Chapter 24
ALICENT HIGHTOWER
Today, Alicent Hightower had woken up with none of the heaviness and sadness from the previous days. Her mind was at ease as she was dressed up for her morning prayer, and though there could be many reasons for it, she found her mind drifting to Rhaenyra's words from yesterday.
And as she stared at her face in the mirror, she found her eyes tracing the features of her face, trying to discern the difference her firm had so easily discovered. And yet she found none, but could she really have found them. After all, it was often said that those in love were often blind to it.
'Was she really in love with Aegon Targaryen?'
She found in him a great friend, someone who cared deeply for her given everything she had seen from him, and though his politics and ambition remained a mystery to her, she did not think him to as callous as both their fathers. He was comely enough that nearly all the ladies at court were consistently vying for his favor, trying to ensnare the young Prince who had just become second in line to the Iron Throne with their guiles.
Not that it mattered much. Despite his father's blood running through his veins, the Prince had none of his vices for flesh and was polite enough in his declines, and she had yet to hear about him frequenting a brothel, for if she had done so, her father would have spread it around rather quickly.
She did look forward to their talks, their little ramblings about subjects ranging from the sept's architecture to the little gossip at court. In the days of their falling out, she had missed him, her heart taken by a dull ache which only now lifted as they both made up.
Was this love? And if so, how unfortunate was she to love a man she could never really have?
For all her beauty and influence, Alicent was not blind to her station. She was but a daughter to a second son, one who had little to his name except the title of the King's Hand, something which could be taken away at any time at the King's behest.
And yet, in this situation, her status was not even what concerned her the most; it was their heritage and the bad blood between them, the animosity of their fathers. A match between them was simply impossible, or at least she thought so as she walked out of her chambers, dressed in one of her mother's finest gowns. For today, she was to accompany the Princess in opening soup kitchens throughout Kingslanding in memory of the Queen.
As she moved through the Halls, she found many eyes turning towards her, eyes that she had ignored in the last few weeks. Yet only now did she know the reason behind such scathing gazes.
Rumors were a lady's worst enemy. These had been her mother's words. While men waged war, through swords and politics, women at court had their own battles, battles fought with dresses, friends, parties, and rumors.
Because of her status and closeness to the Princess, Alicent had never really been involved in any such thing, not that there was anything noteworthy to malign her with in the first place.
At least until this week. Rhaenyra's words had made her alarm bells ring, for though Alicent Hightower tended to avoid this game of words, she was not oblivious to it, and so after some probing, she had found out that a certain rumor was circulating around her.
A rumor that painted her a spoilt woman, who had lost her virtue to the Rogue Prince. The very thought of that scenario made her gut twist, and yet the there were many stories as to how such a thing had happened, but that was not important. What was important was that the rumors painted her as a spoilt woman, one who had done the deed either willingly or Seven forbid unwillingly with the Rogue Prince.
And now Aegon's trepidation from yesterday began to make sense as well when he probed her about the truth of that day. For that was when this rumor had emerged. After that fateful night.
When it came to rumors explanations were pointless, and so she did not bother with them as she made her way through the Halls, knowing that she owed them nothing. However, she still wondered who had perpetuated this fabricated tale and what their purpose was in doing so.
Was it to make the Princess turn against her? She doubted that, given that it was well known that the Princess cared little for these things. On the other hand, she had another idea.
One far more sinister, and yet one she did not wish to be true from the bottom of her heart. It was an idea, a proposition the mere thought of which made her stomach turn, for if it was, it would mean that whatever she thought of her father, the man was much much worse than that.
And as a daughter, as disillusioned as she was with her father, she did not wish to think him capable of such a thing.
And as she reached the castle gates she found Rhaenyra there already, punctual and on time surrounded by a dozen or so castle guards as she waited for her.
"Good morn, Princess," she greeted Rhaenyra, who was dressed in a black and red dress, highlighting her family's colors and the color of grief.
"Good morn to you as well, Alicent," Rhaenyra greeted her as she joined her.
"The morning sermon is about to end. Father said that I should address the people afterwards and ask them to say a prayer for Mother, " she said, and she nodded.
"That would be appropriate," she said, and then she saw a few guards call upon her.
"Lady Alicent," they came upon her, making both her and Rhaenyra frown.
"Yes," she began as she turned to face them.
"My Lady the King has summoned you into his Council Chambers," they said, and she frowned as a sense of foreboding overcame her.
"Father has summoned her, Alicent?" Rhaenyra questioned, and the guards nodded.
"Why?"
"We do not know Princess," and yet she felt a sense of unease as she turned towards Rhaenyra.
"I need to go," she said, for one could hardly deny a King.
"Go, but please make haste in your return," Rhaenyra added softly.
"I don't think I can do this alone," Rhaenyra asked of her, and she smiled softly as she held her hand.
"I will try to," and with that, she turned away and began to follow the guards as they led her to the King's Council Chambers and every second, she could feel her heart racing in her chest until she came upon the doors.
Ser Harrold opened the doors, and she was led inside, and to her surprise and distress, he was there as well.
Aegon frowned as he stood at one end of the table while the King sat with her father at the other. Their eyes met, probing each other for knowledge about this summon, yet each was as oblivious as the other.
"Ahh, thank you for coming, Lady Alicent," the King offered her a stiff greeting as she curtsied.
And then there was silence, as she saw her father looking at her with those dead, calculating eyes as the King began.
"Now, as I was mentioning, with Daemon engaged in the Stepstones for the foreseeable future, I am nominating Aegon to be his replacement on the Council as the Lord Commander of the City Watch," and this was expected and yet to her surprise her father did not react tot eh news as Aegon shook his head.
"I am honored your grace, but I must return to the Vale, the Lady Jeyne has summo..."
"No. No, the Vale can do without you. You are Daemon's heir, my heir and must take your place here as per your station. Your place, Aegon, is now in the capital," the King cut in, and she saw Aegon stiffen up as he nodded reluctantly, for no man, even blood relative, could deny the King without consequences.
"And apart from that, I have just the news that would make your stay in the capital far more palatable," the King suddenly added softly as his eyes shifted towards her, and immediately she felt her heart stop as the King opened his mouth.
"After much deliberation, I have decided that you Aegon will marry..." and at that word she felt her heart race for the King was looking at her while her own eyes were focused on her father as the King said those ominous words.
"....the Lady Alicent Hightower."
The silence was deafening, and it was only because she had known him for as long as she did that a part of her had feared this very thing that she saw her father's lips turn up, his composure breaking for but a fraction of a second as it all began to make sense.
Her chest felt heavy, as if it was going to be crushed under the weight of this grand betrayal, as she stood there rooted to the ground, unable to shift her head to the side to look at his face. To realize what he was thinking, for she realized that all this was her father's ploy. This was his way of getting back at Daemon, making her the bride of his son and heir.
And yet, was this so bad? A voice emerged from the corner of her mind. Wasn't this the very thing that she desired, the very thing her heart had hoped for, and now she was getting it.
No. She did desire it, yet not like this. She did not wish to he the chain that bound Aegon, she did not wish to be a cog in her father's machinations, and so she steeled her heart even as every fiber of her being rose in rebellion as she looked towards the King and opened her mouth.
"...No!"
"No...!"
And the two voices came out together, and she felt her heart break right then and there, as she saw the King frown, as she turned her head to the side to look at Aegon, who had done the same, his eyes obscured by a thousand emotions, and yet she could see only a few.
Rage. Anger. And the most prominent of all, guilt.
And she felt her face grow hazy as tears welled up in her eyes, and she remained oblivious to the words of the King and her father as she turned away and rushed out of the Council Room, where she had lost her last shred of dignity.
"Alicent!"
"What is the meanin.."
"Lady Alicent..."
She ignored the voices as she ran through the Halls, with no clear direction until she found herself a secluded part of the castle before she finally let go of the storm brewing in her eyes as she began to wail and cry and scream as much as she could.
She did not know what was going on with her or why she was in so much pain. Why had she looked at him with those eyes and desired to see hope, to hear an answer opposing her own, and yet she had heard it not?
She had heard it not as she sat there alone and cried for some time until she was finally interrupted by a guard.
"My lady! My lady! Are you ok," the guard questioned, and immediately, her years of training returned to her as she nodded, stifled her cries, and began to wipe away her tears.
"Yes, I am fine," she replied with a shaky breath as she saw the royal crest on the guard's armor.
"My lady! The Princess is calling for you. She asked me to bring you to he..."
"Yes, Tell me where to go. " Had she been a little bit more vigilant, she would have noticed that these were not the regular castle guards.
"Yes, come with us, my lady..." they said, leading her away. Only later did she realize her mistake.
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AEGON TARGARYEN
"No!" he gasped as the King's words registered. She realized that this was a game, and immediately, he felt his heart split as he tilted his head to the side and looked to see Alicent doing the same.
And immediately, as he looked into her eyes, he realized that he had made a mistake. A grave mistake, for as she saw her face shift through a series of emotions as she looked so utterly broken that he regretted opening his mouth.
And then, before he could do anything else, she turned away from him, even as the King and the Hand called after her. Yet she ran out of the room, and as she made to follow, the guards stopped him as he shouted after her.
"Alicent...." and yet she did not turn back, and his heart sunk further and further.
"What is the meaning of this, Otto?" the King's voice boomed out, and he glanced back and saw the King addressing his Hand.
"She is just emotional, your grace," the man began scurrying in as Aegon gritted his teeth. It took every bit of his patience not to skewer the man right then and there as Larys Strong's words from the day before began to make sense.
"I will talk to her. On her behalf I agree to the match," the man continued.
This was his doing. This and everything that had been happening was all his doing, and he was disgusted to the core at the man who had tarnished his own daughter's reputation for political gain.
"Your grac..." Yet he was cut short as the King cut in.
"And Aegon," the King's voice was sharp and authoritative as he stood up.
"My decision is final. You are the Crown's heir and must do your duty to further the Royal line. I have made this match, and I will not see it denied," and with that, he could do little as he stood there rooted to the ground, mind racing to try and pick up the pieces of this whole grand debacle, and yet he could think of nothing.
Was this how Daemon felt?
Was this what Larys had warned him about?
"Go and see to Lady Alicent," the King commanded, and the guards moved away, and immediately he rushed forth, running through the Halls, as he tried to search for Alicent and found no trace of her. He asked the servants and the guards and found out that she had just left the castle to join the Princess, and so he rushed out of the castle, towards the Grand Sept and the streets were littered with people as he cut through them, his kind racing and yet as he saw the stage he found no trace of her.
She was not there.
And just as he was about to turn back, he heard that ominous voice.
"You will not find here there," and he felt a chill run down his spine, as he looked to the side, and found him sitting there, his curly hair covering half his face as he sat on bench while, he rested his hands on his cane.
"YOU!" he snarled, in rage.
"You knew!" he raged as he approached him, every instinct in his body telling him to cut him right then and there as he towered in front of him, as the man smiled, showing off his crooked teeth.
"I did warn you about the Hand's intentions. Otto Hightower is a man willing to use any and everything at his disposal to obtain his purpose," he added, and it was a lesson he would never forget.
"Even his daughter's honor," he finished as Aegon ground his teeth, pushing it all back as he focused on why he was here.
"You said she was not here," he began, and the man nodded.
"Yes, I did. Alicent Hightower is not here," he began, and for some reason, a sense of dread began to fill him up as Aegon asked him.
"Then where is she," he asked, and the man smiled.
"I told you, didn't I? You are not quite ready to handle the lord's hand yet. But do not worry, as your loyal servant it is my duty to take care of your problems," he began as he looked to the side towards the stage where Rhaenyra stood.
"You should go and join her. After all, she is the real prize," and yet his intuition told him to keep pushing as Aegon leaned down and pushed his hand against the man's throat as he pushed it against the wall behind.
"Don't make me ask again," and the man smirked as he looked him in the eye, and the madness in those eyes unsettled him as the man laughed.
"Haha, Hahaa, you are an honourable person, my Prince, but the game cares little for honour," he continued as Aegon's patience ran thin.
"And an honorable person can only have an honorable bride," and those words made him blink, and as the implication behind those words dawned on him, Aegon realized his mistake.
"And soon enough, I shall turn Otto Hightower's little rumor into the truth, and not a shred will remain of both the Hand's or his daughter's honor or virtue."
"You bastard!" and in his rage, Aegon pushed the man's face hard.
BANG!
His head hit the wall behind him, and he felt blood drip down his hands as the man's eyes closed out, and he gasped in pain.
"AGHH!" and yet only later he realized what he had done, and paled as he slapped the man's head, trying to wake him up.
"Where is she? Damn it! Tell me where the hell is Alicent!" he screamed, and yet he received no answer.
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