A baby's wail filled the room, loud and piercing, and yet a comforting sound to those surrounding the young Queen Alicent Hightower, who was only ten-and-eight. The soft smile that crossed the maester's face as he cleaned the young babe only seemed to grow as he turned to her, "It's a boy, Your Grace".

A tired smile slips onto Alicent's face before her face contorted into a tight expression, her panting growing quicker by the second. The maester quickly noticed and handed the young babe off to a handmaiden, walking over to check on the young girl, realizing the cause of her pain, "Your Grace,..there seems to be another."

Fear crossed over Alicent's face, "What..? But..we weren't told.." the evidence of the intense pain she was experiencing eased into her voice as she attempted to sit up, red curls now a mess on the pillows behind her head. The handmaidens were quick to push her back down, almost pinning her in preparation for the rest of the likely intense labor. It struck a cord of fear in Alicent's chest.

The maester lifted his head, staring her in the eye, "We need you to continue the labor, Your Grace, we must aid the babe"

Alicent's round eyes filled with tears as they darted around the room, before spotting the first child bundled up and was quick to nod her head, "Alright." before mentally bracing herself. This was her job as the queen, she could handle this, she had to.

An hour seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, all of the Red Keep could hear the pained screams of their Queen as it echoed outside the room. The maester stood steadfast alongside her handmaidens making sure she was comfortable though it wouldn't be much longer before the child was born.

No wail was heard neither a scream as the maester held the young babe, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. In all his years in the service of the crown it was evident that he had yet come across a babe that didn't make their presence known from birth. He would have considered the little thing dead if it wasn't for the two purple, almost blue looking, eyes blinking up at him.

The babe was beautiful, fitting for a Targaryen, with round eyes and a sharp nose. If you were to look closely, you could notice that white whisps of hair sat on the top of her head, it was a good sign from the gods, he thought.

Surely something was wrong, Alicent thought, something was wrong with the child she had labored for. Her rising concern was resolved, however, when the small sound of a cough echoed, a smaller announcement of the new Targaryen.

Relief soared through the room as Alicent finally let the tears trail down her cheeks, the maester looking up at her, "It's a girl, Your Grace, a healthy girl." before handing her off to the handmaiden residing next to him, who held the young princess with such care, as if she was a frail baby bird.

Alicent laid back into the pillows, feeling her handmaidens move her hair from her sweaty face, thanking the Mother for her aid. The maester cleared his throat, "Your Grace..what shall we name them?" and Alicent could only hum, deep in thought,

"Aemond...and Viserra Targaryen.."
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The sound of footsteps echoed as three young children ran down the halls of the Red Keep, all three sporting the well-known silver hair of the Targaryens. The young Prince Aegon was running towards the front, a teasing smile on his face with a mischievous spark in his dark purple eyes. Following him was Prince Aemond, who had quickly grown to be competitive with the urge to beat his brother, in this instance, their chase.

And right behind the two brothers was their youngest sister, Princess Viserra, who was quickly being left behind. It was only when the young girl tripped on a slightly raised stone that she was given a break, panting on the ground. Glancing up, she noticed her brothers had turned a corner, leaving her behind in favor of the race.

Viserra sighed, feeling frustrated with her two brothers, they always ditched her at the first chance. She quickly rose to her feet and slowly walked to follow the two's paths, her mother had told her to stay close to Aemond and she was not one to disobey her mother's words.

The halls were long, servants lingering while doing their work for the day as the young girl made her way towards the faint sound of her brothers' laughter. They were so annoying, the way people backed away from her, she was not some creature to be gawked at. Her mother often stated it was because of her beauty that they would stare, her father said the same, but Aemond said different.

He claimed it was due to the fact she was a Targaryen, plain and simple, and they were said to be akin to the very gods themselves. Viserra had never felt godly in her life, though she would have no way to truly know. It was odd, she thought, being treated as a status rather than a person. 

Slowly she begun to climb a series of steps, her brothers' voices having disappeared as they ran further from her. Viserra paused, feeling a heavy weight in her chest before feeling faint, breath escaping her lungs rapidly.

She couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe! 

Viserra begun to cry but not a single sound would escape her lips. Someone hear me, she begged in her head, someone help me! It was only when her vision grew blurry and her mind began to spin that she accepted it, she was going to die.

The feeling of falling rushed over her.
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A nearby servant luckily noticed, saving the princess from falling down the tall staircase, the water buckets she was carrying spilling all over the ground. She looked around, "Help!! The Princess is..!!" catching the attention of Ser Lorent, who was making his rounds. He was quick to run towards the sound of the screaming.

Viserra's small wheezes were heard as Ser Lorent picked the young girl up, carrying her to the Grand Maester, trying to be careful of moving her too quickly. The servant who had witnessed the moment followed quickly behind, eyes focused on the sickly girl in the knight's arms, it was a strange sight to the older woman. After all, sickness and Targaryens often felt like antithesis to one another.

The Grand Maester's door busted open, surprising the old man, "Grand Maester! Princess Viserra..she collapsed!" making the man turn, hurrying to move objects off of the table in the center of his chambers. Laying her down on the table, Ser Lorent noticed the sweat collecting on her brow, face paler than normal, almost akin to a corpse. 

Grand Maester Mellos frowned at the sight of her, looking over her closely as Ser Lorent turned to the tan servant girl, "Send word to her majesty, the Queen." and watched as the girl nodded, running off with her dark brown hair trailing behind her.

Silence followed as the older man worked, the young princess' appearance only getting paler, chest rising and falling rapidly. Ser Lorent couldn't even begin to know what to do to aid the girl, how could one help someone who was akin to the very gods?

It was not long before the Queen Alicent burst through the door, panic on her face, "How is she?!" hurrying to stand next to the Grand Maester. The old man hummed, contemplating his next words, "I can not say what the cause may have been, Your Grace, though she is alive. We can take joy in that." making Alicent sigh in relief.

She turned to her young daughter, petting her braided hair softly, "Oh..my sweet girl.." before looking to the maester, "Is it.." mind trailing to her ailed husband. The maester shook his head, "Fortunately..we can rule that out" a small sense of relief entered her heart, how cruel of the gods it would be to curse her beautiful daughter with such an illness. Alicent looked back at her young girl, how she wished her eyes would open to look at her.

The Grand Maester sighed, "I must request you leave, my Queen, I shall need to inspect her more to try and find the answer." causing Alicent to pause. She turned her hazel eyes back to the maester, hand still petting Viserra's hair, "I will need to be informed immediately if anything about her status changes, do you understand me?"

The maester bowed to show his understanding as Alicent left the room, Ser Lorent trailing behind her. Walking down the halls of the Red Keep with her head held high so no person could see the weakness inside her heart, she had begun to feel a small sense of anger, "Ser Lorent, I shall need Aemond..send him to my chambers."

The man nodded before she entered her chambers, moving to follow her orders. Alicent was quick to sit on a sofa with a heavy sigh, eyes focused on the flames in the firepit as they crackled. Her mind couldn't stop thinking of her sweet daughter, how she laid on the table almost lifeless. She never wanted to see that sight ever again, no matter the cost, none of her children would lay on that table with life escaping them, Alicent would ensure that much.

Her thoughts were halted at the sound of the door, a young Aemond slowly stepping into the room. He slowly closed it, standing straight to look presentable for his mother, "You called for me, Mother?"

"Where were you?" Alicent's voice was tight, not yet aggressive, eyes seemingly glowing from the flames as she turned to face Aemond. His eyebrows furrowed, "Mother?" only for her to stand, his confusion only fanning the frustration and helplessness she was feeling.

She walked towards him and bent down, grabbing his shoulders tightly, "Where were you?" to which Aemond shook his head in confusion. His eyes darted around her face, trying to find a way to appease her, "I don't understand.."

"Viserra collapsed in the hall..almost bashed her head open..and from my memory, you were instructed to stay with her..so tell me? Where were you?!" Her voice was raised, shaking her son who was beginning to whimper. Tears coated his round eyes, worry evident on his young face, "Is Viserra alright, Mother?!" and it hit her straight in the heart.

Aemond was the most gentle boy she had ever seen, more so than his elder brother, it always seemed to bleed through when his sweet twin sister was involved. He felt things deeply, even when it would be best to shut it all out, and Alicent could only hope that he would grow out of it with age.

"Tell me, where were you?" She shook him once more, finally seeming to snap him out of the worried trance he placed himself in. Aemond looked to the ground, "We were running..and Aegon said we should ditch her, no one wants their little sisters following them everywhere.."

Alicent sighed, shaking her head. It should have been of no surprise that Aegon was a part of it, that boy lived to cause trouble for her it seemed. If you asked her, it was unbefitting of a future king, she would have to ensure that his tutors would be harsher.

"Aemond...she is your twin sister, it is your job to be by her side...you only have each other when all else fails.." Alicent spoke softly, her hands freeing him from her grasp. Her mind trailed to Rhaenyra, there was no doubt in her mind that she would seek to secure her claim at the cost of her own siblings' lives. Alicent vowed long ago that she would fight to her last breath to defend her children from that evil woman, they shall never know tragedy.

He whimpered, "I..I didn't think she would.." his eyes fell to the floor making Alicent sigh once more. She cupped his face, thumb stroking his cheek, making sure his blueish purple eyes met her hazel ones, "I hope you learn from this, Aemond...we can only wait to hear if your sister will make it.."

Hours later, during the hour of the bat, was a gentle knock finally heard. Alicent stood, "Come in" watching the doors open to reveal Grand Maester Mellos, his wrinkled face holding a soft smile. It eased the knot in her stomach, a smile was a good sign. Her daughter would be alright, it almost brought a smile to her tired face, but there were more things to worry about.

Alicent sighed, hugging herself, "What shall we do?" glancing at the snoring Aemond, whose head had fallen to rest on the arm of the chair. He had stayed awake as long as he could but he was still a boy, it sparked fondness in her heart.

"She will be put on bedrest until we are certain she is back to her healthy self, that is all we can do. I am still unsure of the illness but I will do all I can to find and ease it." The man quickly responded making the Queen sighed. She waved him away, watching the man bow and leave her chambers. She had too much to think about, how would Aemond handle this new situation?

Bending down, Alicent softly shook her young boy, "Aemond.." watching as he opened his soft eyes. He blinked before looking at her with a dazed look, "Mother? Is Viserra better now?" to which Alicent smiled. She petted his cheek, "She is still sickly and will need to rest but she is safe..that is what matters" making his eyes light up. The purple shined so brightly under the light from the fire.

"You must go rest in your chambers, you may see your sister on the morrow" before she stood, watching Aemond nod and slowly make his way out of the room, attempting to hide his yawn. Alicent felt a deep sigh escape her, quickly calling for a handmaiden to assist her getting ready for bed.
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It was during the next day when Viserra finally opened her tired eyes, vision blurring and yet she could recognize the boy next to her from anywhere. Her beloved elder twin brother. The young boy was staring at his hands, an almost guilty look in his eyes, making her sigh, "..Aemond?"

Aemond's head shoots up, eyes framed with dark circles meeting her own, moving to her side with haste, "Viserra! You're awake.." looking down at her with joy. She smiled softly, "Are you ok? You don't look too good.." though her voice held a teasing tone, it only served to make Aemond frown. A guilty look invading his eyes once more as he stared down at her.

"It was my fault, I left you behind...for Aegon.." and that only seemed to leave an ache in Viserra's heart, he sounded so defeated.

Aemond was always grasping at the slightest straw, wishing to be the perfect Targaryen prince. He was the second son, after all, and he would always be third to Aegon and Rhaenyra in the eyes of the realm. What purpose did a prince have when they were so low in the line for the throne?

Viserra grasped his hand tightly, "It's alright, Aemond...I don't blame you.." hoping to ease a single burden he placed on his own shoulders. All she wished was for him to share the burden with her, they were two halves of one soul after all.

And yet the boy only shook his head, a dark look growing in his eyes, one she quickly grew to dislike, "It shall never happen again...I shall protect you.." his voice was stern and did nothing to reassure her. Such kind words wrapped in a tone filled with a hint of malice.

Viserra sighed, squeezing his hand once more, "Aemond..you can't always protect me..the gods have wished this for me..we must not defy them.." matching his stare with one of her own. He didn't look convinced, he always hated being denied.

"Mm.." before Aemond turned away, hand ripped away from her's. She frowned, hoping at the very least a drop of her words had left an impression on the young boy. The Seven always had a reason for their actions, her mother had said so.