Dreams, Dragons, and Deceit || Aemond & Aegon Targaryen

Dinner, Take II

Visaera dreaded attending another family supper that night with the Queen. She had arrived first, determined to put her best foot forward and force her relatives to get along. All day, she had been rubbing her fingers across the cut on her hand, so much so that Rhaenyra had noticed and asked a maester to look at it. He had done nothing, of course; it was not deep enough to require stitches. Only an hour after leaving the infirmary, Visaera removed the bandage, rather enjoying touching the scab that had formed.

"My Queen," she offered, the moment Alicent entered the room, "May I speak with you?" The look in Alicent's eyes told her she would rather be drawn and quartered, but the Queen nodded, nonetheless and they both stepped to the side of the room.

"I want to apologize for last night; I am aware that my behavior was unacceptable. I should not have struck Prince Aemond, nor spoken with such disrespect toward my future husband's family. Yesterday took a toll on me, though it's not an excuse. I only hope you can forgive me and trust my word that I will not behave that way again."

Alicent stared at her with sharp eyes, assessing her intentions, the same way Aemond had earlier when she asked him not to wear the eyepatch. Why did everyone seem to think she had hidden motives when she said something? Was it because they would not do the same without some sort of unseen intentions? Fucking Hightowers... Perhaps, Visaera did have hidden intentions, but they were only to bridge the gap between the two sides of her family.

With the King not in attendance, Visaera moved a chair over and took the seat beside Alicent, assuring her mother could not have to sit next to her. Surprised by the action, the Queen stared at her with her eyebrows knitted together.

"Do you not wish to sit next to your future daughter-in-law?" she asked softly.

"No, no, of course... Please sit." Alicent replied, clearly caught off guard by the act. Again, Visaera realized the Queen was accustomed to every action hiding some deeper meaning. She merely sighed as she took her seat.

Rhaenyra seemed equally surprised at her daughter's choice to sit next to Alicent, but she merely pursed her lips. Offering her a reassuring smile, Visaera patted the chair next to her and her mother took a seat.

"Is this part of some master plan?" Rhaenyra whispered, leaning toward her daughter.

"No plan," Visaera admitted with a soft smile, "I'm just trying to make the best of the situation I got myself into." Rhaenyra nodded in approval and reached for the wine.

Across the room, Visaera noticed something she hadn't before; she had been too caught up in her own mess to bother. Alarya was whispering with Ser Jaunton, a single finger, barely noticeable, rubbing back and forth across his arm. How did I miss such a thing? she wondered, reaching for the carafe of water. No wonder her knight had been so willing to safeguard her secrets; he had a few of his own. As the room filled with people, Alarya stepped away and bowed her head dutifully to await Visaera's needs.

A grin spread across her face as Baela and Jace joined them. The first thing she had done after her conversation with Aemond, was inform her sisters that the plan had worked. She left out the minor detail of their blood exchange, still unsure about how she felt about it.

The moment Aemond entered the room, her eyes met his and she flushed at the memory of what they had done. A smile morphed on her lips as she realized he had forgone the eyepatch and she could clearly see the entirety of his face. Unconsciously, one of her fingers traced over the line on her palm and she fought the urge to shiver.

At the sight of Aemond's bare face, her brothers began whispering and she kicked Jace's shin beneath the table, throwing a glare at him. "Shut up," she mouthed, continuing to stare at him until he finally nodded. Her brother leaned over and whispered something in Luke's ear as well.