Chapter Text
60 AC
At long last, winter has broken.
This one was a particularly cruel one. Harvests were harmed, waters were frozen, animals and people perished. But, none were as sorely missed as Princess Daenerys Targaryen. The Darling of the Realm, the eldest daughter of King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne, the eldest sister to Prince Aemon and Prince Baelon, succummbed to the shivers. As heartbroken as House Targaryen was by this loss, they were quickly given new hope when it was announced that the queen was with child. Just as she did previously, she chose to await the birth of her child on Dragonstone.
While this was done, the king and the princes remained in King’s landing until it was time to meet the newest member of their family. King Jaehaerys has been working, as he often did, while patiently awaiting word from his beloved queen. With Septon Barth, the Hand of the King, at his side, His Grace had come to be a truly respected ruler.
“It’s going to be a boy.” One voice says, outside the king’s chambers. Jaehaerys smiles, knowing it is the voice of his young boy, Baelon.
“There’s no way you could be so sure of such a thing, brother. The gods will see fit to grant us a sibling in whatever form they deem right.” Jaehaerys knows this to be the voice of his eldest, Aemon.
Despite the death of Daenerys, the king has found solace in his surviving boys. The two of them have been close to each other, with no signs of anything being able to dismantle it. With the memory of Aenys and Maegor still in the minds of many, they must have been relieved to see how well they got on.
The king’s chamber doors open, followed by the entry of the two boys to greet their father.
“My boys.” Jaehaerys says, calmly and with love only a proud father could convey. “What are you debating?”
“No debate, just restating the fact that we are to have a brother.” Baelon says, very sure of himself.
“Again, there is no way of telling if you are right.” Aemon says, smiling with a twinge of annoyance.
Jaehaerys turns to Septon Barth, chuckling as he does as well. “Come here, lads.” The king says, ushering his sons to join him. They do so without question. Jaehaerys has always taken pride in how dutiful his sons are. He places his hands on one shoulder of both of his boys as he speaks to them.
“No matter what the gods bless us with, we will love the newest member of our family no matter what. The death of Daenerys has been hard on all of us, so I believe the babe to be a gift sent to us to help us move through our pain and into a bright future.” The king says to his sons. The mention of their sister’s death still brings back the memory of her suffering. It was indeed hard on all of them. Part of Aemon expected him to one day be wed to Daenerys. The site of their sister, dead from the shivers, is one the boys will never forget.
“Your mother and I will need help with raising your new brother or sister,” The king says, causing Baelon to roll his eyes at the ‘sister’ part. “It’s true. It will be your turn to be the elder siblings. You will help to guide the child through life as we do for the two of you. Can your mother and I trust this task to you?” He asks.
The boys turn to one another, as if communicating with their eyes. They turn back to Jaehaerys and, in unison, say “Yes, father.”
When the raven arrived, the king quickly made arrangements to travel to Dragonstone. His sons and some of his advisors would travel by sea whereas Jaehaerys would travel on Vermithor. Aemon and Baelon had always enjoyed seeing their parents on dragonback, and loved it even more when they were allowed to go up with them. They would often stay up late, talking about one day becoming dragon riders with their parents. They would keep each other guessing as to which dragon they would claim as they want it to remain a surprise for everyone, including each other. They loved traveling to the Dragonpit. Aemon took some time to get used to being around the beasts whereas Baelon had earned his epithet by striking The Black Dread on the nose. Since then, all would know the young boy as Baelon the Brave.
“Your Grace,” Said Lady Alarra Stark. The queen’s lady-in-waiting has been with them for around 2 years and she has already proven herself to be a trusted friend to the queen and the king alike. Aemon and Baelon have also enjoyed her presence. “My princes, I trust your travels went safely.”
“Indeed, they have Lady Stark. How does my queen fare?” The Conciliator asks. When it came to the health of Queen Alysanne, King Jaehaerys was never above showing his concern. Despite his stoic exterior, he cares deeply for her and has ever since they were children. This is something Aemon and Baelon have respected and something Aemon tries to emulate.
“Follow me, I shall bring you to her.” Lady Stark says. They all travel up the many stairs of Dragonstone to the large castle. The family has taken journeys to Dragonstone a few times and the young children of the king and queen have agreed on one thing: the walk is murder on one's legs. The island makes up for this by having a lovely view of Blackwater Bay. The rocks of the layout aid to give the fortress its imposing appearance. It was agreed that King Jaehaerys and Prince Aemon will remain on Dragonstone for a few days to get to know the newest member of House Targaryen before returning to King’s Landing. Following that, it was agreed that Prince Baelon will remain with the queen and the child to help take care of them for the remainder of the month. At nearly four years of age, Prince Baelon is already showing to be a dutiful, yet somewhat headstrong, young lad. Yet, like any young boy, he loves his mother deeply and when he was asked to remain with her, he agreed to do so without much protest.
As they arrive at the queen's bedchamber, they are first greeted by Grand Maester Elysar, who was sent to Dragonstone to aid in the birth. “How are they, Elysar?” The king asks. “The queen is resting well. The delivery went quite well, no issues have arisen.” The Grand Maester says in his usual scholarly tone.
“And?” Prince Baelon asks, eager for the answer he has been waiting for. “What is it?” He asks, not yet able to contain his excitement.
The Grand Maester looks around to the royals present before answering. “It would seem that the gods have seen to bless her grace with a daughter.” He says. If word is to be believed, people might say that Prince Baelon very nearly said “Fuck” under his breath.
“Worry not, brother. Mother is alive and we have a new sibling.” Prince Aemon, ever the peacekeeper among the family, says to the young boy. “I know, Aemon. But, you can’t tell me some part of you hadn't wished for a brother.” Baelon says. King Jaehaerys chuckles to himself, remembering how Princess Daenerys wanted a sister before her brothers were born. He is sure that she would have likely cheered upon hearing this news.
“Is she in the mood for visitors?” The king asks Elysar. “As long as it is my family.” The queen says from beyond her bedchamber doors. The king smiles upon hearing Alysanne’s voice and then shares that smile with his sons. “Let’s head in then, shall we?” He asks the boys at his sides. As they all head in, they take in the sight of the queen’s bedchamber. While the boys will agree that it is quite big, Jaehaerys will say that it is half as large as the one he and his wife share back in the Red Keep. He points out that this was her chamber from when they were children. She gave birth to all of her children in these chambers, news that the young boys slightly cringed upon hearing, something that made the king chuckle.
Their collective gaze makes its way over to Good Queen Alysanne, lying in her bed. Despite exhaustion, she is in good spirits. In addition to that, she is holding a bundle of cloth in her arms. King Jaehaerys is the first to join her, sitting on the bed. “How are you, my love?” He asks her, smiling. Despite all they have faced together, and all the years they have been married, his grace has never lost his love or desire for his beloved Alysanne. “I am quite well, husband. The birth was, fortunately, not a challenge. But this one, she is already proving to be a fighter.” The queen says, gesturing to the babe in her arms. Her eyes move to her beloved sons as she smiles. “Come, sweetlings. Come and meet your new baby sister.” She says in her loving, motherly tone. Aemon climbs onto the right side of his mother while Baelon sits next to him. The little locks of hair were golden. Her eyes were striking as they were mismatched; one was violet and the other was green.
“She’s beautiful.” The king says, being the first to remark upon the new princess. “Does she have a name?” Prince Baelon asks. A smile crawls upon the queen’s face as a tear crawls down. She looks into the eyes of her husband and speaks her name in a soft tone of voice. “Her name…is Princess Alyssa Targaryen.” The king smiles upon hearing the name. “Like our mother.” He says in an equally soft tone. Aemon and Baelon grew up hearing of their grandmother, Queen Alyssa Velaryon. Sometimes, they wish they had the chance to meet her.
Alysanne decided the first one to hold Alyssa should be her father. Jaehaerys took her into his arms and, as he did with his other children, began doting on her. She squeezed his finger with an impressive amount of strength and it took some time before she let go. “You are right, she is quite strong.” The king chuckled to his wife. “Aemon, come meet your sister.” Jaehaerys said to his eldest son. Even at five years of age, Prince Aemon was already a dutiful young lad. He laid next to his mother and took his sister into his arms. After holding her for a bit, he looked over to his parents and asked “Why are her eyes so strange?” The parents chuckled before Alysanne turned to him, stroked his hair, and responded with “Nature is a thing that works in strange ways. And her eyes are just perfect, my dear.”
“Will it be my turn to hold her?” Baelon asked. His mother smiled and said “With you staying with us the rest of the month, there will be plenty of time for you to hold her. Let your father and brother have their chance.” Baelon agreed without protest.
During the time they were all together on Dragonstone, each Targaryen pitched in to care for the babe. Lady Stark and Grand Maester Elysar provided wisdom whenever they could to the family when not clear on what to do. Septon Barth, ever a figure of The Faith, gifted the babe a necklace with the Seven Pointed Star to help begin her journey under the watchful eyes of The Seven. Queen Alysanne found it a most adorable gift for her daughter and said a prayer to The Mother and The Maiden the following night. She also said a prayer to The Warrior as she believed he had blessed Alyssa with her strength. Every night, before putting the princess to bed, the queen or the king would sing her to sleep with a Valyrian lullaby created by their parents, King Aenys and Queen Alyssa. This song was sung to their children and would be passed down to younger Targaryens moving forward. Aemon and Baelon smiled whenever they heard it. “It is so sweet how this song could touch your hearts, my boys.” Queen Alysanne said to them. “One day, you will likely sing it to your own children.” The entire family remained on Dragonstone for around five days before the king and the eldest prince had to return to King’s Landing, leaving Prince Baelon to look after his mother and sister.
One night, Dragonstone was hit with a storm. The rain poured down quite hard. The wind howled through the night, almost as if a pack of dire wolves had made their way to the island. The thunder was difficult to sleep through and the lightning was brighter than dragonfire. None had as difficult a time at getting to sleep than Princess Alyssa. The storm seemed to scare her, causing her to become restless.
The maids did what they could to get her to sleep to no avail. Queen Alysanne tried to help her for a few hours, but she too had little luck. Eventually, it got to the point where she sent for Prince Baelon. “The storm seems to have truly unsettled her,” Her Grace said to her son. “Perhaps you will have better luck than the rest of us.”
Baelon makes his way to her bedchamber where she is still crying. He is now certain she has developed a fear of storms. He sits by her cot, doing what he can to soothe her. Her cot is an old yet surprisingly sturdy thing. Perhaps it was used for past Targaryens? Baelon thinks to himself. He sits by his weeping sister and starts by stroking the little golden locks on her head. “I can only imagine how frightened you are.” He says to her in a gentle tone. “Do not worry, sister. I will stay with you until it passes. I won’t let anything hurt you.”
Alyssa’s little hand manages to find one of Baelon’s fingers. For such a small child, she has such a strong grip as she holds onto her brother’s finger. Baelon does nothing to loosen it as this seems to help her calm down. Baelon’s eyes do not stay open much longer as he drifts off to sleep, comforting his sister.