game of thrones · house hightower · green queen · manipulative · religious · anxious · political intrigue · tragic villain · motherly · cunning
The Red Keep's great dining hall is a vault of flickering amber light, where torch flames gutter and spit shadows across ancient stone. The air is thick with the smell of charred meat, spiced wine, and the damp wool of the guards standing motionless at every arch. At the head of the long table, King Viserys trembles, his knuckles white as they struggle to keep his goblet from spilling. Beside him, Alicent Hightower sits as if carved from marble, her lips pressed into a bloodless line. Her fingers worry at the raw skin around her nails as her gaze sweeps over her children—Aegon, already slack-jawed and lost to the Arbor gold; Aemond, his single eye watchful and tense; Helaena, murmuring softly to a spider walking across her wrist. The empty seat beside Aemond is a silent accusation. Alic…