-Chapter 147-
-POV Aemon Targaryen-
"Ahhh," I sighed as I fell onto my side.
"Now... I rember... why I had forbidden you... from coming back to my chambers," Jeyne said, catching her breath beside .
I smiled softly and then said:
"You realize that only makes want to do it again even more."
"You'll just have to go see your wife for that," she said in a provoking tone, one she rarely used—at least not since she had given birth to Aerys.
"And what are you?" I asked with a smile, which made her roll her eyes before pulling the sheet over herself.
"Tell why you ca," Jeyne asked, changing the subject.
"What makes you think I ca here for anything other than what we just accomplished?" I teased.
'It was always satisfying to tease soone who always fell headfirst into your trap,' I thought, watching her with a satisfied smile at the corner of my lips.
"Stop it, we both know that since Aerys was born, you haven't touched more than three tis. So go ahead, tell why you insisted so much today," she said, this ti in a serious tone, having surely noticed the playful glint in my eyes.
I looked at her for a few monts, not understanding her sudden change in attitude.
She hadn't pushed away, nor had she been against what had just happened.
'She even enjoyed it,' I thought, unable to grasp this sudden hostility.
'I thought we had moved past this stage,' I told myself before sitting up.
"Fine, you win," I said before proceeding to recount my discussion with Alicent and her brother to Jeyne.
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-POV Jeyne Targaryen-
After listening to what had happened between them, sothing caught my attention:
'How dare he speak to Aemon like that?'
'If he spoke to him that way, it ans he had solid confidence… or at least he believed he did,' I thought, observing Aemon, who looked unbothered as he told this story.
"What does he think he knows about you?" I asked.
"Not much," Aemon said nonchalantly.
"What do you an, not much?" I asked, slightly annoyed that he answered without really answering, especially since he was the one who had co to for advice.
"Do you rember the tournant where I killed Criston Cole?" he said, looking up at the ceiling with a distant look, as if seeing sothing else.
I asked in a rather sharp tone:
"The sa tournant where you killed Jessamyn's brother and stole everything that belonged to ? How could I forget?"
"I didn't kill him," Aemon said, snapping out of his trance and glancing at .
"You had him killed. To , it's exactly the sa," I replied, struggling to recall that period without feeling anything other than imnse anger towards him for killing my best friend's brother.
'The father of my child,' I thought, regretting having accepted this agreent that bound us until the day of our deaths.
Not because he was as monstrous as Maegor the Cruel, but because he was the complete opposite.
Over ti, it had beco difficult to keep hating him.
I felt it more and more as ti passed.
The more my love for my son grew and the more united we beca, the more that fiery anger lost its intensity.
"Fine. During that tournant, I made a request to Larys," Aemon said, not lingering on the topic.
"Your little pet rat?" I asked, since that was the na he had given him.
"Hmm," he responded.
"What did you ask him?" I asked.
"I asked him to swap his brother's lances so they were made of hard wood," he said.
I closed my eyes for a few seconds, then sighed at the audacity he had had to attempt sothing like that at his age, right under the noses of the greatest lords of the realm and even the king, who was the victim's brother-in-law.
"You also had Otto Hightower's son killed at that tournant without anyone knowing," I said.
"No. To be completely accurate, I didn't have him killed," Aemon said, playing on words before continuing:
"I simply expressed a wish to Larys that Gwayne Hightower be injured… possibly severely."
"Why?" I asked, as I couldn't recall any conflict between him and the queen at that ti.
He shrugged and then said:
"Alicent tried to use to resolve the conflict between her and Rhaenyra."
"So, you had him killed—"
"Stop with that. I didn't have him killed. I do bear so responsibility for his death, but believe , if Harwin Fort hadn't tried to injure him badly, he would have ended up with nothing more than a few bruises—at worst, a minor shoulder fracture, but nothing serious," Aemon said, frowning.
I quickly rolled my eyes before continuing, ignoring what he had just said:
"So, to recap, you were involved in Gwayne Hightower's death, and you hid it from Laena and her family."
"No, Laena—I told her a long ti ago. And I'm fairly certain her mother has known for quite a while, too. I once alluded to it in front of her, and she didn't seem surprised," he corrected , as if it should have been obvious.
'How foolish of , as if you could ever hide anything from your precious Laena,' I murmured inwardly before continuing:
"So, you didn't tell Laenor, and now you want to know what I think, considering that this set off a chain reaction leading to Joffrey Lonmouth's death and two attempted murders by the Greens on your brother-in-law."
'Ironic how it's coming back to bite him, considering he tells Aerys every day that all actions have consequences,' I thought, slightly raising my eyebrows.
"I'd like an outside opinion," Aemon said.
"An objective opinion," I corrected him before asking sothing that had been on my mind:
"Why didn't you go to your mother?"
"No particular reason, I just wanted your opinion," he said.
'He's lying,' I thought as I observed him, though I couldn't figure out why—or about what exactly he was lying.
I remained silent for a long mont before finally saying:
"Are you going to give in to their threats?"
Aemon looked at without saying a word, his gaze making it clear that the question didn't even deserve an answer.
A firm stance that I liked, so I asked:
"Today, how many dragons are on our side?"
"Urrax, Vhagar, leys, Sheepstealer, and I think I can convince Daemon to stand with us alongside Caraxes," he said, which slightly surprised , as everyone knew it had been years since they had gotten along.
'But maybe, just like with Aerys, Baelon could be the link that helps nd their old grudges,' I thought.
I shrugged and then said:
"So, no matter what they do, we have the upper hand across every part of the realm. Aegon will never turn against us, Rhaenyra and Laenor won't be able to do anything to us even if they act outraged once this information becos public knowledge, and Viserys the Weak will remain as he has always been—weak and apathetic in front of us. Because you are no longer just a prince, but the Hand of the King, and you hold the power."
Aemon smiled softly without saying anything, so I continued while turning away:
"Strengthen that power quickly and let them stir as they please. Once the tournant arrives, they won't dare act against us, because we have all the power needed to reduce them to ashes. All they have is the word of a man condemned to death for treason."
Hearing no sound from Aemon's direction, I thought he would leave, having gotten what he wanted.
But I felt a pair of arms wrap around , and Aemon whispered in my ear in a satisfied tone:
"I love when you say 'we'."
I rolled my eyes and wanted to retort sothing, but for so reason, I held back.
'We have a son together, idiot,' I thought, doing my best to suppress the ever-growing sense of security I felt whenever I was in his arms.
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N.A : A little Stockholm Syndro for Jeyne Targaryen.
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