Chapter Text
Alicent is five years old when she notices it for the first time, a series of uneven lines on her hands, almost like spots of a pen. Couldn't possibly have done it herself.
"I don't have any golden pens! They are all blue, or pink, or green, a lot of green pens in different shades cause it´s so pretty mommy". She explains this to her mother between hurried babbles, and Alerie, with latent maternal tenderness, stops stirring the salad and takes her in her arms, holding Alicent affectionately.
-"What are we celebrating?" asks a voice from the other side.
-"Daddy!" Alicent rushes away from her mother, running into Otto Hightower's arms, the man drops the briefcase previously held in his hands and holds the girl who jumped into his arms, spinning her in circles, provoking more laughter.
-Of course I do, sweetheart! I promised you I would, didn't I? - he kisses her little daughter's face, who nods effusively with a big smirk on her own. Stretching out his face, he prepares to receive his wife's welcoming kiss: "Hello, my love, having a good day? -
-Very good, dear. Alicent, could you show your hands to daddy? -
Still at the peak of effusiveness, little Alicent hurries to show her little hands, two more golden lines had appeared on the tips of her fingers, forming a sort of happy face. -They are so pretty! It glows!-awe in her hazel eyes.
The couple looked at each other with grin, both depositing twin kisses on their little daughter's cheeks.
-Alicent, mommy and I need to talk to you about the pretty golden lines, okay? - At the little girl's nod, Otto hurried to the table. Once the three of them were seated, he looked at his wife to begin.
-Ali... At school you talked about soulmates, right?" he asked probingly.
-Yes! Miss Sunny says that everyone have a soulmate and that we will be very good friends with them someday! -
-Exactly, sweetheart, Miss Sunny is right. Now, these little lines here," she traced her daughter's hands lovingly, "are lines that your own soulmate traced on their skin and are reflected in yours, as if they were a mirror, you understand?-
The little girl nodded seriously, trying to understand the implication of the matter - But why would they write over their own hand before dinner? That's so silly, mummy! - grumbled the little girl, she didn't want her soul mate to be silly.
Her parents shared a light chuckle.
-Maybe they' re just playing, love, we don't know, but they'll keep coming as long as this other person keeps doing it,"- Otto explained.
A pout appeared on Alicent's lips and, for a moment, both parents were afraid that their daughter would reject the marks. Then the little girl simply jumped up from where she was sitting, took the pen out of her father's shirt pocket and, under the stunned gaze of the adults, drew an angry face in the middle of her palm.
-There, now they'll know that it bothers me when they get dirty before dinner," said the little girl, with all the sense in the world, provoking a new fit of laughter from the grown-ups.
The next morning, playing with legos at school, she receives a little shiny golden heart on her wrist. Alicent loves it.
********************************************************************************************************************
At fourteen, the concept of a soulmate had become much more complicated.
-I just don't understand why we should wait our whole lives for someone who you don't even know if they' re going to be a good person. What if they' re some kind of serial killer? Also, why should we be with someone just because we share a stupid, weird slate skin? That seems like a huge limitation on freedom to me," Alicent vehemently asserted to her friends at lunch. Some nodded in agreement and others looked at her as if she had grown a new head.
-I don't think my soul mate is a serial killer," Owen spoke, his dark eyes sparkling at the golden flower bracelet on his wrist, "in fact I think they' re a sweet person and they draw very well".-
-You're just bitter because your parents aren't soulmates, don't drag us into your misfortunes," spoke another of the girls, earning a shove from her classmate.
-Shut up, Alyn, aren't your "oh so loving soulmates parents" getting divorced?," a dark-skinned girl with a nice smirk, Molly, criticised her, "It doesn't matter if they're perfect or not, the connection exists and yes, maybe that free will escaped us, but we can still choose to be with them or not. Besides, there are many kinds of affection, friends, siblings, partners. I don't think it's just a misfortune and I don't think it's perfect either" the girl summed up, taking a sip of her drink.
Alicent simply hummed in response, noncommittally.
She had recently found out that her parents were not really soulmates and that... It had certainly made her world a little bit uncertain. At one hand, her parents loved each other and she knew it, knows it, it was impossible to mistake the words and looks of affection that Otto and Alerie gave each other. But on the other...Alicent didn't really know what to expect from her soul mate now?, a friendship? To never meet them? Just wait to learn of their death before even meeting them, as her parents had to do? Falling in love with someone else? Even if they met, would it be sparks and glow or would they separate at some point like Alyn fathers?. Question, questions,questions.
She wasn't in a hurry to meet them, not really, she preferred to wait for things to happen on their own, or not. But the fears were there.
It was simpler to cling to an idea of freedom that she didn't quite possess, although she didn't really think her soul mate was a bad person. Daily she received drawings of flowers on her wrist, and once she had even received, to her amusement, a mathematical problem on her palm right in class time. At least it meant that her soul mate was in the same age range. Alicent had solved the exercise on her palm, with a smirk. When the strokes had faded as usual a few minutes later, she received a "Thank you, you're the best" followed by a beautifully drawn bouquet of carnations. A warmth embraced her heart. Her soul mate had beautiful handwriting, even if they weren't very good at maths.
*******************************************************************************************************************
By eighteen, Alicent is fed up with her soul mate. It was the first day of law school, she was supposed to make a good impression, but of course, her soulmate has become a freaking addict to stupid tattoos.
Honestly. It was 30 degrees in the Dominion, and here she was with a jacket obligingly covering her arms, could feel the sweat beading on the back of her skull with discomfort. Thank goodness the classes had moved on quickly, or she might end up drawing something not very nice on her face to teach her soulmate a lesson.
It had started at her teens, small, very detailed drawings of dragons in different shades swirled on her wrist, forearm, palm, etc, every day. They were beautiful. Her soulmate was definitely a great artist, Alicent would grant her that. She didn't really mind, she even openly admired the golden patterns on her skin, imagining what kind of woman would be so obsessed with dragons.
Cause yes, Alicent Hightower had come to terms with her sexuality at fifteen, to no one's surprise, her parents and friends seemed to be aware of it even more than she was herself, so coming out was pretty much a matter of paperwork. She had almost cried when her parents simply hugged her, repeating that they knew and loved her and "thank you for trusting us my girl, we are so proud of you". So, Alicent knew that her soul mate must be a woman, at least if they are talking about something romantic envolved. Deep down, she thinks so.
Then, in general, the obsession with dragons hadn't been a problem at all, until at the age of seventee. Alicent noticed a huge golden dragon swirling all over her right bicep, even reaching halfway up to her collarbone. Odd place to draw, isn't it? The problem was that the drawing had lasted for DAYS, almost a week. When she went to her parents with concern, they had confirmed it with a look of astonishment, her soul mate had received a giant dragon tattoo. Alicent had thought before that maybe they shared the same age, but what father would give their teenage daughter permission to get such a massive tattoo? She didn't know. What she did know was that the thing had disappeared after almost five days, and had been terribly annoying to hide from her curious friends.
The tattoos kept coming, a couple of strategically placed flowers, Alicent guessed the woman was completing some sort of sleeve, and...okay, maybe that was kinda...hot.
Arriving home, she headed straight to her room, shedding her jacket and sweaty shirt, she averted her gaze to her forearm now plagued by three dragons intertwined as if they were dancing, they slid down her elbow to around her bicep...So yeah, sleeve.
Picking up a marker, wrote on her palm. "Nice tattoo."
They had exchanged a couple of words over time, nothing elaborate, just "Hi beautiful" "How are you?" "Coffee order" "Favourite animal" "Favourite colour", etc.
Now she knew that her soulmate was bad at maths, preferred plain coffee with a hint of cinnamon, loved dogs, black and red, and clearly had a huge obsession with dragons and tattoos. She was also aware that Alicent was female.
"No more than you, gorgeus ;)" Alicent couldn't help the blush that climbed her cheeks. Sumar incessantly flirted. A square about 6x6 centimetres appeared on her wrist, an arrow pointing at it followed by "Draw here".
Well... That was new, she had never asked Alicent to prove her meagre artistic talents before. Thinking for a moment, she decided to turn out of the box. Literally.
Bringing out every ounce of pulse could muster, she managed to neatly define a floral bracelet around her wrist, slipping on thin branches surrounded by a pair of blue cornflowers and smaller pink ones (not that her soulmate could ever tell their colours apart anyway), observing her final work, she decided it wasn't so bad. Her palm was clean again, clear of any traces of previous conversation. "Not very good at drawing, sorry." added.
She didn't get an answer until the next day.
By getting ready for another day of classes at college, she noticed it. "I love it ;)". The drawing she had made yesterday again around her wrist, now glowing in a golden colour.
The drawing didn't disappear until seven days later. Alicent didn't bother to hide it.
*******************************************************************************************************************
She did it, Alicent had graduated, and at 24 she was happy to be starting out as junior associate at a minor legal firm at Kingslanding. She found a small flat that would serve her well at least for the next few years, bid a tearful farewell to her parents, leaving the Dominion behind with promises of very regular visits.
After her first meeting, she turned out with renewed energy, eager to get to know her new city. Had fit in easily with the other members, all of them seemed like very nice people in general. She had even received invitations to go out and see the city over weekend, which she had happily accepted. Everything seemed to be going great.
Except.
Time was passing and still hadn't met her. Her soulmate.
Alicent thought they had both reached an unspoken agreement to let things flow when they began exchanging brief words , sharing no names, addresses, nothing really identifying. They had only shared birthdays.
However, in the last year, Alicent caught herself thinking about asking for data or offering it. The average age to meet your soul mate was 24, so she knew that still had plenty of time. However, that anxiety wouldn't leave her, didn't really understand this need to see someone she didn't really know anything about. Maybe it was the lack of romance. Irony.
Alicent had a girlfriend in college, she met Lydia in business law class, a beautiful woman with dark skin and deep brown eyes. They became fast friends and before long found themselves dating, everything seemed to be going great until it wasn't. Things just weren't working out,, there wasn't a spark to feed and they both knew it, so had simply put it aside, opting to remain friends. And thank God for that, Lydia was a gift from the gods, probably the most patient person she had ever met in her life. Maybe in another life and being another Alicent, would definitely have fallen in love with her.
The relationship had barely lasted four months, and never had anything more serious than a couple of dates here and there after that. None of those occasions had felt a connection of any kind. Alicent didn't know what to think about that.
The strong smell of coffee brought her out of her enclosure, a coffee shop across the street. "House of dragon" along with a figure of a three headed black dragon and touches of red lights, made up the front façade. Speaking of the irony of soulmates.
That was...Maybe...No. She was gettin mad, the lack of relationships was clearly noticeable now.
Without thinking too much, Alicent adjusted her long coat and scarf around her neck, heading for the place. Just to try a coffee and maybe some cake to take home after a long cold morning, nothing more.
Luckily her, it wasn't rush hour, so the place was only moderately crowded, a couple of free tables at the back.
The place was quite spacious, with the black box and a large window displaying different kinds of desserts; the soft cream-coloured walls contrasted with the polished black floor. A very nice place, without being pretentious.
-"Welcome to House of dragon! May I take your order? "- a silky voice caught her attention.
Oh.
The breath stopped in her throat and Alicent´s heart began to race against an imaginary enemy. Her poor lesbian heart extremely weak for beautiful women, was completly doomed.
Abort mission abort mission . Don't stutter don't stutter don't stutter.
The woman on the other side of the counter, was probably the most beautiful person Alicent had ever seen in her whole life. Foggy deep violet eyes, flawless pale skin, perfect nose and blushing lips. Silver hair cropped short and shaved on the sides probably didn't help her swoon. You could see subtle black ink peeking out of the side of the pale neck where the sweater didn't quite cover.
Oh. my . Her throat went dry.
-"Miss?" the confused violet eyes turned to her.
Oh, coffee, right.
-I...Sorry, it's cold outside...A caramel macchiato to go please," Alicent finally spoke, mentally kicking herself for behaving like a man with no brain cells.
-Caramel macchiato , of course, can I have your name? - the barista smiled lazily at her direction, eyes fixed on Alicent's.
Fuck, the smirk. Breathe, normal people breathe Ali.
-Yeah, sure, it's Alicent," she offered in a casual attempt.
Another smirk, dear god.
-That's a lovely name you've got there, Alicent, your order will be up in a minute. -
Cheeks flushed heavily from the praise, Alicent simply thanked again and stepped aside to wait for her order.
It wasn't long before a dark-skinned woman with long curly hair called out to her. If she was disappointed not to see short hair in her place, she didn't show it.
-I'm sorry, I just ordered the macchiato," Alicent spoke, confused when the other girl handed her a bag with the dragon logo on it.
-Don't worry, it's on the house. It's our speciality of the day, chocolate cake. Enjoy," the girl walked away with a knowing wink that confused the auburn even more, but she said nothing and, taking one last look at the woman at the checkout, turned out of the shop to head home.
The cake was, in fact, the best she had ever tasted in her life and she definitely didn't faint when she noticed the three hearts drawn next to her name on the cup.
The days passed and, a week later, Alicent found herself once again returning to the coffee shop. It was very early in the morning, the sun was not yet out and the cold was bone chilling. She' d woken up extremely early for a conference that would determine a new case and needed the extra caffeine if she was to get through the day in a medium good mood. Upon entering, was not surprised to find the place almost empty, except for a table occupied by two elderly gentlemen.
Alarm, alarm. Pretty girl with short hair peeking out.
Building up her confidence, she approached the cashier's desk, determined not to make a fool of herself this time. The violet-eyed woman looked the same or even more beautiful than last time, wearing a similar dark blue sweater that brought out the paleness of her skin even more.
-Good morning, Alicent! I thought I wouldn't see you here again and that I made a bad choice with the chocolate cake," offered the woman with a bright grin on her face.
She remembered my name, she sent me the cake. Oh my oh my, there goes her plan to stay cool.
Throat cleared. -Oh no, it's just been a busy week. But I loved the cake! In fact it might be the best I've ever had in my life, I'll definitely be having it again," Alicent tried to remain calm at her voice.
The blonde woman played with the pen between her hands, long, slender fingers moving gracefully around the object. Okay... that wasn't distracting at all.
-I'm glad! made it myself, you could call it my special not so hiden talent - a graceful smirk - So, caramel macchiato, right? -
She remembered my order.
-I... Yes, that's right... You remembered," Alicent added, failing miserably to contain a grin.
-Well, yes. How couldn't I ? - the blonde offered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, a faint blush creeping up her pale neck. - I'm Rhaenyra, by the way," the woman stepped forward, beginning to prepare the order herself.
-"Rhaenyra," Alicent tasted the name rolling on her mouth, "that's not a very common name. "
A deep laugh echoed from the blonde woman who still had her back turned. - "No, it's definitely not, my family has a thing for strange names and repeating them over and over again, I'm lucky to be the first Rhaenyra, but there are some Rhaenys and Rhaena, my brother is already the third Baelon in a row and my father the second Viserys. "
Alicent smiled at the information given so freely. -"Striking customs you have in your family, Rhaenyra, but don't get me wrong, a strange name, but a very beautiful one too."
The blonde laughed again, and turning around, placed a box in the bag along with the mug of coffee.
-"Thank you very much, Alicent, you're very kind. Here you go, I took the liberty of adding an extra slice of lemon cake, try it and then you can tell me what you think. I'll try to look surprised when you've loved it - a wink - "It's on the house "- she offered the bag, leaning her elbows on the counter while still staring at the auburn woman with a grin.
-"Oh no, I couldn't, it's too much," Alicent shifted nervously, reaching into her purse.
A pale hand on hers stopped her, even through the thick gloves she was wearing, Alicent could feel the warmth of the other girl's skin. - "It's a gift, technically you're helping me, the lemon cake is new to the collection and it's not for sale yet. I could use an external opinion "- again that confident smirk graced the violet-eyed woman's lips.
Alicent didn't stand a chance.
-I...O...Okay - she cleared her throat - but next time it's on me -stated.
Before Rhaenyra could respond, a bustling group of students passed through the front door, the sun peeking through the glass. Shit.
-It's late! Oh god," Alicent grabs the bag and hurries towards the exit, "Thank you so much, Rhaenyra, see you later!"
*******************************************************************************************************************
Alicent arrived on time, and spent the rest of the day with a huge smile on her face. That night, when she was preparing for bed, she noticed the familiar golden glow on her palm. "Good night, beautiful."