DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING
A/N: As always, thanks go to Ramzes for sticking with the story
AEMON
The wind was against them.
As soon as they realised that the pirate ship was heading towards them and that it was not like any Greyjoy vessel they had ever seen Gerold began barking out orders to Jev and his crew, demanding that they escape as fast as possible. Aemon knew that it was folly to try and avoid them, he had seen the Serpent attack them in his dreams and every part of his mind and soul told him that it was going to happen.
At first he was so terrified that he could hardly move from his place on the deck and had gone deaf to everything outside his own mind. Death itself was approaching them and one way or another it would exact a toll from them, that sense of powerlessness made him feel like a fish caught in a net and he struggled to maintain his breathing. His fear almost consumed him until a memory came to his mind's eye, one that he had seen in his dreams often of late; a stag, a wolf and lion all combatants with a great black beast with two heads. The creatures all tried and failed to fight off the great behemoth before suddenly they were sheltered underneath a crimson wing of a dragon. He could still hear the dragon's roar of victory as a white light consumed the ebony monster. Such dreams were often nonsensical but he knew right away it meant Maelys defeat and it was that assurance that gave him strength.
He turned to Ser Barristan and quickly ushered the young knight back by Gerold's side where many of the other men had gathered, knowing full well that they would not escape without a fight. Gerold continued to shout himself hoarse at the crew until suddenly the first mate was dropped by the shaft of an arrow. It was almost as if a strong breeze had come over them then, only instead of cold salty wind greeting them it was dozens of arrows, forcing the knights and prince to seek cover behind anything they could find.
"Get us to the mainland!" shouted Gerold as he struggled to make himself heard over the screams of dying men.
The whole time the spectre of the pirate ship grew closer and closer until it was only a few yards from their small fishing boat, the flurry of arrows increasing and killing more of the crew by the minute. Finally the big Hightower had had enough and unsheathed his sword, a signal for all the others to do so as they all moved together in formation, though Gerold pulled Aemon towards the centre mass. "If you die Alerie will have my head, try and stick close to Me." he urged.
Aemon gave a bitter laugh at that. "I'm touched by your concern."
The humour did little to lighten the mood as soon they felt the boat shake violently as the larger vessel collided with its hull, almost capsizing them. Tensing up, the knights all charged as soon as the pirates began to board them and managed to cut down a few before the other ship's archers started to loosen a few arrows upon them, one hitting Stevron in the chest and knocking the man to the ground.
Before they had a chance to retaliate another wave of angry pirates swarmed off the larger ship and surrounding the companions. Gerold had cut down at least five or six men who ventured close enough while Aemon kept his left flank covered. From the corner of his eye, Aemon could see Ser Barristan moving from one attacker to the next with a speed and ferocity that he had never seen in a warrior, not even Gerold.
The carnage was suddenly halted when several men made their way through the crowd armed with crossbows; all pointed at the tiring knights. "Throw down ya weapons!" demanded one of them.
Gerold looked to Aemon and Barristan before turning over to the survivors of their company and found that of the original seven knights they brought with them, only three remained while Stevron lay bleeding, but alive on the deck as his lifeblood slowly seeped into the wood. "Do as they say." He told them in defeat.
Once they had thrown their weapons on the ground men came scurrying along to snatch them up while Aemon and the others merely looked at each other imploringly, as if they could find some magical way to save each other. Aemon was certain that if the pirates figured out his identity, if they hadn't already, that they would likely keep him alive as hostage, either for ransom sake or to simply hand over to Maelys, depending on how greedy they felt. His friends would almost certainly be killed, of that he had little doubt.
He was surprised when the crossbowmen lowered their weapons and stood to attention as the crowd parted way for someone. Aemon heard the man coming before he saw him, his heavy boots clinking against the wooden deck with every step he took. The pirates all seemed to stand a little straighter as the sound came closer until finally the face of their master was revealed to the unarmed knights.
What walked before them looked like a man; a comely face with flowing black hair and a dark beard cut close to his jawline, his eyes were the shape of almonds in a deep shade of maroon that seemed to dance with every movement and turn of his head. He was dressed in some form of leather armour that made the faintest noise with each step and twist as he strutted forward, as if giving his arrogance a voice of its own. The area over his chest was adorned in a chestplate of iron with a large red snake painted running down it, curved in such a way that it seemed to be making a figure eight.
Aemon felt his heart constrict in his chest as that same red serpent from his dreams came towards him and his friends. The pirate lord's maroon eyes flickered over their helpless forms with an unreadable expression before settling on Aemon, whose presence caused the faintest of smiles to cross the rogue's face.
"What possible reason does a Targaryen prince have for being this close to Ironborn territory I wonder; surely you wouldn't just do it for the leisure? Not in a place like this, and almost certainly not during a time of war." The pirate's face twisted into a sickening smile as he took a step closer to Aemon. "You came to treat with the Greyjoys didn't you?"
None of them said anything which only seemed to amuse the pirate. "Don't feel like talking? Pity." He raised a brow at Aemon. "Which one of Aegon's sons are you? Can't be the oldest as you don't look remotely Dornish, and you aren't being carried around like an invalid so you can't the sickly one either….you're the mad one aren't you?"
The prince ignored the insult and brought his lilac eyes to his captor. "You're the real madman if you think Maelys will ever sit the Iron Throne."
"Oh yes, because the current stock of Targaryens is so terrifying….did you know that Maelys promised me your sister?" the man licked his lips at that and it was all Aemon could do to not hit him. "I've heard she is quite the peach, I'll have fun devouring her….after I make her watch as I strangle that whelp of hers."
"How dare you speak of the princess like that!" shouted Ser Barristan as he went lunge at the rogue, only to be struck in the back of the head by one of the pirates, sending the young knight to his knees.
The Serpent threw an unimpressed look at the knights standing by Aemon's side, his maroon eyes flicking over them one by one. "I only need the prince, the rest of you are just meat for the grinder."
Gerold spat at the pirate king's feet. "It'll take more than a bunch of cowardly thieves to kill me."
Hightower was quickly silenced by a blow to the stomach and savaged upon by no less than five of the grubby raiders who stomped the big man back into the deck before he had a chance to rise again. After a few minutes the Serpent gestured for them stop and Gerold was left in a pool of his own blood, coughing violently while the Pirate grinned like a madman.
"You think having five men against one makes you some great warrior? You're a coward who hides behind others." spat Aemon.
The Serpent lazily brought his maroon gaze over to the prince and set him with a look of utter loathing and for a long time simply watched the Targaryen before turning to one of his men. "Give him a blade." Automatically one of the pirates shoved a sword into Aemon's hand before hurrying back in line with the others. The Serpent discarded his cloak and took out his own sword, standing at the ready.
Right away Aemon came at the pirate, throwing everything into his swing as his blade collided with the Serpent's. While Aemon had to push himself to keep up, the pirate lord seemed to be effortlessly blocking each strike as if they were the actions of a child and after a few moments began to go on the offensive and moved his blade at a frightening speed.
Aemon barely moved his sword in time to block any fatal blows and cursed himself for being so weak. For every blow he failed to land the greater his frustration grew which only caused him to become more reckless with his attacks.
"You disappoint me princeling, I would have thought a man trained by the finest warriors alive would have put up a better challenge." taunted the Pirate King as he crossed his sword with Aemon's.
The Targaryen responded by bringing his head forward and cracking the other man's nose which gave him the reprieve he needed to take a breath and push through the pirate's defences before the other man had a chance to properly react. He lunged forward as the rogue clutched at his gushing nose and thrust his sword, the sound of leather tearing like music to the prince's ears as his blade sliced the side of his enemy.
Taking a few steps back, the pirate gently brought a hand to the bloody patch near his ribs and examined the blood for a moment before a sickening smile crossed his face once again. "Yes…that's good, that's very good." and with a cackle of laughter dashed forward once again at Aemon in a blaze, his wound seemingly forgotten.
Before Aemon could properly react he saw a glimmer of steel pass close to his right eye before suddenly his sight was obscured by a stinging pain and mass of blood. Instinctively he clamped his eye shut though that only caused him a swell of agony as he dropped his sword and brought his hands to cover the wound.
"I'm sure Maelys can overlook a few…cuts and scrapes." came the mocking voice of the Serpent.
Aemon could barely comprehend what was going on around him as he struggled with the agony in his eye and felt a great sense of dizziness and fell to his knees. The blood continued to rush down his face freely, racing downwards into his clothing.
"Take them back to the ship; we can have fun with them on the way to Pyke...but make sure that the Targaryen isn't maimed, Maelys will want that pleasure for himself."
He absently felt a pair of big hands roughly pull him to his feet and began dragging his limp form across the deck before suddenly dropping him unceremoniously against the hard wood.
"Captain, enemy ships coming on the starboard side!" shouted one of the pirates in a worried tone.
Suddenly everyone was shouting and Aemon could hear the death rattle of a man not three feet from him which was soon followed by the sound of bodies hitting the deck. He opened his left eye and was given a blurry glimpse of the carnage around him; three longboats were approaching at a swift pace, sending a barrage of arrows down upon them, their flags were too far away for Aemon to read though he could make out a green colour.
"My prince!" shouted a familiar voice as Ser Barristan hurried over to his side and helped him to his feet. "Ships bearing the sigil of House Mormont, we are saved!"
"W-where is Gerold?" he asked wearily as he tried to focus on the moving figures around him.
"Ser Gerold is alright, but we must make it to the life boat before they notice we are gone!" urged the young man as he led them over to the rail of the ship. Instead of lowering the small dingy into the water Barristan quickly picked up a discarded sword from the ground and cut the ropes holding the life boat, sending the tiny boat into the water with an undignified thud. "We're going to have to jump my prince."
Aemon was about to protest when suddenly he felt large hands grab him and Barristan and throw them over the rails and into the murky seas below. As soon as he broke the surface and felt the salt water hit his wounded eye Aemon let out a silent scream which only came out as bubbles before rising to the surface again and swimming over to the little dingy and climbing aboard.
Ser Barristan emerged next and Aemon held out his hand to the young man and pulled him up from the cold northern waters. The knight took a moment to catch his breath and then began to move the oars away the chaos in front of them. After they made it a few feet Aemon spotted a large figure slowly making its way towards them.
"Ser Barristan, slow down! It's Gerold!" cried the prince.
Eventually the big man grabbed hold of the deck and pulled himself up, an effort which nearly capsized the small boat. It took him a moment to fully get his wits about him before he turned to the two men. "Those ships were from Bear Island….Mormont's people rarely travel far from their island, I'd wager that we could make it in perhaps a few hours if we stay with the tide and if the Gods are good."
"Where then?" asked Barristan.
"Winterfell, we head to Winterfell."
Back at the ship...
The fighting had gone on for a few hours before the pirates had retreated and the small fishing ship had been stripped of everything that could be sold or used. The men had been mostly quiet afterwards, knowing that their captain was still fuming over the loss of his Targaryen prize and wisely avoided his cabin, that was, until they had found a man in the water.
Once the captain had been altered to the man's presence he ordered that they fish him out and after throwing the half dead man a line, presented him before the Serpent who went over to the man's bloodied form with a look of concern. "Oh what have they done?"
The pirate lord gently removed the wounded man's tunic and frowned as he checked the bloodied gash that sat across the man's lower abdomen. He pressed down on various places and when he was satisfied he asked the man's name.
"Stevron..." came the weak reply
The Serpent looked down at the man with a reassuring smile. "Well Stevron, thankfully none of your vital organs were damaged."
"The Gods are merciful."
"Indeed." The Serpent looked over to a portly man standing to his left. "Go into my cabin and fetch my surgical tools."
Stevron looked up at the pirate in confusion. "I thought you said that none of my inwards were hurt?"
A malicious grin spread across the pirates face at that and he knelt down beside the other man. "Aye, I did. The gods are merciful for keeping you intact and unspoiled. We certainly can't be having rotten meat on our plates."
The young Hightower knight tried to say something only to be shushed by the pirate. "You've been a very brave man, very brave indeed….I think I'll eat your heart first."