TO LOVE A KING || Maegor II Targaryen [SLOW UPDATES]

028▪️ THE GAME BENEATH THE DANCE

ONE WEEK LATER......

Night fell on King's Landing with a velvet softness, yet the capital buzzed with a fevered elegance.

The Red Keep blazed with golden torches, their flames dancing in the wind as banners of silver and crimson fluttered from the towers.

Music swelled from within the great hall like the breath of a dragon waking, echoing down marble corridors and across cobbled courtyards.

The Queen's Birthday celebration had drawn nobles from every corner of the realm. Carriages glittered with house sigils, velvet-draped and gold-laden, while knights in polished plate escorted lords and ladies to the feast. It was a night of wine, whispers, and want.

The Grand Hall had been transformed into a celestial dream-drapes of silk in purple and dusk-blue hung like the sky itself, interwoven with threads of silver.

Floating candles shimmered in the air, casting a romantic glow over the tables, while the scent of myrrh and Dornish jasmine wafted in the air.

Near the dais, surrounded by rose-stained glass and hung with the banners of House Targaryen, stood Alicent's painting, lovingly erected by the stewards.

It portrayed Queen Mellario seated in a Dornish courtyard, a falcon perched upon her wrist and her unborn child cradled by the gentle roundness of her womb. The Queen had wept softly upon seeing it.

At the High Table, seated like gods among mortals, were King Maegor-dark, brooding, leonine in black and red-and Queen Mellario, radiant despite her pregnancy, adorned in lavender Dornish silks.

Princess Rhaenyra, regal in white and gold, sat poised beside her uncle Prince Daemon, who wore a silver brocade doublet and a smirk. The Small Council was also in attendance: Lord Lyonel Strong, Lord Corlys Velaryon, Lord Beesbury, Grand Maester Mellos, and Ser Orys Baratheon among them.

The Great Hall brimmed with banners of houses far and wide:

House Baratheon sat near the front, led by Lord Borros and Ser Orys.

House Velaryon arrived with a silver tide of finery.

House Hightower, formal and stony, occupied the right flank with Lord Otto at its head.

House Greyjoy, cloaked in black and sea-green, sat in the shadows, their eyes sharp and unreadable.

Arryns, Lannisters, Redwynes, Beesburys, Tarlys, Starks, Tullys, Fossoways, and a dozen other noble houses filled the remainder, each glittering with wealth and ambition.

At the second-highest tier of seating, Alicent Hightower sat beside her half-sister Naiomi, both clad in gowns that shimmered under the candlelight.

Alicent wore an emerald gown trimmed with golden thread, her hair swept into a braided crown. Naiomi's dress was a deeper green with sheer sleeves and a pearl-studded bodice, her auburn hair coiled down one shoulder.