Surviving

Chapter 15: The Girl Who Rode A Dragon

By the time Aemond had come back to their chambers, the room was dark and Naerys was already fast asleep, curled under the blankets. For some reason, he stood at her bedside just watching her sleep.

She pouted even when she slept. How odd.

What he found most odd was the stirring he felt inside himself. Why did he feel protective of her? Was it just because she was his wife? Did he feel sorry for her in some silly way? The girl who took his eye, he now felt responsible for...she was his to care for now, no one else's.

She shifted just slightly, letting out a quiet whimper as the blanket fell slightly from her shoulder, revealing the thin silk nightgown she wore tonight instead of her usual light blue chemise. The one he defiled earlier that day and didn't send to get cleaned.

This one revealed more of her skin. Skin he wanted to touch more than anything, but he couldn't. Not like this.

He'd never really looked at her beyond her being that bastard girl who cried all the time as a child. Ever since their wedding night, he saw her differently. He saw a dragon who hid in a sheep's fur. He saw a fighter in her, and he didn't know why, but it intrigued him more. What else did she hide?

"Qyle..." She mumbled against her pillow and that was enough to shut those thoughts of her out of his mind. How could she possibly want him? She pined for her late husband, that was all. Aemond was just her only option left.

He was foolish to think of her as anything more than the bastard she was.

When he settled into their bed, he stayed as far from her as he possibly could and tried to sleep away his frustrations. Until he felt something underneath his pillow. He pulled the mysterious item out and saw her dirty nightgown. Did she know he was there earlier? Did she know what he'd done? What he'd seen?

Or was this her way of telling him to stay away from her things?

Was she so enraged she didn't even wish to speak to him about it?

The next morning, as per usual, Naerys woke alone in their bed, but the sun was beaming down on her face and she felt deflated to say the least. She'd waited for him to return so she could ask him about her nightgown, though part of her was angry he wouldn't even have the decency to clean up after himself, but he didn't come back, so she retired for the evening.

She'd fall asleep thinking about what Aemond said about his first time. So carelessly taken from him and disguised under the premise of a "gift". It disgusted her. Aemond didn't seem too upset until he mentioned the laughter. Ridiculed and judged for what they all naturally desired: comfort. Far from what she'd ever known in her time with Qyle.

It broke her heart to hear it wasn't just her who suffered. If anything, she felt guilty for what happened to him. If she'd never taken his eye, maybe he would've never been brought to a brothel to be given away so easily and then mocked immediately after. Maybe he would've found someone at court he could've fallen in love with and married, just as she had all those years ago.

Maybe Aemond wouldn't have suffered at her hands.

Maybe that's why he left her alone for the rest of the night.

She dressed for the day, wearing one of her favorite black gowns, leaving little to the imagination now that she felt safe knowing Aegon wouldn't return. A comfort Aemond had brought her when he didn't need to. There were little freedoms she felt she had left anymore in the den of vipers. She was at least thankful she could dress the way she loved most. Like the heir House Martell would remind her she was.