Chapter Text
The princess could feel her heart thumping out of her chest as walked out of her father’s chambers. She took a breath and scanned her body like her mother had taught her as a child. She could still hear her mother’s voice in her ears, “Trust your body Rhaenyra, she will always tell you the truth”. Rhaenyra closed her eyes and scanned her body, her high heart rate was telling her that adrenaline was still coursing through her veins from her encounter with Daemon at Dragonstone. She kept scanning her body, her gut was telling her she felt bad about disappointing her father. The tightness in her jaw was telling her that she was on edge from all her father had told her about their legacy and her frustration over why he had taken eighteen years to tell her. And her nose, her nose was telling her there was a comforting smell near her. Rhaenyra opened her eyes and saw Alicent walking toward her. The smell of her lavender perfume made Rhaenyra smile. Alicent looked at her confused, “Princess...” Rhaenyra cut her off grabbing her by the wrist. “My Lady, I was trying to find you. I am glad you found me first!” Rhaenyra did not wait for Alicent to reply as she pulled her by the wrist down the hall. Rhaenyra could hear Alicent giggle as Rhaenyra began to pull the much taller girl harder as they ran down the hallway toward Rhaenyra’s chambers. Rhaenyra nodded at her guard as he opened the door for them to walk in.
“Rhaenyra, will you tell me what this is all about?” Alicent asked as she fought to catch her breath. Rhaenyra gave her a sly smile and raised her eyebrows, “Don’t act like you didn’t hear about my insolent behavior already from your father. That is why you were looking for me in the hallway isn’t it?” Rhaenyra noticed the tall brunette began picking at her hands a trait that Rhaenyra detested. Not because she found it unappealing but because it was a symbol of Alicent’s fears which always could be traced right back to her father, Lord Otto Hightower. Rhaenyra wasn’t sure there was anyone she detested more in the realm than that man. Rhaenyra reached out and grabbed Alicent’s hands. She delicately traced Alicent’s nailbeds with the back of her fingers. “My Lady, what is it?” Rhaenyra asked. She watched as Alicent delicately closed her eyes as Rhaenyra pulled her hands toward her mouth gently pressing her lips to the bloody fingers. “I know what these fingers mean. What can I do?” Alicent pulled her hand back and gently pushed Rhaenyra away saying, “Well for starters you can stop riding your dragon straight into dangerous situations against the King’s wishes.”
Rhaenyra saw the smile forming at the corners of Alicent’s face and it made her heart skip a beat. She tried not the think about what it meant, she had become a professional at avoidance when it came to the effect Lady Alicent had on her body. Rhaenyra instead opted to make Alicent smile even more, “You should have seen your father’s face when I landed Syrax,” the Princess teased. Alicent chuckled, “I can’t imagine my father was pleased to see you on Dragonstone” the tone of devilish glee in her voice made Rhaenyra feel warm inside. She shrugged and asked, “Is your father ever pleased?” Alicent laughed and Rhaenyra felt her heart skip again as she watched Alicent’s smile spread toward her warm brown eyes. Rhaenyra continued, “No, your father was not pleased to see me but when I got the egg back from Daemon I think he began to see the error of his ways.”
“You got Prince Daemon to give up the egg?” Alicent pushed her on the shoulder playfully, “Rhaenyra!” Rhaenyra smiled smugly and walked to her drink cabinet pouring herself and Alicent two goblets of wine. As a sign of her womanhood and her new status as the heir, her chambermaids had started changing things in her chambers. Among the updates to her chambers had been the drink cart filled with just enough wine for her to host guests. She handed a goblet to Alicent who took it hesitantly. Rhaenyra smiled endearingly at her friend, “It’s just a friendly nightcap Alicent. I am sure even the Lord of Piety Otto Hightower even partakes in friendly nightcaps.” Alicent gave the princess a look of annoyance at the mention of her father but she took a slow sip of the wine anyways. Rhaenyra went back to her story excited at the chance to impress Lady Hightower, “Well someone had to diffuse that situation. The men were about to start an idiotic war over it.”
Alicent gulped the wine and stared at her open-mouthed. Rhaenyra took a moment to relish the moment. Ever since she had met the Lady Hightower when they were children Rhaenyra had been determined to win her approval, moments like this made her feel like a child again. Rhaenyra continued watching Alicent watch her, “Daemon might have thought this was all about getting my father’s attention but Syrax is my dragon. Daemon taking that egg was an affront to me. I had no choice.” Rhaenyra felt a warmth rise in her body as Alicent giddily grabbed Rhaenyra’s arm enthralled with the story. Alicent let out a giddy squeal of delight, “You had choices Rhaenyra and plenty of them did not end with you riding your dragon into the middle of a standoff.” Rhaenyra felt her heart rate building up again. She looked up at Alicent’s beautiful face, her delicate high cheekbones, her perfectly arched eyebrows, and her long brown eyelashes all made Rhaenyra feel entranced at the moment. The princess’s lingering eye contact seemed to make Alicent blush and she quickly dropped her grip from Rhaenyra’s arm.
Alicent stepped away from the Princess and took a long gulp from her goblet. “I wish I could be brave like you Rhaenyra” she sighed. Rhaenyra stepped closer to Alicent closing the gap between them intentionally. “You are brave,” she whispered looking up at the taller girl. Alicent shook her head as she finished the rest of the goblet and sat the goblet down. Rhaenyra quickly grabbed the goblet and walked back to the drink carriage raising her eyebrow at Alicent. Alicent smiled, “Let me, Princess. It would be wrong of me to deny the heir her friendly nightcap” she slowly reached across Rhaenyra and grabbed the opaque decanter sitting on the cart her arm brushing Rhaenyra’s as she did so. Rhaenyra smiled and bumped Alicent with her hip playfully, “Well I do have an insatiable thirst after my long ride back from Dragonstone” she sat her goblet down gesturing for Alicent to fill hers up as well.
As Alicent filled her goblet Rhaenyra looked at her intently saying, “You are brave Alicent, braver than most. Just because you’re not as loud as everyone else about it doesn’t mean it’s not there.” Alicent raised her eyebrow and looked down at Rhaenyra, “Rhaenyra do not jest at me.” Alicent put one of her hands up gesturing for Rhaenyra to look at the marred-up fingers on her hands asking, “Does this look really brave to you?” Rhaenyra grabbed the hand this time firm enough so Alicent could not pull it away as easily. “These look like the hands of someone who is brave enough to have a tender heart in this cold world.” Rhaenyra brushed the fingers with her lips again this time lingering longer. Alicent shook her head, “Rhaenyra, I…” her voice wavered and she stopped talking. Rhaenyra continued, “These are the hands of someone who puts the wants of others before her own” Rhaenyra pressed her lips against the fingers again this time holding eye contact with Alicent as she did so. “These hands,” she whispered as she moved closer to Alicent, “are the hands of the person I care for.” Rhaenyra was so close to Alicent that she could smell the wine on her breath. Alicent blushed and whispered, “Rhaenyra,” but she quickly trailed off and moved even closer causing Rhaenyra to feel a hitch in her breath. Rhaenyra looked up at her, “Alicent,” she whispered unable to say anything more when so close to Alicent. Alicent used her free hand to touch Rhaenyra on the shoulder, tenderly touching the spot of exposed skin from her loose riding shirt. The princess felt a heat beginning to rise on her skin under Alicent’s gentle touch.
Rhaenyra had dreamt of this moment for a long time. As a child, her affection for Alicent had grown stronger with each passing year. Years ago she had confided in her mother about how Alicent made her feel. She was still a child, “The Realm’s Delight” and her mother had teased her about her wonton admiration of her friend. When Rhaenyra told her how Alicent made her feel her mother told her it was perfectly natural. Of course, she had become sad as she warned Rhaenyra that her duty to the realm came first and that it would require certain sacrifices of her. Rhaenyra did not understand what her mother meant back then, she had not yet figured out desire but here as a young woman with Alicent looking down at her, it was becoming increasingly clear what her mother meant. The realm would never allow her to be with this woman in public but tonight was not the time for sacrifice just yet. Tonight she felt her body begging her to explore what it was her mother meant when she said it was “perfectly natural”.
Rhaenyra swiftly placed her goblet onto the cart behind her and grabbed Alicent around the waist playfully but firmly enough to feel her hips. “You know when I landed Syrax today the first person I wanted to see was you,” Rhaenyra said in a hushed tone while she looked up at Alicent scanning her face for her reaction. Alicent looked down at her with her cheeks getting red from the wine and raised an eyebrow, “Well I certainly was not the first person you saw” she teased. Rhaenyra shrugged and tightened her grip around Alicent’s waist as she whispered, “And yet, I found you anyway,” she moved her own body toward Alicent feeling a sudden aching feeling. Alicent took another sip of her wine instead of replying but she did not move away from Rhaenyra’s touch. Rhaenyra stood up on the tips of her toes and reached for Alicent’s drink taking the goblet from her slowly. She held eye contact with Alicent’s warm brown eyes as she finished the rest of the wine. Alicent smiled, “Always brazen aren’t you Princess?” Rhaenyra knew that wasn’t the truth. If she was always brazen she would have acted on her impulses about Alicent a long time ago. No, Rhaenyra was not nearly as brazen as she let Alicent believe but tonight she felt different. Maybe it was the excitement of the standoff with Daemon or the wine she had not yet grown accustomed to but tonight she wanted to be brazen.
Rhaenyra sat the goblet down and then lifted one hand slowly toward Alicent’s face brushing a long brown curl out of her face and gently tucking it behind Alicent’s ear. Alicent grabbed her by the wrist and lightly put Rhaenyra’s hand down leaving it dangling by her side. Rhaenyra shrugged and grabbed Alicent’s hand pulling her toward the couch in front of them. The princess sat down on the couch and pulled the taller girl down next to her ungracefully. They both giggled and Rhaenyra quickly took advantage of their close proximity. She leaned into Alicent’s body laying her head on the taller girl’s shoulder. She felt Alicent run her long fingers through her messy hair. The motion of Alicent’s fingers on her sent a tingling sensation down Rhaenyra’s body. “Rhaenyra...” Alicent began with a cautious tone but yet her fingers continued to play with the princess’s silver hair. Rhaenyra sat up and looked at Alicent, “What is it?” she scanned her friend’s face looking for an answer. Alicent bit her lip slowly and looked at the princess intently. “Rhaenyra,” Alicent began sitting up straight and widening the gap between them, “I feel like things are about to change for us. You are the heir now and I...” Rhaenyra frowned and felt her body stiffen.
“And you what?” she asked. Alicent shook her head her long curls shaking on her shoulder as she moved, “It will not be long before my father has found me an advantageous match I am sure. I am eighteen years old my father is sure to waste no time marrying me off.” Rhaenyra grabbed Alicent’s hand and squeezed tightly, “I won’t let him send you off like you are some fatted boar being sent to a feast.” Alicent laughed, not her delicate little chuckle but her hearty laugh that warmed Rhaenyra’s heart from the inside out. Rhaenyra pushed her lightly on the shoulder, “What is so funny my lady?” Alicent shook her head her brown curls falling in front of her face, “While I am tempted to take offense at being called a fatted boar I have to say the image is quite hilarious” Alicent let out another laugh. Rhaenyra chuckled enjoying the sound of Alicent’s giggles, “You mistake my words!” Alicent nodded her head then grabbed Rhaenyra’s hand softly, “What I wanted to ask you before you called me a boar,” she teased, “was what if tonight we forget about all of those worries. What if tonight the two of us just enjoy our time together and forget everything else?”
Rhaenyra felt her body begin to scream at her in excitement from the inside. It was as if her body was rejoicing at the opportunity to be alone with Alicent and she was eager to find out why. They had been inseparable for most of their girlhood but recently Rhaenyra had found herself missing her old friend. She could sense a change coming in Alicent. She was busier and more attentive to Lord Otto’s whims, and Rhaenyra would be lying if she hadn’t taken note of how men at court had practically counted down the days to her eighteenth name day in the hopes of being the first to offer their hands to her it made her sick. Rhaenyra felt herself instinctively scan Alicent’s body, lingering on her legs stretched out in front of the couch and she felt her throat begin to feel dry. Rhaenyra gulped and nodded her head saying, “I would like that my Lady,” as she placed her hand on Alicent’s thigh. She looked up at Alicent’s warm and deep brown eyes feeling a tenseness in her lower abdomen as she held eye contact for a moment longer. She gently traced Alicent’s jawline with her finger then whispered, “I have missed you.”
Rhaenyra could see Alicent shiver slightly as she continued to trace her fingers across her face and down her neck. Rhaenyra moved her face closer to Alicent’s face inhaling her scent. Rhaenyra felt the blood rush from her head as she struggled to breathe the closer her nose got to Alicent’s neck. Suddenly, her nose gently brushed Alicent’s neck and she heard Alicent let out a slight moan. “Rhaenyra,” Alicent whispered as Rhaenyra gently placed her lips on her neck barely brushing the girl’s bare neck. “Alicent,” Rhaenyra looked up at Alicent slowly and grabbed the back of her hand gently. Rhaenyra knew now was the moment to ask the question that had been on her mind for years. “I want to kiss you; do you want me to kiss you?” Rhaenyra felt her breath catch in her throat as soon as the words left her mouth. She fidgeted uncomfortably and gently ran her hand up and down Alicent’s leg. Alicent closed her eyes and leaned her head back saying quietly, “Rhaenyra, I want you to kiss me.” Rhaenyra felt as if the world was slowing down yet speeding up at the same time. She had dreamt about this moment more than she cared to admit yet now that it was here she felt it was moving too fast. What if her kiss repulsed Alicent or if she did it wrong and never got another chance to kiss her again? Of course, she had kissed Alicent on the cheek before, she had even made an art of kissing her hands in jest. There had even been a few times she had been brave enough to brush her shoulder or neck with her lips when they were sharing a bed. But this, this felt different. This felt like the types of kisses she had only seen in the dark corners of the court. The types of kisses that people were only supposed to do behind closed doors. Rhaenyra looked at her chamber door, it seemed to be closed, she looked back at Alicent who was biting her bottom lip and failing at suppressing a smile. Rhaenyra sat up straight and smiled at Alicent, “That was not the answer I was expecting my lady.” Alicent smiled, “If it makes you feel any better Princess, I wasn’t expecting that answer either,” she said as she inched closer to Rhaenyra. The princess could feel a tenseness forming in her body a yearning that felt insatiable. She leaned toward Alicent and put her hand behind her head gently pulling Alicent’s face closer to her own till she could feel Alicent’s breath on her face. She gently placed her lips on Alicent’s lips and kissed her lightly.
Rhaenyra pulled her head back and let out a light giggle. Rhaenyra felt her eyes transfixed on Alicent, realizing she was hungry for more. She watched intently waiting for Alicent’s reaction her breath bated in anticipation. Alicent lifted her delicate wrist and brushed her lips with her fingers before a light smile spread across her lips. Rhaenyra put both of her hands on the sides of Alicent’s face and pulled her face closer to hers. She kissed her again but this time she let her lips linger on Alicent’s for a moment longer. She felt Alicent’s lips begin to move ever so slightly in tandem with hers. She grabbed Alicent’s waist and pulled her closer to her while still kissing her lips. With one hand on her waist, the Princess used her free hand to grab Alicent’s shoulder to pull her closer. She heard Alicent let out a tender moan but as she squeezed Alicent’s shoulder she heard her wince.
Alicent pulled back and stood up quickly leaving Rhaenyra on the couch confused. The Princess looked at her and asked, “What is it?” but Alicent was already pacing the floor. Her fingers were being bitten raw and Rhaenyra felt her heart dipping into her stomach. “Alicent,” she said quietly. Alicent ignored her and began to pace at a faster rate still chewing on her fingers. Rhaenyra stood up and walked toward her grabbing her by the wrist to slow her down. “Alicent, I am sorry if I upset you.” Alicent stopped and turned to her suddenly looking surprised. “Rhaenyra when you grabbed me…” she gently touched her shoulder as she trailed off. Rhaenyra could feel warm tears welling in her eyes as she realized the kiss must have gone terribly wrong. Maybe she had misread Alicent all along and now the one person she never wanted to push away was pulling further away from her with each passing moment. “I am sorry Lady Hightower,” Rhaenyra said curtly and she walked away from Alicent with her head facing down. “I realize I acted out of turn. I must have sipped too much of the Dornish wine I fear.”
Rhaenyra forced a fake smile and shrugged turning away from Alicent as quickly as possible. Alicent shook her head, she was crying silent tears but as she opened her mouth nothing came out. Rhaenyra took her silence for agreement. “Maybe it is best you leave Lady Hightower,” she said lowly as she gestured toward the door. Alicent nodded slowly and walked out of the door leaving the princess alone and heartbroken.