The Mouth of the Dragon, The Eyes of the Lamb

Chapter 35

Dark curls, bright eyes, and a black gown. Lucela simply stared at her reflection as Margery tied her hair in various braids to keep it out of her face. The door opening caught Lucela's attention away from her own distraught face. There were only two people that would ever enter her chambers without knocking first- her mother and her grandmother. A smile broke out on her face when Rhaenys came into view.

"Grandmother!"

Rhaenys glanced around to see where Lucela's voice was coming from and beamed a smile right back when she saw her. She was wearing a dark blue gown that was almost black and was a stark contrast to the brightness of her hair.

"Black becomes you, my dear. Is Daemon finally rubbing off on you?"

Lucela glanced back down at her gown. She had never worn black around her grandmother before and grinned softly.

"It seems appropriate for this dinner."

Rhaenys nodded in agreement before casting a glance at Margery. "Margery, may I have a moment alone with my granddaughter?" Margery bowed quickly and gave Lucela's hair a loving tug before leaving her chambers. Rhaenys took a seat at the table behind Lucela before sighing loudly. "He apologized."

It took Lucela a moment to figure out what she was talking about. "Grandsire?" Rhaenys nodded. "Apologized for what?"

"For taking the throne." Rhaenys let out a huff that was combined with a chuckle. "In all my years of knowing Viserys, he had never once apologized to me for anything. Aemma, sure. Rhaenyra, probably. But me? Never until yesterday. Do you know you are hard to find, Luce? I would have told you yesterday, but I didn't see you anywhere."

Lucela flushed and rubbed her nose. "I went riding, Grandmother. If I thought you wanted to talk-"

Rhaenys slashed her hand through the air so Lucela would stop talking. "I'm not one to stand in the way of a girl and her dragon." She looked at Lucela for a moment before adding softly, "He had called on me to ask about Corlys."

"How is he?" Lucela had barely let Rhaenys get her grandfather's name out. Ever since she learned he had been hurt, Lucela had been worried about him. He had always been her favorite even though she spent more time with Viserys.

Rhaenys smiled at Lucela's eagerness to hear about Corlys. "Irritable and unhappy that he was hurt. But, he is currently on his way home. He should be back by the week's end."

Lucela's face split into a wide smile that was too rare on her face as of late. She all but lunged at Rhaenys and wrapped her arms around her in a fierce hug. "Oh, that is wonderful news!" Lucela and Rhaenys sat in a comfortable silence for a moment. She wasn't sure what was making her want to talk suddenly, but the urge was there, and she saw no reason to fight it. "You two are wonderful grandparents, even if not by blood."

The last part was added so softly that Rhaenys wasn't sure she had heard her correctly. The rings spinning on her fingers and the fact that she averted her gaze told Rhaenys that she had, indeed, heard her.

"Luce, where did that come from?"

Lucela chewed on her bottom lip softly. She was tired of hiding things from her family, and she knew that her grandmother wouldn't judge her or love her less. However, Lucela knew that she couldn't tell her about the dream of her death without getting into the entire dragon dream curse she has.

"I'm just tired of the pretending, Grandmother," Lucela finally said with a shrug. "The three of us know it, as well as anyone else who has laid eyes on us."

"Luce, you know your grandsire will not tolerate this."

"That's why I'm talking to you. Harwin already admitted it to me before he left; I've known for a decade."