The Selection Jacaerys Velaryon AU Chapter 2
AU Masterlist
The early morning light filtered in through sheer curtains as your maids entered the room. They gently roused you from bed and began making you ready for breakfast.
“Oh, we will make you the most gorgeous woman in the realm.” Lottie gushed. “Prince Jacaerys will see you and have his breath taken away.”
“Have you ever heard of a prince swooning?” You asked, unable to indulge in Lottie’s fantasies.
Daisy shook her head, chuckling. “Imagine that. A prince experiencing love at first sight.”
Anne and Lottie giggled together. They put you in your gown and Lottie started working on your hair.
“So breakfast will last for an hour, maybe longer if Prince Jacaerys wishes to spend time with you all. You get to dine with the royal family in a small dining room. You’ll have morning lessons with a maester, lunch, and then you will all have a free afternoon. In the evening, a feast will be thrown in honor of Prince Jacaerys and his competition.” Daisy said.
“This all seems very useless. It’s not as if the Prince would ever choose to marry me. I would like to drop out by this afternoon if possible.” You said.
“You don’t know that.” Anne argued. “They would not invite you here if they would never make you queen.”
“Anne’s right, my lady. Anything could happen in this competition.” Daisy said.
“You three of all people should know they’d never let a commoner sit on the throne.”
They stayed quiet after that and sent you out to go to breakfast.
The servants led you and the other ladies down the halls until stopping at the entrance to a dining hall. Inside, you could see the royal family seated around the long table with Rhaenyra sitting at the head, Daemon at her right and Jacaerys at her left. The hall looked large enough to hold over 100 people, a little unfitting to have breakfast with so few people.
A guard announced the names of the contestants and led each one to their seat. You were the final one called to sit and placed the farthest from the Prince. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out why.
Queen Rhaenyra stood as soon as everyone was sitting to speak. “My ladies, it is my honor to welcome you into The Selection. For the next few months, you all will compete to win the heart of my son, Prince Jacaerys. As the weeks go on, Prince Jacaerys will eliminate you as he gets to know you and as you compete in challenges. Good luck to you all, and let the most worthy woman become Queen.”
Rhaenyra sat down at the last word, and you thought you might be imagining it, but she definitely gave you dirty looks during that speech.
The servants brought food to the table and served everyone tea. Breakfast was a luxury you never got. You only ever got one meal a day, maybe a snack if you were lucky. They served bacon, eggs, sausage, warm bread, and fresh fruit. As simple as it was, it was also one of the best meals you had ever had.
You focused only on your food while the other ladies whispered and craned their heads to get a look at Jacaerys. At the head of the table, the ladies who sat close to the Prince were speaking with him. You could make out a few of their breathy words as they complimented the Prince and flirted with him. You could see his dark curls and side profile if you turned your head just right, but Queen Rhaenyra caught you looking and you turned away.
Once everyone was finished, Queen Rhaenyra stood to speak again.
“A competition comes with rules, and this one is no exception. First, you are not allowed to be alone with the Prince or any other noble man that may be here. Second, you must comply with anything that I, King Daemon, or Prince Jacaerys ask of you. And third, do not fight with each other or weave lies to get your fellow contestants out. Breaking any of these rules will result in your immediate removal from the competition, do we all agree?”
Everyone nodded, but it wasn’t as if you had any choice not to agree. Alas, that marked the end of breakfast.
You were quickly herded back down the hallway and into the library. The maester, a man who looked to be in his early thirties, was already waiting at a small table. He sat you down and immediately got to work to figure out what you knew.
Halfway through, you paused in your work to speak with the maester.
“Maester Ray? Would it be possible for me to drop out of the competition?” You ask.
“How would I know? I didn’t start this blasted thing.” He sighed. Then he snapped his fingers in your face. “Don’t ask stupid questions and do your work.”
Your hand had been cramped up for a solid hour by the time a servant came to get you for lunch. You dropped the quill and stretched out your fingers with a sigh of relief. The servant led you down the hallway and back to the dining hall where you ate breakfast that morning. The other contestants were already sitting once you arrived. When you sat down everyone began to eat.
You ate quietly, which seemed to be how you were going to eat for the rest of your time here as the other ladies pointedly ignored you. Lunch dragged on for an hour. These ladies certainly took their time eating and chatting.
Eventually everyone finished eating and the contestants were brought outside to the garden. Prince Jacaerys had joined you but he attracted the attention of all the ladies. You supposed it would be too much work to try and talk to him, and there was no way he’d appreciate your presence, so you sat down on a stone bench not far from the group.
Boredom quickly set in, causing you to look around at everything and wonder what your parents were doing. Were they thinking of you right now as well? Did they worry for you?
As you looked around you caught one of the girls pointing at you. When you looked over, they all giggled and talked quietly. You hoped you weren’t the topic of conversation. It would be quite embarrassing for them to spin rumours about you to the Prince.
You were finally able to see Prince Jacaerys as one of the girls moved. He was already looking at you. Your eyes felt glued to him once they made contact. It was true he didn’t have the typical Targaryen looks, but he was beautiful in his own right. He turned away first to look at another lady. The blonde girl who made fun of you the first night caught the exchange and glared at you. You weren’t paying much attention when their names were called at breakfast, but you thought she might be a Lannister. It would explain the hair.
After sitting on the bench for a bit, you decided to walk off. Nobody even noticed your absence. You took a slow stroll through the gardens before heading back into the castle. If you were to be stuck here, you may as well make something out of it.
You could remember the way back to the library, so you made your way there and browsed the shelves. A book about dragons caught your attention first so you sat down to read it.
Hours passed while you were absorbed in your book. Surprisingly, no one went in and out of the library during that time. They were probably stuck planning for this useless competition. Since you were so busy reading, you had not noticed that you were meant to be getting ready for the feast.
Daisy, Lottie, and Anne stormed into the library. Well, really only Daisy, but she made it feel like the others were angry too. You did not believe that Lottie or Anne could ever get angry. Daisy hauled you to your feet and tugged you away without so much as a word. Anne took the book from you and carried it back to your room.
Daisy bathed you while scolding you for going off and hiding. Lottie washed your hair as gently as ever.
They got you dressed, did your hair, and perfected your appearance all in record time.
“Go! You’re almost late for the feast!” Daisy shoved you back out the room and took you to the great dining hall.
You were astounded by the size of this dining hall. It had to be three times the size of the one you took breakfast and lunch in. The contestants sat to the right of the main table where the royal family sat. It was much easier to get a view of the Prince without anyone obstructing your view. Gods, he looked even better with the candlelight accentuating his sharp features.
The most exciting part was the food. There was a whole roasted boar as the centerpiece on your table, bread, cheese, fresh fruit and vegetables, and all the wine you could drink. You took a small sip and were surprised at how pleasant it tasted. It was much sweeter than the ale they served at the Dragon’s Drink.
You indulged yourself even though you knew you would regret it later. The other girls smirked and gossiped about you, but with the delectable food and drink and soft music, nothing could bring your mood down.
Once dessert had been served, the dancing started. You had never danced a day in your life so it wasn’t exactly insulting that no one asked you to dance. You relaxed back in your chair and enjoyed the evening.
However, you felt a prickling at your temples. You looked up to the main table to see a man staring at you. He had to be a Targaryen with his bright silver hair, but you focused on the eye patch. You knew who this was. Many rumours floated around about the One-eyed Prince. He was beautiful, no doubt, but there was something unsettling about the way he stared you down. You couldn’t look at him for long without feeling dread.
Unfortunately for you, he made his way over to you.
“My lady.” Prince Aemond spoke in a soft tone that felt off to his appearance. “So you are the common girl?”
You nodded, keeping your gaze on your goblet. His hand appeared in front of you.
“Dance with me.” You looked at his hand then to his face then back to his hand. You knew you shouldn’t refuse so you stood up. You wavered a bit from all the drink but Prince Aemond’s hand held yours steadyingly.
Prince Aemond guided you out to dance. He placed your hands on his shoulders while he held your waist. It seemed like a juvenile dance, but it was good for a beginner. With the drink clogging your mind and the way the music swirled around you, you paid no attention to your surroundings.
After your dance, you left the feast. The wine had made you drowsy and unstable. You followed a servant back to your room where your maids were waiting. They undressed you and tucked you into bed. The lingering feel of the wine sent you off to sleep.
Taglist : @cantbecreative @jacaerysqueen
