✦ New Faith ✦ Aegon Targaryen

○ fourty nine ○

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Walking through the winding corridors of the Red Keep, I felt the weight of my words to Queen Alicent pressing on me. I hadn’t intended to speak so harshly, yet the thought of my family being absent at the birth had left me feeling desperate. Now, I was headed to apologize, my thoughts whirling. It was foolish of me to let emotions cloud my judgment in a court that remembered every word, every misstep.

As I approached the Dowager Queen’s chambers, Ser Criston Cole stood guard at her door. He met my gaze with a slight nod, acknowledging my presence before stepping aside. I hesitated for a moment, then knocked.

“Come in,” her voice called, quiet and measured.

I entered the room, my hands nervously clasped together. Alicent was standing by the window, her auburn hair loose, cascading over her shoulders in waves. She wore a light blue gown—a rare color for her—and it took me a moment to recognize its significance. Her mother had been a Florent, and this soft blue was her mother’s color. Seeing her like this felt almost intimate, as if I were intruding on a rare, private moment.

I struggled to find the right words, but she spoke first, her voice soft. “It’s all right, my queen. I forgive you.”

She didn’t look at me, her gaze fixed outside, lost somewhere beyond the walls of the Keep.

“Still,” I stammered, “I should not have said those things so publicly. I was just... worried, I suppose. The thought of my family missing the birth of the babe troubled me.”

Alicent continued to look out the window, her expression thoughtful, almost haunted. “I was alone for Aegon’s birth,” she said quietly.

Her words struck me, sending an uncomfortable chill through my chest. She didn’t mean it harshly, but the weight of it lingered.

“I’m sorry,” I replied, searching her face for any hint of warmth, but she remained composed, distant.

With a curt nod, she signaled our conversation was over, and I took my leave. As I exited, Alicent’s words echoed in my mind, leaving me uneasy. My stomach twisted, a sharp pain surging through me, but I brushed it off, focusing on the walk back to me and Aegon’s shared chambers. I needed to apologize to him too, make things right before the babe came.

Reaching our shared chambers, I pushed the doors open, expecting to see him inside. The room was empty, his absence unmistakable. My heart sank with a mixture of frustration and resignation. No doubt he’s passed out drunk somewhere in the castle.

Disappointment welled in me, but as I turned to leave, another jolt of pain struck my stomach, sharper than before. I pressed a hand to my belly, trying to steady myself, but the pain didn’t fade; it only grew more intense, spreading in waves.

“Ser Davian!” I called out, my voice trembling. One of my guards hurried over, his face paling as he took in my distress. “Fetch the maester—and my parents. Quickly!”

He nodded, rushing off to carry out my commands, leaving me to brace myself against the doorway, clutching my stomach as another wave of pain rippled through me.

It was happening.