𝑨 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝑯𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 // 𝑨𝒆𝒈𝒐𝒏 𝑰𝑰 𝑻𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒚𝒆𝒏

85. Not Done Yet

Alyssa finally sat in her chambers, her hair damp from her bath, dressed in a clean dress of soft cotton. The fire was burning in the fireplace, giving the room a warm, cozy feel, but she felt anything but comfortable.

Two hours had passed since she had returned from the woods, and Aegon had not come to see her yet. She knew he was probably still angry with her for disappearing without telling anyone. He did not usually get angry at her, or he would be and then come back and show that he didn't want to fight in his own way. But since he wasn't here, she thought that perhaps he wanted to punish her by not speaking to her.

Tanya worked silently to braid her hair, her hands moving quickly and deftly. As she worked, Alyssa's gaze met hers in the mirror, and she saw the subtle glances the handmaiden cast her from time to time. A fool would understand that she was angry too, otherwise she would have spoken

Tanya was usually a talkative person, happy to fill the silence with chatter, but today she seemed subdued, her mouth set in a thin line as she worked on her hair in a rather fast pace. She could almost feel the silent disapproval from the handmaiden, the concern mixed with a hint of judgement.

But she ignored the looks and focused on her reflection in the mirror, trying to appear calm and composed despite her rapid beating heart. Apparently, the Queen and hand had no idea of her little walk, she had Helaena to thank for that, had Aegon done as he wished and sent out the entire kingsguard he would have needed to tell Alicent. Lucky for Alyssa, the only once who knew was those who were closest to her.

As Tanya continued to braid her hair, she finally broke her silence. Her voice was carefully controlled, but Alyssa could still hear the hint of anger in her words.

"May I speak freely?" she asked.

That was a rather strange question, she always spoke freely, even if Alyssa enated it or not. She chuckled softly, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "When do you not, Tanya?" she replied.

She could practically feel the tension in the air, and she knew that Tanya had something on her mind, something she had been holding back.

The handmaidens fingers paused in Alyssa's hair for a moment and she looked up to meet her gaze in the mirror. Her expression was stern, her eyes filled with a mixture of concern and frustration.

"I must say, Alyssa, your disappearance earlier today was foolish and reckless," she said bluntly, her voice laced with disapproval. "I understand that you needed time for yourself, that you were feeling overwhelmed. But to disappear without a word, without telling anyone where you were going... it was thoughtless and dangerous."

Alyssa's face flushed with embarrassment and guilt as Tanya spoke. She knew that she was right, but hearing it aloud, hearing the disapproval in her voice, was more jarring than she had anticipated.

When the room had stood quiet for what felt like an eternaty, Alyssa spoke again. "Is that all?" she asked, already knowing that it wasn't. She just wanted Tanya to get it all out.

The dark haired woman let out a small scoff, her expression hardening. "No," she said firmly. "That's not all. I'm not finished yet."

Tanya's fingers resumed braiding Alyssa's hair as she continued to speak, her voice growing more heated with each word.

"Do you have any idea how worried we were?" she asked, her words sharper than usual. "I have known you since you were a little girl, and the thought of something happening to you... it was terrifying. Aegon was beside himself with worry, pacing like a madman, shouting at everyone."

Alyssa sighed, her shoulders slumping in resignation. "I know I was wrong, Tanya," she said quietly. "I know I should have told someone where I was going, I should have thought it through. But I cannot undo what I did. But I am truly sorry for it, I don't know what came over me this morning, I needed time, I needed to gloat in the sea of my fantasy world and just get away. The consequences all came flowing back to me once ser Noah found me.