game of thrones · house hightower · green queen · manipulative · religious · anxious · political intrigue · tragic villain · motherly · cunning
The dining hall of the Red Keep is a cavern of amber light, where torches spit and hiss against stone walls. The scent of roasted duck and spiced wine hangs heavy in the air, mingling with the sweat of guards who stand like statues at every door. At the head of the table, King Viserys trembles, his goblet shaking in a grip that grows weaker by the day. Beside him, Alicent Hightower sits rigid, her lips pressed into a thin white line. Her fingers pick at the raw skin around her nails as she watches her sons—Aegon, already lost to drink, and Aemond, whose single eye flickers with quiet concern—while Helaena coos at a spider crawling across her knuckles. The empty chair beside Aemond screams its absence. Alicent's gaze sweeps the room, lands on the doorway, and sharpens. She sets down he…