CHAPTER SEVEN
Liliyana stopped braiding, unable to hide her giggle.
"You learned how to braid, Aemond?" she asked him.
They stayed up all night, talking and embracing each other on her bed. At one point, Liliyana asked Aemond if she could braid his hair. He looked so handsome, and she needed to fulfill her desire from their wedding night.
Aemond smiled, sitting cross-legged on the floor against her bed while he let her play above him. "Yes. From my sister."
Targaryen men did not braid their hair. Well, some did, if family portraits in the Red Keep were any clue, but they certainly did not do it themselves. "Truly?" Liliyana asked, unable to hide her curiosity. "Why?"
Aemond recalled watching his beloved as a child, playing alone in the grass. She tried braiding her doll's hair, but failed over and over again. Aemond remembered hearing about her mother--how the woman did not keep in touch with her daughter. Mothers taught their daughters these things. Liliyana's frustration bothered him but he saw an opportunity. He went to his sister and asked her to teach him. He did not divulge why; he did not want Aegon finding out.
He learned simple plaiting first, then some more complex designs Haelena knew. He had books brought up to his apartment and spent the night learning every braid from every corner of the known world.
Aemond would teach his beloved. Or better yet, braid her hair for her. What a treat that would be! To see her each morning the way her handmaidens did, preparing her for the day. But when the next day came, he could not approach her. Fear spiked in his veins. What if she thought him weak for knowing a woman's trade?
So, he spent the better part of his day observing her struggle while he and his siblings studied. She managed to get it right, and her smile nearly made Aemond faint. A surge of pride enveloped him.
"I wished to teach you," he finally told his wife. "Or braid you myself, if you wished it of me."
Liliyana felt pressure build in her stomach. His considerate nature would be the death of her. "I would love it if you--"
A knock on her door cut her off.
"Enter," she told them.
A gold cloak entered and bowed. "Morning, my prince. My lady." Despite the odd scene before him, he continued. "The queen has requested your presence, Prince Aemond, in the princess's apartment."
Eye still closed and head tilted back, Aemond told the man, "I will be there shortly."
"The matter is urgent."
Liliyana released her hold and grabbed the hair tie beside her. "Thank you, Ser," she told him. The man bowed once more before leaving. Worry pooled in her gut, but she redid her husband's hair in silence. Aemond stood, kissed her, and left her to her thoughts.
Another knock at her door was heard shortly after.
"Enter," Liliyana said, turning the page in her book. She retired to the chairs overlooking the city skyline. She had a perfect view of the Great Sept from her room.
Another gold cloak bowed, different from the one who took Aemond. "My lady," he began. "Your presence is requested in the princess's apartments."
Liliyana changed into a light green dress, simple in design and texture. Bile clawed at her throat as she twisted her long hair into a side ponytail. Something had happened. Was she in trouble? Was Aemond in trouble? Or perhaps her brother...
She set her face into a straight line as she entered the sitting room. The queen, her daughter, and Aemond were present. He stood at her arrival but remained unmoving beside the fire. Liliyana curtied on wobbly legs. "My queen," she greeted.
The woman's arms held Liliyana's elbows in a comforting embrace. "Thank you for coming at this early hour," She looked at her son, but his expression was unreadable. His eye never left his wife. Alicent released her arms. "The king is dead."
The bile in her throat threatened to release. Liliyana choked on its burn and a sob left her instead. Her face grew bright red and heavy tears coated her cheeks. Aemond crossed the room and stood beside her. She gripped his front and hid her body into his. Aemond held her, hoping his touch did something to sooth her sadness.
Her closest friend was gone, and she needed to say goodbye, to wish him well on his next journey into the afterlife.
Liliyana wiped her face and quieted her sobs. "I-I need to pay my respects. At the Great Sept."
Aemond nodded. "Of course." He gently pressed on her back to urge her forward out the door.
"You cannot," Alicent told them. "None are permitted to leave at the moment."
Liliyana gazed at the queen but her vision was still blurred from crying. She felt a headache forming. "Why?"
"Before his passing, the king declared Aegon to be his successor."
Aemond tried bringing his beloved to a chair. Her anxiety grew with each moment. If she could sit, and allow him to tend to her, it might make her feel better.
Liliyana felt her legs being dragged by Aemond, but her body was elsewhere. Every conversation with the king never once hinted to Rhaenerya not succeeding him. Why would he suddenly change his mind? Aemond sat her down beside the fire and knelt to his knees.
"When Aegon is found," he whispered. "We will spend all the time you need." Aemond wiped a tear from her chin.
This lockdown, Liliyana realized, was to prevent word from reaching Rhaenerya. Liliyana knew the princess was returning to Dragonstone after the disastrous dinner.
"Prince Aegon's not to be found within the castle walls, Your Grace." Liliyana did not hear Ser Cole enter, but his words reached her ears well. "Your father has sent Ser Erryk into the city to find him," he continued.
Aemond looked over his wife while his mother spoke to Cole. His brother needed to be found. Liliyana needed closure.
"I'll come with you," Aemond spoke, standing to his full height.
"That would not be my desire, Aemond," his mother told him. She looked to Liliyana's weeping form. Aemond stood above her, tall and strong with a hand around the back of her chair. "If something has happened--"
"Ser Erryk isn't the only one who knows Aegon's doings." Aemond bent down to Liliyana once more, memorizing her beautiful face. Their eyes locked and Aemond pressed his forehead against hers. "I will return," he promised her.
Liliyana managed to return to her room shortly after.
She stared at the letter she wrote, reading it over for the hundredth time. Fighting back another crying spell, she folded it and placed it into an envelope.
A sudden noise at her door startled her. It almost sounded like the door had been locked. Liliyana stood and turned the knob, but it refused to twist open. She banged on the wood and used her shoulder in an attempt to free herself.
"Hello?" she called. "I seem to be stuck." She banged harder when no one answered her. "Help!"
Liliyana recalled the queen's words: the Red Keep was on lockdown. Did they worry she would run and tell Rhaenerya? She looked at her letter and a jolt of fear had her running to her wardrobe. Quickly, she changed into a loose brown dress and cream-colored cloak. Her letter was merely offering condolences for the passing on her father, but it would be viewed as treason if discovered.
The Great Sept loomed in the distance outside her window. The sun only now just began rising higher in the sky. She had time to worship and find a raven. With luck, she'd be back before noon.
Tucking the letter into her skirts, Liliyana opened the balcony doors. King's Landing was silent. Somewhere out there, her husband scoured for his brother. She needed to return before him.
The threat of Aemond returning to find her missing got Liliyana to work. She was stories above the ground. Jumping would break her bones, if not kill her. To her left, the sun glared against a flat side of the roof. She could walk along it safely. Below that, the roof slanted to the castle edge.
Perfect!
Liliyana discovered that day her fear of heights.
She had not taken into consideration how to get to the flat roof. Decorative trimming and siding was her only way to breach the gap.
"Steady now," she told herself. Her boots tiptoed and the wind kicked up her skirt. She gripped the next decorative dragon head and squeezed it until her knuckles turned white. She reached out her right leg and planted it firmly on the edge of the flat roof, pushing herself forward.
Liliyana bent over and exhaled. Hard part was over, but time was wasting; the Great Sept still miles away. "I'll be there soon," she promised the king.
Author's Note:
Thank you for reading!