether it be him or I, he finally plunges deep inside of me bringing a gasp between both of us.

Aemond rests his forehead on mine, his eye surveying my face before easing out of me only to slam back into me with more force bringing a helpless cry of pleasure from my lips.

"You're so damn tight, fuck I've missed this." He breathes, his mouth colliding with mine once more in an outpouring of love, no walls left between us but these physical vessels that held our souls, two parts of one.

With Aemond's grip on my waist tightening he guides me up and down his thick long cock, using all his strength to hold me up as he pounded into me relentlessly. 

I surrender to the increasing waves of pressure, digging my fingernails into his already scarred back, where I held on for dear life. But he catches my hand, interlocks our fingers, and presses our palms against the mattress.

Burying my face in Aemond's neck I leave a trail of love bites of my own, licking and biting until I reach his ear, moaning his praises in ragged pants against his skin.

"ñuha dōna vāedar, come apart for me." 

*my sweet song

He tells me as his thrusts grew deeper with a groan, his hips snapping to mine in a chaotic rhythm, and the cord spirling within me snaps. Every nerve is set ablaze at my release, the waves of my climax neverending.

"Look at you, you're fucking divine when you come apart for me, Elaena." He praises me, his prideful voice swelling my heart.

My eyes must roll to the back of my head as my muscles clench around every inch of him and he doesn't stop until I've taken every last drop of his seed, coating my insides.

Neither of us has the breath to say anything but he tells me with his lips, pressing loving kisses across my chest as he slows our rhythm, unneager to pull out of me and I can't blame him. The warmth we shared tonight was the ultimate comfort to my fearful heart. Aemond would always give me a place to hide, to grow, to be and I would forever do the same for him.

As long as the gods would allow it.

***

Two months.

Two whole months were spent waiting for a threat that hadn't come and if Aegon's intent was to instill fear he'd indeed done it.

We were forced to double guards and patrols inside and outside the castle and only rarely were shipments brought in without the approval of the Velaryon fleet or Lord Corlys himself.

Thankfully with the time spent looking inward, three eggs were finally extracted and given to both Aegon and Viserys while the third was graciously gifted to us for when Aelyx was born.

It wasn't long before Viserys' egg hatched in turn making both Jaehaeryn and Aegon quite the jealous little boys who'd been forced to follow him and Joffrey around to lessons with the dragon keepers within the safety of our own walls. Though that would surely change with time as the dragons grew along with their riders.

For the first time in weeks, I'm well enough to join everyone for breakfast but it was only after repeated reassuring that Aemond obliged, sitting close to keep his possessive hold on my thigh beneath the table.

Eventually emptying my plate Aemond takes the last piece of fruit and holds it up to my mouth, arching an expecting eyebrow until I finally open up. Biting down with my front teeth the juice squirts directly out onto his face and I break out into a fit of giggles.

Aemond's scrunched-up, irritated expression falters the moment he hears my laughter but he keeps his front reaching for more fruit in the middle of the table to get his revenge as my siblings watched us with confusion from the other end of the table.

Squirming away from him, a familiar primitive look glazes over his eye.

"I just washed, Aemond! Baela even helped me with my hair!" I squeal but he only chuckles darkly at me. "All things in which you should've considered, my love. Besides, I don't mind washing you again myself."

Just as he goes to squeeze a sliced orange, Baela catches him by the wrist giving me a free moment to get away, "You will not ruin this beautiful head of hair! I forbid it!"

Jace and Luke both laugh at our sister's fierceness but Aemond's face falls, irritated that our playful banter had been interrupted.

"What's wrong, Uncle? You look as if someone's taken your dragon." Luke smirks, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Poor Luke. Cry to your mother about it, won't you? Maybe she could find you a thick mule to ride," Aemond leans back in his chair crossing his arms behind his head with the shit-eating grin I'd grown so fond of and Luke's mouth drops open.

"A mule?! I'm just as much a dragon rider as any of you! Rhaena and I both are." My little brother stands from the table and we're all taken aback by his outburst.

"No one's made the claim that you aren't little brother. There are riderless dragons on the island, maybe you and Rhaena were meant to claim one of them-"

"We've spoken of this, Jacaerys. No one's ever claimed a second dragon," Luke scoffs, taking his seat next to Rhaena who watched over her betrothed with a frown but Jacaerys is as stubborn as ever, "That's only because most riders don't outlive their dragons!"

"Grandfather rode Balerion until his dragon died of old age and he never claimed another dragon." Luke points out but Aemond scoffs, rolling his eye as he remembers his father in less of a bright light.

"Viserys often spoke of Balerion but your grandfather only rode dragonback a few times. I would wager that you are more susceptible to claim a second dragon." Without meaning to Aemond pays my little brother a compliment before reaching for his goblet and tilting it back gracefully at his lips.

At my husband's kind words, Luke's shoulders relax and Rhaena takes his hand, interlocking their fingers. "If anyone could claim a second dragon it would be you, my prince. It's as they say, you came back from the dead after all."

With a sweet smile, Rhaena has all but convinced him when my mother enters with her own guard.

My mother the Queen is a stunning beauty even after all the healthy children she'd bore in her lifetime. She was the epidemy of intellectual grace and I could only pray that when I was Queen long, long from now that I would do her proud.

Jacaerys is already naming off a list of the riderless dragons on the island as my mother helps me from the table to welcome me into her warm arms.

"Good morning, my daughter. It's good to see you up and about but shouldn't you be resting?" She smiles, eying up my state with an arched eyebrow. Aemond hums in agreement from beside me, scooting back in his chair to place a thoughtful kiss on my belly.

"I was quite insistent that he allow me out of bed today. We can't live in fear forever." I return her warm greeting but my mother frowns at my words, twirling one of my curls between her fingers.

"Of course not... my brave daughter." She whispers and even with the noise from my brothers I note the pride in her voice, "That reminds me, do you think your husband will mind parting with you for a small time? I have a surprise for you."

I glance over my shoulder at Aemond whose already watching me with an adoring twinkle in his eye.

"I suppose I could if the Queen wishes it." He replies, standing to see me off and press a small kiss to my temple, his gaze lingering on me even as my mother and I pass through the doors into the halls.

Once we're in the privacy of her chambers my mother places her crown on the desk beside her fireplace. Layers of different letters from all across the realm littered her desktop and I wondered how many of those letters were from my father.

Helaena deserved more justice than my father being sent to Harrenal. I couldn't say I blamed Aegon for his warpath of revenge. Aemond and I had killed Tessa, the one woman he'd loved, and it was us he had to blame for the murder of his two sons.

"How has it been with Father gone? Do you miss him?" I ask imagining how Aemond and I would act if we were forced apart for this long.

My mother frowns, draping her cloak over the back of a chair before she responds, the thought of my father weighing her down.

"Of course, I miss your father. His absence puts a weight on my shoulders I hadn't foreseen but it had to be done. If it weren't for his meddling there might've been hope for a peaceful resolution."

She takes a deep breath, spinning with a smile to change the subject, "But soon you'll be a mother of your own and I have something that I'd like to give you."

With an excited smile, my mother ushers me over to the window where my baby sister's cradle has sat empty for the months since my mother miscarried and I realize just what my surprise is.

"This cradle was meant for your baby sister..." she begins, running her fingers over the finely etched wood. Kneeling to get a closer look at the assorted pillows and blankets a faint smile finds its way to her face but a lone tear streaks down her cheek.

Quick to wipe it away she stands up to meet me, handing me a small black pillow from inside the cradle. The black satin pillow was almost identical to that of the favor I'd made Aemond when he'd fought in that tourney. I arch an eyebrow in suspicion, wondering how my mother could've known.

"For months this cradle has been a reminder of what we've lost... the death of Visenya, of Viserys." My mother's voice cracks but she clears her throat, shaking her head in an effort to stop the tears but even my own eyes well up in tears.

"You're- You're passing this on to me?" I stutter, my mouth agape in shock.

Taking my hands my mother smiles, "Perhaps it was always meant for you and your children." She tells me, warming my heart in the way only a mother can.

I could only hope my own daughter would look upon me with such affection one day.

I go to wipe my tears but my mother brushes them away for me, bringing me into her chest for a tight hug. "You'll be a wonderful mother, just as you'll be a wonderful Queen one day."

I want desperately to believe her but as the birth of our baby boy approached I couldn't help but doubt myself. I'd spent these past two months fearful, something I wasn't familiar with. Growing up I'd felt invincible, as if even time wasn't a factor in my demise but the older I'd grown and the more we've lost I've realized nothing lasts forever.

The brightest flames often burned out the quickest.

Hanging my head I avoid my mother's eyes, "I fear I'm not as strong as I once was. I've changed so much in such a short time-"

"That comes with growing older, Elaena, and you've always been more... self-aware than your brothers. If you weren't fearful I would be questioning your judgment." She chuckles, doing her best to reassure me with a sweet smile but I see my own reflection in her eyes, a lingering fear of her own.

"That reminds me. I have one last thing for you," My mother presses a quick kiss to our enclasped hands and leads us back to the desk but I don't part with the black satin pillow holding it close to my chest.

After straightening some parchment she leans down to a chest I hadn't noticed earlier, hidden just below the desk.

As she flips open the chest with ease my heart flutters in my chest when my gaze locks on the very leatherbound book Luke and I had been searching for, for months. My jaw about hits the floor as she hands it to me, opening a second book to flip through and verify before placing it on the desk.

All at once the nostalgia floods through me and my fingers tremble as I take the book in my hands, naturally opening it to the very page that Aemond and I's song stood out in faded black ink.

My breath hitches in my throat as if I'm seeing it again for the very first time, the world of Valyria finally seeming real and within reach.

I hadn't gone mad and imagined it all.

It was here in my hands.

I almost rush out to Aemond in my excitement, but when I look at my mother in question, a bottomless pit of betrayal bubbles up in my stomach, "Why? Have you had these this whole time?"

At my question, she isn't sure how to react. For a moment she seems shameful, twisting at her rings nervously just as I do.

"When you were a child you were enthralled by the idea of Valyria. You used to tell your father of your dreams about flying away when you got older... and when you and Aemond fell in love I had half a mind you both might be wild enough to go off together." She chuckles to herself and I cock an eyebrow at her assumption.

My mother had known me all too well.

"I didn't want you to fly off to your death, away from the responsibilities and safety of our home but now... now I'm beginning to think that far away from here was the safest for you." My mother takes a step forward to brush back the stray hairs from my face and I realize fear had no limits to age or experience, only claws that would dig themselves in as they saw fit, and used as a weapon by our enemies.

***