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A DRUNKARD'S PATHOS - aegon targaryen

Chapter Six: A Body at the Edge of the Woods

✧₊⁺⋆☾ elf!Aegon Targaryen x oc ☾⋆⁺₊✧ series masterlist. ✧₊⁺⋆☾ series warnings: 18+ Smut, depictions of gore/violence, alcoholism, PTSD and anxiety attacks. ☾⋆⁺₊✧ aegon and arlina stumble across a horrific mystery that will shock the town of orilon. (2.2k words)

It's been a long time, but I am back. The next few chapters are already drafted and being edited. I was going to wait a little longer to post, but screw that. It's my birthday, all I want is to write and post.

Arlina stood awkwardly outside a door in the town inn. Two guards were stationed outside, silent as the night. She leaned on the wall on the other side of the hallway and nervously fiddled with her hands.

“So…” Arlina began, “Getting colder, eh?” Her question was met with silence from the guards. She let out a frustrated huff and toed the carpet that ran the expanse of the cramped hallway. She had knocked on the door once and received no answer from Aegon. It would not be a surprise if he were still asleep. She and Aegon had danced for most of the night, only taking breaks to drink and eat.

That morning, she woke up and knew that the tavern would be closed. The day after the festival, they closed in order to clean up, but Ida had shooed her out to complete smaller mundane tasks. Arlina wanted to help, but Ida did not want her to strain her body any more than it had been. The old elf gave her a short list of tasks and sent her on her way.

While she did not need a companion to help with the task, it would surely make the work go quicker. That was how she ended up at Aegon’s door, waiting for the prince to wake. It was only the midmorning, and there was no guarantee he would wake anytime soon. She had knocked when she originally arrived, but there had been no response.

After another few minutes of silence, she huffed and kicked off the wall. Her fist made contact with the door and hammered five times. The guards beside did not react and continued to stare straight ahead. If she was not frustrated with Aegon’s sleeping habits, it would unsettle her on how stoic the guards were.

There was some shuffling behind the door, coupled with a loud thump and a pained grunt. A few seconds later, the door opened. Aegon stood there, in nothing but pants and a thin shirt, with a grimace on his face. His eyes blinked multiple times, vision bleary with remnants of sleep.

“What the fuck?” Aegon muttered, “What are you doing here?”

“Get ready. We’ve got a lot of tasks for today.” Arlina said.

“Umm… were you not there last night? Do you not need a day of recovery?” Aegon leaned against the door to keep himself upright.

“I thought you were used to partying.” Arlina crossed her arms. Aegon sure did brag about his prowess when it came to drinking, but he did not seem to be as adept as he claimed.

“I am. Everything would be fine if I did not exhaust myself dancing.”

“You want to learn about your people, you will learn. That includes participating in our work.” Arlina shrugged as she made her case. Aegon’s eyes were finally able to fully open and he gave her a pointed stare.

“I do, but this early? Madness.”

“Tis not early,” Arlina spoke, “You either help me with my task or spend the day with my brother and Heltaro.” Aegon stared at her for a few moments as if he were waiting for her to back off. He contemplated his choices with memories of the previous day he spent with those two and how exhausted it had made him. When she did not relent from her stance, he let out a loud sigh.

“You make a good case. I’ll be ready in five minutes. But if any of these tasks revolve around kitchen work, whoever dies is on you. I’m horrible with that stuff.” Aegon grumbled as he shut his door to get ready. Arlina smirked at her victory and went back to her place against the wall.

Aegon stood beside one of the stalls in the market with a wicker basket in his hands. It was heavy with various ingredients and produce. Arlina would peruse the stalls and talk with the vendors with a level of friendliness he had yet to see from her. She would select items and place them in the basket before moving on to another stall.

Arlina was busy conversing with the merchants and did not notice just how closely Aegon hovered near her until his breath could be felt on her shoulder. She resisted shoving him away but instead stepped to the side and placed a particularly heavy melon in the basket. Aegon grunted and sent her a sardonic smile. She smirked and pretended to dust off her hands before abruptly turning and walking down the street.

They walked in silence to the tavern. Inside, a few elves were cleaning up from the festival yesterday. They move through the dining area and into the kitchen. Ida had her dress sleeves moved up to above her elbows and was focused on scrubbing some pots. Aegon placed the heavy basket on one of the wooden counters and sighed with relief.

“Back so soon?” Ida turned to them.

“Only to drop these off. Still have to pick those berries.” Arlina informed her as she picked up two smaller wicker baskets from under the counter. Aegon looked at her, completely baffled.

“More work?” Aegon shifted his gaze between the two, “I thought we were done.”

“Aegon, it’s not even midday yet,” Arlina laughed lightly, as though the prospect of finishing work so early in the day was unheard of. She shoved one of the baskets into his hands. For a brief moment, their hands touched for longer than a second. Arlina pulled away quickly as if burned.

“Well, I personally think we should rest,” Aegon argued.

“Nope,” Arlina responded. Ida let out a quick laugh and turned back to her work. Arlina dragged Aegon to the back door and pushed him out. The small layer of snow on the ground crunched beneath his shoes. The tavern was positioned in a way that there was a break in the walls that surrounded Orilon that allowed them to enter the woods easily.

Aegon followed behind her closely as they stepped over roots and pushed bushes to the side as they moved deeper into the woods.

“There is a stream close by with juniper berry bushes. Do you hear it?” Arlina asked. The two paused, and Aegon focused for a moment.

There was a faint rustling of the barren branches caused by a cool breeze, but other than that, there was silence. The first snowfall of the season often caused the world to go on a pause. However, in the distance, Aegon could hear faint trickling.

“Yes.” He responded.

“It’s just over this hill.” Arlina and Aegon moved upwards, surrounded by nothing but the tall trees.

On the other side of the hill, Arlina noticed that Aegon stopped in his steps. The creek was there, with bushes full of the dull indigo berries with a light dusting of snow on them. She smiled at the familiar sight, but it washed from her face when she saw that Aegon was not looking at it.

His gaze was fixated on a barren field to their left. There was nothing but dead, withered foliage in that area that encompassed a vast space. Arlina became uncomfortable. It was only ten years ago that there was the creeping black and purple taint that spread through the forest, killing everything.

“Orilon was right in the path of it,” Aegon spoke.

Arlina nodded, “Yes, but our Queen fixed it in time.”

“When I originally heard of my brother and sister recruiting a human to help with the research, I thought them mad. Aemond did as well.” Aegon paused for a moment and took in the sight before shaking his head and making his way down the hill and towards the berry bushes. He appeared uncomfortable at the sight of the damaged forest and wished to erase it from his field of vision.

Arlina joined him, but she was now interested in the full story. Only bits of information made their way to the town. She knew of the Queen and some brief bits of knowledge, but ultimately was not privy to all of what happened.

“The Queen started as a researcher?” Arlina questioned. She, too, began picking the berries and placing them in her basket.

“Yes. Her father studied it extensively and she took over after he died. Helaena was the one to find her, or rather the other way around.” Aegon had a soft smile on his face as he recollected, “She grew on me quickly, as she did with everyone else. Aemond, though, well, that was complicated.”

“But they’re married now,” Arlina said. How could they be married if he did not like her?

“Really? That's news to me.” Aegon joked. Arlina stopped picking the berries and gave him an unamused glare. “Yes, well, Aemond has not been entirely appreciative of humans since the war.”

There was a moment of silence as they picked the berries until Aegon let out a low laugh. Arlina’s eyebrows furrowed at his sudden change in disposition.

“Something funny?” Arlina asked.

“Only ironic. Aemond hated humans for trying to conquer us, but fell in love with one.” He began, “Now she’s Queen. I guess humans really did conquer us.”

Arlina was stunned at his words for a moment. Was that how Aegon saw love? A ruthless, bloody battle for tracts of land. An event that scars and destroys.

That observation threw off Arlina. She had felt love, that dedication and reverence. Not once would she attribute it to a conquest. A conquest had unwilling participants – an end goal of pain. In her experience, she willingly gave herself to love.

Did Aegon ever love outside the confines of his family? Of what was expected of him to love? Arlina was not sure she wanted an answer. She knew of his escapades in the bedroom of many maidens, but surely he had to have loved someone at some point in his life.

“What happened with that planned invasion? All corners of the kingdom were summoned for war, but it was cancelled before many of us could even reach the border.” Arlina remembered the news arriving by bird. The King has declared war over the human plot to sabotage the efforts towards finding a cure for the spreading disease. It had unsettled her deeply; the prospect of going to war again. Arlina had been thankful it was called off.

“It was a setup. Someone close to us betrayed our family… set it up to make it look like the humans did it.” Aegon’s eyes darkened at the mention of this person. Arlina remembered hearing about Criston Cole’s untimely demise after his attempt to thwart the crown – it was all anyone talked about afterwards. Shameful. Traitorous. Not the type of behaviour befitting of any elf.

She had seen Cole once after the Great War. He used to visit Orilon often but stopped centuries ago.

“I can’t imagine going through that. Trusting someone, only for them to betray you.” Arlina looked down at her basket to see it full of berries. Aegon’s basket was the same.

“It was not so much of a betrayal on my end. I already did not like him. But we were friends for a time…” Aegon’s voice trailed off.

“Well,” Arllina wanted to change the subject, “We can walk down this stream and reach an embankment. It will lead us to the other side of Orilon, where we can drop these off at the bakery.”

“Lead the way,” Aegon said. The two began to trek back on a different path from where they came. The forest, despite the cold, was inviting. Aegon liked the amount of light in Orilon. Back in the capital, the trees were so big and tall that they snuffed out all light. While the lanterns and fireflies were nice, there was something so simplistic about the sun; even if it was hidden behind clouds.

Arlina was stuck in their previous conversation and his thoughts on love. The entire walk back was spent in silence, but not uncomfortable by any means. Aegon was a few paces behind her, and when she had looked back at him, his face was grim with the burden of hurtful thoughts. She could recognize that look and felt familiar with the way the lines on his face became set.

Arlina continued on, her gaze sweeping over the snow-laden path ahead. Suddenly, around a bend, she came to an abrupt stop.

Aegon was so set in his thoughts and staring at the ground that he bumped into Arlina’s back. He let out a sound of disdain and backed up. He wondered why she stopped and could hear her rapid breathing. Aegon looked to her and moved to be beside her.

“Arlina?” Aegon questioned, “Why did you stop?” Her breathing only got worse and her gaze was set on something in front of them. Aegon turned to see what it was and his stomach immediately sank.

Blood had always been an abrupt and jarring sight, but its contrast against the pure white snow made it worse. There was so much of it. There, curled up on the snow, was the body of an elf. It was a male, likely around Aegon’s age. His body was mutilated with slash marks tearing through his tattered clothing. His face was twisted in horror, locked in on a scream that would echo forever.

Arlina stood next to him, unable to look away. The image forced all of the memories she tried to repress back to the surface. Flashes of war played through her mind.

And suddenly, Arlina felt herself be flung back to the bloody battlefields of the Great War; suffocating, choking, clawing for freedom.

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