𝑮𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕// Alicent Hightower

V

Alicent

The days until the tournament were getting shorter and shorter. It wouldn't be long before this place would be filled with people from all over Westeros to celebrate with the king. Until now, Alicent had considered it a beautiful thing to celebrate the birth of a child in this way and yet her anticipation of the days ahead was dashed as she sat with her family, with her father and brother that evening.

"I'm going to take part in this tournament too."

Her eyes immediately shot up and she stared at her brother in horror, who had just said those words. He couldn't really be serious, could he? She looked at her father for help, but he seemed less surprised than she did. On the contrary, he even seemed somehow... Satisfied.

The lump that formed in her throat wouldn't go away. She should have known that her brother would take part in the tournament, he was a good fighter and also there to represent their house. It would be a great honor for him, she was sure of that.

"Do you really have to do that? What if you hurt yourself badly? Knight tournaments like this are always dangerous, I'm worried about you." Her eyes radiated concern as she tried to urge her brother to think it over and possibly change his mind. But Gwayne just shook his head.

"I am a knight, sweet sister. It is a great honor to be allowed to take part in these games and I have already encountered many dangers in my training. A few jousting matches won't deter me, besides, I'm a good fighter, nothing will happen to me."

Gwayne took his sister's hand in his own and squeezed it gently once, an encouraging smile on his lips. These words were not enough to make Alicent feel better, quite the opposite. She was still filled with worry about what might happen to her brother if he wasn't careful enough. One misstep, one simple failure and he could be in mortal danger. For she had already heard of what had happened in past games, of lances breaking and cutting the throats of knights. Just the thought of it made her shudder a little.

And yet she returned her brother's gentle smile and even nodded. She knew that Gwayne could not be stopped and would do what he thought was right. She had to trust him and his abilities, wanted to believe that he could do it. And when he was victorious, or at least back with her without injury, she could embrace him again.

"Very well, I think I'll go to bed now, it's getting late."

Alicent rose from her seat and nodded once more to her brother and her father. She gave the latter a kiss on the cheek out of politeness before she left. "Good night Dwayne, good night father."

But even in the comfortable darkness of the night, she couldn't rest. Alicent lay in the large bed that she had been able to call her own for a while now, her eyes still wide open and her gaze fixed on the ceiling. The tiredness she was longing for just now simply didn't come and instead she was plagued with wild thoughts, the next one scaring her more than the one before.

Wild scenarios played out in her head as she now dreaded the day that would be one of joy for the entire kingdom. Her brother was a good knight, she knew, because he had often trained and swung a sword in their childhood. But he was also unreasonable in some ways and that was what frightened her. She was afraid that he would also be careless at this tournament and something would happen to him.

Loud voices rang out in the corridor and made her prick up her ears for a moment. She hadn't expected to hear other people at such a late hour. Alicent was a well-behaved girl and it wasn't proper to overhear other people's conversations, but whoever was behind that door was talking so loudly that she couldn't help but listen to their voices.

There was a female voice, it sounded young, but clear and determined. A little later, a male voice thundered through the corridor, it was loud and a little rough. She had the feeling that she knew these voices, but she just couldn't place them at the moment.