HOTD: confronting Aemond Part 2 - the Regent King
// Time for Ceryse to talk to Aemond. I do love Drama.
Here they were, sitting in front of each other with several seats between them. Aemond was nervous but his face remained stoic as he didn't want the Lady of Driftmark to so easily read into him. His purple eye set upon her soft face, studying her every move as she seemed to be breathing faster than usual in his presence. She was indeed, breathing faster. Her chest heaved up and down as Ceryse was struggling to regain her composure. Her face was locked in a worried expression and her shoulders were stiff, barely moving at all. Her hazel eyes averted from left to right, as the young woman searched his gaze for potential answers to questions she had not formed yet in her head. She requested an audience with the King Regent, which had been unusual of her and he suspected that it had a lot to do with Ceryse wanting to lecture him about his past actions. Aemond didn't want her to lecture him, let alone argue his decisions. What did she know of War and its consequences? What did she know of the sacrifices that had to be made to protect his family? She lived a privileged life on the shores of Driftmark and never had to lose anything up until the death of her father. The thought crossed his mind and she watched as his face darkened. She could feel the goosebumps covering her arms and she could feel her throat become dryer by the minute they spent without talking to each other.
"Speak!" -Aemond finally said, leaning into his seat and mind-absently playing with the marble ball before him-
"Is it the way you choose to present yourself to me, Aemond?" -She boldly stated, hazel eyes staring at his face-
"Yes, it is! It is the way I see fit. You requested an audience with me, you walked past those doors, so you can't possibly expect me to treat you otherwise than how a king treats one of his subjects."
"I see... You raised walls so high that I cannot reach out to you." -She concluded before she slowly pulled her hands toward her chest.- "Then, since my King requested me to speak, I shall indulge his request." -She put her hands on her lap, fidgeting with the fabric of her dress under the table. "It has occurred to me that recently you seemed to be...."
"Thread carefully, Ceryse..." He warned her, his fingers twitched a bit and he grabbed the marble ball instead of playing with it. He wanted to look intimidating for the young woman, to signify that he was not in a playful mood and he wouldn't suffer their usual banters. She noticed but instead of flinching, she opened her eyes wider-
"...Different. I do understand that the war we wanted to avoid at all cost has now begun and we cannot escape the situation. I am aware of the choices you made but I didn't come to discuss them....All of them." She pointed out. He lifted a brow, shrugged, and shook his head slowly.
"And what gives you the right to stand before me and start to lecture me about my decisions?"
"I believe, our friendship." She picked this word carefully, knowing full well that they couldn't be talking about love, not out loud, not when people could be listening to them, and especially not when she was very openly betrothed to another man. His own grandsire. Still, the word felt like a whip against his chest and Aemond blinked several times before he looked away from her.- "We have been friends from the moment I arrived at King's Landing, or was I mistaken?"
"Are you telling me that I am a liar, Ceryse?"
This made him blink and while she shook her head, for a brief moment Aemond was heated. The idea of Ceryse thinking less of him was ruffling his feathers in the wrong way. He couldn't really decipher her face like he used to. Was she upset? Was she disappointed? Was she angry? She was hard to read and he didn't want to let his mask slip off of his face because if he did, he wouldn't be able to put it back on. Ceryse had to see him be a strong man, a person fit to be a king just like they always talked about. He wanted to show her that he was worthy of the title and the crown. He wanted her to look proud but no matter how hard he was looking at her, there was no pride. There was no anger but he imagined that there was disappointment. He could see that she didn't agree with something he did and he wanted her to tell him exactly.
"I am not, Aemond. You asked me why I decided to visit you today, and I told you exactly why. We are friends and because we are, it is my duty to tell you the truth in your face."
"I am the KING!!! I made the decisions that had to be made!"
"Was it necessary to destroy a whole village??? Was it necessary to kill these innocent people??" She hit the table and pointed her forefinger at him. That made him stand up and quickly close the distance between them. He slapped her hand and grabbed her neck. Ceryse blinked and tried to push him off of her but he didn't let go.
"You don't get to come here and judge me, Ceryse. You have no idea of the pressure I have on my shoulders. You have no idea of the sacrifices I have to make."
"You killed them, Aemond! No matter your justifications, you killed them! I wanted to know why you did it because it doesn't sound like you." She managed to say. He stopped choking her and shook his head. The King Regent ran his hand over his face and knelt before her. "I do not condone what you did because you will need the forgiveness of the seven gods, Aemond." He tried to rest his head against her lap but she pushed him off of her again.
"I will be judged regardless of what I do but I have not been forsaken by the gods just yet, Ceryse. Look at me." -She shook her head- "Look at me, please!" -He cupped her cheek and gently stroked it with his thumb- "Ceryse... I need you to look at me."
"You strangled me, Aemond. You squeezed my neck with anger and purpose. I used to think that you genuinely loved me and that the love we shared would spare me your violence. I was mistaken." She pinched her lips together and put her hand above his. He could feel her shake and realized that he lost his temper and probably ruined his relationship with Ceryse. She leaned into his touch and knitted her brows.- "Why did you do it? Why did you kill these people?"
"I was taken aback. I... Rhaenyra surprised me! I didn't expect to see her with new dragons on her side and bastard riders. I...Vhagar...She needed an outlet to express her anger. She was angry... I was angry!" -He admitted before he grabbed her hand and put it to his lips- "I was angry." -He claimed again, unable to keep the truth from her. Ceryse could feel tears quickly pool in her eyes and she shook her head.-
"There it is! Your anger! your anger is going to tear this kingdom apart, Aemond. It has already burned your brother. It is going to burn your relationship with your mother..."
"I /don't/ care!" -He cut her short but she wasn't deterred, she cut him short too.-
"It is going to burn your relationship with /me/!!! Stay on this path of destruction and there will be no future between you and me." -She pushed his hand away and wiped the tear that rolled down her cheek.-
Aemond remained stoic but his fake eye glowed and she could see just how hurt he was by her words and the fact that he was losing her. He was losing her and knew there was nothing he could do to change the trajectory of History. He chuckled and walked away from the young woman. She could hear the sobs in his laughter, the disappointment and defeat in his tone. She could hear his pain and fought the urge to stand up and comfort him. The lady of Driftmark felt a pang in her heart and her lips trembled as she was now crying the tears pooling in her eyes.
"Don't you get it Ceryse? There is no future for you and me. There has never been a future for you and me. I have tried, oh the gods know how much I have tried to fight our circumstances but no matter what I did, we were both cursed, Ceryse."
"No! You know that you're telling me horseshit, Aemond!" She stood up and walked towards him. "I refuse to give up on us! I refuse to believe that we are cursed!" -She put her hand on his shoulder and softly turned him around so she could look at him.-
Aemond grabbed her wrist and pulled it to his lips. He kissed her soft skin and she didn't flinch. He kissed it again, with an appetite. Ceryse felt goosebumps cover the skin of her arms but she still didn't push him away. Her resolve was crumbling before him, some of it at the very least. She wanted to reason with him, to make him realize just how far gone he was and that he had to change his ways. Yet, the more he was kissing her, the more the Lady of Driftmark wanted to give into her deepest needs. She had missed his touch for weeks, his warmth, and his voice in her ear. She had missed his kisses, his calloused fingers on her body, and their endless conversations by the fire. Her other hand ran over his hair and she leaned her forehead against his.
"I don't want to lose you, my love."
"How can you still love me after all I've done?" -He asked in a breathless whisper-
-TBC-
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