ᵈʳᵃᵍᵒⁿ ʰᵉᵃʳᵗ

˖⁺‧₊˚🪽.° ༘

[ the aftermath ]

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. His chest rose and fell from beneath you, offering you an soothing patterning for your racing heart. Aemond's arm was secured around your waist, keeping you near him. 

You traced your fingertip over his chest, the action sending him sleeping over an hour ago. The night was cold, but the Targaryen below you offered a warmth you had yet to feel for a while. You shifted slightly, resting your chin against his heart as you observed his face. 

Aemond Targaryen was a beautiful young man. His chin was pointed, and his lips were constantly pulled into a frown, but when they tilted into a smile, whether it be cruel or sweet, it was a sight for sore eyes. His skin was flawless, no laughing lines or wrinkles present, and you weren't necessarily surprised due to the sheer amount of stress the children of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower went through.

But you couldn't admire him anymore. You let out a breath, before slowly rising from the bed, moving onto your knees as you stared down at him. Leaning forward, you pressed your lips to his, feeling him groan softly before subconsciously kissing you back.

You released from his sweet mouth, sighing at the sight of his sleepy smile. He is still asleep, thank goodness, you thought to yourself. Rising from the bed, the sheets fell from your naked body, and you raised your hands to your breasts to cover them, as if that would help with the modesty.

Slipping into a night gown, you wrapped a soft shawl around your shoulders before leaving your bedroom. The castle was quiet, and the hums of the crickets offered you white noise as you made your way through the halls. Venturing through the many corridors, you soon found yourself at the kitchens. They were empty, and you lifted one of the carrier candles in your hand for some light as you started raiding the kitchen.

You found yourself a small cake, drizzled in sugar, quickly placing it on a plate and sitting down at the island in the center. You poured yourself a goblet of milk, the drink sliding down your throat before you went to eat the cake.

"What have you done?" you mumbled to yourself in questioning. Dropping the silver fork, your hands shot to your face, heaving out a shaky breath as you palmed your eyelids.

You had slept with Aemond. You had given him something that was meant to be for Jacaerys, and only for him. You were sitting here, in the kitchen at the dead of night, eating fucking cake to try and quell your nerves.

A sob escaped your lips, and soon, the room was filled with your muffled crying. You were practically a whore in your eyes. You had come to King's Landing with your sweet and doting betrothed, and then fell into the bed of his conniving uncle. You were ashamed.

But it takes two to play such a scandalous game. You couldn't help but melt under the eye of Aemond, and he was anything but callous in his attempts at fulfilling you... and your needs.

You didn't know what to do. With Aegon being crowned king, Rhaenyra would only be returning here to the Keep to slice his head off. And if you were to stay here, Aemond would surely tell his family of this night, and what you both had done in the privacy of your bedroom.

You were too busy thinking about all the problems and possible outcomes you had caused from a single night of pleasure that you didn't take note of the door opening, and someone slipping inside. 

"My lady-."

You jumped in your seat, swiveling around and grabbing the nearest weapon. There was only the fork, so you pointed it threateningly at the person before you, eyes wide with fear.

Ser Erryk stood in front of you, hands raised in defense as he eyed you. You were quick to question him as you stood, "What are you doing here, Ser?"

Erryk lowered his hands, clearing his throat as he spoke, "I am here to rescue you, Lady Y/N."

"Rescue me?" you repeated.

"And to escort you back to Dragonstone," he said after nodding in confirmation to your previous echo. 

Your hand dropped, the fork clattering to the stone floor as you wavered. "You have come to take me to Jacaerys?"

"Yes, my lady. I have pledged allegiance to the Princess Rhaenyra, the true Queen. I was meant to leave for Dragonstone a moon ago, but she had sent me a raven, requesting I stay here to look after you due to the impromptual demand for your stay by Alicent."

A breath escaped you, and you closed your eyes for a moment. You thought they had forgotten about you, and that they had left you here for dead a month ago. But Rhaenyra had been thinking of your safety the moment she heard you were staying here. You wondered if Jace was apart of this.

It seemed that Erryk could read your mind as he continued to speak, "The Prince, Jacaerys, had practically fallen to his knees for me to stay with you. He knew he could not, but he wished for your safety. He hated that he couldn't be the one to bare his rightful responsibility to protect you," he said with a soft smile.

You grinned to yourself as you murmured, "My sweet Jacaerys."

However, the moment vanished as a frown settled upon your face. "I don't understand, Ser Erryk. What are we to do now? It's not like I can just vanish from the castle and ride to Dragonstone. The Queen would send out an army!" You watched as Erryk raised his brows, offering you the tiniest shrug. "That's exactly the plan, isn't?" you sighed.

"You pretty much summed it all up, my lady," he smiled, before going to into more detail, "I have been gathering the necessities for our short trip. It should only take nearly two weeks on boat, however dragon-back would be much swifter."

"What of the Queen? The Princes?" you asked, feeling your heart thumping in your chest at the prospect of abandoning Aemond just after what had happened. What you both had done.

"We will already be hours, possibly even days ahead, if they figure out you escaped by ship. It's not like horse trails; a boat won't leave any traces. We have the sea on our side," Erryk assured.

"Then we must go," you concluded rather bluntly, grimacing as a knot formed in your chest. "I will... I will put on a more appropriate dress. Where should I meet you?"

"Down by the Godswood Tree in the courtyard," he answered. "You must be quiet, my lady. The Keep is at its wits end with what happened at the coronation today."

So am I.

"Yes, I understand. I should only be a short while, Ser," you nodded, before spinning around and making your way to your bedroom. 

Venturing through the corridors of the castle, each step seemed to feel heavier and more gut-wrenching. When you quietly opened the dark wooden door, you willed yourself not to look at the prince dozing off on the bed as it would distract you.

Your movements were agile and quiet as you packed up what little belongings you brought with you to King's Landing, before looking through your closet. Shifting through the gowns, you nodded to yourself in decisiveness when you pulled out a dress. It was simple really, with a beige underdress beneath it, whilst a black overhand draped on top of it. 

Undressing, you quickly sheathed it on, content with the warmth it offered you, due to the airy-cuffed sleeves and the upper body coverage. Finally, you allowed your gaze to split from the ground, a quiet breath escaping your lips as your eyes fell upon the albino prince. You slowly walked over, taking a soft seat on the edge of the bed as you watched Aemond.

He looked so at peace with himself as he slept. His brows weren't pulled into a scornful scowl, and the orange light of the scarse candles littered around the room casted a glow so heavenly, it made you feel as though you were watching an angel. A fallen angel.

"I must go, my prince," you whispered as you leaned down, feeling the familiar prickling sting behind your eyes, alerting you of the unstoppable tears that were forming. "But please, please, do not allow your mind, or anyone, to tell you that I do not... that I do not love you."

You knew you weren't lying. You had a gentle yet painful love for the boy sleeping below you. A certain piece of your heart was chipped off, and you had handed it to him without a second thought. But you would conceal that secret. You had too.

Standing up, you did your best to bury the sobs that wanted to claw their way up through your throat and hurl out of your mouth. Your eyes were blurry when you finally met Erryk at the Godswood Tree. He looked at you in slight concern, taking a risk and placing his hand on your arm, showing nothing but comfort.

"Are you alright, my lady?" Erryk asked in a murmur.

You sniffed, wiping underneath your eye as you sent him a tight smile. "Yes, I am quite fine. Thank you, Ser."

"Think nothing of it," he hummed. "Are you ready for the small trip? We must make our way to the docks, but we have to go through a hidden passageway. The gates are completely blocked off, and if we were to somehow get out, the entire Keep is flanked with guards."

"Of course," you nodded in determination. "Lead the way."

Ser Erryk made haste; he bolted through the hallways, often coming to an abrupt stop, sending you crashing into his armor. He would hush you with a pointed stare, then continue running, but not before offering a small apology that you would shrug off. 

Getting out of the Keep was relatively easy. The soldiers were too preoccupied with guarding the main entrances to the castle, or talking away the night that they had completely missed one of the many secret pathways that led you straight you into one of the buzzing streets of King's Landing. 

Men, women and children alike were taking over the city with their joyous songs and laughter. Booths of exotic spices and herbs from Dorne to illicit fabrics salted from Essos filled many of the stalls, along with steaming pastries and sizzling drinks. They were celebrating the new king, or more so, the fact that they were able to witness it.

If it weren't for the urgent matter of leaving this place, you would've happily stopped by one of the stalls and offered whatever coin the man wished for to try the interesting pink drink he was selling. Even Erryk found himself faltering a little at the sight of a plump woman entering one of the nearby brothels, sending him a sultry smirk as she made her way through the beaded doorway.

You smacked his shoulder, a deadpanned look overtaking your E/C eyes which were slightly covered by the black hood you had lifted above your head. Erryk meekly smiled, before holding out his arm. You took it with a good-natured shake of your head as you both shrugged past the many citizens. 

Slowly but surely, the loud music and party life soon drifted into the air, fading into echoes as you and the knight walked down one of the stoned hills. You made soft conversation with the man, finding him to be a wonderful chatterbox when he wanted to be.

Soon, you were gliding your hands over the boats as you passed them, the ships getting larger and larger as the end of the dock came closer. Erryk came to a stop, staring down at the water, and you followed his gaze to where a ship sat, nestled in between two bigger boats.

"This will be our ride?" you asked.

"Yes, this will be our boat for the next two weeks. I know it's not much but-."

"It's fine, Ser Erryk," you smiled softly, the man's shoulders dropping in relief as he reciprocated the grin. "It will do just fine for us."

The knight stepped onto the boat, turning around and offering his hand, to which you took as he helped you stablize on the drifting wood. It was a medium-sized ship, with the essentials for every boat, and a large house-like structure to work as a sleeping chamber.

Without a word, you entered the room, quickly placing your small pouch of belongings on one of the three beds, before venturing out to the front of the boat. Erryk was already driving the ship, spinning the wheel after untying the ropes for the sails.

You tilted your head, closing your eyes as you breathed in the salty air the ocean expelled. With a sigh, you opened your eyelids, taking in the illuminated city of King's Landing, focusing on the imposing castle. You didn't know which one, but in one of those rooms, slept your Aemond. Blissfully unaware of your disappearance.