Harlys had been given quarters at Dragonstone, and though she knew there were guards posted at the door that would stop her if she tried to leave, she did not attempt to escape.
Instead, she curled up in the bed loaned to her and began to sob.
Her cries lasted long into the night, the names of all those she had failed on her tongue. What would her father think if he saw what she had become? She had allowed herself to be distracted by Aemond, allowed herself to be swayed into a false sense of security, if only for a day. She had let the one-eyed prince into her heart and paid the price for her naivety.
When the sun's rays trickled in through the window, she could hardly believe that only the previous morning she had been in bed with her husband, unaware of his betrayal and willing to fight to the death for him.
There was a knock on her door, Jacaerys, offering to accompany her to breakfast. She ignored him, and did not feel any guilt when he gave up and left. She did not feel much beyond her anger and hurt.
Hours or minutes later, Harlys could not be sure as she did not climb from bed at all, there was another knock at the door.
Not giving her a chance to ignore her, Queen Rhaenyra entered her quarters.
"Vhagar has been spotted approaching Dragonstone." She announced. Harlys, for the first time in hours, sat up. So much could go wrong with this reception; how foolish was Aemond? Would he attack first, or let Daemon deal the beginning blow? "You must tell me exactly what happened prior to your... departure from King's Landing."
Harlys did not have it in her scoff at her choice of words. She supposed admitting to kidnapping her was a bad look on Rhaenyra's behalf.
"Otto Hightower called Aemond and I to the throne room. Aegon, of course, is a puppet king. It is his grandsire who truly has control." Harlys began, scrubbing her hands across her face. She was certain she looked a mess, her hair knotted from the soaking wet flight, face red from crying over her own foolish actions. The bruises and scrapes that littered her body that were caused by Daemon's hand. "A scout had seen our flight to Dragonstone, but Aemond convinced his brother that it was nothing, that he was simply out for a flight. But it was then that Otto revealed his true reason for calling on us."
Though she loathed sharing this information with Rhaenyra, to relive her humiliation, she knew that the queen needed all the advantages she could possibly have for this meeting to go smoothly.
"Apparently," Harlys could not meet Rhaenyra's eyes, and instead focused intently on picking at the skin around her nails. "Apparently my husband has been well aware of who ordered the burning of Harrenhal for some time now. Years, in fact."
Silence fell through the room; Harlys stared at her hands as embarrassment burned her cheeks. How could she have adored Aemond so deeply, when he kept such information from her?
In an act that surprised her, Rhaenyra took Harlys' hands between her own, squeezing them tightly, comfortingly.
"You left in anger that night," The queen stated. Not a question. They both knew better than that.
"In truth, I do not know what state he will be in when he arrives." Harlys admitted, the words painful. She prided herself on knowing, on being able to examine everything. And Aemond? She had thought she knew him better than most. "I do not know where he truly stands."
Rhaenyra lifted Harlys' chin carefully so that she was forced to meet her gaze.
"We will find the answers you seek, Harlys," She promised, a mother's gentleness in her touch that she had never known. She wished so deeply that she could believe her, that everything would be alright.
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Haven't I Given Enough? (Always The Fool) - Aemond Targaryen
Fanfiction"Careful, Aemond. I might think you care about me." "Be certain that is not the case." His response was quick, and though it was the expected one, she could not help the sting of something unfamiliar that arced through her. "I only caution because I...
