Cherries

Though it felt like he was walking for hours, it was only mere minutes. ‘Aemond, stop and look up.’ A voice spoke to him. It was… his voice? Something within him seemed to be guiding him towards a space. His heart felt like it was guiding him. He took a glance up and discovered a stone wall that sat on the top of the hill. Aemond has heard of these stones before but he knew there wasn’t much written about them despite their long history in the forest. It was The Stone of Many a Moon. The reason why there wasn’t much written on them was because well… they would disappear. It seemed as if something didn’t want them to be discovered more than they were known. ‘Go up. She’s scared.’

Scared? Who was scared and why would she be scared. He walked up the small hill, up towards the wall. He heard whimpers and sensed movement coming from along the stones, curled up in the tall, green grass. He went to place a hand on the hilt of his sword but all he was met was open space. Why would he go in the forest without protection? “Hello? I know you’re there.”

At the sound of his voice, a head perched up and he was met with wide, scared eyes. Your wide eyes stared into him and softened for a slight second. He watched at you scrambled up to your feet. You were wearing a black slip dress with a black shall. He thought that your clothing was quite weird, the way you looked was weird. When you finally stood up, you practically stumbled towards him, as if you were a baby deer learning to walk. He quickly grabbed you by your arms as you fell into him. “H-Help me! I… I don’t know where I am or how I got here.” You had tears falling down your cheek.

He had this urge to protect you, shield you from the world. He brought you into his arms and stroked your hair. Why was he doing this. “I got you, don’t worry.”

Aemond woke up in a start, a thin layer of sweat covered his skin despite the crisp morning air from outside his tent. He brought his hands up towards his face and tried rubbing the sleep away before sighing. Who was this woman? Was he suppose to know her? His heart called out for her and broke when he saw her terrified. She was beautiful. No… She was ethereal. His thoughts were cut short with the voice of his mothers sworn protector calling to him. “Good morrow, My Prince. I have been sent to come get you as the hunt will begin soon.”

“Thank you, Ser Criston. I will get ready shortly and meet everyone at the forest line.” He advised the knight. “Please get my horse ready.”

The words ‘Go up, she’s scared’ replayed in his mind. What if she was actually in the forest, surrounded by The Stone of Many a Moon, scared and alone? Just having that thought caused his chest to tighten in sorrow. He shook his head away the thoughts as he decided to get out of his bed and finally get dressed. He made his way to his clothing trunk and took out his gear. He shrugged on his black linen tunic with a matching pair of black linen pants. He grabbed his forest green cotton jacket made with padding to protect him. He grabbed his sword, belt and placed his eyepatch over his scarred eye before he exited his tent.

Upon exiting, he was met with the lady in waiting of his mother bowing to him. “Hello, My Prince. I hope you slept well. I am aware that you are on your way to the hunt but The Queen has requested me to serve you a bowl of fruits and oatmeal before you go. She does not want you to faint.” Her arms stretched out towards Aemond to hand him the bowl.

He stared at it for a quick moment before grabbing it. “Thank you. Please advise my mother that I will visit her once the hunt is over.” He heard the lady in waiting softly speak ‘Yes, My Prince.’ before he made his to the forest like whilst eating the bowl that was provided to him. He felt this pull towards the forest, a yearning to go find her. Perhaps that is why he had agreed to join the hunt. Upon arriving with the other men, he threw the empty bowl onto the floor and made his way towards the Knight. Upon taking the reign from him, he pondered. “Criston, what do you know of The Stones of Many a Moon?”

He gave the prince a look, wondering why he was being asked this question. “Not much, My Prince. In Dorne, it is said to be protected by magic, a gate to something that people are not quite sure. It is known to be on a hill in this forest but it is not quite sure where.” Ser Criston watched as Aemond climbed his horse. “Why are you asking?”

A smirk played on the one eyed princes lips. “We shall leave the hunt for the brutes, Ser Criston, we are on a journey to find this monument.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Mount your damn horse and follow me. If you must need a reason, I shall give you one… away from these damn men.” Aemond clicked, allowing his Black Mare to start the journey towards his dream.

The white cloaked knight followed swiftly behind the silver haired prince. With the prying ears away from their conversations, all formalities were dropped. “Now Aemond, please tell me why we are on this wild search.” An hour into the ride, Criston had finally broken the silence.

Still keeping this eyes forward, he explained what he had dreamed and what it has caused him to feel. “Well Criston, the past two nights I have had this dream which was surrounded by these stones. There is this woman… Her beauty is beyond this world. There is someone who urges me to go to her and save her. That someone may be myself. She is scared and alone.” He paused for a moment, waiting to see if Criston would say something. “Upon meeting each other, she falls into my arms. She is lost. All I want to do, my heart wants to do is hold her and protect her.”

“So you dragging me into a wild goose chase over a dream?” Criston scoffed. “Are you even sure she is real?”

A laugh danced on Aemonds lips. “I am as sure as my dear brother is a drunk.”

As soon as the conversation started, it quickly ended.

He couldn’t get your face out of his mind. He wanted to cradle your face in the palm of his hand and wipe your tears away. He wanted to take your fear away and tuck them away, out of sight.

‘Aemond, continue forward. You are near.’ The voice made him stop his horse and look at his surroundings. It was the first time he has heard the voice outside of his dreams. ‘Help me.’ It was your voice. “Criston, we must make haste. We are near.”

“And did the voices tell you that?”

“My Gods… Will you shut up.” Aemond laughed.

Criston pointed straight ahead. “The voices in my head say that there is a hill up there. Oh wait! They also say that you are slightly crazy!”

Before Aemond could respond with something witty, he felt a shift in the air. His eyes grazed over the land before he spotted it. He spotted the White Hart. The King of the Forest bowed towards the prince before turning around and walking back from where he came from. ‘Time travels back and is protected by the White King.’ A deep voice whispered. It was not his voice or anyone he would know. This was his chance. Before even warning his companion, Aemond sprung out of the saddle and pushed his weight down on the stirrup, applying pressure to get his horse into a full gallop. He heard his name being yelled in the background but he did not care, all he wanted to do was find you. He couldn’t help but feel free for the first time. He was doing something he wanted to do, not something of duty or how it would make his family look.

The Black Mare suddenly slowed down upon nearing a small hill, Aemond tapped his foot on the side of the horse but it refused to move, as if something was not allowing it to continue. He raised his head to look up the hill and his eyes later upon the White King once again. It was beckoning him to follow. The Stones were up there, he knew it. He dismounted his horse and ran up the hill. His heart was pounding in his chest, knocking on his rib cage, feeling like it would rip out at any moment.

Just like in his dream, he felt her presence from behind the stones, he saw the tall grass dance in the wind and he spotted her. She was curled in a ball, the grass covering her from any harm as if it were her safety blanket. He took a moment to take a deep breath before speaking, his voice shaking from anticipation. “Hello? I know you’re there. Please come out.”

At the sound of his voice, he saw a head perch up, eyes wide with fear and confusion. It truly was you. His dream could not depict your true beauty but his eyes could truly see it. You were other worldly. He watch you stumble onto your feet and run towards him, practically falling into his arms. He wrapped his arms around you, one around you waist and the other holding your head. “It’s you.” You whispered, soft as air.

“It’s me.”

Aemond looked over your shoulder to see the White Hart bow down, make a whining noise before running back into the woods.

Kingswood Night Prior

You stumbled back, hands shaking from the shift of energy that exited you “Oh Gods, what did I do?” You couldn’t help the shake in your voice. The world around you was darker, the stars brighter than before.

You backed away from the stones, wondering what your next move would be. You weren’t far from the Hotel, right? Maybe if you screamed loud enough, someone will you hear you and find you. That was the plan… Scream. “Someone! Please! I’m lost a-and I don’t know where I am!” You pulled your shall over you to protect you from the cold wind of the night, reminding you just how lonely you were. “Please! Help!” You had realized you brought your bag with you since you packed the flashlight. You begun to scramble for the bag, having no luck finding it. “Please don’t say I dropped it… Please oh Gods.”

Tears of frustration began to fall down your cheeks, you were scared and alone and you weren’t sure what your next game plan was. Talia would tell the teacher you were missing right? That’s what you told her to do. Were you stupid and decided to find your way out? Of course you were. The only way you could decide on which way to go was by doing a stupid game; you were going was you closed your eyes, pointed an arm out and spin until you got dizzy and stopped. Once you finished spinning and looked at where your arm was, that was where you were heading. “Stupid Y/N. You just had to go into the stupid forest and get lost. Now you have decided to get more lost in the forest. Fuck me.” You wiped your tears away and started carefully walking. “What if I get mulled by a bear or attacked by a boar… Gods, I’m going to die here.”

‘Y/N, go back.’

You whipped your head back, looking for the voice. “No! You are the reason I’m in this mess.” You seethed. “Maybe Talia was right. Maybe I am crazy. I’m losing it.” You tried ignoring the voice telling you to go back and continued on your route. Every couple of seconds, you would spot the silver haired man, the voices were getting all muddled together. You clutched your ears, crying “Stop!” You tried to running until you collided with a hard being. It was soft to the touch and you could just barely see that it was white under the moonlight. You took a step back and looked up and saw that before you was a beautiful White Hart. His fur was a beautiful silvery white and his eyes were two different colours, the right was a beautiful violet and the left was a deep blue, like a sapphire. It huffed a deep breath and bent down slightly to bump its snout against your shoulder, as if it was trying to push you back. You took a couple of more steps back and tried to walk around the beautiful beast but with each step you took, it blocked you. “Come on! What do you want.”

The Stag did a deep roar before pushing you back with his snout in the direction you came from. You spoke to him, as if he could understand you. “Do you want me to go back? I’m trying to find my way out of this damn forest.” It took a few seconds before the Stag did a movement that could only be described as a nod. Okay so he could understand you. “Okay! Fine I guess.” You turned around and started walking back in the direction of the stones, and you kept looking over your shoulder to see if the Stag was following you and it was. ‘Right choice, go back and wait.’ You groaned. “Oh shut up!”

On the walk back, you felt as if there was this film covering your eyes and a heavy blanket was laid over you. You felt as if you were sleep walking. The only thing allowing you to know that you weren’t yet asleep was the warmth radiating from the Hart standing behind you. The last thing you can remember was laying down in the tall grass and feeling the soft fur envelope you like a hug.

The wind blew was blowing through your hair and a laugh bubbled from between your lips. There was a tight hold around your waist to keep you from falling from the great height you were flying. “I wish I could have experienced this feeling sooner, Aemond!”

Was that the man’s name?

You felt his chin rest on your shoulder and whispered sweetly in your ear. “You can experience this feeling for the rest of your life… As long as I am alive, you shall experience this feeling, ñuha jorrāelagon.” He placed a sweet kiss just below your ear.

All you felt was freedom, peace and love.

The warmth was cradled you all night was gone and you were left feeling the cool morning wind hugging you uncomfortably. Was the whole night just a dream? You tried curling up into a tight ball to try and perverse heat. You were alone… Again? You felt the fear creep back up through your throat and all you wanted to do was cry in the ball you held yourself in. The only thing going through your mind was that you were going to die here but that solemn thoughtwas cut short when you heard the voice you had been hearing since coming to Kings Landing. “Hello? I know you’re there. Please come out.” That voice. It didn’t even take you a split second before you swung your head up from the tall grass. You felt a wave of relief wash over you as your wide eyes met with his beautiful violet eye. He was truly beautiful, as if hand crafted from the Gods above. You stumbled onto your feet, practically tripping over them, before falling into his arms. You’ve only seen this man following you like a ghost but it felt right to hold him. He felt like home. You let out a shaky breath that you didn’t know you were holding. “It’s you.”

You felt him hold onto you for dear life, as if he had the same feeling as you. “It’s me.”

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