❝ There was a feeling of inevitability when I met you. And our lives were fated to converge like some cosmic dance. And I think I had to break your heart and you had to break mine. ❞
As Cressida Black's lungs ceased to draw breath, Aurelia Martell's...
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Alyce Manderly Darklyn arrives at King's Landing with her husband in tow a fortnight after their conversation about expanding their households. Viserra welcomes her with an eager smile, glad to have someone she knows joining her at court.
Her stepdaughter's husband, Justin, is to become Beesbury's secretary. She knows that it is likely not a position they've hoped for, but Viserra thinks it could actually play well for them. After all, Duskendale is a port town and requires a lord good with numbers. From the few interactions she had with one of her older stepdaughters, knows that any grandson of Mara won't be a dullard, but it can't help to have some experience.
"Thank you for joining me, Alyce," Viserra says once the servants have left them alone in her solar. The table is spread with bowls filled with fruit, a thick pudding imported from the East and some nuts to mix in, as well as fresh bread, cold meats and cheeses for them to eat while they talk.
Alyce takes a sip of her cooled herbal tea before she smiles at Viserra. "It's an honor to be invited into any royal household, Your Grace, though I admit I will miss the port," she answers prettily, well prepared for court.
"King's Landing has its charms, too. The gardens here in the Red Keep are quite lovely, as is the godswood, though it's a more rugged beauty than what you are likely used to, and on sunny days the view of the Bay is breathtaking," she says with a smile. "And the King enjoys feasts, balls, and hunts, so there's no lack of entertainment at the court."
They spend the afternoon together, barely pausing to sip or take a bite, so consumed they are by the conversation. Alyce tells news about lords and ladies of the Crownlands and the Riverlands – potential betrothals being arranged and babies born in recent years, feuds and quarrels; she also reports scandals and misconducts, whispering the unseemly gossip between hushed giggles and conspiratorial glances.
"Mara mentioned Princess Rhaenyra and Princess Aurelia plan to expand their households," Alyce says once the most pressing gossip is shared. "Have they sent the invitations already?"
Viserra nods. The matter of the younger women's households has taken a lot of her time lately, as she and Aurelia spent hours every day discussing the best options for Rhaenyra and making plans. After much thought, Viserra has decided her niece needed to model herself after Queen Rhaenys and Queen Alysanne.
Because of Rhaenys, the court of the Conquerors' had always been joyful, it had been filled with celebrations and she had given patronage to many merchants and artists. Her mother, on the other hand, had surrounded herself with women from all the kingdoms they ruled over, ensuring they had an impeccable reputation and that she wouldn't have any scandal tarnishing her name. That's what Rhaenyra needed — to surround herself with women who would be her armor when Otto Hightower and his sycophants inevitably started trying to besmirch her name. And she needed to be loved, to be admired by the common folk so they would support her when the time came.
