Suburban Legends / Alicent Hightower / Criston Cole

22. Ride a Dragon

"I'm attracted to her while simultaneously being scared of her. I don't care about her opinion of me, but deep down, I desperately want her to like me."

"Who?" Ara questioned

Aemond jumped. Ara blinked back at her.

"She sounds like she has your heart all twisted up." Ara added. Aemond nodded smiling down at his perfect little sister.

"Yeah..."

" I was going to go play with my dragons you should come." she said it like a request, but she pulled him along before he gave her an answer. He didn't mind he wanted to go with her. Until he saw his nephew there and then he was annoyed. But of course she would've invited Jace 

" the more the merrier right?" Ara asked. Jace gave aemond a side eyed glance. Neither boys were too thrilled with each other. They shared their mothers fondness, meaning lack of fondness for each other.

" right." Jace agreed this would be a date.

" whatever you say." Aemond agreed.

"Terra ! Flora!" Ara called out.

Viserys knew of the tension between Rhaenyra and Alicent it was obvious so when Daeron, Ara and Jace were born so close together Viserys hoped they would be friends... ara and jace were but not daeron. Not that he wantwd to befriend ara or jace. Although Ara and Jace were always playing together Daeron wasn't a fan of Jace.

Daeron also didn't have the pressure of the crown that Alicent put on Aegon and Aemond. While Daeron was called darling, charming and sweet, Ara was wild and adventurous, she was always exploring.

"Aegon im riding sunfyre!" Ara decided the dragon masters ran forward saying no about a million times. "What?"

" I don't think she's ever heard that word before." Aegon corrected. " right petal?"

" no? What kind of ridiculous word is that?" she demanded. " I do not like it one bit. Say yes, princess go ride the dragon."

" your brother hasn't ridden his dragon yet he is still learning."

" I'm a quick learner. Get me on that baby."

"No!"

" why do they keep saying that awful word?"

" did you hear what our little princess wanted to do today?" Alicent questioned.

" she had the masters in a tizzy." Criston agreed.

" that girl is going to give me a heart attack one of these days."

" at least the rest of them have a bit of self preservation." Criston offered.

" I swear it's your dornish roots."

" old town isn't so far away."

" and yet my children are not as rambunctious as our daughter."

" I suppose that's true." Criston agreed. He loved when she said our daughter made his heart so happy and yet his brain malfunction. Laenor wasn't a bad man. He liked to have fun and runoff occasionally, but he was around because rhaenyra forced him to be he didn't say a lot to sea he didn't go to war like he wanted to so instead, he drank in the tavern because his princess wife didn't want him near their children. it was impossible to not see that they were bastards. They look nothing like either of their parents.

Ara could be excused with her hair and eyes to look like her mother. Her other children had some darker undertones that could've been said the same. None of them would ever be called bastards.

So whenever alicent said  our his heart did two things clenched in the pain that he wouldn't really ever be father and Skip a beat because he believed in his heart that aranyani was his.

The circumstances between the women were quite different really if one thought about it

Rhaenyra had the pic of the litter. Any man she wanted and then she fucked her uncle. She ruined her chances and was set into a match with a man, her age, charming, and handsome, and just so happened to sway towards men. He wasn't mean he wasn't cruel to her. And he treated the boys like they were his own.

Alicent on the opposite hand had been forced to marry the old king and bear his children. He wasn't cruel to her per se, but he wasn't kind to her either he treated her like his property which most women were considered. But she was the queen and yet she had no power. She was mounted by her husband at her own well while the princess got to choose who and what she wanted when she wanted, and if she took a lover to her bed, no one would say a thing about it because her father would protect her endlessly just as he had been

Alicent may have been the queen, but she felt like a prisoner when she was anywhere but besides cristons arms. Right there she felt safe, loved and cherished