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04/ WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING
Maelora Targaryen thought that she would know a liar when she saw one after looking in the mirror for so long.
For someone who was brought up by a religious mother, Maelora had a tendency to sin, the idea of doing what she was told not to weaved the childish rhapsody to her heart. They started out as gentle sins — sneaking out of her chamber to go to Aemond's even after Alicent forbade the two from sleeping on the same bed, deceiving her Septa after being fed with lies as if she was a starving dog, or provoking Moonfyre to pick on Sunfyre so that the male dragon would be moody to Aegon.
Then, when she noticed that she was not getting caught, she wanted to take things a step further. She sneaked out from the castle, she either made Septas cry or got their position taken, then her lips were painted with shades of white lies. And Maelora noticed that people had never seen her prettier when her lips spilled whatever they wanted to hear or when her big star-sprinkled spheres landed on them as if they were the only thing that mattered. She was nothing but an illusion, being whatever shape others want her to be like she was made of elastic; she was everything but herself, hiding her untameable demons under the cloak of her righteousness and people adored her.
After being trapped in her body and forced to live with herself, Maelora expected to be more aware of the masks of the souls that everyone was taught to wear. It was survival. The disguise. Sailing under false colors. Sometimes a wolf in the sheep's clothing and sometimes a sheep in the wolf's fur — which one of them was necessary.
"Princess," Criston Cole's voice filled her ears. His voice was soft like her father's should have, dulcet like her mother's hands, silky like her pillow, warm like home. Maelora just wanted to rip her skull open and show him every raw thought inside. But he too was in disguise, she knew. One moment of weakness from her and Criston would echo her words to her mother. "Forgive me for daring to say this aloud, but you seem distracted."
It had been weeks since she sneaked out of the castle and went to the city with Aegon. They aimlessly wandered the streets and went to Street of Flour before Aegon took her to an empty house's roof terrace where they could watch the people. It wasn't such a pleasant scenery, watching the fog wrap around the city like a belt, but it helped her blow off some steam. They returned to the castle before the sun was waking up, without getting caught. Although Alicent was suspicious of Aegon the next morning as he was unusually sober and attended the family breakfast, she did not question it further.
