Dreams, Dragons, and Deceit || Aemond & Aegon Targaryen

Table manners

"Is it absolutely imperative I attend this charade of a meal?" Visaera complained as her mother tightened her corset. Despite being fawned over for the last hour, her eyes were still red from sleeping for so long.

"Yes, it is. The King has requested that we all attend. Alarya told me you still haven't eaten, as well. So, yes, you must join us, Visaera." She grumbled as she stared at herself in the mirror, only just noticing how much she had changed in a few weeks.

Daemon had been right, she looked thinner than she remembered and she couldn't recall the last time she had eaten an entire meal undisturbed. It felt odd to be dressed in white, a color she never picked for herself, but it seemed to add warmth to her pale skin. "You look lovely, darling. Just sit quietly and eat your supper. The entire ordeal will be over before we know it. She only hoped her mother was right.

"How are you feeling?" Aegon asked, reaching for her hand just outside the hall. Before he could touch her, she yanked herself away from him, a glare settling on her face.

"You think because I lost my wits for a moment today that anything has changed?" Visaera snarled at him. "When I told you to leave me alone, I meant it. Fuck you, Aegon!" A wounded look washed over him for a fleeting moment, and then he schooled his features, shook his head, and joined his siblings at the table.

"Visaera," Her back went rigid at the sound of Alicent's voice just before she entered, "come, my dear..." She followed, standing at the edge of the room with the queen. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better, your grace, thank you. I was in dire need of rest." Alicent nodded as if her sympathy was real and Visaera fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"Have you decided—"

"Yes," she interrupted, staring across the room at Aegon, thinking about what she and her sisters had talked about the night before. Her gaze returned to the woman in front of her. "Aemond." The moment she said his name, she lost her breath, a sharp pain washing through her like she had been struck in the chest.

Choosing Aemond meant she and Aegon were really over. That he would never run his fingers through her hair again, never set her skin alive with his lips. Never call her his little love... Tears unwillingly sprang in her eyes and she swallowed the heavy lump that had formed in her throat.

Why, after everything he had done, did she feel like she was betraying him? "But... I think perhaps we should wait until the end of supper to announce anything. I would like to speak to my mother first."

"Of course..." She couldn't tell if the queen had, perhaps, accepted the inevitable after the events of the petition, or if Alicent was merely changing tactics in whatever game she had been playing.

The pair joined everyone at the table, Visaera found herself seated between Baela and Luke; her mother and Daemon directly across from her. Around the table, the talking ceased as the King was carried into the room and set between his daughter and his wife. He looked worse for wear, like the events of the afternoon had taken their toll on him.

"How good it is to see you all tonight... together," he greeted, a small grunt of pain following his words. Worry settled in her gut as she stared at the king. He was struggling just to remain upright; she couldn't imagine he had much longer to live.

"Prayer before we begin?" Alicent offered? Already, Visaera had become accustomed to this and she bowed her head and closed her eyes, noting the way Luke snorted in disbelief. "May the Mother smile down on this gathering with love." She was listening intently, the words that Alicent offered gave her comfort, for some odd reason. "May the Smith mend the bonds that have been broken for far too long. And to Vaemond Velaryon, may the gods give him rest." Daemon chuckled but, at the memory of the afternoon, Visaera's stomach twisted. When the prayer was over, her siblings were staring at her in confusion, clearly not used to seeing her actually praying.