RED QUEEN | DAEMON TARGARYEN

CHAPTER TEN

Princess Daenerys was a year older than the deceased Prince of Dragonstone and according to stories the Darling of the Realm had been a delight to all who knew her. Queen Alysanne believed that Daenerys, as the eldest, should be the king's heir and first in line to the throne. King Jaehaerys, however, regarded Prince Daeron as his heir since the day he had been born. Queen Alysanne often voiced her displeasure to the king, reminding him that Daenerys was older and should therefore be queen, Jaehaerys would reply telling her that Daenerys would become queen after she married Daeron, and rule the kingdoms by his side.

Had the Shivers not struck Westeros, taking the life of Princess Daenerys, Valyria might never have been born. The plague took the life of the realm's beloved princess when she was only seven years old which left Daeron without a betrothed.

The same year Daenerys died, Princess Alyssa was born. As a baby, Alyssa resembled her deceased sister, however this resemblance faded with age. As the eldest daughter of the King, she was considered a suitable candidate to wed Prince Daeron. Only Queen Alysanne firmly refused such a match, claiming Alyssa was meant for Baelon. Had she not, Viserys and Daemon would not have been born either.

Princess Magelle was born only three years after Alyssa and could have been a suitable match had she not at the age of ten been promised to the Faith of the Seven. The remainder of Septa Magelle's life was spent in devotion to the Seven but came to the family's aid more than once by settling quarrels between her parents - the most common one being the line of succession. She died at the age of four-and-thirty when nursing children afflicted with greyscale.

Princess Daella was the eighth born child of King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne and the fourth daughter. She was a shy girl - even from a young age - and was not even considered a bride for Prince Daeron. Instead she was supposed to wed her older brother, Vaegon, but the two disliked each other greatly. After years of attempting to find a husband for the easily frightened princess, King Jaehaerys threatened to force her to become a silent sister since she could not follow Magelle's footsteps due to her inability to read prayers. Eventually she was wed to Rodrik Arryn but died less than three years later from the fevers that came after giving birth to their only child, Aemma Arryn.

As a complete contrast to the sweet and gentle Daella, the nextborn child, Princess Saera, was tempestuous, demanding, and disobedient even from a young age. She was without a doubt the most mischievous out of all her siblings - who liked or disliked her in different degrees - and her septa even considered her to be an evil child. For a while Saera too had been considered a match for Vaegon - but never Daeron - and in the end, the scandal she caused had led to a lifelong exile in Essos.

Princess Viserra was born sixteen years after Prince Daeron and was said to have been the most beautiful out of all the sisters but very vain and manipulative. Her greatest ambition was to become queen and therefore she had her eyes on her eldest brother who remained unmarried. Only Queen Alysanne was determined to stop that from happening and instead the young girl was betrothed to Theomore Manderly. According to some rumours that Valyria had heard, Viserra made an attempt to sway her older brother by slipping past his guards and climbing naked into his bed; but Prince Daeron sent the drunk girl away and before her marriage could take place she died from a broken neck after falling off her horse during a night out in the city.

The last daughter born of the Old King and Good Queen was Gael who never was considered a candidate for becoming the Prince of Dragonstone's wife. Gael died only a year before her mother and it was later revealed that she had been impregnated by a travelling singer and overwhelmed by grief she had drowned herself in Blackwater Bay.

Seven sisters and her father had not wedded any of them. For years he had managed to postpone every match King Jaehaerys suggested, reminding his father of how he had two younger brothers to succeed him, as he determinedly searched for the perfect match outside House Targaryen.