The Wolf Queen - Part 1 (Aemond Targaryen)

Chapter 9

Lyanna is awakened by the scuffle of Aemond strapping his gear to his saddle. It is still dark, but the light of dawn can be seen on the horizon.

Slowly, she gets up, stretching out her stiff limbs from sleeping on the ground.
"You're up early," she remarks with a yawn.
He turns to her, "You look tired. Did you have trouble sleeping?"
Lyanna bites her cheek, not wanting to say anything she would regret.
She fakes a smile, "Not at all." She straps her gear and mounts her horse, riding off without checking if Aemond is ready. Laying low in her saddle, she urges her horse to quicken the pace.

If he can ride a dragon, he can ride a horse and catch up with her.
As they enter the Riverlands, her eyes scan over the landscape. The wind blows through the grass, and a bird flies into the sky. She pulls back hard on the reins. She is making her horse come to a stop.

Aemond speeds past her, but seeing her standing still in the middle of the road makes him stop and turn around.
"Tired already?" he asks.
She turns her head to listen, "Something is wrong." she says. 

Aemond's smile disappears, and he looks around them, "Are you certain?"
More birds fly up into the sky, swooping low over their heads before shooting back into the atmosphere. She can feel their warning, hear it ringing in her ears.

"Aemond," she whispers, pulling her sword from its sheath as quietly as possible, "There are a group of men surrounding us in the grass on both sides of the road."
He frowns, "How do you know this?"
She swallows and hears the birds calling out to her again, "Get ready."

Just as she jumped off her horse, two men ran out from her left, swords held high. Expecting it, she counters their blows, feeling their strength with every swing. She dodges, ducks, and dives as much as she can. She is waiting for each moment to swing. She cuts down the one man and dares to glance over her shoulder towards Aemond. She sees him fighting off three more men, a fourth already dead on the ground. It looks like he is dancing, making sword fighting look as effortless as breathing.

Wishing she could look longer, she returned to the man before her. A bulky figure with pitch-black hair and an ugly scar across his face. He brings his sword down on her with all his might, and Lyanna just in time to deflect it with her own. With a crazy look in his eye, he attacks her, causing her to only be on the defensive, finding no opportunity to strike back. Knowing she won't be able to beat this man in strength.

Deciding to be quick and try to outthink him, she steps back, putting her weight on her back leg. He dives forward, Lyanna side-stepping him and kicking him on the behind as she moves. But the man had more battle experience than her and anticipated her next move, cutting her arm, leaving a deep gash.

She yells out in pain, letting the pain turn to anger and anger take over her senses. Imagining the man before her is a Widling, she runs towards him, her on the attack and him on the defence. In an instant of him letting his guard down, she plunges her sword through his chest and sees him fall to his knees before falling on his face.

"Lyanna!" Aemond yells, and she turns around, seeing one of the men he was fighting run towards her. Her life starts flashing before her eyes, knowing she won't be able to stop the blow, even if she wants to. Not wanting to die a coward, she lifts her sword.

The man suddenly comes to a halt, gurgling blood as he lets go of his sword—the sharp point of a sword sticking out of his throat.

Aemond rushes towards her, his blade dripping blood.
"Are you hurt?" he asks, "I heard you..." Then he sees the blood oozing from the wound in her arm.
"I'm fine. It is just a flesh wound," she replies breathlessly, feeling him place one hand on her hip and the other on the wound. As he is looking at it, she can't help but stare at his face, now so close to her own. She was fighting the urge to trace the outline of it with her fingers.