FOUR YEARS LATER

My time on Dragonstone had felt short. The years passed in a blur and before I knew it, I was walking up the stairs to the Red Keep again to greet my family. I am only here to consummate the marriage to Aemond Targaryen as promised.

His sixteenth name day is within the week. I was told to fly here on Silverwing all by myself to join in the celebrations being held for the younger brother, now finally a man grown. As I make my way from the Dragonpit to the main courtyard, I think about how much the boy, man now, has grown.

In four years I myself have changed drastically. My hair is now down to my mid-back and I only wear it in intricately woven braids. I have dropped the normal blue dresses I wear for classic Targaryen red and black. I have not grown in height much since my family's leave four years ago, I make up for my lack of height with my attitude, something I have picked up from my new father, Daemon Targaryen.

The doors to the Keep are closed, guards standing at attention for my arrival. The doors swing open to reveal the vast courtyard, and on the stairs, I see the Queen, Aegon and Helaena waiting on my arrival. Huh, no Aemond.

"The Princess Visenya Targaryen!" I am announced by the guards.

I take a huge deep breath, holding my hands together to prevent them from shaking. I am here all alone, without the support of my mother or the protection of Daemon. I walk forwards towards the people waiting for me, my black and red dress dragging in the mud. I forgot how dirty King's Landing was.

I reach the edge of the steps, bowing to my family and the gesture is returned. "Princess Visenya, I hope your journey was easy," the Queen speaks.

I walk up to meet all of them, the doors are pushed open and we walk inside. "It is nice to be back again," I said, taking in the change of the Keep, "I was away so long I almost forgot how it looked."

Aegon scoffs at my remark; good to see he hasn't changed a bit. The Queen dismisses herself and Aegon wanders off, probably to explore the women on the Streets of Silk. I am left alone with Helaena.

I look at her and she looks at me; for a moment, we say nothing but in a quick second we squeal in delight and pull each other into a tight embrace.

"Oh how I've missed you, Helaena!"

"It's so good to see you!"

We pull away from each other, smiling like small girls. "Look how you've grown," Helaena exclaims, looking at me up in down. These past four years I have really come into my body.

"Look at you though," I tell her, "have these years been kind to you?"

We link arms and begin walking the halls, Helaena leading the way. "For the most part yes, I have brought two beautiful children into the world as of recently," she smiles.

My jaw dropped; she had children, "you must take me to them right now, I have to meet them."

She giggles and we run off towards her chambers. She throws open the door and inside two wet nurses are feeding the small babes.

"Meet Jaehaerys and Jaehaera."

The babes are beautiful, only young, maybe a couple of moons. I am expected to bring my own children into the world soon, once I find Aemond. Speaking of him...

"Have you seen Aemond, Helaena?" I ask her, watching as she holds one of the twins in her arms.

She shrugs, "most days he just keeps to himself, he's most likely either training or brooding in his chambers."

"Thank you, Helaena," I dismiss myself from the chambers and start the walk to look over the training grounds.

I wonder what he looks like now. Aegon and Helaena have both grown up and changed tremendously. Helaena looks even more beautiful and angelic than before. Aegon still looks like a drunk who hasn't slept a wink. I wonder what became of the quiet and reserved boy I married so long ago.

I walk out onto the balcony overlooking where most men train when they aren't asleep. Down below, my eyes first land on Ser Criston, who is swinging his sword at a young man. His hair is long and white, and he almost looks like he is dancing rather than fighting.

Daeron must have returned from Oldtown for his brother's name day. From what I can see from up here, he is beautiful. He has grown tall and fit, unexpected for a boy who spent most of his days studying the book rather than the sword.

I watch the two men fight, eager to see who comes out on top. I have never been so excited to watch a fight take place. They battle it out with no clear winner in sight until Ser Criston's sword is knocked from his hands and a blade pointed at his throat.

The eye patch stands out on the pale skin, eyes gleaming at their opponent. "Welcome back, wife."

My words catch in my throat, stunned into silence; that is no longer the boy I married down there, no, he is a man. The baby fat on his face has disappeared leaving only his sharp bone structure behind, he has grown tall, maybe even taller than me now. The eye patch covering his eye makes him terrifying to look at, his one good eye sharp.

"Good to be back, husband," I call back, standing straight and holding my head high.

"Have you come to watch or participate?" He asks, pointing the sword up at me, "or are you too good for a quick duel princess?"

"I would, however I wouldn't want to accidentally take out your other eye," I throw back.

Aemond takes a step forward, clearly angered by my words, but I quickly dash away from the balcony and giggle to myself. Once inside, I find a servant and they escort me to where I will be staying, my old room within the Keep.

I bathe myself, washing the long journey from my skin in preparation for dinner. This would be my first dinner with the Greens before I took Aemond's eye. I do regret it, I really do, but he had stolen Vhgar and attacked my brothers, whom I had no choice but to defend.

I step out of the now-cold water, feeling the air freeze my skin. I grab a warm towel and walk back into my bedroom, my dress is laid out on the bed, and jewellery to match. The dress is blue in colour, my favourite, and my engagement necklace sits atop the fabric.

I pick up the necklace and hold it up, admiring the sapphire in the centre. Even though ever since the night on Driftmark Aemond and I had been estranged, I still wore the necklace around my neck; it gave me a small amount of hope there would be no bad blood between us.

I quickly dress and just as I fasten the necklace around my neck, a knock comes from outside my door. "Enter." A knight enters the room, saying he is to escort me to dinner tonight. I thank him and put on my shoes, quickly heading to the feast.

I am the last one to arrive at the dinner. The King and Queen sit at the heads of the table, Aegon and Helaena sit side by side, Aemond is sitting opposite his brother and a seat next to him is open, my seat. I sit next to him, holding my breath as I do. I can physically feel the disgust radiating off him.

"Visenya," my grand-sire says, grabbing my attention, "how is my daughter doing?"

He has aged rapidly since I saw him last. Coughing almost every sentence, his hair now almost completely gone, limbs missing. He looks like a walking corpse.

"Uh, she's been okay, she is going to have another babe in the next couple turns of the moon," I tell him, careful about my words around the Queen.

Helaena claps in excitement; she clearly loves children. The food is then served, and everyone begins loading their plate. I glance towards Aemond, who is already staring at me, or more accurately, my necklace.

The rest of the dinner continues in almost silence, a few words exchanged between all of us except Aemond and I. He barely even looks at me, and I don't even look at him either; the tense air between us could be felt all around the room. I guess that's what I get for carving out the eye of a prince. I made it this way, but I will not feel bad for doing so; my brothers mean more to me than my husband.

Everyone begins to clear the room. Aegon sends a wink my way before leaving with Helaena. Gross. It is only Aemond and I left at the table. I look at him and he looks at me, a silent exchange between us. I stand up, and he follows suit, matching almost every action of mine. "If you excuse me, I'm going to take a walk," I say, bowing before rushing from the dining hall.

I walk outside in the garden where the weirwood tree stands; the leaves are a bright red that still shine bright in the night. I take a deep breath, feeling the cold air enter my lungs to calm my racing heart. I had been so tense at dinner that I didn't even realise I had been sweating profusely or that my hands were shaking. The sight of Aemond in the courtyard had taken my breath away, but at dinner, it was an entirely different feeling; I was so close to him that I could feel the heat radiating off his body. Every time the wind blew, I caught a whiff of his scent; the mix of sweat and burning wood became intoxicating.

"Visenya," a voice jolts me from my rambling thoughts. I turn to see Aemond approaching me from the shadows. How long had he been standing there?

"Prince Aemond," I bow, trying to keep the formalities between us and prevent hostilities.

He approaches, standing relatively close for how he's treated me thus far. "You've changed," he mumbles, staring me dead in the eyes.

"And so have you," I bit back.

He gives a slight grin before his face goes stoic again. "I should wish you a happy name day," I said, trying to muster up a small smile.

The anxiety has returned, and my hands are clasped tightly behind my back, trying to calm my nerves. The wind is blowing Aemond's scent right into my face, and I find it hard to concentrate. My lip is quivering, but I stand tall, trying to keep appearances calm.

"Have these years been kind to you, princess?" He asks, his eye racking across my body, almost drinking me in.

I nod, "as kind as they can be."

"Mm," he hums, taking another step forward towards me.

His hand outstretches towards me, and I hold my breath as tight as I can, afraid of what he might do. His cold fingertips brush lightly across my neck, fingers holding the sapphire of my necklace, examining it thoroughly. My breathing is shaky; his hand is so close to my throat that he could easily take revenge for his eye right now. Aemond is so much stronger than me and most likely armed that if he wanted, he could pin me down and carve out my eye as payment.

We stand in silence for a while, his eye on the necklace and my eyes examining his face. The scar under his eyepatch has healed surprisingly well; though his features are sharp but moon makes them appear soft and delicate. Strands of his hair brush my face, and I shudder from the cold.

"You still wear it," he mumbles, finally meeting my eyes.

"I do," I whisper, moving my hands to the front of my body, trying to hide from his gaze.

"Why?" He demands rather sharply, making me jump.

The sapphire falls from his grasp and I almost fall back from the uneven ground. His eye softens, realising just how harsh his words were.

"I-I don't know," I stutter, "it's pretty." My eyes cast to the ground, afraid to look at him any longer.

Daemon had taught me to be stronger than this, to hold myself high and above everyone, but I crumbled under Aemond's gaze and the threat of being hurt. I become nothing more than a scared child all over again.

I hear him step closer, and my eyes shoot up to meet his. My lip is trembling once again, and my hands go clammy. He is confused by my actions. "Are you going to hurt me?" I ask, barely above a whisper.

His face scrunches in confusion, "not today."

Not today. He plans to, just not right now. The one time I am unarmed and it is with a man who wishes to hurt me. Aemond's eye looks down at my quivering lip. I hold eye contact with him, waiting on his next move. The move shocks me to my core.

His warm hands cup my cheek and his thumb strokes my bottom lip lightly. He leans in close and I'm afraid he's going to try to kiss me. Instead, his lips brush against my ear, and his warm breath makes me shiver.

"You are the bane of my existence Visenya Targaryen," he whispers. "The chance we had at a loving marriage was gone the moment you took out my eye, and I will demand payment for it."

His face looks back at mine now, our foreheads almost touching as he towers over me. "But not tonight," he places a kiss on my forehead and then walks back into the shadows of the Red Keep like nothing ever happened.

I stand there, suddenly missing the warmth Aemond had provided. He will learn to regret those words because if he tries to take my eye, I will take his life.

----

Ages:

Visenya - 17

Aemond - 15, 16 in four days

Aegon - 20

Helaena - 17