Chapter Text
Lyra was baffled, to say the least. When the Queen had ordered her to fetch Prince Aemond, she wasn’t expecting to find him in such conditions. And he hadn’t even noticed her entering his chambers, which was more humiliating, because she would have to announce her presence to him. And that was the last thing she wanted to do.
She hadn’t been sure of his whereabouts when she arrived at his quarters. She had knocked first, of course, but there was no reply. That should’ve been an indication that he was not in his chambers, and she should have just left, but instead, a little voice in her head had told her to check. What if he’d fainted or something similar? She would never forgive herself for not helping. So she’d decided it was best to be certain he wasn’t there.
She’d gotten past the door, noticing he wasn’t in his waiting room, so she kept moving, walking towards his bedchamber. She saw that he was not in there either, and was about to make her way back when she heard a noise coming from the other room, which had an open passage, making it possible for Lyra to see him from where she was standing.
She could see his bare shoulders, almost covered by his silver hair, which, unlike any other time she had seen the prince, was entirely loose. His arms rested on the sides of the tub, and he seemed to be enjoying his solitude. Except he wasn’t alone. She was there, even though he was not aware of it.
Maybe she didn’t have to make herself known. Perhaps it would be best if she just left without talking to him and sparing them both of an embarrassing moment. Yes, that sounded like a great idea. She could pretend to look for him in other places, and eventually tell the Queen she hadn’t found him and that no, he wasn’t in his rooms, she’d checked, because she knocked and no one answered.
Lyra nodded to herself, thinking it was a solid plan. She only had to leave without making any noise, but that shouldn’t be difficult, considering she’d gotten inside silently in the first place. She just had to make the way back and leave, like nothing happened.
As she was about to turn, the prince decided it was an appropriate time to stand, and before Lyra could look away, he was already up, making it rather difficult for her to miss his… back. She didn’t mean to, but she let out a little gasp, that, to her credit, was not that loud, but loud enough for him to hear, apparently. When she realized that the prince was turning to face her, which would mean she would be staring at his… front, she immediately looked up, catching his cold gaze directed to her.
She opened her mouth, not sure of what to say. Should she apologize? She couldn’t even muster the words. Maybe it would be more pertinent for her to leave without saying anything. He would certainly understand. But then again, she had found him. So she ought to tell him about the Queen’s request.
“My prince,” she started, looking at anything but him. “I apologize for intruding.” Yes, that was the polite thing to say. “The Queen asked me to… tell you that she wanted to see you.” There, she did what she was supposed to.
She caught his stare once more, noticing that he was out of the tub and had already covered himself with a robe. And that he was making his way towards her. Instinctively she took a step back, to create more space between them, but failed when her back hit the wall.
“Did the Queen disclose the reason for her summons?” He inquired, stopping a few feet away from her.
“Um,” Lyra blinked, sort of perplexed by the situation. He hadn’t screamed at her for getting inside his chambers without his consent. “She did not, my prince,” she finally answered. “She just requested me to fetch you.”
He hummed, nodding to himself before turning his back to her.
She watched as he made his way to the dresser, opening one of the drawers and selecting a linen shirt. He put it aside and picked up dark trousers and a dark leather coat. He was about to take his robe off when he acknowledged her presence once more.
“You may leave,” he told her, making her snap out of the trance she found herself in. “Unless you’d like to take another look,” he added, with a ghost of a smirk across his lips.
She shook her head, her cheeks burning red. She finally made her body move, walking out of his chambers so quickly she was almost running. When she was about to open the door to leave, she froze.
“Lyra,” he called, making her stop with her hand on the handle. “Tell the Queen I will be there shortly.”
She muttered something, well aware he wasn’t going to be able to hear her from this distance. But she did not care. She had to get out of there.
After she had informed the Queen, Lyra rushed to her own room. She shared it with two other servants, Amelia and Ellie, who thankfully weren’t there at the moment. She closed the door behind her, making way to her bed. She sat on it, staring at nothing in particular. The previous meeting with the prince clouded every other thought she could possibly have.
What had happened, exactly?
She went looking for the prince and found him taking a bath. And then she saw him naked. Not all of him, because she caught herself before that. But still. She wasn’t supposed to have seen him like that. And he wasn’t supposed to know she had been there. But alas, her plan was a failure, making her feel truly humiliated.
Not only did she have to speak to him after getting caught, but he also made fun of her when he suggested she wanted to… see him again. She put her hands on her head, wanting to smack it against a wall. How could she be so… foolish? If she hadn’t gasped, he probably wouldn’t have turned to see who had invaded his space.
But that wasn’t everything. He had called her. By her name. She wasn’t even aware he knew it. She’d never seen him address a servant by name before. The only explanation was that he’d heard Queen Alicent or Princess Helaena talking to her before, since she tended to them sometimes.
That must’ve been it.
She didn’t know why she was putting so much thought into it. It was all in the past. It would do her no good to reminisce about such things. She should get back to work before anyone noticed she was missing.