FIVE MOONS LATER

"Where in the Seven Hells is Aemond?!" Elyana groaned as she paced her chambers with her hands covering her belly. "He said he would take little time in finding what I asked for."

"El... you know I adore you and your mood swings but you asked for freshly plucked carrots and freshly harvested fruits. That man must be trawling the fields trying to get the farmers to work faster." Lucia laughed dismissively as she practiced her stiching on her sewing wheel.

"I am starved! And tis not me who is asking, tis the babe. So Aemond better comply and fast, he put it in me so he deals with it." Elyana huffed and sprawled herself over her cushioned seat.

"Get Conrad in here. I have a request." Elyana told Lucia, who rolled her eyes teasingly and stood up from her seat. "Poor boy. I would hate to be on your service." Lucia laughed, making Elyana chuckle lightly.

Lucia peeked her head out of the chamber doors and called Conrad in. The knight appeared before Elyana with a small smile and a curt nod of his head. Ever so dutiful. "Conrad, will you please get the bard in here? I am bored and need music." Elyana yawned.

"Of course, my lady. Your wish is my command." And out the door he was in seek of a bard to play for her. Elyana sighed and leaned back, closing her eyes. "You look tired, Elyana. Are you resting well at night?" Lucia asked as she moved to sit besides her.

"Not at all. The babe is a little dragon. All he does is flip around my belly at night. It barely lets me get any shut eye." Elyana answered with her eyes still closed.

"See... one of the reasons why I do not want to wed and bear children. It sounds like a nightmare, but I will proudly be the little bandit's aunt." Lucia chuckled and grabbed a book from the tea table.

"Between the babe flying around my belly at night, and the Queen sending me on charity missions I feel like any day now I will collapse to the ground." Elyana sighed and looked at Lucia, who gave her an empathic smile.

"I do not understand how you have yet to smack the Queen in the face." Lucia yawned and Elyana gasped, swatting her arm due to the disrespectful words.

"Lucia! She is the Queen, you can not speak ill of her." Elyana stated sternly, only for her friend to shrug nonchalantly.

"She has had you running around the city doing the crown's charity while you are with babe! It is not fair on you. Why can't she trawl the city herself? She is the Queen after all." Lucia scoffed as Elyana pressed her lips together.

Elyana knew why. She knew that Alicent was using Elyana as a way to make the Crown seem open and more charitable. By letting a common servant into the royal family, the Hightower Queen seemed tolerable and kind.

Elyana did not really mind. If Alicent wanted to parade her around King's Landing just to gain the commoner's favor then she would let her. Elyana enjoyed doing charity work with the poor, and she enjoyed being the people's princess. The common folk loved Elyana.

"I do not mind my charity. I have helped tons of people. It is pleasant for me to give to the poor. I was once one of them." Elyana said and she meant each word.

"That does not change the fact that you are round with babe, Elyana. You should be resting and lounging about, not running through the city giving bread to the poor." Lucia pressed, and Elyana decided to drop the subject.

Soon the doors to the chambers opened and in came Aemond with an stoic expression on his face, though it softened when his eye landed on his pregnant wife. "My darling love, the cooks are already preparing your fruits and vegetables." Aemond said in a soft tone.

Elyana felt her stomach grumble, but she no longer thought what she had originally asked for appetizing. "Oh, thank you husband. You can tell them to leave it for later, perhaps I can just get a lemon tart for now." Elyana smiled innocently, and Aemond wanted to die.

"I spent hours on end searching for the freshest fruits and vegetables for you, my sweet." Aemond spoke through gritted teeth, yet it did not faze Elyana at all. Lucia got comfortable, ready for all hell to break loose because she knew their fights were always top entertainment.

"And I have spent six moons carrying your heir in my womb, your point is?" Elyana said with a smile that was perhaps not the most genuine one. Aemond sighed because he knew she spoke the truth.

"Lady Lucia, will you leave me with my wife?" Aemond asked as he moved to his desk, dropping his weapons and leather coat on it. The lady gave him one nod and was swiftly out of the chambers, taking Conrad and the bard he had brought with her as they attempted to come in.

She smiled at Elyana and shut the door tightly behind herself, leaving her with her husband. Aemond approached his wife and planted a soft kiss to her temple, coming around then to sit right next to her.

"As always you look radiant today, my darling. This day agrees with you." Aemond smiled, causing Elyana to giggle.

"You say that every day." She stated as he gave her loving smile, bringing his hand to caress her cheek in a tender manner. "Tis not my own fault that everyday is your best day. You only get better, my lovely." Elyana blushed at his words and rolled her eyes.

"Stop it." Elyana ordered and teasingly pushed him away, only for him to bring her back into him arms in a tight hug.

"No. I will never stop letting you know how lucky I am to love you."

-

Aemond felt like the luckiest and most smiled upon man by the Gods whenever he saw his wife enter the Great Hall for a feast. He never tired of seeing Elyana looking like a dream in the gowns he commisioned for her. He never tired of seeing every man look at her as if she was the most beautiful thing in the world. He never tired of seeing her float around the room looking like the goddness she was whilst carrying his child. Aemond would never tire of loving her.

"Did you hear of Vaemond Velaryon?" Aegon snapped his brother off his daze. Aemond turned to him with pressed lips and gave him a tight nod. "He plans to contest Driftmark, as he should." Aemond stated.

"Do you think our half sister will show her face here to defend the little demon that took your eye?" Aegon asked with a slight snort. Surely he found it hilarious now, for he was not the one that spent years in agony and excruciating pain.

"Surely the Dragonstone whore will make an appearance. Anything to get the court's attention on her." Aemond spoke in a low tone, though  Aegon laughed loudly at his brother's jab.

"You curse like a sailor, brother. Here... have some wine. I am sure you need it after being ridden like a stallion every night." Aegon grabbed a goblet from some servant who was passing them out and pushed it unto Aemond.

"Shut up." Aemond rolled his one eye, making Aegon chuckle. "You can not expect me to shut up, you never do. I might just ask mother to let me relocate to chambers far from yours. Though I am happy your wife is eager to fuck, mine not so much." Aegon snickered and Aemond felt his anger bubble at the mention of his sister.

"Helaena is a good wife to you. Do not dare disrespect her, or her body." Aemond warned his brother as Aegon rolled his eyes and pressed his lips together. "Yeah yeah. Have you heard from Daeron? He has yet to answer my scroll asking him for wine from Oldtown." Aegon changed subjects.

"Weird. Daeron always answers my scrolls." Aemond stated and with that, he left his brother standing alone. Aemond moved to his wife who was standing with her lady by a corner of the Hall.

"You dazzle me, my darling. Every night you only look more beautiful." Aemond stated as he took Elyana's hand and planted a soft kiss on it.

"Thanks, my prince. I am suddenly nauseous." Lucia answered before Elyana ever could, and her jab at the prince made Elyana burst out laughing. Though Aemond did not find it as hilarious.

"Do you not have someplace else to be, Risley?" Aemond asked the girl, who snarled at him. She had grown rather comfortable in her place as a lady, though Aemond did not care much. She made Elyana happy, and if his wife was happy, he was happy.

"Yes actually, the dessert spread seems to call my name. I will bring you a peach cake." Lucia smiled at her friend and then excused herself. Elyana watched her disappear through the crowd and then turned to her husband. "Must you always be an absolute troll to her?" Elyana asked with a chuckle.

"Must she always be an absolute witch to me?" Aemond retorted.

"She is not a witch to you. You are just overly ill tempered." Elyana sighed, grabbing her husband's arm as she looked around the Great Hall. It was bustling with lords and ladies of the realm, and Elyana had grown to enjoy court and feasts.

"My love... I think that lord is waving you over." Elyana pointed out a chubby man that was standing a few feet from them.

"Act like you do not see him." Aemond ordered, shifting his gaze from him and trying his best to ignore him. He was not in the mood for courtly interactions and mindless conversations.

"Aemond, stop it. You are the prince, now go and be kind to him." Elyana ordered and shoved Aemond foward, causing him to glare at her playfully. Elyana watched her husband talk to the man like the ever so dutiful man he was and she could not help the smile that happened upon her face. Until she heard an agitating and grating voice.

"You look sparkling today, my good lady." Larys Strong was suddenly standing next to Elyana, and she gave him a curtly smile when she looked over at his scrawny self.

"Lord Larys, you are back at court. How was Lady Lysa's wedding?" Elyana asked as Larys gave her a small nasty smile.

"My sister is well happy to be off in the Vale with her new lord husband." Larys answered whilst Elyana gave him a small smile with a curtly nod. "Do send her my congratulations. I am sure she is happy to be wed." Elyana spoke rather plainly, clearly disinterested in the conversation at hand.

"You know I never seek you out in vain, my lady." Larys spoke in a hushed tone, a sentence that peeked Elyana's interest almost instantly.

"Do go on, Larys." Elyana stated, her eyes traveling to her husband who still had his back turned to her as he spoke to the rather chubby lord. Then her eyes darted around the hall and to the Queen who was also engaged in conversation by the throne.

"The King Viserys is rather ill, my lady. His demise might come sooner rather than later, and Prince Aegon shall take his throne." Elyana frowned at his words. Prince Aegon? But everyone knew that Princess Rhaenyra was the apppointed heir.

"You must prepare your husband for war, he will be our biggest and strongest assett. He must remain loyal to his brother." Lord Larys spoke and Elyana was well confused at his words and what he was suggesting.

"Lord Strong what you suggest is treason, the heir is Princess Rhaenyra." Elyana stated in shock.

"Princess Rhaenyra would never be a good ruler. And if you love your husband, you will support Prince Aegon. Do trust me, my lady, if she ever takes the throne the three princes will be put to the sword. They are the biggest threats to her false claim." Lord Larys was hurling too much information at Elyana at the same time, and she was honestly just shocked at all of this.

"I only tell you this because of my fondness for you, my good lady. I have demonstrated my unwavering loyalty to yourself time and time again, and I would never lead you astray. You must make sure your husband is loyal to his brother. He is ambitious, that one. Tis a shame he is but a second son." And with that, Larys Strong was off to torment someone else.

Elyana watched him limp around the room with a smug smile adorning his face. What she did not see was the Hand of the King, watching from his seat with a smile. He put his trust in Larys to manipulate Elyana, and he put his trust in Elyana to manipulate his grandson. Even if she did not know she was part of the plan.

"Here... I almost had to brawl with Corryne Lannister for this tart so you better gobble it down with much pride." Lucia suddenly appeared next to her lady with two cakes in hand. "What do you know of Princess Rhaenyra?" Elyana asked suddenly, making Lucia frown.

"Of the princess? Not much... she's not been to court in ages. The last time I ever saw her was..." Lucia looked away as if trying to recall the last time she saw the princess and her sons. "Oh! I remember... there was this terrible fight in the courtyard. I was but ten and two and I remember my brother told me it was because of her... apparently she had been sleeping with a Kingsguard, though it was just a nasty rumor." Lucia recalled.

"The Velaryon princes were sweet boys, ever so kind and dutiful. Though... I remember the other kids would call them... you know. Bastards. Their heads are full of black hair." Lucia whispered whilst Elyana tried to recall the princes herself.

She remembered seeing them once, a very long time ago, when her father was participating in a tourney for Prince Jacaerys' nameday.

"Do you know of the princess' relationship with my husband?" Elyana asked, and Lucia gulped and nodded slowly. "I know it is rather strained. Prince Lucerys took Prince Aemond's eye, though I do not recall the details well." Lucia shrugged.

Elyana nodded and shifted her gaze to her husband. She was determined to learn of Aemond's childhood and of the Princess Rhaenyra.

-

Aemond washed Elyana's hair with gentle hands, messaging the oils into her scalp ever so lovingly as they both sat in their tub. It was late into the night, and Elyana coud barely sleep after court and after Larys's troubling words, so as always Aemond did everything in his power to help her relax. This time was bathing her gently with her favorite oils and herbs.

Elyana hummed as she moved her head to one side, making Aemond lean down to her and plant a gentle kiss on her exposed neck.

"What troubles you, my love? Is our little dragon disagreeing in your belly?" Aemond asked as his hands continued to dote on her body gently. Not one part of her went uncaressed and unloved.

Elyana could never tell Aemond about Larys' words to her, or of his weird loyalty to her. She never told Aemond that he was the one that killed Darra, or that he was the one that fed her important council and court information. Elyana knew everything that happened in the realm, sometimes she knew more things than Aemond himself.

"Our little dragon is being good today... I just... I sometimes wonder of your childhood. Of your eye... of what happened." Elyana had no hairs in her tongue, and she truly wanted to know everything about her husband.

Aemond shifted in the tub uncomfortably, causing water to splash into the ground. Elyana moved too, this time to face her husband in a straddle position.

"Do not wonder of it. The past is not important." Aemond said, his cold demeanor returning at a rapid rate much to her chagrin. "Do not do that. Do not dismiss me. Do not shut me out." Elyana stated, though she was angry, her voice was still tender and kind to him. She knew it was a hard topic for him.

"Why the sudden interest in my childhood. It does not matter, not anymore." Aemond stated coldly, making Elyana give him a stern look in return.

"It matters to me, husband. I want to know you, to know your family truly. To know your past, to know what happened... please?" Elyana spoke in a soft tone, trying to convince him to open his heart to her once more.

Aemond looked away to the corner of the bathchamber with a hardened expression on his face, though when he looked back at Elyana, his eye was soft on her. She smiled at him reassuringly and planted a kiss to his scar giving one sweet look to his sapphire eye.

"What is it that you want to know?" He asked in a small whisper. He knew he could trust her. She had been the one to kiss his scars, the one that called him beautiful, the one that gazed lovingly into his sapphire as if it was a real eye.

She was his Elyana, his wife, his sun, his moon, and his stars. She was his goddess, and the one that he was sure would always be on his side no matter what. She was his happiness and his comfort. She was his shield.

She was everything.

"I want to know what happened that night. Why was your eye taken? Why do you not like your half-sister? Please my love. Tell me everything." Elyana urged Aemond, and once more he had looked away from her.

"I was the dragonless one... since I was of three years old. Aegon's egg hatched... Helaena had Dreamfyre, and Daeron hatched Tessarion. Then Jacaerys hatched Vermax, and my smaller nephew hatched Arrax. I was the only Targaryen child that lacked a dragon." Aemond explained, and Elyana listened intently.

"Aegon and my nephews never let me hear the end of it. They called me all sorts of names in the courtyard, and they always laughed at me when I was forced to go into their training with their own dragons while I had none. They were cruel to me, and played endless jokes on me. One time, they got a pig and put wings on it then gave it to me, claiming they had found a dragon for me."Elyana's heart was breaking at his story.

"So when Laena Velaryon died... I took a chance. I snuck away and to the beach and I claimed Vhagar. We were meant to be, she chose me. Yet when I came back to the castle, I was ambushed by my nephews and cousins. They called me names and beat on me... and then well..." He motioned to his eye.

"And the worst part was that my father and half sister did not care about what Lucerys did. All they cared about was that I called my nephews bastards, which they are. That Dragonstone whore wanted me tortured... and instead of caring for me, his son... my father took her side. Of course only my mother defended me." Aemond stated and Elyana was shaken at Rhaenyra's cruelty.

"Tis why I do not care for my father and his rotting body. He never cared for me, why should I him? And tis why I will never forget my sister and my nephews. Nobody paid for my eye, nobody was punished while I have to live with it for eternity." Aemond said and Elyana supported him. She could not believe the cruelty he had endured by his own kin.

"Somebody will pay, my love. Someday... we will avenge your eye."