‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‎‎‎ ‎‎‎ 𝕸𝐀𝐃 ‎‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ ，𝕭𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐃. ‍

⠀⠀
"welcome to king's landing
and the red keep. I have been
assigned to watch your back
until you are officially settled here.
among northerners, they
deemed it best for me to take care of it."

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
upon the young woman's arrival,
the knight gently cleared his throat.
allowing himself to approach her,
he closed the distance out of
respect but maintained a certain
distance—it was protocol.

"my lady."
he offered her a slight nod of respect.﹙...﹚

⠀⠀

there is something wrong with you. there is something wrong with you that is also wrong with me.

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
he knew it was a burden.
grimacing delicately as he
repositioned himself correctly
in his seat, he sighed, trying
to forget the pain.

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
his lips tightened as he
watched him finish writing
the letter.

"you are right; otherwise
she will be very worried."
his left thigh began to tremble
gently.

"are you angry with me for
leaving you the title of heir?"﹙...﹚

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
his hands rested on the
tabletop, his fingers nervously
flitting between them.
he didn't know if the alcohol
was playing tricks on his
nerves or if valarr possessed
some hidden power; perhaps
it was the drink coursing
through his veins . . .﹙...﹚

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
his breathing slowed at valarr's
words, shoulders relaxing automatically
as if he had held his entire
soul in check since arriving in
this tent.

without flinching, he suddenly
became silent, his body feeling
heavy as he sat down on the
seat across the table from his brother.﹙...﹚

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
the wind only ruffled his
hair at the same time,
accompanied by the melody
of the waves.

"what will you do with it?"

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
he nodded, the sun's rays
making him squint.

"you spent a lot of time on it;
your efforts have paid off.
I do not think I am capable of
doing such a thing."
his left hand slid down the
back of his neck, touching
his curls with a slightly
embarrassed air.﹙...﹚

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
the knight let his light grey
eyes rest on the work done
by princess aelyra. contemplating
what she had been creating
for a good hour, he allowed
himself to approach for a
closer look.

"I think you have done a fine
job, princess."﹙...﹚

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
the idea of ​​being
seen, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 . . .
sent a shiver down his spine.

he waited, shoulders straight,
regretting every passing
second.
he wished things had
been different. ser
criston could have
greeted the starks instead,
right?
he wondered if they
had done it on purpose.

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
the pallor in snow's mind
was palpable when queen
alicent ordered him to receive
an emissary from house
stark.
the anticipation, with
whom he had likely
grown up, made him
nervous.

he didn't dare imagine
seeing a face from the
past again, much less
under these circumstances.﹙...﹚

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
trying my hardest not
to annoy 𝐡͟𝐢͟𝐦.

⠀⠀

𝐼 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝒶 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉, 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓇
𝐻𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓎
𝒜𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉
𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝓊𝑔𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝒾𝓇𝓉
𝒲𝒽𝓎 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝒾𝑔𝑔𝒾𝓃𝑔?
𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒹𝒾𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒷𝓊𝓇𝓎
𝐵𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝓅𝓊𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝑒
𝐹𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒽?

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
he should have stayed with
daeron, but he clung to his
brothers as best he could.
valarr always came to mind
first as he was the one
burdened with responsibilities.

it was a clumsy way of
worrying about him.

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
"what are you writing to
mother? are you informing
her about father's condition?"
his intoxication compelled
him to change the subject
after this long silence.
he could no longer think
clearly; he was on the
verge of a mental breakdown.﹙...﹚

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
his eyes were beginning to
water with fatigue, slightly
reddened by the alcohol⸺
as if he had been crying,
which he probably had⸺
fearing he would lose their
father in some damned trial.

"I am trying."
he didn't know what to say.
biting his lower lip hard,
he looked away.﹙...﹚

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
aethelstan gazed at valarr
for a moment, sometimes
speechless. the tension
between them was only
rising, driving the prince
to despair.

why was it so difficult to
communicate with him?
his back straightened slowly;
his head was spinning,
but he managed to regain
his composure.﹙...﹚

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
they led me down a path
that only proves that
without me, they would have
no champion. perhaps they
hate the targaryens and their
dragon gods⸺believe that
one of their children must be
targaryen to purge this world
of a line that considers itself
the rightful heir to a throne."

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
snow was angry and consumed
by guilt at the same time. he was
in conflict with his faith ever since
his hands had been covered in the
blood of his kin.
𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳, 𝘮𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥 . . .

"I no longer fear them. I thought I
was just an insignificant man of faith
like any other.

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
silently preaching respect to
the old gods, unease crept
within him. he knew he would
be judged for his actions,
but that he would continue
to offer them sacrifices
to appease them⸺for a day would
come when they would realise all
the effort he had put into satisfying them.

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
war and murder had stripped
him of the last vestige of
innocence he still possessed.
it only faltered in aemond's
presence, that spoke volumes
about the tyrant he was becoming.

walking beside her in the godswood,
his steps slowed before a weirwood tree.

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
a targaryen always ends
up, sooner or later, losing
his mind.

"what do we have in common,
𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩, besides being bastards?
are you going to tell me I was
once a wolf or a dragon
reincarnated in human form, too?
his tone was cynical.
⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
snow didn't know if a
bitter laugh was about
to catch in his throat.

𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴? he didn't
know if he should blame
this curse that weighed
on his life or the whispers
of harrenhal, and how
ruling these places with
the prince was now a sign
of their madness.
⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
yet if aelyra desired anything,
he was never far away.

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
admiring the waves and
the sound of the birds at
first, the prince's gaze
drifted thoughtfully towards
the castle.

his role was to ensure the
royal family's safety, after all,
knowing full well that the
prince wanted them around
for the time being.﹙...﹚

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
snow kept a safe distance
from the princess as he
watched her pick up seashells
and other things she found
on the sand.
the fact that she was enjoying
the waves in such quiet
silence gave the knight time
for his grey eyes to wander.﹙...﹚

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
you think being emotionally
diistant even in private
guarantees you are mature?
my brother . . . you are still
so young."
his tone was almost mocking;
whether he was pushing him to
the limit or not was a good question.

⠀⠀

⠀⠀
⠀⠀
he would not have wanted
me to be in this state, but
he would understand why
I cannot manage my stress.
there are things you do not know.
𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱?"
a soft scoff escaped his lips.

"because you think you are
mature and grown-up enough
with your princely airs?﹙...﹚

⠀⠀