“I’m not going to the feast.” Visenya said stoutly.
Emma made an exasperated noise and threw up her hands, “Why not?”
“Well why do I have to?” The younger girl retorted. “I don’t see why we came at all. The Lannisters have been very unpleasant to us, and probably only invited us to see if we’d dare. And aren’t we supposed to be pretending nobody likes each other?”
“That’s the point, Visenya.” Emma tried to explain for the umpteenth time. “We have to present a somewhat united front in public while rumors spread that House Velaryon is fighting in private. Besides,” Visenya sighed, seeing the expression of vicious pleasure on her sister’s face, “I wanted to see that cow Margaery’s face when we all showed up at her nephew’s birthday party. We were properly invited. She has no one to blame but herself.”
“Well, I’m not going. No one will notice I’m not there, anyways.” Visenya said crossly, sitting on her bed with a whump. She put her hand back onto the sheets, and then jerked it back again, wincing. She’d forgotten the cuts on her hand from when she’d grabbed the branch earlier.
“What’s the matter?” Garren asked, noticing her reaction.
“Nothing!” Visenya squeaked, curling her hand into a fist to hide the scratches. Her father looked at her in that way of his that warned her that he knew everything, and Emma smacked Garren, apparently having noticed it some time ago, but also aware that she didn’t want to talk about it. Sometimes she really hated her family.
“It probably has something to do with the reason why she doesn’t want to go to the feast, tonight.” Isabel said, sitting in the armchair in the room, legs draped gracelessly over one of the chair’s arms, shoes on the floor beneath her feet.
“Isabel, please.” Emma said, sounding exasperated. Isabel ignored her, and Emma turned back to Visenya. “If father says you don’t have to go, no one’s going to make you, but get your hand treated, at least.”
Visenya sighed. “I will.” When they were all gone, she let out another sigh, this one of relief. Isabel was right, of course. For some reason she couldn’t explain, Visenya didn’t want Baelin Lannister to find out that she’d lied to him, that she was a Velaryon and his family hated hers.