Travelling throughout the elder forest was far more exciting than you thought it would be. The first day you left the castle, it was relatively boring, but camp that night was rather enjoyable. It took an hour to set up camp and you got your own tent for privacy. Aemond had his own and the ten guards escorting you all shared one. That night, while Aemond ate in his tent, you joined the guards for dinner around the bonfire.

When they were off duty, the guards were very lively and unserious. They welcomed you with open arms and no prejudice due to your human form. This was, largely, like your experiences with other elves. Only a few ever admonished you for your humanity - primarily Cole. In your time in the elf kingdom, you have learned that the hate between your kind was mostly charged by your people; something that made you feel guilty inside.

That night passed swiftly and your group packed up with ease and continued on their way. You had spent the day riding. Despite not being able to tell what was day or not because of the elder trees, you could tell that it was nearing time to settle in for the night to rest. You were getting tired and you could tell the guards were as well.

Aemond was with another guard and they trailed ahead of the group. The road by then had gotten more narrow and less grand and you assumed you had left the capital and had entered the rest of the elven kingdom territory.

Your horse showed visible signs of growing exhaustion and you sighed with relief upon seeing a stone building in the distance. The windows flickered with candlelight and it was not as rowdy as other inns and taverns you had experienced in the past. You had stayed in many during your travel from the human kingdom's capital to the village you had lived in. However, this one looked more clean and well-kept.

The group all reconvened at the front of the building. Aemond got off his horse and walked in with one of the guards while the others began directing the horses to the open stables off to the side of the building. The stone bricks looked old and weathered while vines and other plants crawled up the sides. It looked as though nature was slowly reclaiming this spot.

The guard that went in with Aemond emerged and walked to you, and you recalled his name being Elias. Just as you were going to dismount, he reached out and helped you down before speaking, "We have secured lodgings for the night. This place has natural hot springs, would you like to bathe while we unpack your things?"

"That sounds wonderful," You knew this trip would be a week and you were already on the second day. You missed the more hygienic amenities back at the palace and knew the rest of this trip would be spent with brief moments of cleaning in passing streams. This was an opportunity you did not wish to miss.

You had retrieved the supplies you needed to clean yourself along with a new change of clothes, which was a more modest set of nightclothes. There were no other travellers, so your group had the inn to themselves. The hot spring was located right next to the main building. The waters flowed into a large poolroom. At the centre of the pool was a divider that spanned the whole room except for an area on the side which acted as a walkway, though there was a curtain that could be closed for complete privacy.

You had walked into the area and surveyed the room. You walked across and opened the curtain for the other room. There was a stone bench where you placed your things. As you moved to undress, another figure came into the bathhouse. Aemond had come in and froze when he saw you.

"The guards are setting up dinner in the main room. It should be ready soon," He seemed almost awkward in his mannerisms, but it was likely due to wariness from travelling.

"Food sounds good," You internally cringed at that response. It was like you had just learned to speak. The nerves you had felt around Aemond when you first met him had been out of fear, but now it morphed into a different origin that you could not place.

"I'm going to uh..." You pointed to the curtain to indicate you were going to bathe.

Aemond nodded, "Yes, that is uh, what I am here to do as well."

You were unable to come up with more words and honestly believed if you said anything else it would make the situation more unbearable. You reached out and shut the curtain for privacy. However, you stood there, unable to undress. You could hear Aemond move on the other side of the thick fabric.

Heat rushed across your face as you realized he was undressing. Of course he would, as he told you he was there to bathe as well. Yet, the sound of it caused you to think of rather impure thoughts.

You could drown yourself in this large poolroom for even thinking of such a thing.

As you began to undress, all you could think about was the king next to you. It was not surprising, to be so bashful. Since Aemond had taken you to your home to visit and pack, you had noticed there had been unusual stirrings in your stomach when near him.

You put your foot in the water on the first step in and noticed how warm the water was. A thin mist rose from it and evaporated in the air. You moved slowly, step by step and adjusted to the water. Eventually, you had become fully immersed and soaked in heat.

The sound of moving water from the other room caught you from your trance. You could hear him moving in the water. There was a thin stone wall separating you two, but it felt as though there was nothing there at all. Time passed as you scrubbed yourself near raw, making sure that this wash would last as the next few ones are likely to be poor and hasty. There were a few oils you packed with you that came of use.

While cleaning yourself, you pretended not to care about what Aemond was doing, but you would be a liar. You could hear the water moving and after a while, Aemond got out. Your ears picked up on him getting into clothes and heard his steps as he left the bathhouse. A breath escaped your lips when he was gone and you felt your shoulders relax. You did not know why you were so tense but glad that it had left.

Your stomach rumbled with hunger and you decided it was best to get out and see what the guards prepared for dinner.

☾⋆⁺₊✧✧₊⁺⋆☾

With a clean body and a belly full of food, you walked up the stairs of the inn to reach your room. The hall was dark, with few torches to light it up. You had drunk a fair amount of elf ale and discovered that it was a lot stronger than their wine. While not drunk, there was enough alcohol in your system to create a divide between your mind and mouth. Inside you were conscious, but your words would slip easily.

After exchanging many stories with the elf guards, you realized it would be better for you to go to bed and get as much sleep as you could. The night clothes you had changed into were more modest compared to elf clothing but still leaned on revealing in human terms. You had learned quickly that there was not a lot of shame among the elves when it came to their bodies. It was not something you had judged them for but found rather refreshing. If you were gifted with such natural beauty, you would not be ashamed to show it.

You turned down the hall and nearly ran into what you thought was a wall. You almost lost your balance but a pair of arms reached out to steady your figure. Their hands were warm and large, carrying a sense of familiarity. When you looked up, you saw that the person was Aemond. He was not dressed up in the finery and complex set of clothing. He adorned his regular boots and pants but only wore a black undershirt with some untied buttons at the neck and chest. While his clothes were more casual, his sword was still strapped to his side. You wondered why he always kept it so close like some kind of charm for luck.

Knowing it was Aemond, his hold burned against your skin. His hands were firmly holding your waist and it reminded you of that time he had hoisted you down from his horse after following you into the woods on that reckless mission you took. That was the first time he had touched you, but it did not burn then as it did now.

Aemond released you quickly but did not back away. He gave a curt nod and moved to pass you. However, you had consumed one too many drinks that night and all your inhibition and restraint to act more complacent around him left your mind.

"Why did you take me on this trip?" You questioned. Aemond had stopped and turned around.

His face was composed as he answered, "Like I said, to clear your mind. We can't have an important healer not cared for during such a pivotal moment in understanding the taint." His answer was very political, shrouded with diplomacy and unattachment. It was easy to see that he was not forthcoming with the real reason.

"So, I am only here to get better so my skills can be used?" Your buzzed brain was in no control of your words. His words confirmed a small fear – your value was tied only to your studies and not to who you were.

Aemond regarded you with what could have been perceived as reverence, but ultimately your concept of perception was skewed because of the ale. You knew it, and you could tell Aemond knew it as well. It was fairly obvious by the slight sway you had while standing and the drawl in your tone.

It was, with great surprise, that you could see the corners of his mouth lift ever so slightly. While not a smile or even a smirk, it was something to which you had never seen from him.

"You are worth more than your skills." His words were whispered and you almost did not hear them. Were you meant to hear it or was it perhaps a moment of his own clarity?

There was no way you would remember this come the morrow, as the haze you had been in got stronger as more of the ale settled, "Then why are you so mean?" Your voice was light and carried a tone of hurt. Your arms were wrapped around your middle for comfort.

Aemond looked almost hurt by your words, but his face put on a front of sincerity, "Go to bed, little rūklon." He turned away from you and down the corner. You were left standing in the dim hallway, more confused than you were at the start of the conversation.

Your feet shuffled across the hall and towards the door of your room. Your fingers gripped the cool handle but you paused. You looked back at the way Aemond went and almost begged for him to come back. There were more questions you wanted to ask, but it was hard to form them into words. You wanted to know why he had come on this trip, why he had done it in the first place and most of all why his presence managed to cause heat to claw from your stomach and across your body.

You shook your head and opened the door to get into the room. It was of substantial size, nothing too grand for an inn that was likely for weary travellers to board for the night. There was enough room for a single bed, desk, and wardrobe. There was a tiny fireplace, likely in each room, with a chair in front of it. When you sat down on the bed, you let out a loud sigh.

With each passing day, Aemond continued to subvert expectations and positively confound you.

☾⋆⁺₊✧✧₊⁺⋆☾

It was the third day of travel, the same day your group was expected to reach Lake Rosemagne. You had left the inn early that morning and continued to trek on. Your legs were not used to riding for so long and they ached greatly. You chose to disregard the pain and distract yourself from looking at the scenery. However, the dark forest with elder trees had grown on you and your once-revered awe had dimmed slightly.

Thankfully, one of the elf guards, Elias, caught both your growing discomfort from riding and boredom and took it upon himself to cheer you up with stories of fun events from his lifetime. Occasionally some other guard would chime in with information, either to build off of it or counteract Elas' quips.

It easily distracted you from the monotony of travel and you even began sharing your own stories, albeit with less adventure than theirs. Elias questioned you on human customs, though your answers felt bland. Truthfully, your once appreciation for your kind had been skewed slightly. The haze of instilled-from-childhood superiority had vanished and you were left questioning if there even was one side better than the other.

It was during one story that you found yourself laughing uncontrollably. Elias continued to tell his story while you felt a stitch-like feeling on your sides. You leaned forward in the saddle and gripped the reins in an attempt to compose yourself. So caught up in laughter, it took you a moment to calm down and when you did, you looked forward to the front of the company.

Aemond had turned to watch you while he and another guard had gotten further away and stopped for the rest to catch up. His gaze was locked on your form and his mouth pursed as it panned to Elias and the other guards beside you. Once your group had caught up, Aemond turned forward and went back to guide the procession.

For some odd reason, his near condescending gaze rendered you silent for the next few hours. The company moved on and soon you noticed the area become brighter. The trees had begun to get smaller and thus the canopy opened ever so slowly. The light of firefly jars and lanterns strung on the horses changed to streaks of sun peeking through tree branches. You could feel the air gradually get hotter as you entered the sun-exposed environment.

You could see the road continuing, but the end of the tree line also came into view. Your horses passed into an open field. Ahead, were sprawling rocky mountains, jagged and snow-capped. At the bottom of these mountains, lay a lake fed by the melting ice caps and glaciers high above the ground nestled between peaks of the rocks.

The water shimmered and moved like melting glass, rolling over and over. A swift breeze flew by, blowing the smell of flowers that grew in the field. It was cool and caressed your skin with the same cold that you would find back in the deep elder-tree forest.

The group dismounted and began to set up camp. Despite your repeated insistence to help, the guards brushed you off. They insisted that you take a look around and begin your observations and work as you would only stay this night and the next before having to go back. It gave you one day to conduct whatever you needed to do, but truthfully you had no idea.

It was not your insistence that brought you here, but Aemond's. It was to freshen your mind from Lyra's passing so that you could continue to work on a cure, which seemed ever so near but also far away.

You began to make a careful walk of the field, jotting down various observations of the plants around you. The general environment was so calming and you relished the feeling of the sun kissing your skin. It warmed you to the bone.

You approached the water and put your notebook back into the side bag that was strung on your shoulder. For just a moment, you took in the expanse of the lake. Its emerald hue reminded you of Lyra's eyes, so deep and pure, but not everlasting.

This was the last place your father was if his journal was correct. The last pieces of scenery he saw, the last breeze he felt. You wondered if he had thought of you when he likely died. For as long as he was gone, you adamantly defended the notion that he was alive. After coming so close to death, and truly allowing yourself to heal, you concluded that life was not that fortunate.

Before you had come to the kingdom, there were still underlying scars that denied you from moving on and growing. There was nothing to build off of for a new life in the capital, so you chose to live in a far-off village instead. It was in that isolation that the wound festered and you drowned yourself in work.

Now, after entering the elf kingdom and experiencing a world not of your own, you could finally see through the fog in your brain. Your father was likely dead and it crushed your soul.

It was as you stood, no more than a hundred metres from the elves making camp, that the sound of crunching grass could be heard behind you. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Aemond move to stand beside you with his arms crossed behind his back. He stood on your left, so you were able to see his one eye.

He looked as though he wished to speak, but the thought of your father had you asking a hard question, "What happens to humans who are found on your territory?"

You gave no indication of willingness to turn to him. You kept your gaze focused on the bright shimmers of the water. It was an attempt to hold back the tears that were brimming in your eyes. The question did not need to be asked. You knew the answer. While many of the stories surrounding Aemond had been fabricated or exaggerated, a lot of them were true.

The fate of humans who crossed into elven territory was short; a quick brutish death.

Aemond opened his mouth and spoke your name softy, but you could not deal with any deflection and interrupted, "Tell me,"

You could already feel him looking at you, a gaze that always erupted a heat within your stomach. He spoke with an almost defeated sigh, "I believe you already know." He let you mull over his words and you conceded that it was true. You already knew, what good would it do to hear it in graphic detail? What could that accomplish for your already grief-stricken mind?

"This was the last place my father was, according to his journal." Your voice trembled slightly.

"We keep a ledger of all trespassers which has been checked for your father's name. Believe me, it would be noted." Aemond tried to reassure you. His hand reached out as if to touch you, but pulled back, "There have been no humans in this area for well over a century."

"What if he was stopped before he could get here?" Your brain had begun to spiral and list a myriad of possibilities. Either proving he was still alive or describing other possibilities of death. Your psyche was at war with itself.

Aemond remained adamant in his words, "He would have been noted down-"

"What if he wasn't?" You had ignored all sense of propriety in this conversation. You had refused to address him as 'your grace.' Either an act of rebellion or a subtle way of telling him that you would never belong to the realm of elves and therefore felt no need to bow.

"Of course it would be noted." Aemond turned to you, staring intently at the side of your face.

"Tell me, do you trust your guards?" You asked.

The question seemed to have given him a rude awakening. Aemond's posture faulted and his arms fell down from being behind his back and rested at his sides. He was almost seething at the implication. You assumed it struck a chord. You had, without outright saying it, undermined his authority and capability as a king. Likely the first to do so by the way his body reacted.

Perhaps, men were not so different from male elves; stuck in their ways and sense of personal superiority. It was almost comedic.

"My guards are highly trained. They are reliable." Aemond dismissed your concerns.

"Every single one of them?" You then turned to him to meet his fiery gaze with one equal to that. The two of you stood there, watching the other. The blue of his eye pulled you in. As much as you wanted to hate him, willed it, the urge to get lost in a sea of blue was what really stoked your anger.

In spite of it all, you wished to get lost in him.

You waited for some form of retaliation. Maybe this was when Aemond would lower whatever false persona he had put on during this trip. Get rid of the niceties and show you the depth of truth in his reputation for brutality.

It was with great shock that he did not, but rather he walked away from you and back towards the camp.

His feet trampled on the stalky grass. You watched him go, unsure of where the two of you stood. One minute, you could almost confuse the relationship for friends, but then something would happen – either you or his snapping attitude – and you two would go back to rivals. At the very least, some type of rivalry.

There was no logic to it, yet there was a synergy there that drew you in.

His shoulders swayed as he walked and you suddenly wished to join him. No destination in mind, no plans, just simply walk with him. There was insurmountable confusion. You battled with yourself over your feelings. You could not admit it, did not wish to, but there was no denying that you had grown a fondness for the king. He had a roughness to him that both frustrated and intrigued you more than ever.

You wanted to lash out, hit him, push him, or simply just yell at him. However, there was no reason to. He had given you none, which was the source of your anger. You wanted to hate him and wanted there to be a reason to. He had slaughtered your people in the Great War; burned towns and tortured them. However, the same could be said for your people those many centuries ago.

You wanted all of the stories to be true. You wanted him to be a monster so there could be a justified reason to hate him, but that was not possible. Even further, your own body had betrayed you and began to crave his presence.

The frustration in your mind made you stop watching Aemond walk away and turn back to the lake. You watched the gentle waves of water hit the bank, sputtering sounds caressing your ears.

Your hand reached down to your bag and felt around until finding what you wanted. From your bag rose the doll that Lyra had gifted you. Your fingers brushed over the fabric of the sewn dress. You turned the doll to face the view, hoping that this would give back on the promise you made to Lyra to take her on an adventure.

The winding lake, glowing with the light of the setting sun, was imposed in front of the sprawling mountains. The sun had begun to set behind you and the snow on top was illuminated with hues of orange and pink from the gossamer clouds that littered the sky. A breeze brushed over you, cool and refreshing. You breathed in slowly and held it for a moment then exhaled. Birds were chirping in the distance, dancing through the air in a playful waltz. Flowers grew in patches on the grass with some brushing your shoes.

You looked down at the doll in your hand with glossy eyes, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

And for the first time in days, you truly smiled.