The King's Whore - Aegon/Aemond

Chapter 2

She waited all day.
A day of cheering from within the brothel as men bid on her like she was a piece of meat at a butcher's shop.
A day of torment and fear.
Cedra had made her eat and drink regularly to keep up her strength but Fern could barely keep it down.
The only thing she could do to calm herself was whisper over and over and over again that Aegon would win.
In turn, that reminder made her blush.
He'd told her that he wanted her almost as soon as they'd met and he'd not been exactly subtle with his flirtations since. But Aegon, she believed, just liked the attention and appreciation. And since she liked him, Fern gave him plenty of both.
She knew he wasn't going to save her from this life she lived. There were no romantic notions in her mind about who either of them were or would become.
She would be a whore some day and he might one day be a King.
But she enjoyed her time with him while she could – sneaking through the streets of King's Landing together, showing him all the things that Princes never got to see, kissing him in the dark when they'd both had a little too much to drink.
When she was with Aegon, it was like an escape from reality. For a little while, she could forget her life and her unchangeable fate. And she knew he felt the same.
Her mind wandered back to memories of him sneaking through her window to drag her out in the middle of the night. Of them throwing bread at pigeons together and watching plays and brawls and sitting by blackwater bay sharing wine.
He'd told her plenty about his own life. In truth, living in a castle filled with untrustworthy people didn't sound all too appealing either.
At least where she was, people were honest. The truth wasn't very nice, but it was usually trustworthy.
These people, this wretched place, however awful, were her home. She didn't know anything else.
But it was nice to imagine it. A life where they sailed across the sea together and did whatever people with no responsibilities did.
She looked around her room – a usually dull place made to look far more extravagant for the occasion.
All her years living for free here had stacked up quite a debt. A debt she could never pay.
No matter where she ran, it would always hang over her.
If only leaving was an option. If only she could pack her bags and disappear with Aegon.
They were both still young. Still naive.
The poor boy still really, sincerely, believed that Rhaenyra would take the throne after his father. That he could escape his fate.
But there was no escaping what the Gods had already decided.
More men cheered, cups of ale smashing together, and Fern closed her eyes.
There was a knock at the door.
“Yes?” She called.
Cedra entered. “Are you coming outside?”
“Why?”
“Tonight's a big night, girl. You can't just hide in here and wait for it to be over. Have a little fun, you'll be fine.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I'm right. Your little Prince has shown up.”
Fern's head lifted. “He has?”
“Aye. He has.”
She smiled a little, toying with the hems of her sleeves. “When is the bidding over?”
“It's already over, little one. The men are waiting for the results.”
Fern took a deep breath. She stood, moving to her bed, and lay down. “Well, get on with it then.”
Cedra sighed, shaking her head at the girl's stubbornness, and left. As the door closed, Fern reached under her bed, pulling out a bottle of wine. She took a swig of it.
“He's only just shown up, I've been here all day!” A man yelled furiously outside.
“None of you outbid him.” Cedra returned.
“The lass's first time should be with a man, not a boy.” Another man said.
“The lass gets whoever paid the most.” Cedra said finally. “You can all have a woman tonight though. Cass, show him to her room.”
Fern sighed, looking up at the ceiling. There were cracks in the stone above her. She counted each of them.
Fifteen. Fifteen cracks.
She lowered a hand to the bodice of her dress. Cedra had told her to look nice because she meant to parade her before hungry men. Fern had no intention of any of that.
She knew what she wanted and prayed by all the Gods she'd get it. If not, she had no intention of letting any of those men see her cry.
There was another knock on the door. A softer one than Cedra's.
“Come in.”
When Aegon entered, he looked more unsure of himself than she did. Fern passed him over the bottle of wine and he gratefully accepted.
She was rather surprised by his nervousness. She'd seen him bed three or four girls at once... In public.
But alone, in a room with her, he looked like a boy again.
A boy she'd grown all too fond of over the years.
“If you tell me you lost, I'll hit you.” She said.
“I never lose.” The Prince shrugged, giving her his characteristic grin.
Fern bit her lip.
She stood slowly, remembering all the things she'd been taught and all the things she'd seen as a girl growing up in a brothel. She approached him with all the calm she could muster, despite her nerves.
“I'm yours then?” She asked softly, her hand moving to run down his shirt.
“You're mine.” He said, grabbing her by the waist.
She looked up at him with a coy smile before connecting their lips.
Aegon's hands moved up her back to the laces of her dress, undoing each of them one by one as his lips moved to her neck. She clung onto his shirt, gripping it in her fists as he left a trail of marks on her soft skin.
The last lace of her dress came undone and Fern grinned.
She pushed him back against the bed, watching his chest rise and fall quickly.
“It's not too late to run away, my Prince.” She said.
Aegon rolled his eyes at her. “I've already paid for you, Waters. You could've told me that earlier.”
She laughed before slipping her dress off her shoulders, letting it pool at her feet.
He stared at her, looking at her as if she was crafted by the Gods, and grabbed her hand, pulling her into him.
Fern fell onto his lap, giving a shocked squeal as she did.
“Kiss me again.” She said, her voice soft like morning rain.
Aegon obeyed. His kisses were rough and needy and blazed a fire against her lips.
One hand moved up her thigh, making her shiver. Slow movements that caused frustration and desire in equal measure.
He'd thought about this, about her, since the first moment he'd met her.
She'd spent every day since tormenting him.
The one girl who he'd never had. The one girl he truly wanted.
When his family cast him aside, called him a wretched disappointment, Fern was always there. Amazed by him. Looking at him like he made the sun rise and fall.
He'd seen her get excited by common weeds, proclaiming them to be the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
She looked at the stars and saw things he'd never been able to see.
Even living amongst the dirt and misery she dwelled in, she found more hope and beauty than he'd ever been able to find in his life of opulence.
She was a breath of fresh air. A change from all the rotten courtiers and their plots and schemes and endless betrayals. And he'd wanted to breathe her in every single day.
His hand slipped finally between her legs and Fern moaned against his shoulder.
“Remind me...” She breathed out, “Why you've still got your clothes on.”
Aegon laughed. “I'm enjoying watching you squirm for now.”
She hit his arm, ready to say something foul to him but it died on her tongue as he touched her again.
Slow, maddening, movements that had her clawing at his shirt.
“Gods, we should've done this moons ago.” She breathed out against his neck.
“I told you as much.”
She kissed him again and the prince bit down on her lip, extracting a whine from her that was better than any sound he could've imagined her making.
“Aegon...” She whispered, his name like a prayer on her tongue.
It made him lose every last bit of self control that he'd held onto.
Fern was shocked to find herself, in an instant, underneath him with her hands pinned above her head.
Aegon kissed down her chest, making her arch her back into him.
Her fingers ran through his pale hair.
His shirt came off first, being tossed carelessly across the room.
Then his trousers.
“Say it again. What you said last night.”
“I want you, Aegon.” She said, her breathing shakier than it had ever been before. “I need you. I–”
She never finished her words.
The Prince pushed into her slowly, carefully, and she was silenced by his lips on hers.
He pulled out again slowly, Fern gripping the bedsheets below her for dear life.
Again, he moved into her.
One slow thrust after another until the discomfort she felt turned into something else.
She found herself whispering his name again and again and again, nails scratching down his back with every hard movement.
There was a clattering outside the door.
“I can't hear anything.” A man's voice called out.
Aegon didn't stop, he just kissed Fern to keep her quiet. She couldn't help but laugh against his lips.
He threw something – a pillow, a cup, she didn't know – at the door.
The men scarpered off.
Fern's hips moved against his, kissing him hard again to stop her moans.
“Did I tell you that you look beautiful tonight?” Aegon whispered in her ear.
Fern bit her lip. “No.”
“Well, you look beautiful tonight, Fern Waters.”
Her body shook as she felt something building.
She buried her head in the crook of his neck, calling his name as she finished.
Aegon kept moving into her.
Deeper. Harder. Faster.
Each movement was growing erratic.
She didn't know whether to hold onto him or the bed below her, the world felt like it was spinning out of shape.
“Avy jorrāelan” Aegon muttered as if the words slipped out without thought.
“What?” She asked.
He gripped the wall, kissing her hard and pulling out of her to find his own climax.
The Prince collapsed on the bed beside the peasant girl.
Their breathing was ragged, both of them staring up at the ceiling as they lay next to each other.
Fern turned her head to look at him.
It made sense that the Targaryens ruled the realm. One look at Aegon and she understood why people whispered that the royals were closer to Gods than men.
She grinned, resting her head on his shoulder.
“What did you say?”
Aegon didn't look back at her. He just stared up at the ceiling, his breathing slowing only a little. “Nothing. It was... It was nothing.”
Fern huffed, rolling over onto her front and leaning her chin on his chest. Aegon glanced down at her.
“Will you stay? At least for a little while?”
He shrugged, wrapping an arm around her waist. “I suppose.”
It was quiet in that little room, though the men outside were making a racket.
Aegon pulled her closer, holding her a little tighter. She felt him shaking still, his eyes fixed up on the cracks in the ceiling that she'd been counting before.
“Was it like you wanted it to be?” He asked.
She hummed, pressing a soft kiss to his chin. “Better. A lot better.”
Aegon laughed dryly. “I don't know if I should be offended or complimented.”
“The latter.” She said, drawing invisible shapes along his chest. “I never thought the likes of me would bed a prince.”
“You're lucky I'm drunk.”
“Charming.” She grumbled, but remained quietly in his arms without protest.
“I'll have to return home before the sun rises.” Aegon said.
Fern hummed. She climbed on top of him again, grinning down at him.
“You have plenty of time to teach me everything I need to know then.” She whispered.
Aegon pulled her down, kissing her again. “I think I can do that.”
If she was to be a whore, if that was to be her fate, she decided she was going to make the most of it. Commit to it.
For the next few hours, she didn't silence herself.