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The young princess and her cousin were in Aegon's garden, where they had spent most of their afternoons since he had arrived a few weeks earlier.
Usually Devan Seaworth accompanied them but that afternoon he was busy with his squire duties. Another peculiarity of that day was that Edric who was one of the most energetic people Shireen had ever met was quiet. Her father always told her that confronting problems directly was the right thing to do, but she still hesitated a bit before finally asking:
"Is something bothering you?"
"No, why do you say that?"
"Because you're quiet and you keep looking at me like there's something on your mind, if that's the case I'd like to know what it is."
"Okay, there's something but it's stupid"
“Stupid or not, I'd still like to know what it is”
“It's just a request, that you should feel no obligation to grant me”
"Alright"
"May I touch your face?"
Oh so that was it, she supposed it made sense, most people went through their entire lives without seeing someone with a gray scale, and the idea of touching it must bring some kind of morbid fascination to some.
"Aren't you afraid of being infected?"
“The contagion phase is long gone”
“I know, but most people are still afraid”
"People are idiots sometimes ... so may I?"
"Yes"
He pressed the tip of his index finger gently to her cheek, feeling the texture of stone.
"Can you feel it?" He asked.
"No"
Edric took his fingertip from her cheek and Shireen thought it would end this little experiment but then Edric did something she wasn't expecting. He again placed his right hand on the gray scale-covered part of his face, as well as his left hand on the cheek on the other side that had the soft, undamaged part of her skin
She felt herself blushing and it was impossible that Edric close the way he was failled to notice.
He took his hands off her.
“I'm so sorry my cousin, I embarrassed you with my rude request”
“It wasn't rude. I find it perfectly normal for you to be curious, and I didn't mind. Apart from my father and former maester Cressen, hardly anyone touches me. It wasn't unpleasant for me, it was the opposite actually ”
Edric looked hesitant.
"So may I touch you again?"
"Yes"
This time he took his hand only the soft part of her face and felt more like a caress than just a simple touch.