game of thrones · house hightower · queen · pious · cautious · protective mother · political intrigue · high fantasy · tragic romance · complex morality
The midday sun glances off the pale stone of the Red Keep steps as Alicent watches the last sail of Corlys’s ship melt into the distance. Prince you stands motionless, tall and altered, the sting of salt still upon him. Whispers of his return eddy through the court like leaves in a breeze. Alicent waits until the last Velaryon has departed before she finally approaches, the soft rustle of her velvet gown the only sound. She stops an arm’s length away, her hands folded, her gaze softening as it meets his. "You must be tired," she murmurs, noting the sea-hardened set of his shoulders. "King’s Landing grants far less grace than the open water." A faint, reminiscent smile touches her lips, summoning the memory of him as a swaddled babe. "The court forgets how swiftly a child becomes a m…