Chapter 1: Golden Cage to a Prison
Chapter Text
“There is nothing to be done, your grace.” The Grand Maester says.
“There must be! We can not back down now.” Alicent cries.
The council room is dark and cold. And all those sat around it knew what their fate might be. War had been raging on for months and months now, and it was not looking up for the Hightowers and their allies.
“Each day more and more of the lords of Westeros turn and pledge themselves to the bitch of Dragonstone. They have more dragons than us, more land, and more soldiers. We are but waiting fish to be stabbed and roasted in dragon-fire.” The Grand Maester adds.
Aegon, sitting at the head of the table with his head held in his hands snorts.
“That is quite uplifting. Thank you for the visuals, Grand Maester Orwyle.”
Otto leans forward then, hand tapping in an annoying pattern upon the council table.
“I might have a solution.”
Everyone turns their head to look at the old man. War had not been kind to Otto Hightower. He was looking older and more frail by the day. But where his body began to fail, he grew angrier and more ferocious with time. The alpha still had many more years left, if he had anything to say about it.
“Well, grandfather? Please enlighten us with your idea that is going to save us.” The alpha King leans back and waits impatiently.
“Aemond.”
“My brother? What could that frigid bitch of an omega do to save us?”
“Aegon!” Alicent chides. “Your brother has done much in your name. He has won us many battles.”
“That’s only because Rhaenyra’s soldiers are too scared to catch whatever disease has caused Aemond to have such a cold cunt.”
“Aegon!”
“What? It’s true!”
Alicent just sighs and rubs her temple to rid herself of the oncoming headache.
“Please continue, father.” She gestures at Otto.
“Aemond is an omega. A male one at that. The first male omega Targaryen in generations. The blacks wouldn’t want to kill him either way. He would make a good prize for any who manages to catch him.”
“What are you suggesting.” Alicent asks with hesitation.
“Offer Aemond up to the bitch queen and her rogue prince.” Otto declares.
“You mean to give my son up to the blacks and what? Let him be their whore?” Alicent snaps.
“If that is what they wish for, then yes. But on our terms. We would offer them Aemond, but in return they will spare our lives.”
“How do you know they would agree to these terms?” The Grand-Maester asks.
“Male omegas are rare, and not even they would pass up an opportunity to have him. Plus, they have been waiting for months to get ahold of him. Ever since their precious little Lucerys died.” Otto continues.
“You may be right.” Alicent whispers. “I would rather have all my children alive than have them butchered like common criminals in front of me. I will send a raven tonight with our terms.”
“Council dismissed.”
—————————————————————
Aemond pulls away from the door where he had been stood listening. The shock and sadness coursing through him make him shake. He could not believe what he had just overheard.
They wish to let Rhaneyra and Daemon take me as a prisoner? As a peace offering? Why… His thoughts run a mile a minute as he staggers away and begins to run down the hallway.
They are my family. Surely they wouldn’t give me up like that?
But Aemond knew the answer. He had known the answer since he had presented as an omega several months previously.
It had been a shock of course to everyone, him presenting as an omega, and at such a late age too. Most people thought he would turn out to be a beta, seeing as how he was still 20 and yet to present. But he had thought, in his dreams, that he might be an alpha. For surely, if Aegon turned out to be an alpha, how could he present as anything less?
But that day in the training yard, when fever overcame his senses and his body betrayed him, he knew.
People looked at him differently now. He had once been a source of pride for the residents of the Red Keep. A fierce, loyal dragon. A warrior and the most studious of scholars. But ever since presenting as an omega, they only looked at him with scorn. Omegas were not supposed to spend their days in the training field or in battle as he had. They were supposed to be soft, sweet, and submissive. They were supposed to want to carry innumerable children happily and with grace. Yet he was none of these things.
His mother tried to make him listen to his omega side after he presented. She had sat down with him many times and tried to explain what an omega’s duties were. But he refused and he didn’t listen. He was still Prince Aemond. Warrior son of the late King Viserys. And if anyone thought that his womb was now the most important piece of him? Well, they could gladly step in front of his sword.
But now, he knew that not even his blade would protect him. He was just a possession to be traded when it suited his family and the council.
I could run. He thinks. I could run far away and never come back. Take Vhagar over the sea and find somewhere in Essos to hide away for the rest of my life.
But as appealing as that sounded in his head. He knew doing so would bring all the rage of Rhaenyra Targaryen down on his family. And he could not watch his family suffer. No matter what they wanted to force him to do.
But the fate that had now become his future? It was terrifying. He had no illusions of hope that the Black Queen would be kind to him. That family had no reason to be. Not when he had killed their darling son Lucerys, accident or no. Whatever it was that they chose to do to him, he knew he would not have a pleasant experience. But for his mother, and sister especially, he would do anything to save them. So if this was his duty now, he would obey and not complain.
Aemond’s sleep is restless that night, knowing what would be coming for him. He did not want to admit it, but he was scared. Of course he was. Anyone in his situation would be. But he would handle himself with grace and poise. He would allow himself to be taken by Rhaenyra and her kin. And if he was to die? Well...all the better. He would be free from the tortures of the world and the blacks would have gotten what they wanted.
“Aemond, my son. Are you awake?” His mother calls from his chamber door. He closes his eye and takes a shuddering breath.
This is it, I suppose.
“Enter.” He calls.
Alicent enters the room and makes way to sit on his bed beside his prone form. She rests a hand on his shoulder but flinches back when he shakes her off. Just because she was his mother didn’t mean he would not show her how displeased he was at what they were going to do to him.
“I must speak with you.” Alicent says gently.
“Yes?”
“It is about…the blacks. We have found a solution, your Grandfather and I.”
Aemond snorts, and turns to glare at her. “I know, mother. I heard you in the council room.”
The woman pulls back as if she had been slapped. “You heard us?”
Aemond shrugs and sits up, still dressed in his clothing from the previous night.
“Yes. You mean to sell me like a slave to my step-sister.”
“Oh Aemond. It is not that. We have little choice now. We…” She frets.
“Is it not? You know what they will do to me.” He whispers.
“You are her step-brother. You are family. They won’t hurt you.”
“I never thought you so naive, mother. Surely you can’t be so blind to not see what I will endure once they have me in their clutches.” Aemond bites his lips nervously.
“My boy, I do not wish to send you to danger. But this war must end! We have no choice.”
“I know mother.” He takes her hands in his. “And I will do my duty to protect you and the rest of the family. I have tried to prove myself as worthy of your love. And if this is how I can best prove it to you, then I shall. You may exchange me for your lives.” He says sadly.
“Aemond…I….” The woman looks at him with despair.
Aemond pulls himself out of bed and makes way over to his armoir. “It’s alright mother. I love you and I will protect this family. Have you sent the raven yet?”
“Aye. I sent it earlier in the night. I could not sleep.”
“Very well. Then they will be expecting me. I shall leave this morning once I’ve made preparations.”
“So soon? My boy!”
“This war must stop, mother. You and I both know that. There is nothing else to be done for us. And if this last act on my part will save you, then so be it.”
“I…I will let the council know. I will see you soon.”
She leans in to press the gentlest of kisses to his cheek before retreating. Though Aemond could already see the tears welling up in her eyes.
With bones that feel like lead, Aemond begins his preparations. With his fate hanging by a single thread, each action he takes seemed to take longer and more effort than normal. He brushes his hair, before pulling half of it back into a small braid in his normal hairstyle. His sapphire and eyepatch come next. He would not give the blacks the satisfaction of seeing him so vulnerable. Finally, he dresses in his darkest, most stiff leathers. Omega he may be, but he would show the blacks that he was a warrior all the same.
If they planned to kill him? Well, he would die looking as he was, a strong warrior, and a fearsome Targaryen. No simple, simpering omega. Finally, he pulls on his cloak and riding gloves. He goes to attach his sword to his hip but thinks better of it. He would have no use for it any longer. He lovingly sets it on his bed before fleeing the room. The only personal items he takes is a pendant his sister had given him for his eighth name day after he had claimed Vhagar. The pendant held a small handprinted glass. On one side it depicted Vhagar. On the other, Dreamfyre. He takes a shuddering breath before leaving his chambers and making his way to the courtyard. The walk down truly felt like a nightmare.
Most of his family is there waiting for him. Helaena and her three children, his mother, and even Aegon. Otto is nowhere to be found. But Aemond can not find any issue with that. They had never been close and he doesn’t wish for his last moments with his family to be ruined by the alpha’s presence. Aemond only wishes that Daeron was here too. But the young teenager was still in Oldtown. Aegon steps forward first, putting an awkward hand on his younger brother’s shoulder.
“Brother.”
“Aegon….”
“You are stronger than I ever was. You do not have to do this for us.” For once in his life, Aegon looks sad, remorseful, and sober.
“I must do this. For you and Helaena, your children, and mother. I can not let them harm you.”
“But at the expense of your own freedom?”
“At the expense of my own life if needs be. I will not regret this, Aegon. You know I would do anything for this family.”
Aegon pulls him into a tight hug and alpha grips the back of his younger’s brothers head in brotherly affection.
“If we survive this…” Aemond chokes “Then I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. You do not deserve to be sold off like this.”
“It is my fate either way, Aegon. Take care of Helaena and the kids?”Aemond smiles at his big brother, taking in the alpha’s features one last time.
“Of course. I will miss you, baby brother.” Aegon says solemnly.
“As I will miss you. Farewell, my King. Farewell brother.” Aemond steps away and forces the man to release him before he finds himself unable to leave the protective embrace. He moves on to his mother next. He takes her hands in his, placing kisses on the backs of them.
“Mother.”
“My baby boy.” Her lip trembles. “Come here.” The omega takes him into her arms as well, holding on for dear life. The scent of her distress tickles his nose and he holds her tight.
“It is alright, mother. This is my duty. All will be well.”
“No, no, no! Not you. I shouldn’t have agreed to this. You are just a boy.” She begins to cry in earnest. Aemond rubs her back and rests his chin on her head.
“What’s done is done. You will survive without me, mother. Do not mourn me when I am still here in front of you.”
This seems to shake Alicent out of her despair and she nods, pulling back so she can take his face in between her palms, stroking over his high cheekbones.
“You make me proud, Aemond. You always have. And I wish I had said it more. You may be an omega, but you are strong and willful. And I wouldn’t change it for the world. Your life is your own. I should have realized it sooner.”
Aemond smiles sadly at her, pulling her hands from his skin and leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead.
“I love you mother. Take care. If all goes to plan, then you will find yourself alive and with your family. I will do the best I can to ask for your happiness and freedom. Whatever it takes, I will make sure you are able to live out the rest of your days in peace.”
“I love you, my baby.”
Aegon takes Alicent’s hand in his when Aemond releases her to move on to the last four. Jaehaerys and Jaehaera stood on either side of their mother, waiting patiently. He kneels down before them so they are of similar height and wraps them in his arms when they run to him.
“Uncle Aemond. Will you be gone long?” Jaehaera asks, lips turned down into a sad frown.
“I…do not know, sweet one.” He answers. He does not want to lie to them, but he would not reveal such terrible truths to the tiny children.
“Jaehaera and I, we made this for you, Uncle Aemond.” Jaehaerys speaks up next, holding out a messily made circle of twined string in the colors black, red, green and blue. “Black and red for us, green for mother, and blue for you.” Aemond takes it and takes a shuddering breath.
“Thank you, nephew, niece. I will wear it proudly.” He slips the band on his wrist and smiles. “I will miss you both, dearly.”
“Us too!” Jaehaera cries and squeezes him tight.
“Be good for your mother?”
“Anything for you, Uncle Aemond!” Jaehaerys cries.
“Good pups. Thank you, little ones.” Aemond stands again and then reaches out to Maelor. Helaena lets him take him. And Aemond pulls the tiny body into his arms and holds him tight, taking a deep shuddering breath. He would not break down now. He could not. So he strokes the little boy’s hair, presses a kiss to his forehead and holds him a moment longer for comfort before handing him to Helaena who sets the child on her hip.
“Helaena.” He whispers, his voice breaking on the last syllable. The normally touch adverse woman reaches up a hand to rest on his cheek. She smiles at him lovingly.
“My little brother. You are so grown up.”
“You are only two years older than me, ‘laena.” He chuckles.
“Still a baby.” She laughs.
“I’m scared.” He confesses, quietly enough for only her to hear.
“But brave. King’s Landing will not be the same without you.”
“My heart will not be the same without you all.”
Helaena wraps him up in her free arm, trying to comfort him with her scent.
“Fires will burn and stone will crumble. Ash to sand then sand to ash. The red viper weaves through trees of orange and lemon. He will bring you and the strong one home.”
“Helaena?”
“All will work out in the end. When it gets hard, remember your family. I love you, Aemond.” She squeezes him tight before pulling away and falling silent.
“I love you too sister.” Aemond steps away. He turns then, not looking back at his family. He was sure that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from falling at his brother’s feet to beg him to order him to stay.
But he knew he could not. He was doing this for his family. So that they would survive the horror that was to come. He could only hope that this would work. That the blacks would agree to take him as their prisoner in exchange for his families lives being spared. He had always been the strong one. It was always his duty to protect them, no matter his second gender. So he would do this one last thing.
It won’t be so bad. He tells himself.
But he knows, as his feet take him step by step to the Dragonpit, death was at his doorstep now. And he would not be merciful.
Chapter 2: 2
Notes:
Chapter two! This ones rough...
Warnings: Rape/non-con, Daemon being awful, graphic descriptions of abuse, mpreg
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Terror was nothing new to Aemond. His whole life had been spent with bated breath for horrible things to happen. But that is what happened when one lived in King’s Landing, where one wrong look could get someone killed. Just one misspoken word and the Stranger would come for you. Terror was no strange thing to him. But this was so much different. To willingly stray to the Strangers door? He had never felt his heart beat so strongly and quickly.
The second Vhagar touched down on the beaches of Dragonstone, a host of guards looking like they had caught the last fish stood waiting for him. Aemond is only able to press his forehead to Vhagar’s in a silent farewell before they dragged him through the storm to the gates of the castle. The storm seemed to match the emotions swirling around his heart. The rain beat fiercely down on them.
Perhaps the gods cry for my fate? Would they spend time crying over a little omega prince with nothing but a dragon to his name?
Lightning flashed throughout the dark sky, matched with thunder booming in the distance. Perhaps it was a sign. Perhaps the storm was a sign that this would end only in despair for him. He never like the storms. They had always scared him to tears as a small child. They never meant anything good. For as far back as he could remember, storms like this only preceded terrible events.
He could still hear the rain pattering on his childhood room’s window. And at only four years of age he had had the first nightmare that he could really remember. After a particularly windy and wet day, Aegon and his nephews had presented him the ‘pink dread’. It had stormed the day of Lady Laena’s funeral. The same day he claimed Vhagar. But also the same day he had lost his eye. The rain and lighting reminded him of the day he had accidentally killed his younger nephew. A storm raged outside when he had presented as an omega. And now? Well, what would follow still remained to be seen.
As they approached the gates of the castle of Dragonstone, the thunder is joined by a roar unlike any other.
Vhagar. Sweet Vhagar.
The roar had been one of anger, sadness and utter despair. She was a dragon of old Valyria. Perhaps some ancient magic in her blood made it so she knew what his fate would be. He would never see her again. Of that he was sure. And perhaps she knew it too. He could not even give her a proper goodbye. Hopefully she would find someone else worthy of riding her. Perhaps Jaehaerys or Jaehaera.
“Well hello, little nephew. What a prize I must say!” Daemon stood in front of them, smirk firmly in place.
“Uncle Daemon.” He greets with as much confidence as he can muster, though his voice comes out more wispy and quiet than he had intended.
“You came here all on your own? I’m surprised. When I heard you had finally presented I had expected a meek, fearful boy to show up. Aren’t omegas supposed to be docile and skittish?” Daemon saunters forward, taking Aemond’s chin in his fingers, the grip rough and menacing.
“I am not a normal omega.” Aemond narrows his eye, not looking at his uncle. And truly he wasn’t. He was tall, angular, and strong, if but a bit slender. He had none of the usual softness and sweet features most omegas had. Not that it bothered him. Aemond was happy the way he was. His nature made most alphas cower and scurry away from him.
“No! Unfortunately not. But that is something we will fix.” Daemon releases Aemond to stalk around him like he was predator and Aemond his prey. “I must say, I could not contain my surprise when your whore of a mother’s letter arrived. Giving up her only son in exchange for her life? What a terrible parent.”
“She loves me. And I love her!” Aemond exclaims, before shutting up and attempting to gain control of his emotions.
“Interesting. You’ve got spirit, boy. I must admit.”
Aemond stands tall and takes a shaky breath. He was still not sure whether Daemon would strike him down where he stood or save that for later. But he must bargain for his families safety. He must ensure their lives would be saved.
“Do you agree to my mother’s terms?” He questions.
“Hmmm, perhaps. I haven’t decided yet.”
At this Aemond grew desperate. “Please! They don’t want to fight you. They will give up the throne. It is Rhaenyra’s to take. All I ask is that you spare their lives. Please, Uncle Daemon! I will do anything you ask of me. You can even kill me if that is your wish! But please, let my family live. Banish them if you must but don’t kill them. I’ll truly do anything.” He begs.
“Anything?” Daemon asks, with a sickening smile.
“Yes. Anything.” Aemond bows his head to the man.
“Very well. Guards! Take him inside. You know where to go.” The rogue prince orders.
But before the guards can take Aemond inside, Daemon leans close and rubs his nose over Aemond’s scent gland, causing him to shiver in disgust.
“Oh the guards are going to have fun with you, little omega. You are ours now.”
Aemond gulps, but has no time or thought to respond before the men cover his head with a hood, blocking his sight and dragging him away. When they next remove the hood he is in a tiny cell covered in straw over the stone floor. The guards shove him inside before cackling and slamming the barred cell door shut.
“Good luck, little Targaryen. Your master will not be gentle. Nor will we.” One of them cackles before he is left alone.
Aemond looks around him and shudders. It was dark and cold, though he could see a bit of light from a torch hanging on the wall outside the cell. Well, at least he wasn’t dead yet, so that was a plus. But he wasn’t sure this was going to be any better. He certainly had not expected a warm welcome by his older sister and uncle. But this was terrifying. Not knowing what was going to happen to him. Aemond turns and goes to one of the corners and sits down.
And he waits and waits. It must have been hours that he sat there alone and no one comes to him. But he was grateful for that. The more he is left alone, the more he is safe. His thoughts drift to his family. It had only been a few hours. But still he was worried for them. He could only pray that the Blacks honored their terms. After a while, the sound of slow sauntering footsteps come from the hallway.
Daemon.
If not for the sound of his gait which was easy to recognize, then his scent certainly gave it away. The alpha smelled of choking smoke, something metallic and dust. At least to Aemond. It made his nose twitch and itch. He covers his nose when the alpha opens the door, glaring down at him with maniacal glee.
“I see you’ve gotten comfortable, little nephew. I hope you are enjoying your new accommodations?”
Aemond stays quiet, forcing himself to keep eye contact, though the alpha’s intimidating pheromones cause his inner omega to whine and curl in fear.
“I have spoken to my dear lady-wife. Turns out she couldn’t care less about you. She said I could kill you if I wished. But that would be too easy. Too quick a death for a kinslayer like you. Our loving Luke surely suffered in his death. So I too will make you suffer. You will never see the sunlight again, little omega. I hope you realize that.”
“Whatever you wish to do with me,” Aemond starts bravely. “Then I will accept. Just please spare my family.
“I will think about it.” Daemon sneers down at him, before crouching in front of the omega. “But first you must do something for me.”
“Anything. Please!” Aemond pleads, his omega crying out to him in fear and sorrow.
Daemon smirks and runs a finger down Aemond’s scarred cheek in a mockery of affection.
“Anything? Well. In that case, remove your clothing.” Daemon demands stepping back to watch him.
“What?”
“You heard me. Remove your clothing. Or should I send Caraxes to kill your family now?”
Aemond shakes his head in horror. And though he hesitates, fear causing his movements to be slow and stilted, he begins to undo the clasps on his leather riding jacket. One by one, the clasps are undone revealing the simple tunic beneath. Daemon smirks when the jacket falls away. Aemond takes a shuddering breath when he lifts up his tunic next, throwing it to the side. Daemon steps forward then, licking his lips. His rough fingertips land on his chest and trace over his pale skin.
“Beautiful, even if you don’t look like an omega should. But don’t worry, we will shape you to be the submissive whore you were meant to be.”
Daemon crawls over him, taking a handful of his long silver hair in his hand and pulling his head back.
“Gods, you smell sweet. So scared and angry. I wish I could devour you, omega. I wish I could fuck you and make you mine.” He rubs his crotch against Aemond’s still covered hip.
Aemond’s inner omega weeps and he tries to curl up on himself, but strong hands force him back down. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. His innocence wasn’t supposed to be taken from him by force.
“But unfortunately I can not take you as I wish. I have a wife and I am loyal only to her.”
Aemond forces himself not sigh in relief. Perhaps his virtue would be safe. He had kept himself pure, the silly dream of perhaps finding a mate that didn’t mind his scarred face and not so omegan attitude one that lived deep down in his heart.
That hope is cut to pieces almost immediately.
“But my guards. Several of them haven’t been able to fuck a wet pussy in months. I suppose you’ll do, even if you are more sharp angles than they would prefer.” Daemon slides a finger down his ribcage and under the waistband of his trousers.
“Oh yes. You will be great fun for them indeed.”
A single tear creeps down Aemond’s cheek when Daemon smirks and pulls off of him. The alpha stalks to the door and calls out around the corner.
“He’s all yours boys. Don’t break him too much. I want him to suffer, but not perish yet.”
Daemon exits the cell and in his place three gold-cloaks enter the cell. Three tall, intimidating and horrid smelling alphas. Aemond pushes himself against the corner of his cell and holds out his hands in a defensive fighting position.
“How cute. Do you smell his distress? Poor little omega with nowhere to run. Grab him Lionel. I will have my turn first.” The largest of the three says.
I will die before I show them fear
If this was his fate, to be some random alphas whore, then he certainly would not go down without a fight. He would go down kicking and screaming.
——————————
2 Months After Aemond Arrived at Dragonstone:
He was with child. Aemond was sure of it. Though little light filtered into his damp and dirty cell, it did nothing to hide the state of his body. From the first night in the cell, he had been left without his clothing. It was hard to ignore his body in such a state.
In the past two months, a guard had only deemed it necessary to wash him twice. And even then he had only thrown a bucket of cold, soapy water over him. But the last time had been weeks ago. So by now his skin was covered in dirt and grime, barely an inch of clean and clear flesh visible.
What was not covered in dirt was covered in bruises from where he had been held down by a guard while another took their pleasure in him. Bruises from where the guards and his uncle had beat him into submission. And scars littered his body from when Daemon had been in one of his ‘moods.’
Alongside that, Aemond was severely malnourished and his ribs stuck out. His strong muscled abdomen had given way to a concave and soft belly. That is till the babe inside him began to grow.
Daemon and his guards didn’t visit him every day, thank the gods. But they visited often enough that Aemond was always on guard, waiting for the alphas to come take from him what they wanted. He was mostly left alone, except when the guards and his uncle decided it was time for some fun.
At least Daemon only beats me. I could not stand it if he joined in with the guards. Their touch is bad enough. He thinks.
It was lonely and quiet in the dungeons where he was. All he could do was sit and think and sleep. But now there was a life inside him, a parasite, if you asked him. And it seemed all he could focus on was the face that he did not want it. He hated it. He was scared of it. He hated how it made him feel.
When he had presented all those months ago, he had made a promise to himself that he would not allow anyone to place a babe inside him. He saw the torture that his mother went through when giving birth to Daeron. He heard the story of Visery’s first wife and her death. He would rather die by feeding himself to his own dragon. But here he was, belly growing and the flesh firm.
”I will never carry a child within me, mother. I refuse!” He had said to Alicent once.
We are omegas, Aemond. That is our lot in life. And we must bear it with grace and poise.” Had been her response.
Aemond had only scoffed and told her that any alpha that tried to get him with child would meet their end at his sword. But look at him now…
And if it wasn’t the state of his body that proved a bastard child rested within him, then it was the obvious morning sickness. He could not keep anything down. Not that they fed him much anyways. But anything he tried to consume just came back up. He was nauseous. So nauseous. A pile of bitter vomit had found it’s home in the far corner of the cell. And the smell of it just made his situation all the more terrible.
Aemond had fought in the beginning. Of course he had fought! He wouldn’t take the torture laying down and willing. No, absolutely not. But after the first month, he knew it would become useless. The fight was driven out of him violation by violation, beating by beating. He felt little more than a shell now. But perhaps that was alright. If he was a shell, it would be harder to break him.
But even so, he was still scared. Oh so scared.
Each time the alpha came to take his body, he felt his heart breaking a little more, the omega in him crying out in distress and misery.
Something else always on his mind was his family. What had happened to them? Had the Blacks let them live? He asked many times what had been done. But Daemon never answered him, only smirking and continuing his beatings. The guards never spoke to him either, other than to sneer and make fun of the ugly, omega prisoner.
He prayed that his family was alright, that they had been sent away from King’s Landing to live the rest of their days in peace. It was why he had come here in the first place. Each night, he prayed to the old gods, the seven, any deity he could think of that his sacrifice had been worth it. But at times, he regretted coming here. But each time that thought entered his mind, he shoved it as far away as he could. Everything that was happening to him? It was for his family. He should never regret saving them.
But sometimes it was so hard. When his uncle traced a finger in mock affection down his cheek, when the guard’s large hands pressed bruises into his hips, when their cock’s split him in two and blood ran down his thighs. It hurt and he wished he was a child again. He wished he could run into his mother’s arms and hide from the world.
But that was not to be his life. And he is once again reminded of that fact when footsteps come echoing down the hallway. It was one of Daemon’s guards. This one’s scent was overbearingly strong. He smelled up bitter rain and poisonous weeds. His scent wafted in from between the bars of the cell door.
“Oh little omega!” The guard Lionel calls out, pulling the door open and looking down at him with glee. “It was such a hard week without you. Such a hard week without your tight cunt to find comfort in.”
Lionel crouches in front of him and licks his lips. To which Aemond averts his eye and wraps his arms around his waist protectively, ignoring the man.
“What? No welcome home?”
Aemond stays silent.
“Welcome me home, little dragon. Or do you want me to sail to King’s Landing to find pleasure in your family? Perhaps I will start with your sweet sister.”
“No!” He cries. “Please, I’m sorry!”
“Then say it.”
“Welcome home alpha.”
Lionel sneers and grips the back of Aemond’s head, the once soft silvery strands now drab, grimy, and coarse.
“That’s a good omega. Now, I prefer action not words. On your knees.”
Aemond struggles to his knees, pushing himself off the cold stone floor with his weak arms. He kneels in front of the older man, waiting for instruction.
“Good boy. Open your mouth for me.” Lionel takes Aemond’s jaw in hand and pries it open with his fingers. Aemond closes his eye as the guard undoes the laces of his own trousers and pulls out his cock. “Suck. And if I feel a hint of teeth I will pull out each one with a pair of pliers.”
Aemond nods and forces himself to breathe through his nose as the alpha shoves his hard cock down his throat. His mind floats and he forces himself to go somewhere else. This was a monotonous action. He would think of something else. Somewhere else. But the thought of his family and their loving presence leaves a bad taste in his mouth. He would not desecrate their memory by associating it with the violation of the guards.
The guard leaves him on the ground when he finishes. Seed splattered across his face and dripping off his chin. Mixing in with the tears and dirt that streaked his gaunt cheeks. He was dirty, disgusting. A whore like Daemon and the guards proclaimed him to be.
He had changed, no matter his wish to deny it. He was no longer the strong warrior that had left King’s Landing upon Vhagar’s back. He was not the strong willed omega son of the King. No. He was nothing more than a whore, a broodmare to be filled by any alpha’s seed. Submission did not come easily to Aemond. And he warred with himself every day. But he had no fight left. Nothing to prove what he once was. And if he could save his family this way? Then so be it.
Notes:
I don't know if I should say "I hope you enjoyed this chapter" cause it's so sad. So instead, I will say that I hope you don't hate me too much and that I hope it didn't ruin your day?
<3
Chapter 3: 3
Notes:
This chapter is basically just Aemond hurt/comfort without the comfort. (Well actually there is a little comfort.)
Trigger Warnings: Graphic descriptions of the result of Aemond being held captive for months, miscarriage, suicidal thoughts.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
4 Months After Aemond Arrived at Dragonstone:
Through the meager light of the torches in the hallway, one would be able to see a pale and broken form lying on the ground of the cell. Far back in the corner, and so still that one would think it dead. But it was not. The man on the ground was quite alive despite all the evidence against him. Skinny and dirty, broken and beaten. How could he be alive? Even more so with the bloody pool beneath his body.
But despite all that, he was alive and breathing. Even if he was starting to wish he wasn’t.
The baby is gone. Aemond shivers as he wraps his arms around his middle.
After Daemon had left him the night before, kicking him in his side one last time as he went, he had begun to feel sharp pains in his womb. It was a terrible and frightening pain. Like nothing he had felt before aside from his first heat when he had presented. The pain had gone on and on for hours. But he was so weak, he could barely whimper, much less try to find a more comfortable position to wait it out in.
And then there was the blood. The blood had flowed down his thighs in slow rivers. And though it had eventually stopped, he had become so lightheaded that he had blacked out at some point. And when he had woken, the pain had lessened, though there were still the occasional cramp here and there. And thankfully, it seemed the blood flow had finally stopped.
The frail omega sighs, squeezing his eyes shut and taking a deep breath. His lip wobbles.
Do not cry. Do not cry. They do not deserve your tears. He thinks angrily.
But it is no use, and tears start to flow in quick succession down his dirty and bruised cheeks. He was not sad for losing the baby. Not when it had been put in him against his will in the first place. No. He despaired for his freedom and all the choices in his life that had been ripped from him. Dirty and sullied. Everything he had promised he would never be. He remembers his promise to himself that he would allow no alpha to touch him like that. That he would not allow anyone to place a baby within him. Now everything had turned around. Everything was wrong.
Four months into this torture and he could barely remember what being free felt like. He forgot how much he adored training in the yard with Ser Criston. How much he adored acting the intimidating man. He had been a warrior. What had happened to him?
Now instead of a warrior, he was just a dirty omega who had been beaten bloody and broken. Now he was just a womb for any alpha who desired it. Now he sat in his own filth and fluids as if he was nothing more than the poorest, most decrepit beggar in Flea Bottom.
And to add insult to injury, they had finally removed the eyepatch covering his face. The sapphire they had left in at least. But now he was as naked as could be. With no protection for his failing body.
And oh how he missed his sweet Vhagar. There had been no word from Daemon or the guards on what had happened to his beautiful, fierce dragon. But he could not feel her anymore. The connection was still there. But he had not felt anything from her side in more than a month.
What have they done with you, old girl? Did you escape? Oh gods I hope so. I hope you left and flew far, far away from here. I will miss you for however many days left I have. And I hope you find someone else worthy of riding you.
If for some reason he survived this horrible torture. If by some miracle he was freed from this cell and sent away, Vhagar would surely never want him again. She would not need a rider who was nothing but a weak, little boy. This frail creature that he had become. She deserved a warrior, strong and confident. Nothing less.
He begins to cry in earnest at the thought of never seeing Vhagar again. She was the only one who had truly understood him. The only one whose bond had never wavered. She never expected anything of him. She never cared for his status or how he had presented as an omega. She loved him through everything. How would he get by without her? Through his tears and his blurred eye, he catches slight movement in the other corner of his cell. He flinches and curls in on himself, but when nothing happens he looks up again. Still blurry and teary, he has to swipe at his eye to see clearer. To see. But when he does, he wishes he had never opened his eye.
For across the cell another broken and bloodied figure stands.
This can’t be.
The bloodied figure raises it’s dark, curly head and Aemond gasps in horror. The small form of Lucerys Velaryon stands there, eye unfocused but gazing in his direction.
“Luke?” Aemond rasps out.
Luke frowns and tilts his head. The boy looks so real, but more ethereal and paler than normal.
Is this an illusion? Is my mind creating this image?
“Uncle, what happened? Why am I here?”
The broken figure darts his head back and forth, the blood soaking his form dripping down into the cell floor. He looks lost and confused.
“Uncle Aemond. Where am I?”
“Luke….” Aemond gasps in a shuddering breath.
This can’t be real. He’s dead. He’s dead. Luke’s dead.
“Why did you do this to me, uncle?” Luke pouts and looks sadly at him.
Aemond flinches again, images flooding his mind from his flight over Shipbreaker’s Bay. His tears start anew as he remembers Luke’s cry as Vhagar flew towards him and the way it was abruptly stopped when the dragon’s massive jaws crunched over little Arrax and his young rider.
“No, no. No! I din’t mean it. Luke I didn’t mean it!” He cries out, heart squeezing in pain.
“You killed me. Why did you kill me?” Luke sobs, tears streaking down the bloody cheeks.
“I didn’t want it! Please, Luke, please. I did not mean to!” Aemond begs.
This time, the illusion of Luke does not respond. He only looks despairingly at the omega on the floor.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I wish I could take it back, nephew. Gods, I would have killed myself before harming a single hair on your head. You did not deserve it. No. You never deserved what I did to you.” Aemond gasps out, speaking taking so much of a toll on his body. But he continues anyways. “You didn’t deserve it. I did. But I am paying for it now, I think. I started this bloody war. It is only my fault that you are gone, that I am here.”
Aemond tries to push himself to his knees, struggling heavily to get himself off the ground. And when he does, he presses his forehead reverently to the floor in a bow.
“I wish I could ask for your forgiveness, though deserving of it I know I am not. But you are gone. I hope you are at peace, Luke. You out of all of us deserve that.” The ethereal figure of Luke begins to shimmer though Aemond does not notice yet. “If this is my penance for my sins, then I will not complain. I’m sorry Luke. I’m so…..no!” Aemond has looked up now and the lonely figure is barely visible at all now.
“No! No! Luke, don’t leave me! Please don’t leave me alone!” He reaches up a hand to try and touch him.
But then the figure dissipates altogether and Aemond collapses onto the ground, wailing loudly in despair. It was an illusion, something his mind created of course. But even then, it hurt him to see the boy and have him disappear again. It was as if his own mind was mocking him for his sins.
Aemond curls back in on himself and thinks of all the lives that have been sacrificed for his pettiness. For all the sweet children who had died in this horrid war. All because he couldn’t let something that had happened 10 years ago go. He sobs and sobs, unable to stop himself, spurred on by the pain in his limbs and womb. Perhaps one of these days too his life would find it’s end. He could only hope he would not be made to suffer for years and years. Even if he did deserve it.
———————————————
6 Months After Aemond Arrived at Dragonstone:
He was with child again. It could be any numbers of the guards whose spawn it was. They had rarely left him alone in the past weeks. From morning till night, they would visit him at random intervals to hurt him and mock him, always leaving him worse for wear.
After the last child that was lost, he had worried that a new life would start growing inside him. And now that it had, he was terrified. He did not hate the small life in his womb, even if it was against his character to want such a thing. But he could not bare it if the child was to be born into this abhorrent world. He could not do that to a child. It was he who deserved this life, not the child.
Even though it made him sick to even think about, he hoped the child would pass peacefully in his womb. That it would be saved from crawling into a world that would destroy it. Who knew what the guards or Daemon would do to a child borne from him?
Aemond was sicker than he had been last time. He could barely hold his head up to keep the vomit from choking him to death. He was all but wasting away from the abuse he had been receiving. If anything, he was more skeleton than human now.All of his bones protruded in an ugly fashion out of his skin. And his skin was paper thin and all but translucent.
He shivered in the cell. He was sure had a cold. It was winter now as far as he could tell. The cold of the cell had only gotten worse over the last weeks. And the cold water thrown over him just last week had certainly not helped. And he was unable to stop coughing, blood staining his palm each time.
Gods. What is happening to me?
How was it possible that he was still alive? With the amount of dried blood that stained the cell floors, he should have been dead ages ago. But it seemed the stranger did not want his despicable soul yet. If not even the stranger would take him, then who would?
Perhaps I will waste away until I disappear altogether. Wouldn’t that be nice? He shivers as a cold draft wafts over him.
But then the sound of the cell unlocking causes him to open his eye. Daemon sneers down at him with his usual malicious grin.
“Traitor. I heard from a little birdie that you were with child again. How sad. Poor little omega can’t even stop himself from getting pregnant. What a disgrace. You are lucky I am feeling generous today. I don’t think I will beat you this time. I will save that for tomorrow. Let me see you.”
Daemon grabs him by his hair and pulls until he is forced to unwind his body from it’s curled up position on the floor. The older prince shoves him onto his back and looks down at him with disgust.
“Gods you smell. When was the last time you were bathed?”
Just last week, but maybe if you gave me a proper bath. I wouldn’t smell like a disease.
“Even your pretty omega scent can’t cover up the shit and piss and blood.” Daemon trails a hand over his belly, where a teeny tiny bump was beginning to show. “Gods you are sick. How could a child willingly thrive in your body.”
Aemond whimpers and tries to push the hand off of him. But Daemon only smacks him and pushes against his stomach, causing Aemond to whimper in pain.
“What a whore you are. I can’t even look at you. I will be back later, baby nephew. Enjoy the silence and peace while you can.” Daemon growls before throwing him to the floor and stalking out of the cell.
Aemond is left on the ground, shivering and crying. There was no peace to be found in this cell despite what Daemon had said. No peace on this forsaken island. Aemond pulls himself as far into the corner as he can, wrapping his arms around his knees to curl into the tightest ball he can. But then the sound of the cell door unlocking sounds again.
No, no, no. Not again. Whether it was Daemon back to beat him despite his promise, or one of the guards to take their fill of his body again, he didn’t think he could take it. His body screams in agony at just the thought.
Footsteps echo throughout the cell, but the sound of them is one that he does not recognize. He tenses. Someone new could not mean anything good. The footsteps echo closer and closer until they stop right by him. Then a soft thud comes from behind him, as if the person there just dropped to their knees.
“Gods.” The voice whispers. A voice that seemed so familiar, but Aemond can’t place it.
“Aemond. Aemond are you awake?” The person continues to whisper.
Aemond frowns, confused at the tone. This was not how the guards or Daemon spoke to him. He uncurls his arms from around himself again and lifts his head up to look at them. When his vision clears, he finds Jaecaerys Velaryon kneeling before him, dressed in all black and a hood hiding his hair. And with tears in his eyes. Aemond whimpers and flinches back.
He will kill me. He will kill me. I killed his brother. He will kill me. His mind supplies.
“Hey. Aemond I have to be quick. I can’t be here long.”
What is he talking about?
Jace reaches down and slides an arm under Aemond’s upper back and lifts him up. Aemond cries out in pain and fear. Terrified that the other man was here to hurt him. But Jace just slides himself behind him so that Aemond can use his chest as support. Aemond trembles anxiously. What is Jace here for? What does he want? He had not seen the Velayron boy in years now. But from his memory, Jace had always been the one to make fun of him and play cruel jokes. Now a grown man, what would he do?
Jace is surprisingly gentle in maneuvering his frail body. He carefully arranges him so that all of his limbs are cushioned by his larger body in one way or another.
“I have fresh water, Uncle. I am going to wash you now, okay?” Jace warns him before dipping a clean washcloth into a bucket of water that he must have brought with him. “I will start with your face if that’s okay?”
Aemond whines, too tired to speak clearly, but he manages to nod his head.
“Good. Good. That’s good. I’ll be gentle, Uncle.”
With the first pass of the rag over his dirty cheeks, Aemond flinches back. But Jace’s touch remains gentle all the while. The tears and dirt come away easily enough and Jace tells him every movement he is making, especially when he reaches over to his blind side.
Why is he being so nice? Why is he here? Aemond can’t begin to understand what he had done to deserve this kindness. And his nephew was touching him so carefully, making sure to never hurt him.
“I’m so sorry, Aemond. Gods I’m so sorry.” Jace mutters as he carefully cleans Aemond with the soapy water he had brought. It is then that Aemond realizes the other man is crying.
“Hmmm?” He tried to speak, but his energy was already spent from the short interaction he had with Daemon.
“I didn’t know. I promise. I had no idea. I would have….gods. I am so sorry,” Jace sobs as he moves the rag down Aemond’s thin arms, his neck, shoulders.
When the rag reaches his stomach, Aemdon tries to push him away, but his movements are all but uselesss. Jace stops and wraps his arms around him in a hug. The other man buries his face in Aemond’s shoulder, releasing calming pheromones to ease the omega’s fright. Aemond can feel the tears dripping onto his skin.
“I won’t hurt you or the baby. I promise. I would never. I am only here to help you. Please may I continue?” He asks hesitantly. Aemond whimpers, fear still coursing through him despite the calming scent coming from the alpha. But he nods anyways.
I wouldn’t be able to stop you even if I tried.
Jace continues his ministrations, moving onto his legs and feet, until all that is left is his back and his most private parts.
“Can I continue? I won’t if you don’t want me to.” Jace whispers. “But I know you must be uncomfortable. And being clean will make you feel better.”
“Okay.” He finally manages to rasp out.
Jace looks down at him with a blinding grin and he readjusts him so he can reach under him. He cries out in agony and hides his face in the prince’s shoulder in shame when the rag very gently wipes down his flaccid cock and the area in between his legs. Eventually, he is as clean as he can be. Though tears had begun to track down his gaunt cheeks again. It wasn’t perfect, but at least now most of the dirt had been cleared away from his skin, only leaving the purple and blue bruises scattering the skin as well as the occasional cut or scratch. Jace does not move from his spot behind him, letting him continue to rest against him. The other prince gently rocks his frail form in an attempt at comfort.
“You did so well, Aemond. Thank you. You are so brave. Thank you for letting me do that.” Jace mutters into his hair.
Jace then pulls a small comb out of his pocket and holds it up for him to see. “I do not have time to wash your hair, but I would like to comb it out for you, if that is alright?”
Why is he asking if he can do so? He can do whatever he wants. But the alpha seemed desperate for his acceptance, so he nods anyways.
Just as he had been with the rag, Jace is unimaginably gentle in combing through the oily and grimy locks, making no rude comment even though Aemond knew he must smell sickly. All of the knots in his hair are carefully combed through until his hair hangs straight once again.
“Almost done, Aemond. I just need you to eat, and then you can rest.” Jace sounds weary too.
The Velaryon boy manouvers Aemond until he is sitting in his lap like a child, his seeing side resting against his chest. When he pulls out a chunk of bread from his cloak pocket, Aemond reaches up with one trembling hand. But he is too weak to take it and he sobs, desperate for the sustenance.
“It’s okay, Uncle. I will feed you.”
Not 6 months ago, Aemond would have cut off the hand of anyone who tried to feed him. But now, he cries gratefully as the bread is gently fed to him in chunks until all but a few crumbs are left. Now that Jace has use of both of his arms, he wraps Aemond’s body in his own cloak and then holds him like a child, rocking back and forth to soothe him. But after a few too short moments, Jace pulls away, gently placing him back down on the ground. Though he hesitates when Aemond cries and holds out his arms for him.
“I am sorry I can not stay for longer. But the guards will be passing by here soon. But I will return, Aemond. I promise it. I will not leave you here alone.” Jace presses a kiss to Aemond’s forehead and he looks sadly at him. “You do not deserve this, uncle. I am sorry.”
Jace is almost at the door when Aemond manages to croak out his last words.
“Wait. Jace. My mother, my family. Are they….are they okay?”
Jace’s eyes turn even sadder and his lips turn down into an upset frown. “I am so sorry, Aemond.” He says before fleeing out of the cell when the sound of laughter comes from down the hall.
Notes:
I am so sorry for this one. This story just keeps getting sadder and sadder. <3
Chapter 4: 4
Notes:
Enjoy! A slightly shorter chapter, but interesting things to come!
Warnings for this chapter: Miscarriage, physical violence, graphic descriptions of said violence and injuries, Depressing thoughts.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
8 months after Aemond arrives at Dragonstone
What have I done to make the gods hate me so? Have I committed such terrible sins that they would deem me worthy of nothing more than being the whore and plaything of a handful of terrifying alphas? The broken and bloody form of the omega on the ground trembles in the damp and cold room. But he knew the truth of it. He always had. He deserved nothing less than what he had gotten.
I will die here. I know it. Sooner hopefully. Rather than later. I do not know how much more I can survive. Aemond curls tighter around himself to fight off the cold. The cloak that Jace had given him those months ago had luckily stayed with him. At least it seemed like months. The time was unknown to him these days. But it must be winter now. As the cell was colder than it had ever been. And the wind whipping through the corridors more biting. Or maybe it was just because he had no way of keeping his body warm with his lack of fat and muscle.
Jace had returned only once after the initial visit. The alpha had been kind and gentle to him to the first time. And he had been no less honorable and careful the second time, even if he had been in a terrible hurry. On his second visit, Jace had brought him oranges and bread. And he had helped to feed him once again, when the omega’s lack of strength proved detrimental.
Aemond had feared that he would hear mocking words and cruel jokes when his hands shook so much the slice of orange dropped from his fingers. But Jace had kindly gathered him in his arms and let him rest against him.
”I will do all the work Aemond. Do not waste your energy.” The boy had said.
Aemond had cried tearfully the entire time again, just so grateful for any kindness shown to him. His nephew had just wrapped him tighter in the cloak and smiled at him.
”No matter what you’ve done on your side of this war, uncle. You did not deserve this. I will get you out, I promise.”
It was a promise made in the smallest of whispers. And Aemond had almost believed him. If only for a moment.
But dark haired boy had been in a hurry that day. And after feeding him as carefully as he could he left. Only telling him he would return as soon as he could. But that it might be a long time. That had been the last he had seen of Jacaerys. And if he was being truthful he was worried.
He had wanted to ask after his families well-being that day. But Jace had seemed anxious and a little annoyed. So he dared not ask lest the alpha get angry at him and hit him. Jace had promised he wouldn’t, but he could not be sure after everything that had been done to him. So he stayed quiet and silently prayed for his family. He knew not whether the war was over now. Surely, since they had accepted him as their prisoner, they had agreed to their terms and let them live? But why would nobody tell him anything?
Aemond didn’t dare ask about his family again, so terrified of the news he would receive if he asked Daemon or one of the guards.
At the current moment, he shifts uncomfortably in the bloody mess below his body. There had been another child. He was sure of it. His stomach had only been showing the proof of it as a little bump when Daemon had come not hours ago and beaten him so bloody he couldn’t tell if there was any skin free of the terrible red liquid. The cramping in his stomach that had occurred afterwards made him sigh in relief.
How many children will live and die within me? Poor innocent souls that have done nothing wrong except being conceived within such a terrible body?
Aemond felt terrible for the unborn children that had found their way inside of him. He was relieved that they would not live to feel the pain and sadness he himself was going through. But at the same time, he almost wished for the company a child would bring. He never thought that the idea of having a child would be a good thing. He had never wanted one. In his mind they were only parasites and a terrible thing that omegas were forced to go through. Even before he had presented, he had always been wary of children and awkward around them. And if he had been more lucid now, he would have thought the same. But the thought of touching someone who meant him no harm was so appealing to his lonely and scarred mind.
But the poor thing had been beaten out of him before he could experience it. And though relieving, each cramp reminded him of his awful fate. There was no end to it. And Aemond almost feared they would keep him alive just so they could do this over and over to him. Filling him with child and then having the poor thing beaten out of him for entertainment. He prayed that was not the case. Even if he did deserve all the hurt and pain they could give him for taking their own precious child away, he prayed they would spare any more children of his. He could not bear to feel any more precious lives wither away inside his body.
Aemond flinches at the sound of a key turning in the metal lock of his tiny cell. He peeks his eye open and finds Daemon there again. The older man sneers down at him and squats beside him.
“Well hello little omega. Are you comfortable enough in here?” He runs a sharp fingernail down the scar on his cheek. “I thought I would leave you alone for a few hours to let you get more comfortable. Did I succeed?” He says mockingly.
Aemond does not respond. He had learned long ago that responding to the man’s words would only get him more pain than if he kept his mouth shut.
“I am glad that parasite within you is gone. You do not deserve the comfort of a child. Although it was amusing seeing your belly fill with the pup of an unnamed guard. Not such warrior now, are you?” Daemon taps the hilt of Dark Sister. “I thought you would have sworn off all children. Terrible example of an omega as you are. But I guess even the strongest of warriors can fall. And how far you’ve fallen nephew.” Daemon cackles as he kicks at Aemond’s prone form.
Aemond bites his lips to stop himself from crying out. Even now he hated proving to his awful uncle how true his words were. He would do his best not to give him the satisfaction of him seeing the omega fall apart under his words and violent actions.
“I suppose I have little use left for you. A used up whore with no fight left in you. You should have been born on the street of silk! You are not a true Targaryen. You do not belong in this family.” Daemon grips his silver hair.
“If it wasn’t for thecolor of your locks of hair, then I’d believe you to be any rat from flea bottom. But even they have continued uses, whereas you do not. What do I do with you now?” The prince begins to ponder. “Ah! Perhaps nothing. Perhaps I will let you die. I can find entertainment elsewhere. Perhaps in your sweet sister Helaena.”
“No!” Aemond forces himself to cry out. “You can’t!”
“Oh but I could. How would you like it if I took your sister instead. Let the guards do what they will with her sweet omega body? If I beat her till she was black, blue and bloody. But of course she has children. They would miss her I am sure. But what would you do, little omega?” Daemon teases cruelly.
“I’ll kill you! Don’t touch her!” Aemond growls in a threatening manner. But this only causes Daemon to laugh.
“Still a little fight left in you, pathetic as it is. But don’t you worry. There is no possibility of that any more. Your whore of a sister is safe from my touch.” He says with a spark in his eye.
“What have you done with her? Please tell me. Please!” Aemond pleads.
“Aww, but where is the fun in that? When I could just let you use your imagination to think up the most terrible scenarios.” Daemon laughs and kicks him in the ribs again.
“I will kill you! You are dead!” Aemond coughs out hitting out at Daemon with his fist, though Daemon steps out of the way easily enough.
Though he had done no damage to the alpha, Daemon begins to beat him with his fists, knocking Aemond to the side and causing him to cry out.
“You shouldn’t have said that, little omega. I will make sure you will never touch me or my family again. You’ve done enough damage to this world.”
The fists begin to rain down on him mercilessly, never ceasing in their force and brutality. While Daemon enjoyed beating him, he had never done so twice in one day. And already weak and injured, It was too much for Aemond’s frail body. He knew it. If Daemon didn’t stop, he would die. He felt a crack in his ribs and an all encompassing pain spreads through his torso. The ribs were broken, but even more than that, the pain in his chest begins to spread. He tries to take a deep breath to calm himself in between blows, but he finds that it is harder to breath. His breaths become short and desperate.
My lungs….the rib pierced my lung. He concludes. Perhaps not fatal. But then Daemon grabs his neck in his hand and squeezes.
Aemond does not want to admit it, but he is terrified. Oh so terrified. His vision becomes hazy and distorted and he sees Daemon grinning down at him with sick satisfaction. But he barely notices. His mind is elsewhere as his breathing comes out in chokes and his heart slows to a terrifyingly slow rhythm.
If this is how I die, I hope Vhagar will be free. Perhaps she already is. She is still connected to my soul. But at least I have not felt any pain or sadness from her side. She will find a new rider I am sure. One worthy of her greatness. Someone who is strong. An alpha perhaps? Though she never begrudged my gender. Even after I presented.
The black spots begin to fill his vision at an alarming rate and a single tears slips down his cheek.
If I die, what happens to my family? Gods please let them still live in peace. Did Rhaenyra exile them? Jace never told me. I hope they tell the prince I died in my sleep. He was too kind to a vile creature like me. He will be good King when he inherits the throne. He has done good with his life.
The hand around his neck squeezes harder and Aemond finally begins to struggle, his body betraying him in one last effort to keep him alive. But he is too weak, too frail to even dislodge the hand a centimeter. And after only a couple moments, his body falls limply to the ground, still and silent.
A feeling of peace fills him. He was dying. That he was sure of. He would not, could not, struggle anymore. This was to be his fate. And like the warrior he was, he would embrace death with open arms. He would not cower in fear and terror.
The disgraced prince’s vision goes black, his eye closes, and his heart finally stops.
————————————
The warmth against his cheek is the first thing he notices when he wakes. The softness of whatever he was laying on reminded him of the furs that had always rested in front of the hearth in his sister’s chambers. The ones he enjoyed sleeping on when he felt lonely and scared as a little boy. What was he doing in Helen’s chambers?
“‘Laena?” He rasps out, arm reaching out in search of his sister. But all he finds is the strange warmth against his shaking fingertips. “Helaena? Where are….” But then he gasps in horror and he begins to take panicky breaths as he remembers what had happened.
Am I not in the cell? The cell is cold….so why am I so warm?
The last thing he remembered was Daemon strangling him and him falling unconscious.
Did I not die? I must have. I could not have survived… Confusion fills him and he tries to turn over so he could see where he was. But when he attempts to push himself over, waves and waves of pain flow through him and he screams. For several minutes, the pain wracks through his abused body. And it is only when the pain begins to subside that he feels an entirely new, terrible feeling. His heart felt like it was being torn in two. Or that a hole was being created in his very soul.
What is happening to me? What has Daemon done? The tears slip unbidden from his eye and he sniffles, trying to calm himself.
But then he hears soft thuds on the surface near him. He freezes and holds his breath. Had the guards or Daemon come back to finish the job?
He flinches when he hears the first voice, but his heart slows it’s terrified beating when he doesn’t recognize any of the voices. And through the ringing in his ears he can make out a few words.
”An omega…..poor thing…””….Isn’t right…who….such a thing to a treasure like this?” is all Aemond is able to discern before the hollow feeling in his chest burns anew, the pain so agonizing that tears begin to streak anew down his dirty cheek.
“My prince. What do we do?”
“….carry him. Take him…..back.”
“But what if….alpha…is the omega claimed?”
“Claimed or no, this omega has obviously been hurt by an alpha. And if that alpha dares come to retrieve him, they will meet my spear. And I will have no mercy.”
“Yes, my prince.”
Aemond is powerless to fight the gentle arms that are picking him up and holding him like a child. “Do not worry, sweet one. You are safe now.”
Notes:
Hope you all enjoyed this one! The torture is done....for now. <3
Chapter 5: 5
Notes:
Trigger Warnings: Physical and mental abuse, mention of miscarriage, depressing thoughts. Death.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
”My grandson? An omega? His inbred Targaryen blood must be to blame. No grandson of mine should ever have presented as such a weak creature.”
”My brother? An omega! Ha! That is just too good.”
”Oh poor little omega. You think you are so strong don’t you. But you are nothing. You are nothing to us.”
Throughout most of his time in the dungeons of Dragonstone, his sleep had been blessedly empty of dreams or nightmares. Only occasionally would Aemond wake up in a cold sweat. But now that he is somewhere new, his body seemed to deem it safe to relax and let his mind wander. And wander it did. Through memories terrible and good alike. But each whisper in his nightmare brought with it dread and fear. Though that was not something that was new to him.
”Freak. Not proper.”
”Who would want you? With the way you act and behave. Omegas aren’t supposed to fight and study history and politics. They should be kept in bed ”
”Just a sacrificial lamb. Ripe for the slaughtering.”
The laughs and taunts of Daemon and his guards would live in his memory forever. Whether he was dead or alive. Each hiss of disgust and hatred rattled him to his bones.
”Left all on your own. Abandoned by your family. How does it feel to know no one cares for you?”
Aemond hadn’t been abandoned. His family had not wanted him to go. But he had done what he had to to save his loved ones, few as they were. He had been strong enough to sacrifice himself for the good of everyone else.
”Just a whore. A plaything for any alpha who feels like taking advantage of your cold cunt.
”Disgusting. Look at you. Full of child and still not a proper omega. How my guards find pleasure in you is beyond even my understanding.”
Subconsciously, Aemond rests his hands over his middle where a child had been not twenty-four hours before. His brow furrows and curls up around himself protectively, even in sleep.
”You will die here, nephew. All alone and cold.
This last whisper at last rips him out of the nightmare world he had been stuck in. The first thing he notices is the pain lancing through his body like fire. The pain seemed to stem from the more recent injuries he had received from Daemon and the guards. He could still feel the ache in his ribs where a hard boot had landed a blow. The bruises on his wrists and throat ached something fierce from where he had been held down. And the cramps in his stomach and lower half reminded him of what had happened before he had fallen unconscious.
Aemond hisses in a sharp breath as he gains full consciousness and the pain becomes almost unbearable. But beyond this physical pain that tore through him, something worse and more horrible makes it’s presence known. It was the same hollow and empty feeling in his heart that he had recognized from the few moments he had been conscious. It truly felt like someone had stabbed him straight through the heart and left the weapon there. Weakly, he brings a hand up to check the skin above his heart. But nothing besides throbbing bruises were there.
So where is it coming from? He shudders at the feeling. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. Worse than any physical pain or injury he had endured. Save for the day that he had presented as an omega.
He focuses on the world around him, trying to block out the pain in his heart. It takes his one good eye several minutes to focus and become clear enough for him to see his surroundings, but once he does he becomes confused. The surface he had been resting on was a bed of white cotton sheets with dark, burnt orange and gold covers. The cover was stitched with the most delicate designs of the sun and flowers. Such finery he had not seen even in King’s Landing. And the sheets and blankets were so warm. The caressed his skin so gently that he thought he might cry at the feeling. The bed was surrounded by four posts and semi-sheer curtains that had been pulled around him. From what Aemond could discern through the curtains, he was resting in a room filled with light. So different from where he had been. And everything was warm, so warm. Aside from the light he could not see much through the curtains.
The warmth though lovely, made him worry. He could not recognize anything. This was certainly no part of Dragonstone he had been before.
Is this the seven hells that mother always talked about? Will I burn for all the sins I committed in my life
But even thought it was warm, it was not a painful or scary warmth. It was comfortable. Just warm enough that the shivering in the prince’s body had stopped.
And why would the gods torture me in such a fine and comfortable place? Am I not dead? Surely I would have ended up in the seven hells if I were.
And then Aemond realizes, if he has finally succumbed to his wounds and his soul gone from his body, what of his family? It had been a hard truth he had already learned, but the thought of never seeing his family again pulls at his cold heart. It is only then that he begins to cry, only egged on by the presence of the terrible awful pain in his heart. Tears slip down his cheek from his one good eye in quick succession.
The physical pain he could ignore. That was nothing new. Though a twinge deep in his head behind the lost eye forces him to touch the place where one small violet eye used to lay. But to his surprise, soft bandages cover the area. He can’t feel the socket, nor the sapphire that lay beneath. His heart speeds up fearfully under his pale skin. Someone had touched him. Someone had touched his eye socket and pulled out the sapphire. He remembers the warm and gentle arms that had touched him ever so carefully and carried him. Could that person have done this?
Where am I? Who would dare touch me like that?
Aemond begins to cry more harshly, softly sniffling and burying himself as far under the covers of the warm bed as he can. The confusion and pain was all encompassing. But so was the warm feeling aided by the safety of the arms that had carried him earlier. He was scared, but also anxious and confused. And all these emotions were all just too much for the young prince. He begins to sob more loudly as he puts his hands over his face. His attempt to hide away from the world and this stressful situation.
But this does not go to plan as the sound of a door creaking open disturbs his tears and grief. He freezes and attempts to dampen his sobs and cries. He stills when a set of feet begin to make their way towards the bed he was on. He stiffens even further and his heart begins to beat wildly. He flinches when the person comes closer, whimpering ever so slightly from the pain. Unable to do anything if the person wants to hurt him.
Perhaps this person knows Daemon, if he is truly not dead. Perhaps he will torture him just the same and the finery and comfortable bed were just an illusion his mind procured to protect him.
The scent follows the footsteps. Warm spice, citrus and sandalwood tickle Aemond’s nose. Nothing like the ashy and harsh scents of Daemon and his guards.
An alpha. Aemond thinks, freezing even more. I can not defend myself against an alpha if they wish to harm me.
“May I come closer?” A deep, accented voice rings out in the room.
At first, Aemond does not realize the alpha is speaking to him. But when no one else answers, he makes a non-committal sound.
“I will not hurt you. I promise.” The calming voice adds. The sound of the footsteps continue until Aemond can only just make out the shadow of a figure on the outside of the curtains surrounding the bed.
“Can I open the curtain, young one?”
Why is he asking? But he knew better than to ignore questions that somebody was asking him. Especially when that person was an alpha that could hurt him. One that would probably take pleasure in harming him either way.
“A…aye.” He rasps. Speaking was still something he was not used to. He rarely spoke. Even with Daemon and the guards taunting him. So his vocal chords were struggling to make the sounds they had once been used to.
A tan hand takes hold of the curtain in front of him and slowly pulls the fabric back to reveal the person who had walked into the room. The alpha was tall and handsome, golden skin peeking out from the dip in the yellow and gold robe he was wearing. The man was adorned in all sorts of jewelry. All of gold and embedded with rubies. Necklaces, bracelets and even rings. The hair on the alphas hair is short, though dark and curly. And a smattering of dark hair on his chin and upper lip complete his look. And most strangely, the alpha is smiling at him.
“You are crying? What is wrong, my sweet?” The alpha seems worried, though Aemond can not think of why he would be.
Aemond shakes his head, scared to speak up. If he tells the alpha what is wrong, he might laugh at him.
“Are you in much pain?”
He shakes his head again.
“Good. You have been asleep for several days, young one. We were worried you would not wake at all.”
Aemond blinks blankly up at him, tears still streaming down his face.
“Your injuries are healing well, though you must still be in some pain. You may say your are not, but I could smell your distress from out in the hallway. Is there anything I can do to help you through the pain.”
The man sits by his side on the bed, causing Aemond to flinch.
Please don’t. Please don’t. I can’t.
Aemond shakes hiss head again.
“Milk of the poppy perhaps? It will help.”
Aemond grows even more distressed at that. If they gave him milk of the poppy he would become delirious and sleepy. He would lose his facilities and who knows what this man and the others who had found him would do to him while he sleeps. So with all his strength he shouts.
“No!”
“Okay. Okay. You do not need to take it if you do not wish too. We only want to help, sweet thing. How can I help you?” The alpha reaches down to take one of his trembling hands in his. But when Aemond expects a crushing grip and harsh actions, the man is only gentle and soothes a thumb over his skin.
Aemond cries at the kind words and touch. How could he believe him? Why does this alpha want to help him? He is a stranger. And there was nothing he could do. Unless he could take away the memories of the past several months. Unless he could bring his family to him and his dragon.
“I want Vhagar.” He whispers, mostly to himself.
His loving dragon would take care of him. She always allowed him to hide under her giant wings when he was scared and hurt. And oh was he scared. He wanted Vhagar. The beast wouldn’t let anyone hurt him ever again. Not Daemon, not the guards. Not this strange alpha who was promising such strange things.
“Vhagar?” The alpha asks, eyebrow raised in question.
But Aemond begins to shake as he gets lost in his head.
“I want Vhagar. And mother. Helaena. Anyone! Even Aegon. Please! I need them. Please let me see them.” He begins to cry in earnest as his mind slips into dangerous thoughts.
“Sweet thing. I do not know who you are speaking of. But if it is in my power to bring these people to you, I will.”
Aemond just continues to cry and he cries for several long minutes until they taper off. The alpha had fallen quiet, though he had released the most calming pheromones he could to calm him down. And eventually Aemond did, sobs tapering off into tired whimpers. And he comes back to himself thankfully.
“There you are. I’m sure it all hurts and you must be confused. But I promise you that you are safe here. I do not know where you have been or what has been done to you, but no harm will come to you under my protection. It is a miracle that we found you alive. It is my duty to make sure any omega in my charge is taken care of and protected. I was the one who found you out there. And I will not let any further harm come to you.”
“Am I not dead?” Aemond asks carefully.
“Thankfully not, young one. You are stronger than many I’ve seen. Many in your place would have perished long ago. You remind me of the omegas in our palace here. Beautiful, but strong. And thankful am I that we found you when we did. Otherwise the heat would have gotten to you if not your injuries.”
“Where….where am I?” Aemond dares to ask.
“You do not know?” The alpha looks surprised.
Aemond shakes his head.
“The Old Palace.” The alpha says as he stands and makes his way to the other side of the bed. Once he pulls those curtains aside, Aemond can see the rest of the room. But just in front of him an open balcony sits. And across from it, he can see towering golden buildings and high towers. His vision goes fuzzy at the blinding lights and bright sun.
“Welcome to Sunspear, little one. I hope your stay is enjoyable. We must talk more later as I must know how you came to be here. And how you got those injuries. But I will not pry for now, as you are still in need of much rest. So I will leave you to it.” The man closes the curtain to block out the harsh light. Returning to the other side of the bed, the alpha strokes a warm palm across Aemond’s cheek. His eyes flutter closed at the touch, aided by his own weariness.
“Servants shall Bring you a meal later on. You must be famished. Sleep well, little one. If you need me for anything you may call on me. I am Oberyn Martell.”
Oberyn. Aemond repeats in his head. Martell? Sunspear? The Old Palace? I am in Dorne…Is his last thought before he loses consciousness once again.
——————————————————————
“The omega has woken.” Oberyn says as he twirls his goblet of wine in his hands.
After he had left the omega to sleep in his chambers, he had felt a frown form on his face. And it had stayed there ever since. Even now as he sat with his friend, playing a game of chess.
“And is that not a good thing?” His friend asks. The other man, an alpha with a friendly smile and calm demeanor leans forward to refill his own glass of wine. The rings on his fingers glint in the firelight as he does.
“Of course it is. I am thankful the poor thing has survived and his physical injuries do seem to be healing well enough. He is obviously still in pain. But he refused milk of the poppy when I offered it. But beyond that I worry…”
“Yes?”
“I worry for the omega’s mental state. He is incredibly afraid. And full of sadness and grief. He could not stop his tears when I visited him.”
Oberyn contemplates the way the omega had tried to shy away from him and the way his scent turned even more sour and distressed with each minute he stayed in the poor thing’s presence.
“If you worry, than so shall I. How did he react to the servants washing his and the maester who treated his wounds?” The other alpha leans back in his chair, momentarily forgetting their game of chess in favor of discussing the most recent development at the palace.
“He slept through the whole thing, thankfully. But I fear he will not let anyone near him. He was terrified while I was there with him. The poor thing did not fight me, but he was obviously scared and distressed. He is strong, as is plain by his mere survival. But he has been hurt so much that I fear it is not the physical wounds that we should be wary of.” Oberyn sighs.
The memory of the frail body they had found out in the dunes made him shake with anger at whoever had hurt the omega. Bloodied, dirty and bruised they had found him. If the omega had not cried out and made sounds, he feared they never would have come across him.
“Do you know where he came from?”
“No, but his coloring is strange. He is certainly not from Dorne. When the servants bathed him when we brought him back here, his skin proved to be as pale as that of a pink rose. And his hair the color of the moon.”
“I see. I wonder how he came to be here. Especially in such a state. Did he tell you what brought him here?” The young man drains the wine in his goblet before reaching for more.
“Nay. He was so distressed I dared not ask about it.” Oberyn sighs and reaches for the pitcher of wine as well.
“What will you do with him?”
“I do not know. Let him recover. Let him heal. And then find out his story and where he came from. And if he wishes to return to that place we will deal with it then.”
“What about the ones who hurt him?” The other alpha growls at the thought of someone taking advantage of an omega as they had done to the strange one now resting in the palace.
“If they make an appearance they will find their end at the point of my spear.”
“We do not know who he is. He could be some lord’s concubine or something of the sort. We must be careful.”
Oberyn snorts at that. The omega could be Cersei Lannister’s personal concubine and it wouldn’t matter. No one treats an omega like that and gets away with it. Not if he has any say in it.
“It will not matter. You have not seen the omega, my friend. What has been done to him….it is beyond cruel. I am a cruel man if need be, but even I would not stoop so low as to torture a tiny, frail and fearful omega like that.”
“I would like to see him.” The other alpha declares.
“I do not know if that is a good idea.”
“The other omegas who you have rescued from similar situations have found peace and comfort in my presence.” The younger man tries to reason.
“I know. I know. But this one is different. He is not our own and he has been abused terribly.”
“Then will he not need a friend? Someone he can count on to treat him kindly and with respect.”
“Perhaps. But not yet. Please, my friend. I want to give him space.”
“I will respect that of course.”
“Do not worry. Give me some time. And then I will let you speak with him.” Oberyn decides. “Let me find out the nature of his life and his abuse first. Just so I can make sure that your presence will not be triggering.”
The other alpha nods in ascent. “Very well, my prince.”
“It is strange though. The way we found him. It almost reminds me of how we came across you.”
“I was not so helpless.”
“No, but you were found injured and asleep in the sand either way.” Oberyn teases.
The younger alpha rolls his eyes and snorts. “I believe it is your turn Oberyn.”
“Do not think you will win this round. I would like to make a wager. Next person to lose has to go down to the kitchens to retrieve a new bottle of wine. Is it a deal, Luke?”
“Deal.”
Notes:
I hope you enjoyed! The torture is over....finally.
Chapter 6: 6
Notes:
Finally updating this fic as well. Forgive me for the long wait <3
Chapter Text
With a gasping breath, Aemond is ripped out of the dream….no…nightmare, that had held him in its terrifying grip. The memory and details of the nightmare already begin to fade from his memory as he gasps in several deep breaths, but the disgusting feeling of grimy hands upon his bruised skin and cackling laughter makes him nauseous. Aemond shudders and tries to breathe more deeply so as to calm his racing heart.
Why do they follow me? Even now… He begs an answer from himself as he takes in the early morning light passing through the sheer curtains surrounding him.
Of course he knew the answer to that. He did not need to be a maester to know that circumstances such as his were not so easily shoved to the side and forgotten. Loathe as he was to admit it, he knew he had seen better days, both physically and mentally.
You are broken.. That is why. You know now that you are nothing. Nothing but a whore to be used and tossed away when needed. Daemon’s voice rattles in his brain, competing against his own self-deprecating thoughts.
Yet I am still a dragon. I still burn with flame. And there is not a single Daemon Targaryen out there that can extinguish it, no matter how withering it might be. He tries to console himself. You have not yet been completely shattered. At least, that is what he would like to think.
A knock on the door shakes him out of his morbid thoughts.
“Young one, are you awake?”
The voice, though kind and soft, causes him to flinch. He had not realized that he had company. His one good eye turns to face the direction of the doorway and he sighs.
Where am I? He wonders to himself in confusion. Yet when he glances around himself, finding his frail body still lying in the soft, comfortable bed and surrounded by the silky, gilded sheets and the delicate sheer curtains.
Everything comes racing back to him then. Feeling like he was dying in that dark, dirty cell, the darkness and nightmares, and waking up in this sunlit chamber. As well as the dark haired alpha who had been so kind and sweet. The alpha had told him he was in Dorne and that he was safe.
But how? Aemond ponders. No matter how he tries, he can not figure out how he had made it so far and why.
“Young one?” The voice calls out a second time.
The injured prince closes his eye and takes a deep breath. He considers staying silent to see if the person would abandon their quest, no matter what it may be. But another side of him relents in fear, terrified of the consequences of causing any disrespect in a foreign land among foreign alphas.
“Aye.” He manages to rasp out loud enough for the person on the other side of the door to hear. And when the door opens, it is not just one person, but a whole flock of people who come streaming into the room. They all scatter around the room to different tasks. But one, an older woman with greying curls, parts the delicate curtains and looks down at him with a kind smile.
“Good morning, young one.” She begins to pull the curtains away from the bed, tying them to the posts so the light shines further upon his pale form. “I am glad to see you awake.” She says calmly, finishing her job before sitting beside him on the bed. His flinch doesn’t deter her as she begins to fluff the pillows around him.
He calms down as she works, her calming scent making him realize that the woman is an omega. And she does not seem too bothered when he does not greet her back, only following her with a wary eye.
“I was surprised when my Prince told me that we had a new guest. Guests from the other kingdoms are rare these days. Nevertheless, welcome to Sunspeare. I hope your stay will be pleasant.”
Aemond only hums as the woman places her hands on her hips and looks at him with one raised eyebrow.
“Now I know the sand can get in all the unnecessary nooks and crannies, and it can be difficult to remove it. But really, you do need a good wash.” The woman says before waving one of the other servants over to them.
Aemond almost feels insulted at the insinuation that he smelled and was dirty, but even he knew he was long overdue for a bath. He had been wiped down of blood and other fluids before he had woken that first time. But it had only done so much.And oh how he wished for a real bath.
“Is the bath ready, Aaima?” The older woman speaks kindly, but curtly.
“Yes ma’am. And hot as you’d requested.”
“Good. Now…. I think perhaps orange and eucalyptus for the bath oils, yes?”
“Yes ma’am.” The younger maid curtsies before running over to the large tub in the middle of the room to follow the woman’s orders.
“Alright young one. Up you get.” The elderly woman orders before reaching out to Aemond to help him sit up. But Aemond flinches when her hands get too close to him. She pauses and holds out a hand in offering. “Forgive me. I should not be so hasty when I have not even introduced myself. I am Nadia, head servant of the Prince’s palace.” She smiles kindly at him and he returns it before finding his own voice.
“My name is Aemond Tar…” He barely stops himself from revealing his own heritage, loathe to give up the safety that came with being unknown. “Just Aemond.” He rasps and lifts his thin wrist to take hold of the woman’s arm.
Nadia, as he now knows her to be called, pulls him up with a strength that bellied her greying and wrinkled features.
“Welcome to Sunspear, Aemond. Your stay will be pleasant I am sure. But first I think you might enjoy the bath. Come… I will help you over to the tub.”
With great effort, Aemond manages to push himself off of the bed and onto unsteady feet. And if he were more aware, he would have been ashamed to find himself completely naked but for the grime and blood still covering his body. Each step seems to take all the energy he can manage, but eventually he is stepping from cool tile into a bath hot as the sun. But the heat he does not mind. It is so warm it reminds him of Vhagar. He manages a half smile when he sinks down into the soothing water.
“Good. Now let’s see if we can’t getting you looking good as new, hmmm? The bruises and internal injuries we can do little about, but I know you will feel better if we can get you clean and your lovely hair shining bright again.”
“Okay….”
In what seems like a synchronized dance, the omega maids fall to their knees beside the tub where the prince and take the softest clothes and soap smelling of honey and lavender. As the maids start to work diligently on scrubbing his feet and hands, Nadia takes control of his tangled and dirty mess of hair. Though stern and commanding, the old woman is surprising gentle with his locks of hair, beginning to rub a soap into the strands, detangling it with the kindest of touches. The gentle touch makes him hum in content and he closes his eye, feeling safe amongst the maids knowing he was not in any dnager in the care of this woman.
“Your hair is beautiful, Aemond. So pale and long. It almost reminds me of our dear Elia’s husband… oh never mind that. But it is beautiful. And it will look even more lovely when I am done.”
“It is too long.” He mumbles.
And he wasn’t wrong. In the many months imprisoned in that dark dank cell, he had never been given the chance to cut or trim it, and it had grown down to his lower back.
“Aye,.”
“Can I…would you… cut it for me?” He asks hesitantly and the old woman pauses, and Aemond thinks he can almost hear her frown behind him.
“But…. It so lovely like this. You don’t mean to have me chop the whole lot off, do you?” The woman asks in horror.
“No!” He exclaims. “No… just to my shoulder blades. No shorter.”
The woman raises an eyebrow at him, calculating.
“I suppose that is acceptable. Alira, would you go fetch me some shears please?”
The girl in question is quick to hurry away to heed the older woman’s order. In the meantime, the women continue their work in scrubbing his skin till it is spotless, though they avoid the worst of the healing wounds.
Aemond feels at peace for the first time in ages, with the comforting feeling of the water and the gentle hands lulling him into a dreamlike state. That is until one of the woman’s hands dart under the water near his hips. In an instant Aemond’s hand is around her wrist and his eye wide and frightened. The girl bows her head and sits back on her heels.
“Forgive me. I did not mean…”
“No…please. I am sorry.” Aemond mutters with regret, releasing her wrist. “I just. I would prefer to clean myself… there.”
“Of course young one.” Nadia answers for the other girl. “You may do what you wish.”
The rest of the bath goes off without a hitch. No more wandering hands or frights interrupt the peaceful morning.
At long last, nails are clipped, callouses scrubbed till his skin his once again smooth as butter, and his hair shining like the pale moon at night once more. Even a soft balm is spread on his lips and his skin covered in a moisturizing cream that leaves it soft and glowing once the maids pull him from the rapidly cooling water and wrap him in a soft robe.
The maids settle him down in a chair in front of the dressing table and Nadia begins to comb his hair out with a golden toothed comb, pulling its prongs gently through his hair to take care of all of the knots. And once the hair is as straight and smooth as it could be, she carefully cuts his hair to his desired length. As the last of the silver locks fall from his head, he takes a deep sigh of relief it is almost as if a giant weight at been lifted from him. He smiles up at Nadia sincerely.
“Thank you.” He whispers. “Thank you so much.”
“There you are. No fairer in all the kingdoms. Now, forgive me if this is rude. But would you like help putting your sapphire in? Or would you rather leave it out for the time being.”
Aemond frowns and observes the gem on the dressing table. The jewel had obviously been cleaned and shone just as it had all those months ago before his inprisonement. And though he did not want to torture his body any more, he did not want to scare the poor maids with sight of the empty eye socket in his head.
“I will do it.”
Nadia does not stray her eyes in disgust as Aemond carefully shoves the gem back where it belongs. She squeezes his shoulders when he is done and nods.
“Good as new.”
Not quite. Aemond thinks, but he appreciates the sentiment.
And he does feel better now, that is true. Not quite as dirty or broken. He doubted he would ever be the same man that had flown from King’s Landing to protect his family all those months ago and his heart hurt at the thought. But there was still a spark in him. He was a Targaryen. And Targaryen’s did not wilt so easily. He would just need to keep reminding himself of that.
Before Nadia can speak again, a soft rap on the door reaches their ears.
“Little one, may I come in?”
Nadia looks down at the blonde and raises an eyebrow.
“Do you wish for Prince Oberyn to come in? If not, you can send him away. He will not be offended.”
Aemond shakes his head.
“No. I… I would like to see him.” He says with a blush. Though his decision did not come without fear and trepidation. The alpha had been nothing but kind and gentle the previous day and he did not wish to spurn the Dornish Prince’s hospitality, but still the thought of being in the presence of any alpha still made his skin crawl.
“You can say no, Aemond.” Nadia reminds him, not yet moving to open the door for the prince.
“Nay, it is alright. Please invite him in.”
Nadia nods, stroking a gentle hand through his soft locks before moving to open the door to the chamber. When Oberyn steps in, it is with a kind smile at Nadia and a blinding grin towards Aemond when he sees he is out of bed.
“My prince.” Nadia bows. “How may we be of assistance?”
“Have you been taking care of our new guest, Nadia?”
“Just as you asked Prince Oberyn.”
“I am glad. Thank you for caring for him. Now I can see what beauty lay beneath the dirt and grime. You have done a wonderful job. Now, you and your girls may be dismissed. The chefs have made poppy scones. And I do believe they just came out of the oven.” The prince smiles kindly at the younger girls who look excited at the prospect of a warm treat.
“Thank you, my Prince. Girls, you may go.” All of the younger omegas filter out of the room with excitement, but not before bowing to their prince.”
“Aemond. Will you be alright if I leave you alone with Prince OBeryn?”
Aemond’s eye widens in shock. The woman was so blatantly implying that she would stay against the alpha’s orders if he wished it to be so. Aemond glances cautiously at the alpha, still standing far away, near the door. The man is calm and discreetly giving off calming pheromones that washed over Aemond like a warm blanket.
This alpha had been kind and had reassured him that he would cause him no harm. And he believed him. The man had already had many chances to hurt him, and he had not done so. So he would trust him. He nods his head at Nadia with a half smile.
“I will be alright.” He rasps. “Thank you, my lady.”
Nadia laughs brightly.
“He is so polite, my prince. I like him.”
“I thought you would.” Oberyn laughs and bids her farewell before he turns to the blonde still sitting at the boudoir.
Aemond blinks up at him and suddenly realizes that there is a prince, an alpha, standing, and he was still so casually seated. His one eye widens in horror and the omega stops a pained whine from escaping his lips as he pushes his frail body from the chair and bows low. His legs tremble and he would have fallen to the floor if the alpha was not already across the room and lending him an arm.
“Forgive me, Prince Oberyn. I meant no disrespect.”
“Of course not, sweetling. I have a feeling that a sense of respect and politeness is much different from where you come from. We do not expect our injured, honored guests to get on their knees for us. Come sweet thing. I have brought you some of those fresh poppy scones and orange jam and butter. You should eat something.”
Oberyn takes his time in guiding Aemond to the cherry wood table in the middle of the room. After making sure Aemond is settled in the plush chair, Oberyn retreats from the room for just a moment. When he returns it is with a tray that he must have left outside the doors when he first came in. The man deposits the tray in front of Aemond and Aemond’s stomach rumbles when the smell of the scones reaches his nose. He blushes madly as Oberyn chuckles at the sound.
“Dig in, little one. I fear you will need to eat more to gain your strength.”
Aemond hesitantly reaches out to take one of the scones as Oberyn settles himself in the chair across from him.
“They don’t bite, sweet thing. I promise.”
At Obeyrn’s insistence, Aemond finally takes one of the scones into his hand. But his hand shakes so much on its way to his lips that the scones drops to the ground. Aemond whimpers, wondering what the consequence would be for such a transgression. His body, though in much better shape than it had been not days ago, was still weak and unable to fend for itself. His breath hitches and tears flood to his one eye at the realization of the fact that he was still just as weak as ababy, who needed help to do the most basic of tasks. And now he would be punished for it.
At the whine and the sight of tears filling the omega’s eye, Oberyn is across the table in the blink of an eye, kneeling down before Aemond and looking up at him with kind eyes and no hint of anger or judgement. The man takes a scone in hand himself and breaks off a piece before bringing it up to Aemond’s lips.
“None of that now, my dear. Do not fret. I will help you.” The alpha smiles at him, and Aemond almost bursts into frantic sobs at the reminder of another kind alpha who had done the same for him when he was at his most vulnerable. But he gathers himself and allows himself a bite of the scone and visibly relaxes at the taste. If you were to ask, Aemond would be unable to tell you when the last time he had something proper or nice to eat had been. He had mostly been served gruel and stale bread in his cell on Dragonstone. Perhaps it was the orange and bread that Jace had brought him the last time he had seen him?
“Why are you being so nice to me?” Aemond asks, wondering why this unknown Prince of Dorne was treating him as if he was something special, and not just an omega whore.
“Why wouldn’t I?” The man asks in genuine curiosity, offering up another piece of the scone.
“I am nobody. I am just… a whore. I am useless. I deserve all of the pain and hatred that has been my companion for the past year.”
Oberyn hisses in horror as he listens to the omega’s words. What he wouldn’t give to slaughter the ones who had made this sweet man believe such things.
“Aemond, I do not know you well. But what I do know is that no one deserves whatever you have been through. Can you tell me what has happened to you?” He asks gently.
The omega just shakes his head desperately and refuses to speak, lest he burst into tears again. But the watery eye does not go amiss.
“Forgive me, little one. I should not have pried. You need not tell me anything that makes you uncomfortable. Not now, not ever if that is your wish. I only want to share your burden. But I fear I have pushed you too far too soon. Will you forgive this foolish alpha for acting with disrespect?”
Aemond blinks away his tears and looks wide eyed at the man. But he nods his head hesitantly.
“Thank you, sweetling. That means more to me than you know. Do you wish for more of the scone.”
At the nod, Oberyn begins to feed Aemond anew, not asking any more prying questions. Once the prince has finished one scone, Oberyn reaches for another, but Aemond finds his voice.
“N…no more, please.”
“You are full?”
Aemond nods.
“That is well. You did good, little one. I will make sure that dinner is brought to you tonight as well. Now, I am correct in assuming that you have never been to Dorne before, yes?”
Aemond nods in agreement.
“No? Well then, you are in for quite the lovely surprise. Our lands are the most beautiful in all of the kingdoms. Unfortunately, you can only see it from afar in your chambers. But, your rooms do overlook the rose gardens. Would you like to see?”
“Aye.”
“Come then, little one. Take a hold of my hand. Yes. Just like that.” Oberyn helps Aemond to stand and leads him over to the open balcony, where no walls or windows kept the warmth of the sun or the gentle breeze of the ocean away.
Aemond leans heavily upon the older man, but his eye widens in awe as they finally step put upon the balcony. Below them was a large and vast garden, filled to the brim with roses of all colors. But most wondrous to him were the yellow and orange roses. He had never seen roses of that color that he can recall.
“They are yellow?” Aemond blinks up at the Alpha and the man grins down at him.
“Aye, and they are grown only here in Sunspear. The color of our sun. Do you like them?”
Aemond nods eagerly.
“Then I will fetch some and a vase for your room. You should be allowed to have them if that is your wish.”
“Thank you, alpha.”
“No need to call me that. Just Oberyn is fine, hmmm?”
Aemond nods and looks back out to the garden, taking in the wondrous sight. His eyes catch upon someone entering the gardens from his blind side. The person’s gait was slow and calm, hands clasped behind their back as if they were just out for an afternoon stroll. Aemond only takes in the mop of dark, curly hair upon the man’s head for a second before his mind moves on.
Perhaps one of the high lords of Dorne. He ponders, before giving it no further thought as Oberyn leads him back into his chambers so he can continue to rest.
Pages Navigation
NANAhashi on Chapter 1 Mon 09 Jan 2023 09:51AM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 1 Sat 14 Jan 2023 06:12AM UTC
Comment Actions
ShiranaiAtsune on Chapter 1 Mon 09 Jan 2023 11:05AM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 1 Sat 14 Jan 2023 06:12AM UTC
Comment Actions
ShiranaiAtsune on Chapter 1 Sat 14 Jan 2023 06:56AM UTC
Comment Actions
Aurorabrielle on Chapter 1 Mon 09 Jan 2023 02:16PM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 1 Sat 14 Jan 2023 06:13AM UTC
Comment Actions
Sleepy_Lotus24 on Chapter 1 Mon 09 Jan 2023 05:10PM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 1 Sat 14 Jan 2023 06:18AM UTC
Comment Actions
cclari on Chapter 1 Mon 09 Jan 2023 07:20PM UTC
Comment Actions
E (Guest) on Chapter 1 Tue 10 Jan 2023 02:21AM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 1 Sat 14 Jan 2023 06:11AM UTC
Comment Actions
Sebcstianstan on Chapter 1 Wed 01 Feb 2023 04:20AM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 1 Mon 06 Feb 2023 12:55AM UTC
Comment Actions
robertamorcito28 on Chapter 2 Sun 15 Jan 2023 08:57AM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 2 Sun 15 Jan 2023 09:25AM UTC
Comment Actions
NANAhashi on Chapter 2 Sun 15 Jan 2023 10:03AM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 2 Sun 15 Jan 2023 10:07AM UTC
Comment Actions
Aurorabrielle on Chapter 2 Sun 15 Jan 2023 10:19AM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 2 Sun 15 Jan 2023 06:30PM UTC
Comment Actions
Nisris on Chapter 2 Sun 15 Jan 2023 12:37PM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 2 Sun 15 Jan 2023 06:37PM UTC
Comment Actions
Nisris on Chapter 2 Mon 16 Jan 2023 08:21PM UTC
Comment Actions
Kimicornio on Chapter 2 Mon 16 Jan 2023 12:13AM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 2 Mon 16 Jan 2023 02:00AM UTC
Comment Actions
cclari on Chapter 3 Sun 22 Jan 2023 08:33PM UTC
Comment Actions
ShiranaiAtsune on Chapter 3 Mon 23 Jan 2023 12:39AM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 3 Mon 23 Jan 2023 01:33AM UTC
Comment Actions
ShiranaiAtsune on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Jan 2023 07:53AM UTC
Comment Actions
1tournesol0 on Chapter 3 Mon 23 Jan 2023 01:14AM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 3 Mon 23 Jan 2023 01:34AM UTC
Comment Actions
Yen on Chapter 3 Mon 23 Jan 2023 01:20AM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 3 Mon 23 Jan 2023 01:32AM UTC
Comment Actions
Octopustheorized on Chapter 3 Mon 23 Jan 2023 03:12AM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Jan 2023 07:55AM UTC
Comment Actions
Aurorabrielle on Chapter 3 Mon 23 Jan 2023 03:32AM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Jan 2023 07:56AM UTC
Comment Actions
🐈⬛ (Guest) on Chapter 3 Mon 23 Jan 2023 05:27AM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Jan 2023 07:58AM UTC
Comment Actions
🐈⬛ (Guest) on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Jan 2023 05:07PM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 3 Mon 06 Feb 2023 12:56AM UTC
Comment Actions
Niebieskaliliawodna on Chapter 3 Wed 25 Jan 2023 09:44PM UTC
Comment Actions
jbean27 on Chapter 3 Mon 06 Feb 2023 01:11AM UTC
Comment Actions
Niebieskaliliawodna on Chapter 3 Mon 06 Feb 2023 02:47AM UTC
Comment Actions
Pages Navigation