Aemond Targaryen x Male Reader
Manuscript Excerpt found in the Chambers of Lord Baemond Velaryon in the Dragonstone Keep - Gathered by Maester Telmon.
======================================
After that, we spent time together more often, but always in the confinement of the Dragon Vault, away from prying eyes and easy tongues. It was not much though, only a couple of times every week, but I looked forward to it, and I felt he did the same.
I wouldn’t have believed this myself if it wasn’t for the reason I now confess to you, my reader.
A day in which my arrival was delayed due to the training with my brothers being prolonged, as I approached the Vault, I heard hurried footsteps pacing back and forth across the chamber, not very loud, but still discernibly anxious.
Upon entering the Vault, I found him nervously walking around the room with his hands behind his back and an uneasy look on his face, look which disappeared as he heard me, and later saw me, coming in towards him.
‘Were you waiting for me?’ I asked almost nervously as he stopped opposite me in the middle of the chamber.
‘I thought something might have happened to you, nephew.’ he answered naturally, his hands still behind his back, straightening up to take advantage of his greater height.
‘And that made you anxious?’ I asked with a tint of playfulness in my voice.
Without saying anything else, though with a very nasty look on his face, he walked sternly past me towards the altar, and picked up his book. ‘If you are going to mock me, I shall meet you here no longer.’
‘No, please.’ I said in a hurry, grabbing his arm as I saw him heading for the exit. ‘I apologise, it was only a stupid tease. And I wouldn’t want for this, our meetings, to end.’
As I said this, I had softly let go of his arm and turned my gaze down with a sense of embarrassment. However, my looking at the floor allowed me to see how his feet stopped, and how they turned around to face me, slowly reducing the distance between us.
‘I accept your apology, nephew.’ he breathed into my face, delicately lifting it up with his thumb and index to look at me. ‘But you will have to do something for me.’ He muttered with one of his characteristic cocky smiles slowly appearing on his delicate lips as he let go of my chin.
‘What is it that you desire of me?’ I finally demanded in a soft voice, still fighting not to lose the battle between our eyes. It was strange nevertheless, his gaze being so intense regardless of its being only at half its might; or it was so strong precisely because of that.
His answer was not immediate, and as he slowly stepped away from me, I felt a tug in my chest, almost making me want to follow his body.
‘I want you,’ he said as he took a step back ‘to train with me, with weapons; or try to at least.’ he added, placing his hands behind his back again and gifting me another one of his smug grins.
‘As in place of training with what, our wits?’ I asked amused by his display of cockiness.
‘In that regard, we both seem to have found our match in each other. I merely wonder if such “complicity” might extend to other fields, nephew.’ was his answer, still as cocky as his now fully displayed smiled. However, what set my soul ablaze was seeing how he withdrew one hand from his back and slowly presented it to me, palm up, as if offering it up to me.
Oh my unknown confessor, how my heartbeat soared in that moment! I was almost afraid he could hear it pounding inside my chest like a wild stallion running free after a long captivity!
Slowly, I stepped forward, reducing the distance between us once more until his hand was almost pressed against my chest, and looking into his eye I said: ‘I will do it on one condition: that you ask it of me by saying my name.’
I felt the same fire that burned inside me go into his eye, and as he kept his hand between us, now with his index finger pointing at my heart, he answered my appeal.
‘Baemond.’ he said in a low voice, slowly savouring every sound ‘will you train with me?’ he completed his request almost in a whisper, his finger now blatantly pointing at my heart, his eye piercing into mine.
By then the tension between us was so strong that he would have received a positive answer to anything he asked of me in that very second, and as such, so was my answer.
He arranged for the training session to take place two days later, in the small private courtyard annexed to his chambers, and when the agreed upon hour came, a member of the palace guard came to escort me to the place.
When I entered his chambers, I was surprised to find them completely empty; but not wanting to leave just yet, I roamed around the room waiting for his arrival. The piles of books were neatly organised in great wooden shelves, and loosing myself over them, I was startled when I heard his voice over my shoulder, once again.
‘I do hope you have better reflexes while fighting, nephew.’ he said mockingly as he saw me jump in surprise.
All the answer that I gave was a low chuckle, and turning back to face the shelves again, I pointed at them and said: ‘You are truly a great reader.’
‘It is but my duty.’ he answered still behind me.
‘Not many take their duty as seriously as you do.’ I said as I turned around to face him again.
‘I am not many, I am only one.’ was his answer as he looked at me with his usual intensity. Nonetheless, it seemed different somehow; strong as ever yes, but different.
I held his gaze in mine for a couple of seconds, finding delight in how the small muscles of his face moved as he looked at my face studying it. When this was over though, I turned and made for the small courtyard, where our lesson would take place.
‘Then, let us be one and one together, for as long as our training lasts.’ I said, picking up one of the swords which had been placed on top of a nearby table, clearly for our exercise.
Without a word leaving his mouth, he stepped forward to where I stood, and reaching over the table, he picked a sword without looking at it, for his eye was still fixed on me.
‘Try not to hurt yourself, nephew.’ he whispered mockingly to me as he stepped back and drew his sword, his body shifting into a fighting stance.
‘I will do my best to not let you down.’ I answered, and then it began.
As I knew that he was physically stronger than me, I tried to use my smaller size and faster speed to land the first blow, but he seemed to know what my plan was, for he parried it with ease, looking mildly amused.
‘Now, did you really think I have not fought against faster opponents?’ he said.
He then attacked me, and after parrying it, we started to attack and defend, our swords crashing against each other, our breaths picking up, our brows starting to sweat profusely.
After almost an hour of intense laborious effort in which none of us seemed to take the upper hand, him being stronger and me being faster, we reached a dead end when our blades clashed and were blocked against one another, our faces dangerously close to the sharp edges and our eyes fighting for dominance as well in the empty space between them.
‘It seems we are in a stalemate, uncle. I honestly thought you would be able to beat me, but alas, I appear to have overestimated you.’ I said in mild mockery, struggling to keep the grip on my sword.
With no answer but a look of something close to anger at my jest, my uncle took advantage of his strength and pushed the swords down, making them fall from our hands and clatter on the floor.
He then stepped towards me, but I did the same, and we met in the middle; our chests, heaving intensely, pressed close together. We didn’t say anything, but there was no need for it. I knew he was feeling my hot breath on his face just as I was feeling his on mine. I knew he could smell my sweat just as I could smell his. And I knew that he could hear my heart pounding madly just as I could hear his do the same.
Then, with our foreheads drawing closer by the second, it all ended.
As we heard the knocking on the door, our bubble was burst; and as we separated we came back to the real world. Through the door came in one of the palace guards and standing straight he said: ‘Prince Aemond, the Queen requests your presence.’
Taglist: @ephemeralninon @joan2914 @demiromanticpansexualgorgon @lazypinkpig @thatcucumberwhore @narperist @whateverooooooo @westanronweasley