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DAEMON AND RHAENYRA ARRIVED ATKing's Landing a while later in the early afternoon. Although her mother had asked her to accompany them in the royal carriage, she hastily declined, opting to fly with Blackfyre to the capital. The journey had been relatively fast and easy on dragonback, but she hadn't been expecting her betrothed to welcome her return with Vhagar.
She had expected Aemond to greet her with more animosity or even resentment, especially after their last encounter six years ago. It striked her as odd how well he seemed to have taken the news of their arrangement, a stark contrast to her own reaction. They had been friends, at some point. At least she had thought so, albeit their lack of contact made her believe that he had grown to loathe her.
Naerys didn't forget about him, even though she had ceased all conversations that concerned him or his family. The possibility that he had started to hate her hurt too much, and she had felt the need to push such thoughts out of her head.
As they paced through the halls of the Red Keep together, she saw that perhaps she had been wrong about him. Either that, or Aemond had become very good at hiding what he felt. When they were younger, she was able to read him well enough, but now, glancing at his neutral expression, she wasn't so certain of anything anymore, and feared what her life would become ensuing the wedding.
"The Red Keep looks very different from what I remember of it," she commented lowly, avoiding the use of the common tongue as they crossed paths with a handful of lords and ladies from court. "I must admit I don't quite like it."
Aemond took notice of their looks, curious and somewhat judgmental, and narrowed his eye at them. Naerys was too focused on the decorations to spare them a second glance. The seven-pointed stars made her feel uncomfortable. "My mother has turned to religion these last few years. This is her way of honoring the seven gods."
"Seems as though the Targaryens are long gone, replaced by the Hightowers," Naerys retorted, not bothering to filter out her blunt honesty.
Aemond arched an eyebrow. "Perhaps you should not have spent six years in Dragonstone. You cannot expect everything to look the same."
"It was merely an observation, Aemond."
"An astute observation, but a dangerous one to make. If you would like to survive here, I suggest making a better selection of your words."
Naerys chewed her bottom lip to restrain herself. Her hot temper was often her worst enemy. She would be dead within a month if she didn't learn to keep her emotions in check. She couldn't help herself, not when she could clearly see how the Hightowers had taken over control of everything.
