Inviolable Bindings | Aemond & Aegon II Targaryen

Chapter 2

Turning on his heels to follow, the older Targaryen man seemed to notice Viserra for the first time. She locked eyes with him as he walked by, pausing momentarily before her before leaving down the hallway. There was a hint of curiosity and suspicion in his eyes as he noticed the silver braid sticking out of the hood.

It was Otto's whispered voice who broke her concentration, his arm lightly touching hers as he spoke. "I am sorry for that, Lady Viserra, this family is constantly in a state of battling egos."

She didn't look towards him, instead focusing on two of the women quietly holding arms and conversing in front of her. There had been talk of the Targaryen household being quietly divided and this display of tension seemed to reinforce those whispers.

The red haired woman broke apart from the other, who hung her head and exited the room quickly and with purpose. Her wide eyes were nervous and she looked around for a moment before finding Otto's gaze, suddenly focusing on Viserra. The look of concern spread over her face as if to wonder how much Viserra had seen.

"Gods be good, the timing of this could not have been any worse," she lamented, approaching them both, "Lady Viserra, it is good to have you here. I am sorry you had to witness that. I am Queen Alicent, wife to your father's cousin, King Viserys."

It had not occurred to her that this nervous woman would be the Queen, but upon hearing the words Viserra uncovered her head, bowed, and addressed her with her proper title, "Your Grace, no apologies are needed, all families have feuds and some happen at more inconvenient times than others. I understand."

The Queen let out a small sigh, "It seems as though supper has been disrupted, but I would like to sit with you and get to know you a little bit better. I am sure there are many questions that you have as well." She motioned to one of the chairs and ushered her in that direction.

Before Viserra could reach the table, two of the other Targaryens walked towards her, both curious and wanting to know who their new guest was. The one girl looked about her age, but instead of straight hair like Viserra had, her beautiful hair was thick and in waves down her back. The young man also had scraggly waves, but his cut had been much shorter, stopping right at his chin.

"Viserra!" The girl exclaimed, lightly pushing past her mother and taking Viserra's hands into her own. "I am Helaena."

The friendliness was not something she had expected or really even cared for, but this girl radiated nothing but honest and honorable kindness, to pull away from her would be disrespectful and rude. She was able to give her a smile and a nod back, returning the gesture in her own way.

" Princess Helaena." Otto corrected, interrupting their greeting.

"Simply Helaena will do, Viserra and I will be getting to know each other very well in the next few weeks." Her smile was innocent and seemingly full of good intention.

Viserra couldn't help but wonder how much this girl knew about her.  Helaena's friendliness made her feel like they had already known each other from somewhere before.

It was the other Targaryen's turn to come join the conversation, he swayed over with a crooked smile on his face. The man was clearly deep in his cups, but she wasn't to blame him after watching his family almost tear each other apart. Even without the process of elimination, it was obvious that this one must have been Aegon.

He cleared his throat and leaned on the chair that she was about to sit on. "Gods, when I heard we were going to have a pit fighter come stay with us for a while, I thought she'd be some broad shouldered, bull of a woman," he laughed at his own words and looked her up and down, pausing only to study the way of her curves. "I am Aegon, pleased to meet such a delightful surprise as an addition to our keep."