Chapter Text
Aemond had no plans of bashing Jaecerys' head with the rock he was holding and only wanted to scare off the other children who were beating him up. He was outnumbered, hurt and dizzy with a kind of liquid heat that he had never felt before in his short twelve years of life. It started at the lower part of his stomach and slowly spread itself to his lower limbs until his knees started to buckle.
His senses turned sharper and the smell of blood, dirt, sweat and fire made his stomach roll and he almost vomited. Jaecerys' haggard breaths sounded sharp in his ears and his grip on his nephew's neck loosened a bit in guilt.
The rush of adrenaline of the fight having left him and the suddenness of the foreign heat inside his body made his limbs weaken and he found himself not wanting to fight his nephews and their step-sisters anymore. He looked at Lucerys who was breathing harshly, eyes dilated. He was eyeing Aemond and the rock in his hand fearfully, as if waiting for him to bash Jaecerys' head open with it. Baela and Rhaena were both glaring at him, hate clear in their eyes.
Vhagar does not belong to you, he wanted to taunt them. A dragon is not an inheritance or an object to be claimed by a former rider's children. I've claimed her and you have no right to accuse me of thief.
He also wanted to hurt his nephews more, for all the bullying and insults he suffered because of them. He wanted to make them pay and beg for his forgiveness like the pathetic bastards that they truly were.
But Aemond was tired and he didn't want to fight anymore. Instead he wanted to run to his mother's warm arms and sleep for the next following days.
He started to lower his rock and that was the moment Jaecerys threw sands at his eyes, blinding him.
Then something sharp bit the back of his neck, excruciating pain flared from the spot and he screamed.
And then the darkness claimed him.
The moment Aemond woke up, it was to see his distressed mother alternating between fretting beside his bed and glaring at his half–sister, who was watching him with calculating eyes. Daemon was standing beside her, his arms crossed and a knowing smirk on his face. His uncle seemed to be finding whatever the current situation was as something amusing.
His head was already clearer than when he against his nephews but the pain on his bandaged neck hadn't decreased. What were his half–sister and uncle doing inside the room with him and his mother?
"I will ask Father to announce the betrothal between him and Luke tomorrow, " Rhaenyra said after a tense silence that engulfed the room. "The two of them will get married after Luke turned sixteen and they will live in Driftmark. I hope that you'll have no objection to their marriage, your Highness."
"I have none, my daughter, " Alicent promptly answered and yet the fire in her eyes continued to burn. But in the end she lowered her eyes and held her tongue, as what was always expected of a proper Omega like her.
Daemon still had his infuriating smirk as he walked towards Alicent and offered a small ornate box made of mother–of–pearl. "A gift and an apology for my daughters harming your Omega son. I hope that you'll forgive us, your Highness," he said, yet the irony in his tone didn't match his words and Aemond bristled in anger.
Wordlessly, Alicent took the gift, her fingers pale and trembling slighty.
Aemond wanted to comfort her, but no words would leave his tongue. Him? An Omega? But that couldn't be! He didn't want to be an Omega! He wanted to be either an Alpha or a Beta, free from the shackles of society and become a fearless warrior defeating and killing the realm's enemies while riding Vhagar in future battlefields. He didn't want to become an Alpha's whore and babymaker, staying inside the four corners of the Alpha's house while said Alpha drank and cheated on him with other Omegas.
But most of all, he didn't want to become like his mother, always lonely and miserable while taking care of her old husband who had been nothing but disdainful and unworthy of her loyalty and faith.
But it is over now. He presented as an Omega and not only that, he had also bonded with his hated bastard nephew.
Daemon bowed before Alicent and turned towards his bed–ridden nephew. The Alpha mockingly smiled. "I've never thought that one day you'll present as an Omega and that you would bond with an Alpha so young, nephew. I've always thought that you would turn out to be an Alpha like me. But your designation wouldn't really stop you from following your desires, will it?"
"Prince Daemon, enough, "Rhaenyra hissed, shooting the other Alpha an angry look. "We need to leave and talk to father about this matter now. Let's go."
The Crown Princess and the Rogue Prince both bid the Queen and her son goodbye, but neither replied, Alicent too distressed to say another word and Aemond seething so much that he wanted to throw a tantrum an ask Vhagar to burn down everything and everyone.
The following day, King Viserys made an announcement about his second son's engagement with the Crown Princess' second son. They would be married after eight years and after Lucerys turned sixteen.
Lucerys refused to look at him, his head lowered and eyes covered by his brown curls while Aemond was content to pretend that his nephew didn't exist.
After the announcement of the betrothal between the two Targaryean princes, Rhaenyra and her sons left for Dragonstone. Aemond refused to say goodbye to them, choosing instead to hide inside his room. Aegon laughed at him and sweet Helaena sneaked some cakes for him to eat, naively hoping that the sweet cakes the three of them used to share with each other would comfort him.
He didn't want to see his mother, who always had a sorrowful look on her eyes everytime she saw him.
That night, he opened the ornate box his uncle had given him as an apology for his daughters' actions against him.
Inside was a pretty silver necklace with a sapphire the size of a pigeon's egg as its pendant. It was very beautiful and utterly Valyrian. It was also one of Laena's favorite jewelries, he remembered.
He shut the box closed, put it under his bed and decided that he would forget about it for the rest of his life.