KING'S LANDING, 132 AC

Viserra's room had never been that flooded with people. Grand Maester Orwyle, Queen Alicent and Ser Otto stood at one side of the bed while Lady Maerie, Ser Armond and Prince Aegon stood at the other. The princess herself sat on the bed, a blanket wrapped around her fragile body to keep the invisible ants from crawling beneath her skin.

Anyone who believed that the inquiry had ended back in the hallways of the Red Keep could not be further away from the truth. The incident had left people split into two groups, one that thought Viserra had gone to the brothel to pleasure herself off a man and one that was convinced the princess went to a brothel, unknowing of the terrors inside.

"Viserra, tell us what happened again," Queen Alicent asked calmly while stroking the princess' arm. Despite her kindness, she was just curious about whether the girl was as naive as she imagined.

Aegon was ready to interrupt his wife the moment she would open her mouth. Not being able to stand another of her pathetic lies, he wanted everyone to hear the truth.

No surprise to Maerie, the only thing that happened with Viserra was that her lips trembled. All the princess could do was stare at a point in front of her and pace back and forth. She expected the man to appear from under her bed at any moment, praying to the gods he would not. The man waslong gone, but maybe he had followed her and was still here.

"Your Grace, she is in distress.Perhaps you could continue your inquiry later," Maerie tried to reason with the Queen. The handmaiden recognised her friend's behaviour, assuming that Viserra did not even hear the words spoken around her, let alone register the people that stood at her bedside.

"Later, she might have forgotten what happened," Ser Otto quickly contradicted the lady.

"It's obvious what happened! She broke her oath of faithfulness!" Aegon shouted. Had his grandsire not glared at him, he would have accused his wife of even worse things.

"We have heard enough from you already," the Hand spoke, his undertone threatening. If the prince continued insulting his wife, the girl would close herself off completely and keep everything to herself. This had to be avoided at all costs, for the princess held knowledge the Hand and the Queen desperately wished to have for themselves.

"I don't want to—" Viserra muttered, her words louder than the previous mumbles. But just as her thought had formed, it vanished again, cutting off her sentence as soon as she had taken it into her mouth. The Serene Princess looked up at her husband, silently pleading for help as though he knew what she had meant to say.

"Just Aegon," she mumbled even quieter than before, her eyes still resting on Aegon. Why was he not helping her? All he did was stare in disgust, resulting in her eyes wandering down to look at the sheets again. The ants returned, continuing to torture the kind girl who had prayed for hope and yet been denied it.

"I'm not talking to her," Aegon replied dismissively, Alicent's eyes piercing him as they always did.

It was odd that, although Aegon had grown used to his mother's ways of scolding him, every time her eyes stung him, he felt this tug in his heart —as if he was about to be torn to shreds. Every time he spoke his mind, he was criticised. Every time he did something he wanted, he got yelled at. Every time he tried to excuse himself, his mother's hand met his cheek. And every single time something happened, it hit him harder. The prince would not be surprised if he had no heart left, for his mother and grandsire always shot arrows into it. But if he was heartless, he would be blamed for it again.

All this time he had sought for a curing potion to heal his heart, but instead he was only poisoned more. So he resorted to the activities that required no heart, drinking and fucking. Who cared how big your heart was when it was the size of the cock that mattered?

"We will speak to the Princess later," Alicent announced after a short moment, her eyes commanding not only her son to remain, but also for everyone else to exit the chambers. Perhaps she would appear sympathetic in Viserra's eyes for this if she followed her request.

Since Aegon's first protest had changed nothing, the prince did not start another one. He was cursed to stay behind with his whiny wife that only knew two ridiculously unreasonable emotions – excessive happiness and excessive sadness. It almost felt as if she woke up and flipped a coin for the day to decide whether she would be joyful or depressed.

When only husband and wife were in the chambers, Aegon quickly sought a pitcher of wine in his mother's absence. If no one saw the crime, he could not be accused of such. The princess only followed her husband with her eyes, too occupied with stopping herself from shedding more tears to tell him anything.

The tension between the two did not bother the prince as long as he could drink wine. Feeling the sweet liquid on his lips brought the man the comfort he craved from his mother. Mayhaps his heart was better left poisoned than struck with another arrow.

With a goblet in his left hand, Aegon started exploring his wife's chambers. At this point, everything was more interesting than conversing with Viserra who, most likely, could still not speak properly.

His eyes grew curious when he noticed an open letteron the table. Viserra bit her lower lip in embarrassmentwhen her husband stopped in his tracks. It had been the letter Jace had sent to her a few days ago. Reading the words had brought the girl comfort, hence why it laid open for her to see. Only, everyone else who invited themselves to read it, would be able to as well.

"That is private," the princess stuttered, not wanting for him to read the lines that had been meant for her exclusively. Jace had spoken of the bruises, of Daemon, even of Aegon himself. Despite having seen her bruises when they were wed, he had probably forgotten about them by now. But if he was to be reminded of them again, perhaps he would seek out to mark Viserra himself.

"Do you think I care what your little princeling writes to you?" Aegon snapped back, although the opposite was the case. His eyes were fixed on the written words like they contained the curing recipe for his heart.

If Aegon hits you, I will tell mother and she will get you back to Dragonstone. I know Daemon is here, but I will make sure he never lays a hand on you again.

The Prince scoffed when he read the first sentence. Hitting his wife?What a ridiculous thought. Aegon was glad when he didn't see Viserra and even when he did, he tried to avoid her. But what did he have to do with Daemon? It was not like he shared any common interests with his uncle, except for brothels, perhaps.

"You looked at it long enough to recognise it is a letter from Jace," Viserra responded, her offence towards Aegon finally coming to light. Why was he not kind to her the way he had been when they were children? She had always read to him when he had abandoned his studies, always excused him when he had avoided another lesson. Sometimes, Aegon had squeezed her hand as a silent "thank you".

"I am your husband. I am allowed to do as I please with you," Aegon grumbled visibly disgusted with Viserra's gnawing.

"But I am not?" the girl's small voice questioned, not sarcastically, but rather out of sheer curiosity. The last time Viserra had done something for Aegon, it had ended with him dismissing her present and calling it ugly.

"Why can you just look at my things and when I do the same you yell at me?" Viserra elaborated, unwantedly amusing her husband with these words.

"I didn't tear apart your pitiful letter. You, however, ruined my tunic," the prince replied carelessly.

"I didn't ruin it!" the princess snapped back, jumping out of the bed to make her way to Aegon. Viserra did not even care to wipe away her tears, she simply stared at the prince, almost angrily.

When a lamb slept, people could do whatever they wanted with it. Move it around, cut it, laugh at it, and the lamb would not even notice, continuing to dream in its own world. But once the lamb awoke and saw the damage, it would be hurt and angry.

The abruptness of Viserra's actions didn't give Aegon enough time to react properly when the goblet almost fell out of his hand. But as quickly as Viserra had raised her voice at him, she took a step back and looked fearfully at him once more.

"Are you that weak that you grow frightened of yourself after you raise your voice at someone for the first time?" the prince asked with a huff, even further amused by his wife's weird ways.

Instead of replying, the Serene Princess whimpered, her left hand grabbing a hold of one of the pillars that decorated her bed to support her weight, whilst her right hand wandered to her belly.

Misunderstanding her body language, Aegon was brave enough to make another snarky comment. "Was his cock so big it pains you?"

With every word that came from her husband's mouth, Viserra's pain increased. All the insults had finally given Aegon a reaction, something he had so desperately desired to see. When he pushed someone so hard they snapped back, the prince felt some sort of authority, as if he shot one of the arrows out of his heart into Viserra's. But this reaction was nothing like the one he had expected.

The little lamb was too weak to help itself when it had been trampled by so many. All it could do was hope for another to find it and bring it somewhere safe.

And this other would be Grand Maester Orwyle. Even if Viserra had hoped for it to be Aegon, the perfect image of him crumbled inside of her mind, the thorns of his rose piercing her skin, no matter how hard she tried to touch the stem in between the thorns to admire the petal.

The Maester had been ordered by Queen Alicent to inspect Viserra, mayhaps even brew moontea to prevent a bastard from growing inside the bastard mother. While he was sure to ask the princess about the incident, he wanted to wait before preparing the tea in case another seed had taken fruit.

As he entered her chambers, Viserra's sight alarmed Orwyle immediately. The girl had fallen to her knees from the pain with her husband only watching in disgust. Rushing over to the princess, the Grand Maester was quick to question her.

"What is wrong, Princess?"

Looking at the man that had knelt down to be on her eye level, Viserra's eyes saddened as she realised it was not Aegon.

"She overdid the deed with another man, have you forgotten?" Aegon muttered under his breath as he turned away to take another sip of the wine, the only thing that made it possible to bear the presence of the pathetic girl he had to call his wife.

"I am sure the Princess knows better than you do, my prince," Orwyle chose not to ignore the insult, seeing how Viserra's pained expression had only grown more tortured.

In the absence of a response to his question, the Grand Maesterlifted her gown ever so slightly to imply what he was going to ask for.

"May I, Princess? To ensure I know what is troubling you," he elaborated, hoping that Viserra would put enough trust into him that he would do nothing but his duty as a Maester.

"You will not hurt me?" the small voice asked, broken from the impacts of other voices, especially those inside her head.

"Quite the opposite, Princess. My duty is to make sure that when you are hurt, you recover," the Grand Maester responded gently. It was not difficult for him to understand that he had to be patient and gentle with Viserra.

When she granted access, Orwyle tried to be as careful as possible, remembering the Queen's orders in the back of his head that he were to see if Viserra had been involved in sinful activities not long ago.

The Grand Maester was quick to exclude that possibility when he took a close look at the Princess. But it was not an answer to her stomach ache.

"When have you last bled?" Orwyle interrupted the tense silence as he palpated her belly. It was slightly swollen, but that could be for multiple reasons, not only because of a growing child.

The question got the Serene Princess thinking for a few seconds. She had actually forgotten about the last time she had stained her smallclothes with the red liquid that reminded her of her duty as a woman.

"I... I do not recall... having bled here in King's Landing... only shortly before the wedding..." the girl muttered, fearing it to be a bad thing. She had heard that some women did not bleed at all, making them unable to bear children.

Perhaps the gods had cursed her to such.

"Does that mean I can not bear children?" Viserra asked, suddenly scared of the thought that she would never see a small babe born from her. Rhaenyra had often told her how children had made her life more complete and how they had given her a bigger purpose. The heir to the Iron Throne had always wished for Viserra to find that happiness she had found from her children as well, for her only girl deserved it more than anyone else.

But when Grand Maester Orwyle shook his head, Viserra's mind grew only blurrier from the fog of riddles.

"Quite the opposite, Princess. I think you are with child," he buried her fears to the ground with mere words. But new fears arose from the pits of doubt as the princess looked over at Aegon who had nearly choked on his wine.

His wife, the stupid little girl who tried to follow him like a dog, was with child. And if the gods were cruel, it was his child. They had been cruel already to have him marry her, so why not burden the prince with something else? A child was the least he wanted. He probably had so many children one couldn't count them on one hand, but Aegon didn't care about them, as he didn't for their mothers.

It would be no different with Viserra. Aegon saw no need to walk around with a small human that was only capable of puking and crying. How could anyone wish for such a thing? And yet, his mother had told him how Helaena had given birth to a healthy boy a few days ago.

"I shall inform the Queen of these news. She will be glad to know her eldest son will be a father," Grand Maester Orwyle announced as he lowered Viserra's garments again and stood up, offering the princess a hand so she could rise as well.

"You have to rest, Princess," he added, but the princess was too caught up thinking about what had just been said. She was with child. A babe was growing inside her, a new life was working its way through and one day it would see the day as she did. And it would be her babe.

Viserra remembered having looked after Aegon, her half-brother, when he had only been a newborn. He had been such a pure creature, even if he had cried sometimes. It had been so fascinating for Viserra how simply life was created, her mother having already been blessed with six children.

"A child," the girl muttered, the purity in her voice as well as her innocent expression reminiscent of an angel. Despite being a child herself, having merely met the age of five and ten, the princess spoke with such fondness of having one of her own.

After remaining in place and not lying down on the bed as the Grand Maester had suggested, Aegon found the courage to let another poisonous insult defile the sacred place of his wife.

"Do you think she is strong enough to bear a child yet?"

As Grand Maester Orwyle ignored the sarcastic question, using the fact he helped the princess climb into her bed, Aegon saw no more use to stay in these chambers that were all too clean and decent to him. Without a further insult, although the prince had wished for his mind to form another, he left to find his own chaotic chambers.

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In most cases, the hunter had to set a trap for its prey, might it be a piece of cheese if you tried to catch a rat or a maggot when you wanted to catch a bird. And yet there were cases when the prey came to the hunter willingly, thinking the predator to be a friend. A lamb would come to the butcher, thinking he was about to embrace it. But as soon as the butcher had his arms around the small being, he revealed the knife under his sleeve and sliced the throat of the little lamb open.

When Viserra thought she had no friends left inside the Red Keep, she was reminded of Aemond's existence. Her uncle had helped her when she had come for advice, even if it had brought her into a dangerous situation, but the girl didn't blame him. She never blamed anyone but herself. Surely, Aemond couldn't have known of the people's cruelties, for he was not cruel himself.

Unable to find rest as the weight grew heavy on her shoulder, Viserra sought relief in her uncle's chambers. The Princess had not wanted to disturb her handmaiden, for she had heard of her plans to visit Kermit and Viserra had no wish to interrupt the preparations for her department.

Surprisingly, the girl was let into the chambers of her uncle without any obstructions. It had almost seemed like Aemond had been waiting for her, as his eye widened like that of the hunter when he had his prey in clear sight. Only Viserra did not even notice it as her eyes were fixed on the ground.

"You seem unhappy. The whole keep has heard news of you being with child and yet you seem to be the least satisfied about it." The one-eyed prince observed his niece, rising from his chair to take a better look at her. He took a few steps towards her so he was close enough to lift her chin with his fingers.

Instantly, Viserra wanted to jump back from the sudden touch, but Aemond's grip was strong, keeping her in place.

"Why is that?" he inquired, before letting go of her and walking back to his seat.

Even if one disliked Aemond, one could not deny that he had a sharp mind. Viserra was so fragile she would probably fall apart from the slightest breeze. But that was exactly what the prince needed, so he could repair her to his own liking.

It didn't take long for the princess to shed a tear. After all, the pressure on her shoulders had never been as high as at that point, two metal hands trying to force her down to her knees, if not even through the ground so she would eventually bury herself under the earth.

If he hadn't been in need of gaining her trust, the prince would have smirked. But, alas, the princess would leave as quickly as she had come if she saw anything that resembled satisfaction in her own suffering.

"He hates me, doesn't he?" the girl asked cautiously, him being no other than her husband, who was strolling through the secret passageways at that very moment to remain undetected in his search for more wine.

The revelation of Viserra being with child had caused an odd reaction inside of him. A part of Aegon felt the need to talk to her, while the other, more assertive side of him, wanted to get rid of her. If he had the power, he would banish her somewhere far away where he could never see her again and continue with his disgraceful life without being followed everywhere he went.

Aemond played dumb, tilting his head as if he were confused by her question.

"Aegon," Viserra added, her fingers playing with one another, unconsciously hoping they would calm the brewing storm inside her. A tear ran down her cheek, tickling the skin beneath it, but she tried to ignore it, to pretend she was not crying, or else that one tear would turn her into a sobbing mess again.

It was not enough for the prince. He decided to push her further, but gently, like a friend would. After all, he was her friend, in Viserra's eyes. Their friendship reached back to when they both were dragonless children. But now, Aemond rode the largest dragon alive while Viserra rode the smaller beast Silverwing, even if the dragon was still large. No dragon could match the size of Vhagar, as could no man match Aemond's ferocity.

"Take a seat, Viserra," his gentle voice luredhis prey into his territory. And the prey did as he had asked.

While Viserra had not received the comfort and kindness she had so desperately desired from Aegon, Aemond was more than willing to give it to her. But Viserra did not know that his apple was rotten. And after the tears had numbed her taste, she would not even recognise it and swallow it like it was good.

"Now, tell me, why would you think he hates you?" The one-eyed prince stared at his niece, offering a small smile to ease her worries.

Not later than when Viserra sighed, Aemond knew that she had fallen into his trap. Now he had to make sure she stayed there.

"He is not happy that I am with child, nor that I went to the brothel," the princess slowly revealed her concerns, her eyes too frightened of her uncle's judgement to face him, hence why they were fixed on her fingers that became more and more aggressive with one another.

"Not everyone knows to value your efforts," Aemond admitted, looking at the fireplace for a moment before continuing his inquiry.

"Did he say something to you?"

The prince sought an opportunity for the girl to cry so he would be able to pull her into his arms. If that happened, he could be more than sure that she would stay in the trap he had set for her.

"He— he said I was a—" Viserra tried to remember the name he had called her, for it had been an unfamiliar one.

As the girl shook her head in confusion, Aemond sought to help her with her struggle.

"A maggot, rat, whore, bast—"

"A whore!" Viserra exclaimed, her undertone implying she was proud of remembering the word. It also implied she had no idea what it meant to be a whore. What an innocent child.

"Do you know what a whore is, Viserra?" the prince asked cautiously, tilting his head so he could see her face.

That her reply was a mere headshake was only more convenient for him.

"A whore is a woman who sleeps with people that are not married to her," Aemond explained slowly so she would follow, but got interrupted almost instantly.

"Well, I slept with my mother and sometimes with Jace," Viserra admitted, convinced that Aegon had rightfully called her a whore then.

The prince chuckled fondly.

"Not in that way. She does the act, what you did with Aegon during your wedding night. The bedding, Viserra. He accused you of doing that with someone else than him," he tried to make it as plain and simple as possible so she would finally understand.

"But, I thought one must not do that. Is the act not reserved for my husband only?" the girl asked.

"That is precisely why being a whore is a sin. But you are not a whore. Nought happened at the brothel, did it?" Aemond's poison gradually filled the room. Somehow, Viserra always remained in her coat that hid something beneath. And it was exactly the hidden that Aemond needed to get out of her.

Despite Aegon's image having started to crumble when he didn't turn out to be the lamb's saviour, Viserra had sewn it back together with her threads of hope. But with her finally understanding what Aegon had accused her of, the threads ripped apart, the image falling apart even further.

It had been the same thread of hope that had kept her tears from falling. But now, they streamed down as if the single tears were fighting a race on Viserra's cheeks which would fall quicker. Tears were followed by sobs that, too, competed about which was louder.

This was Aemond's moment to act. And he had to act quickly, or else Viserra might think he did not care, which he didn't, but if she was to find out about his true intentions, she would never speak to him again. Although, perhaps her stupidity reached so far that she would.

The prince rose from his seat to kneel in front of his niece, gently taking her soft hands in his. Had he not done so, the girl would probably have broken one of her fingers, judging by her wild fiddling.

"Viserra," the prince tried to soothe her so she could speak again, casting her into his web. The Serene Princess only sobbed more, her uncle's touch evoking an odd feeling inside of her. His gentle hands covering hers, his one eye looking at her with care, the fact he was kneeling in front of her, trying to calm her down. It had been all Viserra had wished for to receive from Aegon, and yet, when she had wept, all he had done was call her names.

"The child might suffer from this as well," Aemond spoke, his voice covered in hurt and concern, almost as if he was the father of the child. After all, he had to play the part of the good uncle, and he had to do it well. The better he did, the further his prey would enter his territory, making it more difficult for it to escape his grasp.

The least Viserra wanted was for her child to suffer. It was a blessing she had been graced with a babe inside her belly, hurting it would only result in hurting herself. That given, it also applied vice versa. If she was in pain, the child would be, too.

"Nought happened. A man trapped me under himself, but- Aegon discovered me before- I do not even know what could have happened," Viserra spilled her thoughts that had whirled in her mind inside the cage. With care being the key, Aemond had successfully unlocked it.

The prince was satisfied, disguising his pride as a smile of relief. Surely, there was more the princess could tell him. There were more cages to be unlocked, all he had to do was find the right key from his chain and attach it to the right lock.

"He could have forced himself on you, done the act. And he would not have asked you for your consent. It is good Aegon found you before the peasant could proceed. But that fool thought you wanted to break your faithfulness when he himself did so."

Aemond continued assuring Viserra, giving her the time and comfort her broken heart had so desperately craved. After some time, the prince even dared to pull his niece from her seat and embrace her. He was so much taller than her that her head buried itself in his chest like it was the missing piece of a puzzle.

Only, you could take the slice of a tangerine and fit it perfectly between the toes of a clove of garlic and it still would not belong.

"It is not your fault. None of this is your fault, Viserra," Aemond whispered into her ear, sending a shiver down Viserra's spine. And yet, the girl thought it was merely his hot breath that tickled her ear.

The Serene Princess would not be Aemond's only visitor that night. Even if Aemond was playing his part well, it was Ser Otto Hightower that had been pulling the strings. After Viserra had left, a burden lifted from her shoulders by her uncle's false hopes that she mistook for true, the prince ordered his guard to fetch the Hand.

"I take you have spoken to her," Otto assumed upon entering his grandson's chambers, taking a seat where Viserra had sat just an hour ago.

"Or rather, she has spoken to me," the one-eyed prince corrected the Hand swiftly, humming, alongside with his smirk appearing on his lips.

"After admitting her concerns about Aegon disliking her, she told me about what happened at the brothel. She had asked a man in the streets of Flea Bottom to show her a brothel, he obliged and later on tried to force himself on her. My brother was in the same room and noticed her soon after and called her a whore."

Aemond paused as he remembered their talk about the word he had just uttered, scoffing amused.

"She did not even know what a whore was," he concluded his report, receiving a nod and chuckle from his grandfather in return.

"And how did you manage to get this out of her?" the Hand asked, raising an eyebrow. The boy had been more successful than the small council altogether.

"She trusts me. Because I did what my brother did not," Aemond explained, the smirk remaining on his face. One could almost think it had been hammered onto his face. "I comforted her, eased her sorrows. All she wants is to be seen by someone, to be cared for."

He earned yet another nod from his grandsire. "What an innocent child she is, after all," he uttered, his lips mimicking the pride forming inside of him.

Their prey had stepped into the trap.