37 Conflict
Dragonstone, AOT World
The silence in the throne is stifling. Standing before the Dragonstone Throne, the Wild Hunt warily looks over their Lord Commander as he lounges on the throne, deep in thought while absentmindedly touching the scarred flesh around his eye. Despite the lack of expression on his beautiful face, they can tell by the constantly plummeting temperature that his thoughts are anything but happy.
"I see that he's not moved." says Rhaenys as she enters the room "And neither have any of you." she observes as she notes the ice crystals that form over the Wild Hunt's uniform.
As they turn to face Rhaenys, the ice crystals on their bodies shatter before falling to the floor.
"Lady Rhaenys." greets Reina.
"Has he even slept? Or eaten?" Rhaenys asks.
"The Lord Commander has not eaten yet, nor has he slept." Evelynn says.
"Do you at least know what troubles his mind?" she asks only to receive a scowl from Evelynn in return.
"I can hazard a guess my Lady." says Reina, drawing Evelynn and Rhaenys' attention to her. "As far as I know this was the first time he has ever felt helpless and at another's mercy since…" Reina trails off once she sees Rhaenys understand his meaning.
"He may be trying to compensate for that feeling of helplessness by sitting on the throne. Of course, judging by the temperature in the room we can hazard how well that seems to be working." Reina adds with a whisper.
"In that case, I may have a remedy." Rhaenys replies as she walks past them towards Aemon.
"Brother." she calls out as she reaches his side.
His fingers stopping in their tracks as they trace the scar around his ill gotten eye is the only indicator that he heard her.
"You can brood and feel downtrodden some other time, we have things to do for word has come from Commander Erwin and the Scouts." she says.
For a brief moment she thinks that he may be ignoring her before, slowly, his head turns to face her; his remaining eye glowing a fierce supernatural blue.
"I'm not downtrodden Rhaenys. I'm fucking mad." Aemon says as he crushes the throne's right arm. "The fucking Titan and his ilk…" Aemon seethes before he takes a deep breath when he sees the icicles forming on the walls.
"That's good." says Rhaenys with a nod. "Better to feel rage than depression."
After taking a few calming breaths, Aemon turns to his sister "Why are you here?" he asks.
"Commander Erwin sent word. Thanks to the information you provided they were able to identify the potential Titan Shifters. The Operation to capture them is under your command." Rhaenys explains while presenting him with a letter.
"You did not come here merely to deliver his words, Johan could have done the same." Aemon says.
"You're right. I came because Aegon wishes for us to present ourselves at court. It seems that Rhaenyra is to be crowned Heir soon and he wants us to make our debut then." Rhaenys says.
Rhaenyra Targaryen, ancestor to Aemon and his siblings, remembered as a usurper by many, but the rightful Queen as far as Aemon is concerned. Her fate echoes the Amethyst Empress in ways that concern Aemon.
"If you think it too early, Aegon will acquiesce." Rhaenys says, shaking Aemon from his thoughts.
"No." Aemon says as he stands. "Not only is Aegon right in deciding to debut then, but he is still our head of house regardless of how he has acted recently. We shall present ourselves before the Westerosi court bearing gifts for the Heir to the Iron Throne."
"Yes!" exclaims Rhaenys. "You have no idea how much I've missed Westeros." she says as she kisses Aemon's cheek before running out of the throne room.
With a fond smile on his face Aemon watches her depart before turning his attention to the letter in his hand.
"Reina." he calls out.
"Lord Commander." she replies while presenting herself to him at attention.
"I want everyone on that list captured and transported to Dragonstone discreetly. Do not allow them the opportunity to shift. Take the entire Hunt with you save for Evelynn." he orders while giving her the letter.
"As you command." she replies before stepping back while Evelynn steps forward.
"My Lord." says Evelynn with a curtsy that shows him her cleavage.
"I have a long term assignment for you." he tells, wiping the smile from her face. "You shall be coming to Westeros with me. Befriend the princess, advise her, and discreetly prepare her for the coming war." Aemon commands.
"Oooh, political espionage and maneuvering. You know how to make a woman happy." Evelynn says with a fanged filled grin.
"If I may, my lord. Why not stop whatever war is coming altogether?" asks Reina.
"Because he wishes to use this war to restructure the politics of Westeros." Evelynn answers for him.
"Aye, Evelynn has the right of it. This war will be the perfect opportunity to remove dissenting voices and consolidate House Targaryen and House Stark's power in Westeros. Until then however, preparations must be made and the Heir's training is one such preparation." Aemon says, causing Reina to nod in understanding before turning around and walking towards the exit only to stop as Evelynn poses her own question.
"I do wonder however, where will you be going for the day?" asks Evelynn.
"A friend is hosting a gathering." Aemon says as he steps down from the throne.
"Would it not be wise to take at least one of us with you? At the very least as a precaution?" Reina asks.
"No need, I will be amongst friends." Aemon replies.
…
…
…
The blue-white eye stares mockingly at him in the mirror, seeing nothing and serving no purpose other than reminding him of loss at the hands of the Titan. As if the scarred flesh around the eye socket did not already serve as its own grim reminder.
Shaking the thoughts of his injury from his mind before rage takes him once more, Aemon turns his eyes towards his clothing for the evening.
Despite forgoing his usual armored look, Aemon still dresses in black. This day it is rich black velvet with silver accents, high leather boots, and a black sword belt with a silver buckle. On his right hand, his burned hand, he wears a red glove with a black dragon circling the wrist, and a silver direwolf ring on the middle finger of his left hand. His hair is left to fall down his back like a waterfall of black and silver.
Satisfied, Aemon activates the DCG teleportation.
As his vision clears, Aemon finds himself standing in a sterile white room with Doctor Hamilton and Simon to his right, Shepard to his left, and Anakin standing before him.
"You." seethes Anaking upon seeing him, causing Aemon to raise an eyebrow.
Before he can respond however, Aemon is sent flying back through the air and amidst the confusion he feels himself continuously crash through various barriers before he finds unceremoniously tumbling through a street; causing cars to swerve around him as they honk their horns.
The snap hiss of an igniting lightsaber alerts him to further danger and with a snarl Aemon unsheathes Longclaw and parry's Anakin's downward slash.
The slight steam coming from the blade of his sword tells him that his decision was the correct one, for despite being intact Aemon knows not how long the Valyrian Steel will remain such when clashing with a lightsaber.
"What madness has taken you, Skywalker?" demands Aemon as Anakin launches himself at him with a roar.
"It's you! She almost died because of you!" exclaims Skywalker, his eyes an eerie orange as he furiously assaults Aemon. The Dark Side rolls off him in waves and Aemon internally gags the foul and corruptive feel of it.
"I have been the cause of many deaths throughout my lifetime, yet I know not what you speak of." Aemon replies as casually dodges Anakin's attack, only making use of his sword to parry when he has no other choice.
For despite the impressive power afforded to him by the Dark Side, Anakin's rational and skills are hindered by that very same power; and Aemon is not the sort to be bested in combat simply because his opponent possesses raw power.
"So you admit it." screams Anakin.
"I admit to nothing." Aemon replies as the previously suppressed rage returns with a vengeance. This outing was meant to help him calm while getting to know his fellow Chat Group members, not be an opportunity for this emotionally stunted child to falsely accuse him.
With his eyes glowing blue, ice erupts from beneath his feet and covers everything within a dozen feet of him, trapping Anakin at the waist.
"Enough." commands Shepard as she appears between the two in a flash of purple, two pistols in her hands, each pointing at one of them.
"Enough?" says Anakin as the ice encasing him cracks, which Force technique he is currently employing to achieve such is unknown to Aemon. "It's his fault that she almost died." Anakin reiterates.
"The accused would very much like to know of his crime." replies Aemon with a roll of his eyes.
Before Anakin or Shepard can answer, Simon chimes in from behind Aemon.
"His mom almost died." he says, drawing Aemon's attention to him.
"Tragic." comes Aemon's dry response. "I fail to see how that has anything to do with me."
"She would have died if I didn't tell him, but you told me not to tell him about the movies." Simon explains.
"Is that it? Is that why madness has taken him?" Aemon questions with a chuckle that quickly turns into laughter. The sound full of scorn and mocking, and despite sounding beautiful grinds on the ears like the cracking of ice and as sharp as icicles.
"You kriffin bastard." screams Anakin as he shatters the ice around him and sends Shepards flying with a force push before launching himself at Aemon.
With a grace beyond even some supernatural beings, Aemon maneuvers around Anakin's lightsaber and into his guard before placing Longclaw on his neck.
"I have had a very very harrowing week and an incoming few years that will no doubt be just as if not more harrowing. I have neither the time nor the patience to deal with the false accusation of an immature and emotionally stunted boy." snarls Aemon.
"Guys." says Simon, only to be ignored as Shepard approaches the duo.
"I understand your anger, Aemon, however you have to understand how this looks." Shepard says.
"Guys." Simon tries once more.
"Do you honestly believe that I withheld vital information from you, from all of you, knowing it could save his mother's life?" Aemon question.
The silence he receives is louder than anything that they could have said.
"We don't know anything about you. We don't know anything about your past, your motives, nothing. How do you think that looks?" Jennifer finally says.
"I see." says Aemon as he sheathes Longclaw.
"Guys!" screams Simon, finally drawing their attention. "We might want to get out of here." he says while pointing to the many civilians recording the altercation.
"We will continue on Dragonstone." says Aemon as he melts the ice before teleporting away.
With a weary sigh Shepard turns to Anakin "Are you going?" she asks.
"I want to hear what excuses he comes up with." Anakin replies before following Aemon.
Turning towards Simon and Dr Hamilton, Shepard poses them the same question, and receiving the same answer from them she too teleports away to Aemon.
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Author's Note: Not my best chapter tbh, idk why but it was a bit hard to write. As usual tell me what you guys think, I love hearing thoughts, reactions, and feedback. I also have Patreon if you guys want to support me at patreon.com/servantambrosius
