The Queen is dead and her best friend is angry.
Elowen Redfort, Queen Aemma's Lady-in-waiting and closest confidant is in the room when the queen is murdered. Driven by her grief Elowen finds herself in the King's chambers intending to confron...
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The morning following Aemma's funeral, Elowen found herself in an unfamiliar place in the arms of a man who was not her husband. Her head rested upon the King's chest as the world flooded her vision and she became reintroduced to reality. Slipping out of his arms and into the hallway outside of King Viserys' chambers, Elowen made eye contact with the King's Guard stationed outside the door. For a moment all was silent until the sound of footsteps around the corner broke Elowen from her reverie. The brunette quickly ran around the corner and down the steps to the chambers she shared with her husband.
As the door to the chambers she shared with her Lord Husband came into view Elowen sped up. She thanked the Seven that she had reached her chambers without being spotted. The air inside her apartments was still for a moment giving Elowen time to take a deep breath to calm her racing heart before a loud snore tore through the early morning peace. Hazel eyes turned to the grand bed that held her husband's sleeping form.
Elowen quietly crept to the bed. Her dressing gown slipped from her shoulders, falling onto the cold stone floor. Hazel eyes followed the light gray fabric, tracing the ravens and falcons that had been embroidered along the sleeves. A matching pale blue gown was collecting dust across the castle in rooms that held so many memories.
Shaking her head, Elowen continued towards the bed and slowly slipped beneath the sheets. Hazel eyes fluttered closed as Elowen took a deep, shuddering breath, melting into the mattress below her. Tears began to prick at the corner of her eyes as the reality sunk in. Aemma was gone. Elowen would never see her dear cousin again, never speak to her, never hear her laugh again. Aemma was truly gone.
A soft click broke Elowen from her spiraling thoughts as the door slowly opened. Elowen kept her eyes closed, listening for footsteps to tell her who had entered her chambers. Had the King sent guards to drag her to the dungeons, was she to be sent to the stocks as punishment for insulting the King? Instead of hearing loud voices or the sharp sound of steel being drawn, a bright light filled the chambers and a soft voice spoke from Elowen's right.
"Good morning, my Lady." Elowen's eyes shot open, seeing one of her handmaidens standing beside the bed, a dressing gown draped over her arm waiting to be wrapped around Elowen once again.
Elowen pretended as if she had just been awoken, sitting up from the mattress and allowing Ingrid to slip her slippers onto her bare feet.
"Morning Ingrid. Morning Gretchel." Elowen greeted her handmaidens, turning to glance over her shoulder at where her husband's servants were attempting to pull him from the bed. "Morning Desmond. Morning Gwayne, how fares your leg this day?."
Gwayne, Gretchel's younger brother, brightly smiled towards his Lord's lady wife. "Good morning, my Lady. My leg is doing well, the poultice you had the maester make has been helping greatly."
"It has yet to cure him of his incessant whining though, my lady. I fear there may be no cure for that." Gretchel teased her brother as Elowen sat at the small round table in the corner of the chambers.
Elowen chuckled as she began breaking her fast, not bothering to wait for her husband. She hummed in thanks as Gretchel poured Elowen a cup of tea. Elowen lifted the cup to her lips, raising a brow in a silent question.
"Sage tea with a bruised clove of garlic and a pinch of powdered ginseng, my lady." Gretchel supplied, waiting with baited breath for Elowen's reaction.
A loud groan interrupted the moment as Lord Richard Redfort dropped into the seat across from Elowen. One hand rubbed at his eyes as the other thrust outwards, expecting something. Desmond quickly pressed a goblet into his lord's hand. Elowen's husband didn't even wait till he had a proper grasp on the goblet before he was gulping the contents down. A dark green liquid flowed from the corners of his lips and ran down his chin and throat, staining his linen sleep shirt.
Elowen turned from the disgusting sight of her husband, to where Ingrid stood at the open wardrobe picking out a dress for the day. "I shall wear black again, Ingrid."
"Yes, my lady." Ingrid spoke, pulling a long sleeved black gown made of satin from the wardrobe and draped it over a nearby chair. "Would you like me to draw a bath for you?"
"That would be wonderful Ingrid, I did not sleep well last night." Lord Richard grunted at his wife's words, shoveling food into his mouth. "Yes, husband? Care to say something?"
Lord Richard lifted his head from its bowed position over the plate, his glare sharp as steel as he looked at his wife. "Careful Elowen, with the Queen dead the Targaryens have no need for you here. And Seven knows you're useless to me."
Elowen grit her teeth at his words, knowing they were true. She averted her gaze, not wishing to see the hatred that filled his eyes when it should have been love. "I apologize, Lord Husband, I spoke out of turn."
"The Small Council has been called early this morning, my lord. The Hand wishes to discuss an important topic." Desmond spoke, tearing Richards' attention from Elowen.
"Of course, that Prick thinks everything is important as long as it bears Old Town's sigil." Richard huffed, throwing his fork onto his plate and standing to his feet.
A loud ringing sound filled the air as silver met silver, causing Elowen to flinch in her seat. As Richard followed Gwayne to his wardrobe, Elowen lifted her eyes from the table, meeting Desmond's soft gaze. She gave a subtle nod, letting the older man know she was fine. The Servant nodded in return before following after Lord Redfort's stomping form.
"The Princess has requested your presence this afternoon," Ingrid spoke. "She wishes to visit the gardens after the Small Council meeting lets out."
Elowen nodded, not wishing to speak. Her two handmaidens shared a concerned look as they began to prepare her bath.
AN: Did I spend 40 minutes looking up medieval herbal teas and their uses? Yes. Yes, I did.
Apparently sage tea is supposed to slow the aging process andenhance memory so that's fun.
