love and duty | daemon targaryen

love and duty

On the 10th day of the 6th moon of 81 AC, two Targaryens were born, and the world would never be the same.

Princess Maera and Prince Daemon were born into the House of the Dragon on the same day of the same year, and some later historians would wager they were even born in the same hour and, amazingly, the same minute.

Neither had existed without the other nor would they ever have to. It seemed even the gods understood that Maera and Daemon Targaryen were two halves of the same whole, forever drawn to each other, unable to survive without the other, for they, too, would die on the same day of the same year, in the same hour, and the very same minute.

Princess Maera was the second daughter of Crown Prince Aemon Targaryen and Lady Jocelyn Baratheon. She was born seven years after her older sister Princess Rhaenys was born. While others in her family and even the Seven Kingdoms expressed silent sadness that she was not born a boy, her father and mother could not be more overjoyed by the newest little dragon to enter their family. She would be their last child as Jocelyn never fell pregnant again.

Maera was a true mixture of her Targaryen and Baratheon ancestry, sporting the dark hair of her mother and the vibrant lilac eyes of her father. She held the fury of the Stormlands and the fire of Dragonstone, a dangerous combination for her enemies. And there were many.

Prince Daemon was the second son of Prince Baelon and Princess Alyssa Targaryen. He was born just four years after his older brother Prince Viserys was born, and he would be the last son of Baelon and Alyssa to live past infancy. He was the picture of a Targaryen prince, embodying the ethereal beauty of his dragonlord ancestors with his silver golden locks and violet eyes. He was the epitome of fire and blood, brash and arrogant and ready to take what was his. There was not a fight he did not win, especially when Maera was watching.

The two Targaryens were filled with dragonfire in a way that the rest of their family was not, twin flames filled with the blood of Old Valyria. They were restless, mischievous, and quick to anger and challenge anyone who stood in their path. Their fathers, best friends themselves, often joked that their youngest children could breathe fire if they became enraged enough.

Where one went, the other followed. If one were slighted, the other would come with fists raised and insults ready on their tongue. If one cried, the other was there was a warm embrace and promises to kill any who dared harm them. Maera and Daemon were drawn to each other in a way few could understand, their souls forever intertwined in the ancient dance of twin flames.

All thought the pair would be betrothed by the time they were five and ten, for no one could imagine one without the other. It was impossible, it went against what the gods themselves had intended, many claimed. Yet, the one who could make such a thought a reality was the only one who dared to question the ways of the gods.

The Wise King, Jaehaerys I, the reigning patriarch of House Targaryen, would watch his two youngest grandchildren wearily as they wreaked havoc, his lips pursed, his tired purple eyes narrowed. Where others would laugh at the antics of the young Targaryen, fondly scolding them for whatever scheme they had come up with, Jaehaerys would only frown, unease building up within him.

They were twin flames, Jaehaerys could agree. But flames burned. They destroyed, they decimated, they brought pain and anguish. Jaehaerys feared what would become of his family if those fires burned too bright, too out of control. Fire did not discriminate. Targaryens knew that better than anyone.

It would mean the end of House Targaryen and the era of peace he had worked so hard to cultivate. He knew more than most that the only thing that could bring House Targaryen to its downfall was the House of the Dragon itself. Watching Maera and Daemon together, seeing how they fought and laughed and wreaked havoc around the Red Keep...Jaehaerys believed that if the destruction of his house occurred as he feared, it would be because of them and their love and their fire.

Little did he know that his youngest grandchildren would be the ones to save House Targaryen from extinction for the very reasons he feared they would destroy it.

Disclaimer!

I do not own House of the Dragon, Game of Thrones, or A Song of Ice and Fire! All credit for these goes to George R. R. Martin and HBO. However, I do own Maera, Duncan, and the original content I created for this story. <3