Sprinting Fox: Unwritten

OC x Daemon Targaryen (HotD)

A/N: Hello everyone! Another random one-shot for you 'cause I didn't want to make it a full-length fic. The following 3 chapters (all in this same page) are part of an untitled short story with a House of the Dragon OC paired with Daemon Targaryen, an AU that avoids the Dance of Dragons. You can expect the usual Game of Thrones themes to be referenced or written explicitly, including but not limited to: abuse, miscarriage, traumatic childbirth, underage marriage, violence, incest, etc. I am basing this off of Season 1 of House of the Dragon. For reference, the OC's face claim is: Synnøve Karlsen. If you look up gifs from her role as Clarice Orsini in Medici, you'll see the image I have of her.

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CHAPTER ONE

The Red Keep, King's Landing, 112 AC

He was a hateable bastard, and she was happy to hate him.

She'd first met him after her father had been named Hand of the King. From a distance she'd looked upon this Rogue Prince, a man her father had been speaking ill of the entire time they rode from Oldtown to Harrelhal.

Her mother, ever the voice of reason, had claimed that they couldn't well expect Daemon Targaryen to be pleasant. He'd been very young when his mother, the Princess Alyssa, had died. Within the year, he'd lost his younger brother Aegon, as well. More recently, his cousin had arranged for him to marry the Lady Rhea Royce, and everyone knew how little the two liked each other. Now, his father, the Prince Baelon, was dead. Wouldn't they have all been insufferable because of it?

She'd demanded from then, at the mere age of twelve, that she never be forced to marry anyone. It would be her choice and her choice alone, as it was when her mother and father elected to unite their families and bring her and her siblings to life. Both of her parents had found this amusing, and her mother had promised this would be so– she would be given options, and among them, she would choose her husband. She would be allowed to choose who to love.

When they'd arrived at Harrenhal, she'd thought of this as she gazed upon Daemon, who'd traveled back home for the Great Council that'd decided the succession. King Jaehaerys had overlooked his eldest grandchild in favor of Baelon's son, Viserys. She'd watched Daemon's jaw clench then relax as his brother was named Prince of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne. Until Viserys had produced a son, Daemon would be his heir.

She supposed she hadn't always despised him. The first years that they'd lived in King's Landing had been perfectly fine, especially once Viserys had been crowned as King of the Seven Kingdoms. Her days were simple, running around caring for her sweet Alicent and her new companion, the young Princess Rhaenyra. Her brothers fared well, too, learning from experienced knights that they'd grown up admiring.

If she wasn't with them, she'd be following her mother around, praying or reading, sometimes keeping the new Queen Aemma company as she braved a series of difficult pregnancies attempting to give the King a male babe. It was a simple life, and a happier one than she'd had in Oldtown. She'd begun to grow into a young woman herself, blossoming more freely in a large castle than she would have at the Hightower.

Once, Gwayne had dragged her out of her chambers in the early hours of the morning to watch the men train with Prince Daemon. Her father still thought him unpredictable despite his cunning. He warned his children not to be impressed by the way he wielded Dark Sister, or the way he commanded the fearsome Caraxes. He thought Daemon to be incapable of taking duty seriously, given he was already doing poorly as the newly installed Master of Laws.

Despite these warnings, she'd been fascinated to watch him knock men aside as if they were nothing. Gwayne had whispered that he hoped to one day be as skilled as Daemon. She'd said the only reasonable thing one would to a little brother– she said it would be possible. Perhaps Daemon wasn't so bad. Perhaps he'd be better with these new responsibilities. Her mother certainly thought it would help him have a new perspective on the sweet and capable Lady Rhea the next time he returned to the Vale.