Epiphany // Alicent Hightower

27. Eyes Wide Open

"Nyra, Nyra, Nyra." Taelon demanded grabbing her arm. 

"You can't!" Nyra shouted. 

"You knew this day would come. We both did." Taelon countered. 

"But not to Alicent!" Nyra spat. 

"What's wrong with Alicent?" Taelon offered. "She is your friend, she will still be your friend."

"No!" Nyra shouted. "She took you. She will have you and I will lose you!" Nyra told them through a shaky breath. 

"Love bug, you will never lose me." Taelon assured hugging her tight. 

"You marry her and... have kids and forget about me." Nyra whispered. 

"I could never forget about you." Taelon countered. "You are my Nyra. I'm always going to love you. Know that, know that I'm always here for you. Me getting married doesnt change that." 

"But to her!" 

"You have known Alicent for years... where is this coming from?"

"I don't want you to marry her!" Nyra spat storming off. 

"Nyra... Rhaenyra!" Taelon called after her.

+

"heads up would have been nice." Taelon remarked as he entered his fathers chambers. "Now Nyra hates me because she doesnt want me to marry her best friend."

"I saw you and Alicent last night." Viserys remarked. "I didn't think you would mind."

"I dont.' Taelon agreed. "I like Alicent. I like her a lot. But it would have been nice to have a warning so I could have prepped Nyra." 

"Her time will come as well." Viserys offered. 

"And you saw how well she reacted to my announcement how do you think hers will turn out?" Taelon countered. "Why didnt you wed me to Laena?" 

"I didn't want to make your life hell." Viserys offered. "I didnt want you to... leave." 

"Smart." Taelon agreed. 

"I know how much Alicent adores you. Then I saw you two last night and... I can't marry. Not now, maybe not ever." Viserys remarked. "But you my boy, you will continue the line. Be happy as I was with your mother. I have faith in this, in you." 

"I will do my best to make you proud." Taelon assured. 

+

"I don't understand why you are mad!" Alicent declared. 

"Because Taelon-"

"Is a good man." Alicent told him confidently. "His father believes in him. Trusts him. Why don't you?"

"He is too much like his uncle."

"He is nothing like Daemon. You don't know him!" Alicent declared. 

"And you do?" Otto countered. "You were supposed to woe the king. Not Taelon. Now the king isnt taking a bride at all-"

"I am to marry Taelon though!" Alicent declared. "He is the heir, he will be king, he is young and strong and healthy, he will live longer than Viserys and he will rule.... I will be his queen. Why can't you be happy for me?" 

"Because I want better for you than a play boy." 

"Taelon-"

"You don't know him. You don't know him at all. Him and his buddies fuck every women in kings landing. You will just be another body to him. He wont love you." 

"You're wrong."

"I'm right." Otto sneered. "I just want whats best for you."

"I love Taelon." Alicent declared. "I have loved him for years and now... he... I am going to marry him." Alicent declared leaving the room, slamming the door behind her. 

Alicent wanted to find a moment of peace. She found Nyra instead. 

"Was this your plan?" Nyra spat and ALicent faltered back. 

"What?" 

"Be my friend and seduce my brother?" Nyra hissed. 

"What? No. I never- that was never-"

"I don't believe you. I see the way you look at him. How did you convince my father of this?" nyra barked. 

"I didnt. I didnt know-"

"I thought we were friends but friends dont hurt each other like this." Nyra declared. 

"Rhaenyra-"

"I don't want to talk you ever again." Nyra declared stomping off. Alicent watched her go and Alicent never felt more alone. 

"What's with the long face?" Taelon asked as he waved a hand at Ragnarok to go back to the pit. "Is the thought of marrying that awful?" He mused coming up to Alicent. He wiped a hand over her teary cheek. "If you dont-" Taelon began. 

"I do." ALicent corrected. "I can't wait to marry you." 

"Well that's good to hear." Taelon agreed. "Why the tears?" he asked brushing her hair from her face. 

"Rhaenyra is mad at me." Alicent whispered. 

"Me as well it seems." Taelon agreed. 

"She thinks I tried to seduce you." Alicent whispered as Taelon hugged her. 

"Did you not?" He mused and she smiled a sad smile up at him. "If anything it was I that was seducing you." Taelon offered. 

"You are very easy to love." Alicent whispered. 

"That so?" Taelon asked holding onto her hands and leading her farther away from the castle. She smiled up at him no longer feeling sad or scared or alone but clarity. If she had Taelon then she didnt care about the rest of the world. 

Nyra watched from the balcony as Taelon pulled Alicent into the darkness. He sat down on a long smooth stone and pulled Alicent down to him. Nyra felt her heart breaking all over again. If Taelon didnt want Alicent and was forced to marry her that was one thing but she watched their silhouettes dim by the dying fire light as Taelon kissed Alicent, over and over again until Nyra felt nauseous and dizzy. Taelon was truly never going to be hers.

"I always had this irrational idea that you would be my first kiss." Alicent remarked. 

"Was I?" 

"Yeah..." Alicent agreed. "And now I'm going to marry you. It feels like a beautiful dream I don't ever want to wake up from." Alicent informed him as he kissed her again. 

"Then since we are confessing things." Taelon mused as he wrapped her legs around his waist. A hand on her back and under her ass keeping her body to him as her dress pushed up higher on her thighs as her body pressed into his. "I had a very lovely dream about you... that I'm very excited to get to do with my eyes wide open."