"So, I take it you want to know what I mean by that?" Mysaria playfully asked.
Lilyanna became annoyed, "You know that I want to know, Mysaria. So can you please stop messing with me?"
"There have been rumors and stories pertaining to the deaths of Queen Rhaenys, her son, Aenys, and Maegor the Cruel." Mysaria answered.
"Just rumors?" Lilyanna asked, knowing that if they were going to make a case against the Citadel and the Faith, they would need hard evidence.
"Their deaths were orchestrated on the Citadel's orders. They had agents sent to Dragonstone and the Red Keep, disposing of Aenys and Maegor."
"And Queen Rhaenys?"
"House Uller was not in possession of a scorpion bolt before the Queen's attack on Hellholt. The scorpion they had was newly built, after a letter from the Starry Sept was deliver to Uthor Uller and the lord asked Princess Meria Martell to have one sent to Hellholt.
"But why House Uller? There were more prominent locations than Hellholt." Lilyanna asked.
"That is true, but there were other letters being penned to other houses across Westeros. It just so happened that the Ullers were able to kill the Queen before the other houses across Westeros could receive word of the dragon killing weapons the Dronish had from their Rhoynar ancestors. And by that point Aegon and Visenya had already begun the Dragon's Wroth, so it was too late to send word, otherwise if they were caught, they too could meet the same fate that Dorne did during those two years." Mysaria explained.
Lilyanna leaned back in her seat as she digested the information she had received; while this more than proved that she was right about the Great Conspiracy, knowing about it brought her no closer to bringing the whole thing down.
"I don't suppose any other these letters still exist?" Lilyanna asked rhetorically, already knowing the answer.
"Over a hundred years later? Not a chance in all the hells." Mysaria scoffed.
"I thought as much." Lilyanna sighed, "Honestly, if have the things you have told me are true, it's miracle the Targaryen dynasty lasted a hundred years, let alone the almost three hundred that it would eventually reach."
"Yes, you lizards do seem too stubborn to die or see when you are unwanted." Mysaria agreed, smiling at the roll of Lilyanna's eyes.
To be honest I don't know if Mysaria is right about Targaryens being stubborn or if the coalition of the Citadel and the Faith are just incredibly incompetent, unable to kill off our family despite having the advantage of being unknown and their Valyrian enemy being ignorant and arrogant. Lilyanna thought.
"And Lady Jeyne? You said their was a plot to kill the Lady Paramount, and she is the only one." The princess questioned.
"While there is nothing concrete, there have been ravens being seen going from the Starry Sept and the cadet branch of House Arryn in Gulltown, and they have been increasing over the last few years."
"And you think Lady Jeyne's cousin is colluding with the Faith to make himself Lord of the Vale?"
Lilyanna had yet to hear of Arnold being thrown into the sky cells by his cousin, so she knew that his first rebellion against Jeyne had yet to happen. But it made less sense to her that the Faith would aid him in this endeavor, at least while Jeyne was still alive. Andal customs favored her over Arnold as she was the closet descendant to the pervious Warden of the East.
"Like I said there is nothing concrete, but it is something to keep watch of, especially as Lady Jeyne is related to your sister." Mysaria reiterated.
Right, Jeyne and Rhaenyra are cousins. While most would not bother giving Arnold the time of day, an organization that believes in male preference may back him if they see Jeyne as giving Rhaenyra her support in a possible war and they don't think they can sway her to their side.
"Thank you, Mysaria. I know this will prove to be useful for me later on." Lilyanna said as she stood from her seat, preparing to leave.
"So long as you keep your end of our bargain, princess, then there is no thanks to be given." Mysaria responded, eyeing the young girl in a particular way.
Lilyanna returned the look, "Is that not what I have been doing?"
Mysaria smiled, a sharp and dangerous thing. "So long as you remember, Your Grace."
Lilyanna did not respond, turning on her heel and leaving the room, confused by the last few minutes of her and Mysaria's conversation.
Why am I even trying to figure out what that woman is thinking? All I have to do is keep my word and I won't have to worry about what that smile of hers means.
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A Fortnight Later
"But why must we have different rooms?" Helaena asked as she, her siblings, her mother, and their sworn protector stood in the hallway watching as servants moved Lilyanna's belongings out of their shared room.
That morning Alicent had informed her twin daughters that after ten years, the pair would no longer be sharing a room, that Lilyanna would be moved into the room next to theirs.
"Because it is time for you both to have your own rooms, Aegon was your age when he stopped sharing with Aemond. Don't you both want your own spaces?" Alicent said, knowing that neither child was happy but knew that this was for the best.
"I like sharing a room with Lily. Why does this have to change?" Helaena asked once more, not wanting to be separated from her sister and not understanding her mother's sudden decision.
"It's a good change, sweetling. Right, Aegon?" Alicent pointedly stared at her eldest son.
"Uh… yes! It's a good change, Helaena. I love not having to share a room with Aemond. Best thing to ever happen to me." Aegon said, catching on to his mother wanting him to help her convince the twins.
Helaena was not having this, still not understanding the need for them to have their own rooms and her face continued to fall.
"Helaena, mother wants us in different rooms because she's afraid that as we get older our growing urges and sinful desires will lead to us fucking each other." Lilyanna said plainly, tired of Alicent refusing to just say the true reason for them no longer being allowed to share a room.
"Lilyanna!" Alicent yelled, "Do not speak so crassly, especially not in front of your younger brothers. You are a princess, and a princess has no need for such language!"
"But is that not the reason we suddenly must have separate rooms? We Targaryens do have queer customs after all." Lilyanna argued, using the words that Alicent used years prior with Rhaenyra.
Aegon snickered as he saw the put off expression on their mother's face, making it clear that Lilyanna was right in her assessment.
"So will Lily and Hely share a room again when they get married?" Daeron asked, knowing about how their family married siblings to each other to keep their blood pure.
Alicent immediately turned to her youngest child, "Your sisters are not getting married, they will never marry each other."
Alicent knew that the Doctrine of Exceptionalism gave the Targaryens the right to intermarriage, but the thought of marrying any of her children to each other disgusted the Queen even if she knew that it may one day be necessary.
"If Lily and I promise not to sleep with each other, can we share a room again?" Helaena asked causing Aegon to laugh aloud.
"You and Lilyanna will be in separate rooms from now on and that is final. I know that it may not seem like it now, but this will benefit both of you." Alicent said with finality.
Before Helaena could argue again, Lilyanna grabbed her shoulder. "It's fine, Hely. Mother is right, this may benefit us to have our own rooms. Besides, our rooms will be right next to each other and it's not like one of us is leaving the Keep."
"Alright." Helaena whispered, still upset but knowing that continuing to argue would be pointless.
"So, you want to decorate my room?" Lilyanna asked, hoping this would improve her sister's mood.
"I can do whatever I want?" Helaena asked.
Lilyanna shrugged, "I cannot promise that I will not get rid of or change what you do, but I will consider keeping what you put in there."
Helaena smiled for the first time since Alicent told them that they would be separated, "I would like that."
"Can we help decorate too?" Daeron asked, "I have some great ideas for what you can put in there!"
"We also have to make sure you don't put anything boring in there, like more books." Aegon added, making his way into the empty room that now belonged to his youngest sister.
"Just because you do not know how to read, does not make books boring." Aemond snarked as he followed the older boy.
"I didn't agree to let to let you fools decorate my room." Lilyanna said, her words lacking any heat or malice as she too entered her new room, Daeron giggling as he ran in behind her.
"We should put an insect display by the window." Helaena said aloud as she calmly followed her siblings.
Alicent sighed as she and Criston were now left alone. It was moments like this where she was reminded of how hard being a parent was, but she just needed to be in control of something, to keep her mind off everything that had gone wrong these last few weeks.
"So, the servants were not lying when they said you were moving Lilyanna into a different room." Alicent turned and saw that it was Rhaenyra who had spoken, the princess was standing in front of Lilyanna's room, watching as her siblings started moving things around and trying to convince Lilyanna to remove or add certain items.
"I believed it was time, princess." Alicent replied, keeping her gaze on the servants moving Lilyanna's belongings.
If Rhaenyra was bothered by the lack of reaction, she did not show it, simply leaning against the doorway, even ignoring the way Criston glared at her. The princess allowed the silence to lull, although she turned her attention away from her siblings and to the Queen.
Alicent did not know how to respond to the strange impasse that she and Rhaenyra had found themselves in. Since Elaera's death, Rhaenyra had been a more constant presence in Alicent's daily life than she had in the last decade, almost as often as when they were children.
They never truly spoke with each other; it only consisted of Rhaenyra watching over Alicent when she was at the height of her depression. Even now that she had gotten out of bed, Alicent still saw Rhaenyra constantly watching her, as if she were a piece of glass about to shatter.
She hated being treated like a fragile and emotional woman by her former friend, but she also could not deny that deep down she appreciated the silent support.
"Rhaenyra, can you tell Aegon that Lilyanna having a hammock instead of a bed is a stupid idea?" Aemond ran to the doorway when he noticed his sister standing there.
"A hammock is a great idea for Lily's room, better than getting another bookshelf, like you suggested." Aegon scoffed.
Rhaenyra laughed before look to Lilyanna, "Do you have a preference, sister?"
"I am taking my bed to my new room." Lilyanna answered.
"What?! Why?" Aegon asked, sneering when Aemond smugly smirked as Lilyanna rejected his idea.
"I do not hate hammocks, but having one in place of a bed would be terrible for my back in the long term. But I suppose I can put one in the corner, for others to use." Lilyanna acquiesced, knowing that her brothers and sister would be spending a lot of time in her room.
Alicent sighed, knowing that she would now have to spend the next few days keeping Aegon from trying to replace his own bed with a hammock.
This is a good change; I know it is. Alicent thought to herself as she watched as Rhaenyra began giving her own input on what Lilyanna should do with her room.
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Lilyanna let out a yawn as she returned from what was now only Helaena's bedroom.
After the servants finished removing all of Lilyanna's belongs and the rest of their family had left, the sisters had decided that it would be best to leave all the important things Lilyanna had acquired, hidden in Helaena's room.
The gold coins, and the physical evidence that she gained from Mysaria over the last few years, were all hidden within the secret compartment that they had dug out behind the wall. They both figured that with Helaena's reputation of being a strange and simple girl that no one would go looking for anything of importance in her room.
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That and it was easier than having to dig out a new space to put them inside of Lilyanna's room, both girls remembering how long it took for them to do it the first time, especially since they had to be discreet.
"I still don't know how I'm going to get any actual evidence for the deaths of Queen Rhaenys, Aenys, and Maegor. I should just focus on the deaths of Targaryens that happened within the last fifty years, those will be easier to prove." Lilyanna said to herself as she readied for bed.
Just as she was about to climb into bed, Lilyanna heard a voice from behind her, "What does she mean that she should focus on the deaths of the last fifty years? The murders of our sons and myself are just as important!"
Lilyanna tripped over her own foot in her attempt to turn around, falling to the floor as she looked up in shock at the sight in front of her; The Conquerors, Aegon, Visenya, and Rhaenys were standing before her.
The one who had spoken was Rhaenys, the Queen looking down at her descendant with disapproval in her eyes.
"What the fuck?!" Lilyanna yelled, rolling onto her back, and trying to push herself away from the three Targaryens.
They're not here; I'm just seeing things because I'm tired. Or maybe I fell asleep without realizing it and this is all a dream!
"You can see us? But you are not asleep." Aegon spoke, his hand reaching up to rest on his chin, his confusion evident.
"How? What? Why?!" Lilyanna sputtered, slowly standing up as her brain was still trying to process what she was looking at.
"Very articulate, aren't you, little one." Visenya sarcastically drawled, turning away from Lilyanna, and looking around the room. "We are certainly in the land of the living, but only partially."
"What do you mean by partially?" Rhaenys asked her older sister.
Her question was answered when Lilyanna closed the distance between them and slowly lifted her hand, intending on grabbing Rhaenys' arm only for her hand to pass through the woman's body. Rhaenys' body changed for a moment, making the woman appear as if she was made of smoke before solidifying.
"Ghosts. You all are fucking ghosts." Lilyanna whispered, realizing what was going on when her hand passed through Rhaenys, a cold chill racing up her appendage as she did. She then tore her gaze away from her hand and focused her attention back on the conquerors, "Do you think this has to do with what happened in my dream?"
"It would be the only plausible explanation. What the four of us experienced was obviously some type of ritual involving blood magic, it must have connected us in some fashion, allowing us to cross the barrier between realms." Visenya answered.
"And yet you don't know the spell or who cast it?" Aegon asked, knowing that his sister knew more about magic than anyone else.
"Not even I know everything pronating to magic, everything I learned came from our mother and the books we had on Dragonstone. It would make sense that our knowledge would be... limited." Visenya replied, her nose scrunching as if it physically hurt her to admit that there were things that she was ignorant of.
"Could it have been the Gods? They were the ones that allowed us to choose Lilyanna, mayhaps this is all a part of their plan." Rhaenys questioned.
"Can't you just ask them?" Lilyanna asked, confused about why the three were speculating on what was going on when this was all happening because the Valyrian Gods gave them an opportunity to save their house.
Rhaenys rolled her eyes as she thought about the Valyrian Gods, "The Gods can only interfere so much in the world of morals and even among the dead. It's why they choose champions to fight for them, there are rules in place that keep them acting themselves."
Lilyanna's mind reeled as she thought about this; the gods had sought fit to bind the four of them together. "If you three are bound to me, does this that only I can see and hear you? Because if not, I don't know how I'm going explain why my dead ancestors are following me around."
Lilyanna's joke did not land as the three conquerors blankly stared at the girl, not a sound passing between them.
Wow, tough crowd.
"It would not make sense for others to be able to see us, but I suppose we could and test this." Aegon said, breaking the few moments of silence that had fallen over the group.
Lilyanna blinked, "And how would you guys do-"
ACK!
Suddenly Lilyanna began coughing, unable to continue speaking as she fell to her knees. The young girl desperately grabbed her throat as she started coughing out globs of bloody spit and struggled to breathe.
"Lilyanna!" Rhaenys cried as she rushed to the girl's side, the former Queen tried to hold Lilyanna only for her hands to phase through her, just as Lilyanna's did when she tried to do the same earlier. Rhaenys looked up at her siblings, "What is going on with her?"
Aegon bent down and kneeled next to Rhaenys, worry snitched across his normally passive face. "She was fine a few moments ago, so why is she-"
"It is us." Visenya quickly realized.
"Us? How can we be causing this?" Aegon asked.
"Our souls are not just bound to Lilyanna's but her body. I believe that our presence in the physical world and outside of her dreams is causing a strain on her body. The ritual is new, it is fresh. Lilyanna needs to time to get use to the magic that has been cast on her." Visenya explained, continuing to watch as Lilyanna struggled for breath.
The eldest of the conquerors found it strange how worry and fear began to creep into her chest. She had not expected to care for the other worldly girl like Rhaenys did or even Aegon, only seeing her for what she could do for their house, but after watching her for a decade, Visenya could not deny that she had become somewhat fond of Lilyanna.
"Lilyanna," Visenya said as she kneeled in front of the girl. "We are going to leave, and afterwards your body should return to normal. We will return but only once your body has grown stronger, and then the four of us will need to talk."
Lilyanna maintained eye contact, showing the woman that she was listening and understood what she was being told. Her vision began to darken, and Lilyanna could feel her body swaying in its attempts to stay upright.
"Come, we need to leave." Lilyanna heard Visenya tell her siblings before every went black.
"-anna. Lily!" Lilyanna quickly sat up, her head spinning due to how fast she moved.
It took Lilyanna a few moments to gain her barring, seeing that she was sitting on the floor of her new room and that Helaena was kneeling in front of her. Lilyanna could see the confusion and worry on her sister's face.
"You were bleeding." Helaena pointed out as she saw the dried blood around her sister's mouth and on the carpet.
"I'm fine, Hely." Lilyanna said as she pushed herself off the floor, grimacing as tasted the blood that was still lingering on her tongue.
"Are you sure?" Helaena asked.
"Would I lie to you?" Lilyanna asked in response.
"Fine, I will take your word on it." Helaena sighed, "It's not as if I could take you to the maester if something was truly wrong."
"What are you talking about?" Lilyanna asked.
"That's what I came here to tell you before I found you lying on the floor; Grand Maester Mellos is dead." Helaena answered.
"Mellos is dead?" Lilyanna asked as she processed this.
It was not the death that surprised her; Lilyanna knew that Mellos would eventually die as in both the books and show he was replaced by Grand Maester Orwyle, a man who was firmly in Otto's pocket.
But what did surprise her was the joy she felt inside herself at the news. Mellos was dead and all Lilyanna felt was happiness that he was gone.
What the fuck is this world doing to me?! Lilyanna thought, realizing that her moral compass was changing.
"Why is there not any commotion then?" Lilyanna asked, confused about how quiet and calm the castle was in the wake of a Grand Maester's death.
"The other maesters are checking for the cause of death as we speak, but Mellos was old, so most of them are assuming that it was simply old age that did him in. But there are a few nobles who are spreading the rumor that that our sister killed him and made it look like old age." Helaena said.
Lilyanna scoffed at the part about Rhaenyra. Shortly after Elaera's funeral, it had spread across the court how Rhaenyra, in a fit of furious anger over the news of their sister's premature death, began to strangle Mellos, the only thing keeping her from continuing was Alicent begging her not to.
Everyone knew that Rhaenyra was the favorite child of Viserys and that he let her with many things, but many were still surprised when Viserys had simply told Rhaenyra to control her temper and to apologize to the Grand Maester.
Rhaenyra did so begrudgingly and that was that; no punishment was given to the heir for attacking Mellos.
Viserys was the man who heard that Rhaenyra's son and his grandson had cut out the eye of one of his own son's and yet allowed Lucerys to get off free of all consequences while berating Aemond for saying the truth that everyone knew, so Lilyanna was not shocked that Viserys did not care about Mellos' wellbeing.
"Helaena, there's no way that Rhaenyra would kill Mellos, and if she had wanted to then she would've done it already." Lilyanna said.
They both knew Rhaenyra well, they knew her good qualities and her bad ones, and two of her worst were that Rhaenyra could be impulsive and rash.
It could be seen in the books when Vaemond Velaryon had come King's Landing to partition the King for Driftmark to be given to him over Lucerys as Corlys was on what many had thought to be his death bed and because Laenor was dead, he proclaimed that Lucerys was a bastard of Harwin Strong and not Laenor's trueborn son, so in response Rhaenyra ordered Daemon to kill him before feeding Vaemond's body to Syrax, not caring about the impact this would have with the other Velaryons. Or in the show when she slept with Cristion, when she slept with Daemon at Laena's funeral, and when she and Daemon plotted Laenor's fake murder.
In Lilyanna's opinion, if Rhaenyra wanted to kill Mellos she would have acted on her feelings and killed him when she grabbed him by the neck and tried to strangle him, or even after Alicent was not there to stop her, she would not have waited two moons after the fact to do so.
You know, I'm starting to realize that ninety percent of the time Rhaenyra acts impulsively, it's in the presence of Daemon. It's like he just brings something out of her...
"We know that, but it won't stop the rumors." Helaena responded, "Do you think this will make things worse between Rhaenyra and mother?"
Lilyanna threw her head back and loudly groaned, she could already imagine how Alicent would be reacting now that Mellos was dead, and she had seen Rhaenyra physically assault him moons prior.
"Fuck my life right now." Lilyanna whined, knowing that she would have her hands full dealing with this and the effects the blood ritual from her dreams had on her.
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Alicent's jaw remained clenched as she walked back to her chambers, the good mood she had after eating dinner with her children having left her as she once again felt the eyes of various people on her.
Since she had woken up that morning, stares and whispers followed her as news of Mellos' death spread throughout the Red Keep.
Alicent knew it was because Rhaenyra's confrontation with Mellos had returned to the forefront of courtly gossip, rumors spreading that the princess had killed the Grand Maester and made the death appear as if it were of natural causes.
There were even rumors that Alicent had ordered Rhaenyra to do the deed, angered over his failure to save her child.
"This is ridiculous." Alicent muttered under her breath as she met the eyes of two noble women walking by.
The pair bowed to the Queen, but immediately began whispering to each other, constantly looking back at Alicent once she passed them.
"Grand Maester Mellos' death has already been proven to be of natural causes, Your Grace. The court simply wants to make this more entertaining for themselves." Criston told Alicent as he glared at the noble women.
The women scurried away once the Kingsguard rested his hand on the pummel of his sword, making his feelings towards them clear.
"Still, to be accused murder is not something I enjoy. For what reason would I even have to do so?" Alicent questioned, growing furthered annoyed by the machinations of politics.
"They are simply jealous, Your Grace. Wanting to do whatever possible to tear you down." Criston answered, the knight was furious by the accusations that were being thrown at his Queen's feet. "The only woman possible of murder in this Keep would be the princess and after what she tried to do to Mellos, it only further proves her depravity."
Alicent kept quite as Criston continued to speak his feelings about Rhaenyra, normally she would have joined in on this, but a pit formed in her stomach.
While she knew that Rhaenyra did not kill Mellos, the autopsy had proven this, she could not help but remember the rage that was strewn across Rhaenyra's features as she wrapped her hands around his neck.
Would she… would Rhaenyra have killed him if I did not stop him? Would she even have felt guilty if she had strangled him, or broken his neck? Alicent thought.
The King will die. It may be months or years, but he'll not live to be an old man. And if Rhaenyra succeeds him, war will follow, do you understand? The realm will not accept her. And to secure her claim, she'll have to put your children to the sword. She'll have no choice. You know it. You're no fool, and yet you choose not to see it. The time is coming, Alicent. Either you prepare Aegon to rule, or you cleave to Rhaenyra and pray for her mercy… Otto's words once again reverberate through her head.
But Rhaenyra only attacked Mellos because she was angered on behalf of Elaera and Lilyanna. But Viserys did not care that Rhaenyra attacked Mellos, letting her get away with it, only having to give nothing more than an insincere apology.
Alicent was so distracted by her thoughts that she just barely remembered to say good night to Criston, cutting the man's tirade about Rhaenyra short as she entered her bedroom.
The Queen sighed as she walked towards her dresser, prepared to take off her jewelry.
"Why have you been avoid me since this morning?" Alicent practically jumped out her skin as she quickly turned in the direction that the voice came from, seeing Rhaenyra sitting in front of her fireplace.
"Rhaenyra! What are you—how did you even get in here?" Alicent explained, placing a hand on her chest in an attempt to calm herself down.
"I have my ways." Rhaenyra shrugged, not wanting to tell Alicent about the system of secret tunnels inside the Keep.
"I do not have the time nor the desire to play games with you, princess. So if you are done, then you can leave." Alicent said as began walking towards the door, intending to show Rhaenyra out.
"I did not kill Mellos, you know that." Rhaenyra said, stopping Alicent in her tracks.
"Do I?" Alicent asked, her tone growing harder, "I used to think there were many things you were not capable of doing, until you proved me wrong."
Rhaenyra glared as she stood and made her way to Alicent, "So are we finally going to talk about what this is truly about then? Or are you going to continue acting like a child?"
"You are the last person who should be insulting another's maturity. That is what this is about." Alicent replied just as fiercely.
Rhaenyra let out a sardonic laugh, "No, what this is about is the fact that you have let your cunt of a father manipulate you. First into fucking my father and then to thinking me capable of killing my own siblings!"
Alicent's glare harden and Rhaenyra thought ironically that Alicent would have burned her to ash with her gaze if she had the ability. Alicent quickly closed the distance between them, the two now sharing a breath. "How dare you?! My father is a just and honorable man, far better than the spoiled princess standing before me."
"Yes, because having his daughter seduce a man whose wife just died and is old enough to be her own father is such an amazing thing to do!" Rhaenyra screamed back, remembering that day in small council chamber when Viserys announced that he was marrying Alicent, all the hurt and anger she felt.
"I did not ask to be Queen! I did not want to be chosen by Viserys, I just wanted to do my duty to my father, to my family, to my house! Why can't you see that?!" Alicent cried, her voice cracking and her eyes blurring with tears she refused to let fall, unwilling to show Rhaenyra any vulnerability.
"Because I loved you! I loved you, you were mine and yet my father took you from me! He took you from my side and made you into my stepmother and he did not care, he broke us all for a son and yet he does not care for Aegon, or Aemond, or Daeron." Rhaenyra said, her yelling soon falling into horse whispers. "I am so angry at your father and especially mine, because he….he…"
"He what?" Alicent whispered, it was all she was able to say in response to Rhaenyra's outburst. She could feel her heart viciously beating within her chest as she waited to see if Rhaenyra would continue.
Rhaenyra let out a deep breath, and Alicent was drawn to the despairing smile on her lips. "Because he gave you children, he gave you a crown, he… he made you his wife. Sometimes, I hate him because my father has you in all the ways I wished that I could."
With that Rhaenyra slowly pushed past Alicent, walking towards the bedroom doors, she had not meant to reveal any of this but once she started she could not stop.
I need to get out of here before I embarrass myself further. Rhaenyra thought bitterly.
Before she could get far, Alicent grabbed her arm and took her hand within her own. Alicent's eyes widened as she had moved without thinking, only wanting Rhaenyra not to leave.
The princess allowed herself to be pulled closer by the Queen, and once again the woman barely had but a hair of space between them.
"Rhaenyra, I…" Alicent stared but was soon cut off when a knock at the door reverberated through the room.
"Your Grace? I heard shouting, are you alright?" Criston asked, prepared to enter the room if the Queen did not respond.
"I am fine, Ser Criston." Alicent responded, her gaze falling to the floor as once again questioned what she was doing.
"I should leave." Rhaenyra said softly, and this time Alicent did not stop her, watching as the other woman opened the doors, walking past a shocked Criston.
"How did she get on here? Your room is always locked when you are not here, Your Grace." Criston asked, unfortunately being reminded of another time that Rhaenyra was able to leave a bedroom without him knowing.
"I do not know, Ser Criston. I never know how or why Rhaenyra does anything." Alicent replied monotonely.
Once again Rhaenyra Targaryen had managed to completely baffle her with her actions, had messed with Alicent's heart and her head in ways that no one else was capable of.
And now Alicent did not know how she was going to move forward and live her life normally knowing that the princess loved her, had wished that she was in her own father's place at her side.
Alicent Hightower truly hates that she cannot hate Rhaenyra, as hating Rhaenyra would be easier than keeping her within her heart.