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𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘯 - 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩
✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: - :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: - :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

It was already dark when Ser Colin brought the young princess back to the Red Keep and just in time she had made it into the chamber. She was relieved to find that her new husband was not here.

Edith had just managed to hide her cloak in the closet when a maid came in to get her ready.

So she sat quietly on the chair in front of the mirror and had her hair redone and let the maid put her into one of the new dresses. Uncomfortably, she stroked the green fabric, which harmonized very much with her hair, but not with her heart.

A maid must have been here during her absence, as the room was tidy and the bed made and freshly made. The tender cut on her body automatically ached as she thought of the small blood stain. She hoped so much that someone would believe this lie... Maybe she should have told Aemond about her plan for believability, but the plan had been very spontaneous.

As slowly as she could, she went after the unknown man, a guard, who had already been waiting for her outside the room door when she stepped out.

When she entered the room, where they had eaten yesterday, only Aemond and Alicent were present. The two of them were standing at the edge of the room and seemed to be having an upset conversation, however, they were talking so quietly that Edith could not hear.

"Princess. You look good tonight." Adrik Tyrell left his post next to the door and went to his niece, took her hand and blew a kiss on it. "Thank you, Uncle." She smiled and curtsied to him.

The longer she was here, the more she could understand him. Maybe he had the same intentions and thoughts as the other Greens, but maybe he was only on this side to be with the people he loved like the Queen and his son Prince Daeron. For him, it must surely be hard to be so close to his son and yet not be allowed to tell him.

"Do you have a moment for me?" she asked the older man quietly. He nodded and the two of them walked to the edge of the room as well - as far away from Alicent and her son Aemond as possible. "I have to tell you something, Uncle...I don't feel safe here and I'd like to have a sworn guard...and the guards here, you might want to take a closer look at them."

It wasn't the best way to get something she wanted, but she had to try. If the queen could do it, so could the new princess.

Adrik listened to her carefully and eyed his niece anxiously. "Did they hurt you?" he inquired worriedly.

Edith looked downcast to the ground and then guiltily into Adrik's eyes. She had become good at what she did. "To be honest, I wanted to go to the crypt to pray for the dead... But none of the guards let me go. The one... He was very strict and wanted to take me to the queen right away, but I quickly went back to my room before there was trouble." She told him.

"Do you know this man's name?" he wanted to know, his voice sounding stern. As always, his one hand was on his sword, which now tightened around the hilt.

"Yes, but... please don't punish him! I know he was just following an order, uncle." She pleaded, playfully naive. "His name." Repeated Adrik.

"Ser Colin I believe." She answered him, avoiding eye contact. Then when he nodded and went to the queen, she knew her plan had worked. Only with difficulty could she hide her smirk.

While Adrik was talking to Alicent, Edith went to Aemond. She did so unwillingly, but standing alone in the room also seemed strange, especially since they were newlyweds - forced to be.

"Hello beloved husband." She greeted him. The young woman stood beside him, straight and not dignifying him with a glance. Aemond mirrored her posture and demeanor; he did not look at her either. "Don't say that." He instructed her.

The two hadn't spoken since the incident this morning, and at the same time neither wanted to talk about it. They were repressing it.

"What do you want me to call you?" Edith clasped her own hands together, just to avoid touching him or giving him the wrong idea.

Aemond leaned down slightly toward her. "Your plan didn't work." He breathed into her ear. Edith immediately got goosebumps. "Which one?" she asked cautiously, trying not to give too much away. He was her husband, but he didn't need to know everything.

"Where did you cut yourself?" he wanted to know from her, eyeing her curiously.

The girl only clasped her hands tighter as the small cut began to throb again when he merely spoke of it.

"I see." He smirked and stood up straight again, putting some distance between them once more. "She knows."

"But how-"

"Mother's the queen for a reason." He replied smugly. Edith actually had to agree with him on that one. Alicent had done amazing things with her father's help and was about to start a war. "What do you suggest? Are you going to touch me and mark me as yours after all?" she teased challengingly. Edith had just finished her question when the door opened and Aegon and Helaena entered the room followed by Otto Hightower.

Her heart slipped lower as she saw them and watched them sit down at the table, but neither one paid her a glance. She began to wonder if they blamed her? Yet she had not chosen all this!

Aemond also followed her gaze and understood her bitter undertone. The love between the three could almost be seen and he would have liked to crush it.

His older brother got everything Aemond ever wanted, but Aegon didn't want all that, and that only because he was the firstborn. Not long and Aegon would wear the crown, not Aemond.

His younger brother Daeron had always gotten everything he wanted anyway. He was the only one of Alicent's children born of a love affair. Daeron was a bastard, his own brother.

Aemond would have liked to know why fate hated him so much. Now he was also married to a traitor from the other side.

"Perhaps I should do this." He replied grumpily and sourly, then walked to the table and sat down with his family.

It was only when Aemond moved away that Edith took her eyes off Aegon and Helaena. His mood swings were nothing new to her, and yet they annoyed her every time. She hated how much he affected her mood as well.

Alicent stepped up to her new daughter-in-law and smiled gently at her. "Good evening, Edith."

"Good evening." She smiled falsely. "I haven't had a chance to thank you for the beautiful dresses, Your Grace." Edith added immediately, stroking the new dress she was wearing. She had to make Alicent trust her and like her.

She just couldn't think about the queen's bad deeds, such as Aegon's still black eye.

Alicent stroked the younger one's arm. "I'm glad you like them." She said honestly. Alicent stood straight and confident in front of Edith. "I know what you did, or rather what you didn't do..." the queen whispered softly in the princess' ear and then led the girl to the dining table.

Shocked, Edith looked at Alicent and then quickly tried to cover her surprise. After all, Aemond had already told her about it.

"Your Grace, I can explain..." Edith began immediately, but was quickly interrupted by Alicent. "I don't want to force you to do anything, so you'd better do it willingly." The two women talked so quietly that no one could hear them until they sat down at the table - as far away from each other as possible.

Not only were they all in the same room as yesterday, but they were seated exactly the same way at the table. Edith and Aemond at one head of the table, Alicent and Otto at the other end. To Edith's left sat Helaena and Aegon, and opposite them again sat Daeron.

"What is all this about? Since when do we eat together?" Aegon wanted to know. He was sitting back in his chair with his arms folded. He sat there like a farm boy, not a prince.

"Since I want it that way." Explained the newlywed to his older brother and signaled the servants to serve.

Aegon made an amused sound while shaking his head. "And since when did you get to say that?" provoked Aegon further. He was clearly not thrilled with the whole situation.

With pale faces, the servants served wine and far too much food.

Edith's goblet had hardly been filled when she reached for it and drank it empty in one go. The whole situation was awkward, especially since she was positioned between the two of them. Physically and psychologically.

Aemond didn't take the provocation lying down, took Edith's hand in his and kissed the back of her hand, further dragging her along with the eternal war between the brothers. "I've had the pleasure of meeting my wife's family and they always eat together as a family. I like that tradition." He continued to hold his wife's hand as Aemond filled first her plate and then his with food.

Edith was muzzled and could only observe the situation like an outsider. Since when was Aemond interested in her? He did it all only to annoy his brother and to please his mother.

"Thank you?" she said in confusion, releasing her hand from her husband's. Edith cleared her throat and sat down properly.

No one said another word and everyone filled their plates, then the queen said a prayer and made those present join hands.

Before Edith could raise her hand, Helaena had already extended hers and was waiting for the other girl's hand. The two smiled shyly at each other and had a hard time lowering their eyes to concentrate on praying. Edith wasn't a fan of it, but she wanted Alicent's favor, after all, and so she tried even harder than she already did here.

There was silence at the meal and all that could be heard was the clatter of cutlery or the overly dull settling of goblets on the wooden table.

The silence felt like hundreds of knife wounds, but if someone said something, maybe there really would be knife wounds.

But Edith wasn't a fan of that, so she took a chance and started a conversation, but not with the family.

"It tasted delicious again." Said the girl with brownish hair to the servants who were clearing the table. "That's right. Thank you." Otto added with satisfaction. The servants nodded with a smile, finished clearing the table and then quickly left the room.

The two guards at the door couldn't even close the door behind the servants, because two toddlers came rushing into the room, screaming, and behind them two desperate wet nurses ran after them, trying to catch them.

"What is this all about?" asked Alicent immediately, getting up from her chair to get a better look at the children. The queen's father raised his head instead just like the others present in the room.

Edith put a hand over her mouth to hide her laughter. She only loved the children more for this action. At least they lightened the mood, even if everyone else seemed rather annoyed or confused.

Jaehaera and Jaehaerys ran through the dining room with broadly laughing faces and shouting, finally hiding behind the long curtains.

The new princess put her napkin on the table and got up from her table as well. But she did not fret like the queen, but walked with careful steps to the children and hid with them behind the curtain.

"Edith!" someone called, but the called one did not care, nor who called her. Probably it was Aemond. "Stop that!"

Edith, on the other hand, put a finger to her lips and signaled the children to be quiet. The twins mimicked her laughing and then held their little hands in front of their mouths so they wouldn't be heard.

You could hear the three of them anyway, and you could also see their shoes and Edith's skirt, since the curtain didn't reach the floor.

Edith honestly had no plan how to fix this. The children trusted her and seemed to tolerate her presence here behind the curtain. The only question is how long it took before they got bored again.

On the other side of the curtain, people could be heard discussing. Apparently the wet nurses were getting in trouble for not being able to control the twins.

And then, all of a sudden, other sounds could be heard, namely footsteps coming closer and closer, and they didn't sound peaceful at all.

"Catch me!" she whispered unthinkingly to the twins and left the protection of the curtain and moved a few steps away, then turned around.

Aemond stopped in front of her, startled, since he hadn't expected her to come out so quickly. "Stop this nonsense." he said to her quietly, so that only she could hear.

Behind Aemond stood two guards, as well as her uncle Adrik, while the two nurses stood by the hand, keeping their heads down.

And then the twins also came out from behind the curtain.

Edith briefly looked back and then forward again at her husband and made another rash decision, which, however, seemed right to her: Edith lifted her skirt slightly and ran away.

Not only did she run away from the children, but she also somehow ran away from her husband. Of course Jaehaera and Jaehaerys ran after her and so the three of them ran across the room and around the big dining table. As they did so, many pairs of eyes with different emotions followed them.

"Stop it right now!"

"That's enough!"

Edith laughed as the twins chased her. She laughed like she hadn't in a long time, but the others were right, because they had to stop now. After all, she didn't want to gamble it away again.

She stopped and knelt on the ground. Neither Jaehaerys nor his sister had expected her sudden stop, so they both ran uncontrollably into her arms. She quickly put her arms around the little bodies so they wouldn't run away again.

"I got you!" she laughed playfully, kissing first the little girl's forehead and then the little boy's. "You two have made me pretty tired... So we'd better all go to bed now, right?"

The children shook their heads in disappointment. "No." They both said, drawing out the word extra long.

"It's time." Said Helaena in her dreamy voice, holding out a hand to her children. The two still seemed unconvinced, but took their mother's hands.

Edith stood back up with a soft smile and watched the three of them leave the room with the two wet nurses and guards.

Everything in her screamed to run after them, to be with them, but she felt the gloomy eyes of her new husband and his mother on her. It was so uncomfortable that it gave her goose bumps.

She quickly smoothed out her dress and reluctantly sat back down at the table, and Aemond sat back down as well. "Forgive me." Edith said softly, taking a sip to hide her flushed cheeks.

"I never knew you were so good with children." Stated Alicent thoughtfully. She too had her goblet in her hand, which she waved slowly.

The gazes and attention of those present naturally turned to the two women.

"I grew up with a younger brother, then my sisters came along and also Princess Rhaenyra's children. I was always the oldest and took care of a lot." Because she wanted her siblings and cousins to have it better than she did. Edith had never had friends growing up until her siblings were born, but she wouldn't admit that in front of the Greens. "I like kids and the twins like me," she said.

"That's good, nice to hear." Commented Alicent with a smile and a sideways glance at her son Aemond.

The wedding plan had worked, but what would tie Edith to the Greens more than a child from one of their own? The Blacks would never dare attack Edith and her own children. Alicent needed that assurance and Aemond knew it, even if he wasn't willing to make that sacrifice for his mother.

"Ridiculous." Aegon muttered softly into his goblet, which he had only filled repeatedly. He was not drunk yet, but he had already lost track of how much he had drunk today. Nevertheless, since the wedding yesterday, he had not been sober for a second.

As so often, the family ignored the eldest prince and just kept talking. "How was your trip today?" Otto Hightower wanted to know.

Edith's cheeks grew even redder than before and her heart beat faster, as she felt caught. Had she been seen, or had Ser Colin betrayed her? Hesitantly she looked up at the king's hand and was already thinking of an excuse, when fortunately someone else answered.

"It was... exciting. But we should talk about it tomorrow before the council meeting, then I can give you my notes." Lied Prince Daeron. He had indeed done a trip today, a very exciting one. Unfortunately, he had just neglected his actual task and had gone off with his dragon instead. And he hadn't written the notes yet either.

Interested, Edith listened to the two men, but glanced at her napkin as she did so. It was definitely important information, which could be useful. Only, unfortunately, she didn't understand a word of what they were saying.

"I'm curious." Otto replied.

Daeron just nodded with a fake smile, annoyed that he hadn't told a different story. Now he would spend the whole night catching up on the research and writing it down.

Edith would have loved to ask where Daeron had spent the day, but she didn't want to push her luck. She had just gotten carried away - at least that's what she thought the Greens thought.

After that they only talked about trivial things, which Edith wasn't interested in and Aegon wasn't interested either. He quickly left with the excuse to look after Helaena and the children, but everyone knew that his way would lead him somewhere else.

But in fact he really went to his wife.

It hurt again to let him go without looking at him or following him, but that was not even the hardest part of the evening.

Because when Edith and Aemond also got up to go to bed as well, the two were escorted up to their chambers.

***

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

I just love the kids and Edith has such a wonderful connection with them♡

Spoiler: in the next chapter it will be ... Spicy!

Have a good day/a good night♡
See you soon!