✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: - :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: - :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧
𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘦𝘺- 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭
✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: - :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: - :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

The Royal Guard had escorted the Lady and the Prince back to the Red Keep and had immediately returned to their proper task when the two wanted were in the Queen's chambers.

Edith had thought she was uncomfortable on the way here, but now in front of the Queen she was really uncomfortable and frankly a bit afraid. With the queen was, as expected, her sworn protector Adrik Tyrell - Edith's uncle. Also with them were Helaena, Daeron and Aegon.

The girl was even more worried now, especially about her family in Dragonstone, and she felt sick. Had something happened?

"Where were you?" Adrik was the first to say something in the room. Edith only knew him from childhood, before he and her mother had to take different sides. So the man was familiar to her, and yet he was so foreign to her, because she couldn't size him up or judge him at all. But at that moment, with that worried voice, he reminded her a lot of her mother Aruna.

"In the dragon pit. I wanted to see the dragons." She answered her uncle honestly, looking into his typical blue Tyrell eyes.

Edith did not dare to look around the room. She was already back somewhere in a strange room in the Red Keep, where she would not be able to find her way back to her room without help. Aemond had sat down on an armchair and taken some wine, as well as his older brother, who was watching the girl anxiously. Helaena and Daeron sat across from them on a sofa. The youngest prince had stretched his legs on the table in front of it and seemed bored and about to fall asleep, while his sister the princess held a piece of cloth in her hand and embroidered. Only Alicent, Adrik and Edith were standing.

"You were gone for hours without telling us. We sent out a search for you!" Adrik's mood changed from worried to pissed off. Edith had never seen him like this. Nor had she believed he could ever care about her. That he was now angry with her, however, was not so surprising.

"I didn't know I had to tell you that I was signing off." Edith defended herself, arms folded in front of her chest. She hadn't had a chance to freshen up or change, and her hair was also falling out of her braid in strands by now. Secretly, she was glad to have her knee-length robe on so her broken blouse wouldn't be seen, because that would only make people wonder. "On the way to the pit I passed a lot of guards. No one stopped me or looked at me once."

Alicent puffed and gave Adrik a meaningful sideways glance. "From now on you have to inform us or the guards will stop you." The queen decided seriously, walking towards the girl. "You could have been harmed otherwise." Added Alicent now much more calmly.

"I thank you for your concern, but there is no need for that, my queen, my dear uncle." Edith looked at both of them once and bowed her head respectfully. She felt no sense of guilt or anything of the sort. In her eyes she had done nothing wrong. What she felt was wrong was to let Alicent show them up in front of the princes and the princess.

Adrik snorted and turned his head toward the window. "These beasts are dangerous, Edith. I don't want you going down there alone again." He asked her still in a sour tone, but you could also hear some concern again.

Edith felt really touched, but his titling of the beautiful dragons was inappropriate. "I wasn't alone...Aemond was there." Edith opined. He had also been in the dragon pit and she didn't want to be the only one getting trouble.

Now everyone in the room perked up and looked at the prince with the eye patch. "Why were you the one who was with her?" Aegon joined in the conversation and eyed his younger brother. You could see that Aegon was not happy about this new information.

"I didn't ask her to follow me into the pit like a stray. She was there and she didn't leave." Aemond explained himself, looking contemptuously at the youngest in the room. Edith should have gotten used to it after all these years, but it still hurt her. Every time.

"Aemond." Alicent urged her son. The queen had her hands clasped together and was looking at the floor, part-nameless, just like her daughter Helaena. Just at that moment, the resemblance of the two could be seen.

"You should be glad that I was there! Without me, Myrax would have burned you to the bone!" Edith didn't want to raise her voice, but she couldn't help it at the disrespect she was getting.

Now everyone looked at the lady in shock and Alicent also woke up from her stupor, her guard Adrik put a hand on Edith's shoulder to calm her down.

"How could you!"

"I told you to stay away from those beasts!"

"If Edith hadn't been there, everything would have been fine." Aemond snorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"You exposed her to danger!" interfered Helaena in the conversation in her quiet voice, but no one listened to her and the Targaryens continued talking loudly.

With her words, Edith stirred up a discussion and those present in the room talked loudly and in confusion until Adrik spoke up and drew attention to himself. "Everyone, please calm down."

Alicent stroked her face in exhaustion. You could see the fear she had for her son. In her eyes, he was spending too much time with these animals, and because of Vhagar's claim, her poor boy had already lost an eye. She didn't want to know what the dragons would do to him on a bad day, when already the humans were doing such terrible things.

Adrik put a hand on his niece's back and looked at her urgently. "Please promise me you'll take better care of yourself, Edith. Think of your mother." He talked to her almost affectionately.

Edith couldn't suppress wincing briefly as Adrik placed a hand on her back. Despite the thick fabric of her robe, his hand pressed painfully on one of her abrasions. "I will, Uncle." She promised him. It was one of the few times she actually called him her uncle and it seemed to touch him because instantly he had to smile.

"What happened to your back?" asked Aegon seriously. Of course, her flinch had not escaped him, as he watched her intently like a predator watches its prey.

Edith sighed inwardly. "Nothing. I was just startled." lied the girl.

Adrik's smile then disappeared as quickly as it had come, believing her lie and thinking he had hurt her unintentionally. Everyone seemed to believe her. Everyone except Aegon, who now stood up and walked over to her. "I'll believe you when I see it."

The prince stood in front of her and pulled open the laces of her upper robe. Edith was frozen for a short moment and full of shock, because she couldn't believe what he just did here in front of all those present! "There's nothing there, Aegon!" She put her hands around his wrists and tried to push him away from her. She didn't want to be exposed under any circumstances.

"Aegon! Let go of the girl!" Alicent suddenly stood beside the two of them and protectively the queen pushed herself between her son and Edith. Her face was all pale and seemed quite concerned despite her anger. Almost as if this was not the first time she had had to do this.

The prince lowered his arms and did not look at his mother, but looked at the lady. The girl with whom he felt so safe and natural for some incomprehensible reason. "Please show me your back, Edith." He asked her in a gentle voice.

Not only his mother was surprised by his unknown gentle manner, which suddenly seemed to be full of feelings.

Edith's heart almost melted at his soft violet eyes and she found it hard to stand firm.

"Edith... please show me your back." Alicent asked the young girl. She was still the queen and so Edith could not deny her the wish and nodded. The older woman stepped behind the girl, who stripped off her top robe until she was standing in the room in only her dirty white blouse with holes in it and dark pants.

"Who did this?" the woman with brown hair now asked, but no emotion could be heard on her face or in her voice. Edith's gaze fell to the floor ashamed, since the answer would have been herself. Aegon now stepped behind the girl as well and looked at the broken blouse and the abrasions under there. "Was it Aemond?" asked Aegon.

Edith shook her head and quickly put her robe back on before anyone else came to stare at her. "No. I was too close to Myrax, who was in terrible pain. It was my own fault." Explained Edith softly.

"Your mother asked me to take care of you. How am I going to explain this to her?" Adrik looked at his niece, stunned. He and Aegon acted as if her injury was life-threatening, but with the right ointment, the wounds would be gone in a few weeks. "Nothing happened and I'm fine. It doesn't hurt either unless someone presses on it." Edith said and looked at her uncle at her second sentence. The latter immediately lowered his shoulders and he seemed to calm down again. Perhaps he was feeling guilty, too.

"Have you received a letter from Mother yet?" asked Edith now, trying to change the subject. She had been here for several days and still had not received a letter from home and thus no answer to her own letter. Slowly the girl began to worry.

To her relief, Adrik nodded. "A package arrived for you this morning." He told her and then extended his hand to her. Edith placed her hand in her uncle's and let him lead her to a couch at the other end of the large room. The queen and her children remained seated at the front of the room. Aegon had not said another word since her response to the wounds and now stood with a goblet of wine in front of one of the large windows.

Adrik seemed to have stored the package here in this room for some inexplicable reason, as they sat he handed it to her. "It arrived by a carrier." Explained the Tyrell with dark hair to her.

Before Edith opened it, she looked carefully at every corner of the package, but the paper and the bow seemed untouched. So no one had opened the little package and looked inside. Edith did not know whether this was supposed to be a sign of trust or not. In any case, she was still suspicious when she opened the brown paper and the bow.

As she had wished, there was a crocus bulb inside, which she had mentioned as a metaphor in her letter. It was to symbolize that her parents gave her the time she needed which she had asked for. She was glad that her mother had understood her and had sent roots to her as a camouflage. Under the flower roots lay a letter with her name and already by the handwriting she recognized the writing of her half sister Rhaena - not that of her parents.

„Dear Daughter, Dear Sister,
We hope you are well in the capital and the package finds its way to you.
I, your sister Rhaena, am writing on behalf of your mother and our father. I want to be honest and tell you that the stars are not good for us at the moment.
On your brother Cassian's name day a few days ago, Aruna started having contractions, which unfortunately continue to this day. The maesters are at a loss as to why the birth is taking so long.

I don't want to scare you, because we and the maesters have everything under control, but I think it is important that you know. Even though I am not supposed to write this.

We all hope very much for your quick return home. Perhaps the queen and king will allow this to happen? We would all be very happy and I think this would also tame Aruna's many worries.

Please be safe and take care of yourself. We will hear from each other soon and I hope your crocus is developing well.

Love, your sister Rhaena."

Edith felt sick and would have preferred to vomit.

Her mother was not well and had been in labor for days and her sister wrote to her instead of her parents. Why Daemon didn't write to her, she was then quite puzzled, but the concern for her mother was greater.

Adrik had read the letter over Edith's shoulder. She didn't know if he understood the hidden message - after all, he was a Tyrell like her mother.

"Is she going to die?" Edith's voice broke with pain and despair. She looked helplessly at her uncle as her question caused frightened stares. "Who?" asked Queen Alicent, rising from her seat to go to the young girl. Edith didn't have to answer her, because on Alicent's face you could see that she suspected.

"Your mother is a strong woman, something like that won't kill her." Adrik tried to cheer her up, but he too was worried about his sister Aruna.

Edith blinked away the tears in her eyes and took a deep breath, trying not to cry out of despair. She was glad that Rhaena had informed her about it, but she didn't know how to deal with it. How could she possibly help her mother when she was so far away?

The girl handed the letter to the queen so she could read it herself, then looked to her uncle with her wide eyes. "I have to go to her." She said resolutely, then turned her eyes to Alicent pleadingly. "Please let me travel to her, your Grace. I beg you."

Compassionately the older woman looked at the young lady and at that moment she saw so much in her of her old friend Aruna. For her sake alone, she would let her travel and even accompany her, but she could not. The risk was too great that Edith would never come back to King's Landing, and she needed the girl. She needed to connect with her old friend, since she was still mourning that friendship.

"I'm afraid I can't let that happen." Replied Alicent seriously, her heart aching as she did so.

Edith's eyes immediately filled with tears again at the rejection. She had guessed it, but she had hoped for a different answer. "My Queen..." she began in a shaky voice and slowly got up from the sofa. "I ask you... and I promise to return. I must go to her."

The four royal children had their eyes fixed on the two women, watching the scene intently. While Daeron and Aemond were rather less interested, their sister felt for the lady and Aegon would have loved to put her on his dragon and fly off with her - she already had that much power over him.

"I'm sorry, but you heard the queen." Adrik obliged Alicent.

Edith couldn't believe what she was hearing. Again, he was on her side. "She's your sister who could die!" She was now standing between the two adults, suddenly feeling very small, but she couldn't let it go and had to get it off her chest.

But her accusation fell on deaf ears with him and Edith had to sigh in disappointment. Her heart was all heavy and full of worry and she was more desperate than ever. She loved her mother so much and she was ready to do anything for her, as Aruna would do for her daughter. Aruna had always fought for Edith and she would do the same.

"I will do anything you wish if you let me stay with her and my family for a few days." Said the girl with brownish hair then with conviction, although she was very afraid of the consequences. "Send me to Dragonstone with guards, or with your sons, who will bring me back here." She then suggested.

Alicent said nothing and Adrik was not authorized to determine anything.

"I can go with her, mother. I've always wanted to see Dragonstone!" Helaena said to her mother in a soft and dreamy voice. The young princess wanted to help her friend and get up, but before she could do that, her mother spoke.

"You will not." Answered Alicent firmly and then turned her back to her children and Edith as she took a few steps across the room, her hands on her hips. Despite the distance, you could hear her sigh. She was really struggling with herself, but she had to think before she agreed to anything, but Alicent would never send her own daughter with Edith alone. In fact, Alicent could only ask for one thing and she had already done that once. "I'll let you go.... If you marry one of my sons as soon as you get back here. Without argument and I'll decide which one."

Edith's eyes widened and, startled, she stared at the queen's back. Although it had been a condition for her to be here to get information, she had firmly believed that she could prevent a wedding.

But this now seemed inevitable.

"I will, Your Grace." She agreed with Alicent with a great deal of effort. She definitely did not want to get married, but she would never be allowed to go to Dragonstone to be with her family if she did not agree to it.

She just hoped she had made the right decision. Maybe her father would find a way out if she was with him. After all, her father is still Daemon Targaryen the rude prince.

Surprised, Alicent turned and eyed the young girl, as she had not thought she would agree. "Aemond and Daeron will accompany you." She then decided and looked at her two youngest sons - the ones she trusted the most.

"Mother, please reconsider. I am needed here in King's Landing. Myrax-" began Aemond. However, he was quickly interrupted by Alicent. "That's what dragon keepers are for. You two fly with her to Dragonstone. I don't want any talk back."

This day was full of surprises and new revelations, and everyone in the room didn't know what else was going to happen. But it was obvious that their two oldest children were hurt. "Why not me?" asked Aegon pissed off, standing up again with his wine goblet in hand.

Alicents looked from her youngest to her oldest son, curious now. "Why do you want to go to Dragonstone?" she wanted to know and Edith also looked curiously at Aegon.

"I'm the oldest." Aegon's reasoning was the stupidest ever, but he didn't want to admit his feelings for the girl. Not in front of his mother, who would take advantage of this information. "And someone has to make sure everyone gets back alive."

"Aemond will make sure of that. You stay here with Helaena and me." Alicent's voice refused to disagree, but Aegon wouldn't be Aegon if he didn't disagree anyway. "Aemond will be the reason they all don't come back alive." Retorted the eldest prince. His brother gave him only an angry sideways glance with his one eye. He was the last to want to go to Dragonstone for a woman who might not survive childbirth. He didn't want to be near Edith either - absolutely not.

Daeron, on the other hand, was looking forward to the trip. As the youngest, he was the runt of the litter and Alicent's favorite child, but that was definitely because of his real father. Adrik Tyrell and not Viserys Targaryen. But the dark-haired prince didn't want to marry either, in fact no one in the room here did.

Except maybe one.

"I have made my final decision and Lady Edith has agreed. Don't you dare question my decision. Your brothers will look after her and she will look after your brothers." She said firmly, but recognized the irony in her words as she spoke them, but didn't let on. None of the three would look out for the other. Not by choice.

"None of my brothers want to accompany them willingly! I am Aegon Targaryen. Second of my name. You gave me the name, my destiny, and yet you do not trust me." Argued Aegon with his mother. The two had been enemies since his birth, because this had stolen her youth. They could not live with each other, but neither could they live without each other. "Neither of them wants to marry her...but I would. I would do my duty and reunite our families."

With his words, he had now rendered everyone speechless and all eyes were on him. Not only his mother doubted his sanity more than ever.

Edith found no words for the whole situation. Her mother was perhaps dying and here they were debating about her future. The girl would do anything just to be allowed to fly away immediately, but no one wanted to accompany her voluntarily. She didn't need an escort, but she wouldn't contradict the queen - not anymore.

"How do you imagine it? You're already married to Helaena. Have you even thought for a second about her feelings?" Aemond defended his sister and his brother's wife. Unintentionally and subconsciously, he was also trying to protect Edith from marrying Aegon as he should have done for Helaena.

"I would like to know that too." Daeron obliged him. A big grin could be seen on his face. The whole situation amused him a bit after all, which is why he slid curiously back and forth in his seat.

"Aegon the Conqueror also had two wives." Aegon justified his claim. His first marriage had been an obligation, an order from his mother. This marriage...it could be so different.

"I wouldn't mind. I like Edith, Mother." Helaena agreed with her husband in her soft voice.

Edith almost dropped her eyes from her head or choked on her tongue. Aegon wanted to marry her and announced it in front of his whole family! And Helaena did not mind. It was a strange feeling and at the same time it was so pleasant to be wanted.

"But you are not Aegon the Conqueror, my son. You are already married. There is no need to discuss it any further. Aemond and Daeron will accompany her and I will determine who will be her husband." Alicent got an approving nod from Adrik and that made Edith nauseous. She felt abandoned.

"And what if I want that?" asked Edith cautiously.

Alicent had no nerves left and it showed. Her skin was all pale and an angry vein could be seen on her forehead. Not only the country and the responsibility were getting her down, but now also her children and her old friend's child.

"Okay." Sighed the queen annoyed and closed her eyes for a moment to take a deep breath. "You decide. You can marry Aegon... or you can fly to your mother right now. One or the other."

***

a tough decision!

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