#oc: aelor targaryen/darkling

[a-song-for-ages]

Dragonheart | tyland lannister (+ other ships)

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In which Maegelle Targaryen is made of love and light and fire which burns so bright it turns her to ash with her mother's passing

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Warnings: contains a LOT of oc's - all of which will get their own little one shot/ficlets on the side (later on, I think) ; mentions of childbirth, death of a parent, etc

Chapter takes place before and during HOTD episode one

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i: Death of a Dragon an Arryn

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Maegelle was born in Spring, two years following her older sister, Rhaenyra, in a time when sickness plagued the land - it was a common sickness, though at the time, it had spread with haste and left few survivors… until the birth of the Princess.

They called it a miracle, especially since the Queen herself had the sickness throughout her pregnancy, and neither mother nor babe were thought to survive. 

But they did. The both of them - and the child, though little and frail, had been given a title that matched her grandsire; the Spring Princess, and indeed, she was a Princess of Spring, for her hair glowed like the sun, and her cheeks reddened like freshly flowers bloomed. 

She was the heart of her mother, and the eye of her grandsire, but her father - who so dearly wished for an heir; a boy, he only smiled at her and called her his greatest joy, when only her mother had recovered from the sickness, so as to only hold her and hush her cries. That gave her another title, which matched her sister's - The Realm's Joy, and what a joy she was, for her eyes were soft as her hands, and her smile as gentle as her touch, and her voice as sweet as lovesongs sung by the bards (though only few were fortunate enough to hear her sing.)

She was beloved by her parents, and she was beloved by her people, and the realm. And she would continue to be beloved, for she was her mother's daughter, long before she was her father's - and it was a thing she learned when she was but a child. 

Rhaenyra, her older sister, was her father's daughter - there had been no enmity between them, for it had only seemed natural when Viserys would take Rhaenyra and put her atop his head, or make her seat at his knee on the Iron Throne, leaving Maegelle - wherever it is she was, which was almost always beside her mother.

She noticed that, while Viserys paid more attention to Rhaenyra than her - for reasons she did not know - she had another who had her mother's attention, and that was her parent's bastard cousin, Aelor Targaryen - or Darkling, which was the last name his mother, a bastard from the Riverlands, had given him, for his uncanny black and blue hair, but clearly Valyrian eyes - a near black purple. It matched her Uncle Daemon's - who, Maegelle had also taken to notice, would spend much of his time with her mother.

She was a little thing - for she was the littlest of them all, and yet, her Uncle Daemon had taken to call her, "Little Maegor," for she would screech and cry and wail when her mother's attention was taken by Aelor, who was not so many years older than her - only two, having being born in the same year as her sister, Rhaenyra… the year that his father, the youngest child of Jahaerys and Alysanne Targaryen, Rhaelor, disappeared without trace. 

His mother, whose name was Alys Rivers - herself, a bastard - had brought him to court when he was only a few months old, hoping that there, he would bring some joy to them as he brought to her; a parting gift to her (and them, if they would have him) from her beloved Rhaelor, the Reckless. 

Jahaerys turned her away - having the guards separate her from her child, a bastard, though one with the blood of the dragon, and thus, who should be kept under close watch of the King.

Alys left, but from Daemon's mouth, he said it was with a great fire in her eyes - a fire different to the one that their dragons breathed, a fire old and cold and one that burned green and blue in place of purple. 

Daemon said that Alys Rivers was a force to be reckoned with - even though she did nothing but utter a curse at the King for separating her child from her - which was probably why she gained the favour of the Good Queen, Alysanne, who fought with the King not a moment later when the mother had been taken away, and when that dark haired babe refused to hush. It was the last time they fought - and it was the last time the King and Queen were seen together, for that very night, the Queen took her bastard grandson atop her great dragon, Silverwing, and flew them both to Harrenhal, where the bastard girl hailed from. 

Maegelle had not known much of Aelor's mother - people rarely spoke of her, but when they did, they muttered under their breaths horrid words; bastard… whore… witch… - she only knew that she was a shadow of a lady, who only entrusted her son to the Targaryens once Jahaerys had died, and once Viserys had called her to court, and named her son Aelor Targaryen, a true one son of Rhaelor Targaryen, the youngest of Jahaerys and Alysanne Targaryen.

Daemon had told Maegelle that everyone at the time - every Targaryen, that was - had urged the King to legitimize the boy, if only to provide some comfort for the Queen.

Alas, he did not, and while Alys appreciated the good-nature of the new King Viserys, she told him that she'd already given a name to her bastard - Darkling, for his was dark of hair, and dark of spirit and mind (though she did not say that… Maegelle had only assumed, from the way Aelor would steal her mother's attention from her. It often left her furious, and had her crying, until someone else took her attention and entertained her.) 

The new King Viserys, ever kind and gentle (like his daughter), had told her then, that out of love for his grandmother and her beloved son (who some said, his brother Daemon had taken after), the boy Aelor would be free to use whichever name he wished… 

And out of undying love for his mother - Aelor chose Darkling, and as such, he was given the title; The Dark Prince. 

It was a title clouded in mystery, in trepidation and fear of the unknown… for that was precisely who Aelor Darkling was - unknown. His mother was not known, as was her family - she'd only said she was a bastard of the Riverlands, of House Strong, nothing more, and nothing less, telling the King Jahaerys that it was of no consequence. 

He did not further question it, and at his cue, neither did anyone else. (Of course, his Hand was not entirely convinced, but who her family was did seem to be entirely of no consequence, for she was a bastard, who birthed a bastard… who just so happened to be legitimized. But Otto ignored it, as he often did to things that were not of importance.)

While many treated the boy Prince as a shadow - and while Maegelle wished she could, too, the Prince Daemon and Queen Aemma did not. 

"His mother's left him in our care for the time being," she told Maegelle when she was younger, but smart enough to ask why it was that Aelor had to stay with them, near their quarters, and dine with them more often than not. "To be acquainted with his kin."

Maegelle was not pleased, especially since her mother hardly failed to dote on him - as she did to her, her little Spring Princess - but she grew used to Aelor's presence, and when she did, she found that he only grew in annoyance - smirking at her when he stole her mother or father or Uncle's attention… taking little stones and throwing them in ponds when she'd walk by, if only to mess up her dresses… pointing at her and then speaking in the Valyrian language her Uncle often spoke in, before giggling like a villain whose plan was going exactly the way he wished. 

He infuriated Maeg, and more often than not, her fury caught hold of her and had her behaving cruelly - or so, it was what her mother said it was, when she'd hold a dirtied Maeg and a sad-eyed, pout-lipped Aelor, begging each other to put their differences aside and be friends, for her sake. 

Maegelle had cried and said Aelor was mean, while Aelor only wobbled his lip and said he was only playing with her, before crying and saying no one loved him and he wished to go home.

Maegelle would get a stern eye from her mother, only bringing her to cry more - before she'd scream and throw herself at Aelor when she found his tears had suddenly stopped, and he'd peer up at her would a horrid glint in his eye. 

The bastard, she'd think, before her mother would yank her from the boy and tell her, "Gentle, Maegelle! Be gentle!"

But Maegelle was never gentle when it came to Aelor - and Aelor loved it, calling her a dragon who had just been woke from her slumber, edging her on as she had yet to claim a dragon, whereas he had one of his own. 

Alas, things changed when the two grew older - and Viserys often joked that they would one day marry, and that Aelor would finally be a son to him, as he had treated him so, in place of the many sons he never had…

Such comments burned Maegelle and Aemma - but Aemma never responded in anything but kind, explaining to Maeg (when she once complained of her hurt), that there was nothing stronger than being soft in the face of unkindness. And so, if there was one lesson that Maegelle had taken from the life of her mother - it was to be soft. Brutally so. 

But it was difficult to remember that when the horrid day came - when her mother had gone into labour, and the realm had been made to begin its celebrations for a boy who was promised, and had yet to come.

But come he did - and it was at a price. The price being, Maegelle's mother. 

She remembered it clearly - that day, being in the stands at the tourney, rolling her eyes at her Uncle-Cousin Aelor, who had just unseated a knight from House Celtigar. Him, urging his horse towards the Royal Box, teasing Maeg by dramatically asking her for her favour.

She denied him, though, every time, and had only teased back, telling him that his insistence on her favour had her thinking that he truly wished for it - "Why else would I ask for it, Princess?" He asked, voice charming as ever, but the crooked smile on his face had only made Maeg want to throw a lance at his face. He was prodding at her - knowing that his attention on her would only bring on her father to insist that one of his daughters should take him to husband.

Maegelle refused - not because she thought of Aelor as a brother, but because she knew where his heart lay. 

It lay with tourneys, and adventures, and danger and swords and fights. 

Not with her or her sister - not that she minded, for Aelor's love of adventure and danger only meant that he would be apart from her, and that he would possibly face death and she'd finally be rid of him, for good. 

"You are a greater fool than our Uncle Daemon, if you expect me to believe such lies," Maeg had said, with a smile on her face as she leaned over the railings. 

"Oh just stop it you tqo," Rhaenyra said, pushing her shoulder into her sister while Maegelle's other side was accompanied by a hesitant Alicent Hightower, who Aelor had only greeted with a curt nod of his head. Both of them had already given their favors away - Alicent to Daemon, and Rhaenyra to a Dornish knight, whose name Aelor could hardly be bothered to remember.

"The both of you's love story is ruining the day."

That brought Aelor to mimick a man vomiting, while Maegelle leaned away from Rhaenyra, before inching towards her and asking, "Do you want me to die?" 

"What I want, is for the chatter to end and for the fighting to continue."

Maegelle had only raised a brow at her sister, before looking to Aelor, and saying, "As the Princess commands," before she threw her wreath of dragon's breath flowers at his head. She intended for it to hit his helmet, which was near-black in colour, but expecting just that, he caught it with his jousting stick, and smirked at her, looking to Rhaenyra and bowing his head, "Ever the dragon of you to spit fire, Rhaenyra."

"Ever the fool of you to dramatize everything."

"How else am I to entertain you, dear Princess?"

"By getting back to the jousting."

"Oh, and the violence and the bloodshed and the -"

"Oh just get back before I get on a horse and show you how it's done."

"That would be a pleasing sight to see, my Princess."

"If it is pleasing to you then have no doubt the Princess shall not do it," Alicent spoke up, and Aelor looked to her with that damned smirk of Daemon's he seemed to adopt. 

"Then shall I not rely on you to aid me in my quest, my lady?"

"And earn the ire of two princesses? I think not, Ser." Maegelle had smiled at Alicent's lack of use of Prince - many had called Aelor Prince, but the ones who did not had either earned Maegelle's ire, or indifference… and it just so happened that Alicent, too, was kind of heart, and a friend of Maegelle's - enough to know that addressing the boy knight as "Prince" would irritate Maegelle, if only because it would make Aelor full of himself. 

"Go on then," Maeg called out. "You are not wanted here," she said, waving spectacularly as she leaned over the railing. 

She saw it in his eyes, just then, the urge to knock her on her head with his jousting stick - but, they were in public, and spectators had their eyes on them… not to mention, she was in the Royal Box, and there were many members of the Small Council who did not like his presence in King's Landing, if only for the favour he held with the King and his family. 

Aelor only bowed his head, saying in Valyrian, "Then I shall go where I am wanted, then?"

"To the dragon pits?" While Maeg laughed, knowing that Aelor had intended to go flying later that day (without having to tell her, of course), and that she would ruin his plans of self-reflection and loneliness atop the back of his dragon , the bastard Prince only seemed to accept defeat with a bow of his head.

"We shall see then, Princess," he said, before his horse trotted off - Aelor riding his horse which cantered with ease, leaving Maegell feeling a little bit jealous, before she sat back down in her seat, and turned to face the Hand with shining eyes.

"Any word of mother?" She asked, her eyes darting to the empty seat that once occupied her father. In truth, she barely noticed his leave - but when she did and enquired about him, the Hand informed her that some business pertaining her new sibling had risen. Panic had flared in Maeg's chest and eyes - but the Hand managed to do away with it, by mentioning something that had to do with the choosing of names.

"If it is a girl, I hope it will not be Visenya," she told the Hand, to which he only smiled before her attention was drawn away by the cheers of the crowds, and Aelor's appearance on the field.

Now that her Uncle-Cousin had trotted off the field, though, she remembered her father and her mother, and a tinge of worry had made a home for itself in the back of her mind.

"Not yet, Princess," the Hand answered her. "But you should not worry. Your mother is a woman experienced in such matters."

Maegelle had only turned to the crowds, thinking that her mother was as experienced in childbirth as any other woman of the Realm - but she was more so experienced in the throes of death that her long labours brought her close to. 

And so, Maegelle had stood up and turned to her father's Hand, stating, "I should like to see my mother, Lord Hand," and from the tired look on Otto Hightower's face, Maegelle got the impression that he did not want her visiting her mother, for whatever reason he had - but Maeg didn't care much for him or his impressions, all she cared for was her mother, who she wished to be beside even in the birthing rooms… as terrifying as the thought of it was, Maeg would do it - she'd go to her mother and hold her hand and wipe the sweat from her forehead, as her mother had done for her so many times when she had fallen sick with fever in her youth. (Not that Maegelle was not still in her youth - but she was nearly of age, being thirteen years and already having flowered, around the same time as her sister.)

Maegelle had moved from her seat and gone to the side, where she saw ser Lorent Marbrand rouse and greet her with a bow of his head - he was the White Cloak who usually accompanied her wherever she went, like how Ser Harrold Westerling often accompanied Rhaenyra wherever she went.

The sudden roars of the crowd brought Maegelle to pause in her step - and she turned to the field, only to witness her Uncle Daemon take his sword to his opponent.

A part of her wanted to see the fight, but knowing Daemon, who mentored Aelor as only a father would, blood would soon be spilled, and Maegelle would have rathered not see it. 

So Maegelle turned, and bowed her head to the Hand, before she saw her father's cousin, Rhaenys, catch her eye - and she nodded at her, to which the Queen Who Never Was gave a curt nod with pursed lips in return. 

Maegelle looked past her knight as she walked, following close behind her, and said, "I should like to see the Queen, Ser Lorent."

"As you wish, Princess," Ser Lorent said, before he walked ahead of her and she followed him to where the wheelhouse was sat. 

"Would it not be faster if we were to go on horseback, Ser?" She asked, and Ser Lorent had only paused momentarily, before he looked back to the Princess and said it would be safer for her in the wheelhouse. 

"I ride a dragon, Ser," she said. "And there is nothing more dangerous as such. So, saddle me a horse, Ser Lorent, and know that it would greatly please me." And Maegelle gave him a smile as he nodded his head to her and did as she bid him to, returning with two horses in tow - one brown, and one grey. 

Maegelle took the grey horse - both steeds were unfamiliar to her, but from the way the grey horse followed the brown one, with head slightly bowed, she found that it would perhaps be a better ride for her. 

"She's docile, Princess, shouldn't give you much trouble," Ser Lorent said, and Maegelle smiled, greeting the horse by running her fingers through it's mane. 

"Has she a name?" She asked.

"Most probably, Princess, though it is not one that I know."

"A shame," was all Maegelle hummed, before she left the horse so that she may be saddled, with the help of her knight - and then they were off, starting at a slow pace before Maegelle urged her horse forward, before Ser Lorent understood her and they galloped to the castle.

They left the horses at the stables, and Maegelle had made her way into the castle, finding a sudden sense of eerie set in the heir. 

She did not waste a moment before she began walking hastily in the direction of her mother's birthing chambers, trying to calm her nerves and anxiety which had her entire body feeling as if she were on fire, and trapped somewhere, unable to move, unable to flee. 

Tis alright, tis alright… Mother will be fine. 

There was no sound - no cries of her mother, no cries of a child. 

If Mother is not crying then that means there is no pain. No pain means Mother is not at harm or at risk. No crying means that Mother is alright - she. is. al.right.

Still, Maegelle did not slow in her walk as she reached the corridors that led to her mother's room - and it was filled, not that it was strange for family members to flood the halls while a woman gave birth…

And one of those family members was the Lady Jeyne Arryn, whose late father was the half-brother of Maegelle's mother. 

Maegelle hadn't greeted her - not as her steps slowed when she saw each person in the corridor turn to face her slowly. 

Maeg felt as if she was under watermarking, when she found Lady Jeyne was saying, "Princess…" but something was wrong. 

Lady Jeyne acknowledged her presence - but not as she usually did when she'd see the Princess in the hall, but there was something entirely horrible, dreadful, pitiful beneath her words.

Maegelle could only say, "My mother." She breathed. "I must see her," and she moved to the door which was flanked by two guards - but Jeyne's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Your father is with her, Princess," she said, and Maeg turned to her half cousin with confusion clouding her eyes. 

"What is it? Why is - why is everyone out here?"

"We are simply awaiting the arrival of the babe, my Princess," Lady Jeyne responded, her voice calm enough to have her shoulders relax in the slightest as she looked to the Lady of the Vale. 

"And my father?" Maeg asked, her stomach dropping as she looked to the door. "You said - he was with her?"

Lady Jeyne nodded her head, stating, "He wished to be the first to meet his son."

But that did not settle nicely in Maegelle's stomach.

She knew, from the countless of births and miscarriages her mother had suffered, her father had never once sat in the birthing chambers with her - never stood his ground and demanded to be in the rooms with her, when the Maesters and midwives and maids had told him it was no place for a man, seeing so much blood… Maegelle found it entirely hypocritical - if the birthing rooms was no place for a man due to the amounts of blood staining the bed, then how could the battlefields ever be considered theirs? 

Cold water seemed to be poured over Maegelle as her lips began to wobble - and her teeth began to chatter. Understanding drowned her, and her eyes teared. 

"My mother," she whispered, voice soft. "She does not cry."

Lady Jeyne had only put an arm over her shoulder, and pulled Maegelle into her, squeezing her, as if she could hold the dragon princess together.

"Is it because the labours have ended?" She'd heard a baby's cry - her little sibling, that was, but her mother… she hadn't heard her mother. She couldn't hear her - her voice. Her voice, her voice, her voice. Where was her voice?

And as tears began to fall from her face, Maegelle reached a hand out for the door, the other hand holding onto Lady Jeyne's dress - trying to push her away as she yearned to get closer to the door, closer to her mother, her new brother or sister…

"Mama," she cried. "Mama, please, Mama!"

And the doors - she wished they would open as she managed to push Lady Jeyne off her, who had only whispered meekly, "Princess…" - remained shut while she took off towards it in a run. 

The doors were thrown open by her hands -

And Maegelle saw blood.

And she saw her mother.

And she saw the once-white sheets, stained beyond recognition, laying over her mother's body.

A heaviness set itself over her throat, and she heard a familiar voice call her name - concern, worried, bereaved…

And Maegelle only let herself succumb to the numbness that took over her limbs, her mind, the colour red painting horrid pictures in her mind.

The last thing she heard was the cries of the babe her mother died bringing into the world.

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K so it's done - had a bit of writer's block when it came to writing Aelor and Maeg's interactions because originally Aelor wasn't supposed to be participating in the Tourney, because to do so you'd have to be a knight - but then I thought, Daemon would SO knight his nephew at 15 so as to make him the youngest knight ever. Like he'd do it just so his nephew/cousin could have ANOTHER title to his name. And not to mention, Aelor in my head is meant to be a skilled fighter whom the ladies in the land all have secret crushes on - secret, because while he is legitimized, he will still have the name "bastard" attached to him - and not to mention, he has land of his own which was gifted to him but he does not manage it so... not to mention everyone's pretty sure his mother is a witch and that he isn't actually Rhaelor's son, but is like Maegor in the sense that he was made from blood/black magic. But that's a story for another time.

Anyways,

We probably won't be seeing Tyland for a while - we may get glimpses of him, so that Maeg knows who he is and is familiar with him (what with having seen him out of the corner of her eye when she walked the halls of the Red Keep), and not to mention, her ladies in waiting will also not make an appearance until much later on... I'd say maybe they'll make an appearance in the third or fourth chapter or so.

But until then,

Adios!

[a-song-for-ages]

Omg I forgot about this title

Brb giving Aelor Darkling/Targaryen/Strong/Rivers a new title

Guess what it issss

[a-song-for-ages]

"You should not let her sleep," she heard Tyland say, and then Maeg smiled a little when she heard Daemon call him a dumb fucking cunt in Valyrian - she wanted to laugh, and she heard Aelor's chuckle, as he thanked him once more, but the pain in her scalp was blinding. 

"It's breaking," she said. "My head is breaking."

"Your head isn't breaking," she heard Aelor say.

"My head is breaking. I'm going to die," she said flatly, eyes still closed in pain.

"You'll need stitches," she heard Daemon. "Though it should not scar… if the Maester's hand is steady enough."

"Oh," Maeg said. "So I'm like Visenya now."

And Aelor said, "Hardly -"

But Maeg ignored him, "Im Visenya," she said, and smiled, peeking her eyes open, before she quickly shut it, laying her head against her Uncle's chest while his fingers tapped against her cheek which felt - so, so different to what it usually felt… if that made any sense at all.

[a-song-for-ages]

Especially laughing because before Aelor leaves he and Rhaenyra do it and they

The two of them together is just

A mess

Like Aelor thinks practically right

But just

Not when it comes to Rhaenyra?

So Maegelle is like "fucking hell. You guys. I don't think the Faith would appreciate Rhaenyra having two husbands."

And Aelor's just like "yeah yeah but the Valyrian gods won't mind so it doesn't matter" and before he leaves he meets Rhaenyra at Dragonstone - AND THEY HAVE A VALYRIAN CEREMONY YEAH, and Aelor forces Maegelle to perform the ceremony, and Daemon's there like oh I love the chaos and he's just like okay I won't officiate the ceremony maeg can do that (Maegelle is like "I- I'm not qualified for this?" And Daemon's like "You're a dragon you're qualified for whatever it is you want to do" and Maeg is just like okay fine makes sense) and Daemon's the witness and I'm crying at the chaos

[a-song-for-ages]

Not Tyland telling Maegelle she needs to stop having kids because he's beginning to run out of ideas of what to gift her every time she has a child

And also not Maegelle telling Tyland that they need to have more babies (not because Aelor and Rhaenyra just had a child but) because Maegelle found a really nice new name and she needs to use it because no one else will

And not Maegelle and Tyland saying okay let's wait a few years and in that time you take moon tea just to be safe (because Maegelle got pregnant with her first child on their wedding night oops) but Maegelle ends up becoming pregnant only a few months after she's given birth to Alyssa and she's ecstatic because the Maester said it looks like twins

And then not Aelor and Tyland becoming somewhat friends and Aelor just looking at him like "and I thought MY seed was strong" because all of his kids with Rhaenyra are of black hair and purple/green eyes

[a-song-for-ages]

SPOILERS: Aelor ends up getting two swords... one that his mother enchanted (for the blade to grow sharper and steel to grow stronger every time a man is slain with it)... and then the second sword is Blackfyre, which he wields on behalf of Rhaenyra. (Homeboy literally just sheathes and unsheathes the sword for her he's so cute what a puppy)

He's gonna be like Arthur Dayne I'm so excited!!!

[a-song-for-ages]

Lol Viserys exiles Aelor and Daemon is

So

Fucking

Proud

Because

This is just

It means that Aelor's following in Daemon's foot steps and like

Crying

[a-song-for-ages]

And it's also the fact that Aelor and Maegelle are so alike it's frightening - because while they are very much like Daemon (in doing as they please, damn the consequences), their minds are very sharp in having plans already set to deal with those said consequences.

Not to mention - while Rhaenyra and Daemon are alike in (I'd say character maybe? Or vibes? Idk) Aelor and Maegelle are just like... oh shit they're a bit like Rhaenys, but quieter - they watch, and look at each other and side eye Lords with barely hidden distate.

Except Aelor doesn't hide his distaste as well as Maegelle - because Maegelle is a Princess, while Aelor is a bastard (who Viserys legitimized because he loves his cousin - not as much as Alysanne did but Alysanne told Baelon to legitimize him when he is king because Jahaerys would not.)