The Maid - Aemond Targaryen

Fifty Two - Believed Him

Elyana hated many things. She hated when the sun shone too bright and made her sweat. She hated when her dresses were too itchy and made her feel like she was choking, hated when her hair did not sit right. She hated when a lord's gaze lingered for a moment too long, hated when a lady of the court smiled too widely.

So many things she hated and despised, but not one made her as angry and spiteful as when she was told to stop crying.

"Stop crying, Elyana... just stop crying." Lucia thought she was being helpful, but she only made Elyana more angry and spiteful. A snarl mixed into her crying expression, making Lucia stop her efforts in trying to console her.

"Do not tell me to stop crying." Elyana hissed as she paced her rooms, her friend's eyes darting side to side as they fixed solely on her. Lucia took a small breath, "Come on, El... you are being herratic and paranoid. Fleeing from King's Landing is absolutely absurd. You will be hunted down, by Aemond and by the enemy."

"So I shall rather sit here and wait for Aemond to tire of my presence? Wait for him to send me off to the Silent Sisters? Or for him to toss me aside as he takes a newer, younger, fertile bride?" Elyana asked angrily, rubbing her temple as she tried to think straight.

But she coudn't, she could hardly think straight as of late.

"Come on, El. That will not happen, Aemond loves you. And please... please do not start saying how I haven't lived him like you have. It is true, I have not. But only a fool would not be able to tell how much he adores you by the mere gazes he gives you." Lucia contested, trying to calm down her best friend and keep her from doing something she might regret.

"I am only biding time before I lose that small bit of affection he still does give me." Elyana stated, staring into a looking glass that hanged in the wall.

"Lucia... it's like I can feel time moving..." she said solemnly, her reflection a cruel reminder of how her once sparkling beauty was now a dull one. Her hair no longer curled as it used to, now it simply laid flat— dark circles were prominent under her eyes, and her lips... cracked beyond repair.

She could hardly remember the last time she had smiled genuinely, it seemed so far away— her happiness now seemed like something impossible to reach. Elyana brought a hand to caress her stomach, a snarl overtaking her mouth as she gazed at the one thing that would have kept her secure. A healthy womb.

"Elyana, I feel like you are blowing things out of proportion— like you are putting Aemond in the dungeons for something he did not do, or at least something you have no proof of. Instead of fighting with him until there is no longer any sort of love from his part, why do you not just talk to him?" Lucia asked, biting her lip as she half expected Elyana to lunge toward her and strangle her.

Elyana stared at Lucia for a long while, her mind raking over all of the possibilities that could flourish from talking to him. "Don't you think your relationship, your standing, your reputation is something worth fighting for? Instead of living like an island and punishing him with silence, speak with him, El." Her best friend added.

"I am scared, Lucia. Petrified... because... what if he doesn't love me anymore?" Elyana asked, turning to her best friend before she burst out into tears once more. Lucia stood up and rushed to Elyana, "Of course he loves you! He would be crazy not to... you just have to speak to him... trust him!"

"Will you accompany me to his chambers?" Elyana asked quietly, and instantly Lucia nodded.

"Of course, do you want to go now?" she asked, rubbing Elyana's back as if to soothe her.