𝑬𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑵𝑨𝑳 𝑭𝑳𝑨𝑴𝑬 | Elia Velaryon x Aemond Targaryen

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Once the battle of the gullet had come to an end, and Elia had made sure every last boat had been torn to nothing but splinters, Nettles and Addam returned to Dragonstone with their dragons. Whilst Elia landed Cannibal and Phoenix on the Dragonmont overlooking the sea that was strewn with wreckage.

Her purple eyes were no longer the beauty of violet they'd once been. After witnessing her brothers death, they dulled into a bleak grey colour, the underneath of her eyes holding the forming of dark rings already. The Queen was falling into a deep pit of grief and weakness, she couldn't tell whether she wished to fight on and avenge all that was stolen from her, or if she only wished to give up.

The Queen jumped off from Cannibal's saddle and not even a heartbeat after her feet hit the ground, she dropped to her knees. Her throat was stinging and tight, her stomach in a deep knot as she fought not to take her own life while she had some sort of sanity left in her. She knew, if she survived this grief, there'd be no turning back, and she hated the thought of knowing she was losing her mind.

Tears spilled heavy from her dull eyes and ran over her dust and ash covered skin. With a heave of her mourning chest, she let out a terrible cry of anguish, feeling nothing but helpless. Could she have saved his life? Maybe if Aemond had accompanied her Jace would still be alive. Her mind was running ramped as every single thought turned on her self blame.

Cannibal and Phoenix let out soft chirps of comfort as they lay beside their rider who continued to cry out. Jacaerys was gone, she'd lost another dear brother, and was it all her fault?

The night was freezing and pitch black, the only light illuminated the sky was the moon, which glowed weaker than usual.

Elia's skin turned purple as the nights chill attacked violently at her body, but she didn't care, she could hardly notice, all she could feel was grief, and pain. Her dragons lay themselves close to her in an attempt to keep her warm, but they couldn't prevent the frozen breeze to sweep across the Queens skin.

Elia remained in that spot the entirety of the night, and into the early morning. Not once did she tear her eyes away from the ocean, in the exact spot her brother and his dragon had been taken asunder. She felt like if she just kept her eyes there and prayed, that Jacaerys would somehow re-emerge unharmed, but this never happened of course, and it never would.

Aemond had grown worried for his wife and had set out early that morning to search for her after she'd not returned to Dorne. It didn't take him long to reach the Gullet, where he found Elia kneeling over the cliffside of the Dragonmont that faced out to the wreckage from the battle. Cannibal and Phoenix made it easy to spot them.

Astride Vhagar and with Grey Ghost flying at his side, Aemond landed him and his dragons down on the cliff side with her.

Vhagar shook the ground as she landed, but even with this, Elia did not look away from the ocean, her eye rings becoming darker by the hour, with tears streaming over them.

Aemond quickly approached his wife and grabbed her shoulder gently as his knelt at her side. "You had me so worried.." he said, trailing off as he noticed her face, strewn with tears, dull eyes, dark rings, pale-purplish skin and ash covered.

Elia was so incredibly numb that she didn't even feel Aemond's touch, nor could her ears register his voice correctly.

Seeing his wife in such a state of mental collapse caused tears to form in Aemond's eyes, which was almost impossible for him to comprehend. He hadn't cried since the night he'd lost his eye. Aemond didn't need to speak to his wife for her to know he was there for her, all that was required was to simply be at her side.

The pair remained in that exact spot an hour longer before Aemond knew best to return to Dorne so Elia could rest. She wouldn't speak or even look his way the entire flight back, she was too broken.