Chapter Text
He dreamed of Jace. His smile and his laugh. The fire in his eyes and in his touch. The way his fingers grazed over Aegon's jaw when his husband cupped his face.
Aegon missed him. He woke with tears on his face. His head pounding as his stomach twisted in hunger.
An improvement, really, given how difficult he'd found eating after giving birth. But now? Now he was famished. Starved. Desperately hungry as he'd never been in his life.
Sitting up, Aegon cringed as the room spun for a bit. He muffled a whine, hand pressed to his lips. Jace had not yet returned but his bed was not empty.
Joffrey and Daeron slept beside him each night. His little brother even clung to him sometimes, his hand fisting in Aegon's shirt, as if afraid he might disappear in the night.
He took care not to disturb either of the boys as he rose from the bed. A quick glance into her craddle proved Aemma still asleep. Aegon let his hand hover over her chest for a moment as it rose and fell with her every breath.
The doors to his receiving room remained open. Aegon looked back at his daughter twice before he got to the next set of doors. Velaryon knights and two kingsguard lingered in the hall outside.
A squire ran off the moment Aegon requested some food. He cared very little what sort of food it was, so long as it filled his stomach and stopped the room from spinning.
He'd been rather good about eating, the last few days. Daeron might disagree, but Aegon had been finishing his meals well enough. The plates of finger food with meats and cheese that appeared in his rooms constantly.
Jace would have long since given up such a pretense and demanded Aegon eat proper food, appetite or not. His husband's patience was not endless. Not even for Aegon.
Hand grazing over his stomach, Aegon leaned back in his seat. The furrowed brow. Clenched jaw. He imagined Jace would loom over him, nostrils flaring as he swatted down all of Aegon's excuses.
Daeron liked to guilt him instead. He brought up Aemma, the milk she needed from Aegon's body. If he didn't eat, Aegon would deprive her of much needed sustenance.
An effective argument, truly. It worked better than Aegon cared to admit.
"My prince," a servant entered the room, whispering softly as they brought in the food. Aegon's eyes fluttered as he took in the cart.
Lamb. Beef. At least one turkey leg. Aegon had not seen so much roasted meat in one place outside the dragonyard since before Aemma's birth.
"Prince Jacaerys left instruction, for when you started requesting food again," the servant smiled at him as they placed the first dish upon the table before. "As many options as possible, if you were not specific in your request."
Tears welled up as Aegon looked down at the cut of lamb. The vegetables coated in some fragrant sauce that had his stomach grumbling. He scrubbed a hand over his face, to hide his crying, and then he reached for a fork.
"The bakers will be prepping the bread and pastries soon," the servant offered, ducking their head. Aegon blinked up at them. Another smile spread over their face, "Is there anything you'd like, or shall they make a selection?"
Oh. Jace's order had been a standing one then. Obviously.
Aegon chuckled, swallowing his first bite. It settled well enough. No twisting or churning, as he'd come to expect. A warmth bloomed in his chest.
"Something light, maybe?" Aegon asked, shrugging his shoulders back. He glanced back at his bed as Joffrey tossed in his sleep.
He took another bite. The flavors were delicious. Spices buzzing across his taste buds. Aegon moaned, head falling forward as the warmth in his chest spread out, tingling at his fingertips.
"A lemon bread," Aegon decided, taking another bite. He nodded sharply, "The one Rhaenyra always requests for feasts and celebrations."
It was one of Jace's favorites. He'd fed it to Aegon several times over the years, when they'd stolen away together after those feasts. The crumbs had lingered on his nephew's lips when the man kissed him. When they'd fallen into one bed or another.
The servant bowed. Aegon's gaze flickered over the aprons and realized they were likely one of the cooks. Perhaps an assistant.
"I will tell them, your grace," their head rose up, nodding sharply as they backed out of the room. Another servant took their place. This one pouring him juice before fretting over the books and toys his brother and nephew had left scattered around the receiving room.
Aegon watched them as he ate. His gaze following their movements idly as he finished the lamb and the roasted vegetables. He got through half the turkey before Aemma started fussing.
She latched to his chest the moment he opened his shirt. Aegon swayed beside her cradle, rocking slightly as she nursed. He hummed to himself as he sat back on the bed.
An familiar tune. An old lullaby perhaps. He couldn't remember. Aemma settled quickly though, and neither his brother nor Joffrey stirred. Daeron smiled, shifting closer as Aegon combed his fingers through silver curls.
"You'll be just like this someday hmm?" Aegon whispered to his daughter, kissing the top of her head. He smiled to himself, "Cuddling beside me while I nurse your little sibling?"
-.-.-
Rhaenyra paced before the broad windows of his mother's chamber. Her fingers twitching over her rings. A clicking noise accompanied her every step as the metal wrapped around her fingers tapped against each other.
"The host shrunk, that is a good thing," his mother stood only a few steps away. Her own fingers bled as she picked at her nails. Her cuticles. She pursed her lips, glancing his way, "Yes?"
"I would think so," Aemond nodded sharply. He clasped his hands behind his back. His fingers twitched, but he refused to let them move, refused to give in to his nerves. Picking or twisting at the digits like the women in front of him.
Inhaling, Rhaenyra pressed a hand to the side of her head, "It is good, if the knights and soldiers abandoned the cause." His mother stiffened as Rhaenyra turned, "If the host has merely split, it may prove more difficult to deal with, and it would... it would be an escalation. A sign of a coming attack."
The problem was, of course, that they did not know which situation they were dealing with. Ravens from their scouts estimated the host in the Westerlands to be only 30 thousand strong now.
Nearly half of what it had been, when Rhaenyra had seen it last. Splitting a host was not a common tactic, especially for an offensive force.
But, as Aegon the Uncrowned had well proven, facing an attack from multiple sides came with its own risk. Those motivated by a religious fervor especially.
"I have dispatched Laenor and Daemon to survey the situation. If the host split, they will track the movements and report back," Rhaenyra paused in her pacing. She blew out a breath, head falling back.
Approaching her, Alicent took his sister's hands, squeezing them in her own. A tight smile on her face as she reassured the queen regent, "The City Watch has fortified the gates. All reports from those who move in and out to tend the fields are being investigated, no matter how innocuous they appear."
They had done all that they could do. Aemond was well aware of that. He'd assisted in checking the defenses himself, ordered for an extra patrol around the Holdfast. A second kingsguard in the hallway outside the king's rooms. His brother's.
It did not feel like enough.
A pit in his stomach churned, insistent. The lingering dread left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Helaena had given him a sharp look just that morning, warning him not to stop eating, as Aegon had. Though his brother would deny such an accusation.
He ate, when prompted, when Daeron made him. Since the birth, Aegon had been but a shadow of himself.
Even more so since Jace had left.
Aegon remained abed more often than not, nursing Aemma, sleeping constantly. He hadn't gone flying even.
The most active Aegon seemed to be teaching Aemma to lift her head.
Aemond despised it. He almost wished for Aegon to play some prank on him. A chittering whine came from beneath the table and he flushed as both Rhaenyra and his mother turned to look at Safyre.
His dragon's wings fluttered as she uncurled. Safyre's maw pushed against the stone floor and she shuddered.
"Worried are you, little brother?" Rhaenyra chuckled and he startled as a hand squeezed at his arm. Lips pursing, Aemond ducked his head. She sighed, "As am I."
"I am more concerned about Aegon, than the host," Aemond admitted, clearing his throat. Rhaenyra cringed. She nodded.
Rhaenyra dropped her hand, taking his, just as his mother had done for her. "The maester gave me a full report on both his condition and Aemma's this morning." Aemond straightened. She smiled, "Gerardys says he's improving."
A breathy laugh fell from his mother's lips as she joined them. She cupped his face, "It can be... difficult, even with a perfectly simple birth." Her smile was tight, "And Aemma's birth has been far from simple. Or smooth."
"The cooks informed me he's been requesting food again," Rhaenyra pipped up, a grin splitting her cheeks, "Lemon bread."
His mother rolled her eyes, "As long as his appetite is coming back, I suppose it matters very little what he eats."
"Of course it does!" His sister clicked her tongue, chin rising, "My little brother deserves only most delicious of foods." Rhaenyra giggled, "That's why we've both been enjoying lemon bread when we break our fasts as late."
A knock at the door had them both stepping back. Aemond turned as his sister's maester entered the room. The frown on his mother's face deepened as the man held up several letters.
At least one of the seals appeared to include a dragon. Aemond swallowed thickly, eyes wide as the man bowed to each of them.
Gerardys offered a nervous smile as his head rose up, "Word from Prince Jacaerys, your grace." He handed the letters to Rhaenyra. All three of them. "The others are from Lords Tully and Blackwood."
"He said he'd make his way north, into the Riverlands, if the Westerlands came up empty," Rhaenyra hummed, lips pursing tight as she opened the first letter. Her lashes fluttered.
"What does he say?" Aemond demanded, stepping closer. Her head turned. A smile rose on her cheeks as he read over her shoulder.
Her laughter was soft, a breathless chuckle as she gasped out, "He found them." Aemond bit his bottom lip as she held the letter to her chest, head falling forward as she took several breaths.
As relieved as Rhaenyra was, Aemond knew at least one person who would be more so. Perhaps Aegon would manage more than lemon bread when Aemond brought him the news.
-.-.-
It was no small feat, getting a moment alone. Between Joffrey and Daeron, all the servants, his mother and Rhaenyra. Aegon considered it nothing less than a miracle to stand in the dragon yard with just Ser Arryk and a few house guards.
"Ah, there he is," Aegon whispered to Aemma as they approached the Cannibal. Moonlight glinted off the dragon's dark scales. His eyes glowed even brighter. Aemma gurgled and tiny hands reached for her future mount.
Sunfyre was just behind him, stalking closer, hiding them from view as they drew closer. Aegon breathed out as the golden dragon settled at his back. Cannibal's maw rose to meet Aemma's hand, pausing before Aegon.
Their eyes met. Aegon's and the dragon's. Cannibal had green flames, like wildfyre, and his eyes matched them. A glowing green that reminded Aegon of his mother's gowns and his husband's dragon. Sunfyre whined, nudging at his side with his own maw.
They hadn't gone flying since Jace left. His dragon was despondent, moping about the yard. Aegon had watched him from the window most days. He ducked his head, crying softly, "I know. I've been neglecting you, I'm sorry."
Sunfyre exhaled and warm air blew out, encircling him. Aemma giggled. Cannibal repeated it and she squealed. Dark eyes an inky black in the low light, just like her father's, like Jace's.
"It will all be better, once he returns," Aegon grazed a finger down her cheek. His daughter smiled up at him and Aegon choked on a sob.
Jace had left before she learned to smile. Aemma got bigger every day, more curious. She liked to watch the flames flicker on the candles.
All of the books Daeron rambled on about said she needed to practice pushing her body up. Apparently it would help her crawl.
The sooner she could crawl, the sooner she'd walk. Aegon inhaled sharply. He didn't want Jace to miss that, to miss even more of all her little triumphs. Her victories and milestones.
Aemma nuzzled into his chest, squirming as a breeze whipped around them. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "I'm right here, my little princess."
A chill rose up his spine as the wind picked up. His head rising with it. Winter was starting. Crisp winds. Cold rains. The first snow would be soon.
In his arms, Aemma was a furnace of heat, same as the dragons around him. Gerardys had clicked his tongue and frowned when he checked Aegon over the day before. He was gaining weight again, yes, but slowly. And Aemma fed regularly, greedily.
Aegon could barely keep up and Gerardys had not been afraid to tell him why. Even now, he found himself shivering. The wind cutting through him, his normally warm body temperature smothered by the cold air.
He could almost hear Daeron's fretting and Joffrey's grumbling. The admonishments for not wearing something thicker. Warmer.
"Brother!" Aemond called out to him, rushing into the yard. The two dragons reared up and Aegon turned his head, whispering a command for calm. They settled. Still tense, but Aemond approached regardless.
A wide grin split his brother's face. Almost manic even as he took long strides across the yard. He held a letter aloft in his hand, gesturing with it.
"Jace sent word," Aemond exhaled and his grin grew even wider, "He found the Hightowers. He's escorting them back from the Riverlands."
"He's on his way back?" Aegon's voice cracked as he stared at his brother. Aemond nodded sharply.
In his arms, Aemma screeched. Tiny hands knocked against his chest as Aegon took a shuddering breath.
Tears slid down his cheeks. He laughed, head ducking forward. Sunfyre cooed at them as Aegon brushed a hand over Aemma's head. A smile ripped from his lips, Aegon sobbed.
"Hear that, my sweet?" Aegon whispered to his daughter, his chuckle wet and whimpering, "Daddy's coming home." Sunfyre nudged at his side and Aegon looked up. Golden scales blurred in his vision. Aegon sniffled, ignoring his tears. "They're coming back."
Cannibal threw his head back. Green flames shot into the air and the castle shook with his roar as Aemma cried out. Aegon held her tight, pressing kisses to her head as he rocked in place.
"Soon," Aegon promised her, "We'll all be together soon."
His eyes closed. Exhaling, Aegon felt a heavy weight rising from his chest. His stomach rumbled, growling loudly as he tilted his head back.
Perhaps his minders would let him off with a warning, if Aegon asked for a proper meal. Something with meat. The lamb the cooks had sent him the last few times he'd requested something would be good...
"It should be only a few weeks more," Aemond's brow arched high when Aegon opened his eyes again. His brother smiled again, fingers twitching over the paper in his hand, "Jace said they're keeping the escort small. They should be able to move fairly quick."
"Come, join us for dinner," Aegon inclined his head towards the archway that led to his rooms. He stepped away from Sunfyre after a quick peck at his maw. A promise to return in a short while, to fly soon.
Aemond startled as Aegon leveled his gaze on him. His eyes focused. Sharp. He smirked.
"I want to read that letter."