Chapter Text
Astryr held her breath as her feeble wooden door creaked open, revealing her least favourite (distant) cousin. Larys was hunched over in the doorway and was giving her a rather perplexed expression. Astryr cocked her head back, before realising she was half kneeling on the bed, her hair something akin to a bird’s nest, with wide eyes. She would not have begrudged the man to think her mad. She was starting to think she was mad herself. After all, only meters away from her the prince of Westeros was hiding behind her dresser. A nervous giggle threatened to crawl up her throat at the thought of him. She managed to pull back, sitting down on the sheets that were strewn around the bed. Rather awkwardly, Astryr attempted to pat them down.
“It is very kind of you to visit me, Ser”. She smiled, her voice still hoarse. His figure limping into the room never left her sight. He took a chair that was dangerously close to the dresser and dragged it slowly to her bedside, before taking a seat. She remained still, trying not to stare at where the prince was hiding. Gods, she hoped Larys only wanted to wish her well and then retire. His voice broke her silent prayers.
“I thought as your cousin, it was only right that I came to see how you fare. Though, you appear quite well compared to what I had heard”. He fiddled with his cane, looking at her through his lashes. Her brows furrowed.
“I was quite unwell. I am surprised that news of my condition reached you. I did not think myself worthy of such gossip”. Astryr’s back started to ache from sitting so straight.
“A certain lady in waiting is quite ‘concerned’ for your health. I believe the words ‘at the stranger’s door’ were mentioned”. Larys shot her a look then, something she couldn’t discern. She resisted the urge to sigh at his riddles, though it did not take a great intellect to assume who had been spreading rumours of her imminent demise. Perhaps Aliss was far worse than Astryr had first thought.
“Well, there has yet to be a stranger at my door”. She attempted to jest, inwardly cringing at the man’s unamused expression.
“I must say, I was surprised you did not call for me. I would have been able to inform your uncle. Unless you had already done so yourself”. His soft words were filled with an unspoken accusation. Shuffling backwards in the bed, Astryr took a moment to take a deep breath.
“I apologise, cousin”. She replied, proud that the title had escaped her lips without the presence of a sneer. “But, I was unable to predict how quickly I would fall ill. You have arrived on a rather fortuitous day, as I am feeling much better. I would be grateful if you could inform my uncle of my condition. I would not wish for him to worry”.
Larys regarded her silently, his eyes occasionally flickering to observe the rest of the small room. A small creak rang out in the silence. For a moment his eyes settled on the dresser, and Astryr felt her heart in her mouth. Slapping the bed covers in front of her rather loudly, she watched as the man flinched, his eyes meeting her own. Pretending to smooth them out, she offered him an apologetic smile, silently cursing the absurd situation. She resisted the urge to glare in the prince’s direction, knowing she would have to deal with his irritation later.
“I am pleased to hear you are better and will inform your uncle, as he must have been quite worried after my initial correspondence with him”. Larys smiled, leaning his chin on his cane. Astryr smiled back, her jaw tight wondering what he had told her uncle. She prayed that Aemond had sent her letter first, otherwise her uncle would probably think her dead. Saying that her letter was quite foreboding. She would have to ask the prince to send another letter from her if he was willing. She did not want to take any more advantage of the man. Looking around the room, Astryr released a small sigh, hoping that her fidgeting would encourage Larys to leave. The fact he was still sitting, watching her, did not bode well. He was not usually so sociable.
“I ought to rest”. She began but was cut off as her cousin suddenly leaned forward.
“Before I leave, I have been made aware of a conspiracy of sorts. Concerning yourself”. His voice was hushed, as though he knew he was being watched. Astryr tried to calm down, wondering if he had heard her whispered words from outside the door. Blinking rapidly, she leaned forward, trying to ignore the close distance between the two. She pulled her face in disbelief.
“Concerning me? What kind of conspiracy?” While ideally, she would not wish for the prince to hear whatever was going to be said, she was too concerned for her own welfare. Not to mention, genuinely baffled. She could hardly have made any enemies whilst bedridden.
“Have you considered dying your hair?” Larys spoke slowly, as though explaining a complex subject to a child. Astryr stared back until the weight of his words reached her. She gasped, her hands instinctively covering her hair.
“No, and I will not”. She whispered back. The mere idea of a Lannister plot against herself sounded so absurd, but then again, her cousin did not appear as though he were lying. “What have you heard?” she pressed, wondering whether her other relatives were planning on maiming her. To her annoyance, Larys shrugged and began to stand.
“You ought to reconsider my earlier offer”.
Astryr so wanted to throw her overly firm pillow at his head. She shuffled to the end of the bed, her feet touching the cold stone for the first time in days. She took a deep breath, her eyesight blurring for a moment, the icy stones below her grounding her.
“I see. You can’t hold a husband over me, so you chose this. I thought we were family?” Astryr stood tall, despite the way her vision darkened. The last part was perhaps more hyperbole, but she was still aghast that he would tell her a plot was emerging against her, and then not reveal a single detail. He turned slowly and cocked his head to one side.
“I will come to you personally with any further information. I would not wish to worry you with potentially unfounded gossip”.
Astryr looked at him blankly. ‘not wish to worry you’ she snorted in her head, knowing he was playing some bizarre mind game with her. Inclining her head, in what she hoped was a polite dismissal rather than exasperation, she watched with narrowed eyes as he slowly limped out of the room, closing the door softly behind him. A loud creak broke her staring contest with the door. Blinking rapidly, as she watched the prince emerge from the corner of the room, Astryr swallowed harshly.
Aemond appeared out of the darkness, his head lowered, eye glowing. She bit her lip as even with blurry vision, she could tell he was not impressed. He reached her in mere steps and Astryr stepped back, the stone once again chilling her feet. A string of garbled apologies started to leave her lips but were cut off with a squeak as the taller man, grabbed her by the arm, steadying her swaying figure. Rather roughly, he then pushed her onto the bed, face forward. Astryr scrambled up onto her arms, wondering what on earth was going on. Pushing the hair out of her face, she watched as he marched towards the door. With energy she did not know she possessed, she practically dived out of the bed and managed to grab his arm before he had a chance to touch the wooden handle. His head whipped around, his hair brushing against her face. His jaw was tight, body tense.
“Look, I know that wasn’t an ideal station and I realise that as a prince, it was not befitting of your station to hide, but it was necessary. I will make it up to you”. She spoke quietly, just in case Larys or anyone for that matter was outside the door. Aemond’s lips turned to a sneer, his hand gripping her own tightly.
“I am going to drag that toad back”. He hissed, his eye blazing. Astryr blinked, realising that he was not upset necessarily with hiding (well to an extent), but rather the fact that Larys had failed to tell her about the so-called conspiracy. With a tug, she freed her arm from his grasp and grabbed his arm instead, pulling him further into the room. With a large, exasperated sigh, she tugged him again.
“Oh yeah, that will look completely normal”. She grumbled, hoping that if the prince did decide to act so impulsively, she was giving Larys some kind of head start. He was being difficult, his feet hardly moving. “Let’s just talk about it, and then you can chase him if you still feel it necessary”. She breathed out, still attempting to drag him away from the door. To her sudden shock, his body relented. Because of the amount of force she was using to pull him, she squeaked when her body fell back, thankfully onto the bed.
Her relief was short-lived however when his body fell on her. Their faces were mere inches from each other. His arms had just caught his fall, his hands splayed out on either side of her head. His legs were unfortunately between her own, the rest of his body pressed against her. She could feel the heat radiating off him. For a moment, neither of them moved. Astryr’s eyelid flickered, her vision still not completely settled, though she was not blind enough to notice his eye quickly glance at her lips. If she thought she was feverish before, the heat that made its way to her cheeks was something else.
Tentatively, she reached her hand out, pushing a strand of his hair out of his face, stopping the soft strand from tickling her face. Her movement broke whatever moment had just transpired. Aemond hurried off her, his usual pale cheeks a soft pink. Astryr sat up, deciding to contemplate her feelings and embarrassment later.
“I am so sorry, my prince”. She whispered. “I just did not wish for you to do something you may regret”. She was met with a glare, though the anger that had once been there five minutes ago no longer loomed so large. It was replaced with something else, an emotion Astryr was not certain of. His silence lasted a while and Astryr started to squirm, hoping that she had not completely overstepped. Then again, she had effectively dragged a prince on top of her, by accident.
“If you do not wish me to go and bring that thing back, then how, pray tell, will you discover what he has not told you”. He growled, turning to face her again. Astryr sighed, suddenly feeling very weary. Her burst of good health seemed to have been used up in the last hour. She wondered how different his life must have been, to believe that simply resorting to intimidation and violence would resolve all issues.
“Well, I have an idea of who will be behind it. I will simply avoid them”. She nodded to herself. He scoffed, walking back over to the bedside, and taking a seat in the chair Larys had sat.
“Are you that naive?” He grunted; head tilted back at the ceiling. He seemed tired too. “Has he been blackmailing you?” His anger returned as the words left his mouth.
“I wouldn’t use that word”. Yes, she would, but Astryr did not wish to rial him up further. He narrowed his eye at her. “We have had a disagreement about my spousal arrangements”.
“And they are?” He asked coldly, his face turned away.
“They are non-existent at the moment. Perhaps for the best if I am to be strangled in my sleep”. She jested. His head turned back to her quickly, a frown evident. He looked like he was about to launch himself from his seat again and she quickly tried to apologise. He settled, though the anger in his eye remained.
“Why was he asking about your hair?”
“Because it’s a family trait”. She murmured, swinging her legs off the bed gently.
“It is hardly a surprise you have Lannister blood”. He commented as he rubbed his temple. Astryr looked down, feeling guilty at the idea he now had a headache because of her.
“It is all very silly really. I have never considered myself a Lannister. They do not believe I deserve such a trait”. She whispered, remembering the last encounter she had with a Lannister. Aemond stilled, his eye narrowing. He leaned forward, piercing her with his cold stare.
“You have had an encounter with a Lannister, have you not? Did they threaten you?” His voice was dangerously low and Astryr shrunk back.
“It wasn’t what one would consider as a threat. More of an insult”. At her words, he rose and Astryr released a sigh, grabbing his arm once again, stilling his movements.
“You can’t storm away and grab any Lannister you see. Don’t make me drag you back to the bed again”. She blushed as the last words left her mouth, wishing that the ground would swallow her whole. She tried to push past the awkwardness, ignoring the way his brows raised at her. “Why don’t we just see what happens. I will be more vigilant, and if I notice anything amiss, I will seek help”.
Aemond shrugged her off, his hand brushing his arm to remove any creases from her hands. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, knowing that he was inclined to accept her words. She had no idea why he was concerned, after all, there was no plot against him. She wondered if he had put so much energy into keeping her alive, he now felt obliged to help her. She hoped not. Biting her lip, she looked up at him and ran her hand through her curly hair.
“I do not wish to bother you with unnecessary drama. I will understand if we do not meet again, and the arrangement is discarded”. She heard him sigh, followed by cold fingertips on her chin, pulling her up slightly.
“I will be the first person you inform if you so much as think a Lannister is following you, do you understand? The arrangement remains”. He released her face, finally walking away to the door, this time without your attempting to stop him. “I will have a guard posted nearby”. He added softly, before leaving.
The room felt colder then, and Astryr remained still, the heat of his body still present. She knew him enough now to understand that he would still pursue his own line of enquiry. She just hoped he wouldn’t do anything brash.