The Dance Of Sapphires

9 - The Dragon Witch

Jaerionna

I was back in my room in Kings Landing. It was a smaller room than the one I had in Dragonstone, but it still was cozy. It lacked beauty, but mother had brought me not only sorrow and heartbreak, but also a few things that I had left in Dragonstone. A few dresses of many colours, but black was dominating, my mother did that on purpose if I would be mourning, which I was. Furs and books, my favourite quill pen, it was my favourite because it was a peacock's feather and peacocks are my favourite birds. She even gave me her favourite rose oil, to remind me of her, when I missed her.

But my room lacked the freshness and freedom my room in Dragonstone had. The room here reminded me of a cage, it was sticky and unpleasant, which I guess came from me being ripped away from my family and possibly being torn to pieces by the queen.

Either way I was sulking in my room for the past weeks. The servants brought me food, but I rarely ate. Cecilia took care of me, but I was rotting in my sadness. I was also mourning for both me and my mother, cause she didn't, so it felt like a duty to me, to mourn for the both of us.

Everyone was dying and leaving me. Sometimes Aemond used to come by, but I never left my room and I didn't say a word to anyone, so the guards never knew whether to let him in, or not. I thought that if I torture myself enough my father will come back to me. But he never did.

One day the queen came to my room. But it was not a form of care, or love. It was because she was sent by the king to my room, who was very worried about me.

I was lying on the bed when the queen came to my room. I looked awful, my hair was oily and tangled, I was still in my nightgown, from the lack of eating I became only skin and bones and all the colour from me has drained so I was pale like an angel soaked in milk.

Alicent sat on my bed next to me, but I didn't turn around to greet her. Normally I would've, but I had no energy to do so. "The king is greatly worried about you. And so is Aemond." The queen said. "I understand what it feels like to lose a parent, but you have duties, duties you cannot just abandon." She was rather nice, which scared me.

I turned around and sat in my bed. I was not saying a word to her, I couldn't even if I tried. "Oh look at you, you look worse than the seven hells." She said looking at me. "The king wishes to see you at dinner tonight. So I will order some maids to help you. You will need a bath and a new dress. Everything will be waiting soon." She ordered. She looked at me, waiting for me to tell her something, but I stayed silent. Soon she gave up and was already standing to leave, but then she told me something that hurt me too much "And if you decide not to go, it will have consequences."

I would've gone here anyway, but she made it clear that I had no choice. So after all I was in a cage. And the worst was that I didn't have a dragon, if I would have had a dragon, at least I could have gone to ride it. But whilst I am in Kings Landing I won't be free.

Cecilia came in with a few other servants. They filled in a bath and washed my sore body, cleaned my wild, curly hair and braided it back from my face into a tight braid that began from the back of my head to the end of my hair. And then they wanted me to put on the dress. A forest green dress. I looked at it and in my eyes it was on fire. Sadly Cecilia would never allow me to burn such expensive fabric. But there was no way in hells, I was going to wear that dress.

"Black." I whispered. My voice was raspy and painful from all the crying and no talking. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. What did you say, princess?" One of the maids asked. "I want a black dress." I said again, this time louder and much stronger. "But the queen told us directly that you must wear this dress." The other maid squealed. "The girl is mourning, let her wear a black dress." Cecilia scolded the other maids. "But the queen said-" "The queen says a lot of things." Cecilia cut off the other maid.