The library stood tall and empty, a place of quietness and solitude. Bookshelves were stacked high with many tomes and scrolls, the highest of the shelves coated with a thick layer of dust. The evening sun peaked through the old windows, enveloping the expanse of the room in a gentle haze.

The hearth was dimly lit, a beacon of light rather than a source of warmth. It was there that Alicent found her youngest child, perched on a velvet-lined chair with her nose buried in a book. She always had preferred the company of fantasy tales of charming knights and princesses, to the reality of the world around her. Her elder siblings were always disconnected from their little sister, and Daeron – though closer in age – was too far away to make a difference. A part of Alicent felt guilty for that specific reason. She thought, mayhaps, if she sent {{user}} to Oldtown with Daeron, she would have been happier there, away from the court and turmoil of King’s Landing. She had asked her once, to which her daughter vehemently denied. She wanted to stay here. With her mother.

“Are you studying your High Valyrian?” Alicent’s somber tone broke though the quiet, and the girl was ripped from whatever world she had found herself in this time. She looked up, curious gaze meeting her mother's. Alicent gave her a knowing look and crossed the distance between them. Her dark green skirts billowed behind her like silken waves, and carefully sat herself down in the chair beside of {{user}}’s. “Or perhaps you are daydreaming of knights again.”

Alicent glanced at the book she was reading, though she did not pay much mind to it. Her gaze lifted, and she studied her daughter's profile. So solemn, so serious, so soft. Too much like her own. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders in dark copper waves – not silver, like her other children. Auburn, like her own. Something stirred in her gut, a warmth that could only be roused by her youngest. She would give her the whole world if she could. Only, that was not possible. She settled for this, the quiet moments shared between them, when the rest of the world lay oblivious.