My Father's Wife (GXG)

Chapter 14

Continuing their walk, Rhaenyra and Alicent have managed to keep the mood and atmosphere between them light. But the curiosity and question still lingers on the purple eyed girl's mind. What is the queen's motive? What is she doing exactly? 

 They made their way to the other entrance of the garden that leads to a pond heading down its path. There, Rhaenyra saw her dear friend Dorcas sitting on the chair that most of the royalties sat on. She holds a cloth and sews it together. Rhaenyra frowned with a hesitant small smile that pulled up on her face, she tilted her head quietly. Dorcas must have sensed their presence when she suddenly looked up to her front to see the two women approaching her with a curious gaze. Her works instantly fell and her eyes widened at the sight of the queen and princess together. She immediately stood up, gripping onto the cloth that she was sewing. She bowed her head quickly, "Your grace, princess." 

Alicent didn't stop approaching with her hands held together, she pressed up a tight smile, "Carry on." The queen passed her and sat on one of the chairs. Dorcas looked up from her eye at the princess, shooting her a harmless glare for she had seen the princess glancing at her with a curious smirk. She too, sat down on the other chair, following her step-mother's action. Dorcas slowly turned around to face them only to see the queen analyzing her and Rhaenyra trying her best not to laugh at her dear friend. 

"Sit, don't let us bother you." Alicent nodded towards the chair that Dorcas sat on. The blonde nervously averted her gaze to the princess who gave her a subtle nod before she hesitantly sat down. "You are most certainly not a bother, your grace." She didn't move nor tried to make any eye contact, she gripped onto her work of sewing with her head down.

Both royalty women kept their gaze on the poor nervous Dorcas. Rhaenyra wanted to laugh at her face just then but has managed to stop it. She didn't want to embarrass her dear friend, of course. "Forgive me but I must have forgotten your name, sweet girl. I've only seen you once when you dined in with us the day I arrived here." Alicent asked, her tone was calm and soft.

The blonde nervously looked up to meet Dorcas' eyes, "It's Dorcas, your grace... I believe you have seen me long before but- I trust that her grace wouldn't remember it considering I was not someone as highlighted like any royal family." 

"Really?" The queen tilted her head with a furrowed eyebrow, now was lured into thinking and trying to remember the girl's face. 

"Back when you used to visit our early queen Esther and you would watch over princess Rhaenyra when she was a kid.." She forced a smile on the queen, "I was always with her. We were inseparable ever since. You also fed me once along with the princess." She nodded at the queen, this time her smile was genuine. Rhaenyra smiled too while she admired and watched her friend.

Alicent looked at Dorcas with widened eyes, her face still prints the look of shock only because she couldn't remember Dorcas' existence back then at all. "Have I?" Dorcas nodded and giggled, "Yes, my queen."

Alicent covered her mouth, not touching her lips in shock, "Good gods, I am so sorry. I do not remember." The queen frowned apologetically and felt guilt towards Rhaenyra's friend. Rhaenyra chuckled along with Dorcas who felt less anxious enough to continue her sewing in front of both women before her. 

"Dorcas wouldn't take it by heart, won't you, sister?" Rhaenyra kept her eyes on her friend with a calm look. The blonde giggled while she sewed, "Of course, princess."

Alicent slowly brought her hand down to her lap then smiled softly towards Dorcas, "Well... thank you. For always being there for Rhaenyra." The words that came out from the queen's mouth made Rhaenyra turn her head towards her, so did the blonde too who looked up from her work. Their lips parted in surprise, not trying to let it show, Dorcas smiled back at the queen, "There is needn't to thank me, my queen. I was only being a friend considering that she and I grew up together. I could even say that I know this girl perfectly well." She pointed towards Rhaenyra up and down from head to toe. 

As to how it sounded wrong, Rhaenyra's cheeks flushed and her parted lips made contact in no time. She averted her eyes somewhere else with the remaining expression while she rethinks how that last statement of her friend came out. Alicent's lips were parted too on what she heard for it sounded like a double meaning behind it. She closed her mouth instantly, not wanting to be rude or to make the situation even more awkward for her and maybe also for the princess as she saw how uncomfortable the purple eyed girl suddenly felt. She gave it the benefit of the doubt but her mind couldn't prevent herself from getting curious.

Has something else happened between them two? 

She eyed Dorcas and Rhaenyra for a brief moment before realizing she hasn't replied to the blonde, "Is that so? I can't imagine how much you know about my step-daughter." The hardness on the queen's voice did not go unnoticed when she emphasized the word step-daughter. Both young girls looked at her with a puzzled expression. She realized it came out more obvious than she intended it to be, so she quickly covered it with a forced smile. 

Dorcas decided to ignore the strange behavior and kept up the light conversation going, "Like I said, a lot, your grace." Rhaenyra didn't even know what was going on behind the queen and her friend's sentences. In each word it felt like there's something more of a meaning behind it.

Alicent just gave the blonde a hard gaze, her face is now unreadable and expressionless. Rhaenyra didn't know what was going to happen next so she interfered,

"Okay, enough about me." Rhaenyra sat up straight as she spoke with a pitched voice, she glanced at Dorcas, "What are you doing here alone, sewing?" 

The princess cleared her throat after just trying to change the topic to which thankfully no one opposed. Dorcas shifted onto her seat, "Just wanted to have some alone time, princess. I find it very peaceful here. I just think that this is the perfect spot for my sewing." She replied softly. 

The princess gave her a subtle smile and a nod, "Has something happened?" She leaned in, trying to look for her friend's eyes. Alicent watched- even observed both of them intensely. She watched as the blonde shook her head in protest, "Nothing happened, princess. I am perfectly fine." She smiled towards the teen.

Rhaenyra then casually placed her hand on top of Dorcas who froze from sewing. "Come to dinner later this evening. Other Hightowers will be there." She smiled reassuringly to Dorcas. Rhaenyra rubbed the blonde's hand with her thumb, trying to get her friend to join the dinner.

Dorcas dropped her hand on her lap along with her work, she beamed a smile, "Have you missed me?"

The princess chuckled, "That too." 

 Alicent didn't know why but it displeases her to see how her step-daughter seems to be too fond of the lady Dorcas before her. 

She may not know how long the two had been together as friends but she was certain that this kind of behavior is just... odd. Or maybe it's because of the attitude of the blonde. Maybe she didn't like the way she spoke as if she knew something she wasn't supposed to regarding the princess. That she knew the princess more than her. And that felt like a challenge to Alicent. A reminder. A reminder that she, the princess' mother is supposed to know her daughter just like how the other teen does. She felt obligated to know the princess even further and overcome the silver head girl's friend. And though it felt very immature, she couldn't ignore the feeling.

ANFTA

I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be busy for awhile since I have tons of work coming up starting tomorrow but to assure you guys, I make time for my story. I hate to leave you all here alone.