The Grey Wolf & The Golden Dragon | Aegon Targaryen II

The Castle Drunk

Alysanne

"A few weeks?" Alysanne repeated, staring at the Queen incredulously, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Yes, my dear," Alicent assured.

"Why?" Alysanne forgot formalities and proprieties as she questioned her future mother-by-law. She was too busy trying to decipher what game Alicent was playing and how pushing the wedding back could benefit anyone.

"It's nothing to worry about, my dear, I swear!" the Queen added sweetly. For the week following Aemond's nameday banquet, she had been carrying on that way, sickly sweet to both Alysanne and Elin. Something about it felt grossly wrong and Alysanne had simply begun avoiding her. "You see, the fabric for my dress till hasn't arrived, so we have to wait for the merchant—"

"Of course, your grace," she interjected, dipping her head reverently. Still, she hadn't missed Larys Strong's presence in the corridor and the way he watched her. "Whatever you think is best..." As the Queen moved on, Larys hobbling by her side, Alysanne fought the urge to shudder. Larys Strong gave her the creeps...

Mulling over the conversation, she wracked her brain trying to come up with a legitimate reason Alicent would want to postpone the wedding. Perhaps the King's health had taken a turn for the worse. A pang of worry surged through her, and she hurried to find Aegon, hoping he would have an answer for her.

"He's not in, my lady," Erryk offered at Aegon's door. Alysanne cocked a curious eyebrow at him. It was not yet midday and he hadn't joined them for breakfast. Where else would he be?

"Do you know where he is?" she inquired. A shake of Erryk's head was her answer. "Ser Erryk..." she urged, a tone of warning in her voice.

"Aegon likes to evade me..." he offered, as if that was explanation. "Before you came to the keep, he would purposely distract me and then sneak into the city."

"Then we go into the city..." Alysanne replied, shrugging.

"My lady—"

"That is not a request, Ser Erryk." Alysanne insisted, "Give me a moment to change and you and Ser Dorran will escort me into King's Landing." Her sworn knight made no sound at her command, but Erryk stared at her for a moment, reading the look in her eyes, before he finally nodded, letting out a heavy sigh.

It took her mere minutes to change into a tunic and riding leathers, pulling the top of her hair back and tying it with a cord. When she opened her door, both knights looked at her with apprehension. "Come on, then. We need to find him..."

"Here..." Doran tied a black cloak around her neck, "When we leave the gates, you put that up. We don't want to draw too much attention..." At the gate, the guard named Boulder, Alysanne could only guess due to his round shape, gave them a quizzical look but said nothing of their departure.

The sun beat down on the trio and Alysanne felt herself sweating mere moments after they left the castle gates. Tugging at her tunic, she tried to catch the air, any air, and cool her skin.

"Ser Erryk, how long has he been gone?" she asked.

"Since just after supper, my lady," the knight replied without hesitation.

"After speaking with his mother?" she prodded.

"His father, actually, my lady." Again, the thought that the King might truly be dying flared to life and Alysanne worried for her future husband. Despite his denial that he cared, she saw the way he looked to his mother and father, begging for some kind of approval, some sign that they cared about him.

They wandered the streets for what felt like hours, sweat trickling down her back and pooling just beneath her breasts. After a while, she wondered if they had made a mistake coming to look for him. In the center of town, she paused, staring through the crowds and searching for a head of silver hair.