ℒove always wakes the dragon (Aemond x OC)

The price

Aemond keeps telling himself he's not worried but the more time passes, the less convincing it sounds. He grows concerned on their way back, when the fog dissipates to reveal the canvas of the sea underneath, but they see no white dragon in sight, and Aemond feels uneasy at the thought of what could've happened to the beast, to his rider. To Lia.

He gets more nervous as they fly down and reach the land, and he doesn't think twice before heading straight to the Dragonpit. Aemond goes through all the possible scenarios in his head: he assures himself she's probably fine, she's safe and unharmed, but he does suspect that the ride wasn't enjoyable to her either. He suddenly hates the idea of her being truly upset with him.

By the time Aemond arrives at the domed building, his nerves are sky high, his heart racing, and his voice sounds all tight when he calls one of the dragonkeepers to point him in the right direction. The prince follows it, peering into every corner of the dimly lit tunnels until he gets to the one he's looking for, his heartbeat drumming in his ears.

Lia comes out of the cave barely a second after, and Aemond immediately stops. She doesn't see him yet, her face distant and pensive, with a furrow in between her brows. She takes a few steps toward him and absentmindedly looks up — and their eyes meet. That's when he sees that she isn't just upset.

She is absolutely furious.

"What in the hell was that up there?" Lia raises her voice and scoots over to him in a flash. "Your idea of fun?!" her palm presses into Aemond's chest, and before he can process it, he is slammed into the nearby cave wall, his back hitting the rocky surface so hard, it will undoubtedly leave bruises.

"I didn't want —"

"You didn't want to chase my dragon through the heavy clouds? Then how come that's exactly what happened?" Lia glares at him, and Aemond can't find the right words. He is embarrassed, uncomfortable and mad at himself — and he didn't think any of it through.

A dark suspicion creeps across her face as she squints.

"Or did you do that on purpose?" she speaks up quieter but her tone is as sharp as her dagger. "Because you hoped to give me a scare with your ginormous beast?"

The prince catches her wrist before she can hit again but Lia elbows him — yet another bruise — and swats his arm away. She goes to push him, and Aemond grabs her by the shoulder with a groan, swiftly turning her away from him. Her back collides with his chest, his arm held under her collarbones.

"You are terribly overreacting," he mutters.

"You are an arrogant prick," she bites back, then turns to face him and slips from his embrace without much effort.

He gets no reprieve as she kicks him in the leg — her foot hitting right at his shin — and the sudden move knocks him down. But at the very last second he pulls her along: they both end up stumbling, falling, rolling over the ground and deeper into the tunnel. The parched soil feels like a stone floor against his side, his breath knocked out at the impact, and Aemond lies on his back with his eye closed, trying to recover. By the sound of it, her fall is worse — Lia lets out a whimper, and when he turns to her, he sees her rubbing her shoulder, her face contoured with pain. He somehow feels like it's all his fault.

Aemond props up, a hiss escaping through his clenched teeth, his back and ribs aching, but he ignores it and moves toward her. He leans in, and while she's too distressed to care, throws one leg over her, his knees on either side of hers. He tells himself it's only a precaution, but the moment Lia comes to her senses, she growls with irritation.

"That was a misjudgment on your part," he sounds not teasing but concerned, trying to guess if she's injured and how bad is it.

"And you're one to talk," Lia looks at him with a scowl. "Did you expect me to find it amusing that you tried to kill me?"