The Dragons and Their Sun (aemond/oc)

rhaenyra XIV

Arguments over who would fly to Oldtown and when lasted until the castle woke to break their fast. Rhaenyra wasn't surprised by that; she had gotten back so late after all. She figured it was already the sixth day of searching by the time she actually got back to King's Landing and shared her information.

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"You need to keep looking. Oldtown is just a theory spewed by a peasant traveling. We've already been lied to once," Daemon was the first to speak after she had mentioned Oldtown.

"Why would they take her? It makes no sense," her father sided with his brother.

"It makes perfect sense. The kids are obsessed with her. Alicent could have easily found this out and decided to try one last effort to rally them to her side," Rhaenys took her side. She flashed a grateful smile to the older woman.

"How would she find out, then?" Daemon challenged her.

She thought for a moment before a thought came to her mind. How did Alicent find anything out when she lived here? How did she seem to know things she shouldn't have? How did she find out Rhaenyra had been given moon tea after her relations with Criston Cole? She followed the train of thought to changes that had been made around that time. She didn't have that information before. What changed before Alicent had turned on her?

The Strongs. Lyonel was elected Hand of the King, bringing his sons with him. She had never really focused on the clubfooted one too much, but she had seen him around Alicent more than once. He liked to stare. She figured he just thought her beautiful like so many others at court did.

She thought back to the night before this one. She had been with Helaena after their meal. It was the lightest Rhaenyra had felt in days. Until Helaena suddenly blurted out, "Fireflies!"

The poor woman didn't know what it meant, and Rhaenyra didn't either. No one seemed to know. They just put it aside to figure out later when Aurora was home. But now, standing here as her brain worked through her rapidly forming thoughts, it seemed to fit.

Larys Strong wore a firefly pendant. His cane was decorated with fireflies as well. She hadn't thought anything of it when she first noticed it, just that it was a pretty pendant.

She turned to the brothers, "Last night at supper. Do you remember what Helaena said?"

"Something about fireflies," Aegon looked impatient. She felt bad for keeping him here, but if her train of thought was correct, they had two places to check instead of one. They needed to figure out who's going where.

"'Fireflies,'" Aemond said at the same time as his brother. His tone matched his brother's impatient one, though.

"Larys Strong's pendant is a firefly. He had a certain proclivity for Alicent," she told the table, hoping they understood her meaning from her words.

"Larys? I think you're confused, my girl," her father doubted her.

"He was awfully interested in our mother. He was always around her," Aemond took her side. It was clear from their looks alone that both brothers were on her side.

"We'll search both Harrenhal and Oldtown, but we mustn't place all of our hope on her being there. Like Daemon said; they're getting people to lie," Corlys took neutral ground. Rhaenyra supposed that was fair. She just knew her daughter was in Oldtown, though. Something deep in her gut told her that Aurora was being held in Oldtown. She would still make sure Harrenhall was searched, but she knew it was Oldtown. She knew.

"Aegon, Aemond, you'll fly to Harrenhal," she held up a finger to stop Aegon when she noticed he opened his mouth, "Don't argue with me."

"Yes, Mother," she heard him mumble sarcastically. She knew it was sarcasm, but it didn't stop her heart from warming.