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House Strong.

House Strong of Harrenhal was a noble house in the Riverlands. Their main seat was Harrenhal and their sigil was a red fox intertwined with a trident. The trident signified a river in the Riverlands, but others considered it to represent the weapon.

The Strong line can be traced back to 73 ac. Though the house was reasonably wealthy and was known throughout Westeros, they still did not have house words.

But that did not mean they were not powerful. Sure they may not have been as powerful as house Targaryen or house Stark, but they were not the weakest house in the Seven Kingdoms.

They had plenty men at arms, a strong line and were known to be trusted. Many Strong men have been hand to the past kings as they were known to be non self interested and just there to keep the realm steady. What else could a king wish for in a hand?

But now, this story begins during the reign of Viserys Targaryen. The weak king Viserys had lost his wife in childbirth leaving his daughter, Rhaenyra, to be his heir. But when king Viserys remarried the lady Alicent Hightower who delivered him a son, Viserys choose to keep Rhaenyra in line for the throne.

This made Rhaenyra the first future queen in Westerosi history.

Meanwhile, Daemon Targaryen (Viseryses rouge brother) was off in the Stepstones trying to defeat the Crabfeeder. He had been absent from court for three years now. But this story is not about the Targaryens. It's about the Strongs. More specifically, Maelora Strong.

Maelora was born in 88 ac in the walls of Harrenhal. She was Lyonel Strongs first born daughter and fourth child. Harwin, Edmund and Larys (Maeloras elder brothers) mother had passed in childbirth before Maelora was born.

So, Lyonel remarried a woman called Nymeria Martell, Maeloras mother. Nymeria then gave birth to a second daughter, Freyda, eight years later after several miscarriages. Sadly, Nymeria passed of a fever months after Freyda was born.

And with Lyonels third wife, Violet Tarly, she gave birth to a son named Osbert. Lyonel and Violets marriage lasted the longest. Everyone was sure this one would last without any tragedy's. That was of course until Violet died in childbirth giving birth to the youngest of the Strong clan.

After Violets passing, they named the little girl after her. Lyonel Strong was known throughout the kingdom as "The Unfortunate Widow" due to his misfortune with his wives. Everyone agreed lord Strong was the least deserving of this fate.

He may not have been the best looking lord in the Seven Kingdoms, but he was most definitely the kindest. He charmed ladies with his wit and humour which somehow worked. But after Violets death, he swore he would never take another woman to their death. So he focused on the many children he did have.

All the Strong siblings were very close growing up in Harrenhal. One was never seen without at least one of their siblings. It wasn't only until recently they had been split up for a large amount of time. Harwin and Larys traveled to court with their father whilst Freyda became one of princess Rhaenyras handmaidens.

And Osbert, Edmund and Maelora stayed in Harrenhal with baby Violet. But the family would visit each other as often as they could. Either travelling to Kingslanding or the others travelling to Harrnehal.

A few moons ago, Maelora had married a man from the Riverlands. It was an arranged marriage and she did not know him well. But only two months into the marriage, her husband died in a jousting accident.

This had everyone in court worried that she had been cursed with the same fate her father faced. But it did not bother her much. In fact, many say she boasted about how happy she was when she had heard of her husband death. But this is just a rumour... Of course.

So no lord would dare come near her after that. Which was fine for Maelora. This gave her more time to spend with her family, especially Violet who was still a babe with no mother.

But that did not mean Maelora was comfortable. She felt stuck. She wanted something more than just sitting idly in Harrenhal for the rest of her days. She wanted to see more of the world.

And that is where our story begins.

(Authors notes: i know house Florent has a fox as their sigil but idc. we're gonna pretend they don't exist for this fic. anyways i'm very excited to write my girl Maelora and hope you all will like it!!)

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⏰ Last updated: Jan 24 ⏰

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