𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐘𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐍 | 𝐀𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐞𝐧

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟑

"I WANT TO KNOW WHAT AEGON WAS talking about during the tournament," Naerys said, slamming the door of their chambers.

She tilted her head to the side and looked up at him with inquisitive eyes. Aemond had to shift away from her gaze, even as he knew how incriminating that would look. "It was a long time ago."

"Your little escapades must have been rather memorable," Naerys murmured, trying to maintain a neutral tone. "The way Aegon spoke of—"

"What my brother says does not matter to me," Aemond interrupted, his voice dripping with bitterness. "For years, I have been the laughing stock because I was the only Targaryen without a dragon, but then I claimed Vhagar for myself. Aegon has always been like this. He cannot accept the fact that you married me, not him."

"He is beyond repentance, yes, I have gathered that," Naerys responded, furrowing her eyebrows. "Will you tell me what happened?"

Aemond didn't want to tell her the truth, not particularly, but he knew that his wife wouldn't let it slide. Unlike most husbands, he decided it would be best to tell her about his past. "I was three and ten. Aegon said it was time for me to get it wet and become a man like him." He didn't want her to resent him for not telling her something that Aegon himself had brought to light with the intention of destabilizing them. The shame and regret visible in his demeanor were unlike anything she had ever seen from him. "He took me to a pleasure house on the Street of Silk. Back then, I barely understood what I was doing, or what was being done to me. I am not proud of what happened that night. I wish I could change it, but I cannot. It should have been different. You should have been the only one."

Naerys gulped hard. "I am sorry," she murmured. "You did not deserve that. I am sorry for pressing you to tell me what happened."

"You are my wife, you had the right to know. If it were the other way around, I would have wanted to know," Aemond answered, cupping her face between his palms. "It meant nothing, I swear."

"Thank you for sharing this with me," she uttered softly, running her fingers through his silky strands of white-blond hair. "It doesn't change the way I feel about you, I don't think anything could."

Warmth spread through his chest upon hearing her words. Aemond had some difficulty getting used to the feeling of security and belonging. Never in his life had there been another woman who made him feel like Naerys did, so effortlessly safe and loved. "You are everything, did you know?"

She smiled lightly. "I was not aware."

"But you are. You have always been," he mumbled, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

She embraced him tightly, as though he would disappear if she didn't. "I am not going anywhere. I am always here for you. For better or for worse."

______________

Daemon, Rhaenyra and the children would return to Dragonstone the following day.