PYROPHILIA ▸ Aegon the Conqueror

chapter xi.

CHAPTER XI

"ARE YOU STLL writing that?" Rhaenys asked, positioning herself better at the end of the bed, while Lyarra sat still, staring down at the piece of paper in front of her.

It had been a few days since she accepted Cyran's proposal, a few days since Aegon told her he wanted her and she was still in confusion about this whole situation. Even the reminiscing of that moment could brighten her eyes in a way nothing else could.

"You know what I think?" Rhaenys asked again, after Lyarra had not responded.

"What do you think?" Lyarra sighed, letting the quill fall from her hands.

"I think that you are not certain yourself." She replied with a sly smile on her face. "Maybe you don't really want to marry him?"

"My family will not be pleased with this marriage." Lyarra avoided the question gracefully, gaining another grin from Rhaenys.

"You're changing the subject." Rhaenys had that gift. Somehow most times she knew exactly what was going through her head. Thankfully, not always. "Lyarra"

"What?"

"You are not forced to do anything. There are always other options, if you don't want Cyran."

"It's not about Cyran." She responded truthfully. It was about Aegon. "It's about my family. You know how my brother can be."

"Yes. I know." She said. "But, have you talked with Cyran about it?"

"He's been so kind and I don't want to hurt him." She wasn't exactly lying. Cyran has been extremely supportive during those last days, giving her time and telling her there was no need to rush anything. And yet somehow everything felt rushed...

After she had left Aegon's room that night, she had stayed up till the morning thinking about everything, trying to understand how it was possible for both of them to feel the way they did. Momentarily, she had decided she would give up everything, push all of her doubts at the back of her mind and fall into Aegon's arms, but that was a far too childish dream. And yet she dreamed it and knowing that Aegon felt something for her made it even harder to go, to start a life with a man while her heart belonged to another.

"Either way, I have to finish this. I have delayed it enough."

Rhaenys stood from the bed walking to Lyarra's side, grabbing the sheet of a paper from her hands.

"You can delay it a little more." She grinned. "Do not write this until you know what it is you want to write. I'll help you when I return from Flea Bottom."

Lyarra pinched the bridge of her nose, a habit she had got from Aegon, when he was stressed.

"Fine." She replied sighing. "I have to see Cyran anyway."

After nodding her head, Rhaenys stormed out of Lyarra's chambers, her feet barely touching the ground with quick, yet elegant movements that were more like dancing than walking. Lyarra often wondered how Rhaenys could always appear so carefree and delighted, despite the burden of Seven Kingdoms on her back. It was of course a burden she shared with both her husband and her sister, but it was a burden nonetheless and an unbearable one, in Lyarra's eyes.

She stood from her chair, straightening her back and fixing her dress from any wrinkles. It felt strange to be on her feet again, especially considering she had spent the entire morning sitting, a piece of paper and a quill in her hands, trying to figure out the right words to use. But how could she find the right words, when she didn't even know what she wanted to tell them in the first place?