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Alysanne cried the first time she heard her child's wails. She had heard many children cry before, yes, but this time it was different. This one was her child. Her own. Hers and Jaehaerys'. A product of their undying love.
A boy. Small and pale, but beautiful nonetheless. Yes, Alysanne's son was the most beautiful boy the queen had ever set her eyes on, with his silver hair and lilac eyes. A true Targaryen prince, a perfect heir for his father.
There was the matter of the name. The child was to be king, he needed an important name. A Valyrian one, of course, to testify his ancestry. Jaehaerys wanted to name him after the Conqueror, their grandfather. Alysanne shared the sentiment, for it would also be a way to honour their long gone eldest brother, the Uncrowned.
And so the young prince was named Aegon, like many before and after him. Rhaena sent a raven immediately, congratulating her younger siblings on the birth, and telling them that she and her daughter would visit soon. Alysanne couldn't wait to introduce their son to them: perhaps Aerea would be happy to meet her newborn cousin.
Despite the troubled birth, the queen was quite energetic. Perhaps it was the joy of being a mother for the first time that made her so happy. Jaehaerys begged her to take it easy and rest, but she simply couldn't stay away from her baby boy.
Aegon was a calm child: he cried but was never too loud, he never suckled too hard when he fed from the wet nurse's breasts, and he loved staying in his mother's arms. Alysanne was enamoured with him, and Jaehaerys too couldn's stay away from his little family.
If the two sovereigns were very close before, the birth of their son united them even more. Aegon was their little miracle, their light, their everything. Alysanne called him her "sweet boy", while Jaehaerys referred to him as his "little dragon".
Yes, Aegon was perfection reincarnated.
Until he wasn't.
Jaehaerys and Alysanne both knew that their son had been born too early, but they still believed he would grow strong with age. And maybe he would have, if he had been given time. Time he, unfortunately, did not have.
Aegon Targaryen died in his mother's arms three days after his birth. The queen's cries of despair resonated inside the Red Keep’s walls for days, and the king too was heartbroken. Alysanne blamed her son's death on the attack she had suffered at Maidenpool: if no one had attacked her, her baby would still be alive.
The funeral took place a few days later, but it was a private matter. Rhaena and Aerea arrived from Dragonstone, and Alysanne cried in her sister's arms while Vermithor burned the little prince's pyre. His ashes were interred on Dragonstone per Alysanne’s wish: Aegon had been a trueborn Targaryen, and as such he deserved a proper burial.
Alysanne never really got over her son's death. She was inconsolable for months, her only smiles reserved to her husband and her dragon: Jaehaerys and Silverwing became her only companions for some time.
The 52nd Year After the Conquest did however bring the queen some joy, for she became a sister once more. She was her mother's fifth child, but her only younger sibling, a girl named Vaella, had died in the cradle quite young, and her parents never had another child. Because of this, Alysanne had never truly known what it meant to be an older sister.
However, years after her father's death, her mother Alyssa had remarried, taking to husband Lord Rogar Baratheon, and had announced her pregnancy the previous year. Alyssa gave birth to a boy who was given the name Boremund by his father. Jaehaerys and Alysanne visited their mother as soon as they heard about the birth, and were able to meet their newborn half-brother. Holding the child was both a comfort and an anguish to Alysanne.
The queen seemed to regain some hope when, by the end of the year, she discovered she was with child. After what had happened with Aegon, Jaehaerys made sure that his wife was protected at all times, so that her safety and that of the babe would be assured.
During the seventh moon of 53 AC, Alysanne gave birth to her second child, a strong and healthy girl with silver-white hair and purple eyes. All of King's Landing rejoiced when the birth of Princess Daenerys Targaryen was announced, and she quickly became known as "the darling of the realm".
Both Jaehaerys and Alysanne doted on their daughter, their only living child. She was their whole world, and the king was heard referring to her as "my darling girl" many times. Daenerys brought back the light that her parents had lost after Aegon's death. And while Alysanne was sad that her daughter would never get to meet her older brother, she was certain that, in due time, she and Jaehaerys would give their little girl many younger siblings.
The princess' grandmother, Alyssa, had never truly recovered after giving birth to her son Boremund, so Jaehaerys and Alysanne visited her as soon as Daenerys was capable of sustaining a dragon flight. The Lady of Storm's End was overjoyed to meet her granddaughter, especially after seeing how much joy she had brought to the sovereigns: it had been a while since Alyssa had seen her children so happy.
The situation was quite different on Dragonstone: while Rhaena was delighted to meet her little niece, Aerea was anything but happy. Her cousin's birth meant that she was now second in line to the Iron Throne given that Daenerys, being Jaehaerys’ child, was the undisputed heir.
Little Daenerys was a precocious child: she started talking well before her first nameday, and she could walk and run before turning two. Which was a cause of trouble for her mother and the maids, who always had to keep a keen eye on her. Jaehaerys simply laughed at his daughter's antics, which brought him immense joy.
The celebrations of the princess' first nameday had barely ended when tragedy struck House Targaryen again. Alyssa Velaryon, despite her now advanced age, was once again with child. She went into labor a month early, and when the king and queen arrived at Storm's End their mother was on the brink of death. Her husband, Rogar Baratheon, was drunk, but Jaehaerys still forced him to choose: he could save the child, but to do so Alyssa had to die. The Lord of Storm's End, without even looking at his wife, told the maester to save his son.
Alysanne remained by her mother's side even after she had passed. When Rhaena arrived, it was too late: Alyssa's oldest child threatened to kill Rogar if he ever even considered marrying again. A typical Velaryon funeral was held for Alyssa, and all her children were present, little Boremund included. Rogar didn't show up.
The son Alyssa had died to give birth to was revealed to be a daughter. When he was lucid enough to consider the matter, her father named her Jocelyn. Rhaena made sure that her half-siblings would be properly taken care of before returning to Dragonstone with her own daughter, Aerea, and Jaehaerys and Alysanne too returned to King's Landing with little Daenerys.
The following year was a happier one for the rulers of the Seven Kingdoms. They hosted a tourney to celebrate the completion of the Dragonpit and the winner, Ser Simon Dondarrion, named their daughter Daenerys his queen of love and beauty. However, nothing made the couple happier than the discovery that they would be parents once more.
Daenerys was convinced that she was to have a sister, as she often told her mother. She was truly excited about her sibling's birth, maybe even more than her parents combined. Unfortunately for the little girl, the little sister she so desperately craved ended up being a brother.
Born on Dragonstone in 55 AC, Prince Aemon Targaryen did not suffer the fate of his older brother Aegon, which was Alysanne's fear, and he was born strong and healthy like his older sister Daenerys. The newborn princeling had eyes as pale as lilac, and his hair was a colour rare even in Old Valyria: it was pale, and it shone like white gold. Both parents were enamoured with their newborn son, and a dragon egg was placed in the prince's cradle.
Despite her initial sadness, Daenerys eventually warmed to Aemon. She would visit the nursery with her mother every morning, and she liked to make her little brother laugh, because she thought he sounded funny. The moment Aemon learned to walk, he started following his sister everywhere, much to the princess' delight.
There was, however, an issue. Since Daenerys' birth, no one had doubted that she was her father's rightful heir, and that she would follow him on the throne. However, now that Aemon had been born, Jaehaerys had started referring to him as his new heir. Alysanne did not understand: after all, Daenerys was still the king's oldest child, so she should become the new queen.
When she told that to her husband, Jaehaerys simply replied that Daenerys would become queen once she'd marry Aemon, and the two of them would rule together, just like he and Alysanne were doing. The queen was not very convinced, but she didn't question him on that subject anymore for a while.
The Gods give and the Gods take: that was known in all Westeros. And tragedy never strayed too far from the Targaryens. Months before Aemon's birth, Rhaena had visited the Red Keep, looking for Aerea. The princess had disappeared with Balerion, the biggest dragon in the world. For more than a year they were nowhere to be seen, and some whispered that Aerea was dead.
However, on the thirteenth day of the fourth moon of 56 AC, Balerion returned to King's Landing with a gravely ill Aerea on his back. Septon Barth and Grand Maester Benifer tried to treat the princess' illness, but there was nothing to be done. Before the day was over, Princess Aerea Targaryen was dead.
The following morning, at sunrise, she was cremated, the king and the queen present alongside their children. When Rhaena arrived, she took her daughter's ashes and flew on her dragon before scattering them upon the winds. After that, Rhaena left Dragonstone and settled down at Harrenhal, where she would remain for the rest of her life.
The following year wasn't nearly as dark. Two days after the Citadel announced the beginning of spring, Queen Alysanne gave birth to her fourth child with Jaehaerys, their third son, who was immediately dubbed “the Spring Prince”.
The boy was named Baelon after one of the lords who had ruled on Dragonstone during the Century of Blood. He was smaller than his older brother, Aemon, had been at birth, but he was much, much louder. He had the silver-white hair of his sister and the lilac eyes of his brother.
Daenerys was four at the time of Baelon's birth, Aemon two. Despite her disappointment about still not having a sister, the little princess enjoyed her brothers' company immensely. Where Daenerys was Aemon followed, and where Aemon went Baelon went too. The youngest child of the king and queen started following his older brother as soon as he learned to crawl, just like Aemon had done with their older sister.
Near the end of the following year, a tourney was held in King’s Landing to celebrate the tenth anniversary of King Jaehaerys' coronation. The entire royal family was present, watching the duels from the royal box. Ser Ryam Redwyne, the tourney's winner, crowned Queen Alysanne as his queen of love and beauty.
The 59th Year After the Conquest, however, was a difficult one. A terrible cold and cruel winter arrived in Westeros: crops failed, the prices of bread and meat rose, and famine spread throughout all the kingdoms. However, the worst part of that winter was the Shivers.
The Shivers was a terrible disease that struck anyone, old and young, rich and poor. Death came swiftly to those afflicted by the illness, who died barely a day after contracting it. For two years the plague afflicted Westeros, causing the death of thousands of people. One of these deaths, however, was lamented in all the kingdoms.
Early in the year 60 AC, during a particularly cold night, Princess Daenerys woke her mother, complaining that she was feeling cold. Anything that could be done was done for her. She was given hot baths, blankets, furs, soups, tea, milk, but the shivers wouldn't stop. The king and queen were desperate and, near dawn, Jaehaerys ordered that ravens were sent to Dragonstone, because his daughter needed a dragon immediately. But it was too late.
Princess Daenerys Targaryen, the darling of the realm, died a day and a half after complaining about feeling cold. She was six years old. The death of their only daughter threw the king and queen into despair. Alysanne stopped attending the meetings of the Small Council, and Jaehaerys didn't smile for months.
Daenerys was burnt as per Targaryen custom by her mother's dragon, Silverwing, her parents and brothers the only ones present. Alysanne cried when Aemon asked her why Dany wasn't there to play with them anymore. Her ashes were interred on Dragonstone, next to her brother Aegon.
Daenerys wasn't, unfortunately, the last victim of the Shivers. The plague would only stop its killing spree at the end of that fateful year, after taking countless lives. Alysanne was rarely seen without her sons by her side after her daughter's death, the children clinging to their mother.
Despite all of the tragedy that occurred in only two years, the end of that awful winter brought back some joy to the royal family. Barely two months after Daenerys' death, Alysanne had discovered that she was expecting again. Near the end of the year, she gave birth to a little girl.
Princess Alyssa Targaryen came to the world squealing, and her mother cried as well when she saw her, because she was Daenerys' little copy. However, some differences were visible immediately. Unlike her four older siblings, Alyssa did not have the typical silver hair that characterised Valyria's descendants, and her hair was instead a dirty blonde. Moreover, she had been born with mismatched eyes: one was violet, the other green. Nevertheless, her birth managed to return a smile to her parents' faces.
Aemon, Baelon and Alyssa would grow up to be inseparable. And, like her older siblings before her, Alyssa attached herself to Baelon the moment she could walk, much to her brother's dismay, who found such behaviour irritating, especially because Alyssa was a girl.
Alysanne spent much time with her three remaining children now that she had to mourn not one but two of them, and Jaehaerys joined them when he wasn't busy with the realm's affairs. In 61 AC, the three princelings found a new companion in Jocelyn Baratheon, their half-aunt, when her father Rogar brought her to King's Landing as a ward to the king and queen. The four children formed a wonderful group, and their friendship would last until their deaths.
The 62nd Year After the Conquest was marked by a very important event: Jaehaerys I Targaryen granted his eldest living son, Aemon Targaryen, the title of Prince of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne. The boy was but seven, yet he already mastered some techniques with the sword, and he was a very kind boy.
A feast was thrown in celebration of the prince's appointment, and his mother sat him next to Lady Jocelyn. The two children chatted and laughed together the whole night, completely ignoring all the other people present.
Jaehaerys and Alysanne didn't stop having children after Alyssa, and they had three others in rapid succession: Princess Maegelle was born in 62 AC, Prince Vaegon came in 63 AC, and Princess Daella followed them in 64 AC. Now parents to six living children, the king and queen were rarely alone.
Maegelle Targaryen was a quiet girl who never cried too loudly or drained the maids' energy, which was a relief: she reminded Alysanne of her eldest brother, Prince Aegon. She had silver-white hair and violet eyes like the majority of her siblings.
Vaegon Targaryen was quiet like his sister, and his mother never heard him complain. His hair was silver-gold, his eyes purple. He didn't, however, seem interested in the company of others. While Maegelle attached herself to her sister Alyssa since she began to walk, Vaegon never showed interest in spending time with either his sisters or brothers alike.
Daella Targaryen, unlike her siblings, cried a lot. And for everything. She was born very small, and didn't say her first word until she was two. She adored her older sister Maegelle, who she considered her "guiding star", but her brother Vaegon and her sister Alyssa seemed to terrify her. She was also very shy in the presence of her older brothers, Aemon and Baelon.
The Gods didn't stop blessing the sovereigns with children: only three years after Daella, Alysanne gave birth to her ninthborn child, her fifth daughter. The princess was named Saera, and she came to the world screaming, her face completely red. The newborn child was difficult from the start, always in need of her mother's milk and attention. While Alysanne was often exasperated with her daughter's behaviour, Jaehaerys doted on their little girl in a similar way he used to do with Daenerys. However, Daenerys had been his oldest daughter and second child; Saera was his ninth, and because of this she lacked all the attention that had been reserved to her eldest sister.
A year after Saera's birth, the king and queen announced the betrothal of their oldest son and heir, Prince Aemon Targaryen, to Lady Jocelyn Baratheon of Storm’s End. After Daenerys' tragic passing, Jaehaerys had considered marrying Aemon to Alyssa, his next oldest daughter, but Alysanne had been opposed to the idea, for she intended Alyssa to marry Baelon.
The prince and his betrothed were married two years later, in 70 AC, during a grand celebration that rivaled the Golden Wedding of 49 AC. The bride, at sixteen, was one of the most beautiful ladies in the realm, with thick straight black hair and eyes of the same colour. She was quite tall for a girl of her age, being an inch short of six feet, but the groom, at five-and-ten, towered over her, as he was already six feet and two inches tall.
Alysanne was seen crying with joy when her son married the woman he loved, just like she had done with Jaehaerys all those years back. She was certain that Aemon and Jocelyn would be amazing rulers one day.
The following year, Queen Alysanne was brought once more to the birthing bed, where she delivered her tenth child and sixth daughter. Princess Viserra was, from the very beginning, the most beautiful of the king and queen's daughters. She had silver-gold hair, deep purple eyes, flawless white skin and beautiful features. Because of her looks and of the attention received by many of the young squires at the Red Keep, Viserra grew up to be a vain girl, with ambitions greater than herself.
In 72 AC, a tourney was held in Duskendale, to celebrate the marriage between Lord Darklyn and a daughter of Lord Manderly. The king and queen remained at the Red Keep, busy with the realm's affairs and their younger kids, but their three oldest children all attended. Prince Aemon Targaryen, aged seven-and-ten, was the winner of the tourney after defeating his younger brother, Prince Baelon, two years younger than him. The heir to the Throne was knighted after his victory. The princes' younger sister, Princess Alyssa, twelve years of age, was also present.
Not long after their return to King's Landing, Aemon became the first of his siblings to claim a dragon after taking to the skies on Caraxes, the Blood Wyrm. His brother Baelon was knighted the following year, during a tourney at Old Oak, and not long after he became a dragonrider as well, claiming none other than the mighty Vhagar.
Baelon's sister Maegelle turned ten years old in 73 AC, and she was promised to the Faith of the Seven as a novice. In due time, she would become a wonderful septa, a reason of pride for both her parents, who would often seek her judgement.
However, that same year, two tragedies struck House Targaryen. The first was the death of Queen Rhaena, Jaehaerys and Alysanne's older sister, at the age of fifty. She was cremated at Harrenhal, and the king ordered for her ashes to be interred there as well, close to where her first husband, Prince Aegon the Uncrowned, had perished.
As if losing a sister hadn't been painful enough already, Jaehaerys and Alysanne lost another child soon afterwards. After a long and difficult labour, the queen gave birth to her eleventh child, a boy she named Gaemon after the Glorious. However, the prince was small and frail, and he died barely three months later. His ashes were interred at Dragonstone, next to the ones of Prince Aegon and Princess Daenerys.
Jaehaerys and Alysanne weren't as young as they used to be. Besides, they still had eight children, and the majority of them were still young children. Gaemon's death could have been a sign for them to focus on the kids they already had instead of the ones they hadn't.
Despite the sadness that year brought to the family, 74 AC was a wonderful one, for the king and queen became grandparents for the first time. On the seventh day of the seventh moon, Lady Jocelyn gave birth to Prince Aemon's firstborn child, a healthy girl with her mother's black hair and her father's lilac eyes. When Princess Rhaenys Targaryen was presented to court, Queen Alysanne held her granddaughter in her arms and called her "our queen to be".
There were plans for Aemon's younger siblings to be wed as well. Baelon and Alyssa had always been close, and they were married a year after their niece's birth. The prince was eighteen, the princess fifteen, and they were absolutely enamoured with one another. Not long after their marriage, Alyssa became the third of her parents' children to claim a dragon, taking to the skies with Meleys, the Red Queen. Aemon, Baelon, and Alyssa were often seen flying together.
The 77th Year After the Conquest was marked by the birth of two Targaryen princelings. The first was the twelfthborn child of the king and queen, their sixth and youngest son. The prince was named Valerion. However, like the one of his older brother Gaemon, his birth was long and complicated, and it left his mother bedridden for half a year. The boy was small and sickly, and he died the following year, a fortnight before his first nameday. His ashes were buried next to the ones of his older brothers and sister.
The fate of the second child was much different. Born to Prince Baelon and Princess Alyssa, Prince Viserys Targaryen was a plump child with silver-gold hair and violet eyes, who laughed a lot and loved milk. His mother took him on his first dragon flight when he was just nine days old, and he giggled the whole time. He became the companion of his cousin, Princess Rhaenys, as soon as he was able to walk and follow her around.
Viserys became an older brother at the age of four, when his mother gave birth to her second child with Baelon. The prince, named Daemon, was a beautiful boy with silver-white hair and violet eyes, who in time would prove to be the exact opposite of his brother.
While she was happy for her sons and daughter, Queen Alysanne mourned her lost babies each time she saw one of her grandchildren, and she was determined not to lose any more of her kids. However, Jaehaerys insisted that she could still bear children despite her age. He was right.
In 80 AC, a year before Prince Daemon's birth, the queen, at the age of forty-four, gave birth to her thirteenth and last child, their seventh daughter. Immediately dubbed as "the Winter Child" due to the time of her birth, Princess Gael Targaryen was born small and pale, but, unlike her brothers Gaemon and Valerion, she survived her first year of life. She was raised in the Red Keep alongside her niece, Princess Rhaenys, and nephews, Princes Viserys and Daemon, due to their closeness in age.
The year of Gael's birth was also the year of the marriage of her older sister Daella. The king and queen wished to extend the tradition of their incestuous marriages to their younger children as well, for it would strengthen their blood, and since Daella's birth they had planned to marry her to her brother Vaegon.
The boy, however, had never been interested in her. When he was ten, one of his mother's companions asked him when he would marry his sister, and his reaction was an insult to the princess, who fled the room in tears. Princess Alyssa poured wine over her younger brother's head, but he simply told her she was wasting it.
Princesses Saera and Viserra were also considered as possible wives for Vaegon, but those ideas were discarded. In 78 AC, when the prince was fifteen, he was sent to Oldtown to become an archmaester. And, while that was a perfect solution for Vaegon, this left the king and queen with three daughters and no more sons.
Jaehaerys requested that Alysanne find a husband for their daughter Daella. The search began when the princess was thirteen, but there were no results. On the first day of 80 AC, the king demanded that his daughter married before the end of the year, and so three men were proposed to the princess: Boremund Baratheon, the Lord of Storm's End, Ser Tymond Lannister, the heir to Casterly Rock, and Rodrik Arryn, the Lord of the Eyrie. Princess Daella eventually chose Lord Rodrik, and she moved with him to the Eyrie after their wedding.
Daella became close with three of the four children Rodrik had conceived during a previous marriage, and she adapted to her new life with her husband. However, in 82 AC, she sent her mother a letter, stating that she was with child and that she was terrified.
Alysanne and Silverwing immediately flew to the Eyrie. The queen had always had a soft spot for her daughter, whom she called "my little flower", and she was afraid for her, given her delicate situation. She remained with her during the entire pregnancy.
The princess went into labour a fortnight too early, and it was a long and troubled affair, but in the end she gave birth to a healthy child. Aemma Arryn was a beautiful little girl, with brown hair and purple eyes. Her mother wished to hold her, but she was forbidden from doing so, which threw her into despair. Childbed fever began soon after the birth, and it would have been risky for the child to be near her mother at that point.
Daella Targaryen died in her bed at the age of eighteen, and she never had the chance to hold her daughter in her arms. Her husband Rodrik begged for her wife to be buried in the Vale, but Alysanne refused. The princess' body was burned by Silverwing, her ashes interred at Dragonstone, next to the ones of Aegon, Daenerys, Gaemon, and Valerion. The death of their daughter was the beginning of what would be known as the First Quarrel between Jaehaerys and Alysanne.
As if Daella's death hadn't brought enough suffering, the king and queen lost yet another child merely two years afterwards. Seven years after the birth of Viserys and three years after Daemon's, Princess Alyssa was once again with child. Prince Baelon told his brother Aemon that he wished for a girl this time.
Their third and final child was instead yet another boy. Prince Aegon Targaryen was born after a difficult labour, and his mother never recovered from it. Alyssa was optimistic, telling her husband that she wished to give him more children, but it wasn't possible.
Alyssa Targaryen died some months after the birth of his son, at the age of twenty-four. Her death shattered not only her parents, but her brothers Aemon and Baelon as well, the latter especially. He never remarried after his wife's death, focusing instead on raising the three sons Alyssa had given him. However, merely six months after the princess' death, Prince Aegon, their youngest son, followed his mother's fate, mere weeks before his first nameday. Both mother and child were buried at Dragonstone.
The princess died near the end of the year, but 84 AC had been difficult from the very beginning. Months before Alyssa's tragic labour, Jaehaerys discovered an ugly truth about another one of his daughters. Princess Saera, seventeen years of age, had slept not with one, not two, but with three different knights. It was a scandalous ordeal that could ruin the girl's reputation.
Saera Targaryen, ninth child of the king and queen, had been doted on by her father a lot. When she was young, she reminded him of her oldest sister, Princess Daenerys, and he had always been soft on her, even as she grew up.
With her silver hair and violet eyes, the princess was a gorgeous girl. The older she got, the more she drew the attention of many of the men at court, and she loved it. However, no matter how much her father cared for her, he couldn't ignore such scandalous rumours. It was simply unacceptable.
The king and queen confronted their daughter in the throne room, where she not only confessed her actions, but proceeded to compare herself to King Maegor I, known for his cruelty and for having six wives. Jaehaerys saw red after that. Maegor had murdered his two older brothers, Aegon and Viserys, and had subjugated the realm to a reign of cruelty and fear. It was unacceptable for his daughter to compare herself to such a monster.
Saera was forbidden from leaving the Keep until the king decided what to do with her. He was often heard saying that she was "no longer his daughter". After the princess escaped to the dragonpit and tried to steal a dragon, Jaehaerys sent her to Oldtown to serve the Faith of the Seven, so that her older sister Maegelle could keep an eye on her.
However, the princess escaped soon after. It wasn't until a year later that her location was discovered. Saera had fled to Lys, and she had become a whore in a pleasure house. While Alysanne argued that the Lyseni had turned her daughter into a whore, Jaehaerys replied that "she always was". This brought the king and queen even further apart.
A year afterwards, in 86 AC, Jaehaerys decided it was time for another one of his daughters to marry. Viserra Targaryen, fifteen years of age, was the tenth child of the sovereigns, and the most beautiful of all their daughters. With her silver-gold hair and deep purple eyes, she was once compared to a goddess by a squire, and all she did was agree with him. However, despite her beauty, her parents had never paid much attention to the girl.
Aemon, Baelon, and Alyssa were their parents's absolute joy. Maegelle was their pride, for she faithfully served the Seven, and Vaegon, despite his behaviour, was a good archmaester, a cause of happiness for his parents. Daella was doted on by her mother, while Saera was a favourite of her father. Little Gael, the youngest of the brood, was always by Alysanne's side: the little princess was sweet, but also simple-minded and fray, and her mother didn’t trust anyone else with her. And so, Viserra was forgotten. She thought that, after the deaths of Daella and Alyssa, and Saera's banishment, her parents would pay more attention to her. Instead, her mother focused on Gael, while her father spent time with Aemon and Baelon.
Viserra wished to be queen. Because of this, she planned to marry her older brother, the prince Baelon, a widow after Alyssa's death two years prior. Alysanne, in an attempt to prevent such marriage, betrothed her daughter to Lord Theomore Manderly. The princess, disgusted by the match, asked her father for help, but he agreed with the betrothal and didn't interfere. Viserra then turned to Baelon, and one night, while drunk, she climbed naked into her brother's bed, but the prince sent her away in anger.
The princess was slyer than her older sister Saera, and so, instead of fleeing, she understood that avoiding the marriage was impossible. In 87 AC, the night before her departure for the North, she slipped from the Red Keep for "one last night of laughter" with her companions. Near midnight, the girl and her friends raced back to the keep, but she collided with one of them. Viserra was thrown from her saddle and landed against a wall, breaking her neck and dying on the spot. She hadn't yet reached her sixteenth nameday.
Alysanne was devastated by the loss of yet another daughter, and while she found comfort in Maegelle and Gael, she begged her husband to bring Saera home. Jaehaerys refused, saying that she was dead to him. His queen never forgave him for such words. In 88 AC, a royal progress had been planned for the king and queen, but Alysanne refused to go. Instead, she left for Dragonstone with her youngest child, Princess Gael, and the king left for the progress on his own.
For the entire year, the king and queen were apart: it had never happened before, and people were starting to notice. At the end of the progress, the king reached Oldtown, where he met with his daughter Maegelle, who managed to make peace between her parents. The reason was an important one.
By 89 AC, Jaehaerys and Alysanne had four living grandchildren. Princess Rhaenys, the eldest at fifteen years of age, the only daughter of Prince Aemon and Lady Jocelyn; Prince Viserys, twelve years old, and Prince Daemon, eight, the two surviving sons of Prince Baelon and the late Princess Alyssa; last but not least, Lady Aemma, seven, daughter of Princess Daella and Lord Rodrik.
Rhaenys was beloved by both the court and the smallfolk. She became a dragonrider when she was thirteen years old, claiming the mount of his late aunt Alyssa, Meleys. She accompanied her grandfather on his progress, where he informed him that she wished to marry Lord Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake, Master of Ships on the small council. The king approved the match, but his granddaughter wished for her entire family to be there. And so, when the wedding was celebrated in 90 AC, Jaehaerys and Alysanne were there together, as close as they were before their Quarrel.
In 92 AC, Princess Rhaenys announced that she was expecting her first child. Both her parents and grandparents were overjoyed by the news, but there was, unfortunately, no time to celebrate. A group of Myrish exiles invaded part of the island of Tarth, and so Prince Aemon and Lord Corlys, Rhaenys' father and husband, left with an army to regain the lost territories.
Aemon, who was riding Caraxes, reached Tarth before his son-in-law, and he met with Lord Cameron Tarth at his camp. However, the Myrish discovered their hiding spot. One of them, in an attempt to shoot at Lord Tarth with his crossbow, hit the Prince of Dragonstone.
Prince Aemon Targaryen, his parents' eldest living son and heir to the Throne, was struck in his throat and died by drowning in his own blood. Nothing could be done for him. Caraxes' wails could be heard in the whole island. When news reached the Red Keep, Prince Baelon, blinded by the pain of losing his brother, mounted on Vhagar and flew to Tarth, where he fought against the exiles with Dark Sister. He was the one who brought Aemon's ashes to Dragonstone after his funeral was held at the Red Keep, and he buried him next to their other siblings.
Aemon's death brought forth an issue: who would inherit the throne now? The prince had been the uncontested heir since he was seven, but now the situation was more complicated. He had a child, but a woman had never sat the Iron Throne before, and Jaehaerys was dubious. Both Alysanne and the Velaryons argued that Rhaenys, after her father, was the legitimate heir, and that she should be named Princess of Dragonstone in his stead. Jaehaerys, however, disagreed, for he had another son.
Prince Baelon was alive and healthy and, unlike his brother, who only had a daughter, he had sired two boys, the Princes Viserys and Daemon. While it was argued that the child the princess was expecting could be a boy as well, the king would have none of it, and, not long after Aemon’s funeral, he named Baelon Prince of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne. Alysanne was furious at her husband's decision, and she left the Red Keep for Dragonstone once again, taking twelve-year-old Gael with her. The king and queen would remain apart for two years.
By the end of the year, Rhaenys finally gave birth to her firstborn. The child was a girl with beautiful silver-gold hair and deep purple eyes. Her parents named her Laena. Despite her gender, many people, the queen included, believed that Rhaenys and Laena had been stripped of their rights of inheritance.
The following year, another royal wedding took place. Prince Viserys Targaryen, sixteen years of age, wed his cousin, the Lady Aemma Arryn, only eleven, though the marriage was not consummated until the girl flowered two years afterwards. The entire royal family attended, but the king and queen were not seen speaking to one another.
Viserys was a plump lad, uninterested in jousting, hunting, or swordplay, but he was still a Targaryen. Months before his marriage, he entered the Dragonpit and claimed none other than Balerion, the Black Dread. However, the dragon was quite old and he didn’t fly much. He died barely a year after being claimed, making the prince his last rider.
Aemma was a young and sweet girl. She grew up with her father and half-siblings in the Vale, and if it hadn't been for her purple eyes, no one would have been able to say that she was of Valyrian descent. After her marriage, however, she was forced to leave her home and to reside at the Red Keep with her husband.
While Viserys and Aemma's marriage remained unconsummated, their cousin Rhaenys found herself pregnant again that year, and she gave birth to her second child early in the 94th Year After the Conquest. This time the babe was a boy, an heir for his father, who was given the name Laenor. Like his sister and father, he had silver-gold hair, but he inherited lilac eyes from his mother.
The year of Laenor's birth was a joyous one, for Septa Maegelle resolved her parents' Second Quarrel and brought the king and queen back together. While they never agreed on the matter of succession, Jaehaerys and Alysanne finally reconciled, and the queen returned to court with her daughter Gael.
In 95 AC, Viserys and Aemma, eighteen and thirteen, consummated their marriage after the girl's flowering, and the young lady got pregnant soon afterwards. However, perhaps due to her young age, the pregnancy was a difficult one, and Aemma's son was stillborn.
The following year, Jaehaerys and Alysanne found themselves burying yet another child when Maegelle perished to greyscale at the age of thirty-four. Her ashes were interred next to the ones of her siblings, leaving only four living children to the king and queen, one of whom was estranged and another that lived far from home.
By that time, Alysanne was not doing well. She had flown with Silverwing for the last time in 93 AC, and she had cried in pain when she had climbed off her beloved dragon's back. Then, two years afterwards, she had broken her hip, and she was therefore forced to use a cane when she walked. She also developed hearing and memory problems, which deeply affected her life at court.
Princess Gael was her constant companion during her final years, and there was doubt that she was her most beloved daughter. She wrote to her other daughter Saera often, but received no answer, and the letters from her son Vaegon were cold. Baelon visited his mother as much as he could, but he had many duties as the king's heir.
In 97 AC, the king and queen were blessed with their third great-grandchild. After a long pregnancy, their granddaughter Aemma gave birth to a healthy child. The newborn princess was named Rhaenyra, and she had the typical silver-gold hair and purple eyes of the Targaryen family. Baelon was enamoured with his granddaughter, since he had always wished for a daughter of his own, and Alysanne doted on the little girl as well. The princess would become a close companion of her cousins, Laena and Laenor, with time.
That same year, the wedding between Daemon Targaryen and Rhea Royce took place. Prince Daemon was sixteen years of age, and he already was a fearsome knight. His grandfather the king had knighted him himself, and he had also gifted him with the legendary sword Dark Sister. The prince was also a dragonrider, having claimed Caraxes, the mount of his late uncle Aemon.
Lady Rhea was the heir to Runestone, and she was a strong woman and a capable hunter. Queen Alysanne organised the match between her and her grandson herself. However, the newlyweds disliked one another, and Daemon was rarely seen in the Vale. It was rumoured that their marriage was never consummated.
98 AC was the last time Alysanne saw most of her family together. There was a tourney in King’s Landing to celebrate the fiftieth year of King Jaehaerys I' reign, and a majority of the royal family was present, to Alysanne’s joy.
Baelon, Vaegon, and Gael, three of her four remaining children. Rhaenys, Viserys, Daemon, and Aemma, her grandchildren. Laena, Laenor, and Rhaenyra, her great-grandchildren. Seeing them all celebrating together was probably the last true joyous moment of the Good Queen's life.
The following year, nineteen-year-old Gael Targaryen suddenly disappeared from court, and no one knew where she went. Soon afterwards, it was announced that the princess had died from a summer fever, probably to lessen the blow on her grieving parents. The truth would be revealed only after both the king and queen were dead.
Princess Gael was her mother's youngest and favourite daughter. After the deaths of her sisters Daella, Alyssa, and Viserra, the girl became the queen's shadow, even sleeping in the same bed as her. She had been shielded from the world since the day of her birth, probably due to her fragile health.
One day, the young princess was seduced by a travelling singer. She left court with him, but he abandoned her after getting her pregnant. Gael remained hidden until she gave birth to her bastard. Her son, however, was a stillborn, and this shattered the girl's heart. Unable to sustain the pain, Princess Gael Targaryen drowned herself in Blackwater Bay.
Queen Alysanne never recovered from losing Gael. King's Landing became unbearable to the queen, who left for Dragonstone soon afterwards. There, she spent her last year of life. Jaehaerys visited her often, but his wife was inconsolable.
Wherever she went, there always were thirteen pairs of eyes staring at her. She saw lilac, violet, amethyst… and a hint of green. Everyone always simplified their eyes as 'purple', but each one of Alysanne's children had eyes of a very specific shade. She remembered them all. They haunted both her dreams and nightmares alike.
Everyday, she went to see her children. They had been buried together, all of them. Aegon, Daenerys, Gaemon, Valerion, Daella, Alyssa, Viserra, Aemon, Maegelle. Gael should have been there with them, but no body was ever found. Her heart ached at the thought that her youngest would never join her siblings. Neither would Saera, and Vaegon was unlikely. Baelon would, eventually, She hoped in a very long time. Her son would be a great king.
When Jaehaerys visited, they slept in the same bed. That night was no different. They bid each other goodnight and went to sleep. Alysanne saw them in her dreams. Her babies. All of them, every night, as it should have been.
She saw Aegon and Daenerys, adults, married and happy. They both wore crowns on their brows, and they had two or three children with them, all with Aegon's eyes and Daenerys' smile. They ruled justly and the realm was prosperous under their reign.
She saw Aemon reading bed night stories to Laena and Laenor, his wonderful grandchildren, while Jocelyn and Rhaenys tucked them into bed. He was happy, smiling as the children asked him questions about everything that crossed their minds.
She saw Baelon and Alyssa, flying on Vhagar and Meleys with their sons, Viserys, Daemon, little Aegon as well. And there were more of them, more children, some boys, some girls, a brood that rivaled Alysanne's own.
She saw Maegelle nursing all those sick children back to health, always taking care of others before herself. Always making sure that her parents weren't fighting, always happy to look after her younger siblings. Always with that beautiful smile on her face.
She saw Vaegon thriving as Archmaester, learning new things everyday and visiting the Keep to tell his mother about his newest discoveries. He had always been too smart for his own good, but that was what made him special.
She saw Daella in the Vale, playing with little Aemma while Rodrik brushed her hair. She didn’t cry for everything anymore, her daughter always made her smile. They visited the Keep together, and Alysanne's little flower was always happy.
She saw Saera married to a fearsome knight, one that treated her like a queen and gave her strong and handsome sons. She saw her in Jaehaerys' arms, the two of them laughing because nothing ever happened between them.
She saw Viserra and Gaemon, a dashing couple blessed with beautiful children, one boy and one girl. Gaemon worshipped the ground Viserra walked on, and he even managed to make her blush. To make her feel happy and wanted.
And then she saw Valerion and Gael, dancing together at a ball. Her boy always kept an eye out for his wife, who enjoyed listening to his singing. Valerion had a beautiful voice, and Gael simply adored him. Their son was their pride and joy.
Alysanne saw all that and smiled. It wasn't real and she knew it, but that didn’t stop her from dreaming. Perhaps, in another life. Her babies would still be with her. All of them. She smiled and went to sleep.
The following morning, Jaehaerys woke up. Alysanne never did.