𝑺𝑯𝑨𝑫𝑶𝑾 𝑶𝑭 𝑭𝑳𝑨𝑴𝑬𝑺 -𝒂𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒚𝒆𝒏

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒓 ~ 𝑨 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑹𝒆𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏

The walk back to her quarters had been quiet. Ilyna walked behind her father, not yet comfortable with walking side by side. She had apparently run quite far for her chambers because it took them some time to get back. She knew that she had walked further with Prince Aemond however she knew that their walk had not been very long. The one positive thing seemed to be that her father was not as angry as she thought he would be. Her hands were behind her back, pulling at her fingers and scratching the inside of her wrist. She was extremely nervous for the conversation that would take place once they arrived at her room. She did take this time to try to memorize the way back to her room, there were several sets of stairs and turns that she counted as they walked back. Not that she would really need it, she did not want to go back to the previous queens corridor. When they arrived at her room Ilyna was tempted to try to run again or even try to visit her grandfather. However, Harwin Strong had been keeping his eye on her and seemed prepared in case she attempted to flee. He waited for her to open the door to her room and walked in after her. She moved closer to her bed to create some space between them.

The last time Ilyna ever remembered seeing her father was around five years ago when the whole family came together for the death of her grandmother. She did not remember much from that day however she remembered seeing him that day. Though they did not interact much when he came to Harrenhal she remembered him holding her hand while she stood next to him.

Her father went to the small table that no longer held her plate from the morning. One of her handmaidens must have taken it. He took a seat and looked at her, studying her face. She felt quite uncomfortable but she could tell that he did as well.

"I" -He cut himself off, clearing his throat,

"How did you figure out who I was?" She asked before he could speak. The thought had been weighing on her mind since he found her with Prince Aemond. He seemed to recognize her but she knew that he would not have been able to place her without some sort of help, that was clear enough from the look he had worn. She finally looked into his eyes, but it was now he who looked away. This motion was the confirmation she needed to know that he had not figured it out on his own. He let out a shaky breath before he answered her,

"You weren't as quick as you thought when...fleeing. My father saw you and asked how our meeting went." His words were quiet, like he couldn't believe he hadn't realised who she was. Ilyna should have figured that her grandfather would recognize her.

"Did you tell him then, grandfather, about me lying to you?" She asked timidly, she knew that if her grandfather heard about her lies she would be scolded by him as well and she was not particularly fond of this idea.

"No, don't worry, I know how he is when something doesn't go his way. I told him you wanted to explore the Keep yourself." She was surprised by this, why would he help her?

"I-I didn't know that you were coming, here, to King's Landing." His eyes met hers and he seemed almost surprised that she was looking him directly in the eyes. No one had informed him? That seemed like a mistake, surely her grandfather would have told his son that he was going to be bringing his only child to where they were living. She looked at his skeptically,

"I'm not surprised you didn't recognize me, in fact I have been expecting it. We haven't seen each other for over five years and children grow at an alarming rate." She could sense the venom in her words but she did not care. Some part of her, deep down, did care that her father had not been involved in her life. She knew that her parents had not been in love but why did that have to reflect onto her? Standing here looking at him made Ilyna yearn for all of the years she could have had with her father if he had only given a sliver of interest in her. She felt her face change into a scowl, she would not apologize for running from him if that was what he was getting at. His face harden as well,