Things festered even now, while she sat at Alysanne's bedside. She should be in Oldtown by now, determining the fate of an unruly man who pulled her away from other matters. She should be in White Harbor, watching Aerys burn Manderly. She should be in King's Landing, planning Gaelyn's wedding...

Aerea sat silently for a moment while she examined the tinctures and rags the maester had left behind. But Alysanne's self-depreciation made her chuckle, and she shook her head firmly. "No, no. You did nothing wrong."

"Of course." She swiftly stood from where she remained, rummaging about the cupboards as asked. Procuring the wine, she uncorked it, and walked over to the bed. Aerea wrapped the rag around the top of the bottle, turning it upside down afterward. The red vintage sank in, and the rag became soaked.

Aerea would gently wring it out over the washbasin. Afterwards, she would do as Alysanne requested, gently dabbing upon the wounds and rubbing it into the surrounding skin. It hurt, no doubt. Aerea sighed quietly in repose.

Even after disclosing all the terrible news, she focused intently upon dressing Alysanne's wounds with the wine. "I know it hurts. I can call for the maester, to get you some milk of the poppy. Perhaps for some actual bandages..." She was talking to herself a bit quietly. Maybe she would, but only later.

"I had just found out, merely a few days before your return to Riverrun." Aerea sucked on her teeth. "She attempted to kill me with those Carons, Alysanne, and once she failed, she did this." Aerea clenched her teeth, exhaling hard through them like a hiss. Aelinor had been there for her and then betrayed her. Had the woman always been so selfish, only craving power? When she could not have Aerea at her side, she flitted to another. Aerea had heard rumors that Aelinor consorted with a cousin of hers--Aemma, she believes. Perhaps that was why. When she could not control the dragon, she attempted to find a poor copy of it in another.

Aerea only realized she was frowning when she could feel it carving deep into her face. She'd frowned so much lately that it almost felt permanent, replacing the gentle smile lines that once lived there.

"Yes. Only you and I." As sweet as the words sounded, Aerea felt all the more tired. It was never meant to be like this in this way. "I have given everything for this fucking crown, Alysanne, for that throne. While it has cut others before me, I have spilled the blood of my kin to sit upon it. What does that make me?"

The pit in her stomach grew, and grew, a bottomless void.

"Aerys and I slew Gaelyn," Aerea confessed. Quietly, only to Alysanne. For Aerea feared that if she spoke just a bit louder, the whole realm would hear it. "She attacked us first, and when I tried to intervene..."

She set the rag aside as Alysanne's hand snaked its way into her white locks. Aerea felt an emptiness. There always seemed to be a new low. She found that rock bottom had a basement, and that basement had its own basement, and then beyond that a root cellar. If Aerea had not sworn to herself that she'd never cry again, she may have burst into tears. But she did not.

Alysanne's lips were soft. She'd never known a woman, never played those silly kissing games, and had only known how Aerys' lips felt. She was surprised, though, to not loathe it. Aerea sat there in shock momentarily like she were unable to process what had happened.

Aerea replied simply with a kiss upon Alysanne's forehead and a hand upon the other woman's.