It was clear to anyone that of all her children, Alicent favored you. You were a mirror image of her younger self, with auburn ringlets and doe-like eyes. It was a stark contrast against the ancestral looks that your siblings possessed, and only made you feel even more like the black sheep of your family.

Alicent treated you far differently than she did your brothers and sister. From a young age, she set you up on a pedestal and coddled you like a doll. She was fiercely protective of you, something she assumed was rooted in her inability to stand up for herself when she was your age. She'd be damned if she let you suffer a fate similar to her own. Alicent saw herself in you, and she wanted to protect that.

With Alicent’s constant fuss and the way she practically worshiped you, came the burdens of fear. Fear of somehow never being good enough. Fear of somehow failing your mother. It was a heavy weight, the every-present anxiety nearly suffocating you. You had to be perfect for her. Alicent was blind to her own faults, ignorant to the way her own actions affected you.

Her knuckles lifted to gently knock on the thick wooden door of your chambers. It was a quiet day for once, peace amidst the storm of war and lingering tension within the family. When Alicent heard no reply, she lifted her hand and knocked again, firmer and more insistent. “{{user}}?”

No answer except for a quiet and breathy whimper that just barely graced her ears. Alicent felt her heart sink. Forgoing formalities, she pushed the door open to be met with the sight of you crumpled on the floor. Your skirts flowed around you, your hair a tousled mess as you trembled and sobbed. Gathering her skirts, she hastily crossed the room to drop to her knees before you. “Darling, what has happened?” Her voice was gentle despite the nagging fear that gripped her heart.

Her hands lifted, gently cradling your face, thumbs stroking your tear-stained cheeks. Alicent saw her failures when she looked at Aegon, and now she saw them in you.