The Rogue Princess

Chapter 16

Vhagar and Vermithor landed back in the sands just outside of the dragonpits of King's Landing as the sun was beginning to rise. Aerea had already dropped Leo back at his window and now it was just her and Aemond, sitting off to the sides of their dragons looking off into the sunrise.

Aerea slumped back into the sand and sighed out in relief, smiling slightly with her eyes shut. "It's finally over."

"Your first night of having a dragon and you take him straight into a battle?" He laughed as he looked down at her.

She opened one of her eyes at him curiously before going back to her previous position. "I had to make sure I picked the right dragon."

"Liar." He huffed and both her eyes flew open to see him eyeing her down.

"Alright...I just...I wanted it to be over already. The fighting in the Stepstones. I went there to live up to my father's reputation and ended up leaving with more loss from that war than I've ever experienced in my life." She explained.

He nodded slightly. "Ser Henry, was it?"

"Yes. Prince Qoren's army took him away from me...so I took his army from him. It's only fair really." She smiled as she sat back up, but he kept a straight face.

"Did you love him?"

Her face dropped completely before she looked away from him. "I was to marry him, so yes."

"And Ser Leo?"

"Leo and I have an arrangement. He leaves me alone, I leave him alone. Nothing more, nothing less."

He scoffed. "You'd choose a lonely marriage to someone you don't even love before being married to me, princess?"

She turned back to him with a fire building in her eyes and fists clenched tightly in her lap. "I will not be sold off to the very same family that has tried to jeopardize my family's lives over stupid, petty feuds."

"I'd hardly call false titles and claims stupid or petty." He rolled his eye and stood up, walking away from her. But she wasn't finished with him. She followed after him and jumped right in front of where he stood.

"But you justify your mother and grandfather's actions? If the king had not stepped in at the trial, every single one of my family's heads would be on a spike. Not just Luke's. Is that what you'd want?" Her arms rested at her hips as she looked up at him, scanning his eye for any answer she could find. His jaw was clenched and fists were tightly clenched at his sides. Then she laughed. "Of course then your brother would be king and still not you."

His hand clutched her throat while the other grabbed a fistful of her hair from the back of her head. She flinched slightly, but kept her focus on his eye. "Careful, princess."

Her eyes went to his eyepatch finally and for some reason all her anger and challenge faded. She reached up and slowly slid the patch from his face, revealing a shimmering sapphire in place of where his eye once sat. His remaining eye widened at her boldness, but he never moved. Her fingers very lightly traced along his scar as she looked over every inch of his childhood wound.

"Why did you send me flowers?" She whispered. He released her throat, but kept his fingertips on the sides of her neck.

"Why did you pull me from that cave?" He retorted.

"I've answered plenty of your questions. It's your turn to answer mine." She furrowed her eyebrows and there it was. That little indent he most enjoyed when he was getting under her skin, but this time was different. There was no anger or annoyance in her eyes. Only hope.

"I do not wish for you to see me as the monster my brother is." He answered, lowering his eye down to her slightly parted lips.

"I never have, Aemond." She said softly. His eye went back to hers and saw that she meant it. He almost thought he'd misheard her for a moment until her hand cupped his cheek gently and she weakly smiled. "That's not who I see when I look at you."