- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ CHAPTER FORTY TWO ❜┊˚ ̥۪͙۪◌
STRANGERS
❛ i tried to be good, am i no good?
am i no good? am i no good? ❜

౨ৎ disclaimer
slightly edited , aemond makes
yet another appearance. also
mentions of blood, blood, more
blood and gore

JACAERYS.

Dreams are cruel.

Especially when they are of the people who aren't in your reach.

The sea was calm. Too calm. The waves lapped softly at the shore, small ripples stretching out like silk. The sun hung low in the horizon, the sky painted with soft pinks and oranges. The kind of peace you only find in the moments before a storm. Jace stood at the edge of the shore, his feet bare, the sool sand soft beneath his toes. The salt air tasted familiar, like home. It should have felt safe, but it didn't.

His gaze swept the beach, searching for something. He didn't know what, but he felt it– that pull. That kind that tells you someone's watching. His eyes narrowed, sharp as a blade's edge.

There.

Her.

She stood farther down the shore, just where the waves met the sand. Her hair whipped softly in the breeze, the strands catching the dying light.

Eudora.

Her dress was a pale blue, damp at the hem where the tide had reached her. Her back was to him, her figure so still she might have been carved from stone. Jace's heart beated at the sight of her. She's here. She's finally here.

"Eudora!" he called, his voice breaking with relief. He stepped forward, feet sinking into the sand with each step. "Eudora, it's me! Look at me!"

But she didn't move.

His steps slowed, his breath becoming quicker. "Eudora," he said again, more desperate this time. He moved to take another step– but his feet wouldn't move.

Jace's heart stopped as he looked down, the sand swallowing him up to his ankles. The boy yanked his foot back, but it didn't budge. The harder he pulled, the deeper it pulled him in. Panic started to surge throughout him, his breathing growing sharp, frantic even. "No," he muttered, struggling against it. "No, no, no–"

"Eudora!" he shouted once more, looking back up at her wild eyes. "Look at me, please!" He was desperate, tears brimming his eyes as he pleaded.

Her head then moved. Slowly, so slowly it felt like time had frozen around him. Her chin tilted to the side first, then her head turned with a sharp, jerking motion. Jace's breath caught in his throat when he realized what he saw.

Her eyes were gone.

Only hollow, blackened sockets remained, empty and infinite. Her lips parted slightly, and he felt a shudder down his spine. "Why haven't you come for me?" her mouth moved, but it wasn't her voice. Eudora's mouth opened wider. Wider. Too wide.

Then the blood came.

Thick, dark red spilled from her mouth in a slow, steady stream. It trickled over her chin, staining her dress, seeping into the pale fabric like on parchment. Her head tilted to one side, as if asking him another silent question he couldn't hear. Her hollow eyes fixed on him, and for a moment, he swore he could feel her looking through him.

"Eudora!" His voice cracked as he yanked his leg harder, pulling with all his strength, but the sand held him tight. "Please, my love! Don't– no, don't go!"

She moved again.

Her head turned away from him slowly, and she walked forward. Her feet touched the water, step by step, as the sea wrapped around her her body. No, no, no. "Stop!" he begged, but the water didn't stop. She didn't stop. She walked further in, deeper, and deeper until she sea reached her shoulders.

Until it reached her throat.

He thrashed against the sand, heart pounding so heart it felt like it might break his ribs. "Please," he continued, eyes burned with tears he hadn't realized were falling. "Don't leave me again, please."

Her head tilted back one last time. Her hollow eyes met his. Her lips moved, shaping the words he would never head.

And then in a mere few seconds, the wave engulfed her. Swallowing her whole.

"Drowning, are we?"

The voice was soft, smooth but sharp like broken glass. Jace's head jerked up, his eyes wide. His breath came  in sharp, ragged bursts as he twisted around.

Aemond.

He stood at the edge of the water, boots still dry, his silver hair catching the flow of the horizon. The sapphire in his eye glinted, and his smirk was sharp as a dagger. "Did you really think you'd save her?" Aemond mocked, tilting his head. "Dd you think she was waiting for you?"

"Watch your words–"

"Did you know she called for you?" he asked, stepping closer. His boots crunched on the sand, every step louder in Jace's ears. The boy's hear pounded harder. He twisted, still stuck in the sand, trying to free himself, but his legs wouldn't move. He watched as Aemond crouched in front of him, eye- level now. His grin widened slowly, too wide. The silver haired prince's gaze shifted downward. "Recognize this?" Aemond then held up his hand. Her wedding ring.

Jace stopped breathing. His eyes locked on it. "Pretty little thing, isn't it?" Aemond said, rolling it between his fingers. "I took it from her myself, thought you'd want it back." He watched as his uncle leaned forward, his voice a whisper at Jace's ear. "She didn't scream, you know. Not at first."

The boy's eyes widened.

"Oh, but they always do."

"I'll kill you!" Jace thrashed against the sand as Aemond stepped back, letting out a laugh.

"You always seem to amaze me, nephew," he smiled lazily, flicking the ring into the sand. "Fetch it, boy."

Jace lunged forward– but the sand pulled him down. His legs were gone. His arms sank next. He was sinking. He tried to claw his way to the surface, gasping for air, his fingers dragging against the sand.

It wasn't until he fell and hit another ground that he looked to see what he landed on– and then he saw them.

Bodies.

The sea of bodies below him, faces just beneath the surface. Luke. His brother. His face pale, his hair swirling like seaweed. His eyes staring blankly upward, his body mangled and separated from Vhagar. Rhaenyra, his mother, her mouth wide opened, eyes filled with shock as her hair floated around her like a halo. Harwin Strong, his face bloodied and bruised, and half burned like the rest of his body. His father, Laenor, laid amongst them, his head bobbed lifelessly just below the waterline.

And there, in the center of them all– Eudora. Her hollow eyes stared upward, her hands floating aimlessly in the water. He walked to approach her body, only to see the holes only which arrows or spears could leave all around her. Her mouth still bled.

Jace screamed, stepping back from the terror he just witnessed. He tripped over a body, which he could only make out as Rhaenys.

The bodies twitched, their hands reaching upward, trying to grab him and pull him down with them. His lungs started to ache as he suffocated, trying to scream, trying to fight–

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

"No!" Jace yelled, his eyes snapping open, breath ragged and sharp. His heart was racing, his chest burned. He was in his room, stone walls, dim firelight. Not the shore, not the sea.

The Velaryon pressed a hand to his face, his breath shaky, eyes wild as the pain of his wounds greeted him once more. He could still feel it. The pull of the hands. The burn of the salt. Jace's chest heaved, his heart refusing to slow.

He lowered his hands slowly, eyes still wide. His gaze dropped to his hand that was closed into a fist. He was hopeful, slowly opening it to see it was empty. But in his mind, he could still see it.

Her ring.

Jace could only bring himself out of his bed, leaving his chambers in the dead of night. His footsteps hasty as he walked to his parents' chamber.

As soon as he entered, Rhaenyra woke. "Jace, what are you–"

"We need to take King's Landing. One way or another, we're not waiting any longer."

(( 🫗 ))