Smoothing out her skirts, Alicent felt nothing but exhaustion as she proceeded through the maze, hounded by the unnatural noises seeping out from beneath the hedges that crawled across her mind in the most unpleasant of ways. Her palms were slick with sweat, abrasions cutting across her delicate skin from where the roots had bit into her hands. Alicent carried a dagger now, but far from a knight and certainly untrained, she held it cradled against her chest as if it were a delicate thing, not dangerous. Were she to wield it, surely she would only wound herself, but Alicent was not foolish enough to turn away an advantage.
Alicent carefully stepped around a corner, trying, as well as she might, to avoid the wavering sobs of that pale creature she had already had the misfortune of coming across. This time, she was not tricked by those tears and instead moved in the opposite direction, clinging close to the wall of leaves that rose up above her and reached high into the sky, certainly too high to scale and especially impossible given the weight of the gown she was wearing. Propriety had stopped her from tearing into it, though she had rather wished, as the sweat began to bead beneath the brocade and slip along the knobs of her spine, that she cared less for those ridiculous rules but Alicent was stubborn and pressed onward, and tried her best to ignore how vile she felt.
Frightened, she jumped at the sound of a voice, assuming at first it to be another trick of this terrible maze. βI shall not,β Alicent called out, holding the dagger between herself and the next twist of the hedges, anticipating some terrible manner of beast to round the corner. Her hands trembled, her knuckles white as she gripped the hilt with all the strength she could muster. βIt would be wise to leave me be,β tumbled out of her, far less commanding than she might have wanted. βAnd cease this game. You are notβ¦β Alicent swallowed hard, because calling her friend felt like a cruelty. Were they friends? Alicent believed not, that time long gone as the rift between them grew in spite of her attempts to reach across it. Alicent, weakly, forced out, βThe princess.β
β hedge maze
Alicent carefully stepped around a corner, trying, as well as she might, to avoid the wavering sobs of that pale creature she had already had the misfortune of coming across. This time, she was not tricked by those tears and instead moved in the opposite direction, clinging close to the wall of leaves that rose up above her and reached high into the sky, certainly too high to scale and especially impossible given the weight of the gown she was wearing. Propriety had stopped her from tearing into it, though she had rather wished, as the sweat began to bead beneath the brocade and slip along the knobs of her spine, that she cared less for those ridiculous rules but Alicent was stubborn and pressed onward, and tried her best to ignore how vile she felt.
Frightened, she jumped at the sound of a voice, assuming at first it to be another trick of this terrible maze. βI shall not,β Alicent called out, holding the dagger between herself and the next twist of the hedges, anticipating some terrible manner of beast to round the corner. Her hands trembled, her knuckles white as she gripped the hilt with all the strength she could muster. βIt would be wise to leave me be,β tumbled out of her, far less commanding than she might have wanted. βAnd cease this game. You are notβ¦β Alicent swallowed hard, because calling her friend felt like a cruelty. Were they friends? Alicent believed not, that time long gone as the rift between them grew in spite of her attempts to reach across it. Alicent, weakly, forced out, βThe princess.β