Alyarra was a nervous mess as she waited up for Aemond to get back to their chambers. She was confused as to where he could have gone. He didn't have a life in Winterfell, what could he possibly be doing? She did not wish to think the worse but the worse was all that she could think.

Alyarra nipped at her cuticles anxiously as she watched the chamber's doors, willing him to come. Every now and then her gaze would find the large windows that adorned the apartments, and the sun was threatening to shine. It was already the next day!

Did he leave her here? Was he frolicking around Wintertown like Aegon would King's Landing?

The doors to the chambers suddenly opened up slightly and in came Aemond. Alyarra would stand up hastily to face him, and then a piercing scream would echo through the room and the halls as she watched him waltz into the room drenched in blood. His blood? Alyarra's chest rose and fell heavily as she watched Aemond approach her. He eyed her breathing and then gave her a small smirk.

"Worry not, my sweet. The bloodbath was not of my own blood." Aemond said nonchalantly as Alyarra looked at him up and down a hundred times. Her eyes were like a mad woman's as Aemond simply stood tall and proudly staring at her.

"What happened?! Whose blood was shed?!" Alyarra asked in a haste as she moved to their bathchamber, grabbing a linen rag to wipe off some blood from his face. Aemond smiled lighy as her small hands tried to assess the damage, as it only meant that she did care for him.

"The men that tried to attack you are well dead. The three of them that your brother's guards let flee; They are dead. Head's off and limbs torn off." Aemond replied as it were the most obvious thing in the world. Her eyes widened in shock at the revelation, andn the she realized the blood that stained her hands now was of the people who wronged her.

"H-How? How did you find them?! They had an entire day to flee!" Alyarra was shocked and baffled. She really could not believe what the man before her had revealed. Her small hands were now trembling, as they wiped blood off Aemond.

"The people of Wintertown were quick to talk after seeing Vhagar round their skies. I had the maid give me a description of what she remembered, and with the help of a few drunks in a lowlife bar I was able to get the information I needed. They tried to flee to a neighboring town... they moved quick on horseback. But Vhagar is quicker."  Aemond seemed proud of the story he retelled.

"And you killed them?" Alyarra asked in pure shock as the man gave her a once over with his eye and nodded.

"Of course I did. No person will ever hurt you, and those who try will meet my sword. Do you understand that?" Aemond asked coldly, in a tone that could only be described as cruel. Aemond Targaryen had killed for her, and now he stood in front of her with the blood of those who tried to attack her on his body.

"You did not have to do that." Alyarra spoke sternly as she dropped the rag from her hand and pulled away from him.

"I did have to. Did you just expect me to let those men run away free after what they tried to do? They would have raped you, Alyarra. Killed you or who knows what else they had planned for you. They had to die for what they tried. It was justice." Aemond's face lacked emotion as he spoke.

"I am your husband now, and I will protect you against everything and anything. I will hear no contest on the matter." Aemond spoke stermly as Alyarra nodded her head slowly. She couldn't deny that it felt good to be protected so fiercely.

As always, Aemond put Alyarra in a conflicting spot. She would never condone murder, but Aemond was right. Those men had come to the castle to hurt her. And it felt so good knowing that he would do anything to protect her. She could not explain it, but Aemond made her feel safe.

"I will prepare you a bath." Alyarra stated simply as Aemond nodded his head. The lady moved to do just that as he shed all of his clothing. The blood had ruined them all.

Aemond entered the bathchamber, and Alyarra was on her knees preparing the water just like he enjoyed it. He watched her intently, admiring every feature that adorned her being.

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. And she was his. His to love, his to cherish, his to protect, his to take care of.

"It's ready. The water is warm." Alyarra spoke softly as Aemond gave her a small smile and stepped into the tub. He tore off his patch and dropped it to his side. As always his sapphire gleamed against the candlelight.

Alyarra remained to the side of it, resting her arm on the ledge as she stared at the man before her. She watched as he slowly scrubbed the blood off his body and then moved behind the tub, taking his silky blonde hair in her hands and washing it gently.

Her touch was gentle against his skin as always. Her touch calmed him. "Do you think me a monster?" Aemond asked, a hint of sadness on his tone ever so clear. The question took Alyarra off guard, and she cocked her head to the side in slight confusion.

"A monster? Why would you ask that?" Alyarra asked him as she gently braided his wet hair together.

"Everything I have done to you. To other people... You think me a monster do you not?" Aemond asked again as Alyarra sighed, as if in deep thought. "Is that what you think of yourself?" Alyarra asked quietly as her fingers ran through his silky strands of hair.

"Do you not?" Aemond questioned further. It was a good question. A hard question.

Alyarra thought Aemond to be a lot of things. But a monster? That was not something she thought him to be. Even if he did all sorts of things that could be considered monstrous.

"No. I do not think you a monster." Alyarra replied as he hummed slightly. "Why not?" Aemond asked.

"Because you are not. You may be a lot of things but a monster is not one of them. Maybe you willingly act like one sometimes... but... I think you only act like a monster because you think that's what people see when they look at you." Alyarra analyzed him as Aemond's face dropped.

He was glad she was behind him working on his hair, because he would hate for her to see his vulnerability.

"What do you see in me? You seem to notice something in me that I am not aware of...." Aemond trailed off as Alyarra dropped his hair and moved to her former position, leaning on the side of the tub. The pair stared into each other's eyes intensely, as if they could see each other's soul.

"When I got to King's Landing... I saw a man. A dutiful prince, rightous even. But as I got to know you after our little walks on the garden, I saw a boy. A maimed boy who was belittled because he didn't fit into a mold. And then... abused because he claimed a dragon whilst he tried desperately to fit in..." Alyarra's voice was soft and careful.

Her fingers were dipped into the water as she swirled it in a circle. Aemond was stoic, but his heart was beating like never before.

Alyarra saw him for who he was: A powerless boy who grew up into a power hungry man.

"It wasn't your fault what happened... I hope you know that." Alyarra whispered as Aemond simply stared at her in a tranced state. "And I see you for who you really are..." Aemond clashed his lips into hers. She was everything. She cared, she was kind, she understood.

"Thank you for seeing me." Aemond whispered as he pulled away, their foreheads connected and there only stood an inch away from their lips.

"You have me. You don't need to grasp for control anymore... You have me." Alyarra told him lovingly as he gave her a small smile.

"And you have me. I would do anything for you, Alyarra Stark. I swear it." Aemond spoke lovingly as Alyarra gave him a wide smile.

"I love you, unconditionally." She whispered. The words rolled out of her tongue like they were always there.

And she meant it. She no longer feared Aemond, she no longer despised him. Maybe she never truly did.

She accepted him for the man that he was, flaws and everything. She let go of every doubt that she had about her husband. This moment here was when she realized that their marriage was not just lust and sex. It was unconditional.

She didn't understand how just a few days ago she was cursing his name for even daring to try and force her into a marriage, and now she was here holding him and telling him she loved him. But she didn't care to understand.

These breathless moments broke her down and brought her to her knees. They showed her the type of love she held for him. After all, the heart wants what it wants. And it always wanted him. Ever since she got to King's Landing.

The insecurities about their love that she felt washed away in the bath, along with the blood that covered his body. And it didn't even make her bat an eye.

-

Later that morning Aemond and Alyarra would sit in Cregan's parlor. Alyarra was bouncing baby Rickon gently as she cradled him in her arms. She would coo every so often or sing him a lullaby. She was enthralled with the little baby. He was the cutest thing she had ever seen.

Aemond would watch her quietly as he sat on a seat a few feet away from her. If the way she treated her newphew was any indicator, then she would be the best mother in all of Westeros. She was sweet and gentle with the babe. Her eyes glimmered as she looked at him lovingly. A few small smiles would creep into his face every so often, but as always he tried to keep his face as stoic as possible.

"Do you wish to hold Rickon?" Alyarra asked as she looked over at Aemond. The man shook his head no once as his eye stared at the babe. "No." He replied coldly, making Alyarra roll her eyes.

"Don't act like you weren't smiling whilst looking at us. Come on... Or do you not plan to hold our child whenever we have one?" Alyarra teased him as a grin he couldn't control crept into his face at the mention of them having children in the future.

"Alright fine." He huffed as he went to sit beside Alyarra, she handed him the baby slowly. Aemond looked down at the baby with an stoic expression on his face. He was so tiny. He was scared of hurting him accidentally. It almost warmed his heart as he looked down at the small human.

"We will be the best aunt and uncle to this little baby." Alyarra cooed as she tugged at the small baby foot. A nephew... A nephew who he didn't despise. He liked the sound of that.

"Lady- or um... Princess Alyarra... it is Rickon's feeding time." The wet nurse said as she stepped into the parlor. Princess. She was a princess. It had all been a haze and she had forgotten her new title.

"Of course." Alyarra said kindly as Aemond gently handed the babe to the wet nurse who took Rickon out of the parlor and into his own nursery. "I like the sound of princess, love. Do you not?" Aemond told her in a low tone with a smirk on his face.

"Mm... your princess makes it even more agreeable." Alyarra flirted back as he moved his hand to sit on top of hers.

The door to the parlor opened as Cregan Stark strutted in. Aemond cursed mentally at his timing and his face turned back into the cold expression that always adorned it.

"Sister." Cregan nodded at his sister as she rose to her feet, going over to him. Cregan embraced her as Aemond watched bitterly. He knew Cregan despised him, and so he despised him back.

"Prince Aemond." Cregan nodded curtly as Aemond returned the nod. "I actually wished to speak with you, before you left for King's Landing this afternoon. May we?" Cregan asked as Aemond eyed him, and rose to his feet. Aemond nodded as both of them turned to Alyarra. 

"I'll leave you to it?" Alyarra said but her tone was not sure. She was fearful of leaving Aemond and Cregan by themselves. What if they teared out each other's throat?

Aemond watched as his wife left the parlor slowly, and then he turned to Cregan who was staring at him with a disdainful expression on his face.

"I know what you did last night, Targaryen." Cregan said bitterly as a smug grin appeared on Aemond's face. Cregan wanted nothing more than to cut that grin off the prince's blade with his own blade.

"That's your grace to you, Lord Stark." Aemond spat as Cregan took a calming breath. Aemond was pushing him, and he knew it well. He enjoyed it even.

"I don't like you. I think you know that, do you not? Not after you defiled my sweet sister before marriage. And not after you terrorized my towns with your dragon all last night." Cregan told Aemond sternly as a smirk crawled into the prince's  face.

"You should be thanking me. I caught the men that wished to hurt my wife, your sister, and I slayed them all with my own bare hands." Aemond said whilst crossing his arms over his chest.

"My men were already on the search for them, you did not have to take your dragon and install fear in my towns." Cregan retorted as Aemond snickered, clearly taking his statement as a joke.

"Your men are imbeciles who couldn't even guard Alyarra's chambers effectively. If they were good knights I wouldn't have taken the task on myself." Aemond spat back at Cregan, who narrowed his eyes on the arrogant prince in front of him.

"If my men are such imbeciles then why does Otto Hightower beg for an alliance between the North and his cause? My army is composed by the finest knights in all of Westeros." Cregan shot back as Aemond rolled his eye one eye.

"My grandsire does not beg. Your men may be the best on the field but face it, they are stupid little shits who couldn't keep rapists out of your own halls." Aemond's tone and his entire demeanor was turning volatile by the second.

"Watch your tone with me, Targaryen." Cregan warned as Aemond laughed dryly and loudly.

"You do not get to scold me on my tone. I am the prince, and a Targaryen. I have been rather lenient with your disrespect but my patience is wearing rather thin." Aemond said menacingly as Cregan was sent over the edge. He grabbed his sword from his scabbard hastily and pointed it at the prince, to his surprise Aemond already had his own sword drawn out.

"You'll regret that." Aemond growled as both of the men held their swords to each other's throat.
Both of them were far too proud and egotistical to admit that both of them wanted the same thing: For Alyarra to be happy. They were fighting for naught, literally. They didn't have to hate each other, it was a disservice to Alyarra.

Cregan was entitled to his hate, in a way. Aemond had risked his sister's honor and virtue. He had taken her maidenhood as if he were entitled to it, and then acted like it was a prize he had earned.

"Lower your sword, Lord Stark. Nothing good will come from you threatening a prince." Aemond taunted as Cregan's nostrils flared in anger. He begrudgingly lowered his sword back to it's scabbard. And Aemond did the same thing.

Aemond didn't really want to wave a white flag with Cregan Stark. But the words Alyarra spoke in the tub lingered in his mind and he knew how much Cregan meant to her.

'You don't have to grasp for control anymore.'

"I want Alyarra to be safe and happy. I will keep her safe, and try with all my might to make her happy. I will do everything in my grasp to make sure she is the most spoiled woman in all of Westeros. I will cherish her and love her until the day I die. I hope you can see that." Aemond was truthful in his words, and he hoped that Cregan would accept him a her husband and protector.

"Would you die for her?" Cregan asked, and to him, this was the most important question. Every man could kill for his love, killing was nothing.

But not every man would die for his love.

"I would... I would let myself be killed everyday if it meant she was alright. I would do everything and anything for Alyarra. She is the most perfect thing that has ever walked into my life, and I swear to the Gods that I would die for her." Aemond was truthful in his words.

She was everything he ever wanted. And he would never let her go.

"You better be speaking the truth." Was all Cregan answered.

-

The ride back to King's Landing was an easy one. And this time around Alyarra didn't feel like throwing up every time that Vhagar would take a dip down the sky. Or every time she would gain more altitude.

Alyarra was plenty sad to leave Winterfell in such a haste, as she couldn't even stay three days. She really didn't wish to leave Cregan and baby Rickon alone but Aemond wanted to leave Winterfell after the attempted attack and he left Alyarra no room for contest. She pleaded and pleaded but when the time came, he mounted her on Vhagar's back and set for his home.

Aemond was relieved when he saw the Red Keep in the distance, and he was happy when he landed his dragon back into the pit. He had hated Winterfell and he was glad to be back in the commodity of his own home.

It was almost nightfall when they arrived and so when they set foot back in the castle the knights let the pair know that the royal family was having supper in the Queen's apartments. It was as good a time as any to let his family know about their hasty marriage.

The pair made their way up to Queen Alicent's apartments and Alyarra could feel her heart beating uncontrollably as they reached the doors. The Queen will demand answers as to why they married in Winterfell by the faith of the Old Gods and not in King's Landing; And Aemond will most likely have to confess what they did.

The guards opened the door to reveal Queen Alicent, Ser Otto, Helaena, and Aegon sitting around the table quietly. Alicent stood up as she spotted her son and Lady Alyarra and rushed to greet her son.

"You're back! That was a short trip." Alicent stated as she kissed her son's cheek. Aemond gave his mother a small smile as she grabbed his hands in hers.

"Winterfell is... something. I am elated to be back home." Aemond huffed as Alicent gave him a smile turned to look at Alyarra.

"How is Lord Cregan? I know the loss of his wife must be terrible on him. Especially with a new babe." Alicent's tone was sweet and kind, a tone she always showed Alyarra. The girl gave her grace a grateful smile.

"He is in mourning of course, but staying strong for the baby." Alyarra answered as Alicent nodded her head. "If there is anything the Starks need, you must tell me. I am eager to help." The queen replied kindly, as Alyarra nodded her head.

"You must be famished. Do join us." Ser Otto spoke as the servants rushed to set places up for Alyarra and Aemond. The pair sat down side by side and ate quietly as did the rest of the family. Alyarra could feel Aegon's eyes on her but she chose to ignore him. As the family finished their supper Aemond stood up hastily.

"I have a toast to make." His voice was stern and loud, commanding the attention of every person in the room. Alyarra's heartbeat quickened as she glanced at him. Her eyes found the queen, and the woman looked intrigued at what h

"I would like to raise my cup to my lady wife, Princess Alyarra Stark. The new princess will be formidable performing her duties. She is kind, beautiful, and wise. I am a lucky man to be able
to call her my wife. Lucky to father her children, lucky to love her." Aemond had a teasing smile on his face.

Horrified looks from everyone in the room but Alyarra could only look at Aemond.

Aemond's eye and hers met, and they couldn't leave eachother. His gaze would not break from hers, it was like everyone else had disappeared and only them remained.

"Wife? The wedding has not been planned yet... I get you-" Aemond cut his mother off shamelessly.

"We were wed in Winterfell." Was all he said. He didn't care to explain. His eye did a once over of the room. Helaena looked pleased, his mother horrified, his grandsire looked ecstatic, and Aegon... Aegon looked like he wanted to die.

"Everybody out except for Aemond and my father." Alicent ordered in an angry tone. Helaena, Aegon, and Alyarra each scrambled from the room. Alyarra was haste in her exit, as she did not wish to be confronted by Aegon.

And Aemond... Aemond was waiting with a smug look on his face as his mother turned to him whenever they were left alone.

"What is the meaning of this?"

-

Author's note:

I hope this longes chapter is to your enjoyment! I have a few questions for my reader!

Would you guys like a playlist for this book? Because I have some songs that inspire me that I think match their love story perfectly.

If you have read any of my other books, which one if your favorite? Who's your fav OC?

If you wish to see more content and SPOILERS head to my tiktok: @purplewriter_xx

Thank you!