Midnight Silk

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𝕬𝖘𝖕𝖍𝖔𝖉𝖊𝖑

CHAPTER 9, MIDNIGHT SILK

"𝕲ood night, Ser Criston" Rhaenyra passed him in the doorway.

"Sleep well, Princess," He bid before turning to see Alaenna coming down the hall.

"Princess, would you like me to escort you back to your rooms?" he quickly asked. Alaenna had lived opposite Rhaenyra in the same wing. She needed constant monitoring so far, but not close enough that Ser Criston would let her walk alone.

"It'll be fine, Ser Criston. I'll be spending the night here," Alaenna waggled another one of her books. "Nyra insisted." She confessed, standing directly in front of the doorway.

"Sleep well, then" He gave her a short smile as she went in.

Alaenna was somewhat confused at the sight of Rhaenyra sniffing haggard clothes. She shut the door safely behind her, placing her book on the table before lowering her voice to a whisper, "Did somebody leave those?" It wasn't like their ladies to be this careless, but an occasional new hire did slip up.

Rhaenyra wordlessly showed her a map written in Old Valyrian. Alaenna asked no further questions and instead followed closely behind Rhaenyra. They discovered one of the tapestries had been hiding a passageway.

Alaenna hadn't known of their existence. No one really had. It was said Maegor the Cruel traveled the Keep in silence, and perhaps this was how. Rhaenyra had a mischievous look as she scampered back to the clothes.

Ever since the incident on Dragonstone, it had become ever so slightly more common for the two to undress and dress in front of each other. Alaenna had always preferred to turn her back, but Rhaenyra cared little for her sister looking.

They were off as soon as they had finished tucking their hair and pulling on the baggy clothes. They weaved through the dim torchlight back halls of the Keep, moving through the sept. Eventually, they came out to the stairs above the practice courtyard and were met by a cloaked and smug Daemon.

"How curious. Are you no longer scared?" He addressed Alaenna.

Two stood in front of him. He turned without a word holding his hand backward to help them down the steep steps.

The land below in the depths of Kingslanding was nothing like the two had experienced before. Despite the darkness of night, the city seemed fully awake. People sold and bartered things as well as themselves. The fire seemed abundant as dragon pauldrons spit fire into the sky above.It was almost too much to witness as drunkards sloshed through the streets indiscriminately bumping into Rhaenyra, who found it rather amusing to be mistaken for a boy.

Daemon offered a wet skin as they walked, which Alaenna apprehensive drank. It tasted like wood, a harsh burn slipping down her throat, covering her insides in something fiercely hot. They'd come to a street play. Barely lit by small circle torches on the ground. They were stationed at the back of the crowd.

"And now we come to the matter of the great Iron Chair... and whose bum it might bear. Our good king... names his daughter, a girl, his heir."

The crowd booed around them, jeering the appearance of "Rhaenyra," played by a rather tall, well-endowed man. She had thought it funny to see him painted with an overabundance of rouge and tits too large for Rhaenyra. It appeared the crowd was in disagreement as to "her" arrival.

"But then, to him, a babe is born." The Alicent look-alike grunted and groaned, birthing a dummy Aegon.

"A son!"

"To which heir might the chair bear? Who will it be? The brother? The daughter? Or the little princeling of three? The seven knows the Keep's ghost it would not be."

Rhaenyra and Daemon looked down at Alaenna in concern as her look-alike appeared, crossing the stage. The clothes were black and torn to mimic the gowns she wore during her mourning. At the expense of the princess, the crowd laughed loudly.

"Rhaenyra... the Realm's Delight, a girl so young and so slight... loved by all of her people, but would she make a powerful queen, or would she be feeble?"

A course of "Feeble" came from the crowd before the narrator spoke again. "Though Aegon, the babe Prince, might long for a claim, he has two things Rhaenyra cannot: a conqueror's name... and a cock."

Rhaenyra had had enough of the defamation on her's and her sister's good names. Alaenna couldn't find it in herself to care. It was reluctant acceptance as to how everyday people viewed her.

"Lies, slander! Boo!"

"Jest if you will, but many of the smallfolk like to believe that, as a male, Aegon should be the heir." Daemon was well-versed in the happenings of the city. He was a silk street native before his untimely exile.

"Mm. Their wants are of no consequence." Rhaenyra began walking away from the two leaving Alaenna in the back.

Daemon grabbed Alaenna's hand, pulling her forward as they chased after her sister. "They're of great consequence if you expect to rule them one day."

"For one night, I wish to be free of the burdens of my inheritance." Rhaenyra stopped in front of a peddler selling what appeared to be red fruits. Alaenna wasn't quite sure; her focus had been on the sounds around her.

Flames wooshed around them. Alaenna walked around her sister's side, peering at the wares before Rhaenyra grabbed one throwing it. Despite her sister's cheeky giggle, Alaenna had been more concerned about what he'd do to them.

She quickly pulled Rhaenyra away from the peddler and Daemon as well as they started a game of cat and mouse. They had stopped rapidly holding hands, running freely from Daemon around carts and people.

Alaenna had been in their chase before smacking into what she thought was a wall. As she began to fall back, an arm pulled hers upward.

"And who might you be running from, now?" Alaenna tried blinking to find who the guard might be.

"Ser Harwin." Her sister spoke breathlessly behind her.

Recognizing Rhaenyra's voice made it much easier to decipher the small arm he had a hold on. "Princess."

Alaenna's lilac eyes peered into his own, waiting for him to let go. His grip had loosened quite a bit, but it seemed he was debating whether to escort them back or not.

Ser Harwin let out a deep grumble as Daemon rounded the corner before letting Alaenna go. "You take care, boy. Next time, you might not be so lucky."

As Daemon passed him, grabbing Alaenna's hand as Rhaenyra let out an amused giggle turning further down the alley.

"Enjoyed that, did you?"

"Who knows when I'll next taste freedom?" Daemon and Alaenna laughed as they gently swung their arms, following behind her.

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Daemon had ended up taking the lead of the two as they entered a pleasure house. There were drums and patrons alike surrounding a stage of naked dancers. They crawled and slithered around each other.

While not inherently engaging in sexual acts watching them move felt erotic.

Alaenna couldn't help but stare as they wandered past other people. Daemon took off both girls' hats with a quick snatch allowing their long white hair to flow as they moved further.

The rooms were sparsely covered by a thin partition, allowing them to see the people inside. Some had been nervous, others fully accustomed to it. Alaenna had stopped at one point, staring a little too long into one room holding at least five people, women, and men alike.

Daemon circled back to her, watching as she fully digested what was happening. He let out a deep chuckle before pulling her further.

Some people had stepped out of their rooms to stare. Daemon took Alaenna and Rhaenyra into what could only be described as a pit.

"What is this place?" Rhaenyra quietly asked as they stood in the middle of it all.

Men enjoyed men; Women enjoyed women, and some enjoyed both. There was no discrimination of status or societal norms; these people were free. It was a freedom Alaenna thought only existed in books.

"It's where people come to take what they want, fucking is a pleasure, you see." Daemon stood behind Alaenna, his hands on her waist as he directed her to look onward at those engaged in the trysts of passion. "For the woman as it is the man."

Tension was palpable as Alaenna felt the heat from their tight bodies pour onto her. Daemon had gotten much closer, Rhaenyra much the same. She could feel them, their warmth, their breathing, everything that made them.

"A marriage is a duty... Yes. But that doesn't stop us from doing what we want. From fucking who we want."

Daemon was the first to make a move. His hands tightened their grip around her waist as he leaned his head into the crook of her neck. He began laying intense but paced kisses along her collarbone.

Alaenna couldn't help but pant at the rising heat she felt as Daemon sucked and kissed her skin. Rhaenyra seemed to take after his lead, and she gently grabbed both sides of Alaenna's face.Her touch was slow and unsure, unlike Daemon. Rhaenyra's thumb gently caressed Alaenna's bottom lip, her eyes looking for a glint of assurance before she laid frantic kisses the Alaenna's lips.

Somehow they'd moved to a wall. Alaenna's gentle pants had become more frequent at the intensity of Daemon and Rhaenyra exploring her body. She had since been flipped, facing Daemon as her sister undid the ties of her shirt.

With an invigorated confidence, she began moving against Daemon, whose palm lay between her legs. Rhaenyra had taken to playing with her breasts from under her shirt.

There were no words between them as Daemon began pulling down her pants. He turned her, pressing her into Rhaenyra as he began moving against her. Alaenna and Rhaenyra continued playing with breasts as Alaenna took to kissing her neck.

When Alaenna began losing breath, Rhaenyra and Daemon started exchanging kisses as Alaenna panted into her sister's shoulder.

Suddenly it all stopped. The movement and reciprocation from Daemon. He had seemed angry when Alaenna turned her to look over her shoulder. Rhaenyra had attempted to rekindle the fires that had been lit to no avail.

And like that, he was gone, having left Rhaenyra and Alaenna undressed in the depths of a pleasure house.

"Daemon?" Rhaenyra called out as Alaenna had become quickly conscious of her surroundings. Without Daemon there to guide her, she felt bare, exposed in front of everything.

She pulled her clothes closer to her body as Rhaenyra began to lead her out of the den. Alaenna attempted to hold back the creeping anxiety she felt being alone, focusing on Rhaenyra's guidance to get them back home.

Just as lively as it was at the start of their trip, it somehow managed to get worse the closer they were to the Keep.

They were almost at the home stretch when the dancers and peddlers came out in full force. The drunkards had managed to separate them, leaving Alaenna at one end and Rhaenyra at the other.

Rhaenyra had tried jumping into the fray to save Alaenna from what seemed to be an evergrowing mass of people to no avail. Rather than see her sister get hurt, Alaenna yelled to the top of her lungs, stating she'd find her soon enough.

Rhaenyra had wanted to try to push through again, but Alaenna was nowhere to be seen as she slipped into a nearby alley. No matter how much regret she felt, she'd have to trust in her this one time.

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Alaenna spilled into alley after alley, slowly getting closer to the Keep's gates. She had never been the rebellious child. Stunts like this had been far and few. Despite the brief happiness she gained from such freedom, she could only worry if someone had seen them.

It felt like hours had passed in the span of a few moments. She had passed a tavern by the city square but a mile away from the Keep. The sounds of loud, angry men flooded her ears as she tried her best to ignore them and walk away.

However, Targaryen hair stuck out like a sore thumb on the dark pale night. Her white strands glistened, leaving a shimmering trail as she picked up speed. They kept calling after her, following her. Granted, they'd been slower than her in their stupor, but that hadn't made them any less terrifying.

Targaryen hair was a dime a dozen inner city. Men lusted for just as women did. To possess white hair was to be elevated in status. Most onlookers paid it no mind. Alaenna had been doing her best until a resounding "Aye!" came from her side.

This dark at night, she couldn't tell who it was in the slightest. Only when they got closer could she see the reflective threads of a Goldcloak. She looked up, relieved like no other, as she quickly ducked behind him. No matter how drunk, the common people had learned an intense fear of the Goldcloaks.

Every fiber, muscle, and bone that had kept her going crumbled when they were gone. She had begun crying; tears poured down her eyes as she recounted tonight's events.

She had snuck out of the castle and ventured into a whore house with Daemon and her sister. Eventually had been left by Daemon without a word. Was she perhaps too lewd? Had she destroyed whatever made her attractive to him? Did he only want Rhaenyra, and knowing his niece's stubbornness, he provided extra clothes? When did she even start seeing either of them that way?

Ser Harwin picked her up without a word, cradling her as she continued crying. He didn't know what had transpired with the Rogue Prince, but it hadn't mattered.

In the time it took him to carry her into the Keep unnoticed and towards her room, Alaenna had entered a slight state of delirium. Ser Harwin tried his hardest to ignore the quiet depreciating words she muttered to herself as he placed her onto her bed.

He placed his sword belt onto one of the tables before looking for a cloth to wipe her face. Once he'd found one and a jug of water, he carefully wet it before cleaning some of the dirt from the night off her face.

Alaenna didn't say anything. She just let him. Her eyes were now red and puffy. The cold water had done much to soothe her.

"Why are you doing this? I may be a princess, but we are strangers to each other." Her voice was rough from crying. She held his hand in place, stopping him from further care.

He was surprisingly gentle for someone called "Breakbones." She hadn't realized Lords knew how to be even a bit domestic.

Ser Harwin stared at her, scanning the downtrodden look on her face. All he saw was a girl hurt by the actions of others. Such kindness must've been foreign to her from anyone but her family.

He thought for a minute before speaking, "Strangers are just family you have yet to come to know, princess." He slipped his hand out of her loose hold, placing the towel onto her vanity.

As he moved to leave, Alaenna grabbed at his hand, causing him to turn around.

"Please," Alaenna softly begged, "stay. Just till I fall asleep." Her voice was so quiet it was like she'd slip into obscurity.

Ser Harwin hadn't known if it was guilt from not stopping her sooner or from the constriction his heartfelt seeing her like this. Even in passing moments, she'd been like a fresh flower on a spring's day. She was gentle, even to ladies maids or messenger boys, who'd tripped on her dress or bumped into her.

Without a word, he pulled over a chair taking his heavy armor off before sitting at her bedside. Once sure he'd stay, Alaenna closed her eyes, praying to the gods above tomorrow would be better.