Author's Note: Hey everyone, here we are! Rhaena's wedding, with a surprise guest towards the end... I hope you enjoy the chapter!

THE DRAGON & THE ROSE - SEASON'S END/PART TWO

Rhaena Targaryen, Two Weeks Later

"Would you prefer the hem to be shortened just a touch, Princess?" one of the lady's maids asked, frowning at the end of the long and pale blue wedding gown. "It seems a bit long to me-"

"Thank you but it's fine the way it is," Rhaena responded, forcing a small smile as she looked down. Just as she did this another one of the dozen women surrounding her moved to add something to her hair, while another's needle pricked her on the shoulder.

Rhaena inhaled through her teeth at this sharp bit of pain, then closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than for all of this fuss to be over with.

"Leave the Princess alone now," Rhaena's head lady's maid scolded the others, "She's had enough primping and preening, let her breathe."

Each of the ladies took slow steps backwards, allowing for their Princess to have some room.

"Thank you, Amie," Rhaena said softly once the girl had approached her.

"Of course, Princess. Is there anything else you can think of that we can do?" Amie asked kindly, her smile a bit sad. "Any last touches you'd like made?"

"No, no," Rhaena shook her head. She then looked down and swallowed roughly, feeling the nerves in her belly turn. "If you could just bring my mother here, I'm sure she can finish up."

"At once, Your Grace," Amie nodded, turning around to shoo the others away. Once the door was closed behind them all, Rhaena let out a small exhale of tension, trying to calm herself down.

While she had known for a long time that she would be marrying Jace, she had never truly faced it. She always pushed the thoughts of doubt and fear about marriage as a whole away, knowing that this was her duty to her family that she couldn't back out of. And now that the day had finally come where she would have to solidify the idea of her marriage into reality, she felt completely overwhelmed by it all.

During her last supper with Viserys and the rest of her family, Greens and Blacks alike, the choice of whether she would marry or not was taken from her. From there the only free will she had in this matter was choosing who she was to marry, so she named the only person that made sense at the time. When it came to Jace, Rhaena knew that she loved him as family, as a friend, but nothing more. And while her parents had assured her over the last two weeks that their love for each other might grow over the years, Rhaena still felt apprehension.

Jace was the better match for her in every way. Not only would marrying him make her the future Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, but marrying him meant marrying someone that knew her well and cared for her. She knew in her bones that he would never do a thing to hurt her, that he would honorably devote himself to her with respect and kindness.

But despite these seemingly perfect qualities in a partner, how could she grow to love Jace when her heart was already confused and muddled with feelings surrounding Aemond?

It frustrated her to no end to have it be him on her mind, for the only thing that Aemond promised her was doubt and danger...and yet somehow this prospect seemed more desirable to her.

She didn't want to feel anything towards him other than hatred, for which her mind told her she was justified. After all, he had done plenty on his part to further the tension between their families. And yet at the same time Rhaena couldn't help but remember the times where the signals he sent her were the opposite. So while she wanted to hate him, she simply couldn't, not truly. Deep down she knew that there was something about him that called to her in ways that no one else ever had.

But even if Rhaena was able to freely admit these feelings she had for him to herself, she knew she would never be able to act on them. In less than an hour's time she would be married to Jace before the Gods, their lives bound to each other for the rest of their days whether she wanted it to happen or not.

So all she could do was look at herself in the mirror, straighten her dress out, and put on the best smile she could manage to fool even herself that this was what she wanted. It wouldn't be fair to anyone else, including herself, not to.

The door then slowly opened behind her, revealing her mother who wore a small smile on her lips. Rhaena turned around to face her, watching as Elaena took her daughter in with tears welling in her eyes.

"You look beautiful, my darling," Elaena said softly once she stood in front of Rhaena. Her hand then moved up to her daughter's cheek, her fingers gently brushing the silvery hair behind her ear.

"Thank you," Rhaena responded quietly, knowing how much this moment meant for her mother. Elaena's own mother died long before she could ever see her on her wedding day, so Rhaena knew that for them to share this moment together meant the world to her. She wished that she could be more excited for what was about to happen if only for her mother's sake alone.

"How are you feeling?" Elaena asked, moving her hands to meet Rhaena's.

"I feel good, I feel ready," Rhaena lied, forcing another small smile onto her lips. But she could see in her mother's eyes that she wasn't convinced.

"Well then," Elaena nodded once, her eyes narrowing a bit, "If you feel good and ready that's one step ahead of how I felt on my wedding day."

"Really?" Rhaena asked, her brows furrowing together. "When you married father?"

"I was completely terrified," Elaena said honestly, her own smile faltering a bit now. "I could hardly breathe I was so nervous."

"But why? I thought you two were in love, I thought you wanted to be married."

"We were more in love than you know," she responded, "And we wanted to marry each other more than anything else in the world. But marriage isn't something you can walk away from once you do it, you can't change your mind once you've made your vows before the Gods. I was scared that I might have been making a mistake, despite how much I loved him... So I find it hard to believe that with these circumstances you feel ready and good."

Rhaena's lips pinched a little tighter together at these words, then her eyes flitted to the floor to avoid her mother's.

"You can tell me the truth, Rhaena," she whispered, her hands squeezing Rhaena's a bit tighter now. "You don't have to hide from me."

"I don't want this," Rhaena finally said after a long pause of silence. Small tears started welling in her eyes, threatening to fall at moment's notice. "I know that there are thousands of girls in Westeros who would want what I'm about to have, but I just don't, and I don't know why."

"Is it because you don't love him?" Elaena asked, trying to understand where her daughter's feelings were coming from as best she could. "Perhaps with time-"

"It's not even that," Rhaena said a bit more frustratedly now, "It's-"

"It's what?" Elaena asked, her head tilting to the side as she tried to see into her daughter thoughts.

Rhaena breathed in deeply, her eyes closed as she tried to find a way out of this conversation. Even though her mother would understand what it was like to have feelings for the wrong person better than anyone else in her life, Rhaena still couldn't bring herself to be completely honest about Aemond. So yet again, she settled for another lie.

"I don't know," Rhaena exhaled, wiping underneath her eye to compose herself. "I'm just overwhelmed."

"It's not too late to change your mind, Rhaena," Elaena shook her head, "I don't care what the aftermath of it becomes, I won't make you do this if you're truly this overwhelmed-"

"No, no, it's too late for any of that. If I wanted to back out of this I should have said something weeks ago," Rhaena responded quickly, cutting her mother off. "Every lord and lady of any importance is here to witness this union, to see the strength of the Blacks of House Targaryen solidified. But even more importantly I couldn't hurt Jace like that, he doesn't deserve that from me, especially after he just lost his brother not a month ago. I have to go through with it whether I like it or not now. And like you said, maybe with time I'll grow to love him, and if I don't...that's just something I'll have to live with. There are plenty of people in this world living in loveless marriages, it's not like I'd be the first."

Elaena stood still for a moment, a frown resting on her lips as she listened to Rhaena. They both knew that she was right, the time for her to change her mind about this was long past.

"I have something for you that might help you today, something that might also help for the days to come," Elaena said slowly, removing her hands from Rhaena's. She then unclasped the Valyrian Steel necklace that hung from around her neck and held it out in her palm for her daughter to take.

"I can't take that, father gave it to you," Rhaena shook her head, looking at the necklace for a moment before returning her eyes to her mother. For Rhaena's entire life she had never seen her mother without this piece of jewelery around her neck, and while she had always coveted it, she felt she couldn't possibly accept it.

"Your father gave this to me the day that I returned to King's Landing from Winterfell," Elaena said slowly, walking around Rhaena until she stood behind her so that she could put it on her. "I was 15 years old, only a few months older than you are now...and since then it has become a symbol of my love for him, and his for me. It's that same love that allowed for you and your brothers to be brought into this world."

Elaena fastened the thin clasps, allowing for the cool steel to rest on the skin of Rhaena's neck.

"Maybe by giving it to you it will help you find the same love I feel for your father," Elaena said slowly, resting her hands on Rhaena's shoulders now as they both looked into the mirror. "Whether that love is with Jace or not, I don't care. All I want is your happiness, for you to be loved in the way I know you deserve."

Rhaena felt her cheeks flush a little redder as she nodded, for when her mother spoke of a great love and passion, she immediately thought of Aemond, not Jace. She slowly lifted her fingers to touch the necklace, her thumb grazing the large pearl embedded on the steel pendant.

"Thank you, mother."

Elaena placed a gentle kiss on her daughter's cheek, "I love you so much, Rhaena."

"I love you too," Rhaena nodded, turning around to hug her mother. She wrapped her arms around Elaena's waist and held on tightly, drawing in every bit of love and courage she could take. While she wasn't being completely honest in words about her muddled feelings, Rhaena knew that her mother had to know on some level the truth behind what she was thinking and feeling. Elaena wouldn't have said that she wanted her daughter to find love with Jace, or another, if she didn't.

Suddenly a knock on the door interrupted this bittersweet moment between them, and the door slowly pushed open.

"May I come in?" Daemon's voice rung through the room, his body still on the other side of the door as he waited for a response.

"Yes," Elaena nodded, giving Rhaena one last kiss on the forehead before pulling away. "Come in, my love."

Rhaena's head turned to the side as her father walked in, watching as his face melted a little at the sight of her. She was no longer either of their's little girl anymore, rather a girl who was about to cross the path into womanhood.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Elaena asked, running her hand over Rhaena's shoulder.

Daemon only nodded, seeming unable to form words of his own.

"Are you alright, father?" Rhaena asked, seeming a little worried. "You look like you're about to cry."

"This is an emotional day for us all," Elaena said warmly, taking Daemon's hand into her own now. "It's not everyday we have to give our only daughter away to another."

"She's getting married, she's not being given away," Daemon said a bit defensively, looking at Elaena with sharper eyes now.

"A poor choice of words on my part, I'm sorry," Elaena laughed lightly, shaking her head.

"Don't worry," Rhaena said softly, looking at her father alone now. "It's going to take a lot more than me being married to take me away from you, from our family."

Daemon nodded a little, then wrapped his arms around her. His embrace was so strong that it felt like he was literally trying to hold onto every piece of her, which made her genuinely smile despite the tumultous feelings she still had about everything.

"You'll always have me, Rhaena," Daemon said quietly, "Always."

"I know."

After a few more moments spent together exchanging their love, Elaena and Daemon escorted their daughter to the throne room. While tradition would have them all be happy and excited for what was about to happen, each of them felt their own sense of dread as they neared the sounds of light chattering.

With each of her parents holding onto her arm on either side of her, Rhaena stopped in front of the closed doors to the throne room, allowing herself to take one final breath in before entering.

"Are you sure you're ready, my darling?" Daemon asked quietly, his eyes piercing hers to make sure she was truly okay with this. While her and Elaena knew that she couldn't back out now, her father cared little for what anyone might think, including Rhaenyra and Jace.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be, father," Rhaena responded, knowing this exact choice of words was the only honest answer that could be given to allow him to let her go.

Daemon and Elaena exchanged one last nod with each other as Rhaena stood up straighter, then looked to the guards outside of the doors to give the okay. As they opened, the faces of everyone there to witness this wedding turned to face her, each of them watching as she slowly walked towards the throne.

Rhaena's eyes flitted across the crowd of people, searching for the ones she truly cared about. When her eyes finally landed on her brothers, she felt a small twinge of relief. They both stood at the front of the room, their expressions encouraging and filled with love.

Standing at the center of the aisle was the septon, Rhaenyra and Jace, and when Rhaena looked at him she saw that he didn't feel the same way she did about this at all. His eyes were wide with a sense of awe as he watched her slowly approach, and there was an adoration in his body that almost shocked her. She knew that he always cared for her more than she did him, but it was in this moment that she realized what he felt might be closer to love than anything else.

Once at the end of the aisle she looked to the septon, avoiding Jace's gaze to try and keep her complexion from reddening any further.

"Who comes before the Seven on this night?" the septon asked, looking at her with a small nod to speak.

"Princess Rhaena, of the House Targaryen," she responded, her voice barely loud enough to be heard throughout the silent hall.

"Who comes to claim her?" the septon continued, turning now to Jace.

"Prince Jacaerys, of the House Velaryon, heir to the Iron Throne," he said, still looking at Rhaena who was avoiding his eyes the whole time he spoke.

"And who gives her?"

"Daemon, of the House Targaryen, Prince of Dragonstone," her father said, his jaw clenched tightly at these words.

"And Elaena, of the House Targaryen, Princess of Dragonstone," her mother concluded, looking to her husband to make sure he wasn't going to cause an outburst.

The septon gave another nod to both of her parents, indicating that it was time for them to take a step back now. Elaena and Daemon each gave her a kiss on the cheek, then stood to the side across from Rhaenyra as they watched the vows begin.

"You may now cloak the bride and bring her under your protection," the septon started.

Rhaena slowly turned around, then looked to her mother as Jace removed his long black cloak. Elaena gave her daughter a small smile, the two sharing one last moment together before the vows were completed.

Jace set the velvet cloak over Rhaena's shoulders, then gently pulled her long hair out from underneath it. When she turned around, his face seemed more nervous now like hers. But his nervousness was different, more in the realm of seeking her approval than anything else. It was clear that he wanted her to feel the same as he did.

"Your Graces, My Lords, and My Ladies...let it be known that Prince Jacaerys Velaryon and Princess Rhaena Targaryen stand in the sight of Gods and men as one heart, one flesh, one soul," the septon said loudly, looking to the rest of the onlookers now. These words made Rhaena's ears burn hot, for she knew that in this moment she was not of one with Jace. But if he already loved her the way she now assumed he did, perhaps there was a chance she could one day bring herself to feel the same. Perhaps if she gave it a chance she might be surprised by what she finds.

"In the sight of the Seven, I hereby seal these two souls, binding them as one for eternity. Look upon one another and say the words."

Rhaena slowly lifted her eyes to Jace, feeling her heart start to beat faster as she watched a small smile lift on his lips. "Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger."

"I am hers and she is mine. From this day, until the end of my days," Jace said first, the warmth towards her in his voice clear to all who listened.

"I am his and he is mine. From this day, until the end of my days," Rhaena said quietly, so nervous that she was unable to speak above a mere whisper.

"With this kiss, I pledge my love," Jace said, concluding the spoken portion of the ceremony. Rhaena stood deathly still as she looked to Jace, her chest pounding so loudly she feared that if he got any closer to her he might hear it. Even if he couldn't, she knew that the look on her face said it all: she was scared. If it had been them two alone in the room he would have waited longer for her nerves to settle, but with the eyes of everyone waiting he took a small step forward, the space between them narrowing.

Rhaena closed her eyes as he gently pressed his lips onto hers, allowing him to guide her completely in this. She had seen her parents kiss more times than she could count, and yet when it came to doing it herself she felt entirely paralyzed. But as she felt his lips touch hers some of this fear melted away, causing the tense muscles in her shoulders to slightly relax.

As soon people started to clap, Jace pulled away, his eyes looking to make sure she was alright as he held his hand out for her to take. Rhaena couldn't help herself but return the smile, small as it was, then took his hand. While she didn't know if she loved him or ever could the way he might love her, she didn't need to have those feelings in order to feel a slight sense of giddiness. The gentle affection in the kiss he gave her was enough to make anyone feel lightheaded, even Rhaena who had told her mother only less than an hour ago that this wasn't what she wanted.

She became increasingly aware of the gift her mother gave her sitting on her neck, wondering if perhaps her mother's intentions in giving it were already ringing true. Maybe the love her mother wanted her to find could be with Jace.

An Hour Later

After the ceremony, Rhaena's attentions were held by everyone in attendance who came to congratulate her and her new husband. She had hardly eaten two bites of the grand feast set before her there were so many lords and ladies to speak with.

As much as she wanted to give them all short nods and thanks for their well wishes to send them on their way, she knew that should they win this war that was still ongoing, one day she would be their Queen. So while her stomach wanted for her to eat everything in sight and ignore them, her mind made her have small conversations with each person, establishing a relationship of her own with them for the future to come.

Once the last group of people approached their separated table set for just them two, both Jace and Rhaena let out a small sigh of relief to be done with all the courtesy so they could actually enjoy the feast meant for them to enjoy. But without the barrier of a third party, they were both forced to speak to one another alone for the first time as husband and wife, which was quickly made very awkward.

"Would you like some more wine?" Jace asked, not knowing what else to say in this moment to break the tension.

"No, thank you," Rhaena said softly, giving him a small smile, "I've already had far too much to drink and far too little to eat."

"Then perhaps some of the orange cakes," he suggested, picking up the small platter before them to hand to her.

Rhaena reached to the side and took one, her smile widening a bit. "These are my mother's favorites, and mine as well."

"I know," Jace nodded, his own smile returning a tad. "I made sure the kitchens made as much of them as they could."

"Thank you, Jace, truly," Rhaena said quietly, nodding a little. Her smile faded a bit now as she prepared herself for what she wanted to say, for what she knew she had to say to him. Just as she opened her mouth he spoke over her, his own smile fallen as well.

"I know what you're going to say, Rhaena," he said slowly, his eyes not leaving her own as he spoke. "And it's alright."

"Jace-"

"I know you don't feel the same way about me as I do you," he continued, his voice only loud enough for her to hear. "I've known that since we were little kids running around the beach together."

Rhaena felt her heart sink as she listened, allowing him to finish before she said anything else. Had he felt this way her whole life and just never seen? Had she never given herself the opportunity to see this possibility with him?

"I just want you to know that even if the feelings aren't reciprocated," he said a bit more strongly now, inhaling for courage to keep going, "I meant what I said today, I am yours until the end of my days. I'll always protect you, I'll always care for you."

"I might not feel the same exact way as you, but it doesn't mean that I don't care for you too, Jace," Rhaena said honestly, feeling her eyes water a little bit as she looked at him. "I meant what I said today as well...I think I just need time."

"Then you have all the time in the world that I have to give," Jace responded, putting his hand on hers ever so gently.

Rhaena nodded a little, sniffling once as she tilted her head to the side. "Aren't you nervous at all? Don't you have any doubts?"

"Not about you," he shook his head, his tone completely serious. "Our family has lost a lot over the years, including Luke, and with the war hanging over our heads I'm sure we're going to experience even more loss...so I'm just glad for every bit of happiness I can get."

"I'm sorry he couldn't be here with us today," Rhaena responded sadly, feeling a pang of guilt in her chest now. "I'm sorry I couldn't save him."

"It's not your fault he died, Rhaena," Jace said adamantly, a darker look flashing across his eyes. "It's Aegon and his murderous brother's fault, it's all of the Greens'. I look forward to the day that they pay for Luke's life with their own."

Rhaena's stomach dropped further to feet at these words, for while she agreed with the sentiment towards Aegon and the rest of them, she didn't when it came to Aemond. Just when she thought she had the potential to escape him and try to embrace the new life she would share with Jace, she found him standing between them again. She didn't want to see Aemond hurt, even after it was his dragon Vhagar to kill Luke. She knew in her bones that he hadn't meant for that to happen, even if she only knew from the fleeting look they shared while dragonback above Storm's End.

But if Rhaena knew she couldn't share any of her emotions towards Aemond with her own mother, then she definitely couldn't share them with Jace. He might be her husband now, but that didn't mean that he was privy to her every thought and feeling. Telling him anything other than confirmations of hatred towards Aemond would only create a rift on his side of their already complicated relationship with each other.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, trying to pull her back from wherever her mind had taken her, "I shouldn't discuss such things with you at a time like this, we should be celebrating."

"It's alright, truly," Rhaena nodded, forcing herself to smile again. "I understand."

"Would you care to dance?" Jace asked, looking at the open floor before them.

"Sure, but would you mind if I stepped outside for a moment by myself?" she asked, standing from her seat. "It's been such a long day, I could use the fresh air to clear my head."

Jace quickly stood next to her then said, "Of course I don't mind, would you like my company?"

"No, that's alright, I'll only be a moment," she responded, smiling once more, "Just watch out for my brothers and father, they'll likely corner you now that I'm not here to defend you."

"Will do," he laughed lightly, watching as she walked through the crowded room towards the open balcony.

Once outside Rhaena felt like she could finally breathe after holding in so much stress all day. The mass amount of conflicting emotions in her head each echoed so loudly, the fresh air of the night and a moment of solitude the only thing able to help her.

Why couldn't she just be happy with Jace? Why did her mind and heart have to keep reminding her of someone she knew would never be an option in her life?

Questions like these flew across her mind as she looked out over the balcony onto the beach below, but most of all the overwhelming wish to just be happy with what life had given her rang loudest. There were far more people in this world with far worse problems than her, and yet she couldn't escape her own or even step backwards to get clearer perspective of them.

But if she wanted herslef to find happiness with Jace she needed to force herself to do this, to forget the hesitation and doubt in her mind. She'd never be able to allow herself to love him the way he loved her if she didn't.

Just as she was about to turn to go back inside, a flash of silver caught the moonlight to her left, making her freeze with wide eyes. For a second she thought she was hallucinating, that she was so overwhelmed that her brain had started to play tricks on her. But she wasn't making things up, what she was seeing was real and standing only ten paces away from her: Aemond.

He slowly raised his finger to his lips for her to be quiet, then nodded his head to the side for her to follow him down the stairs that lead to the beach. She quickly turned around, looking to see if anyone in the room off of the balcony could see what she was seeing. But everyone inside was too wrapped up in their own conversations to even notice that she was standing out here, none of them suspected that Aemond would be here too.

When she turned back around he was gone, disappeared down the steps and out of sight. She slowly moved forward to follow after, looking behind her to make sure no one was watching. While she knew that she should go alert someone that he was here, she couldn't bring herself to do anything except quietly follow him.

Once down the stairs and under the cover of the rock above, Rhaena looked around to make sure that he was alone, that this wasn't a trap he was setting for her. When it was clear that they were alone on the dark beach, she finally looked at him again, feeling a wide range of emotions like anger, hurt, and nervousness rise in her chest.

"What are you doing here, Aemond?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as calm as she could.

"I'm here for a few reasons," he said slowly, his pale skin reflecting the moonlight.

"Then get on with them before I tell my parents that you're here," Rhaena said coolly.

"If you wanted me to be captured by your Queen and her followers you would have already told them," he responded, his eye narrowing as he spoke.

"And what makes you think that?" she asked, holding her arms over her stomach as the wind blew around them.

"I let you go not once, not twice, but three times," he said, a small smirk on his lips, "I think you know that you owe me at least one escape."

"Then just tell me what it is you have to say, so you can leave, you can't be here right now, you know that," Rhaena said more sharply. Despite telling him to go, she couldn't help but want him to actually stay. Maybe his coming here was fate, maybe it would allow for her to move past the confusing feelings she had for him and give her the ability to open her heart more fully to Jace.

"Firstly I want to explain what happened in Storm's End," he said more seriously now, every trace of humor vanishing from his face. "Whether you believe me or not, I never meant to kill Lucerys."

"I know that," she responded, her voice small as she remembered that day. "I saw your face, I heard you shouting for Vhagar to stop. But nonetheless it was you so adamantly trying to capture me that lead to his death."

"I wasn't trying to capture you, Rhaena," he said, his gaze piercing into her soul.

"Really? Because when you held a sword to my throat and then chased me on Vhagar through the skies I thought that's what you were trying to do," she said angrily, "Not to mention you announced out loud that that was you intended to do."

"What do you think would have happened if I didn't do those things?" he asked, stepping closer to her with a returned ire.

"We were there as envoys, the only thing to do was to let us go-"

"If I didn't make everyone in Storm's End believe that I was trying to take you back to Aegon word would have spread, word that I purposefully let you go again. My loyalty to my brother, to my King, would have been in question-"

"So it was all a ruse?" Rhaena asked, feeling tears well in her eyes. "It was all a show for the purpose of feigning loyalty to him?"

"I told you," he said a touch more calmly now. As she looked at him the only emotions she could pick up on was shame, guilt for his actions against her. "I never intended to hurt you...I never intended on bringing you back to him."

"Why have you let me go so often? Why have you continued to protect me when we both know that you don't owe me anything," Rhaena then asked, unable to help herself. She didn't know when they might ever speak alone again, so this was the time to get some answers on where he stood with her. She didn't want to play games with him anymore, she didn't want to dance around whatever it was they had between them any longer.

"Don't act like you don't know," he said spitefully, shaking his head. "Like you haven't known this whole time."

Despite the fact that he hadn't actually answered her question, they both knew exactly what he meant. For while he was incapable of saying the words out loud, they echoed in the air all the same. Rhaena had gotten what she wanted out of him, but now that she had she didn't know what to say in return.

"Aemond-" she started, only to be cut off by him taking another step closer to her. He stood so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin as he spoke, so close that if she were to move an inch their bodies would be touching. The idea alone made every nerve catch fire inside of her.

"I tried to hate you," he said quietly, his voice shaking with frustration. "And when that didn't work I tried to forget you. But with every bit of air I breathe you're there."

Rhaena thought her heart had been beating quickly when she stood next to Jace earlier before the septon, she thought it had been beating quickly when he kissed her, but as she stood before Aemond she realized that this was what true adrenaline felt like. She was so overwhelmed by his words and his presence that she could hardly think. And yet if she didn't want to make a complete mess of her marriage already, she needed to draw the line between them.

"You're engaged to Jocelyn Baratheon," she whispered, "And I'm married to Jacaerys now."

"You're married?" he asked, his chest rising and falling quickly as he took this in. "When?"

"Earlier this evening," she responded, the words slicing through her heart as she took in his reaction. In his eye she could see that he was pained, but most of all she could see the regret of ever saying anything about how he felt at all.

He nodded shortly and cleared his throat as he took a step back, "There's one more thing I came to tell you before I go."

"Aemond-"

"The assassins your parents and Rhaenyra sent for Aegon's children only succeeded to kill one: Jahaerys," he continued, avoiding her eyes as he quickly spoke. "My brother wants vengaence for what happened. He's calling all his bannermen together to come at you full force. Tell your parents to be ready for it."

He then turned away to leave, but Rhaena quickly stepped forward to plead him not to go, "Aemond don't leave like this-"

"I have no choice but to leave," he said angrily, turning back to look at her with pure rage and passion. "I did what I came here to do; I apologized for Lucerys' death and I warned you against what is to come. What else do you want from me, Rhaena?"

"You can't just admit your feelings for me and then leave without giving me the chance to say anything in return," Rhaena said, angry tears falling from her eyes.

"Like you said, you're married now and I too am engaged to another, so what does it matter?" he asked, the words tasting venemous in his mouth. "There are only two options, Rhaena. Either you're going to tell me that you feel the same way or that it's been one-sided this whole time. Either way we have to forget that anything was ever said tonight and agree that there's nothing to be done or said any further. So which is it? "

"Aemond, I don't know how I feel-"

"You're lying," he interrupted, walking back towards her until they stood only an inch apart again.

"I'm not lying to you," she said angrily, her tears burning as they fell from her eyes onto her cheeks.

"You're lying to yourself, Rhaena," he said through a clenched jaw, his gaze moving down her face. "I already know the truth of how you feel. The only question left to be answered is what you're going to do about it."

Rhaena stood silently, her mouth slightly open as she searched for the right words to say. This whole time all she had ever wanted from him was to know the truth about how he felt so that she might better understand her own feelings. But now that she knew for sure she only felt paralyzed, as if an entire new web of problems had been created for her. Stolen glances and the tension between them as they both wondered how the other felt had been one thing, but to admit to these feelings and actually act on them was an entirely different beast.

For even if she allowed herself to openly feel for him the way she knew she wanted to, what could she do with those feelings? She wasn't going to act on the whim of her feelings like she had in the past and abandon her family for the chance that her and Aemond might love each other in the way she craved. And since she wasn't going to do that, accepting her feelings fully would only leave her with constant wondering about what could have been between them. Either way she would never win, either way there would be no resolution at all.

"Maybe if we weren't born into the families we have things could be different between us," she said softly, feeling her tears start to stream fully now as she settled for this response. "But they aren't different."

Aemond nodded once, his jaw tightening as he took her answer in. As she waited for him to say something, she could see in his face that he hated himself for feeling this way, and he hated even more that she was admitting she felt the same way. It would have been easier for him if she had said it was one sided, it would have been easier to let his own feelings go.

"No... they aren't."

Author's Note: Wheew! Finally we got to the point where they finally admit to each other and themselves how they feel...but what can be done about it now that she's married to Jace? What can be done when both of their famillies hate each other?

When it comes to Aemond and Rhaena, we certainly have a forbidden love x enemies to lovers trope on our hands, my friends...and as well as that with Rhaena and Jace we are seeing the emergence of arranged marriage x love triangle x one-sided love tropes emerging... good lord it's a lot to keep track of, but what can I say? Rhaena's a hot commodity in Westeros 😂What do you guys think about it all? How will her relationships with both Aemond and Jace develop as the war goes on? What do you want to see happen?

As always, your input means the world to me, and it forms a lot of the way the story will progress...

I'm starting up a new job on Monday so the next update might take me a moment to get out to you guys. I'm hoping to have it in by Sunday, but unfortunately I can't make any promises. Until next time -J❤️