The Tragedy of Liliyana Lannister 𓆗♡ AEMOND TARGARYEN ♡ 𓆗

Chapter Eight

TW: for SA and mention of child abuse.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Liliyana did not know her way around the city.

That much was obvious. How many highborn girls snuck out after dark to gamble, drink, and fornicate? But, she did know how to make herself unseen.

A vital skill for any female, wealthy or not. Liliyana kept to the main streets and kept her hands linked at her front. The Great Sept remained her compass point. Fried meats and fermented cheese wafted through the air. Large areas like these were safe. Gold cloaks on duty made sure to keep things quiet. But, she knew the further she traveled, the fewer guards she'd find.

Liliyana looked at the Sept once more. I will make it. She needed to. Wherever you are, King Viserys, I hope you are at peace. He often spoke of his first wife and their passed son. He missed them dearly, and Viserys promised Liliyana that when he died, he would tell Lord Tymond, her father, how beautiful and well his daughter was doing.

Her nose itched with the threat of tears. Crying right now would do her no good. She might draw the attention of the gold cloaks. They'd recognize Prince Aemond's wife immediately and have her returned. Or worse, have her sent to the Hand or Queen for interrogation. Especially when they discovered her letter to the princess.

Liliyana exhaled and pushed forward.

Meanwhile, some blocks away, her husband and Ser Cole prowled the Street of Silk.

Dressed in gray and black, Aemond could never truly blend in with his missing eye. Ser Cole had both his eyes, but his clean face and straight gait put him out of place as well.

"Aegon brought me to the Street of Silk on my thirteenth name day," Aemond told him. The second son did not leave the castle walls. Not when he had everything he needed at home. Fear, perhaps, kept him from returning here. The stench of stale perfume and sweat put him on high alert. He did much over the years to keep these memories far, far away. But now they spilled out from him like an overfilled bucket.

Aemond continued. "'It was his duty,' he said, to ensure I was as educated as he was." They came to a stop at a familiar ironcasted door. "At least that's what I understood him to mean." He knocked and stood back. "I told him I was waiting for Liliyana, and that books would teach me everything I needed to know."

Ser Cole pondered his words before answering his companion. "I don't follow."

"He said, 'Time to get it wet'."

Ser Cole shook his head, trying his best to hide his disgust. "Every woman is an image of the Mother, to be spoken of with reverence." He banged on the door again.

Another intake of perfume had Aemond turning his nose down. His thoughts drifted to his wife, to distract from the inevitable onslaught of memories from coming. The hours grew late; they would not be able to make it to the Sept tonight. Aemond could be with her, listening to her sweet voice as she braided his hair again. Or read together, hands held. Anything but this.

The woman finally opened the door and Aemond's heart stopped. He struggled to grip the hilt of his dagger. Cole spoke to her, and Aemond felt transported back to thirteen-years-old, with Aegon leaving him in the hands of this woman. He had been unable to speak, to voice his unwillingness, and maybe that was the problem. She told him to relax and he tried to, truly he did. Aegon told him that Liliyana would not want a man who did not have practice. But Aemond did not care--he did not need sex with Liliyana to be happy or to love her. No one quite seemed to understand that.

He had tried thinking of her, of her smile and hair and laugh, but it only made him feel worse. His body reacted on its own accord and he did not understand. Incessant shame burned him from the inside out.

Aemond felt it returning now. His eyes managed to look at her and he held his guard. He was not thirteen anymore. He was a married man and able to defend himself. But the tremors in his fingers did not stop.

"I wish you luck, good Ser, and my best to your friend."

A coldness lingered on Aemond's spine as Cole walked off.

"How you've grown," she told him.

His wife, his beloved who loved him resurfaced in his dark thoughts like the angel she was. This woman, who stood before him, could not ruin that truth for him. His fingers clasped the dagger's hilt and he held it strong.

Aemond pushed away from where he stood, his only response a close-mouthed utterance. He walked away, memories still rotting his insides but feeling impossibly proud of himself.

"Damn!" Liliyana cursed, watching the unmoving pile-up of livestock blocking her way. She had no choice but to go around.

The streets were still busy with people, thank the gods. Hopefully, she would not be here for very long.

But as well as Liliyana could go undetected, so could others. Two men spotted the highborn girl and followed. She would serve a high price, even higher if the two mercenaries could get her onto a ship to Pentos. They split up when the girl wandered down another side street. She was lost.

I'm so lost. The Sept was no longer in view. Nothing was in view. Not even the tops of homes. Liliyana turned around and froze when a hooded bear of a man blocked her way. She let out a breath and turned again, only to be blocked off again by a different, smaller man.

Ice and bile churned in her stomach as the larger man stalked toward her.

"I need to pass," she told them. Her voice rattled with every word. "Please."

The men laughed.

"'Please!'" the large one mocked. He shoved her body against the stone wall with enough force to blur her vision. "Begging looks good on you, girl."

Liliyana's world flipped as he dragged her to an alcove behind an abandoned shop. His companion looked on and kept an eye for any approaching guards. Liliyana struggled against his hold. The man's hands pushed on her ribs suddenly and it got her to stop. She heard him fiddle with his pants.

"What are you doing?" his friend asked. "Tie her up so we can get to the docks."

"What's the rush? How often do we get to fuck a highborn girl?"

Liliyana did not understand where the strength came from, but the surge of adrenaline allowed her to flip over. She kicked the man between the legs, just like how she read women doing in her books. The man cried out and released her. She stood and began running to freedom when a wrist encircled her ankle. She face-planted the ground. A stray rock sliced her cheek and it drew blood.

"You stupid cunt!"

The man dragged her backward once more. Liliyana fought to gain resistance, her nails breaking off and bleeding against the cobblestone street. Her cries were muffled against the ground and Sept bells.

The man grabbed the back of her scalp and bashed her temple against the curb. She went quiet and lifeless.

The second man watched this happen silently. He knew better than to come between his brother's anger. "Is she alive, Darrok?"

Darrok let out a breath but it sounded more like a laugh. "Aye, the bitch will live." He flipped her over and hiked up her skirts. A red handprint on her hip stood out against her pale skin. Her husband liked it rough. Why the fuck did fight off so relentlessly then?

He continued to undo his pants when the sound of wood breaking had him stop. His brother collapsed to the floor unconscious, a broken board splintered beside him. "Fucking hell--!" He went down next, falling beside Liliyana, his bare ass out for the gods to see.

Author's Note:

I absolutely adored/hated writing this chapter. Expanding on Aemond's personality was vital, as uncomfortable as it was. The show never comes out and says all that, but I think it implies a lot, so I ran with it. 

Thank you for reading and for all the votes and comments. 

🖤