ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋ ꜱɪꜱᴛᴇʀ - House of the Dragon

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

"I am sick of men and I am sick of this ball. But since I am not allowed to leave..." Visenya said, walking closely to Helaena and resting her hands on the table. She could feel her family's eyes on her, but that only made her angrier. "My dear aunt, would you honor me with a dance?"

She was upset after some man had ran into Jaehaera, making her stumble back and fall to the ground. But it wasn't that what infuriated her. It was the fact that he had had the audacity to blame it on the girl, pointing his finger at her and visibly holding back a laughter as if that wasn't his princess. Visenya was not surprised when she noticed the smell of wine on his breath. She had to kick him out of the place, naturally, after she had threatened him and his children and his entire house.

"A dance? I do not think the Realm would be pleased if two women danced in such event."

Sweet Helaena was wearing a white and golden gown, and a crown made of sunflowers and brown sticks prevented her hair to cover her hair, half braided and half down. Visenya thought she looked like a bride, a beautiful bride, and couldn't contain herself for smiling when she politely declined her offer. Did her aunt really think she would give up so easily? And for such a stupid reason?

"I don't think you understood my words, my dear aunt. Get your pretty arse off of that chair and dance with your niece in her own nameday." She said, leaning closer and not even fighting the smirk on her lips. "I could easily throw you over my shoulder and drag you to the dance floor myself, you know? But I intent to touch as much as you allow me to."

There were no second intentions in her words, but Visenya doubted Alicent thought that, since the Queen gasped at her words as if she had just said she wanted to bed Helaena until the sun rose. It took a lot within herself to not roll her lilac eyes to the back of head, focusing in only her aunt and the way she had chewed on her lip, almost as if she was considerating the offer. Yet, she had no time to speak, since her brother-husband rolled his dark violet eyes, poorly containing a yawn, and decided to interrupt their conversation.

"She said no, niece."

Visenya fixed her gaze in him for a second, raising a single eyebrow, and then brought it back at her aunt with no comments. She knew she could not contain an insult if she spoke directly to him.

"Of course, you can always stay here with your useless, drunken husband and your pretty mother and have a nice, long chat about the Faith of the Seven and let these lords no one even know their names come and tell you how much your body has changed after birth. Whatever it is, aunt, it's up to you."

She made sure to put some emphasis in the last word, eyeing from the corner of her eye how Aegon rolled his eyes yet again. He remained quiet, perhaps sensing the clear discomfort in her tone, perhaps ignoring it. Perhaps he didn't even listen to her, too lost on his drunken state to being able to understand more than a few words altogether. But Visenya didn't care.

Rhaenyra Targaryen grinned with all and dimple once her sister stood up, smiling and shyly taking her niece's arm, who easily avoided everyone's hard gaze on them and silently threatened whoever dared to say something about her aunt. The Heir to the Iron Throne was proud, to have raised such a kind girl. Even when she could easily murder someone, her heart was as big as her brothers and sisters'. Though, unlike them, she always tried to hide it behind her cold facade. She supposed Harwin and Laenor would be proud as well, if they saw her in that moment, escorting her aunt to the dance floor and allowing her to have the kind of fun she hadn't had since her marriage with Aegon.

Helaena seemed and felt as happy as she was when she shared a dance with her nephew Jace at that dine, and she too took the lead and made her favorite and only niece spun and spun, giggling and feeling her cheeks hurt due to her own smile. Visenya kept her promise, and her hands barely touched the youngest's body. Though Helaena felt almost as if she didn't care the coldness of her hands on her waist. It help her, she noticed, her mind wouldn't fall in those awful riddles if she concentrate in her niece's fingers gently gripping her waist.