ASOIAF ~ FemPOV ~ request ~ Hedge Knight※

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The bitter humiliation of losing a stung nearly as much as the bruises under Aemon's armor.

It was a celebration of his nephew Daeron's third name day, a tourney hosted in a boy's who still hid behind his mother's skirts honor. Not that it mattered, really. Aegon did little to show interest in his son and frail sister-wife Naerys. It was their father Viserys who arranged the celebration for his grandson. Aemon could see how much it hurt his dear sister Naerys, the way she sat anxiously among the high lords and ladies beside a drunk Aegon, clutching Daeron's little hand anxiously as she watched the joust. Aemon had sworn to himself that he'd win the joust, if only to bring a rare smile to her lips.

The Dragonknight still scarcely understood what happened; one moment, he sat atop his mare, high above them all, charging at a hedge knight, the next, he was writhing in the mud, wind knocked from his lungs, staring at the cloudless sky as the wandering knight took his victory.

Only when the hedge knight finally left the arena, not speaking a single word, not when he claimed his prize, not when king Baelon congratulated him, not a word to the maids, fawning over him in the stands, only casting a brief, solemn glance Aemon's way from under their helm, did the Dragonknight start processing what happened and the roaring laughter of his drunkard brother ring in his mind.

With a huff, Aemon stumbled to his feel, face flushed and pride wounded. He waved off the squire rushing to his side, stepping over his broken lance, before promptly following after the mystery knight, though Aemon himself hardly knew whether it was to congratulate him or to at least find out the identity of the man who had unhorsed him.

It took him an hour to finally track the knight down. Far away from the festivities, near a small creak, perched under a pair of linden trees, intertwined together like a hideous, lumbering beast, sat a small campsite. The closer Aemon came, the more he could see; anything from the gelding the knight rode, now grazing on fresh grass, the discarded pieces of armor, which had clumsily hung from the unknown knight's frame, a huge, dirty mutt of a dog curled up by the discarded armor, staring at the Kingsguard warily.

Aemon crossed the camp, indigo eyes taking in the mess of a camp, his footing quiet and steady. Only when he circled the trunk of the twin trees did he stop dead in his tracks, eyes brows raised and eyes popping. A woman, in man's mail, no less, staring at the Dragonknight like a startled doe, but it was her eyes that surprised and stumped him the most. The same solemn eyes, blown wide, staring back at him at the standoff.

Aemon blinked once, twice, gaping like a fish out of water as he took a step back. "You-"

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A/N: whoever requested aemon... kissing u<3 one of the few valid targaryens

theres a chance the bot may confuse ur pronouns bc he believes that user is a man at the beginning, so in case of that happening, either manually edit the message or put (refer to {{user}} with she/her pronouns ONLY) at the end of your first response.