The Maid - Aemond Targaryen

Twenty Two - The Prince She Lost

Aemond was struggling and quite frankly wrestling with the sadness that had overtaken him after Elyana left him that day in his chambers. He did not know how to heal the profound pain that overtook his heart. And he was beating himself over it. He should have never fallen for her. But he did. He did fall for her. He did love her.

Sometimes at night he could feel her breathing near him, sometimes he felt her running through his veins. At night he was desperate to sleep, because he dreamed of her. And during the day, she was all he thought about. He sometimes felt her next to him, but she wasn't there.

He did not know how to settle and calm down the obsession that had overtaken him. He did not know how to explain to his soul that she had left and that she was not coming back to him for now. He felt he was going crazy.

A week since she left. An entire week since he broke her heart and shattered her, and he still did not understand why he said what he said.

Five maids came and went. Most of them would leave his chambers crying after about two hours, and the others he would fire because they were too meek and dutiful.

He did not want other maids, he wanted her. His mother could send a hundred girls to his chambers, and not one of them came close to her. Not because she was good at her job, but because he loved her. And every girl that came through that door only served to remind him that she wasn't there. That he lost her.

She no longer served him, now she served Helaena. To him that felt like torture. She was so close yet so far. Aemond had not seen her since the day she left him. He tried to wait for her outside of Helaena's chambers multiple times, but to no avail. Elyana was a ghost. He never saw her.

He looked for her through the Keep every day, but he could never find her.

The only way he knew of her, was when Aegon would gloat to him about it. 'Elyana poured me wine today.' Aegon's tauntings drove Aemond to insanity. It made him seethe when he thought of his Elyana serving Aegon. And he knew that his brother was probably reveling in the fact that she was now Helaena's servant.

His mother berated him for hours on end when she learned of her quitting. Alicent had been generous to her by letting her stay in the castle serving Helaena after everything. Alicent blamed Aemond for corrupting an innocent maiden, and he blamed himself too.

"Lady Maris Baratheon has just turned eight and ten. We just got word from Lord Borros." Otto Hightower spoke, bringing Aemond back from his mind.

The prince mulled his roast duck over with his fork, pressed lips and one eye focused on his meal in front of him.

"That is great. Make sure to send the Baratheons my felicitations." Aemond spoke plainly and brought his fork to his mouth, taking a small bite from his food. He could care less about any woman's nameday.

"She is of your age now, and it is quite a fair age for marriage. Do you not agree, son?" Alicent wondered as she stared at him intently, drinking from her goblet of wine.

"Perhaps it is. I am sure Lady Maris will find a formidable match for herself." Aemond hummed, clearly uninterested in the topic at hand. Ever since Elyana left his service, his mother had began pressuring him harder to make a match for himself.

"Mayhaps it would be wise for us to invite the girl to the Keep, to be courted by yourself. I have heard she is a very comely girl, finest of all Baratheon girls." Alicent pressed, and Aemond wanted nothing more than to grab the fork and stab his remaining eye out.

"A Baratheon..." Aemond would rather fling himself off Vhagar than marry Maris Baratheon. 

"Indeed. It is imperative that you marry soon, Aemond. Your marriage will prove detrimental for the future of House Targaryen." Otto pressed, and Aemond thought that a bit dramatic to say the least.