Cold Hands, Warm Heart - Aemond Targaryen Headcanon

Cold Hands, Warm Heart - Aemond Targaryen Headcanon

"And when i saw you, I fell in love, and you smiled, because you knew." - William Shakespeare . The only Daughter of Lord Stark is married to Aemond Targaryen.

Warnings: doesn't follow the plot of hotd, cregan sides with the greens just for the sake of this marriage agreement, but he's still noble your honor🙏, smut, fluff, very protective aemond, sorta ooc, dislike for alicent as a mother, cregan ships them, religious insecurities, part two?

The young lady of winterfell was by all accounts, a rare bird of the north. She had long, curled ginger locks and a face that held strength in beauty.

She was said to be a kind soul, eager to help the people of her community, feeding the beggars and filling the pockets of the poor. Creating homes for orphaned babes, and safe places to work for both men and women selling themselves to get buy.

Aemond wondered why Lord Stark had petioned him for his daughter. Sure, be was notoriously less rowdy than his brother, however he was not said to be any more kind or forgiving, besides, would a woman as charitable as her not make for an excellent queen? He did not wish for a kind wife, he needed someone hardened for when the war started.

Of course, the moment he laid his eyes on her he wanted her for himself, and he was ecstatic he hadnt asked the council to change their minds.

Lady stark was not excited for her bethroal. She had heard of the targaryen prince, Aemond One-Eye. She had heard tales of his brutality, even around children, and she was horrified she would be expected to conceive with a man who is said to hate babies.

Of course, she would normally assume most of these to be rumours and lies, but jacareys talked to her while he visited Winterfell, to plead his mothers case. He may have lost in her fathers eyes, however he gave the young stark girl information she couldnt do without.

He told her that Aemond was a brute and he wasnt capable of love. Jacareys explained in his detail, how Aemond attacked them as children, forcing his younger brother to retaliate and ever since then his uncle hated children.

Of course, Lady stark didnt know this was an exaggerating claim of a man sprung with jealousy. She'd be married to Lucerys, Jacareys' younger brother had Cregan agreed with Rhaenyras cause, and Aemond had he agreed with Alicent. He had an agenda

Now, lady stark wasnt naive. She knew the prince couldnt be the monster jacareys described him to be, however she wouldnt discredit the words of his cousin, nor a man she aspired to be her friend

They met in the throne room upon her arrival perhaps a moon and a half from their wedding, late, late at night. The only others in the room were King Aegon (who was very upset to be woken), Alicent, Ser Otto, Helaena (who had also been upset to be woken), Ser Cole, and a couple trusted servents. They wouldnt wake the whole palace for a meeting, instead they'd hold a grand feast on the morrow to intoduce House Stark, and the preperations for wedding.

Lady Stark and her father would come in the room wearing thin furs made purposely for the trip. There was an obvious fondness to represent their house as they strode closer to the group, Aemond could spot a silver pendent on her necklace, holding a direwolf sigil, and it shone in the candlelight of the throneroom.

Aemond stepped forward, instantly entranced with his betrothed. She was as if a winter princess born of an affair between gods of snow and beauty.

He outstretched his hand to take hers and took of her glove, slowly. He bowed as he kissed her hand and although the act was very much so appropriate, it felt sensual in the way he stared up at her.

"My young lady Stark, its an honour to meet your acquaintance, i hope we'll be able to spend much time together before we are wed." There was a certain knowingness in his voice, a joking tone that made even the tried King crack a smile and snort, and have Cregan glare a dagger into Aemonds one eye.

The rest of the introductions were boring and Aemond stared at his to-be-bride the whole time, only looking away as the stark family was brought to their chambers.

The next day, before the feast, Aemond would look for his bethrothed in her chambers and not find her, he'd soon find her in one of the smaller libraries in the palace.

"I can show you to our grand library if you'd wish. The books here are merely copies of them and theres many more in there, believe me." He startled her enough to cause the peaceful expression on her face to falter and make her jump a bit. "My apologies, i didnt know a wolf would be so jumpy."

Their conversation went on from there, he asked her about what she was so interested in, and she told him it was the Targaryen history. He didnt want to admit how that warmed his heart a bit, and instead told her that the grand library would certainly have more informed books, he of course also slipped in that his own personal library had some additions he'd be happy to show her.

She dismissed his shameless flirting, but took him up on his offer to see the bigger library.

He asked for her arm as they walked through the halls and she gave it to him wordlessly. Aemond was almost startled at how quiet she was being.

When they arrived at the library, Lady Stark noticed a guard at the front doors and must have looked puzzled enough for Aemond to take it as a sign to answer her unspoken question.

"There are scrolls and scripts in here worth more than a kings ransom, my dearest. All precious things must be protected."

Aemond watched as his bethrothed walked around the library, observing the organization before carefully walking to the section she wanted. "V" for Valyrian. She thumbed through pages of the first book she picked up and bit her cheek

After selecting two books from that section, she moved behind bookshelves out of Aemonds' sight, and reappeared in the "T" section. She was holding three more books.

Aemond would stride over to her silently, he wouldnt get too close in a bit of fear of spooking her, and yet he still startled her.

"Let me hold them." Lady stark smirked a little bit. Oh, so he was a gentleman, too? She briefly wondered if it was because she was a woman he was being so kind, or had Jacaerys been bluffing in how brutish the prince was?

"Some of these are about the north?" Aemond questioned, "Do you not know the history of your own home?"

"Of course i do!" She bit back, a bit angry at his insinuation. "I'd wish to learn what you southerners learn of our home. How you talk about our people and our land." She justified herself graciously. Aemond shocked her by apologizing. He wasn't someone she had ever expected to bow to a woman, and yet he bowed below her, took her hand, and kissed it gently.

"I would never intend to offend you, my lady."

Within a week and a half, Aemond and Lady Stark had become very close. Alicent was almost proud of her son for being so dutiful before he was even married.

Aemond enjoyed Lady Starks' presence. She was smart. Smarter than his dimwitted brother, more sensible than his kooky sister, he felt like they were on an even playing field mentally.

Lady stark, however, was just enjoying a break from the roughness that comes from Winterfell. Men there were chivalrous, sure, but they lacked warmth, Aemond one eye was filled with fire.

She didn't trust him yet, she wasnt sure if she ever could despite him never having done anything wrong to her. She found him kind, almost too kind. It went against everything anyone had ever said about him

Before long, Aemond started noticing a chance in lady starks demeanor. She was more generally sad looking, and she kept away from the people she used to look forward to being with, her maidens for tea time, Helaena, and even Aemond.

Aemond became noticeably angrier theoughout the week she distanced herself. He was upset, and he couldn't figure out why.

It was Lord Cregan Stark who had settled the tension. He had found Aemond in his study and knocked sternly to get his attention.

"You've been good to my daughter boy, made her happier than any other northern man, so I'll tell you this:" he'd begin coming closer into the room, catching Aemonds attention. "She is connected to home. Winterfell is her place. She is a baby of snow and ice. Those connections can not be broken, and it's not just to the cold. Her faith, her tradition, its all been engraved in her head and now she cannot have any of that, be gracious."

At first, Aemond almost took it as an insinuation that he couldn't make her happy because he wasn't a northerner, but he wasn't as quick to temper and thought of it logically. He was her father, of course he'd know her better then he did.

Aemond knew that lady stark believed in the old gods, but he had assumed it was in the same way his family believed in the seven, loosely. He hadn't taken interest in her religious traditions, and he should've.

He prided himself on being a smart, insightful man and as he fell more attarcted to Lady Stark. He knew he wanted to be a good husband, and eventually a good father.

Lady Stark had been missing her home. She missed sitting under the heart trees with her brother Rickon and reading him stories of the strong warriors of the old north. She missed the stew made for supper almost every week, and she missed praying before it every time, praying to her gods.

She didn't mean to push people away she just needed some space. Everyone she talked to in kingslanding unintentionally pushed their culture on her with every interaction.

She had taken all meals in her room or the given study used between her family and spent all her time in the smaller libraries and her chambers.

She wasn't isolating herself, she just wanted familarity.

As she traveled back from the east wing library to her own chambers, she noticed a lack of guards in her family's guest hall

Disregarding the fact, she would go to her own chambers and drop a heavy stack of books on a table near the entrance.

Aemond was sitting on her bed.

He was thumbing through a book lady stark recognized as her fathers. A Winterfell Tradition and History guide. Lady Stark thought about what she had said when they first met in the library, that she wanted to know what southerners write about them, and she had told him later that it was barbarically uncharacteristic.

He was showing an initiative to learn about her interest. He atleast in his head he was trying. He talked to his grandfather, Ser Otto, and asked if their was any way to have a godswood somewhere he could take his wife when they wed, somewhere he could create a place of worship for lady stark so despite being a three days dragon trip from home, could feel like she had a place.

He knew this wouldn't solve the total matter. He would have to do more to help her feel like Kings Landing would be her home just as much as winterfell was. But he hoped it may have been a beginning.

"Aemond," she broke him out of his reading. He knew she was there, of course, but he hadn't looked up.

"You dont need to acknowledge me if you dont like. I'll sit on the edge of your bed and let you do whatever in silence. I can't stand being away from you anymore, my dear, im sorry, i didn't think of how hard your adjustment has been. I'd like to help you in any way, even if it's just being by your side." He stood up as she walked closer. "Your interests are important to me. Your history is. The first thing you did when you came here was learn about my history, and i should've taken the initiative to do the same."

Lady stark felt like crying. He was emotionally invested in her and wanted to be with her. He wanted to learn her.

The couple had a conversation for hours, moving to sit in a position where she was lying in his chest. She had told him it was wrong and sinful to lay together before marriage, but neither really cared.

They read the book together, Lady stark smiling widely as she pointed out some of her ancestry, and Aemond some of her favourite childhood stories.

By the end of the night, Lady Stark realized she was happy with this arrangement. She had been wrong about Aemond, and the idea of marrying him no longer scared her.