KING'S LANDING, 131 AC

Everyone spoke of a feast. But not later than after the ceremony, the people would have noticed that not one of the Targaryen family was celebrating this union.

The freshly wed husband and wife were sitting at the middle of the table, surrounded by their closest family members. Despite the fact they were sitting next to one another, it felt like there was an invisible wall between them. A wall that forbade them to engange in any sort of contact.

Not once had Aegon set his eyes on his wife, rather enjoying to study his goblet and the wine that filled it every now and then until he would drink up the liquid again. Viserra, on the other hand, had not taken her eyes off him, wanting to say a word, but whenever her mouth opened, no words came from her lips.

Many lords and ladies came up to the table to wish the best for the couple, although, it seemed, most of them were just plain words than genuine blessings. While Viserra had tried to thank every single one of them, Aegon had ignored them entirely, or rather, not shown any affection in return and released amused grunts at the lord's jests instead.

It almost felt out of place for Viserra to be in low spirits, the guilt creeping up in her mind that she was doing something wrong, for she still continued convincing herself this was a joyous day, although it wasn't. The laughs around the hall were only an effect from the wine that everyone had consumated, for they had received all drinks for free. And the people were happy when they were given things so much that they almost felt privileged.

Viserra herself was not enjoying her wine, it tasted bitter and dry. Instead of her thirst being quenched, it only intensified. She would not dare to drink more of it, seeing what a big impact it had on her husband, who started looking more and more delighted. His manners worsened with each cup he drank as well as his language becoming less and less understandable. The Serene Princess could only watch as her husband turned from a man into an animal that could not be stopped by anything.

"My Lords and Ladies!" Aegon suddenly jumped up from his seat, shouting across the whole throne hall. "Or Princesses, Princes, Kings, Queens..," he muttered in addition, rubbing his nose as if he was trying to remember why he had risen in the first place. The Prince's small wife had flinched away from him after his shouting. Although moving back to her initial position, she still remained tense, her fear of Aegon's plannings overtaking her mind as she gulped nervously. One moment ago, he had been poking his pork, and suddenly he was speaking to all the people after having ignored most of them when they had intially talked to him.

"Today, we are.. celebrating," he announced with an undertone that suggested Aegon thought of himself to have made the greatest discovery of the day. Prince Jacaerys, seated next to Viserra by her own wish, muttered under his breath, rather annoyed by his uncle's behaviour, "Oh really, celebrating.." That word had been used too often already and all knew it would be a lie to call this day a celebration, yet everyone kept repeating the lie over and over again, hoping it would somehow become true.

"I have married my niece! A custom.. of our.. glorious House Targaryen.. to marry within the family."

Disgust had been present both in his voice and on his face, everyone saw it. And even if Viserra wasn't fond of the marriage either, it still, in a way, hurt to be confronted with such dismissing words. It made her think that Aegon would never show a smallest ounce of sympathy towards her and forever cast her aside.

"It pleases me.. so much..," Aegon wanted to continue, but gulped as he tried to surpress a belch, which he succeeded in only partly. "It pleases me.. especially since everyone here seems to be pleased as well!"

Unusual for him, the prince started laughing at his own jest. Not a single soul was pleased, and he was not blind, he had seen that, but his drunken mind had decided to make it funny, for him at least.

"Aegon!" Queen Alicent whisper-yelled, tugging at his arm in distress, almost waking up the sleeping King Viserys next to her. It was a clear sign for him to stop since most of the people looked upon him rather amused, mostly because he had made a fool of himself, mocking the wedding and his own House.

Viserra remained seated when her husband lowered himself again next to her despite his wish to say more. One could see it in his eyes, the glimmer of wanting to verbalise even more vile things just to improve his own mood while worsening everyone else's.

It was most welcome when Jacaerys tried to brighten up the moment by standing up himself and making a proper toast, praising both Viserra and Aegon for their courage and bidding them luck and happiness in the marriage. Although half of his toast was a lie, Viserra knew that when Jacaerys spoke of her, he spoke the truth. As a thankful gesture she rubbed his arm gently and smiled, genuinely, this time.

Prince Aegon stayed in his chair for as long as possible. He wouldn't even react when the music started playing and people would dance in the great hall, filling it with more chuckles and laughs. The wine was his best companion and he wouldn't leave it for something as stupid as a dance.

But his wife held a completely different opinion. As soon as she heard the first tune, Viserra nearly jumped up in excitement, wanting to dance with the first person that would cross her. Her previously depressed face grew brighter as she rose from her seat for the first time that evening and almost blindly ran into the crowd of people, which nearly caused her to ridicule herself, too.

Jacaerys grabbed her arm gently, yet at the wrong place where the fabrics covered her newest bruises, causing the Serene princess to yelp slightly when she quickly turned to her twin, the brightness vanishing as quickly as it had come.

"They will have one dance and then invite the bride and groom to dance," the older explained calmly and silently, so only she would hear it. The dance of the bride and groom, how could sweet Viserra have forgotten about it?

"Y-yes, right, of course, I forgot, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..," she muttered ashamed, sitting back down as she looked at the ground in embarrassment. Jacaerys shook his head and shifted his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it cautiously this time, for her reaction to his touch had not gone unnoticed and he had instantly understood what it implied.

"I'm sorry, Viserra. He will not be glad to dance with you," Jace elucidated regretfully, knowing the truth of Aegon's thoughts on the dance as everyone else did. He would rather get another cup of wine then make stupid movements in front of everyone, and then with that child Viserra, whom he had to call his wife. It made Jacaerys fill with even more pity for Viserra that she had to be married to such a selfish man.

Indeed, after some time, one of the Lords, Lord Caswell himself, called the bride and groom to the dance floor. He was a kind Lord who had welcomed Rhaenyra's family happily to the Red Keep. Viserra remembered how grateful she was to be greeted by such a good-hearted person and not just the Hand who, surely, would have welcomed them completely differently.

The hall fell silent yet again as everyone's eyes were fixed on the couple. Aegon looked like he didn't even know where he was now, ignoring the Lord's words and looking at the walls and the ceiling of the hall, whereas Viserra leaned her petite hands on the table to support her weight so she could rise from her chair again. Another ridiculous show, how the bride got up on her own before the groom, without his help, and the groom just sat there, mentally somewhere completely else.

Daemon's chuckle could be heard again and it sent a shiver down Viserra's spine, causing her to blink for a little longer. All eyes were on the poor princess when she stood there alone like a fool, silently waiting for Aegon to make any sort of reaction as she tried to push her chair towards the table. But after one shriek sound of its legs the chair gave away, she stopped her movements and blushed even more from embarrassment.

It was that shriek sound that 'woke up' Aegon. Blinking and looking around in confusion, he gave away a simple "What?", receiving nothing but hateful eyes from his mother. Had they not been in public, she would have hit him, surely.

"Get up, Aegon," Alicent scolded him in a whisper-shout yet again, fed up with his irresponsible behaviour. Even if she was not fond of the marriage, she could not afford her oldest son behaving like a stupid boy without any etiquette.

With a loud annoyed grown, the prince slowly rose from his chair, a wonder since he had consumed so many cups of wine one would expect him to fall asleep or, at least, throw up. But neither of those things had happened.

Viserra's eyes set sight on Aegon, watching him cautiously as her cold hands became wet with sweat from the overwhelming feeling of fear that rushed over her because of the whole situation. It seemed as though he would fall on the ground at any moment and it worried the Serene Princess, as she would be completely clueless about what to do.

The prince was rather irritated about the attention his wife was giving him, taking it as some way of her waiting for a moment she could make fun of him rather than a sign of concern. He grunted again as he stood and tipsily walked to the dance floor, passing his mother, his father, his grandsire, Aemond, Helaena and Kermit. Viserra, not knowing it any better, followed behind him instead of going the other way past her brothers, her mother, the twins, and Daemon. Another embarrassing sight for the people, one at which some couldn't contain their laughter. Other people judged them and glared at them so the hall would become silent again.

The bride and groom made their way to the middle of the dance floor and it felt as though Aegon had regained some sort of energy by walking past all the lords who, similarly to him, were not impressed by anything and waited for all of it to end, which made him feel better. At the same time, Viserra was completely lost and the only thing she could do was follow her husband's lead.

Aegon lazily held out his hand for Viserra as it had been his duty, for he knew there was no other way around it. Accept and be done with it, he thought. After the dance he would be able to drink as much wine as he wanted and his only duty for the night would be the bedding, something he could also do while being drunk. He didn't care about the act itself, how Viserra would feel, the act was so simple it didn't require any care. The only thing required was for him to stick it in, leave it in there and eventually remove it.

It was like stepping into the unknown when Viserra's cold and wet hand met her husband's warm hand for a second time after their wedding ceremony in the sept. The Serene Princess had no previous experience with dancing like this, for no one had ever bothered teaching her, let alone asked her for one. Out of nowhere, she felt his hand on her left hip. The unknown touch caused her to shrug while her eyes looked up at him and asked him 'why are you doing this?'

Viserra had been supposed to put her hand on his right shoulder, which she, due to the lack of knowledge, did not do. Aegon rolled his eyes in annoyance, even going as far as to removing his hand from her hip in order to take er hand and place it on his shoulder, showing little concern or care during it. It was an uncalled movement, one that made the Serene Princess almost jump back yet again, but she got together in time to remain steady. His hand wandered back to her hip as they stood in silence, everyone looking at the pair. The musicians waited for their sign to start playing their instruments again.

The dance itself was an embarrassing sight for the people. Viserra stumbled and tripped with every second step she took, with Aegon growing more and more frustrated. The music that had been supposed to show and signify harmony played in more dissonance and gave away terrifying and unsettling sounds. It was anything but enjoying to watch. Another tradition that had been supposed to show the tight bond between husband and wife had proven itself yet again to show the opposite.

If there was any applause, it was one of pity or amusement, or both. But one could be sure it wasn't one of genuine happiness - as was nothing that evening.

After the festivities, the next thing to come was what Viserra feared the most - the bedding ceremony. Not only did the act itself scare her, but also the way everyone seemed to be excited about it. The wine had had its efffect on the people who now simply wanted to satisfy their sexual desires by watching others fulfill the act. With each step the princess took towards the marital chambers, it felt as if she was being smothered. Viserra feared she would not even make it to the chambers with the growing weakness she felt in her legs.

It was as if the Serene Princess had been caught in a void. Everyone else around her was cheering, some had even taken their cups with them and spilled the remaining wine on the walls and floor. It was no surprise Aegon was the loudest, for he had drunk the most amount of wine at the whole wedding.

But Viserra only heard two voices in her own head. 'He will see them, he will do the same thing, he will hurt you, he hates you' the first said, whereas the other contradicted it, 'he has cared for you during your childhood and he will care for you now as well'.

When they entered their marital chambers, Viserra was quick to stumble to the bed but not sit down, simply because she was scared it would be wrong. This was new territory, one wrong step and maybe she would earn a shout, if not even something more harmful. Her glassy eyes wandered to the drunken figure at the doorframe which was practically pushed inside the chambers. The clatter of metal hitting the ground signalled that Aegon had finished his wine.

"Wife," he huffed, walking to a chair and starting to take off his clothes, putting them rather carelessly on it. "Will you not take off your clothes?" he asked, ridiculing her clumsy behaviour while he continued ridding himself of his own clothing. The others had not followed them into the chambers, although one could be sure that the Hand, Ser Otto, was already making his way to the doors to lean his ear close and try to figure out any noise he could.

"My clothes? Oh, I- yes, of course.. how foolish of me," she whispered the end ashamed, trying to understand how she could have been so stupid in the first place to forget about her clothing. But the bruises..

Once Aegon was bare, he made his way over to the Serene Princess and brushed her shoulders with his almost hot hands now. It felt as if they were burning through the dress into Viserra's skin, nearly causing her to flinch at his initial touch.

"What do you-" she wanted to ask, yet when Aegon's hands reached behind her back and searched for the threads that kept her dress together, Viserra understood. It would be him who would undress her, not herself. This scared her only more. Her eyes fluttered in fear as her breath hitched when she felt the dress loosening and the first breeze of air reach her cold skin.

With each thread of the dress that he undid, it felt as if life was slipping away from her hands. Viserra's last remaining strength left her when she felt the unsettling feeling of exposure inside herself. It made her feel as if she would faint any moment. And sensing Aegon's face near her neck with his breath brushing her skin made this moment even more unsettling.

Eventually, the prince's hands unclasped the whole dress. Aegon's hands wandered back up to Viserra's shoulders so he could simply slip off the dress off of her.

He was prepared to see the smallclothes that covered her most womanly parts, he was prepared to see her rather plump body, but he was not prepared for all the bruises he saw. The bruises that grazed her arms, her abdomen, her chest, even her legs, at times. Aegon himself knew how painful bruises were, having received some from his mother. Nonetheless, the amount of bruises brought a small pang to his chest. This was not what he had expected to see that night at all.

Viserra, seeing his uncertain face, that gave the impression that he was comteplating whether to add more bruises and where to add them, grabbed his arms quickly and shook her head pleadingly. "Please, do not add to them... please..," she almost begged. The princess would have even fallen on her knees if need be if she would only know that her husband would not inflict such pain on her.

But all that Aegon did was stepping back in confusion as Viserra's hands dropped. He was aware that he would not know Viserra as much as he had when they had been younger. The fact he knew less than he had thought to made the prince rethink this whole situation again. It did not make sense. How could such a happy and innocent child like Viserra be marked with such horrors of the cruel world?

"Why would I?" he asked dismissingly, turning away from her to look at their marital bed for a moment. Aegon did not want to do this. After seeing these markings he did not wish to speak with the girl at all for all his confidence had vanished. Despite his drunken state, the boy could easily recognise when something wasn't right. And not everything was right with Viserra, he felt it. Yet again, Aegon was too drunk to put any further thought to it.

"Do I have a reason to? Have you been.. ruined? Your little flower..? Are you not pure?" he elaborated his questions, his tone giving the impression that he did not care, when in reality the prince was just too drunk to properly analyse anything, causing his tiredness to appear as carelessness.

The Serene Princess looked up at him, her arms wandering up to hug herself for reassurance so she would not panic right here and then. Of course, she was pure, but the way Aegon spoke made her even doubt the circumstances she knew to be true. Thinking of a proper reply while trying to make herself believe his supposed assurances he would not harm her caused Viserra to frown and stutter.

"I am a maiden.. I truly am, husband.. I just, I-"

"Get on the bed so we are done with it sooner," he simply spat, his circling thoughts tormenting him. Aegon did not wish to think of the mystery surrounding Viserra, all he wanted was to sleep.

"Will it.. will it hurt?" Viserra only whispered fearfully, obeying her husband unconditionally because of her circling fear that he was lying to her. Even when she crawled onto the bed, she could feel his eyes on her, how he watched her every move.

"It will.. if you try to escape it.. but if you accept it, you might not even feel anything", Aegon's voice softened out of pity which lasted for only a few seconds. His mind was racing, he wanted these images out of his head, he didn't want to see any of her blue spots, for they would remind him of his own. But he couldn't escape his duty, not this time. To make himself feel better, he would simply pretend she was his favourite whore. And if the prince looked closer at his wife, he could notice some slight similarities between his favourite whore and her.

Ser Otto Hightower would, indeed, seek out the door of the marital chambers and remain there until he heard noises, screams, moans, groans - anything that would indicate the act was being completed. And when his ears had been satisfied enough, he left the corridor to return to the tower of the Hand.