Baelon The Cruel And His Queen Of Love And Beauty || ASOIAF

Chapter Four

Baelon had instantly regretted coming to tonight's feast.

He had expected Elia to be there, as she was careful to attend every gathering at Harrenhal; not wanting to upset Aerys by not attending a feast he was an honorary guest at.

He had made the conscious decision to arrive well after the feast had begun, not wanting to spend too much time at the god forsaken feast longer than necessary. Baelon felt the stares of those around him as he made his way to the raised dais where his family had gathered and had already begun eating. Everyone was present— except for the one he had come for.

She's not here, he thought bitterly, he felt his lips curl up into a scowl, why isn't she here?

His displeasure must have been written plainly onto his face. His father called out to him as Baelon climbed up the steps of the dais.

"Baelon, my boy, you look upset. Come, come, sit next to me," his father looked excited to see Baelon, waving his hand towards the seat beside him, beckoning him to sit.

There was only one glaring problem with that, Rhaegar already occupied the seat next to Aerys.

Baelon raised an eyebrow, "It seems you already have company father," he said as he began to take a seat next to Rhaegar.

"Nonsense, sit next to me," Aerys said adamantly, looking over at Rhaegar expectantly. Rhaegar stared back at his father before slowly shifting his gaze over at Baelon.

The brothers stared at one another. 'Is he serious?' Rhaegar's eyes seemed to ask.

Baelon only responded with a shrug.

The older twin gave his father a tight lipped smile before rising from his seat, "I should probably go and check on my wife," Rhaegar excused himself and swiftly stepped down from the dais but not before giving Rhaella a kiss on the cheek. Ser Arthur followed the older prince out the doors of the hall.

"Come, sit," Aerys said hurriedly, Baelon obeyed his father and settled into the chair Rhaegar had once occupied.

"That boy, truly such a bore. If it weren't for the fact that you were his twin, I would have questioned the boy's legitimacy," Aerys confessed, looking over at Rhaella with wry eyes.

To his mothers credit, she paid the mad man no mind. Instead the queen spoke softly to Viserys.

Choosing to ignore Aerys comment, Baelon decided to address his displeasure with Elia's lack of presence.  "Rhaegar said he needed to go check on Elia, is she alright?"

Aerys huffed, "She's fine," waving his hand, "The girl was just feeling tired. You know how it is with her,"

Baelon nodded stiffly at that. So she's fine then, good. He paused, though perhaps I should pay her a visit as soon as father is distracted enough to allow me to escape this cursed hall.

His desires were granted sooner than he had expected.

Tywin Lannister had appeared seemingly out of thin air and engaged in a conversation with his father. Baelon couldn't fathom why the old lion would subject himself to a discussion with Aerys. Perhaps Tywin had a penchant for self-inflicted humiliation. Baelon was well aware of how his father adamantly declined any marriage proposal involving him and Cersei, and he couldn't help but wonder if Tywin derived some perverse satisfaction from the repeated rejections.

"The girl lacks Valyrian blood," Aerys stated plainly, his deranged gaze fixed on Tywin. His eyes seemed to burn with an affront as if he was personally offended by the audacity of the Lord of Casterly Rock attempting to foist his daughter upon Baelon once more.