"That's why it always looks uneven, you're stitching it wrong," Helaena explained with a soft smile. While she demonstrated once more, Visaera fought the urge to roll her eyes. She made the stitch attempt again and then sighed, tossing the entire piece onto the table.
Weeks had passed since Aemond's birthday; the days dragging on with dull familiarity. Helaena tried to her best to keep her niece occupied with their lessons and activities, but Visaera only found herself growing more restless.
"It's useless..." she finally admitted. "I will never be able to do this." Helaena stared at her, unable to disagree with the sentiment. "I'm going to go outside..."
The needlework was forgotten and she was bolting through the keep and out into the yard, where her brothers were training. It had been a wet morning after months of dry weather; the grey clouds in the sky threatened rain and she breathed in the cool air. Ser Criston and Aemond were, strangely, absent from the yard and Aegon sat on the stairs, drinking a cup of wine.
She noticed he was drinking wine more often than not lately...
"You shouldn't be down here," Jace teased as she joined them in the dirt. She found the earthy smell of the yard pleasant and considered the possibility of spending more time there. "If Ser Criston—"
"Ser Criston is not here," she snapped back as she browsed over the weapon rack that had been brought out. Trailing her fingers over the wood and steel, she smiled, imagining the Queen's pinched expression if she saw her there in the yard.
Visaera picked up one of the small swords and very nearly dropped it, the weight of the weapon catching her by surprise. It took her only a moment to adjust her grip and give the sword a test swing, rather enjoying the way the steel felt in her hands.
"Visaera, I'm serious you're going to be in so much trouble!" Dropping the blade back onto the rack, Visaera let out an annoyed huff and scooped up a handful of wet dirt, launching it at her brother, hoping to silence him. Unfortunately, she missed, and the ball of mud splattered across Aegon's lap. Jace and Luke broke out into giggles and bolted from the yard, leaving Visaera alone with a very annoyed prince.
"I'm so sorry, Aegon!" she gushed, surging forward to help wipe the mud from his trousers. Aegon caught her by the wrist, glaring down at her. For a moment, Visaera cringed, waiting for him to yell. Instead, he scooped up his own handful of wet dirt and smashed it over the top of her head, effectively leaving her hair and face dripping with cold mud.
Thus, began a great mud war between the two; both of them letting out heavy giggles as they tossed dirt back and forth across the yard.
Both of them were filthy and panting when they came to stand together in the center of the yard. The prince wiped a chunk of mud from her forehead, cleaning her face as she smiled brightly up at him. Then, his fingers were under her chin, tilting her head up. Her eyelids fluttered close in anticipation as he leaned in. His lips were soft and questing, but this time his kiss stirred something inside her; as if his touch was igniting a fire in her belly. Her arms instinctively wrapped around his shoulders and he gently sucked her bottom lip into his mouth as she hummed enthusiastically.
"My prince!" The pair jumped and broke apart at the sound of Ser Criston's voice, both of them breathing heavily.
Visaera opened her mouth to voice an excuse, but the look in Ser Criston's eyes told her that he had seen enough to know the truth. No excuse could save her from the accusing look on his face and the princess knew she was going to be in trouble...
A few hours later, Visaera sat at the foot of her mother's bed, kicking her feet back and forth, as her mother and father thoroughly chastised her for her inappropriate behavior. It was "unbecoming of a princess," they told her.
"I shouldn't need to remind you that Queen Alicent will look for any reason to slander us, Visaera," Rhaenyra scolded. Visaera nodded bleakly. By all accounts her parents were right; she had been too caught up in the moment to understand how her actions would have repercussions. "I don't suppose I need to tell you to stay away from your uncle?" Rhaenyra added. Visaera shook her head.
That night, Visaera tossed and turned in bed. When she finally slept, horrible images plagued her dreams. There was a man and a woman, both of them shrouded in flames, screaming out in a haunting tone. She woke in a sweat, panting heavily and crying out, unable to shake the feeling of foreboding the dream had left behind. Both of them felt familiar; as if she had known them her whole life, but she couldn't place them covered in fire. Even after she joined prince Aegon in his bed, sleep refused to claim her...
Visaera was in still in her bed the when the news came of a fight in the outer yard. Her belly had been aching all day, warning her that her bleeding would come soon. So, instead of attending lessons or watching her brothers train, she remained under the covers in the safety of her rooms.
It was late in the afternoon when she finally hauled herself from bed and dressed in preparation for supper. The tension around the table was thick and Visaera glanced back and forth between her mothers and her brother, confused.
"What's going on?" she finally asked. No one offered her a reply and she returned to eating.
"It's really not our fault, Mother," Jacaerys complained.
"I will hear no more of it," Rhaenyra insisted, "It doesn't matter whose fault it is. Ser Harwin harmed a member of the Kingsguard. His father is sending taking him back to Harrenhal and we have no say in the matter." The room fell into silence as the boys returned to their suppers. Visaera couldn't help but wonder what exactly had happened in the yard, and Jace only filled her in as they made their way back to their rooms.
"We were training and Ser Criston set us against each other, me and Aegon and Luke and Aemond. When the prince knocked me into the dirt, Ser Criston told him to keep hitting me; to not let up. Then, Ser Harwin defended us; told Ser Criston that he was teaching cruelty and unfairness. I don't know what Ser Criston said to him, then, it was too low to hear... But then, Ser Harwin attacked him. Punched him in the face over and over. It was really marvelous to see," he admitted. Visaera laughed at that. Far more often than not, Ser Criston treated her brothers worse than dirt. It was high time someone else showed him exactly how that felt.
"So, he's being sent back to Harrenhal?" she asked.
"His father requested it; I'm not sure why. Mother won't say it, but I can tell that she's upset, too." Visaera could guess why her mother would be. With their father spending so much time with Ser Qarl, it was understandable that Rhaenyra would seek companionship elsewhere.
The next morning, the children gathered in Rhaenyra's apartments to bid the knight goodbye. Visaera watched as Harwin said goodbye to her brothers and then the princess. Then he smiled and chucked her under the chin. As everyone around her held back tears, Visaera simply sat on her mother's settee and fidgeted uncomfortably.
Part of her felt as though she should be sad, but she wasn't as close to Ser Harwin as the rest of her family was. It made her feel guilty to watch her mother stare at the ground, unable to look the knight in the eye as he kissed little Joffrey goodbye. Then he was out the door; Jace was running behind him. Even out in the corridor, Visaera could hear Jace's voice echo as he asked his mother if he was a bastard. The word, and the memory it conjured, made her wince. She hated that word. Why did it matter whether someone's parents were married? Why wasn't it enough to see that two people loved each other?
"You are a Targaryen; that's all that matters," Rhaenyra assured her son. The words sounded strangely familiar; Aegon had told her the same thing. Again, it wasn't really an answer, but an avoidance. Then the children were left with the nursemaids and Rhaenyra made her way to a small council meeting. Visaera sat with Jace in front of the fire, the both of them cross-legged on the floor, holding one another's hands.
"Do you think Ser Harwin knows?" Jace whispered so that no one could hear.
"Of, course he does. Do you see the way he looks at you?" Visaera answered. "At least you know who your father is and that he loves you..."
"But—"
"I've heard the whispers and the rumors, Jace. Mother tried to shield us from it all, but I've heard it. Mother and father were married and I was born only eight months later. Surely, you know that carrying a child takes longer than that..."
"So, then..."
"I was conceived before mother married Ser Laenor..." Jace only stared at her with wide eyes.
"Who do you think—"
"I heard someone say it was Daemon Targaryen,"
"You mean grandfather's brother?" She merely shrugged in reply.
"I don't know for sure; I've never met him." The pair fell into silence until Jace finally asked her to play a game. Their troubles were pushed aside but not forgotten as the children entertained themselves for the remainder of the afternoon. When Visaera could bear her brother's company no longer, she was escorted back to her rooms and began readying for supper.
The tension around the table was thick and uncomfortable as they sat down for supper in her mother's chambers. Even her father, who was usually in high spirits, ate in somber silence.
"Children, your father and I need to talk to you about something rather important..." Anxiety, as thick and heavy as steel, settled in her stomach at her mother's words. Whenever Rhaenyra began a conversation that way it meant some kind of trouble. "Your father and I have decided it would be best for all of us to reside on Dragonstone, for the time being.
"What?" Visaera's shout startled them all. "You can't do this to me, Mother! My whole life is here in King's Landing! How am I supposed to be Queen one day if I can't be here to learn anything?"
"Visaera, enough. This is not open for discussion. We will be going to Dragonstone. We leave in the morning." Stamping her feet, the princess rose from the chair.
"That's not fair! What about Helaena and Aegon and—"
"Aegon?" Rhaenyra snapped, her voice growing stern, "That boy is half the reason we're leaving, Visaera. Your little infatuation with the prince is entirely inappropriate!" Visaera crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her mother. "This is the best thing for all of us, my love."
"So, I'm just supposed to go to Dragonstone and be surrounded by dragons, and then what? Jace and Luke have each other and I will have no one? Just because you lost your best friend as a child doesn't mean you get to take me from mine!" She fled from the room as angry tears brimmed in her eyes. Refusing to be disturbed, she bolted the door shut and threw herself into her bed, sobbing.
"Visaera, please open the door," came her mother's voice through the door after a gentle knock.
"Go away!" she cried out, burying her face in her pillows.
"Visaera, my love—"
"Leave me alone!" she shouted. After a long moment of silence, her mother sighed and left her door.
Outside her window, the sun disappeared over the horizon and Visaera continued to cry. Her cheeks burned from her tears when she finally sniffled and sat up. In the morning they would leave for Dragonstone and she wouldn't see Aegon for who knew how long. Resolve filling her, she pushed open the wall and made her way through the passages.
She didn't bother to knock; merely pulled on the sconce and stepped into the room, sealing it shut behind her. Aegon was laying in bed and Visaera didn't wait for him to get up. It took only a moment for her to cross the room and bolt the door closed. Then she hurried into the bedchamber and threw herself into his arms.
"Aegon—" The moment she choked out his name, the tears returned, a spring stream with no dam to stop the flow.
"Vis, what is it?" he asked, cupping her cheek and forcing her to look at him. "What's wrong, my sweet?"
"My mother told us we're going to Dragonstone... We leave tomorrow morning." Aegon stared at her in the dim light of the candles; her angelic face streaked with tears made his heart seize in his chest.
"Don't go, then," he told her.
"I don't have a choice. Mother—" she sniffled, "I have to go. Mother says you and I are to stay away from each other..." He knew his sister wasn't happy about his closeness with his niece; his mother shared a similar discontent over their companionship. "I don't want to leave you..." she whispered, her voice trembling.
"And I don't want you to go, but if you don't have a choice..." A sigh fell from his lips as he pressed his forehead to hers. "Promise you'll write to me, little love." She nodded solemnly. "Fuck... I'm going to miss you so much, Vis." Once more, she began to cry, clinging to Aegon, her best friend; her first love.
"Don't do anything stupid and get yourself into trouble while I'm gone, uncle," she warned, "And be nice to Aemond and Helaena." With no risk of interruption and no criticizing eyes to see them, Visaera pressed her lips to his, pushing her fingers through his silver hair. When she pulled away, both of their cheeks were wet with her tears and Aegon looked close to crying himself. The pair remained awake in his bed, wrapped in one another's arms, until the early hours of the morning.
"I love you, Aegon Targaryen," was the last thing she told him before she closed the passage door behind her...