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Aemond never imagined he would one day actively look forward to spending time with toddlers. So much time he has been forced to spend in company of adults who seemed capable of less complex thought than his two years-old children, that it made their mumblings sound most interesting. He tells himself that is the reason behind the spring in his step, as he marches towards Helaena’s rooms, where he is sure to find her with their children. He needs not be furtive, he and Helaena have always spent a lot of time together, thus the guards by the door merely announce his arrival before letting him in.
He finds his sister sitting on the floor, Jaehaera sitting in her lap while Jaehaerys plays with a wooden dragon. Helaena smiles at him as soon as she sees him and his daughter, in an unusual burst of liveliness, jumps on unsteady feet to saunter towards him and latch her tiny hands onto the fabric of his breeches.
“Father!” she calls and raises her arms to indicate she wants him to pick her up. He obliges, if only to see his sister’s smile widen.
“Weren’t you supposed to be with our grandsire?” Helaena inquires, reaching towards Jaehaerys to drag him into her lap, filling the spot his twin had just vacated.
“If Aegon gets to ignore all his responsibilities, I can afford to ignore one once in a while.” Aemond shrugs and turns his attention to his daughter who is insistently tugging at his hair.
“He will be cross with you.” Helaena says, and Aemond can tell she isn’t actually worried about his irresponsible behaviour.
“I claimed Vhagar when I was naught but a child, I can handle our grandsire being cross with me.” Aemond offers with nonchalance, and he is about to walk closer to where his sister sits but his daughter chooses that very moment to pull vehemently on his hair.
“Vhagar!” She exclaims and that gets her twin’s attention, Jaehaerys drops his toy dragon and turns expectantly to Helaena, “mother? Fly?”
Aemond doesn’t need to look at Helaena to know she will be more than willing to abide to her son’s request, just as he is.
“It has been a while since I took to the skies with Dreamfyre, brother.” She says as she stands with Jaehaerys in her arms, there is genuinely happy smile on her face at the prospect of flying and Aemond for a moment forgets he had ever desired anything but flying on dragonback with her.
“The air is warm today; it will be good for the children as well.” He affirms while delicately prying his daughter’s hands from his eyepatch.
“Will old Vhagar still be able to keep up with us?” She teasingly asks Jaehaerys, who giggles and hides his face in his mother’s neck.
“Vhagar!” Jaehaera repeats again and Aemond cannot help but chuckle. He steps closer to his sister, leans down to kiss the top of his son’s head and then her cheek before whispering in her ear, “Vhagar will fly so fast you will lose sight of us.”
“I never lose sight of you.” she says and Aemond knows her words have a deeper meaning, but he does not wish for her to dwell on such thoughts – he wants her to stop thinking altogether and she always told him how her own thoughts escaped her when the city disappeared into the distance.
“Let the race begin then.” He says with a rare smile, he leans down to kiss her – properly – on the lips, she reaches for his face to deepen the kiss but he pulls away and with a sly smile turns to walk out of her chambers.
Vhagar is sleeping when he reaches her and he can’t help to recall the first time he saw her, the time he claimed her. They have now come to know each other quite well, having been companions for years now. Vhagar is his only friend, aside from his sister that is. He approaches her carefully, not wanting to startle her. Jaehaera claps her tiny hands and squirms in his arms in excitement. Nursemaids always said she was unresponsive and unusually quiet for a child her age, he always scoffed at their words – they couldn’t understand her like they couldn’t understand her mother and they hadn’t seen them near the dragons.
“Vhagar! Vhagar!” She calls out when they are near enough for her voice to reach the great beast.
The old dragon opens her eyes at the sound of her name, looks at them for a moment then unfolds her immense wings in a stretch before leaning the upper side of her body towards them.
Aemond smiles as he reaches for the ropes to climb up to reach the saddle, the whole ordeal made more difficult by the child in his arms. But it’s not the first time he does this, and he barely even register the movement when Vhagar turns to look at Dreamfyre landing beside her.
The dragons greet each other with low screeches, and he looks at his sister, clearly happy to be reunited with her mount.
“Mother will be cross when she will learn about this. She thinks it is dangerous for the children.” Helaena says, but she is smiling and Aemond can’t help but mirror her expression as he secures his daughter on the saddle.
“Luckily neither mother nor our grandsire can reach us where we are headed.” He says, throwing her a complacent smile, before urging Vhagar to move.
Helaena does the same, Dreamfyre is lighter than Vhagar and thus she is faster to take to air, he could hear his sister and son’s laughs as they rise higher into the sky.
He spurs Vhagar on and with a beat of her great wings they take to the sky after Dreamfyre. Jaehaera is giggling madly, pulling on a loose rope to encourage Vhagar to fly faster. There is no one to see him, not even his daughter and dragon – both focused on catching Dreamfyre’s, who still flies ahead of them – so he lets himself laugh out loud.
There were few things – if any – that could equal the feeling of the wind whipping at his face when he and his sister playfully chased each other among the clouds. Here they needed not to pretend, to put on masks for both servants and family.
It doesn’t take long for Vhagar to catch up to his sister’s dragon, she lets out a modest roar – Aemond imagines it to be a greeting – and Dreamfyre answers in kind. His smile widens still as Jaeahera waves at her twin, who is holding tightly at the handles of the saddle, convinced to be the one leading Dreamfyre.
“You caught up, took you a while!” His sister voice carries through the wind, and he doesn’t miss the teasing her voice.
“Let us see if you can keep up now.” He shouts over the sound of wind and wings. He is smiling still as he spurs Vhagar on.
His dragon roars as she abides to his wills and climbs higher into the sky, he turns to look back at Helaena urging Dreamfyre to the chase. She is laughing too and, as the city disappears beneath them, he finds himself at peace.