ℒove always wakes the dragon (Aemond x OC)

Out of the woods

warnings: fighting, violence (mentions of blood and a few injuries, not too detailed though).
this one is bigger again, hope you'll still like it ♥

Lia follows the path and looks around, peeking into the bushes and behind trees, and her guilt builds up with each passing minute. In half an hour she decides to change direction and turn around to ride deeper into the woods instead. She notes that the sunlight doesn't reach the ground, the air is cooling down, and the shadows grow longer — all of which is a signal that the evening will approach soon. And her chances of finding Tyland will reduce drastically after the darkness falls.

She thinks back to her time in the cabin: she must've been in only for a few minutes, and the whole ride took about an hour. But that amount of time was enough for Tyland to disappear. She inevitably suspects that he could've gotten in trouble, and her guilt reaches the size of a mountain. There are no excuses to come up with this time — Lia knows that whatever happened is her fault alone.

The main road she's on narrows and winds through the trees, overshadowed by dense crowns of oaks. Only when Lia stops to inspect her surroundings, she notices a white silhouette. The girl sits down lower and takes a closer look — and realizes that it's Lord Lannister's horse. The animal is peacefully eating grass, but there isn't a rider in sight, and leaving a horse so far from the route is surely a weird choice.

Only it doesn't look coincidental.

Lia thinks it looks like a trap.

She ponders over her options but there's only one conclusion to make: she has to go there, come what may. Raven lets out a low neigh, either tired or suspicious or both, and Lia rubs his side in a soothing motion. She makes sure her dagger is in place, then takes a few sips of water, puts the flask away — and hops off the horse.

"I've been told you are a smart one, aren't you?" she pets him behind the ear. "We had a good ride but I should continue on my own, I'm afraid. So go home, Raven," Lia takes a step from him, and the horse turns his head to look at her, his big brown eyes unblinking. "Come on, go to the castle."

He fuffs a couple of times, then turns — and bolts in the right direction. She watches him move down the road until his body disappears in the distance, and she is left alone in the dead silence of the forest.

Without hesitation, Lia makes her way through the trees, moving branches away from her face, eyes set on Pearl, who keeps munching, unbothered as ever. The horse is tied to the trunk of an old pine, and it's not long before Lia — unsurprisingly — hears an unknown voice:

"Are you lost, sweet thing?"

A man walks out from behind a tree with a mischievous grin. He's the same height as Lia and of sturdy build, but she can't tell if he is armed.

"I am looking for a friend of mine," Lia says in a neutral tone. "Pretty sure this is his horse."

"Is that so? What's its name then?"