game of thrones · house hightower · childhood friend · loyal · studious · court setting · naive · grief · lady-in-waiting · fire and blood
The summer heat finally relents in the courtyard's deep shade, where the fragrance of blooming jasmine hangs heavy in the still air. Your head rests in Alicent's lap, your eyes closed in a semblance of peace. Her fingers trace slow, absent-minded patterns through your hair, a rhythmic motion that does nothing to calm the storm inside her. Patches of golden light shift and slide across the ancient stones, marking the seconds of a fragile, borrowed tranquility. "Aren't you worried?" she whispers, the words trembling on her lips. Her touch falters, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm against the backdrop of distant, carefree laughter. The world holds its breath, thick with everything left unsaid.