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SHE FELT LIKE A MERE FLOWER trampled under his foot again. She could not remember a time when she hadn't.
"You 'ought to be a good person to simply admire the work of the common folk." Her voice sounded close to a gentle whisper.
At first, Aegon said nothing. Then, "Good people don't exist — not in the dark depths of this world." He turned to look at her. "You're the exception, are you not?"
She was.
One year as his wife was enough time to mold herself in a way that pleased him. A wife who held her tongue and embodied femininity for his own amusement. That was enough to make her a good person in her eyes.
Aegon gave her a slight glare when she looked past him and into the large window. "Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Stare into my very soul and then leave me hanging by a thread for your attention. Like mother." He glanced towards the jade necklace that hung from her neck, as if he imagined himself in its position. "Sometimes I wonder if you even love me, or if you're just pretending for the benefit of her."
Viserra covered what otherwise would have been a snobbish scoff. She grabbed a hold of his hands, bringing them close to her chest, leaving little space between the two. "Before we were wed, we were siblings. I can't remember a time when I didn't love you."
But she could recite endless memories of pure hatred just as clearly as he did. Ones that left her throat sore from screaming and his cheeks stained with tears. It humored them both how fast she was able to forgive him.
"You've grown into her," He whispered dangerously close to her ear. He could feel her shivering under his touch. "A good wife. Is that what you wish to hear? That your sacrifice, your compliance as a good wife, has not been in vain?"
Her eyes held a sense of innocence. "If that's what you wish for me to hear, then yes."
His mind began to fizzle out into nothing as his eyes stared at her lips. He was nothing but a mere flower for her to step on, he understood that. And as his hand reached for the back of her neck, he knew she had already won and he had lost to himself.
A game of cat and mouse; endless cycle of needs and desperation.
"Show me, Viserra. Show me what it means to be a dutiful wife." Aegon's thumb reaching out to gently caressed her bottom lip.
"Who's idea was it?"
And then it quickly dropped down to his side as he scooted a few inches back. He cursed, and Viserra whined, looking onto the floor in embarrassment.
Their mother stood a few feet away, looking at the two of them with a blank expression. Her gaze harden as she received no answer.
"The pig," she elaborated, a moment later. "Was it your plot?"
"No!" said Aegon, his tone defensive. "It was Jace and — it was the two of them. I couldn't be sure."
Alicent tilted her head, "Aemond is your brother." She crossed her arms, straightened her back, and glared at her son.
"Well, he's a twat."
"We are family. You may cuff him about as you wish at home, but in the world, we must defend our own!" She took steps closer to them, her heels clicking and echoing with authority as Aegon shrugged, claiming his doings were funny. "Do you think Rhaenyra's sons will be your playthings forever? As things stand . . . Rhaenyra will ascend the throne and Jacaerys Targaryen will be her heir."
"So?" He laid his back against the headboard, already bored of his mother's discipline.
She groaned with a deep annoyance for his word. "You are nearly a man-grown. How is it that you can be so shortsighted?" Taking a moment to regain her composure, she sat between her children. Her hand gently grabbed Viserra's, while the other rested close to Aegon's. "If Rhaenyra comes into power, your very lives could be forfeit. Your children's as well. She could move to cut off any challenge to her succession."
"Then we won't challenge —"
An act of motherhood came in the from of her hand roughly holding his face. "You are the challenge! You are the challenge, Aegon!" She ignored his grunts and continued to scream in his face, her gold rings leaving a mark on his already worn skin. "Simply by living and breathing!"
Viserra grabbed onto her mother's shoulder, urging her to soften her grip on him. And when she did, Aegon stared at his mother with the eyes of a desperate child.
"You are the King's firstborn son . . . and what they know, what everybody in the realm knows in their blood and in their bones —" Her finger jabbed into his heart like a dull blade, twisting and turning before it's point fell flat and into a palm. "is that one day, you will be our King."
She took a good look at his face before reaching to take a strand of his hair in her fingers. She then framed it behind his ear before turning to look to her left, where Viserra sat silently. With her back turned against Aegon, she gave her a small and pitiful smile. Afterwards, she left, leaving the two in a long moment of silence.
Aegon's weakness laid in the depths of his own skin, and as a way to escape that, he embraced Viserra. And as the lines between real and fake blurred, Viserra didn't hesitate to cling onto him.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE !
errrmmmmmm i had so many drafts for this chapter and it still came out messy... god this chapter is so toxic 😭😭😭 btw aemond and viserra won't be romantically involved until act 3 cause that's when the real drama starts
also i have a draft for another hotd story that's also aegon & aemond based but i wanna include some jacaerys in it for the drama.... idk
