«List of Interests.

1. Alicent Hightower.

What she has: Influence on her kids, respect from Aemond.

What she lacks: a friend.

2. Aegon Targaryen, the Second.

What he has: whores and constant physical contact.

What he lacks: a person to understand him.

3. Aemond Targaryen.

What he has: power to his name and knowledge.

What he lacks: emotional support, someone to trust».

— From Drusilla Tyrell's memoirs that were written in an unknown language.

•

'Augustus Tyrell demands for a month. A month during which you and Drusilla Tyrell will communicate constantly, and if by the end of it, you will be satisfied by the company of each other, the marriage will be agreed,' Alicent explains over the breakfest, while glancing at still sleepy and slow from hangover Aegon. 'Aemond, did you hear me?'

He sips the tea indifferently.

'Yes, mother.'

'Good,' she nods, massaging her temples. 'And one more thing. During this month you both will be obligated to share chambers.'

Aemond almost spills the tea on his table, eye widening. That sounds absolutely vulgar.

'Excuse me?'

'It is a very old tradition from the Highgarden,' his grandfather interrupts apathetically, watching at Aegon with unhidden disgust. 'A gesture that shows how a woman trusts her chosen one. That she is clear on her intentions and pure. It also means that she believes that her future husband is respectful enough not to do anything.'

Apparently, Tyrells are strongly loyal to their traditions. It is something Aemond didn't expect, always thinking that their house is the most impure one, but seeing how they valued little traditions, remembering how Drusilla spoke yesterday, made him doubt that his opinion was correct.

'Well. That is fine for me,' he answers after a long pause.

Duty is duty, he reminds himself.

'Am I the only one who thinks that it is so strange that Drusilla and Augustus are friends now?' Aegon cuts the blissful silence with a mouth full of bread. 'I mean, not only did their marriage get called out without any reasons, but also they are so friendly with each other suddenly. And I clearly remember how Drusilla always cried that her brother was mean to her, when we were kids.'

Though it was Aegon, who befriended her that time, Aemond too remembers it. A certain someone used to tell him about it, how awfully complicated their story was. Yet, his brother is correct - they danced merrily together yesterday, sharing wide smiles and hushed laughs.

'It must be a shock for you, but some siblings try to mend their relationship,' Aemond hums coldly, not even looking at Aegon.

'Yeah,' he huffs. 'And some siblings are not arrogant twats.'

Alicent gasps, scandalised, and a mighty hit lands on Aegon's head.

'Oh,' Helaena says suddenly, face becoming softer. 'Aegon, talking bad about yourself is not a healthy thing. Be nice to yourself, please.'

Aemond knows his sister means no genuine harm, worrying even over someone so low as Aegon, but it makes him smile viciously, when his brother's face turns sour and mother tries to hide her smile behind clasped hands.

Serves him right, he guesses.

•

Aemond finds Drusilla in total solitude after his training finishes. There is no companion in the face of the young girl Aemond saw yesterday this time, and it is quite quiet from where she is standing. Drusilla does nothing, simply examining roses around the garden, breathing calmly, when he clears his throat, trying to catch her attention.

'Lady Drusilla, my betrothed.'

She shudders, and the picture of total peace ruins instantly.

'Oh! My Prince!' Her voice is loud again, too annoying for his liking and he furrows. 'It is a pleasure to meet you here! How can I help you?'

'Would you like to accompany me on the little walk?' He suggests, gesturing at the little labyrinth. 'I think there are a few things to discuss, since we are having a month before us.'

Drusilla claps enthusiastically, jumping a little bit in her place.

'Of course! I couldn't dream of a better proposal!'

Aemond could physically feel how empty her words were, and as they reach a closed area he starts to think that, perhaps, yesterday's vision was the result of his imagination and a wine he drank. Maybe she is air-headed all along, because there is no way someone could play their role this good.

'Let's make a few things clear,' he starts, hands behind his straightened back. 'I am a man of honour and duty. And my duty is to protect my family. If you ever become my wife, you will be considered a part of it. Is it understandable?'

Aemond waits.

He waits that her mask will crack how his did a little bit after hearing her talking about duties, but Drusilla watches him with the same dumb expression on her face.

'Oh! Yes, yes, of course!' She chirps.

He tries again.

'For a better alliance, both of us should try to be as honest as possible, don't you agree?'

'Yeah!'

Another silence.

Aemond gives up.

'I saw you last night.'

Drusilla tilts her head, confused.

'Ah? Excuse you, my Prince?'

'I overheard your conversation with your maid yesterday, Lady Tyrell.'

And that's when her face falls for a mere second, but he catches it anyway. Smile trembles slightly, pupils widening for a second, before she laughs stupidly.

'I... I don't...'

'Let's not,' he stops her, raising a hand. 'You are either helping our alliance by being honest with me from that moment or we call out our wedding right now.'

It is a bluff. He wouldn't call out, simply couldn't even. But he knows that Drusilla had some marriage proposals before that finished scandalously or simply without explanation, and it is clear as sky that she chose him as a possible husband because he, as she told her maid, was respectful and calm enough.

It is a bluff, but a strained smile leaves her face, finally.

'Why you didn't do that already, if you heard me?' Drusilla asks, and even her voice sounds nicer now, calm and collected, much deeper than usual. 'Clearly, I am not an image of the perfect wife when I am like this.'

Aemond hums, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

'Because I don't need a perfect idiotic wife, Lady Tyrell,' he explains as they start to move down the garden again. 'What I need is a smart woman, who will be loyal to me and will not make scenes or give me bastards.'

'Have you told your parents already?' Drusilla asks carefully, mirroring his pose, eyeing him suspiciously.

'I don't think you understood me right, Lady Tyrell. I don't need a perfect idiotic wife. I never said my family doesn't need it.'

Drusilla slows her pace a little bit, a blue eyes pondering on what she heard, and Aemond notices the way she clutches her necklace lightly, almost worried-like.

'So, you will allow me to continue the act I held for so many years?'

'Indeed. Just not when we are alone.'

She seems relieved, a small sigh leaving her lips.

'That is rather fond of you, but I understand that it would be beneficial for both of us,' Drusilla says in the end, nodding shortly. 'Still, I believe such a man like you will ask for something in return for keeping this to himself?'

Smart.

She is smart.

And she knows how to use her words.

Aemond knows that, perhaps, he should be worried about having her around his family. But it is a strange consolation for him, instead. And his instincts - almost the only thing he followed without any questions - agrees on that. He doesn't feel danger from Drusilla Tyrell, despite everything.

'Not too much, I am not a tyrant. Three questions you need to answer honestly.'

Drusilla looks a little bit surprised, but agrees without any back thoughts.

'Ask right away, my Prince.'

'If I would never see your real face, were you planning to fool me like you did others all your life? Or you were planning to tell me the truth?'

Drusilla laughs.

This time it's not the loud, thundering giggles he hates, but melodic and a little bit hoarse. It reminds him of the swirls of wind that he likes to listen to, when he rides Vhagar.

'Well. To be honest, I thought you are a smart one that cannot be fooled like other candidates on my hand,' Lady Tyrell explains carefully, and he senses no lie in her words. 'But I wasn't planning to tell you anything, until I would make sure that you are trusted. That you are not planning to hurt my family, for example.'

'Your family... Not you?'

'I have very little on my name and existence,' she tells him, utterly serious. 'My family. Father and mother, my dear Augustus - they mean the most to me.'

'I see. This, I understand,' he takes this answer with great calmness and satisfaction. He hoped to hear something like this, to be honest. 'As far as I know, from your childhood you were promised to your brother to marry. Yet, it didn't happen. Why?'

'Oh, I knew you will ask about it!' She complains, but there is no seriousness in her voice, and it sounds almost friendly. 'Gods... You know, my Prince, we are not Targaryens. Usually, people don't do that. Shocking, I know...'

He chuckles.

'The reason why I was promised my brother was quite difficult, but it is closely connected to my mother's state. Perhaps, you had heard at least when we were younger... My mother had a terrible miscarriage.'

Aemond thinks he remembers it now.

How the Lord's Tyrell wife, Livia, went insane after losing the third kid. Locked in one of the rooms, she spilled nonsense all the time, paranoidal over her two other kids' lives.

'She went slightly out of her mind... She was worried over the strangest things. But, for some stupid reason, she thought that once my future husband will kill me or something. She told my father that I will be safest with Augustus. And he, in an attempt to calm her down, arranged a marriage between us.'

Aemond listens to her carefully, and there is something he notices, something charming - Drusilla tells stories beautifully. He might think of her like a good storyteller, if she continues like this. Perhaps, she even likes to read.

'And then what?'

'But then... After two years of our last visit to the King's Landings, I lost my dearest friend. And... I had problems with realising it. I... I am going to be completely honest with you, I hardly kept it up. And my father sent me to seclusion. I spent five years there, returning to my senses. Due to my instability, father agreed on everything I asked. I was rather... I looked rather dying back then. So, when I asked to break this marriage off, he agreed,' her voice becomes quieter with each word, and Aemond sees how waves in her eyes storm. 'It is a good thing. Me and Augustus had a hard relationship, but after that, after I freed both of us it became better. I am forever grateful for my brother.'

So, that is what made their relationship stronger.

Aemond thinks he understands it now.

He remembers Augustus and Drusilla very little, they spent time around Aegon when they were younger, and he remembered that Aegon liked them the most, because he understood their struggle, unwillingness to marry their sibling.

'I... See.' Aemond notices the way her shoulders tremble a little bit, and coughs. 'I apologise if my question was–'

'Please, continue. We still have one left,' she cuts him softly.

Quite stubborn.

Not very emotional around others.

That is a good thing.

'Where is Irellea?'

Irellea, the only friend he had, the only nice thing about Tyrells constant visiting.

Aemond remembers her nicely - her long hair that always smelled with lavender, gentle smiles she offered him and constant support. Irellea. The girl he promised to marry, though his mother never accepted, well-knowing that she is an orphan, who simply was lucky to become the maid around the only daughter of lord Tyrell.

When Drusilla stops in tracks, Aemond thinks he understands something. The reason why she never followed her mistress in here.

'What happened?' He asks, hoping his worry is not visible.

Drusilla ceases for a while, and the hold on her necklace grows stronger.

'I lost my dearest friend, I told you, didn't I?' She answers unsurely.

'How it happened?'

When he first heard that he might be matched with Drusilla Tyrell, he thought about a chance of seeing Irellea, finally. But it was a small sixteen year old maid around Drusilla, and not her, and Aemond thought of different possibilities.

He just hoped for the best.

'She threw herself from the window,' Drusilla whispers. 'From my window. On my eyes.'

'Why would she do that?'

'Because of men, of course!' Lady Tyrell hisses, voice suddenly full of rage, almost of madness, even, and it is the first time someone beyond Helaena symphyses maids so deeply. 'They used her. They... They... Molested her! And I... I... I couldn't do anything, I...'

Aemond feels his throat go dry.

He didn't know that it is possible, to mourn the person you didn't meet for so many years, but it hurts, because he kept his hopes high, and because he promised Irellea to save her, to marry her, despite what mother said–

'It was awful,' Drusilla hugs herself. 'I... I am sorry, I remember you loved her. I should put it in better words, but I simply...'

Aemond turns his face away from her, collecting pained thoughts.

'I believe every person who knew her well loved her,' he says calmly. 'What about the men?'

'Augustus executed them, when I told him what happened.'

'Good,' he exhales sharply.

They stay silent for a while, both calming down.

He tries not to feel anything, because he is rarely the one to, nowadays. But it is hard, for some reasons. Because Irellea was the last thing that connected him with his own childhood, the only good thing from it, and now that she is gone...

'I am thanking you for honesty, Lady Tyrell. And therefore, I am going to answer with the same,' he makes sure she listens to him before continuing. 'You are right. I loved Irellea. I love her, still, and I would like to think you don't find it rather childish. All these years I held a place in my heart for her, and you shall understand, my feelings for her are serious.'

He waits a little bit.

He knows women usually handle news about not being one in men's hearts awfully. With jealousy and hysterics. And though Aemond understands that Drusilla is more collected and calm, partly, he waits for the same. But nothing happens.

'I could never be your lover, Drusilla Tyrell. But I am going to be your husband, and I am going to respect you by all means.'

Surprisingly, she doesn't argue with that.

'I will respect you as well,' she puts hand on his shoulder, and this gesture is so... Simple. Rather calming. Friendly. 'Aemond Targaryen, I am going to be your wife and respect you as much as I can, while you do the same. Let us not be lovers, but friends. Could we agree on that?'

He still thinks he dreams, but nods nevertheless.

Perhaps, this marriage would go better than expected.

•

Ah, how sweet men look when they are trying to manipulate women.

Drusilla thinks it funny in some way, threatening her with calling out their marriage when it is her, who is the most wanted woman in the six Kingdoms, and it is Aemond, who can't find himself a match due to his imperfection! Oh, she clearly feels Otto Hightower's impact in this weak attempt to play with her.

Well, she can endure it.

She would gladly help Aemond Targaryen to play his little games, he thinks he knows how to play. And later, when masks will be off, perhaps, Drusilla can teach him how to play them truly. It might be useful.

'Did you really answer all his questions honestly, my lady?' Kasia asks, intrigued.

This question makes sense.

She knows how easy it is for her to lie. She does this all her life, after all.

'Maybe, one of them was a lie. But it is not necessarily this way. I might be honest as well.' She shrugs. 'What is the truth for you, Kasia? And when a lie holds in itself the truth, then what is it being called?'

Kasia blinks confused, and Drusilla pats her shoulder affectionately.

It pleases her that Kasia supports all her doings, but Drusilla would be a fool to trust her completely, or to try to make her a part of her own plan.

And while Drusilla Tyrell is a lot of things, fool is not the one of them.

'Did you find out where I can find Aegon this time?' Drusilla turns to her. 'I want to fix our broken friendship, I told you.'

'Oh, yes! One minute, I will help you to go there,' Kasia hums. 'It is so sweet that you still care for him...'

Drusilla sighs and follows.

She senses that she might actually die while suffering his company, actually.

•

It's afternoon, when Aegon finally breaks through headaches that killed him from the very early morning, when mother woke him up without a reason to do so; everyone agreeing that it would be better without him.

He has nothing to do as usual. So he simply sits in the main hall, staring at absolutely tasteless paintings of some of his ancestors - Aemond would say some smart words about the style of that century, while Aegon just sees an ugly picture - and thinks about visiting Sunfyre. Then, he has to take part at the dinner with his family again and wait for getting drunk patiently; the best part of the day.

Useless life of the future king.

'Aegon!'

He winces from a loud noise, but turns in the direction of sound.

He looks surprised when he notices the slim figure of a smiling woman that stops in front of him, ever cheerful.

'Ah, Silla. Hi.'

'Hello!' She hums happily. 'Are you free?'

'Depends on how deep you want to go,' he chuckles. Is he free? 'I have nothing to do, my future sister-in-law. Why?'

Drusilla squeezes his hand in hers, and almost beams.

'Do you mind to have a little walk with me, Aegon? We hadn't seen each other for so long! I missed you a lot, you know.'

Missed... Him a lot?

He looks confused.

This girl is really something completely stupid or what? Did she know about his reputation? About how low he fell through passing years? That he is not the same person she knew? And admittedly, he was a failure already back then?

'I don't really care, Silla,' he says, hoping that cold demeanour will make her leave.

'I will take that as yes,' she exclaims instead, helping him to rise from his chair. 'Come on! It will be fun.'

Aegon rolls his eyes, but follows nevertheless.

...It is not like he has something to do, right?

A/N: First of all, had you noticed that chapters name are named after tarot major cards, lmao?

Secondly, before every chapter we will have little notes from Drusilla's diaries and memoires. They all are written on the non-existing language that she created herself, so no one would find it out. She doesn't share this knoweledge with no one. Or maybe, just with one person, but we haven't seen him yet :) 

This chapter's summary:

Drusilla: Oh, so we are playing two truths and one lie!

Kasia: No, I think prince meant something different...

Drusilla: Hm. Two lies and one truth then. Can go with that as well.

Kasia: How... How many times you lied to him?

Drusilla: Did I,