Prince Aegon's Chambers

////////

Once she felt brave enough, Elseyris brought herself quietly to Aegon's chambers, tapping gently on the door, and waiting anxiously. She was unsure of whether she had chosen the right time, or if indeed a right time existed.

"Her anxiety was assuaged greatly by his kind greeting, and she stepped into the room. She had donned a russet and gold dress, which brought out the chestnut brown of her eyes, and the honeyed tint of her hair;

"Yes please, that would be nice. I hope your journey was pleasant enough."

"As well as can be expected sounds rather unhappy. All of this has been so hard on you, I can see it. You don't have to pretend with me."

She took a small sip of wine, then swirled it thoughtfully;

"Is there anything I can do? I suppose likely not, but..."

"I know, it cannot be easy. I wish I could shield you from it all. I wish I could take that sadness from you too, though I fear I may have caused some of it."

She looked down sadly;

"There are things I have wished I could ask of you outright, but I remember part of a poem I read once. I didn't understand it at the time, but it makes more sense to me now. It is about someone who asks for love, and, when love arrives, they say to love - "Save me!". But then love tells them "If you knew the cost of my coming here, you would not ask anything, but just give."

She fought back a frightened tear;

"I remembered it while we sailed home. What it made me realise was... Something beautiful has fallen into my life, something rare, so I wish only to show my deep gratitude."

She let out a heavy sigh;

"And now, I feel selfish for saying such a thing to you, barely home from all we have seen, having had to bear bad news to so many worthy people. But you know me to be an honest person, and I have found it too much to hide how I feel."

"I know what I said, and I meant it, but by then, in truth, my heart was already yours," Elseyris replied, her voice beginning to tremble.

"You do have a choice. By the King's decree, the man who slew the Dragonbane can choose to marry whomever he wishes."

She leaned forward, reaching for his hands;

"I am boundlessly devoted to you, Aegon. Your wish for the prosperity of the Realm is mine. Your Gods are mine. I believe that we belong together. How can accepting my love be wrong for the Realm, for anything?"

Elsey's tears flowed freely now. It was more cruelly unfair than anything she could have imagined. Her heart ached all the more to hear, between his words, that he wanted her too.

"Would you not even ask? I know that my family are not trusted, but perhaps your father will see that I served loyally, if it is put to him the right way. You have ended the war and slain it's figureheads, he could be persuaded to allow this. Perhaps, if I do not take another dragon, he might see me as less of a threat. I am no threat to any of them, Aegon, you know this, surely you can make them see, or, if not see, accept?"

She sank forward, pressing her forehead to his, her eyes closed;

"I lost my dragon to Ser Hector, but I kept going. Rhaena attacked me, and I care not. I fought like hell at Oldtown with just the will to hold you again. I would petition the King to give you my hand myself if I had to. I am fighting for us, my love. Fight by my side."

She briefly, but fiercely, kissed him, and he could taste her tears.

Startled by the sudden exclamation, Elseyris pulled back;

"Not long after you left for the Arbor. It was a bit involved. She came to my tent, there was a conversation that made me very uncomfortable, we both got agitated, it got out of hand and, she tried to sieze me by the throat. I got away from her, but... I saw something happen at the same time, something unnatural. I think it was from her, but I was so afraid that I didn't stay to find out more."

Elseyris' tears became more fearful;

"Shadows. Shadows of she and I fighting, but they were not our real shadows, they could not have been."

She reached out again, grasping Aegon's clenched fist;

"Aegon..."

"I don't know if it was on purpose or not. She was angry, but it was also very sudden. It was more like the shadows were attacking eachother, but as soon as I had dodged Rhaena herself, I fled, so I can't be sure what would have happened. I don't understand any of it. When I had time to think about it, I tried to reason that it was some ploy to scare me off, out of jealousy, because she seemed to know about us, but I have no explanation for how she could have conjured such shadows. I felt their darkness..."

Overcome by a tumult of emotions, Elsey could only hold Aegon's fist with one hand, and cover her sobbing mouth with the other.

Through her sobbing, she nodded slowly, her breath ragged and plaintive.

"But... I was trying... to tell you... that it didn't matter to me. That we could... overcome anything..." she said, finding it difficult to speak.

"I felt... so sure today... that you... would... tell me you... felt the same... and..."

She put both her hands to her face;

"I am... such... a fool..."

"What good is bravery when my cause is lost?" she cried, failing to suppress a rising frustration. She tried to quiet herself again;

"Now, I have lost everything. Another set of Gods forsakes me. I had thought my losses had been sacrifices, necessary for me to prove I was worthy of you, but now even you turn me away. I cannot... I... cannot...."

She looked earnestly into his eyes;

"Please, I know that there are greater things than us at stake. I know that, and I care about them too. But I also can see how you really feel, in your eyes. Please, for the love I believe you bear me, for me, who has, can, and will love only you, just ask them. You don't have to make any declarations, just test the water, even with others before speaking to your father. He is a cold man, but I have seen him persuaded towards mercy. Your family may pleasantly surprise us. The future is unwritten. Even if you cannot marry me, my only wish is to be yours. I do not want to live with not knowing whether or not the King would have permitted us to be together, and he is more like to listen to you than I. Just... please ask."

She exhaled heavily, her shoulders shaking, an iron grip of grief and desperation throttling her thundering heart.

"Try is all I can ask," she said shakily, returning his tight embrace, her whole body trembling with emotion. Her braided hair brushed against his jaw as she leaned in, resting her face between his neck and shoulder, and it smelled of lavender. She never wanted to let go of him. She looked up into his eyes, her own full of tears, but shining with adoration;

"Whatever happens, I will always be yours. I swore to protect you, and to serve you, and I will do that, in as many ways as you will have me, for as long as you want me to... and, probably beyond that, because I am stubborn that way," she said, with a small, nervous laugh at her last remark.

"If, even after you try to make a case, you must marry someone else, for the realm, know that you still may come to me for the love you deserve, the love we share. The Realm must be first, but it need not be the end for us. I want and will have no-one else, it would not be interfering with my future, and if the Gods have hearts that can love, none of them could look upon us and condemn us to be apart."

She stroked his hair and the back of his neck with both hands, clasping his forehead against hers;

"I am so sorry. It seems I am not as selfless as I had thought and hoped. It would be easier if I could just meekly let you go, but I cannot." 

She clasped his face gently between her hands;

"I am sorry that I have bombarded you with my own feelings, I should have known how difficult this must be for you too. Please forgive me, I have never felt this way before, about anyone. You are the King of my heart, Aegon."