Surviving

Chapter 17: The Boy Who Restrained Himself

Aemond couldn't keep his mind straight during his sword training with Ser Cole. Though he'd maintained his composure the whole time, hardly ever speaking a word, he was constantly thinking about Naerys.

He didn't know what to make of the past day with her. The way she claimed him so easily and so ferociously sent chills down his spine. He couldn't get the look on her face out of his mind. That borderline animalistic look in her eyes drove him wild with desire he didn't think he'd ever feel for her.

Cole had noticed the prince seemed distracted, no matter how hard Aemond tried to play it off. Judging by the marks around his neck, there was most likely one person behind that. He'd seen the prince searching the yards every now and then, checking the door every time someone would come into the yards. Aemond always looked so disappointed when he'd turn to see some random lord or lady walking through.

When their lessons finished for the day in the late afternoon, Aemond practically threw his sword onto the rack to try and run off, but Cole called after him, warranting an annoyed grunt from the prince.

"Yes, Cole?" Aemond asked in a clipped tone.

Cole hung his head for a moment, giving a small sigh before looking up at the prince. "You and I both know you know where your brother is, my prince. Your mother has guards looking for him every day."

Aemond scowled with a small eye roll. "Then it sounds like my mother has it taken care of, Ser Cole."

"He's going to come back sooner or later, you know?" Cole pursed his lips together, hands folded in front of him. He despised Naerys, but he'd never side with Aegon for his abusive tendencies. But it was his duty to his queen. A queen who cared more about her son than what her son did.

Cole hated that he felt sympathy towards Naerys, not once but twice. The first time being the night he refused the queen's order to take a little girl's eye as payment. Even Cole had his limits.

"Then it sounds as if later will be when my brother decides to return to the Red Keep." Aemond smirked. He couldn't believe even Cole wanted to find Aegon. He couldn't comprehend the obsession with Aegon being their side's chosen heir. Aegon was nothing but a monster. A monster who made it very clear he didn't even want to be king.

"You can't keep him hidden away forever, Aemond...and when that day comes, who knows what your brother will have in mind?" Cole was trying to reason with Aemond at this point. He wanted to fulfill his queen's orders to find Aegon, but he wanted Aemond to realize what he'd truly done by forcing Naerys to marry him.

"Well...until my brother is found, there is nothing for me to worry about, Cole." Aemond casually spoke before turning on his heel and leaving Cole behind, alone in the yard with a grim look on his face.

Aemond was making his way through the halls when he passed a group of giggling ladies, but something caught his attention when he'd turned a corner. He heard what was the cause of their mundane entertainment: him.

"Apparently not even his own wife." One of them snickered.

"D'you think he's taken to men instead?" Another gasped quietly.

"That's what the princess was implying yesterday. The prince looked none too pleased with his wife being so chatty with me." He recognized that voice instantly. Cerelle Lannister. Already spreading Naerys' petty lies with the other ladies.

His knuckles cracked as he balled his fists, nails digging into his palms roughly. His wife was the cause of this. She'd humiliated him in front of Cerelle and now the Lannister lady was running her mouth to anyone and everyone who would listen. He would be a mockery of the court.