[ A nod, first, at his shared acknowledgment of courtly conflict, which so many here are unprepared to face. His question of the nature about the nature of her lot startles her features looser.
If Alicent had the time or clarity to look inwards tonight, she might say there is something about the role of the mother, isn’t there, that incites all to anger. She must be soft and protective, but not harsh, loving above all — if she is hard, if she chooses to do what needs to be done at the expense of her brood — well, it matters not.
She clasps her hands before her, the same as she had when facing the fire, and composes herself. Her father would not tolerate her weakness. ]
It is the lot of a second wife to a king, even more than the first.
[ Little whore, green witch, cold queen, come to steal the dragon’s bloodright. She thinks of how no one cared when it was her son who was maimed — how even Rhaenyra demanded he be questioned, as if any words might earn the slash of a knife. ]
no subject
If Alicent had the time or clarity to look inwards tonight, she might say there is something about the role of the mother, isn’t there, that incites all to anger. She must be soft and protective, but not harsh, loving above all — if she is hard, if she chooses to do what needs to be done at the expense of her brood — well, it matters not.
She clasps her hands before her, the same as she had when facing the fire, and composes herself. Her father would not tolerate her weakness. ]
It is the lot of a second wife to a king, even more than the first.
[ Little whore, green witch, cold queen, come to steal the dragon’s bloodright. She thinks of how no one cared when it was her son who was maimed — how even Rhaenyra demanded he be questioned, as if any words might earn the slash of a knife. ]