The Dragon and the Rose | Aemond Targaryen

Chapter 12: The blacks and the greens

"Princess, come this way, I can tend to your nose while Maester Kelvyn tends to the Prince."

Alysanne swatted away the Maester's hand, not sparing him a glance and disregarding her usual fear of speaking to strangers as she replied.

"Should anyone try to move me, there will be hell to pay."

The Maester immediately backed away, ceasing all efforts to approach her and instead making his way around the armchair Aemond currently occupied.

After Ser Westerling's arrival, the children had all been escorted to the great hall, the Maester's entering minutes later. They had gotten to work immediately, placing him on one of the armchairs and giving him milk of the poppy to help with the pain.

Another of the maester's had commended her for her use of the analgesic paste, but she hadn't even acknowledged his praise, still too horrified by the turn of events.

She had not let go of Aemond's hand since they entered the great hall, standing to his right and letting him squeeze onto her fingers whenever a particular jolt of pain proved too unbearable.

She looked on in fright as Maester Kelvyn readied a needle for stitching, feeling Aemond flinch back at the sight of the needle.

Alysanne bent down, meeting Aemond's gaze and offering him a smile, trying to provide whatever comfort she could.

"Aemond!" came a sharp screech from the doorway, seeing the Queen rush toward them, a horrified look similar to that of Alysanne's on her face.

"What has happened?!" she questioned, looking towards Ser Criston who stood toward the right end of the room.

She didn't hear the knight's response, too caught up on the amount of people shuffling into the hall behind the Queen, everyone clearly having been alerted of the events that had taken place.

Despite the swarm of people, Alysanne's eyes were immediately able to pick up on Helaena, being guided in by Talia, Alicent's handmaid, Aegon close behind.

Helaena looked around the room in concern, before her eyes locked with those of her friends, and she let out a breath of relief, followed by a gasp of concern.

She had been so worried when she was awoken and had not seen Alysanne in her bed at the other side of the room, fearing the worst.

Though she was glad to have found her, the sight of her did little to relieve her concern.

Her hair was matted and even more unruly than usual, large portions of it splattered with blood and dirt. Her nightgown and cloak were similarly covered in blood, and her nightgown was in tatters, several pieces missing from the fabric.

The sight of her face was the worst, though. Her nose was swollen, varying shades of blue and purple found from the tip of her nose to the space between her eyebrows. It was also facing the wrong way, no longer straight, evidently broken.

There was blood caked all over her face, staining not just her nose, but her jaw, chin, and neck as well.

What added to her surprise was the way that Alysanne stood unmoving beside the armchair her brother had been placed in, not showing any signs of pain or even discomfort.

While Alysanne was feeling the throbbing pain all throughout her face, she disregarded it, the concern and panic she felt over Aemond's condition superseding anything she was currently going through.

Helaena and Aegon were corralled towards the back of the room, taking their place behind the armchair, near the fireplace as more people filed in, standing at the outskirts of the room.