The chambers they had assigned her were a world apart from the small, shared room she and her twin had occupied as children in the Red Keep. Those early days seemed like another lifetime, when she and Jacaerys were inseparable. They had been reflections of one another in those days, indistinguishable in their smallclothes, their voices blending so seamlessly that even their septa often confused them. But time and duty had pried them apart, as the gods seemed wont to do with all things. As they grew, they were given separate rooms, separate responsibilities, and, eventually, separate lives.
Now her chambers felt alien—grand, cold, and steeped in an unfamiliar silence that did little to comfort her. The tapestries hanging from the walls depicted scenes of glory and conquest, yet she found no solace in their woven tales. She missed the simple warmth of her childhood, the nights spent whispering plans and dreams with Jace in the dark.
Willa, her old childhood companion and personal servant, was no longer by her side. Instead, she had been assigned two new maids, both girls of the Keep and roughly her own age. Haelise was timid, her every word tripping over her tongue, while Roslin was a striking contrast, comelier and more confident. Roslin's auburn hair fell in thick waves to her waist, her gray eyes reminiscent of the northern skies. She had come from a baseborn family sworn to House Ryswell, a minor but loyal house in the North. There was a familiarity to her that Alysanne found disconcerting, a faint echo of Willa that only served to deepen her sense of displacement.
Alysanne wasted no time with pleasantries. She issued her first command as their mistress: to prepare her a bath. The maids scurried about the task, and it was well over an hour before they returned with steaming water and buckets of scented oils. Impatience gnawed at her. By the time they began unfastening her dress with fumbling fingers, she nearly tore the garment herself. She longed to plunge into the bath, to feel the warmth against her skin and wash away the grime of the road.
When she finally stepped into the water, she sank down fully, submerging herself with a contented sigh. She remained beneath the surface longer than she intended, savoring the fleeting peace, until the sound of panicked voices reached her ears.
"Is she—?" Haelise's voice wavered.
"She's been under too long!" Roslin fretted.
Alysanne surfaced with a gasp, her dark hair clinging to her face as she fixed them with a glare. "I'm not dead, you fools," she snapped, water dripping from her chin. "But if you keep squawking like frightened hens, I might wish I were."
Before they could stammer apologies, there came a knock at the door. Alysanne's mood soured further as Haelise timidly announced the arrival of two visitors.
The intruders entered unbidden, their presence filling the room with an air of quiet authority. "We are Lady Ellyn of House Reyne and Lady Cassandra of House Baratheon," the blonde one of them declared, her voice crisp and confident. "We've been sent by the queen herself to serve as your ladies-in-waiting."
Alysanne's sharp gaze took in every detail of the newcomers. Ellyn, golden-haired and green-eyed, bore the distinct coloring of House Reyne, distant cousins to the Lannisters of the Westerlands. Cassandra, taller and more commanding, carried the dark hair and stormy eyes of House Baratheon. Both exuded strength and cunning, and Alysanne felt her guard rise instinctively. If Queen Alicent had chosen these women personally, it was a calculated move. She would have to tread carefully.
"Are you ready to dress, Princess?" Ellyn asked after a moment of tense silence.
Alysanne's lips curved into a thin smile. "I suppose," she said coolly, though her skin prickled beneath their scrutinizing gazes. She stepped from the bath, standing tall as the maids wrapped her in a towel. Their eyes lingered, too long, she thought, on the imperfections she often tried to forget.

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The Realm's Fright | HOTD S1 | Fem!OC x Aemond Targaryen Fanfiction
Fanfiction𝐀𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞 𝐕𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬. "Is it truth?" Alysanne...