About Snakes and Other Creatures

People whisper about her and Larys, Alicent is sure. This is King`s Landing, this is the royal court, people likes to gossip, and she is not so naive to believe, that Talia and other maids don't tell anyone about her dinners with the second son of the Hand of the King alone. Larys retells her the latest gossip (she can't help, but laugh) and news from all over Westeros and from across the Narrow See, and that, what seems so boring at royal council meetings, in his lips plays with bright colors and comes to life, as if Alicent is reading a fascinating book. Sometimes he really presents her books. There are expensive ones with illustrations, drawn by the best artists, in exquisite bindings or, sometimes, on the contrary, worn out books with tattered and torn pages, with crooked initial letters. “It doesn`t look good, but the author definitely has interesting things to say.” Alicent holds out her hands and barely restrains herself from starting to leaf through the book right now, at the table, it would be impolite and wasteful. She still has time to read, neither Viserys nor the ladies-in-waiting care what she reads, but it can be difficult to snatch time for meetings with Larys. Maybe, who knows, one day they will have to stop, because, even if they do nothing unworthy, people like to see vices in others. “I have nothing to blame myself”, Alicent tightly squeezes lips, lifts her chin. The gods know, she is faithful to Viserys, although he is not the most caring husband and father. No, he does not beat her and does not shower curses, and he is a kind-hearted, quick-witted person. Even when they have disagreements, he quickly forgets about it, Alicent's anger lives much longer. Just... Just this feeling that she is an empty place for him. She, her children. At first she was deceived. Yes, he married a second time to forget Eima, but he was frank with her. She thought, it was important. He talked about how long he dreamed of a son, about that dream. This is important, this is personal, she thought. She was a good wife to him, fulfilling her duty, even when this duty was disgusting to her. But her husband just needed someone to talk to, Alicent realized one day. Someone who wasn't a threat. It was so easy to ignore the young and naive daughter of Otto Hightower. When she needed to talk to him, it was like a blank wall stood in front of her. Sometimes it seemed to her, that in recent years she has only been doing, what she is trying to break through this wall. It was so nice to deal with Larys after that, he always listened to her. “I heard Princess Helaena is interested in wildlife”, Larys hands her another book. “I got hold of a translation of a recently written book, that tells of the beasts, birds, and other creatures beyond the Narrow Sea. They say, the author is an experienced traveler and has traveled many countries on his way.” Alicent is momentarily speechless and feels herself blush. Gratitude (this is such a sweet gesture, she wishes, Viserys was just as attentive to his youngest daughter at least once) mixed with shame, Alicent should have thought of such a gift herself. Helaena is so lonely and has no one to talk to about her hobbies. The brothers laugh at her, the daughters of the lords are polite, but you can read in their eyes, that they find her strange. “It's so sweet, I can't put it into words,” Alicent opens the book, turns the pages. Helaena will surely look at the illustrations for a long time, the artist did not spare the colors. (She is struck by a picture with a coiled snake. There is something mesmerizing about the lines of the snake's body and the pattern of the scales.) Her daughter had read every book about animals, birds, and insects in Viserys's library, but this one wasn't there. Suddenly she realizes “Did you order this especially for me? For us, for me and Helaena?” “You got me”, Laris laughs softly. “This is an expensive gift.” “My father is the Hand of the King. Although I am the second son, I am by no means a beggar. But finding a good translator was not easy.” Alycent shakes her head: “I wish Viserys had put in so much effort for one of our children at least once”, but he only put in effort when he conceived them. “King is an old sick man,” Larys turns the goblet in his hands, it is not clear how to interpret his words. Alycent belatedly thinks that in vain she let Laris know how lonely she is.