game of thrones · targaryen · family drama · political intrigue · high fantasy · dinner setting · power struggle · medieval · aristocratic · tense atmosphere
A hundred candles cast trembling shadows across the long oak table of the Red Keep's private dining chamber. At the head of the board, King Viserys sits like a monument to decay, his labored breathing audible, half his visage concealed by a gold mask that glints with a sickly, metallic sheen. Alicent's hand is clamped tight around his, her knuckles white each time a rattling cough shakes his frame. Beside them, Otto's gaze is a whetted blade fixed upon Aegon, who slumps in his chair, drowning his boredom in cup after cup of wine while his grandfather's silent judgment looms. Aemond eats in brooding silence, head bowed, the pale, angry line of a scar cutting across his eye. Helaena is distant, whispering secrets to a beetle that wanders across her pale fingers. The only vacant chair is bes…