Work Text:
Egg didn’t want to return to court. He was happy with Ser Duncan. Besides which, Aerion would be there. He was a man now, happily married, but Aerion still terrified him. When he saw his brother, part of him would always return to the frightened boy he had been.
He had feared Aerion for as long as he could remember. It was not an easy thing to shake. Anytime he visited Summerhall, the bile rose up in his throat. His father didn’t understand why he visited so rarely. Daella and Rhae did.
Even with Betha, sometimes, it haunted him. He loved her, but there were days when he woke hardly knowing where he was, heart steeped in fear. She was understanding, but he felt guilty about it even so. She deserved better than to be compared to Aerion, even if only in that terrified breath between body and mind awakening.