CELTIGAR - House of The Dragon

Nightgowns and Chandeliers

The same night, Lady Rhea had locked herself in her chambers, the prince's dagger stuffed under her pillow so she would have easy access to it. She tried to reason with herself, to convince her scared mind to let her sleep, that she was not in any danger, but couldn't find peace. She tossed and turned under the covers, even pondering asking the maesters to brew her a sleeping tea, but she was too afraid to leave the safety of her room. She got up from her bed and walked over to a chest leaning against a wall, dusted it off and opened it. Inside were her favourite dresses from when she was a child, letters from her father and all sorts of memories. She found some toys she put aside, making a mental note to gift them to Helaena's children the next day. Tucked away under all the dresses was the chain-mail the King had gifted her when she cut her shoulder with a sword. She lifted it out of the trunk and walked closer to some candles, to fully behold its shine. She smiled at it fondly, remembering how, merely four years ago, she wore it everywhere, as it was a gift from the King, and she wanted to show it to the whole world. The flicker of the candles seemed like stars on the piece of metal in her hands and she was sure her eyes glimmered in the same way.

She walked over to the tall mirror next to the chest and put the chain-mail over her nightgown, smiling as it made a clinking noise when it hit her necklace. It wasn't too heavy, she could move around in it and yet it gave her a look she fancied. She appeared fierce, brave in it and she could not think for the life of hers why she had stopped wearing it over her dresses. She traced her scar with her index finger and jumped when she heard the doorknob shake.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she leapt on her bed to grab Aemond's dagger. Clenching her fingers around its handle, she walked closer to her door, grabbing a chandelier with her free hand, trying to look as threatening as she could. Her breath was quick, her chest rising and falling sharply.

Soon, the door opened and the girl threw the chandelier at the man who stood in front of her, a confused look on his face.

"Aemond? What are you doing here?" The lady questioned as she watched the chandelier hit the prince's jaw and fall to the floor.

She was standing in front of him in a fight-ready stance, his dagger in her hand, her hair tied in a loose braid which was sitting on her shoulder. She was in her nightgown, the white linen almost sheer and the chain-mail above it. She looked fierce, intimidating, even. He closed the door behind him as he slid inside the room.

She lowered the dagger, but did not set it down, still trying to decide if she was safe or not. She could not believe she was thinking her oldest friend might have come here to kill her. He walked closer to her and she noticed the prince had a small bag in his hand. Her gaze fixed on the bag, she moved aside, letting the prince further in her chambers.

"I couldn't sleep," Aemond spoke quietly, almost silently. "I take it you couldn't, either."

Rhea looked around her, at the dresses strewn on the floor and everywhere in the room.

"No, I could not," she admitted, finally setting the blade down on her bed and sitting next to it.

The prince had never come in the room, not while the lady occupied it, at least, he looked around it, touching some linen curtains as he walked past the windows. His own chambers were on the opposite side of the same corridor and he could see the Blackwater Bay from his own bed. Here, he could see the roofs of King's Landing, the city sleeping by now.

"Still, you've had many a sleepless night, and you have never found yourself entering my chambers," the lady said in a small laugh.

The prince, whose back was turned to her, looked over at her from his shoulder and nodded, a smirk taking shape.