The Dragon and the Rose | Aemond Targaryen

Chapter 11: Vhagar

"Princess," Ser Harrold Westerling greeted Alysanne as she approached him in the outer courtyard of the castle.

She returned the greeting with a nod of her head, reaching inside her dress pocket and pulling out one of two vials in her cloak pocket, handing it to the Kings Sworn Guard.

With a small smile and a "thank you", Ser Harrold packaged the vial beneath his armor to give to the King later.

With a final nod of her head, she turned, making her way across the swarm of people spread around the courtyard, a sea of black and green fabric.

She had been confused when she noted that even for a funeral, Alicent had ensured she and her children were dressed in green. The confusion had quickly turned to annoyance, feeling it a lack of respect for the deceased, though she could do little about it as she was the Queen.

A loud chirping noise deviated her attention from where the Queen and her sworn guard stood, feeling her blood run cold as she registered where the noise came from.

She stiffened as she caught sight of the dragons, on the rocks in the near distance, basking in the warmth of the sun and sleeping.

Just the sight of them made her feel faint, sheer panic in her mind.

Another near-deafening groan was heard.

Vhagar was making her presence known, her sorrow at the recent passing of her rider evident. Even without physically seeing her, she was terrifying.

Though she had been her mother's mount at one point, she was most terrified of Vhagar. She was a formidable beast, war-trained and the biggest in current existence. Just the thought of her was enough to terrify the young girl.

She shuddered, looking away from the boulders and trying to ignore the presence of the winged creatures.

The awkward, tension-filled environment from yesterday had continued. Though Alysanne was trying to keep to herself and mind her own business, everyone seemed caught up in an infinite staring contest, communicating the animosity and unkind feelings they had toward one another without saying anything.

Fidgeting with the rings on her fingers, Alysanne walked over to her cousins, who stood at the edge of the courtyard, overlooking the ocean.

"It's not fair," she heard Jace saying as she approached him and Luke.

Luke gave a sympathetic nod of his head, before turning toward Alysanne, a smile on his face.

"Hi, Aly!"

"Hello," Alysanne replied warmly, greeting them both.

Jace gave a half smile in return, clearly bothered by something.

"What's going on?" she asked.

The two brothers exchanged a look, silence encompassing the group for a moment.

"Jace was just telling me that we should not be here, we should be at Harrenhal, for Ser Harwin," Luke whispered, leaning closer toward her so as to avoid being overheard.

Then the younger boy turned and stepped away, playing with some toy soldiers he had laid out on the stone ledge.

Jace let out a sigh, feeling frustrated that Luke was not as annoyed at the situation as he was.

"Why couldn't you go to Harrenhal?" Alysanne asked, not seeing the issue.

"Mother said it wouldn't be appropriate," Jace muttered, tone bitter.

As if summoned by their conversation, Alysanne watched her aunt sauntering over towards them, looking flustered under the glare of the Queen.

"Children," she greeted, squeezing both of their shoulders.