Chaos within the Greens

Chaptet 12

Although Aemond did not particularly enjoy looking himself in the mirror, but recently he began to do so. He avoided looking at his face, instead focused on the chest, making sure the pendant sat on the perfect spot.

This morning was no different.

Aemond looked himself in the mirror and for the umpteenth time adjusted the pendant.

His disciplined self knew he was running late for training yet again, but the child in him needed the pendant to be on the right spot before he made it out of his chamber.

The one-eyed Prince could not help the excitement he felt as he marched through the halls of the Keep to the training yard, the Sapphire of the Arryn family sitting proudly on his chest proudly. He even appeared before his father two days prior, wordlessly showing off the gift Aemma had given him and felt great satisfaction seeing the bewildered expression on the withering man's face.

For the third time in a row this week Aemond is late to arrive to the training yard. Upon his arrival Ser Criston Cole greeted him with a reproachful look. Quite unimpressed by his star pupil recent tardiness. He scarcely recognizes this new Aemond.

The session training began shortly after, before Aemond suffered through what was undoubtedly another one of the worst sparring session he has participated in since he first took up a wooden sword as a child.

Cole observed; present amongst today's crowd he detected was the youngest Princess. She stood clutching onto an arm of Prince Daeron. The knight switched his attention back to the Prince he was sparring with and noted, whatever little bit of attention the boy had previously, has left him now.

It was then the knight understood the root cause of the problem.

At the same time frustrated by his pupil's lack of attention, Cole decided to go especially brutal on him this round.

Aemond was caught off guard when his shield splintered under an unexpected blow from the morningstar. Before he could come out of the shock, came the next blow that had his sword knocked out his hand and had him thrown to the ground. And half a heartbeat after, Cole's sword was at his throat.

The audience was left stunned. Everyone was speechless. Some found themselves quietly gasping, others had their jaw dropped to what they just witnessed.

"My Prince," Ser Criston offered a hand and helped Aemond back to his feet before he taunted, "seems to me you decided to lock your focus into that pendant of yours?"

With wide eye and face twisted in emotion that was hard to read Aemond looked away from him. His breathing laboured, his embarrassment fading rapidly into outright rage.

Wrapping an arm around Aemond's shoulder Criston brought him closer.

"I understand your difficulty and reluctance to part ways with your little sister's gift. But you must find a more suitable place for it. As this isn't where it belongs." He emphasized, lightly tapping on Aemond's chest.

The advice mindlessly went through the one-eyed Prince's one ear and out of the other as he stalked back inside, with how little he cared for what the man said in that moment.

oOo

In the midst of working on her needlepoint Helaena occasionally paused and looked down at her lap just to check how her little brother was faring. Aemond kept twirling the sapphire between his fingers, unable to stop looking at it. She softly pet his head before returning to her embroidery. She had been working diligently on finishing the golden brownish one-eyed cat per Aemma's request.