breeding | SALTBURNT

[ Ten, too young an age for that kind of cruelty. (Hypocrisy, maybe, from the man who'd pushed his own son from a roof, but he'd known that no damage would be lasting, that he was strong enough to take it. What kind of hero would he be if he couldn't?) More pieces click into place.

What Aemond needs to hear isn't I'm sorry — the sentiment fucking useless in the face of actual hurt — and what Homelander types out isn't what he needs, either, but it's something he can't understand. ]

doesn't it drive you crazy, having to keep the peace here?

Every fucking day.

[ if he had his way, rhaenyra would already be dead. she would have stayed dead, more to the point. every time he sees her he remembers her affront against his blood, against their shared blood. she had taken everything: their father's love, his mother's adoration, his brother's crown, his sister's son, his own eye. even their uncle and their dragons she had stolen to her side, as though only she had a right to them. what more else does she want?

if aemond could take her bastard sons all, it would still only be a fraction of what she owes. ]

But we keep the peace, so we do not war amongst ourselves in this house. Mother bid me, so I stay my hand.

What would you do in my place, Homelander?

[ A few thoughts occur to him: the first, that if anyone had tried to hurt Ryan, let alone take his eye, he'd have cut them down where they stood. But here it's ... impermanent. Nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Maybe that's what's stayed Alicent's hand; otherwise, it'd just be a constant bloodbath. He can't understand it in any other terms.

(Then again, he's a soldier, not a politician, even if he doesn't think of himself that way. But violence will always be the first tool he reaches for — to solve a problem, to gain leverage, to shift a weight.) ]

she must have a good reason.

but i wouldn't stick my neck out for any of them, that's for sure.

I would not keep the Stranger's hand from taking hers, either. She should have died a long time ago.

[ violence is the only answer aemond has for rhaenyra. in this, homelander perhaps will understand him best. what good reason exists to keep rhaenyra alive, if not his mother's wishes? without alicent to insist on peace he would happily pierce rhaenyra's breast and cut her heart out to lay before aegon's feet.

she has lied and connived and used used her whorish ways to claim what is aegon's by birthright. she herself ignores oaths given before all gods, yet she expects men to hold to their words. there is no peace to be found in a woman like her. aemond will not stand for her, now or ever. ]

They were friends once. Mother hopes for peace, still.

[ They share this, their place in the crucible of violence. For Homelander, the mercy that love would buy is, more often than not, a swift death. But he thinks of Maeve again, perhaps unavoidably, of the cell he'd kept her in. Somehow, he doesn't think that kind of imprisonment would really register on Alicent's radar, not in a situation like this. ]

you know where my loyalty lies.

[ The best he can do, for now, if he doesn't want to directly contradict Aemond's mother's instructions. ]

everyone's number comes up eventually.

[ it shouldn't be so satisfying, but it is. reading the words plain, unequivocal in their declaration: i am on your side. aemond would have begged his own blood for a fraction of such feeling. even if homelander proves himself more loyal to his mother than to himself, he would accept it. it's his blood own, not rhaenyra's, that homelander hews to. ]

She has given offence and not paid for the insult. I should hope I am the one to claim justice upon her, when the time comes.

Do you still keep to my mother's side?

you'll have your moment. i know you, and i know that.

[ Because he sees himself reflected in the boy's gaze — the knowledge that revenge is the only iron-clad rule in this life, even more so than the inevitability of death. ]

not right now. she left a little while ago.

Mm. Should we expect you at the family table from now on? As our guest, of course.

[ see, he gives an out, if it's needed. but aemond is not blind to the men who have affections for his mother; he grew up under the watchful eyes of such men, after all. better homelander, here, if they're without criston so far. homelander will protect her. ]

yes.

[ —Right? He cares for Aemond, cares for Alicent — where else would he go if not to them? ]

i'll see you later. and i'll let you know if i see your mother before then.

Send her my regards.

For what it's worth, I'm happy she is with you.

[ to see his mother's lover possess a mind close to his own is both relief and worry, but aemond supposes — why not? his mother knows his heart, has loved him despite his sins. she will understand homelander easily. ]

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