The Wolf Queen - Part 2 - (Aemond Targaryen)

Chapter 21

Aemond rolls over in bed, throwing his arm over his wife. Or rather where his wife is supposed to be. He opens his eye to find Lyanna's side of the bed to be empty. He looks over to the window and then the fireplace. It is still dark outside and the fire is still burning. It can't be later than an hour or two after midnight. 

She has been acting strange this entire day and he wishes he knew why. He is still confused about what she said about him being surrounded by magic. Where would he have been in contact with it?

He is used to his wife sneaking off in the night. It helps her think, is what she told him once. Aemond gets up, picking up his clothes to get dressed. When he had to tell her about what happened at Riverrun, he didn't want to let Lyanna worry about how little he can remember. It worries him more than she knows. Getting drunk is not his style, that is something Aegon does. He always ensures to stop when he feels it is getting too much, why did he then forget half of the events that transpired after dinner? Did someone put a spell on him?

He takes a seat at the edge of the bed to put his boots on. Suddenly he can hear a loud and agonizing scream. It is not close, but close enough to hear. The first thing he thinks about is that Lyanna might be in trouble. He knows she is powerful enough to stop and kill anything that tries to harm her, but his instinct still tells him to run to her rescue.

As quickly as he can, he finishes putting on his boots and grabs his sword, not bothering to attach the belt to his hips. He runs down the halls, first going to the Great Hall to see if Lyanna is there, but inside he only finds a few bannermen, some are still drinking and laughing, some are sleeping on the floor, and one lone soul is dancing to who knows what since the entertainment for the night already went to bed.

He then goes to the nursery, but inside it is so quiet with the twins sleeping each on their beds. Aemond slowly closes the door, to not wake them up before running out into the cold Northern air. Only one other place where she might be. In the Godswood with her wolves. 

And that is where he finds her. Sitting under the Weirwood with her knees pulled against her chest and her face pressed against her legs. All the wolves stand around her, their ears pulled back. 

Aemond approaches her, "Lyanna," he says and places a hand on her arm. He can feel her cold skin through her clothes. He takes his coat off and wraps it around her shoulders. He can see her whole body shaking as a heartbreaking sob escape her mouth.

"Lyanna, what happened?" he asks, but she doesn't lift her head. Even Shadow tries to nudge her with his nose to get her to look at them. But all she does is sob into her legs and tremble from the cold.

Aemond places his arms underneath her as he picks her up. He won't let her freeze to death outside, no matter how much she wants to. He can feel her move as she turns her face to cry into his chest. It breaks his heart to see her like this. He has only seen Lyanna so devasted a few times, and he can count those times on one hand. The death of her two brothers, the day Luna's head was given to her in King's Landing, and the two miscarriages she had. And now this, whatever is causing this. 

He enters the castle, feeling the warmth of the building swallowing them up, leaving the cold air outside. Luckily no one else heard her scream, making it easier for them to go back to their room unnoticed. 

Aemond places her on the bed, making sure he puts her down gently. Lyanna immediately put her hands in front of her face, but Aemond is having none of that.

"No," he says softly and takes her hands away from her face, "Tell me what is wrong." 

Is it possible that she had another miscarriage? He was being so cautious. 

Lyanna shakes her head, "I can't, Aemond." 

He inspects her reddish face, how puffy her face has become from all the crying. 

"You can't or you won't?"

She sniffs, "Both,"

He sighs and lies down next to her, pulling her against his chest, and letting her cry it out. Aemond waits patiently for her to stop crying. He knows she will eventually talk. She always does.

"I'm sorry," she says hoarsely, "Your shirt is wet now,"

He chuckles, "I don't mind." 

She looks up at him, her eyes bloodshot.

"I don't know what to do, Aemond. I feel so lost."

He frowns, "What are you talking about, Lyanna?"

"He took it from me Aemond. My old teacher, I saw him."

Every word out of her mouth sounds like another language, "You have to be more specific, Lyanna. Your old teacher is dead, we buried him." 

"I know!" she exclaims and wipe away a few tears that started rolling from her eyes again, "I went to the Weirwood, to get answers about what happened to you in Riverrun, but instead I found him."

"I assume you found him in whatever vision you had through the tree,"

She nods, "Yes, but it wasn't him,  it was my abilities showing itself as my old mentor. But he took my sight. He said it is my punishment."

Lyanna starts crying again, "He took your sight?"

She nods, "I can't use my greensight anymore. He took it."

Aemond feels the blood drain from his face. If she can't use her greensight anymore then they will be at a disadvantage with the coming war.

"I know what you are thinking," she says, "We are going to lose the war. I can't stop their dragons anymore."

Aemond takes her face in his hands, "No one must know about this, you go on as if you are still a very powerful greenseer. If the men think you can control the dragons then their morale will be high during battles. I have a war dragon as well as Aegon and Helaena's dragons. We can handle that. You stay on the ground with your men and fight like I know you can. You killed a giant with your fighting abilities, not your greensight. Don't forget that."

She nods and gives a small smile, "I know. I just don't want to lose men because I can't change the course of the war."

"You are going to lose men in any case." he kisses her, "Now try to get some sleep. You will feel better when the sun comes up."

As Lyanna falls asleep against his chest he cannot help but feel that they lost their biggest advantage. This is going to be a very difficult war.

He doesn't even want to know how broken she must feel right now. Having a part of you, something you had since you were a child, taken from you. How do you go on? How do you even get the will to want to breathe anymore?

He will have to make sure she doesn't lose sight of who she is. She can not think of herself as weak, otherwise, she will become it.