The Vengeful Ghost

74. The Cells

"When will she get here?" Aemond grumbled, trying to get comfortable on the settee. He had finally been moved to their personal chambers after sleeping for two days straight. Maester Munkun chalked it up to dehydration and exhaustion.

"Brella said she would be here after breakfast, Aemond, it should still be another hour or so."

"I haven't met her Visenya, can you blame me?"

Visenya kept staring out the window, her paranoia putting her on edge. "No, I don't."

"Visenya," Aemond said in a softer tone, "Come here. Please."

She turned to face him and stepped away from the bay window. "What is it? Is something hurting? Do you want more milk of the poppy?"

"I don't like that I had it to begin with, you know I hate that shit."

"Aemond, you were fighting the maester. Besides, one dose isn't going to make you like your father. You said you hadn't gotten sleep in three days, and nothing elae was going to be able to calm you down."

She sat next to him and checked the incision on his scalp. He grabbed her wrist and used his other hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Stop worrying for a moment, Visenya, and talk to me. And not royally like a Queen does to her King, talk to me as my wife. I feel like I've lost you. We used to communicate with such love and devotion, but now I feel like we've become my parents. You've become so desolate with stress and pain and I only made it worse by leaving. Sometimes I wonder if -"

"Being Queen ruined us?" She finished for him.

"Not how I was going to word it, but something along those terms."

She shook her head. "Being crowned didn't change us, losing Laenora did. I sometimes ..." Her voice started to shake. "I wonder if we can ever be what we used to be. We had much passion and heat and love."

"Vis," He cupped her cheeks. "I know we don't have great examples of what a good marriage should be like but I don't think it's supposed to be pure passion all the time. There will be rough times, but I don't think it will get any harder than it was a year ago. Because despite everything, there is nothing I need more in my life than you. My love for you is so much stronger than it was almost eight years ago when I married you."

"To be fair, we didn't exactly love each other on our wedding day."

Aemond shook his head. "It was the day I realized I was in love with you. And I thank the Gods you fell in love with me too, I never thought you would."

"Honestly, neither did I. But I had to realize our problems were never with one another, they were projected upon us by our mothers. Our childhoods were ruined because of our mothers....And now I have to figure out what to do with mine," She sighed.

"Ñuha jorrāelagon, ivestragī īlva daor discuss zirȳla sir," He spoke softly, kissing her temple. "What happened?" He asked in a whisper.
*My love, lets us not dicuss her fate now.

She shook her head, clenching her eyelids to prevent tears from spilling. "I had Aemma earlier than planned. I refused, not without you. But she was ready. So I had her, and it weakened me. But Father returned earlier than expected as well. I can't imagine how everything would have panned out without him."

He combed his fingers through her hair, letting her speak at her own pace instead of pushing for more.

"It was a day later at most when I heard the roars and the castle started to shake. I was so dimwitted, sending most of my dragons out at the same time. They saw us undefended. They knew Meleys would be chained in the pit, and Seasmoke was not originally supposed to be here. Father tried rushing me to safety but I told him to go and I remained with two of my guards."