𝐈'𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 | 𝐀𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐞𝐧 𝐱 𝐎𝐂

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 | 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒

^^^

🎵A Song Of The Chapter:🎵

"I Feel Like I'm Drowning" by Two Feet

^^^

The dinner to reunite our families has been postponed until tomorrow. A while ago, one of the servants knocked on my old chamber (which fortunately no one had touched in six years) and brought me a tray of steaming roast beef and a plate of grapes. The reason for the postponement was simple: we were tired after an exhausting journey, Alicent was busy with small council business and her children.... In fact, it was unclear what Aemond, Aegon and Heleana were actually doing. I hadn't seen my aunt since arriving. She was the most tolerable member of the family, did not speak much but often smiled cheerfully, to herself, as if preoccupied with her own dreams. I wondered where she was now.

I was very glad that the feast had been postponed. Aemond and Aegon had already made it clear to me that they held no love for me nor for my brothers. I was sure they would take the opportunity to openly mock our family. And knowing my brothers and uncles, it would end in a fight, which once again, I would not be able to stop. Therefore, I actually hoped that this moment would never come.

I sat in my old chamber, pecking the beef into tiny pieces. Don't get me wrong, the food served in the Red Keep was usually excellent. I simply had no appetite. Stress made my stomach twist and my throat tighten, not even allowing me to swallow a bite.

The reason for my nervousness was the strange behaviour of Alicent and her sons and even my mother. They were all hiding something, I was sure of it. And then there were Aemond's odd words. 'You won't be able to escape too far. You will see for yourself later.' What did that even mean? Was it a threat? A foreshadowing of the revenge he was preparing for having his eye stolen by my brother?

I shook my head. Even Aemond wasn't that stupid. Especially him.

On the other hand, Aegon's words that he hoped we would see each other more often from now on stuck in my head. As if he was implying that... No, that's not possible. We couldn't stay in King's Landing. Mother would never agree to it, Daemon would never agree to it. It didn't make sense at all.

"Aegon is a fool," I muttered to myself, finally swallowing a bite of beef.

As I suspected, it was prepared almost perfectly. I breathed deeply, trying to collect my thoughts. Everything will be fine. Tomorrow, mother will settle the matter of the throne of Driftmark, Vaemond will retreat, we'll survive this ridiculous dinner, fly back to Dragon Stone and we'll only return to King's Landing once Viserys has finished living and Mother has been crowned.

A perfect plan. I smiled to myself, chewing another bite. What could go wrong?

I was snapped out of my reverie by a knock on the door. I looked up from my plate and furrowed my eyebrows. It was quite late, the sun had already set and I was getting ready for bed. Although the castle was still bustling at this hour, it seemed strange to me that someone wanted to get into my chambers.

I shrugged to myself. Probably the maid had returned to ask if she should bring me tea or a cup of wine. I tied the strings of my satin nightgown and rose from my bed. The knocking was repeated, now a little louder. Whoever it was wasn't going to give up. I walked over to the door and swung it open a little looking through the crack.

It was not the maid who appeared to my eyes, but Ser Criston Cole himself. I frowned and opened the door wider, glancing at him questioningly. I hadn't bothered with something like formality or respectability. Ever since I had matured enough to be aware of the world around me, I knew that Ser Criston had no affection for me or my mother.