The Pearl of Driftmark

I Alicent's P.O.V

King's Landing, The Red Keep – 118 AC

I rushed through the corridors of the Red Keep, my cuticles bleeding from all my worrying. The moment one of my trusted maids had come to inform me that Rhaenyra had demanded a meeting with his Grace the King with my son, my dear Aemond, the freezing hand of the Stranger got ahold of my heart. I did not wait for a second before jumping on my feet and all but running to my husband's chambers.

The scene that met me almost made my heart stop. Aemond was shaking as a leaf, as Rhaenyra and the King were glaring at him, fury blazing in their eyes. "What is the meaning of this?" I demanded to know, I was surprised to note that my voice did not waver.

It took graceful steps towards my son, who looked at me with so much relief that it broke my heart. My poor unfortunate boy, the destiny of a second son is always a cruel one. Especially, for such a good son as Aemond, who was born to be King. He was good, dutiful, devout, smart, and honorable. If only he had been my firstborn, then maybe my husband would have already disinherited that whore of a daughter he has. Yet, the choice for heir to the Iron Throne is a dumb and cruel boy, who continuously breaks my heart. Or a whore who parades her bastard and lover around the Red Keep, before the blind King.

At least, it was only one bastard, and Rhaenyra finally managed to conceive a trueborn child. My eyes lingered at the little girl of three namedays beside my ex-childhood friend. She was truly a pearl of a princess, even as a small child I could see why the court was already calling her the future Realm's Delight. Though, if I am being honest, I preferred her other moniker, The Pearl of Driftmark.

When Lucerys Velaryon was born, with her black curls and pale skin, I had dismissed her as another bastard. Yet, at the time it Boremund Baratheon had been at the Red Keep, a rarity on its own as the old Lord barely left Storm's End in his old age. My father had sent me a letter, encouraging me to get close to him, the Baratheon House was a supporter of Rhaenyra through her marriage to Ser Leanor. Though if I was able to turn the tides on her by getting Lord Boremund's support at the slight of having a wanton whore parading bastards as heirs, it would weaken Rhaenyra's stand as heir and keep my children safe.

However, all those plans were useless, because the moment Lucerys Velaryon was placed in his arms, in the middle of court, Lord Boremund Baratheon cried. The whole court, even his son and heir Borros Baratheon, turned to look at the Lord of Storm's End in shock. The Lord wept as he cradled Princess Lucerys as if she was the most precious treasure he had ever seen in his life. He then whispered, in a broken tone, that even had me tearing. "Jocelyn..."

Lord Boremund Baratheon then claimed Princess Lucerys to be her sister reborn, to be the spitting image of the dark beauty that had captivated Prince Aemon's heart. He even claimed that she had the same eyes as his mother, Queen Alyssa Velaryon. And she did, have her eyes that is. The unmistakable proof that my step-granddaughter was a trueborn, she had her grandmother's hair and complexion, and her grandsire's Velaryon eyes.

Looking at her now, there was no doubt of the Baratheon blood in her, a blood that even proved true when Princess Jocelyn had given birth to Princess Rhaenys and a black-haired child had been born. Even with the angry pout she wore, Princess Lucerys looked like a porcelain doll. Pale skin like snow, long onyx curls, and the most captivating shade of blue eyes I had ever seen. It was a mix of indigo and sea blue. Her beauty was only highlighted by the delicate and Valyrian features she had inherited from her mother, who, no matter how much I hated to admit it, had earned her moniker of the Realm's Delight. A small face, heart-bow lips, high cheekbones, and the most melodic voice that have walked the halls of the Red Keep.

Just with her birth, the Blacks had earned House Baratheon's support and loyalty. Borros might loath the fact of a woman inheriting the Iron Throne, as it went against their holy laws, but he would withstand it if he believed that his blood would sit on the throne and if it was a male heir the one that would come after Rhaenyra. My father had been enraged at Princess Lucerys being proven a trueborn before the whole court. Especially when afterwards rumors of Rhaenyra's bastard, Jacaerys, started to spread, saying that the boy must have inherited the Arryn blood of his grandmother, the Realm's precious Queen Aemma.