Devotion (GOT Fanfic)

Chapter III

Act III of Devotion: Liberty

Chapter III: He Met Her Again

'I remember when my brother prince Aegon and myself had met Laila Connington for the first time when we had been children.

Laila Connington was a small thing - she must have been in her 10th year, almost five feet tall, and stood almost like a doll. I wondered then how breakable was she, how much of a marionette she had been sheltered from the world by lord Connington himself.

Daemon called her a mouse who sooner than most would have been eaten by a predator, mocking the way she had been shorter than most girls and was unable to handle the presence of many people, pulling at Lady Elia's skirts, and crying the fact that she was being looked at.

Rhaenyra had said she had pitied her, for she was not too pretty as the ladies of the court were and had even said that it was a pity that her mother lady Elia had been known to be as beautiful as their mother.

But our mother had quieted those words from our siblings and forced them to sit on her lectures. our father had been too busy to come and speak a word to us then, a trading dispute in Lannisport had occurred and was away.

I remember Daemon being despondent, quietly listening to our mother but Rhaenyra was bursting into tears and cried horridly. That made my mother have quite the headache with her. But Uncle Oberyn had been able to calm her.

When our mother had finished her lecturing, she had forced the two to apologize to Laila. They did so in the morning before breaking the fast and Aegon and I watched her shake her head and say that she did not mind and thanked our siblings for apologizing.

Aegon saw her alone after our siblings departed and much taller and older than her - he patted her head and handed her a small rose and placed it upon her head. He smiled at her with the most genuine smile and said that her smile was the thing that made her the most beautiful. He urged her to continue smiling in the near future as well.

He quickly departed after, leaving me with her for he had been summoned for his sword's practice but I watched the girl stand in that spot for the longest of time and touched her hair. Slowly she squealed and blushed.

He had given her some hope, I concluded

When I told my mother what had occurred that day with Aegon, she smiled at me and shook her head at me. She disagreed with me and said, 'That's not what that means.'

Confused, I asked her what she meant.

She replied, 'One day, Maekar. You will know too.'

And she was right, I will know.

He will too, but later than most will.

Not all love was found that quickly or without consequences.

Or when it was already lost.

For he had loved someone then and it was not Laila yet.

Aegon regrets that too.'