cruel gods [aemond targaryen]

XVI

The ghost of his child self haunted Aemond. He carried him around on his back like a mother to her child. The pain of his wound coming back to haunt him, the voice of his younger self rang into his ears. He would sometimes get hungry, feeding on the many thoughts of revenge that crossed his mind, pushing his elder to avenge him.

Maellery sat reading, words lingered in the air, never once entering her head. Aemond sat, staring at her. The boy was hungry again, this time ravenous. Not just for himself, but for the wife. His wife, whose sorrows could be heard across the keep when the moon had begun to rise. 

Maellery carried her younger self as tenderly as she could, letting the girl rest in her arms, feeling as her reasons began to fade. Even when her ghost was full of love, it had nothing to do but haunt. Even as the days grew warmer, the chill of the future still made its way to Maellery.

Among the glow of the candles, prayers were spoken, promises made. Forgiveness was asked, begging the gods above for understanding. Aemond sat, crouched in the sept, his wife beside him.

Aemond asked the gods for his forgiveness, feeling the emptiness of the sept and the quiet whistling of the wind, he allowed himself the thought of the gods allowing his actions. The sins he would commit commanded every god to look away, still seeing the small child sat with a maestor as he sewed his eye shut. The world had become blurred since that day.

Maellery asked her father for forgiveness, the gods have permitted her this suffering, there was little point in asking them. Below the sight of the statues, Maellery began to weep. Aemond, who was now watching his wife, slowly allowed his hands to cross over hers, both now praying for the same thing.

Maellery did not flinch when she felt his hands, relaxing her shoulders slightly when she cried. Though her mind had not got used to the Prince, her body felt at peace with him, becoming at ease with his presence.

As Maellery opened her eyes, adjusting her sight to the reality of her world, Aemond lowered his hands. As she turned to look at him, a small sapphire caught her eye. His patch that led had fallen into his lap and he allowed her the sight of what the bastard boys had taken from him.

She stared for a moment, allowing herself to take in the view. His eye, bloomed from an heinous act had become a beautiful thing, like a piece of artwork or a passage in one of the books. Maellery could not look away.

Aemond found a comfort out of her reaction, becoming increasingly more comfortable as the minutes passed. In her eyes, not disgust or fear as Aemond had expected, one of admiration and sympathy.

Before his mind had even caught up, his voice interrupted. "I was 10, those bastards bought a knife. I claimed Vhagar that night, i told my mother it was a fair exchange. As the years have passed, my anger has grown significantly."

Maellery stayed quiet, allowing him to voice his frustrations. "They did nothing. My father condoned their actions, mother was the only one who stuck up for me. Even when she had defended me, her ideals were struck down, everything she had done for us, the crown, the seven. Gone, in a single moment."

Maellery remained quiet as he spoke, only muttering a series of apologies when he was done. After a small exchange of looks, Maellery spoke once more. "It is beautiful, the eye, it is like looking into water." Truly it was, seeing her reflection in the gem whilst it shone its beauty was something Maellery could be grateful for.

He smiled at her, a small smile. One that held his gratitude for his wife and his upmost devotion, like the speech he spoke at their wedding. The girl, with no fault of her own, had been pained for most of her life, Aemond had seen himself wanting to cut her open and rip out her misery with his two bare hands, unwilling it to spread any further.