𝐘𝐎𝐔 stared with disappointment at the shattered pieces of what was once your favourite jewellery box. It was given to you on your sixth name day, storing the pieces of jewellery you owned. Your mother, Princess Rhaenrya, had given the box bejewelled with rubies, telling you that Red was the colour of your blood that held the Dragons. You didn’t know why, but because of that, the box was very precious to you. And just a few seconds ago, you dropped it on the floor of your bedroom, pieces sliding all across the tiles.
Sighing to yourself, you wondered how you became so clumsy. You had Targaryen blood in you, you were supposed to be fierce and collected. But you knew that the second you stepped foot on the battlefield you’d most likely trip and fall face-first on your sword. Be that if you were ever allowed to be on the battlefield. Most likely not, but that didn’t erase the fact that it could still happen. You were the black sheep among your siblings.
Though being the eldest, your siblings Jace and Luke seemed to surpass you by a milestone with their gracefulness. You’d watch them often fighting in the courtyard, looking at their every move. Sometimes it almost seemed like dancing, and you wondered how it would feel to be coordinated. And though you found yourself envying your brothers of their fine combat style, it always seemed to be someone else who’d catch your attention.
Aemond Targaryen’s fighting style was sophisticated and precise. He danced across the gravel while evading Ser Criston’s attacks, in return striking his instructor successfully. During those moments, your eyes were stuck on his lean figure. He was graceful and above all valiant. Not only that, but he was a reserved man, not speaking often compared to your brothers. Despite knowing him ever since you were little, conversations with him nowadays were scarce, and you longed for more time with him.
Being brought back to your senses by the sound of your bedroom door opening, you turned around to see your younger brother Jace standing in the doorway, a sword held tightly in his hand.
‘’Where are they?’’ he said, panting. ‘’Where is the intruder?’’
You tried to suppress your laugh, seeing him all worked up by something which didn’t even happen. There was no intruder, it was just you.
‘’Dear brother,’’ you said, a big smile plastered onto your face. ‘’there is no intruder, just my clumsiness. I dropped my jewellery box. Mother’s going to kill me.’’
Jace’s defensive demeanour immediately dropped down, his expression showing you that he understood what had happened. He lowered his sword and looked at the mess on the floor. Giving you a sympathetic look, he chuckled.
‘’I should’ve known,’’ he said. ‘’A day never goes by without you not breaking anything or tripping on something. Really, sister, maybe dance classes would bring you good. You should try it sometime.’’
You huffed as you watched Jace laughing at his remark. You were not angry at him for saying it. How could you be, when it was the truth? You were sure of the fact that you could be crowned as the clumsiest person in all of Westeros.
‘’Alright, you had your fun,’’ you said, walking over to him and lightly shoving him out of the door and onto the hallway. ‘’Now, go to bed. Or else I’ll tell mother about all the pastries that have been missing regularly from the kitchen. I wonder who it could be?’’
Jace’s smug expression turned into a shocked one, ‘’You wouldn’t! That was supposed to be between us two!’’
Giggling, you lightly shoved him again, ‘’Then I guess you’d better hurry up to your bedroom.’’
Jace only nodded and as soon as he appeared, he left. Afterwards, you went back inside your bedroom to clean up the mess, carefully picking up the glass shards to not cut yourself. You temporarily stored your jewellery in a random box you had found deep in your closet, making a mental note to not forget that you had put your jewellery into the box. You planned to look for another jewellery box soon, but for now, this was the best you could do. Finally, you went to bed.
When morning came, the air was still crisp. You loved mornings like these, where the dew would still be on the grass and the sky coloured orange and pink. Just like any other day, you knew where you could find your two brothers and thus got dressed.
Making your way down a couple of stairs to the training grounds, you were suddenly met with your mother who seemed to be on her way to your bedroom.
‘’Mother!’’ you exclaimed, halting in your steps on the stairs. ‘’I bid you a good morning,’’ you said with a grinning smile. Rhaenrya chuckled.
‘’Oh, drop the formalities, sweetling,’’ she said as she waved her hand dismissively. ‘’I am your mother, not some nobleman. Now, what is the hurry with you? I wanted to speak with you, though I assumed you would still be sleeping.’’
You chuckled, ‘’I just wanted to pay my brother’s a visit. You know, the usual sisterly love.’’
Rhaenyra raised an eyebrow, and a little smirk played on her face. It was almost as if she knew the real reason you were heading to the training grounds, and you were quite certain she knew already. However, as long as she didn’t speak it aloud, it gave you no reason to talk about it.’’
‘’Uh-huh, I see,’’ she said. “Well, you may go, but first I wanted to talk with you about last night. Intruders, I heard?’’
You mentally groaned as it meant that Jace had told, though you pleaded with him not to. How would your mother come to think of you?
‘’I’m sorry, mother,’’ you apologized. ‘’I didn’t intend on breaking my box. It just, fell, out of my hand!’’
Rhaenyra chuckled, putting a reassuring hand on your shoulder, ‘’I know, sweet girl, and I am anything but angry,’’ she said, which relieved you. ‘’Just, make sure you don’t break everything else. Can’t afford to renovate your whole chamber.’’
You smiled at her, though deep down it didn’t fail to bruise your pride. You couldn’t help but be clumsy, and it was one of your biggest flaws to you. Everywhere you went, disaster followed. You’d not be surprised if you’d smack your head into your betrothed when kissing once you get married. How could you ever fit into the royal etiquette when all you did was trip and destroy everything you touch?
‘’Well, enough talking,’’ Rhaenyra then said. ‘’Off you go, have fun, dear.’’
She kissed your forehead before waving you off, and you gave her a sweet smile in return. Your mother’s love never failed to make you smile. You loved her more than anything.
Finally arriving at the training grounds, you saw that Jace was already training with his instructor. Luke was nowhere to be seen, but watching from a corner stood Aemond Targaryen. His eye was fixated on Jace, and you wondered what he was thinking about. You found him hard to read, as his expression was almost stoic every time you saw him.
You quietly stood afar from Jace, watching his moves with a keen eye. His style was distinctive of Aemond, much rougher and more based on impulse. It didn’t make him less of a warrior, he was still one of the best swordsmen you knew.
Not being able to help yourself, you subtly glanced to your right and saw the one-eyed man. To your surprise, he too was looking in your direction and you quickly averted your gaze, a blush making its way to your cheeks. Maybe he was staring at someone behind you?
Finally, Jace was done training, and when he saw you he quickly made his way to you. You gave him a big smile and patted him on the shoulder.
‘’Well fought, brother,’’ you complimented. ‘’Almost as good as me, that is.’’
Jace snickered,’’ Come on, Y/n. We know that the only thing you’d hit with a sword would be your toes.’’
You playfully stuck your tongue out to him as he laughed. However, you couldn’t help but feel as if someone was staring at you. As much as you wanted to look around, you forced yourself to stay focused on Jace.
‘’Where’s Luke?’’ you then asked him, wondering where your little brother was residing.
‘’I think he had to go to one of his lessons, I’m not sure,’’ Jace answered. ‘’Why?’’
You shrugged your shoulders,’’ Just wondering.’’
Jace nodded, ‘’Well, dear sister, as much as I want to stay, I, too, have some unfinished business that I need to attend to,’’ he said. ‘’I’ll see you at dinner.’’
‘’You can just say you don’t like hanging out with me,’’ you sarcastically said. ‘’I appreciate honesty over sugarcoating.’’
Jace chuckled, ‘’There is no fun in that, is there now?’’
Rolling your eyes, you watched as Jace left the place, leaving you all alone. When you glanced back to your right, you saw that Aemond had left his place and instead moved to train with Ser Criston Cole. You saw how focused he was and you were pretty sure he’d notice every single thing happening around him despite his attention being on his instructor.
You couldn’t help but walk closer, watching the two begin to fight. It was mesmerizing, it captivated you as nothing else did. His moves were like dancing, lightfooted though very precise. His sword acted as if it was part of Aemond himself. His eye was focused on ser Criston Cole, never leaving his sight. You almost feared for the man, if it were not for the fact that everything Aemond had learnt was taught by him. Ser Criston Cole could easily defeat Aemond, yet it still managed to make you anticipate the outcome of this battle.
As you were walking, your right foot suddenly seemed to fold, making you fall as a sharp pain shot through your ankle. You landed on the gravel, cheeks becoming hot with embarrassment as you realized you tripped in front of everyone present. They saw the eldest of Princess Rhaenyra’s children simply fall. A Princess wasn’t meant to fall, you thought. And yet, there you were, on the ground with the pain in your right ankle only getting worse.
You heard a few gasps in the crowd, and you feared hearing someone snicker. You could never return to the training grounds. When you looked up, you saw that Aemond had stopped fighting. Briefly, you looked into his eye and it was almost as if there was a sense of worry in his expression. Like he wanted to help you.
‘’Princess,’’ a guard then said, walking over to you and getting you off the ground. ‘’Are you alright? Should I bring you to the maester?’’
You shook your head as tears began to form in your eyes, ‘’No, I’m fine,’’ you said. ‘’I just… I just need to leave.’’
You glanced back at Aemond and saw him talking to ser Criston Cole. Of course, he wouldn’t care if you got hurt, he would never feel the same way you felt for him. Not that you liked him or anything, not at all.
Quickly pulling yourself away from the guard, you walked as fast as you could away from the training grounds, no matter how badly your ankle hurt. You just needed to get away, away from the crowd. Away from him. You couldn’t afford to embarrass yourself one more time.
You quickly made your way to the one place you knew nobody would disturb you; the gardens. You were certain it was the most peaceful part of the castle. Rows of flowers, trees to hide behind and a place to breathe. You never broke anything in the gardens – trampled a flower or broke a branch, or even tripped. It was as if the gardens made you calm from the inside, made you act how you wanted to act. Agile, and graceful.
Walking up to a tree in the back of the gardens, a place where no one could see you, you let the tears fall. Partly because were terribly embarrassed by yourself and because your ankle hurt terribly. You were certain people would start to gossip, and servants of the castle would speak of your name with a bad mouth. They would talk about the Queen of Disaster, the creator of havoc. How could you ever tread in your mother’s footsteps when all you did was make a fool out of yourself?
Suddenly, you heard a voice speak up, bringing you out of your thoughts. Turning around, you saw Aemond standing a few feet away from you, his hand behind his back as he looked at you with the same look when you fell, though this time with a slight smirk.
‘’That was a nasty fall you made,’’ he said. ‘’I must ask you if you are alright, Princess.’’
You quickly wiped away your tears, not wanting to seem weak in front of him. You nodded.
‘’I am, thank you for asking,’’ you replied. ‘’It was nothing, just a silly accident.’’
Aemond hummed, ‘’then why did you run away crying, Princess?’’ he asked. ‘’I may look at the world with an eye less than the normal man, but you cannot fool me.’’
You didn’t know what to say. He was worried about you. He left his training to go after you and to make sure you were okay. Your heart was thumping incredibly hard. He made you nervous. If the ground would swallow you right now, you wouldn’t protest whatsoever.
‘’I…I,’’ you stammered.
‘’Is it hard to speak to me, Princess?’’ he said, walking closer to you. ‘’Do I frighten you?’’
Your breath hitched when he was standing mere centimetres away from you. If he’d be any closer, you were certain you could hear his heartbeat.
‘’It’s nothing, Aemond,’’ you firmly said, standing your ground. ‘’I am fine, thank you very much. Now that you know, you may leave now.’’
He said nothing. He just remained standing in front of you, looking down on you. His gaze pierced through your eyes.
‘’I said you could go,’’ you repeated. ‘’Shoo, go back to your training.’’
Aemond chuckled. It was probably the first time you had genuinely heard him laugh after the incident. You would lie if you’d say it didn’t warm your heart.
‘’You cannot command me, Princess,’’ he said leaning down. ‘’If I want to stay with you, I do so as I please.’’
You blushed. Never had you expected him to be so forward. Being at loss for words would be an understatement.
‘’Let me repeat the question,’’ he said as he straightened back up, ‘’why did you run away?’’
You looked down, ashamed of yourself, ‘’It would be worse to stay, Aemond. I am a disaster, I’ve always been. No matter where I go, life always finds its way to knock me off balance, quite literally. I am not as structured as Jace, or fierce as Luke. I am the eldest, yet I act as if I have never heard of the word ‘grace’. I am a Princess. Every lady in court that I’ve ever met is controlled, while I am a hurricane ravaging the halls. No one would ever love me in this state. Chaos is the only ally I’ve got.’’
Aemond was in silence yet again. You huffed – he had just forced you to open up and now he is saying nothing. If you could scream at him, you would. But, you were a Princess, as doing so would be incredibly improper of a lady.
‘’That is not true,’’ he suddenly said, catching your attention. He was still standing close to you, though you got used to it. It felt comfortable for some reason, and you realized just how much you had missed his company overtime.
‘’Don’t make a fool out of me, Aemond,’’ you said, raising your eyebrow. ‘’Trying to make me feel better by ignoring the obvious is not going to make me feel better. Just admit I am a disastrous clumsy wannabe Princess, and then we can both move on and get back to what we were previously doing-’’
‘’No, that is not what I meant,’’ he said, catching you off guard.
You furrowed your eyebrows, confused as to what he meant, ‘’Well, then, what do you mean, Aemond?’’
‘’No one loves you,’’ he said, and first, you were confused if he was in fact insulting you right then and there, ‘’that part is not true.’’
You swore that you saw a blush on his face, almost as if he was getting shy. The stoic, reserved Aemond being shy? Not for a million years would you have ever guessed that you got to see this side of him. You were certain this side never even existed.
‘’What… what do you mean?’’ you hesitantly asked, looking directly into his eye which he had still focused on you. You never saw him looking this focused, not even while training. It almost scared you.
However, without saying anything, he put his hands on your waist. Your breath was caught in your throat, unable to say anything. Was he about to do what you were thinking he was going to do? No, that could never be possible he could not lo-
And then, he leaned in. Time seemed to slow down. Nothing seemed real anymore. You felt his soft lips on yours and you widened your eyes. He was kissing you. Aemond, the boy whom you remembered as being the first person you loved. Your crush which you tried as hard to bury beneath all your feelings. The one who you thought hated you after the incident. He was kissing you.
Then, he pulled away, much to your disappointment. His eye was wide, and you were now certain that he was worried.
‘’I apologize, Princess,’’ he said quietly. ‘’I shouldn’t have done that.’’
His hands had left your waist and he took one step away from you. You furrowed your eyebrows, confused if he wanted to kiss you because he really did love you or just because it was an impulse.
You huffed, not caring anymore about the consequences. You stepped towards him and kissed him again, wrapping your arms around his neck. You smiled as he wrapped his around your waist again and kissed you back. It made your heart flutter, you were actually kissing him and you knew he liked it. He liked you.
You then pulled away, despite the fact that you wanted to kiss him longer. Buy you couldn’t, you had to talk things out before committing. You knew that would be the wisest thing to do.
‘’It seems you are now the one that has to do some explaining, Prince,’’ you joked, your arms still wrapped around his neck. You felt his hands resting on your hips. You realized that you loved being close to him like this.
‘’I think you already know what that’s going to be,’’ he said, his tone low and soft.
