The Grey Wolf & The Golden Dragon | Aegon Targaryen II

An Afternoon Gone Awry

"The Queen is truly a cunt, isn't she?" Elin offered the moment Alysanne's chamber door had closed. A snort of agreement left her lips before she could stop herself.

Each interaction she had with the Queen slowly turned her bitter toward the woman. Though she had been dead for nearly a decade, Alysanne's own mother had been warm and loving; the Queen's interactions with her children conveyed the complete opposite.

"It's disgusting the way she treats her children..." Alysanne mused, more to herself than to her friend. "What harm could have possibly been done in allowing Helaena to accompany us?" she huffed.

"Perhaps she thinks we're going to be a bad influence on the princess. The North is full of savage little sluts, haven't you heard?" Laughter broke out between them as Elin braided her lady's hair back; Alysanne returning the favor a moment later.

"Are you going to tell me what happened out on that balcony?" Elin asked, meeting Alysanne's eyes in the mirror as Lady Stark worked on her copper curls.

"No," she answered dryly, the corners of her mouth twitching in amusement, "but since you broached the subject... Why don't you tell me why you were about a moment from fucking Prince Aemond when I returned to the dining hall?" Elin merely smirked at her, eyes dancing with mirth.

Friends for long enough, Alysanne knew Elin well enough to know she couldn't stop her from doing as she pleased, still, a knowing sigh fell from her lips.

"What?" Elin asked, the single word laced with defensiveness.

"I didn't say anything..."

"You didn't have to, Annie! I know you!"

"Fine," she snapped, dropping the braid she had just tied off, "we both know you chew through men and spit them out. If you do the same thing with Prince Aemond, what is that going to do to my relationship with Prince Aegon, to my betrothal?" Elin's eyes narrowed at her in the mirror, an iciness forming in them that Alysanne was far too familiar with.

"The betrothal you weren't even keen on until we arrived yesterday..." the redhead sneered, crossing her arms over her chest. Alysanne's eyes widened at her friend's careless words.

"You must not say that ever again, Elin..." she breathed, gripping her around the shoulders, "You know that they say the Red Keep has eyes and ears." She continued to stare at Elin in the mirror, her eyes conveying an apology for her harsh words, before she squeezed her shoulders reassuringly and planted a kiss atop Elin's crown.

Neither of them ever apologized to one another; there was never a need. After more than five years and all they had been through together, they both understood each other, and always forgave one another for flared tempers.

"But you are keen on it now?" Elin asked, turning to look up into Alysanne's smokey eyes.

"I think so," Alysanne answered. "Aegon is different than I expected, kinder than I thought he would be... What about Aemond?" Elin shrugged.

"As you said, I chew through men," she replied with a dismissive raise of her hand. "Aemond is no different. He's attractive, of course, but there's nothing more." Alysanne hummed in response, but she knew her friend better than that, and she had seen the look on Aemond's face earlier that morning. There was something between them; only time would tell what exactly that was...

Aemond

"You can trust me..." Elin's words echoed in the prince's head as he helped make ready the horses for an afternoon of riding. Already it was becoming an entire affair. The Queen had demanded that food be prepared so they could lunch in the Kingswood and an entire detachment of guards were to accompany them for the day. It was far more than necessary.