-Chapter 67-
-POV Aemon Targaryen-
As I was fastening my weapon belt, I heard my mother behind me say:
"You look so handsome."
"I know," I joked as I turned toward her, just in time to see her roll her eyes at my joke.
She approached me slowly before saying:
"You're still so young. It feels like it was just yesterday that I gave birth to you, and now you're already a man about to start your own family."
I smiled and said, "You're not going to start crying, are you?"
I was joking, but it didn't take much for her to burst into tears.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
Seeing that she couldn't stop, I simply hugged her. It only took a few minutes for her to gather herself, and as she wiped her cheeks, she said:
"I hate your father, but I'll never regret marrying him because you came into this world. I want you to know that."
I smiled and said, "You've been a perfect mother, I want you to know that too."
"Don't talk like I'm dead. I fully intend to bother you for the rest of my very long life," she said as she walked out, and I quickly followed her, grabbing her arm.
A gesture that brought a small smile to her face.
'I must not lose sight of my goal: to protect myself and mine; everything else is secondary.'
'It's this smile that I must protect.'
---
-POV Viserys Targaryen-
Sitting on my throne, I watched the nobles enter one by one into the throne room where I had decided the ceremony would take place, as the sept was too small to accommodate even half of the guests.
'More than just a wedding, this is a demonstration of our strength and the unity of the House of the Dragon,' I thought as I saw Rhaenyra enter, accompanied by Lyonel's son.
He will have to resign in a while, and Ser Harwin will fall hard. Let's hope he will show as much loyalty to his king as his father and Aemon.
'Speak of the devil,' I thought as I watched Aemon join Rhaenyra and Septon Eustace in the center of the room.
I motioned for Aemon's mother to join me, Alicent, and the children, which she did. Once she was close to us, she gave a perfect curtsey while saying:
"It is a great honor for House Royce to be honored in this way by House Targaryen."
"Aemon is first and foremost my nephew; it's only natural for me to honor him in this way," I said.
"I have heard that you had the magnanimity to make my son the Master of Dragons. I hope this won't force him to spend all his time away from his mother," said my former sister-in-law, always smiling but wielding her sharp tongue with precision.
I smiled, a little surprised, but replied calmly, "Don't worry, Aemon has been very clear on that. The intrigues of the court are not as appealing as the fresh air of the Mountain."
Rhea Royce smiled without saying anything, and I added, "The position of Master of Dragons is almost entirely honorary, allowing its holder to participate in the council."
"What are his duties?" Alicent suddenly asked.
I resisted the urge to frown at the sound of her voice, but still answered without enthusiasm, "To take care of the dragons' well-being, catalog them, study them, create more comfortable saddles, and manage the order of dragonkeepers."
"You gave him free access to the dragon eggs?!" Alicent exclaimed.
"He's a prince of House Targaryen, and his children will be too," I said, disliking the insinuation from Alicent.
"I didn't mean to speak ill of Prince Aemon, I was simply surprised by your trust in him."
"Aemon is a good man and a man of his word. It's only natural for people to trust him," Rhea said.
I nodded in agreement with her, but before I could say anything else, the closed doors opened to reveal the arrival of the Velaryon family.
At the front were Laenor and his father, followed by Rhaenys and her daughter, then the other members of House Velaryon.
'My nephew has chosen well,' I thought as I looked up and down at the very beautiful daughter of the Sea Snake.
I only took my eyes off my nephew's bride when he approached her and offered her his arm, which she willingly took.
'They seem much more in sync than they were at the start of this week…'
'Unlike these two,' I thought as I watched Laenor advance with a closed expression, completely ignoring Rhaenyra and positioning himself directly in front of Septon Eustace.
"Laenor doesn't seem to be in his usual state," Rhea Royce said in a slightly worried tone, more to herself than to us.
"You seem to know him well," I said, surprised that she had grown so close to my daughter's future husband.
"Not personally, but Rhaenys talks to me a lot about her son, as I do about mine, so we have a pretty good understanding of each other's children," she said, not bothering to filter her responses based on her audience.
'She cares nothing for politics; she's here solely to see her son marry. Once it's all over, she'll happily return to the Vale.'
'She's exactly like Aemon. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that he's exactly like her. He must have taken her as a role model in the absence of his father.'
'Why can't they all be like that?'
---
-POV Aemon Targaryen-
Holding the hand of my betrothed, I leaned slightly toward her and said:
"I almost thought you wouldn't come."
She raised her eyebrows, slightly surprised by my confession, then said indifferently:
"So, there are things you fear."
"I fear nothing and no one… except spiders," I said, because in my previous world, I had once woken up with a spider right above my face.
'That's what created my fear, which has followed me even into this world. Those things disgust me.'
To my great surprise, Laena stifled a small smile, but I smiled too and whispered in her ear:
"No need to hide it, I saw that you smiled."
"How could I not smile, hearing that the rider of the great dragon Urrax, Lord of House Royce, and Prince of House Targaryen is actually a big baby who's afraid of spiders?" she said, teasing me.
"First of all, I'm not really afraid of spiders, I'm just… disgusted by those things," I said in a mock-offended tone.
Laena shrugged, no longer bothering to hide her smile, and said nothing, which made me smile as well because she wasn't as tense as when she arrived, and that was my goal.
'This is the first day of the rest of our lives together. Let's make sure it remains a good memory for both of us,' I thought, trying to make her as comfortable as possible while I watched Laenor, nearly drunk, urging the septon to begin his service.