The Darkness We Hide

Epilogue

There wasn't a corner of the Red Keep Aemond didn't have Alys after he was crowned. From the moment those two words left her lips, he sent everyone out and swore himself to her, worshiping every inch of her. The king would always rule the realm, but the queen would always rule the king.

He knew it wasn't possible for Rhaenyra to change her mind so easily. It had to have been Alys who changed her mind. Or maybe it was always supposed to be him sitting the throne.

He always had Alys in his corner, even when he didn't know it. She wanted him as her husband and as her king. And she would be his queen. He would keep her safe from any harm and he would love her with everything he had in him.

He trusted her with his life, more than he would ever trust anyone. All the more justifying his decision to name Alys as Hand of the King.

It was a smoother transition than they had all hoped for, mostly because the whole realm didn't know who to fear more: the king or the queen. Alys openly practiced her magic without any fear of consequences. Aemond always encouraged her magic and promised that no one would ever even utter a word in protest or mockery.

Every now and then, there would be an execution for criminals of Flea Bottom and Aemond used to be beaming practically, as that was Alys' area of punishment. He was like a little kid waiting to see his wife make a murderer's head explode. And every time they'd return, the door to their chambers would barely be closed by the time his hands were under her skirts.

Within a year of their reign, the king and queen welcomed a baby boy into the world. They bickered about the name for days before anyone finally got to meet the sweet boy, but eventually Aemond gave in to his wife's pick.

Prince Daemon Targaryen II.

Their families were the first to meet the child and naturally, Daemon was smirking the moment he heard the name. The Rogue Prince was quite determined to consistently bring up to Aemond that he was still her favorite uncle. And each time Aemond would shoot his wife an annoyed look, but it only made her smile.

Vhagar had surprisingly laid a rather large clutch of eggs when Alys first became pregnant, and Aemond was the one to pick a bright red egg for his son. Within a few weeks, the egg hatched a beautiful blood red dragon with golden wings they'd name Visellar.

Every day the two would sit in the Godswood, when the sun was shining its brightest, and Alys would sit in front of Aemond while she read to their son in her arms and little Viserllar squeaked around on the ground. Aemond would pretend to listen the entire time. He'd mostly just switch between admiring Alys or little Daemon. He was happy, beyond happy. He couldn't imagine a better life than with his family. Something he thought he'd never truly have. Occasionally Aemond would kiss Alys' temple when she'd smile at her favorite parts of the book.

His favorite part would always be when she wouldn't realize her magic would make the clouds appear and disappear whenever the tone of the book would change. He loved seeing how natural and effortless she made everything.

Barely another year had passed when they welcomed twin girls, Saera and Aerea. Little Daemon wasn't too fond of having to share his parents' attention, but he was always a delight and on his best behavior whenever his favorite uncle was around. That uncle being the one he was named after, of course.

Both twins had an egg placed in their cradle, one a dark blue while the other a shimmering emerald. Aemond thought it best to give his only child with the same colored eyes that egg of course, and little Saera would adore her little green and gold dragon they'd all call Aegor while Aerea would wait for the day her egg would hatch.