Vaera Targaryen, the Dragon Bound

The Green Council

Ser Criston was saddened to see her grace in that state, aggravated and sorrowful. Her maid, Talya, had dressed her hastily and had not brushed her hair yet. She looked pensive, not even the darkness of the night could mask it.

She had just spoken with her father, she had informed him of the King's death and the Hand was now gathering the small council together.
Her grace picked her head up, stared at him firmly and uttered, "Vaera must not know yet – lock her in her chambers".

He'd follow any order given by the Queen and he would have followed that particular one as well, not without any  regret though.

He nodded and walked away, towards Vaera's rooms, picking up the keys and two guards along the way to stand in front of the Princess' doors.

After how fiercely Vaera had stood up for her sister and her bastard sons the day before, the Queen, the Hand and the Lord Commander all knew how quickly she would have sided with Rhaenyra and yet all three of them still hoped that her recent marriage to Prince Aemond would have kept her voluntarily at the Red Keep.

As ser Criston stood in front of Vaera's chambers with the key in his hand, he hesitated a moment, "Lord Commander?" asked one of the men, and he quickly put the key inside the lock, turned it and left immediately.

Vaera had been starting to wake up, she was still wideawake but the noise she had heard was not part of a dream she was falling back into.

She quickly put up her head and a feeling of great discomfort filled her. She believed she might have heard the door lock. She stood up and hastily got to it, thinking that if it truly had been locked, something horrible must have happened.

She tried to open the door but it was indeed closed from the outside.

"Open the door!" she yelled, "Open the door! OPEN THE DOOR!" she continued as she kept pushing and pulling, hoping to loosen the bolt.

She received no answer.

Aemond from his bed started to hear screaming. He'd recognise that voice among a thousand, Vaera's.

He left his bed, put on only his trousers, shoes, grabbed his sword and sprinted to his wife's rooms.

As soon as he slammed his own door behind him, he saw two guards standing in front of Vaera's at the end of the corridor.

He drew his sword out at once against the men, "What is the meaning of this?!" he snarled, "Aemond?!" he heard Vaera say from the other side of the door, "Let her out!" he ordered as the guards had now drawn their swords to defend themselves.

"By orders of the Queen, the Princess Vaera is not to leave her chambers" said one of them, "What?!" shrieked both Aemond and Vaera, "Let her out!" he snarled again beyond himself.

"I'm sorry, Prince Aemond, we cannot do that" said the other guard firmly.

Why would his mother lock her in her rooms, she had done nothing wrong, she had been the perfect daughter and Princess – then it hit him, their father.

Aemond put down his sword and said firmly, "I'll get you out of there, Vaera" "Aemond, what is happening?" he heard her ask but he had already turned around and was then walking back to his rooms to get properly dressed before running like a maniac around the Keep.

He took his time while putting on his clothes, perhaps he did not want to get to his father's chambers yet. He did not want to find out whether his suspicions were true or not.

When he arrived in front of the King's rooms, there were guards there as well. But they let him in without him having to say a word.

The room was still dark, with only a few candles to light it, he walked slowly to the bed but he could clearly see already that their father was dead. He stood beside him for what must have been half hour, forgetting how to move, how to think – looking at the pale, bony and distraught corpse of his father.