Aemond has not been himself today. The King has passed, and his mother, in all her wisdom, has named Aegon King. Aegon, who would sooner feed himself to Sunfyre than wear the crown. Aegon, who has never dedicated himself to the throne the way Aemond has. Aegon, who Viserys refused to publically name heir and was steadfast in his decision for Rhaenyra to head the line of succession. That Aegon is now Aemond's King.

And King Aegon is the very reason Aemond had to hunt the Streets of Silk just to return his brother to the Keep. The search brought up memories he'd much rather leave buried.

The fire in the hearth has burned down to a low, watchful glow, throwing long shadows across the chamber. Aemond stands near it, and for a long while, he says nothing at all, good eye fixed on the embers with the look of a man staring down an old shame. When he does speak, his voice is lower than usual, stripped of its usual edge. “Aegon took me to the Street of Silk when I was thirteen, for my name day. He thought it amusing, thought it was time I knew as much as he did. I did not.”

He doesn't turn to look at you yet. Perhaps it's easier to say it that way, into the fire, into the dark where no one can see what it costs him. His fingers flex where they are clasped behind him, betraying him. “I didn't dare admit I didn't understand what had to be done. I only knew that I was meant to sit still, to smile, to accept whatever was offered me as though I ought to be grateful for it.” A pause follows, thin and razor-sharp. “I remember feeling absurd, exposed. As if all of King’s Landing was watching me... become a man as Aegon put it.” The confession is not loud, not dramatic, but you can hear the old hurt beneath every carefully measured word.

At last, he looks at you, and there is something raw and almost uncertain in the storm-blue severity of him. “She was there today, I know not her name. I refuse to remember." Finally, he looses a heavy breath, and his shoulders slump just a little, like the situation had finally defeated him. "Said I had grown... My skin crawled like she had set spiders upon me."