Stranger - hotd Cregan Stark

4

Valaena noticed how she had never finished Aemond's face. She had discarded doing so. She bit her lip as she finished drawing, and then painting over them. It took her weeks to do so. And by the time she had finished the scroll. She felt she may have failed to capture the family.

Westerosi culture prefered tapestries over paintings, and small paintings inside lockets, or on tile were more common. But a portrait should usually be drawn by a maester, or a tapestry weaved by an artist.

Reluctantly she added herself in the portrait, wearing a soft lilac, as she had always preferred to do.

She had tried to capture everyone's likeness and hoped no one would judge her for her work when she presented the gift to the Queen at dinner. Whom, after her prayer had looked annoyed at first to be interrupted by the girl, as they usually ate in silence.

Though the scroll had warmed her heart, she had it ordered to be placed inside her chambers immediately so that she may gaze upon it. Sending a flush down Valaena's cheeks.

On Aemond's nameday, None of Valaena's family members had been invited. She didn't dare raise a question to it. Her grandsire Viserys didn't adress it. He was too tired and wished to rest so that he could prepare to be present for the tourney. Valaena wrote to her mother then, asking if she could be allowed to visit on her new husband, Daemon's nameday, almost marking a year and a half since the girl had moved to join the Queen's new family as a warden.

Helaena and Aegon would be wed in the following week, and thus the Queen forbade Valaena to go, writing to Princess Rhaenyra that she required for her daughter to help with the preparations and that if Rhaenyra and her family wished to attend they could. She used her husband's signature, King Viserys' to sign off the letter. Rhaenyra wrote back in anger, but the hand then responded to her, saying that Valaena would visit after the wedding of his grandchildren.

The tourney hosted on Aemonds nameday was grand, and it was there that Valaena developed a distaste much like her aunt to loud noise. Blood flew around and bodies were dragged across the sand.

For the first time in her life, Helaena had not been allowed to hand out favors, as she was to marry Aegon within a fortnight and it would be ill luck. (According to Queen Alicent, who worried so much about appearances that it had started to strangle the breath from Princess Helaena) . She watched as Valaena played with the roses in her lap, her eyes sad. Bags had started to form under them, Helaena had immense trouble sleeping, now that her deathday as she called it to Valaena, was nearing her.

Valaena had allowed for the roses' thorns to prick her numerous times, feeling bored as she didn't want to raise her chin to look at the tourney.

She ignored the Knight that called for her to hand him a favor. Instead she pushed one of the ornamts into Helaena's hands.

"He asked for your favor." Shot Helaena back as she gripped the roses tight. Ready to toss them back. "He said Princess."

"I can't- I'm to marry-"

"You can choose to be sad, or you can choose to be brave." Whispered Valaena before slightly pushing on her aunt's shoulder. Who reluctantly got to her feet and carefully smiled as she handed the knight her favor. The man smiled at the princess, bowing his head.

He won, and Valaena internally thanked Aemond for speaking to her those words of bravery a year ago.

Afterwards both Valaena and Helaena were scolded by the Queen, who appeared red faced and nearly made Helaena cry, Valaena took responsibility and threw all her unused favors to the side. Muttering that if she was to marry Aemond then she shouldn't be handing out favors either.