The Wolf Queen - Part 1 (Aemond Targaryen)

Chapter 20

The following day, Aemond accompanies Lyanna to the Throne Room. Cregan stayed behind, having gotten a lot of books to read by his sister. She warned him she would ask him questions about it when she returned.

"I am a bit stressed for today," she tells Aemond, wishing she could hold his hand.
"Why? Because the Strong Bastards are getting what they deserve?"
She looks at him, "They are still people, Aemond. With feelings."
He scowls, "Feelings won't fix what happened."

She knows he is referring to his eye and decides to stay quiet. But she can't and chooses to say something anyway. She pulls him into a dark corner, out of sight.
Her hand goes to his cheek, her fingers touching the strap of his eyepatch.

Suddenly, she is taken back in time, seeing a younger Aemond walking proudly towards a group of children. They all shout at each other.
"You stole my dragon!" a girl shouts. Lyanna immediately recognises the scene as the day he got Vhagar. She sees the whole fight, him against the rest of them. Then, a minor boy snatches a dagger and slices open his face, hurting his eye beyond repair.

She gasps and takes her hand back too quickly, giving Aemond the wrong idea.
"Fuck!" she says, looking at him with a deep frown between her eyes, "That must have been so painful."
She can still see the blood streaming down his face and, through his fingers, cupped over his eye.
He looks confused, "You lost me."
She shakes her head, "I don't know how the visions work, but I just saw the moment you lost your eye."
"Maybe now you will understand."

They walk out of the corner, following the crowd towards the Throne Room. Entering the room, she can see Aemond's family standing on her left and Jace's family on the right. She sees the faces next to him, assuming the beautiful woman with her arm around Luke is the Princess. As she passes them, the Princess makes eye contact.

Lyanna smiles and slightly curtsy before joining Aemond next to his family. She sees Jace whisper into his mother's ear, and her face turns from confusion to understanding. She smiles at Lyanna before focusing on the throne where the Hand is sitting.

"Shouldn't the King be the one sitting on the throne?" she asks Aemond, who shrugs. Not interested in today's events, his eye only focused on his nephew on the other side.
Aegon yawns.
Lyanna stands closer to him, "Please tell me you were not out drinking last night."
"Guilty," he answers.
She sighs, "I told you to come and find me when you get the urge to drink."
He looks at Aemond, "I do not want to face the wrath of my brother."

Lyanna rolled her eyes, "You leave him to me. Just remember that I can help you overcome your drinking urges."
She has no idea why she wants to help him, but deep inside her, she feels sorry for him. Caring about others is her biggest flaw. It is not a strength like Aemond told her.

The Velaryon man steps out from the crowd and walks towards Otto Hightower. Just as he is about to speak, Lyanna sees a familiar face on the other side of the room.
It can't be, she thinks.

Stepping back from Aemond and his family, she sneakily approaches that face. Knowing he saw her as well. He meets her halfway at the far end of the room.

"Robert," she greets, "You have no idea how good it is to see you." She quickly hugs his hand, "What are you doing here?"
He smiles, "I had to ensure the Royal Family treats you fairly. Your brother asked me to stay close to you if you need me."
Robert is one of House Stark's most trusted spies. Lyanna will trust him with her life if needs be.
"Didn't think Rickard cared about my well-being."

The doors of the Throne Room open, and Lyanna sees the King, looking much weaker and older than she remembers, walking in with a cane. It takes him a long time to reach the throne and sit down on it. She smiles; maybe the Princess and her children will stand a chance now that her father is here.

She turns back to Robert, "I need to ask a favour of you." she says, looking around her, making sure no one is listening.
"Anything, my Lady."
"Do you remember the strange old man my father hired to train me?"
He nods, "The greenseer, yes."
Lyanna also nods, "I need you to find him for me. I urgently need his assistance. Please try to find him as quickly as you can. I am afraid that I do not have the luxury to wait very long."
He bows, "I will find him, my Lady."

They greet each other, and Lyanna quickly returns to Aemond.
"Who was that?" he asks.
"You don't miss anything, do you?" she sighs, "A very good friend of my family. I had to send him to find someone for me."
Aemond nods, "Do you trust him?"
"I do." she looks around, "What did I miss?"

Lord Vaemond suddenly yelled out, "Her children are bastards!"
Lyanna pulls her breath in, knowing he is doomed for what he said.
"And she," he points at the Princess, "Is a whore."
Even though she doesn't know the whole story, she suddenly feels mad that he would dare call her that.
The King struggles to stand up, pulling out his dagger.
"I will have your tongue for that." the King says with difficulty.

Lyanna can feel a strong presence pull her eyes away from the King and back towards Lord Vaemond. Another white-haired Targaryen she never saw steps out from the crowd, pulling out his sword. Her eyes grow wide, and she grabs Aemond's arm.
The man swings his sword, splitting Lord Vaemond's head in two.

Lyanna stared at the part of his head that rolled away, closer to them than the other side of the room. Everyone yells and tries to look away.
"He can keep his tongue." says the man, wiping the blood from his sword.
"Disarm him!" yells the Hand.
"No need," the man says and puts his sword away.

"If this is how political meetings go, then I want to be part of all of them," she whispered into Aegon's ear.
He laughs, "I am afraid they are mostly very boring. But if you have something to drink, it is much easier to get through it."

She is happy she told her brother to stay behind. This would've just upset him and given him nightmares. Her eyes dart up towards Luke and Jace, making eye contact. They look just as shocked as everyone else.

She smiles at him, hoping he knows his family is spared another day of embarrassment.