Sorrow and pain - Otto Hightower II
“Lord Otto Hightower's greatest shame was realising that his only daughter was more intelligent than all the male heirs he sired. Lady Alicent was better than her brothers in everything: in her lessons, knighthood and even sword fighting, once she competed in a small Florent tournament as a mystery knight, won the jousting, and crowned Lady Olenna Hightower as Queen of Love and Beauty.
Figuring out that Lady Alicent was the mystery knight was only possible due to my skill as a Maester, as the wound on Lady Alicent's arm was a unique purple hue that needed an ointment.
The fact that Lady Alicent is the mystery knight will remain a secret I will guard with my life until the rage that Lord Otto felt at seeing his beloved wife coveted by another man passes away.”
- Maester Brennan's personal journal, found in 1904 AC, passage from unknown year.
Alicent has three older brothers and one younger: Leyton, Uthon and Manfred are all wrapped around her little pinky, and the youngest, Gwayne, thinks Alicent invented dragons.
What Otto cannot understand is why he is at the lord's solar with his three children, his only daughter, his brother's squire, Lord Osmund Tyrell, and Ryam Redwyne, one of the boys who is under Hightower's care.
What strikes him most, in fact, is Osmund's black eye and Ryam's bloody lip, while Alicent is smeared with mud and Leyton, Uthon and Manfred look as proud as peacocks.
— Alicent… — Otto asks, feeling the vein on his forehead throb, he doesn't even need confirmation to know it was her, because he knows it was. — What did you do?
— What? — his daughter replies, brown eyes wide and innocent. — Is this male chauvinism, why do I have to take the blame, is everything in this castle my fault now?
Male chauvinism, marital rape, feminism and human rights are all words that Alicent pulled out of her six-name-day girl's head and that Otto is sure not even the most educated of maesters know what they mean.
— Alicent. — says Otto, and he is very, very close to treating her like a lowborn squire and whipping her for such nonsense. — I know it was your fault because it's always your fault. — and he's yelling at the end and Alicent looks suitably unpleased.
— Father. — Leyton intervenes and Otto rolls his eyes, it is clear that the defenders of Saint Alicent would come to her defense as knights from the stories. — Alicent had a good reason this time.
And the last time, and the time before that, and that time, and the time before that, and every thousand other times she had a good reason.
If Otto got a dragon from another for every time Alicent had a good reason to do something, he would be richer than Corlys Velaryon and all of House Lannister, combined.
— And what is that good reason, Leyton? — Otto asks and his son lowers his head. — Because last time Alicent managed to run out of flour in the kitchen trying to make chocolate chip cookies, I don't even know what chocolate is, and yes, that other time when she made the cook cut the beef so small to make hamborgar… — and yes, that attempt was very good, and who would say that mashed meat seasonedput between bread with a white sauce and salad would be very good? But he will never tell Alicent that.
— Burger, Father. — Alicent says, as if she were teaching a five-day-old child, and Otto wonders if the plan to send her to the wall would backfire now that everyone knows about the wildling daughter of the Hightowers.
— That's not the point, Alicent. I want to know what you did this time and who do we have to apologize to. — because at this point the only house in the Reach Alicent hasn't yet offended is the Tyrells, and that looks set to change.
— Lady Alicent need not apologize, Lord Otto. — the Tyrell boy speaks, his voice little more than a shaky little thing and Otto almost rolls his eyes, because whereas the boy's father is a strong man and a capable warrior, Osmund is the third son and a chubby, scared boy who is afraid of his own shadow.
— Yes, Lord Otto. — the Redwyne boy continues, looking at Alicent with big wide eyes and oh well, Otto knows that look, he used to look at Olenna that way when she was a mere distant dream.
— Alicent…— His voice takes on a dangerous edge, and his daughter must feel it, because her face is lowered and her ears are tipped pink whether with fear or embarrassment, Otto can't tell.
— They said I couldn't beat them in a fight because I'm a girl and I challenged them both to a duel because I can beat them. — Alicent answers stubbornly. — And I won. — Alicent says, and there is pride in her voice and Otto would be impressed, Alicent has six name days to her and has defeated two squires with three moons on her.
In another life, under other circumstances, if she had been a boy, Otto would have been happy to let Alicent play with swords and ride and chase the free, adventurous spirit that inhabited her body, he would have let her ride through the Seven Kingdoms and beyond, but life is cruel, and Alicent has been born a girl.
All he can hope for is an advantageous marriage and a husband who will break her spirit, something that Otto himself never managed to.
— Apologize, Alicent. — says Otto, and he sees her open her mouth to object to his orders, it was cute when she was little, but she's only a few years away from becoming a woman, and he'll make her a proper lady if it's the last thing he does. — I don't care if you think you've gained something from this ridiculous battle of yours, you are a highborn lady and not a servant girl dreaming of being a knight.
— Dad… — she says and he can see that her eyes are welling up with tears and a part of him would have tolerated that, Olenna would have put up with that behavior but this whole pretending to be a boy thing is going too far, he's already given a damn horse to her and let her follow Leyton and Uthon's lessons and he allowed her to wear the strange riding breeches she wanted.
But tussling around like a starving commoner with the spare heir of the Reach is a disgrace to House Hightower and that behavior ends today.
— No, Alicent. — he says, and his tone leaves no room for argument. — You bring shame to our house with your foolish and reckless actions and this pretense of wanting to be a boy, you are a lady and you will act like one, or gods help me, you will become a septa.
— I'm sorry, Osmund, Ryam, my actions were thoughtless and I have brought my house to shame with my inappropriate and unladylike behavior. — Alicent says and her voice is shaky, and very quiet, but it's an apology.
— Go find a maester, boys. Leyton, Manfred and Uthon, we'll talk later, leave me alone with your sister. — the boys follow orders and Otto turns to Alicent.
And she's actually shaking, and her cheeks are red and her brown eyes are two pools of burning hot blood, Alicent's voice isn't shaking with embarrassment, it is shaking with anger.
His youngest daughter, his only girl is so angry she can't even speak properly.
— I hate you. — Alicent whispers. — I hate you, and I hate you even more because you know I was right, they wronged me and you sided with them, I bet if it was any of my brothers they wouldn't even be punished, I hate you, I hate you, hate, hate, hate.
All Otto can do is watch as Alicent storms out of the room, slamming the door with a furious bang that makes the walls shake.
Many years in the future, Otto Hightower would look back at this moment when hurriedly leaving King's Landing, two moons after his daughter's marriage to the King, and stop thinking that his daughter's hatred was just a girl's fantasy...