Chapter Text
“I could never love him.”
You swore by this whenever Aemond—now your husband of two hours—tried to convince you otherwise. Even when he was supposed to be courting you, which for him often meant to just pass by you in court and smirk, you promised yourself these five words. Even when all the other ladies around you swooned, wishing that they could be on the receiving end of his attention, you knew that it was all a front. A disguise as obvious as the black eyepatch that covered his left eye. And yet everyone seemed to favor him over Aegon, who seemed to take to his cups as soon as he could form complete sentences.
And now here you were, at the head of the table with your husband. The sun had just set behind the iron clad windows, and you knew that three hours had now passed since you exchanged vows. Soon enough it would be four, and the party for all the guests in attendance would end, which meant that you would be forced to leave the last room you considered safe. The safety of your family, the safety of being alone.
Watching the setting sun felt like delaying the inevitable. You tried not to think about what comes next.
“Are you enjoying your party?” The Queen's voice sounded from the next seat over. You didn’t notice beforehand that your husband's chair next to you was empty, he must have left at some point, but you didn’t feel the need to seek him out.
“Yes, it’s very grand. Thank you, my Queen.” You said, and smiled politely at her. It didn’t seem like she believed you, as you saw the corner of her mouth drop slightly before raising back up into that diplomatic smile she was known for.
Her eyes focused on the empty chair between the two of you before getting up and walking off the dais. You watched her stop momentarily at the front of the table, pinpointing Aemond somewhere off in the back of the crowd, and walking straight at him. Exchanging some words with him, you noticed an annoyed look grow on both of their faces. And then he looked straight at you. Gasping, you looked away quickly, but not before you saw that stupid smirk on his face again.
You pretended to busy yourself with the almost untouched food on your plate. The large slice of pork would definitely be cold and stale by now, but you’d eat it no matter how sour it tasted. You tried to reach for your goblet without picking your eyes up off the plate, missing multiple times before finally landing on something that seemed too soft to be glass. You glanced up quickly, and almost choked when your hand was not, in fact, holding the goblet, but instead gently caressing Aemond wrist.
“I believe this is what you were trying to reach.” He said, and picked his arm up slightly, his hand holding the goblet of wine.
You quickly retracted your hand back towards your chest, before trying to reach for it again. “Yes. Thank you, my Lord.”
“Here, let me.” He said before your hand could make contact with the glass.
You sat painfully still as the goblet was lifted to your lips by Aemond’s hand, but proceeded to drink nonetheless in order to not bring even more attention to the table. You knew everybody around was looking.
Through the shroud of nerves and attempts to ease the shaking of your entire body, the bitterness of the wine washed over you. But Aemond's steady hand is what eventually grounded you for what felt like an eternity. The warmth of the alcohol reaching your stomach soon spread to your cheeks as you made eye contact with Aemond. He was staring deep into your eyes as you drank the wine from his hand. But you noticed that the smirk had finally vanished from his face, replaced by something closer to contemplation.
He moved the goblet away from you, and his eyes dropped down to your chin, where you felt a drop of red wine slowly sliding down your lip. You reached up to wipe it yourself but he was faster than you. His thumb gliding across your bottom lip, spreading the redness further across your lip than actually getting it off in the first place. The goblet clattered back down onto the table, cutting through your imagined silence in the room as he stood up hastily. The actual loudness of the room kicked back in; the music was playing and people were still celebrating. Apart from the few onlookers closest to the dais, nobody seemed to notice what had just transpired between the two of you.
“I believe that’s enough festivities for the evening,” He stated, standing at the front of the dais. Looking up, you saw that every pair of eyes was on you now. “Thank you all for coming, I’d like to spend some time with my wife now.” He gestured towards you, and the crowd erupted in congratulatory cheers as you watched the smirk appear on his face yet again.