Chapter Text
Prologue
You are Vaelyna Targaryen, the eldest daughter of Prince Daemon Targaryen, the youngest son of Prince Baelon and younger brother to King Viserys I. Your mother, Rhaella Targaryen, a daughter of Prince Aemon and Daemon’s first wife, passed away when you were only four. With her gone, your father sent you to the Red Keep, where you were raised among your royal cousins, growing up within the court of your uncle, the King.
From the moment you could remember, eyes have always lingered on you. Your beauty is striking—silver-blonde waves cascading down your back, eyes of a pure Valyrian violet, and a smile that reveals delicate dimples, making you all the more enchanting. Yet, beyond your looks, you carry the fire of your ancestors—a spirit both fierce and untamed, shaped by the weight of duty and the scars of abandonment.
Your dragon, Nymeris, is as unforgettable as you—her emerald-green scales shimmer in the light, her vast wings of deep burgundy-red an anomaly among dragonkind. She has been your shadow since birth, always soaring alongside Sunfyre, the dragon of Prince Aegon Targaryen, their connection mirroring one far more complicated between their riders.
Though you spent your childhood surrounded by family, you always felt apart from them. Aegon, barely a year older than you, remained distant. The younger ones were simply children in your eyes. Only Haelena ever felt like true company, her quiet presence a strange comfort despite how often she drifted into her own world. And yet, as the years passed, you found your gaze lingering longer on Aegon—the unruly, golden prince you never truly knew, yet somehow, could never ignore.
At ten years old, you suffered another loss—Laena Velaryon, your kind and radiant stepmother, passed away. Though you had never lived with her or Daemon, you held a deep affection for her. Only a year later, your father remarried—to your cousin, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. Though time had placed distance between you, you had always admired Rhaenyra and soon found solace in her presence. For two years, you lived with them, forging bonds with her children and, for the first time, attempting to truly know your father. Yet, despite his newfound presence in your life, your relationship with Daemon remained distant, strained by years of neglect.
Then, duty took precedence over desire.
At thirteen, you were forced into a political marriage with an older, widowed Lord of House Tyrell—a fate you never wished for. Your father made no efforts to stop it. With no choice, you departed for Highgarden, carrying with you the bitter sting of betrayal. Daemon had abandoned you, as he always had, and resentment bloomed in the depths of your heart.
Fate, however, had its own plans.
A year later, your husband succumbed to illness, leaving you a widow at just fourteen. But even with your chains severed, you were expected to remain in Highgarden—not as a Tyrell, nor a wife, but a guest, an outsider, an obligation. For four long years, you endured, shaped by loss, solitude, and the quiet realization that no one was coming to save you.
Until now.
Summoned back to King’s Landing by royal decree, you have been called home at last. Your uncle, King Viserys, has demanded your presence for an event of great importance—the grand royal banquet celebrating the marriage of Aegon and Haelena. A match designed to fortify the Targaryen bloodline, to ensure the future of your house.
The realm may rejoice. But for you, it is a reckoning.
After years away, you return to the Red Keep, no longer the forgotten girl who was sent away, but a woman grown—one whose presence will stir old tensions, reignite forgotten desires, and test the fragile balance of power within the dragon’s court.
The game has already begun.
And whether you realize it or not, you are now one of its most dangerous pieces.
Note about the timeline :
This story does not strictly follow the canonical timeline of Fire & Blood. Instead, it begins in 130 A.C, with Vaelyna Targaryen at 17 years old. It means, for example, that her first marriage was in 126 A.C and Daemon and Rhaenyra's in 124 A.C.
As a result, some major events have been adjusted, and certain characters may be older or younger than in canon.
For reference, here are the ages of Alicent's and Rhaenyra's kids at the start of my story, in 130 A.C :
Aegon II Targaryen – 18 years old
Helaena Targaryen – 16 years old
Aemond Targaryen – 15 years old
Daeron Targaryen – 12 years old
Jacaerys Velaryon – 14 years old
Lucerys Velaryon – 13 years old
Joffrey Velaryon – 9 years old
Baela & Rhaena Targaryen – 14 years old
Aegon III Targaryen – 4 years old
Viserys II Targaryen – 2 years old
This also means that significant events will not necessarily occur at their canon dates. For example, Aegon and Helaena's marriage takes place in 130. A.C so much later than in F&B, which alters the timeline of future births and key developments.
The pacing and duration of certain historical events will also be modified to fit this story's narrative.
Additionally, I have not yet decided which canonical events will be included, altered, or omitted. Some moments from Fire & Blood may unfold differently, while entirely new events may be introduced to align with the story's progression...
I hope you'll enjoy it :)
AtsukaK