The Dove and The Lady | House of The Dragon

Chapter Ten | What is Love?

She knew it was late.

Everyone is and should be asleep.

To be fair, she had been on her way to her mothers room before stopping outside his door.

It was like it was calling her, chanting her name to come inside, like a siren luring her in.

So here she stood.

Looking down at the thing that she calls her father, well what's left of him, what was there to work with.

There he lay, wheezing with every breath he inhaled, practically singing on deaths doors.

The majority of his face was covered, wrapped up to not show the horror that sits behind it, eating away at his skin.

Spreading.

There was parts that you could see, that weren't covered by clothes, the ones that hadn't fully festered down into his skin.

The pathetic being was the King Viserys, first of his name, of House Targaryen.

Viserys the Peaceful.

He didn't look to peaceful in this moment, not being able to take in a full breath, only being able to take in small huffs or her end up in a coughing fit.

She knew he wouldn't live much longer, it had been a lingering piece of knowledge in the family.

He would not live to be an old man.

Looking down she noticed his hand, the rings that adorned it, she had few memories of his welcoming arms.

Tears pricked her eyes as she reached down with her own hand, hesitating as she went to hold it.

Footsteps approaching the room alerted her of someone about to enter the room during this late hour.

Backing up and looking around the room for somewhere to go, Viserra made haste to the many curtains that lined the room.

Hiding herself in them as the door to the chamber opened.

As she was trying her best to hide, Viserra wondered to herself who could this be as the footsteps approached her fathers bed.

The only person she could think of coming into her fathers chambers at this hour would be her mother or the maesters.

Seeming as this was only one person it couldn't be the maesters, and if it was her mother she'd have no reason to hide and Viserra had a small inkling that this was not her mother.

She could hear the person perch themselves on the side of his bed, the slight creak from the wood giving it away.

"Alicent!", Viserys heavy voice breathed out to the person.

Further proving that only Alicent would visit him at this hour of night....if he could even tell what hour it is.

Even with her inkling, Viserra pondered if it could be her mother she went to reveal herself when the person spoke.

"No!", a voice that was definitely not Alicents spoke. "It's Rhaenyra father."

"Rhaenyra?", it took Viserys a minute to get her name out, muttering something else through his breath.

It was quite for a moment, all you can hear being the rain followed by the thunder, filling the rooms silence.

"The song of Ice and Fire! Do you believe it to be true?", Rhaenyra was quick to ask him.

Viserra tried to lean closer to be able to hear better on the topic they were speaking on.

She may have not been the most logical on their family history, but from the few times she'd spent in the library with Aemond she'd picked up a few things.