As the sun beat on her face, Visenya pushed her toes into the sand. She let out a laugh as it tickled and Grey Ghost tilted his head in amusement. He caught a fish from the top of the water and dropped it in front of her.

"That smells rancid," Aemond grimaced from behind her.

Visenya refused to look at him as he waited for her to get up and listen to his instructions on self-defense.

"Visenya, get up. I have been waiting for almost an hour."

"No," She said.

She heard him sigh in frustration but the second he stepped closer, Grey Ghost was snarling and on the defensive. He was bold but he wasn't stupid. Her dragon may have been smaller than Vhagar but he could still swallow a human whole.

"Visenya would you stop being difficult and get up?"

"No, I'll pass."

Aemond groaned louder than the last time. "What do you want me to say, Visenya? Do you want me to apologize? I understand the reason you were offended but if you get this pissy any time someone insults you, they will never stop."

"You mean like yourself?" She frowned.

"You know why I can walk past every girl that whispers about my appearance? Because for days I stared at myself in the mirror with hatred at my missing eye, the one you took from me. I could either let my insecurities control me or I could control them. Look at me, Visenya."

She finally let out a sigh and turned her head towards him. "What?"

"You are a bastard. Your real father is dead and your biological father hates you. Your mother wishes you were a boy and you stand to inherit nothing. You are a bastard. You are nothing to this realm."

Her eyes stung with tears as she watched him. "Why are you so cruel?"

"I am trying to help you stop being so sensitive, Bastard. It must be painful to know that you are their bastard and then eleven years later they finally marry and have more children they adore more than you."

Visenya's lips trembled with anger but not at Aemond, at the truth he was speaking. How was it fair she was being punished when they did end up marrying years later? And to have a son that both of them doted on?

"Stop," She seethed, standing in front of him now.

"Why? So that you can go on believing your parents love you and want you? The only person that loved you is dead because of your mother. I bet he screamed in the flames as they paid Ser Qarl to push him in."

The band holding her anger in place snapped and she balled her fist, punching him right across his cheek. Aemond's head whipped to look at her as his cheek burned bright red from the impact.

"There she is," He smirked. Both her fists were balled in anger and he reached for the sparring swords, handing her one. "Let it out."

"I don't want to hurt you," She mumbled.

"I am far better, I bet I can block your sloppy attacks quite easily."

It was all she needed to hear and she grabbed hers, swinging angrily at him and he blocked each attack with ease.

"Remember this, Visenya. This anger, these strong emotions. You seek retribution for those who wronged you. Daemon killed your father, don't you want to kill him?"

She let out a feral snarl as she kept swinging. She wanted to kill Daemon, she wanted to see him burn in the flames. She wanted to cut off the hand that struck her, the hand that grabbed her face as he yelled at her to do his spying, and she wanted to make him suffer.

"Daemon is a master swordsman, you will never leave a mark if you don't train. You will never be able to block off an attack if you can't even defend yourself."

"Wouldn't you rather see him kill me?" She panted, slowing her attacks down as she started to lose her breath.

"When you become my wife, I will have to take an oath to be your sworn protector. Whether I like you or not, I take my oaths seriously. My duty will become more important than my aversion to you. I can't tell you that you are completely safe here but I can tell you that you will be safer here than you were on Dragonstone."

She stopped her relentless attack and leaned against the stone wall to catch her breath. "Fuck."

"Didn't it feel satisfying to be able to take out your anger?" Aemond asked.

She couldn't lie, it felt amazing. Despite the ache in her arms, she was surging with adrenaline. She wanted to hop on Grey Ghost and track down Daemon and beat him bloody.

"It did. Is that your excuse for being an excellent swordsman?" She asked.

"For a while when Cole let me just repeatedly hit a mannequin, it was you I imagined. Not necessarily hitting you but taking your eye. I had my own anger at more than just you. I was angry at my mother for accusing me of lying when I admitted she told us you were bastards. She later told me she was disgusted and disappointed I would reveal her so easily."

"I never understood why you did. You could have lied and said it was Aegon or something," Visenya said, walking over to her dragon and noticing he still hadn't eaten the dead fish in the sand. "Eat that before it smells worse."

"I could have lied. But I knew at that moment I couldn't truly blame you for taking my eye. So much of our animosity stemmed from our mothers. Maybe we all could have been friends, or maybe we could have been civil, I don't know and we will never know because of them. Maybe in another world, this betrothal wouldn't have made us sick just thinking about it," Aemond said.

"Harsh," She mumbled.

"Don't lie, Visenya. I am nothing if not honest. I expect the same from you. Never lie to me, which I don't think you have. You never wrote your mother or told her about my mother trying to usurp her throne. And I believe you, so don't ever break my trust. It goes both ways."

She looked at him and nodded. "You won't like half the truths I have to tell."

"I would rather be offended than lied to. After our childhood, you should understand. Lies have done nothing but rip this family apart. At this point, we are a fucking disgrace to the Conquerer. I wouldn't be surprised if he wishes he had never invaded the kingdoms at this point. We are not the strong house that we once were."

"For the only thing that can tear down the house of the dragon is itself," Visenya mumbled.

"What?" Aemond asked.

"When my mother told me the story of the Great Council she told me Jaehaerys did it because he knew the truth. He knew the only thing that could destroy us was ourselves. And now I understand what she meant."

"Despite her many faults, I love my mother. But I also know she and my grandsire are to blame for many things," Aemond admitted. Visenya couldn't help but notice the vulnerable state he was in as he spoke about his mother. Visenya always saw him as the doting son that would do anything for Alicent but Aemond was turning out to be far more complex than she realized.

"You are stronger than me if that is the case. Sometimes I wonder if I love my mother. I believe she would do anything to protect her children but sometimes I feel like that doesn't include me. She is an amazing mother to her sons which is ironic and hypocritical. She felt so alone when she was young and Viserys was always trying for a son with Grandmother Aemma. How could she do the same thing to me?"

"Maybe love isn't linear," Aemond mused, scratching his chin. "Maybe love is different for everyone. I'm not exactly an expert on the matter."

"How are we ever supposed to make a marriage work?" She sighed.

"You don't have to have love to sustain a marriage. I don't expect you to ever love me and I will never love you."

She rolled her eyes. "Thank you for reminding me."

Grey Ghost let out a yawn and lay in the sand, nuzzling his snout against her legs. Visenya smiled and stroked one of his horns until his eyes closed. The clouds were beginning to block the sun from view and the air was cooling off.

"They'll be planning a party for your fifteenth nameday here soon which means if you haven't bled, we both heard what my mother said. You should prepare yourself for the possibility that your mother will arrive any day. As much as she is difficult, I don't see her missing her daughter's nameday or wedding. I don't take my sister to be that cruel."

"I can't get that lucky," She looked at the waves of water, closing her eyes as the breeze blew through her hair.

"Do you still have that sea rock necklace that he gave you and that I accidentally broke as a child?" He asked.

"Of course. I treasure that necklace more than anything."

He nodded. "Then wear it to the wedding. I guarantee she will try to get you to wear something else and it will make her uncomfortable."

She looked at him and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "And why would you want to help me in any way?"

Aemond didn't answer the question, he just set the two sparring swords against the steps. "I want you to train at least three days a week, I won't be cruel and expect you out here every day. As far as the Valyrian lessons, those shall continue as we have been every other day. No excuses."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, sir."

"Now if you don't mind, I have somewhere more important to be." He turned his heel and walked up the stairs back to the castle and left her alone with her sleeping dragon.

"He confuses me," She mumbled. "Does he confuse you?"

Grey Ghost let out a huff and groaned in annoyance. Visenya smiled at him and sat down on the sand, leaning against his neck as she closed her eyes and napped with him like they once did on Dragonstone.

-

A week later, Daeron came home for a small bit to visit the family. Aegon was thrilled to see him as was Aemond but Aemond was more aloof with his emotions. Aegon had hugged him and pushed a pint of ale in his hands while Aemond just nodded. To be fair, Aemond had recently spent half a year with his little brother.

"Daeron!" Helaena smiled and hugged him. "You should meet your niece and nephew soon."

Daeron, a boy younger than Visenya, nodded with a smile. "Of course, Sister."

"It's so good to see you again," Alicent smiled. "I trust you have been enjoying your time in Oldtown?"

"Yes, our cousins have been quite kind to me. But it is nice to be home for a few days. I hear I will be back again soon for a wedding," Daeron teased Aemond.

"Hm," Aemond mumbled.

"Where are my manners?" Daeron finally looked at Visenya. "I see the capital hasn't fared well with your complexion, Niece. You look dreadfully pale."

"I am fine," Visenya nodded. "Just a bit sick today." She forced a smile, having been sick for a couple of days. Painful nausea in her belly.

"I hear you turn fifteen soon."

"Less than two moons," Visenya forced a smile. Daeron was a nice boy and seemed sweet but he was also a victim of Alicent's forced hatred.

"And then you get to marry my brother. I am immensely sorry," Daeron winked. Visenya let out a laugh and Aemond rolled his eye at both of them.

"She will be quite disappointed the night of their wedding. I have no problem sneaking in to help -"

"AEGON!" Alicent hit the back of his head as he laughed at his own words. Aemond's jaw was clenched and Daeron was silent.

"Aegon, don't you have a dragon to tend to or something?" Visenya asked, clearing her throat.

"That's a marvelous idea!" Helaena smiled. "We can all go riding together. Soon Visenya will be our sister and we should treat her as such."

"But Daeron only just arrived," Alicent protested.

"I would much rather fly with my siblings than sit around and hear about court, Mother," Daeron grinned.

Visenya didn't have to hear anything else, she was running towards the entrance that led to Blackwater Bay to mount Grey Ghost. She had been waiting to ride him alongside the others since she arrived but no one had shown interest.

She had briefly flown with Vermax and Arrax before she left but they were still too small to go far and her brothers weren't experienced enough to push them farther than they could travel. Grey Ghost wasn't the largest dragon by any means but he was still quite larger than her brothers' dragons.

But Grey Ghost was around the same size as Dreamfyre and even though Tessarion and Sunfyre were a bit smaller, they had experienced riders. They had been flying together since they were old enough to mount their beasts and she had always been jealous. Now she could join the fun.

"Soves," Visenya grinned after she climbed atop her dragon and he took off to the sky. It wasn't long before Dreamfyre, Sunfyre, and Tessarion were in the sky and Visenya was on a new plane of happiness.

She felt included, she felt like for once she was wanted. They wanted to fly with her and it didn't seem like it was out of pity. Her whole life she thought Aegon was awful and despite his whoring and drinking ways, he was quite pleasant. He was funny and he wasn't afraid to call out his family. Helaena of course was an angel. She had always been sweet to Visenya and never let her mother's hatred affect her actions.

Maybe she had misunderstood this whole family. Even Daeron hadn't been nasty toward her.

It was Aemond that was such an unsteady figure. One hour he could passionately hate her, the next hour he was helping her how to piss off her mother. It was confusing and awful and it made her angry that she couldn't get a consistent version of him.

A loud roar echoed through the clouds and Vhagar broke through, surprising everyone. No one had seen her before and now she had joined the party, or whatever this was.

Since Visenya had kept to herself and tried her best to avoid Aemond, she hadn't seen Vhagar in the time she had been in King's Landing. She was larger than life and it made Visenya relieved she didn't have to struggle with climbing up those ropes.

"Iksā tolī than enough syt nyke," She said to Grey Ghost.
You are more than enough for me.

Grey Ghost shook his neck and roared, catching up to fly next to Dreamfyre. Her light-blue hue matched gorgeously with Grey Ghost's smokey scales and the two seemed to bond within moments.

Vhagar soared above them, casting a shadow larger than the city itself. Despite her scary appearance, she was majestic. For a brief moment, she wondered if this is what it felt like during the age of the conquest when Balerion, Meraxes, and Vhagar flew over the city. She wondered how it felt to be a civilian and look to the sky at that sight.

Sunfyre and Aegon flew ahead of them, dipping and then going above the clouds. Tessarion and Daeron followed suit but Visenya stayed below the cloud line with Helaena.

"Dracarys!" Visenya called and Grey Ghost blew his flame and flew right through it. Visenya didn't feel a single burn on her skin and she laughed with a large smile.

This was freedom. To fly above the city with others and enjoy it. She came to the city to face her duties but somehow she found herself freer here.

And she held onto that feeling because if there was anything she had learned from life, it was that anything positive could disappear in an instant.