Fire and Blood

Chapter 14: First Royal Wedding

*WARNING*: The following content may not be appropriate for certain persons under the age of 18 (depending on the legal age requirements in countries outside the United States) and may contain NSFW material such as strong language, nudity, profanity, and/or sexual themes that some viewers may find offensive. If you are under eighteen, do not view such content. Viewer discretion is advised.

If you are eighteen and up, enjoy!

––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Red Keep ― Maegor's Holdfast...

Bells tolled loudly throughout the city of King's Landing, from the seven gates surrounding the walls to the Grand Sept itself. For seven days, a pre-wedding feast was held in the Red Keep with many visiting dignitaries pouring in from most corners of the realm.

King Viserys, beaming with joy on the day of his son's marriage to Alicent, worked closely with Otto to draw up the necessary arrangements. It would be one for the ages. The High Septon would heed the call and be summoned from Oldtown to officiate it, and a feast, tourney, and other festivities that would last for seven days... every high and low lord would be summoned to take part. Even Otto, though stoic, could not resist but smirk at something unexpected and unplanned fit perfectly to plan to place a member of House Hightower in close proximity to the royal family.

But for two people... a new chapter in their lives was only just beginning.

On the morning her new gown was to be ready, the late Queen Aemma's remaining serving maids filled Alicent's bath with steaming hot water and scrubbed her head to toe until she glowed pink, her fingernails were trimmed and brushed, and her long, brown hair was pulled back from her face into a slicked-back style. Her attendants chose a variety of the finest scented oils from the Reach as well. Alicent chose a gentle yet sweet fragrance with a hint of vanilla in it under the smell of rose petals. The maids dabbed some on her finger and touched Alicent behind each ear, and under her chin.

Rhaenyra soon arrived with the seamstress and watched as they dressed Alicent in her new clothes. The small clothes were all silk, but the wedding dress itself was white, the inner sleeves were crimson, and a pair of leather dragon wings were stitched into the shoulders making a V-shape on her chest almost to her belly along with what appears to be a subtle repeated pattern of the Targaryen sigil on the bottom half. They brought her new shoes and a tiara as well, slippers of soft grey doeskin that hugged her feet like lovers, and the tiara crowned upon her head. Her Seven-Pointed Star necklace, given to her by Otto, was a memento of her late mother. Alicent may have been born a Hightower, but today her gown announces her marriage into House Targaryen as princess consort.

"My brother's a lucky man," Rhaenyra noted. "You look so beautiful. Radiant, even. I bet Aeonar can't wait to see you in that dress."

"Thank you, Rhaenyra. I am thankful to have you here with us," Alicent smiled. I-I still cannot believe this is happening to me! She felt her fingers tingle, her hands tremble... This was the day Alicent was marrying her childhood sweetheart, her best friend, her prince! She honestly cannot wait when her groom sees her.

"Hmmm. Maybe some of those rubies we gave her?"

"At once, princess," one of the maids replied.

When the rubies hung from Alicent's ears, Rhaenyra nodded. "Yes, I think that'll do nicely. Good to remind everyone that she's now one of us." She observed analytically. "Oh! Wait, don't forget the cloak." And the women brought it out: a long cloak of grey velvet heavy with pearls. A white stone watchtower with a green fire on top was embroidered upon it in green thread. They soon fastened it about her neck with a slender silver chain.