Inviolable Bindings | Aemond & Aegon II Targaryen

Chapter 5

Elia scurried around to fulfill the task at hand and left Viserra sitting, pondering her plan of action for the day. She was deep in her thoughts before the bath was ready, wondering exactly how this was all going to play out over1 the next few weeks.

She was curious about Aegon's friendliness and playful nature. She had known Aegon's name from the gossip overheard across the Narrow Sea and the controversy around him being the firstborn son of the King. This was the son that part of the Realm wanted to instill as King as soon as it was possible. He seemed easy enough to befriend, maybe he would be the way to learn more of their situation here in the castle. Then there was Helaena, another who was just as friendly and genuinely seemed like she wanted to get to know her. In fact, it seemed as if the girl had already known her from somewhere...something that she needed to figure out.

Viserra did not linger in the bath, only sitting long enough to relax her tired muscles and wash the sweat and dirt off. Elia bustled around, helping to dry her off. She then fussed over Viserra's long hair again, pulling half of it up into a braided bun that rested loosely at the back of her head.

Carefully, she pulled a dress out of the wardrobe and slipped it on. It was one of two that she had brought along from home. She thought she'd don something drastically different than what she had been seen in already.

Tiny metal pieces lined the edges of each strip of deep blue, velvet material. The long sleeves hung almost to the ground but the fabric pieces crossed over her chest and held off right at the shoulders. It was tight enough up top that she did not need to wear a corset, a comfortable piece that also let others know she was a woman of high birth.

As always with a dress, the dagger was fastened to her thigh, the sheath bottom barely visible between the slits of the dress. Taking a quick look in the mirror, she deemed herself appropriate to join the rest of the family in the dining hall. Erring on the side of caution, she chose to dress in something befitting her gender. While normally she would have been one to fight against these ridiculous standards, she had decided to play her cards right while gathering all of the information needed to make her next move.

"Let us depart, Elia," she motioned for the young girl to lead her out of the room and followed her through the keep to the dining hall.

There were already several people sitting at or hovering around the table once she arrived. Otto was sitting to the left of the table, the Queen and another silver haired woman were standing closely, talking softly to each other. The Targaryen man who had stopped to look at her in the doorway the night before was to the right, leaning back in his chair and watching her every move as she walked in. Both Aegon and Helaena had not yet arrived, but she was sure they would be here soon.

"Ah! Viserra," Alicent broke her conversation to wave Viserra over to her, "I was just speaking with Princess Rhaenyra about you. Come please."

It took everything in her power to ignore the man staring without any reservations, the depth to his focused gaze reminded her somewhat of Aemond. She had made an assumption at this point, Targaryens could be sorted into two categories: friendly and outgoing or cold and cruel.

That must be Daemon. She thought to herself, taking note of how she had seen him sitting with the Princess the night before.

Walking over towards the women, she studied Rhaenyra, finally being able to put a face to everything she had heard about her over the years. Viserra curtsied to them both and waited for one of them to lead the conversation. She noted that Rhaenyra looked to be with child, something she had most definitely missed during last evening's chaos. Although now she realized it was quite obvious, especially as she protectively rested her hand over the bump.