𝓔𝓵𝓪𝓮𝓷𝓪 𝓣𝓪𝓻𝓰𝓪𝓻𝔂𝓮𝓷
The week had been packed full of feasts, tournaments, and fittings for Luke and Rhaena's wedding. Though Aemond had only just returned home he remained by my side for every moment without a single complaint making the surprise I held even harder to keep.

For nearly two years I'd waited for the special occasion in which I could wear my grandmother's dress but I'd waited even longer to wear the jewelry I'd always paired it with.

For months Aemond glanced at my neckline with a frown, most likely assuming I'd lost his gifted necklace or suspecting I'd destroyed it, and while he might've been right he never asked, never putting me in the position to give him an answer that might hurt the both of us.

But years later here I stood in front of the mirror appreciating the woman I'd become staring back at me.

I often wondered when the moment was that I shed my childhood. When was it that colors grew muted lacking the saturation that it had when Aemond and I were children?

This week may be about Luke and Rhaena but tonight was for Aemond and I, even if no one knew it but us.

I hear him before I see him, his heavy footsteps echoing from down the hall and suddenly my hands are clammy, my fingers trembling at the anticipation of my husband's arrival.

"This coat is far tighter than I remember-"

Finally when he rounds the corner I watch in the mirror as his sharp jaw drops in reaction to my appearance.

Immediately my put-together husband is at a loss for words and those damned dragons from before return, swooping in furious loops around my chest down into my stomach.

Resting my palms on my stomach nervously I turn to face him, a red-hot blush coming to my cheeks as his hungry gaze drinks me in until he finally sees my necklace, his necklace.

Nervously he approaches me, patient with each step while he savors our moments alone from the feast and I'm dumbstruck by him.

He's right about his jacket, it's nearly bursting at the seams around his biceps. Reaching for his arms he moves first, his focus definite.

Aemond's long fingers curl around the black sapphire jewels that hang around my neck, his touch burning hot against my cool skin, "I thought... I thought it was gone forever," He manages through thick emotion.

"I thought so too at first," I reply solemnly. He gives me a moment to continue, trailing his fingertips up my arm to push back a stray strand of hair over my shoulder.

Hanging my head I knew this moment would come but that month of doubt had been dark and there wasn't a day I hadn't felt the guilt buried deep in my heart about our time apart.

Patiently Aemond awaits my response but the words weigh heavy on my tongue.

"I destroyed it when I heard the news of Luke. I took Seasmoke to Winterfell and did my best to leave you behind me, but I couldn't, I didn't want to." I admit, tears burning in the back of my throat but Aemond smiles down at me reassuringly, his expression softening.

"I know. It's behind us now." His fingers dig into my side, tugging me closer into his chest, so close I have to tip up my chin to look at him.

"The gods took their sweet time with you, my song. They'll be painting you for centuries to come," he tells me and I think it may be the sweetest thing he's ever uttered to me.

"In fact, I may take up painting myself if it means I can spend hours staring at you,"

Tears well in the corners of my eyes, happy tears of course I had no reason to cry otherwise. Once the lone tear streaks down my cheek Aemond's quick with wiping it away wearing an adoring smile.

"You believe you can capture my essence?" I tease but he doesn't waver, "I believe I may be the only one who could. No one knows the natural curve of your body as I do. Or how you squint your eyes ever so slightly when you smile,"

The more he speaks the wider my smile stretches across my face as he watches me with pride, "Mhm, just like that,"

For a moment that feels as though it lasts an eternity, we stare at one another until he breaks the silence, his fingers tracing the curve of my spine.

"I believe it best we leave before I tear this gorgeous dress off of you. Your grandmother would haunt us from her grave," he chuckles, pressing a kiss to the arch of my neck.

Though I wish she was here I didn't quite mind the idea of my family watching over us.

Perhaps not all ghosts were bad after all.

ᴇʟᴀᴇɴᴀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀᴇᴍᴏɴᴅ ᴛᴀʀɢᴀʀʏᴇɴ

***

The ceremony is an emotional one. Without a single dry eye in the grand hall Rhaena and Luke are pronounced husband and wife in front of hundreds with my Mother and Lord Corlys by their side.

With some adjustments courtesy of Baela, Rhaena wore the very same intricate gown their mother wore when she was wed to our Father, setting events in motion for years to come and suddenly I wished we could've seen their union as we'd seen my mother and fathers years later on Driftmark.

For years I'd held resentment that he'd left my mother and I to start a new family but when I'd met my sisters everything had changed. How could I hate my father for leaving me when it brought me two of my very best friends?

At first glance, it would seem Baela's missing but with a turn of the head I find her beautiful curly locks in the crowd, but she's not sitting beside Alyn Velaryon and his brother Addam, she's instead sitting next to the Warden of the North himself.

During Cregan's visit, he and my sister were spending ample amounts of time together. When I'd first introduced them after our sack of Kings Landing Aemond and I had assumed they'd connect over the loss of Jace but it seemed that wasn't all they were connecting on.

Luke is so entranced by Rhaena's beauty he almost misses the queue to drape his cloak around her shoulders but as he recovers smoothly Aemond chuckles softly in my ear, "This all seems quite familiar doesn't it?"

Chancing a glance at him, Aemond's lavender eye twinkles in the candlelight catching the mischievous glint I knew so well, but before I get reeled in by his antics I shift my focus back to the ceremony.

"Familiar? We were wed in the dragon pits with only my mother and father to witness,"

He leans over, brushing his shoulder with mine as he whispers, "The way he's looking at her, my song, do you see it? Like his very breath depends on her happiness,"

Lo and behold my husband's right. Luke's warm brown eyes drink in his bride, in awe of her beauty just as Aemond was the night we were wed.

While tying the ribbon the Septon announces, "Let it be known that Lucerys Velaryon and Rhaena Targaryen are one heart, one flesh, one soul. Cursed be he who would seek to tear them asunder."

My mother and Lord Corlys couldn't look any happier, starting the applause themselves as we all stood joining in on the celebration of these two pure souls.

How they'd managed to wait this long was beyond me, I'd been far too impatient to marry Aemond.

The energy in the grand hall was unmatched by anything I'd seen in the capital before in my short life.

War was over and repairs had finally begun to make headway in the capital, leaving our subjects with better homes and provisions than they'd started with.

Tonight it wasn't only the court that was celebrating a wedding, it was all of Kings Landing.

Joffrey is the first to ask Jaehaera to dance, but not without going to his older brother for advice, and when I catch them talking I swear I see Jace and Luke at first, double-taking once I realize it is impossible.

I'd lost three brothers, but their likeness lingered, haunting me along with the other ghosts I'd acquired along the way.

Aelyx on the other hand had had a long day, a long month really and his cranky mood has taken a turn for the worst, leaving us no choice but to put him to bed for the evening.

That left his partner in crime his cousin, Jae though Jaheaeryn wouldn't say so. He instead had taken to Joffrey, following my youngest brother around the dance floor like a little shadow.

Taking a forkful of food I revel in the roasted boar, reaching for seconds before I've even finished my first plate.

"Cregan and Luke killed this in their hunt earlier this morning!" Baela adds, taking a serving for herself as the Northman watches her with an embarrassed blush.

"I hardly believe Luke dealt the finishing blow," Aemond jests, teasing him but my brother rolls his eyes.

"I've come a long way since our venture through the Northlands, Uncle."

"Indeed you have," My mother takes her seat in between Lucerys and me, happier than I've seen her in months, glowing even in the candlelight of the grand hall as she lost herself in a conversation with Helaena who she'd been spending more and more time with.

My mother the Queen knew she couldn't replace what she and my father had taken from Helaena but she would repair what she could. After all, we were all each other had now and we couldn't afford to crumble again.

"You look beautiful, little dragon. That dress was a perfect choice," My mother smiles, taking my hand to give it a squeeze as she leans in, glancing at Aemond from the corner of her eye.

"He knows not a thing does he?" She whispers, excitedly and I shake my head, suppressing the smile creeping up on my face.

"Do tell him soon, hm? He'll want to know,"

Shrugging I turn my head to my husband who had taken up a conversation with Baela and Cregan about the different generations of Vhagars riders, something I wasn't sure I'd ever see in my lifetime.

"I think I'll let him enjoy himself for just a little while longer,"

I stare at my husband for a moment too long and he catches me, his gaze softening when he notices my smile.

Reaching beneath my chair he pulls me closer and I almost yelp in surprise but he silences me with his mouth.

Aemond holds my chin in place delicately for a moment longer but keeps the affection to a minimum, cutting the sweet kiss short.

I frown as he pulls away, making him chuckle.

"Ipradagon, issa vāedar. You'll need all the energy you can muster for the night we have ahead,"
*Eat my song

My blood goes cold in my veins at his promise and my voice is almost a squeak to reply, "I've had plenty, my prince."

Beneath the table Aemond's entire palm encompasses the whole of my thigh easily, squeezing with just enough pressure to stir the pool of desire between my thighs.

"And still, I don't believe you've eaten hardly enough for what I have in store." Aemond presses a chaste kiss to the side of my head, leaning back in his chair to continue his conversation with my sister and Cregan as if he wasn't squeezing my thigh possessively just beneath the table.

After we've all eaten Baela, Rhaena and I share a dance with our grandsire in honor of our grandmother and one would think Laena and Rhaenys were alive once more, their spirit surrounding us as Lord Corlys took turns dancing with each one of us.

Once the dance floor is flooded with other lords and ladies of the court I'm stolen away by Luke who's picked me out from the crowd.

"You deserved all of this too, El. A grand feast, speeches, and gifts," Luke's gaze scans the room admiring the many happy faces before my little brother's warm brown eyes meet mine, swaying us back and forth.

"Maybe, but I wouldn't change it if I knew you and Rhaena would have your happy ending. I only wish..." I bite my tongue taking a deep breath as I try to look anywhere but at my little brother.

Tears welled in my eyes when I thought of all of our lost loved ones along the way. The grief never went away, it was a part of me nuzzled in the place where that loved one used to be. The memories dull the sharp pains but in the same breath is what brings me to tears, gasping for air.

"Jace is still with us, sister. I see him every day in your son. He may be gone as we know him, but he remains in other ways I never could've imagined,"

What Luke says is incredibly insightful, so much so that I pull back to look at him with his tears shimmering in his warm brown eyes.

"I suppose you're right. When did you become so wise?" I chuckle.

"Your husband would say it was when I fell hundreds of feet off my dragon... when are you going to tell him, El?" His gaze must find him behind me but I continue dancing.

My little brother's mouth stretches into an excited smile and the dragons are back again, taking up residence in my stomach.

"Tonight," I finally reply, a giddy-like excitement rushing through my brother's face.

"Well now is the perfect time sister he's coming right this way for you," he chuckles.

Nearly snapping my neck I turn to look for myself and my brother speaks the truth.

Aemond politely excuses himself through the dance floor, only looking away from me to offer curt smiles to the lords and ladies he passes.

"Nephew," he greets Luke first but holds his hand out for me to take.

His perfectly carved lips tip up into a shy smile, and I'm already accepting his hand before he has a chance to ask for it but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to hear it anyway.

"Princess, may I have this dance?"

To any other person, Aemond would seem calm and collected but I see past his handsome smirk, the little boy I once knew standing before me.

Calming the wild dragons long enough to take a deep breath I smile up at my husband, the crowd around us a distant memory and we're children again.

"It would be a pleasure, my prince."

Luke gives me a way to Aemond as a father gives his daughter away on her wedding day and I'm grateful. So grateful that I have my little brother and it was the man I loved most who brought him home safely to me.

Aemond's hand finds its normal home at my waist, the other hand finding mine to interlock our fingers tightly, never letting me go.

The music slows and most of the dancers take this opportunity to fill their bellies or gauntlets.

Just as I go to lean my head on his chest Aemond spins me into a dip earning a few bouts of applause from beside us and I'm blown away, my chest heaving for air as he brings me back up.

"And when did you become such a dancer?" I giggle, nervously, his hand on my hip the only thing I can focus on.

He shrugs his shoulders, his eyebrows arching up in a knowing expression.

"When I wasn't searching for Aegon I used a bit of my free time to take up dancing. I hoped it might surprise you," He confesses, leading me effortlessly to the rhythm.

Prince Aemond Targaryen had taken up dancing?

To impress me?

As if I wasn't blushing before, my cheeks are red hot, and my thoughts spiraling.

"You always make me proud, Aemond, always." My voice cracks with emotion and though the room is bursting with noise he still notices, his face falling in worry, "What is it? Is something wrong?"

In the middle of the dance floor, Aemond stops us, but the others continue around us.

When I don't respond right away he searches my eyes for an answer, troubled by my silence, "Elaena?"

I open my mouth to speak but an idea strikes me first, "Come with me,"

Taking Aemond by the hand I lead him through the crowd and out the open courtyard doors into the moonlight where we have more privacy.

The cold air cools my burning skin and I breathe easier away from the swarm of people but Aemond is even more confused, watching me with a worried expression, "Is everything alright?"

Biting at my lip nervously I swallow the lump in my throat and push myself over that hump, letting the words flow as I'd rehearsed them.

"Every day since you've left I've visited the maesters. I wasn't getting any sleep, my nightmares were worse than they've ever been."

Aemond takes my hand as he listens earnestly, guilt written all over his face for his absence and I'd think he'll never leave again, especially not after I tell him what's on the tip of my tongue.

"I thought the worst but... as it turns out, I'm with child."

Aemond's already tense composure goes rigid and I'm not even sure he's breathing until he finally speaks, his voice cracking with tense emotion, "You're... you're pregnant?"

I smile nervously up at him, nodding silently in wait and his thin-lipped expression is slowly replaced by one of joyful disbelief.

"We're to have a second child," He breathes, his excitement contagious and before I know it he's lifting me in the air, twirling me in the gardens beneath the stars.

Our laughter fills the courtyard and I'm a giggling mess, not expecting it when Aemond presses a firm kiss to my lips, pressing me up against the nearest column.

Cradling my face delicately, this kiss is sweet and light, his soft lips smiling against mine and I'm so relieved he's as excited as I am for our second child.

"Have you met them in your dreams, my song? As you did with Aelyx?" He asks excitedly.

I shake my head, wondering if this could mean good things or bad.

Would our second child be lost with complications?

Would I?

"I suppose it's meant to be a surprise,"

Aemond grins at my response, seemingly convinced for himself, "A little princess then, just like her Mother who is full of surprises herself."

Pressing a kiss to my temple Aemond glances back at the party through the double doors just feet away, "Does anyone else know?"

"Besides my mother? Luke, but only because he caught me vomiting early one morning,"

"Why didn't you write me in your letters?" He asks, wondering just how long I'd kept this information from him.

"You would've come straight home. And though it's what I wanted, I knew you had to complete your task."

Aemond shakes his head in disbelief at my selflessness, running his fingers through a stray strand of my hair.

"I'm afraid you're stuck with me now, Princess. I won't be leaving your side again anytime soon. You'll have to force me away," he chuckles, capturing my mouth in one final kiss and I have no complaints.

Aegon had stolen enough of our peace. It was high time our lives together became just that, ours.

***
ʟᴜᴄᴇʀʏꜱ ᴠᴇʟᴀʀʏᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ ʀʜᴀᴇɴᴀ ᴛᴀʀɢᴀʀʏᴇɴ

***

Once the parties died down all that remains are Aemond, Helaena, Luke, my sisters, and Cregan.

I've lost count of the hours we'd spent recalling fond memories of our Father and Jacaerys, taking back gallons upon gallons of wine though some of us indulged more than others.

"I'll never forget the look on both of your faces when you saw me alive for the first time," Luke laughs, clasping his hand on Aemond's back.

My husband leans back into the pillows of the loveseat, laughing up at his nephew while he absentmindedly pulls me closer, his palm stretching out to cover my stomach protectively.

"I thought we might've had to pick your jaws off the ground," He agrees tilting his goblet back, celebrating for himself even if most of the room had no idea why yet.

"You had to pick me up off the ground, I nearly fainted," I remember fondly, those very same feelings flooding back to me.

"No love, I caught you," he smiles down at me, the wine bringing a hot flush to my cheeks under the pair of his sapphire and violet eyes.

"How romantic," Rhaena swoons to Lucerys, laying a hand on my brother's chest.

"One of the first things Luke did when he arrived at Winterfell was write you... be it in between bites of food." Cregan adds, throwing his head back in deep resounding laughter.

Baela laughs freely for the first time since our father died and it's a breath of fresh air.

Only Rhaena and I notice, Cregan seeming quite accustomed to my sister's laughter, leaning into her sunlight, bathing in it like he hadn't seen the sunlight in centuries, and perhaps he hadn't.

Baela moves closer to him, resting her hand on his leg beneath the table hoping we don't notice but Cregan's face all but says it out loud.

"Have you had any luck with our transcriptions?" Luke asks, his arm resting around the back of Rhaena's chair affectionately

My smile falters but Aemond's hand finds itself at the nape of my neck, drawing shapes with his fingertips, comforting me without even realizing it.

"I transcribed them but it's just more riddles, I can't begin to understand what it all means," I frown.

"Maybe we can help. Could they be songs too?" Luke asks sitting straight up in his chair to reach for another swig of his wine.

"They could be but that doesn't convey much of a meaning,"

"Sing it for them, nuha vaedar," Aemond encourages softly. The scent of our sweet wine lingered on his breath.

I clear my throat looking around at the group of them and catch Helaeana's eye from the other side of the table. "Would you?"

The room grows so silent you can hear the dragons snoring from their pits and I take that as my sign to begin.

"The dead of night chills coldest to the bone
No dragon fire hot enough to keep you warm
Bones beneath cold ground repurposed, reused,
The sun torn asunder will rise no more

The longest night that ever was
The longest night they've ever seen
The sun torn asunder will rise no more"

An overwhelming silence fills the room and as I'm too embarrassed to face the room in front of us I look to my husband to see his reaction.

Aemond brushes my hair over my shoulder to bend down and place a kiss on my bare skin, "Hauntingly beautiful," he whispers but my brother scoffs, "Terrifying if you ask me,"

"Well, that's not very helpful, Luke." Rhaena frowns, smacking her husband on the arm.

"What?! It's true! It sounds like the end of the Realm as we know it,"

Cregan mumbles something under his breath from the other side of the table but we're all uncertain of what he says waiting for him to elaborate.

"What is it, Stark?" Aemond asks, putting him on the spot.

"The famous words of my house. Winter is coming, and when it comes, it comes for all of us." Cregan replies, sitting up straighter when he speaks of his House.

"But what does that have to do with Old Valyria? When I was in Winterfell you had not one book on our histories," I ask, more confused than ever but behind me, Aemond stiffens at the mention of my stay in Winterfell.

"I can't be sure," Cregan frowns and it seems we've arrived at a dead-end once more.

"Have you asked our sister?" Helaena asks sweetly, twirling a spoon absentmindedly through her fingers.

Scrunching my face up in confusion I shake my head, looking back at my husband who seems just as confused as I am.

Aemond leans into my ear, whispering so low only I can hear, "Perhaps she knows something we don't, hm?"

When Aemond mentions his sisters visions I suddenly understand, meeting my Aunt's dreamy eyed stare from across the room.

I would ask Helaena what she's seen but first I would ask my Mother what she might know of this song Luke claimed was the end of days, praying to any god that would listen that he was wrong.

ʙᴀᴇʟᴀ ᴛᴀʀɢᴀʀʏᴇɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄʀᴇɢᴀɴ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴋ