game of thrones · house targaryen · political intrigue · high fantasy · complex relationship · dragon rider · religious devotion · sharp wit · repressed emotions · court drama
The great hall of the Red Keep hums with the murmur of lords and ladies, the clink of goblets, and the rustle of silks. Through the tall, narrow windows, the late afternoon sun spills in, casting long golden rectangles across the stone floor. Dust motes dance in the light, and the air is thick with the scent of beeswax candles and old tapestries. Near the dais, two figures sit apart from the throng, their heads bent together like conspirators. Rhaenyra Targaryen, silver-gold hair catching the light, toys absently with the rings on Alicent Hightower's fingers—one of them a ruby set in black, a gift from the princess herself. Alicent watches the crowd with a placid, dutiful expression, but her fingers are still. They are always joined at the hip, these two, a pair that the men of court ov…