The Dragons and Their Sun (aemond/oc)

aurora VI

She stared up at the giant beast outside her window with a grin so wide it hurt. Rhaenys Targaryen was staring at her with wide eyes. She fidgeted under her stare, waving slightly, "Hello!"

She watched her cousin take a shaky breath from the back of her dragon before her eyes were forced to shut as Meleys blew out a puff of hot air at her. She laughed slightly; it felt nice. Meleys, then, extended a wing. Aurora watched it with wide eyes. She looked to her cousin, who still hadn't spoken to her. But then, Rhaenys rose from her saddle and started to descend the wing. She, very gracefully, slid in through Aurora's window before turning to command her dragon to fly away. At least, that's what Aurora thought she said because the dragon took off after that.

It took everything in Aurora not to launch herself at the older woman.

Rhaenys smiled at her, her eyes warm, "Hello."

Aurora's eyes filled immediately, "Hello."

It was shaky and Aurora just barely choked it out before her sobs took over. Rhaenys rushed forward with a quiet, "Oh, my dear girl."

Aurora embraced a member of her new family for the first time. Aurora felt every negative emotion she's felt and pushed down over the years come to the surface as Rhaenys stroked her hair and back. Rhaenys' arms were warm and welcome as Aurora felt her body sag against the older woman's. Rhaenys was muttering comforting words to her as they embraced, and Aurora grasped at every single word and held them tightly to her chest.

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She isn't sure how long they stood there, Rhaenys just holding her and comforting her as she cried. Aurora had only started to cry harder when she realized she couldn't remember when she had last felt so safe and protected. She had just met the woman earlier in the night, but Aurora already trusted her with her life. Aurora parted from the woman and wiped at her face, "I'm sorry."

Rhaenys shook her head, bringing her hands up to wipe Aurora's tears herself, "You, my dear, have absolutely nothing to apologize for."

Aurora ducked her head, and Rhaenys tried to meet her eyes. Aurora stopped her with the shake of her head, "You shouldn't do that."

Rhaenys paused her movements and tilted her head, "Why?"

"My father says it hurts to look. I don't want to hurt you."

She heard Rhaenys inhale sharply before her chin was gently grabbed, "I highly doubt you could hurt me, dear girl."

Aurora tried to justify it in her head. Rhaenys was a dragon rider. Surely, she had seen the sun closer than a normal person could? Aurora nodded to herself and let her eyes meet her cousins. Rhaenys let out the tiniest gasp, and Aurora wanted to crawl into a hole.

Rhaenys held her chin steadier before she could turn back away. The older woman's voice held something soft, something airy as she said, "Wonderful."

Aurora, respectfully, disagreed. Then, she remembered something. She took a step back and lowered herself in a curtsy she had spent years practicing, "Princess."

Rhaenys laughed and lowered herself into a smaller bow, "My Lady. That is quite an impressive curtsy. Where did you learn?"

Aurora's eyes widened with excitement at the question as she ran to her bookshelf of books her father let her keep. She searched frantically for the book she was looking for before she finally found it and yanked it off the shelf. She flipped to the page and excitedly showed it to her cousin, "I studied this for days! Almost all of my books have things like this in them! I can curtsy, sew, knit, dance, paint, write, read, and I think I know how to cook! I've never had the chance, but I've read a lot about it!"