𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑 | 𝗮𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘆𝗲𝗻

Chapter 18: sentence

119 d. C

Driftmark

"How could you allow such a thing to happen?" The king asked as he looked away from his son and granddaughter. "I will have my answers"

After the guards had alerted the royal family, they had all gathered at the throne room. Aemond and Shiera had been placed in chairs in front of the fire. Two maesters were attending to them while Alicent, who did not leave her son's side, incessantly asked about the state of the wound.
Shiera had managed to regain consciousness thanks to the concoctions of the masters. And even though she was dizzy from the loss of blood, she tried to stay as alert as possible. Once she had woken up, the first thing she did was look for Aemond. The last thing she remembered was trying to stop the fight and then nothing. Now she was seated at Aemond's side with her brothers, uncles and aunt at their sides. Everyone of them eyeing the twins, who stood at the side alone, with fury and promise of harm if they dared try to touch them again.
After the series of occurrences while she had been unconscious had been explained to her, she was unable to let go of Aemond. Even if the force with which he held her hand while his eye was being sewn up hurt like a thousand hell.

"The princes were supposed to be abed, My King." Ser Harrold tried to explain. Obviously that didn't seem to work.

"Who had the watch?" Viserys insisted. He really needed to understand how it all came to happen.

"Young prince and princess were attacked by their own cousins, Your Grace." Criston intervened. He hadn't been there when the children had been found but he tried to make the King excuse the lack of guards.

"You swore oaths to protect and defend my blood!" With each shout he gave the king seemed to lose more and more energy. His face had been ashen that morning and now it was as white as a ghost.

"I'm very sorry, Your Grace" In all his years at the service of the crown Ser Harrold had never had to defend a royal from another. This was something new for everyone and it seemed that the kids themselves would need to be the ones to shed light on the matter.

"The Kingsguard has never had to defend princes from royal ladys, Your Grace" At this remark the king finally turned furiously to look at the Kingsguard.

"That is no answer! My boy is injured and my granddaughter too!" He couldn't really understand how family could do that to each other. They were supposed to support each other. They were supposed to be the pillars that kept the house afloat.

At that moment Alicent voiced the question everybody was dying to know the answers to.

"It will heal, will it not, maester?" It was clear in her face that the mutilation of her son had deeply affected her. The usually composed queen was now in shatters. Her hair unbraided and tangled.

As silence consumed the room the maester only had a few seconds to choose his words with caution.

"The flesh will heal" A few seconds later, as he finished sewing up the wound, he finally delivered the bad news. "But the eye is lost, Your Grace"

At the news Shiera let out a small cry. If she hadn't been knocked out she could have saved his eye. Or at least took his place. She was already blind, she wouldn't mind if they cut her eye. And it wasn't as if she cared much about appearances.

The king and queen also let out small noises of pain for their son's loss. Viserys, even if it was wrong for him to think so, felt the loss of sight for his little granddaughter. Everybody knew she depended on him for almost anything. And now, with his eye lost, the both of them would suffer.

The queen then stood up and went to Ser Criston's side. The slap she gave him was heard from every corner of the room.

"Where were you?" She yelled at her sworn sword. If he had been there none of that would have happened. Her son would still have his eye intact and would be able to live a normal life.