The Realm's Fright | HOTD S1 | Fem!OC x Aemond Targaryen Fanfiction

Chapter Fifteen

Later that evening, Princess Alysanne was invited to dine with Queen Alicent Hightower in the Queen's private chambers. There were only two chairs set opposite each other at the table, which pleased Alysanne immensely. She had no desire to dine in the presence of the Queen's children, especially after their near altercation with her brothers just a few nights prior. The tension from that night lingered in her mind like a bad dream—simmering, unspoken, and ever present.

Her thoughts wandered back to those fleeting moments, to the harshness of her own body's reminder—soreness where there should have been nothing. She had tried to push it all from her mind, but the pain lingered, sharp and unforgiving, a reminder like an ill-tempered septa shaking a finger.

You must accept that you are now his, until the end of your days.

Until he has our marriage annulled as per agreement, Alysanne corrected herself. That was where all of her hope lay. The thought clung to her heart, fragile yet insistent, a fragile thread of hope in an otherwise tangled web of duty.

"Princess Alysanne, is something bothering you?"

The authoritative voice of Queen Alicent broke through her thoughts, sharp and clear like the sound of a bell. Alysanne stiffened, her back straightening as she snapped back to the present. She glanced down at her plate, realizing she had absentmindedly shoved half of her corn onto the table, a slight mess beneath her fingers. Her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Apologies, Your Grace," Alysanne muttered, her voice small. "I've not been feeling well since leaving Dragonstone."

She hated the words as soon as they left her lips. She hated the lie she had to tell. In truth, it wasn't illness that ailed her, but something far more insidious—a slow gnawing realization that there was no escaping the life she had been bound to. Still, there was no use in speaking of it now, not with the Queen in her chambers. It was still strange to her, this sudden reconciliation between her mother and Alicent. As a child, Alysanne had been terrified of the auburn-haired Queen, always retreating behind her mother's skirts when Alicent was near, fearful of her sharp gaze and the silent tension that hung in the air whenever she and Rhaenyra were forced to be in the same room. She had heard the whispers about them—of the Greens and the Blacks, and the factions that divided them. But tonight, that tension seemed gone. Tonight, Alicent wore black, not green, and her smile—genuine, warm, like the glow of candlelight—held none of the frost it once did.

At first, Alysanne had thought perhaps the Queen was merely drunk on wine. But no, as Alicent spoke of her happiness regarding the reconciliation with Princess Rhaenyra, Alysanne began to see the truth behind her words.

"I was told Aemond took you at Dragonstone," Alicent said, her voice soft but probing. Alysanne's heart skipped a beat. She nodded, her gaze falling to her plate again.

"I assume he had been gentle?"

Alysanne nearly choked on her food, swallowing with difficulty. A laugh, stifled, bubbled in her chest. The memory of fighting Aemond on the floor still haunted her—the struggle, the heat of the moment—far outshining the thought of the bedding that followed.

"You are an honorable woman, Alys... can I call you that?" Alicent asked, an amused glint in her eyes as she munched on an apple. Alysanne shrugged slightly, unsure how to respond. "We share similar names, after all," the Queen continued, smiling warmly. "And you were a clever girl to agree to the betrothal in the first place. How old were you? Six, seven? You've made us all proud."

Alysanne felt a lump rise in her throat. She swallowed it down, pushing her emotions aside. "And I have you to thank for that, Your Grace," she replied softly, despite the bitterness that threatened to surface.