solider, poet, king :|: NAERYS TARGARYEN (OC)

Prologue: Illness

When Naerys Targaryen was born, Queen Alicent showed expressive feelings of joy and happiness.

This was odd. The Queen was known to not have been very affectionate and expressive, even with her family. She was polite and courteous, but remained devoted to a certain image. It was wildly rumoured that the Queen did not enjoy bearing her children for the king, but almost any and all rumours were immediately squashed.

Rumours aside, it is known that Queen Alicent Hightower behaved strangely with her youngest child. While she loved her older children, she was never overly affectionate with any of them, save Aemond Targaryen, her second son. Even when Prince Aemond was born, she was not as generous with her affection.

That was not the case with the youngest princess. It is said that when the princess made her appearance (following quickly after her older twin brother, Prince Daeron), the attendants had gasped, for the princess had come out looking different than her four siblings before her. Instead of the typical Targaryen look, which most of her immediate family bore, Princess Naerys had come out with beautiful auburn hair. Even when the blood had been washed away, her hair remained an almost exact replica of her mother's, though it did seem more bright.

The second trait that differed was her eyes. When the young babe opened her eyes, everyone around her was eager to see what they would look like. Would she possess purple eyes, or mayhaps blue, taking on at least one Targaryen trait? Or would she completely take after her mother, bearing greenish brown eyes instead?

The answer to both was no. The Princess was said to have unique traits in all things, but the most physical were her eyes. There was a long debate on whether they were deep purple or a dark brown, before Queen Alicent quickly decided they were both.

After the birth of Jacaerys Velaryon almost a year prior, the heir's heir, the realm looked upon the youngest children of the Queen and King with a different light. Some have said that if Princess Naerys had not been born Prince Daeron's twin, who was obviously a Targaryen with his white-blond hair and light purple eyes, they would've assumed that the young Princess was in fact a bastard, since those apparently seemed to be popping up more and more those days.

Another trait that helped her Targaryen claim was that her dragon hatched in the cradle, along with her twin brother Daeron. None of her other siblings had their dragon eggs hatch, save her half-sister Princess Rhaenyra. While Prince Daeron hatched a blue she-dragon by the name of Tessarion, Princess Naerys hatched a she-dragon by the name of Astralis, though both were named much later by the two children. Astralis was described as the most stunning dragon the realm had ever seen, even more so then the eye catching Sunfyre. She possessed scales of a pale pink, almost white. Her wings were slightly translucent, shaped like hanging drapes. Some called the dragon the ghost of the skies, for she was a silent creature, and smaller than normal dragons at her age. When flying, it was said you could barely see her from below. She was a gentle creature, calm and quiet under most circumstances.

The bond between Naerys Targaryen and her dragon was one that rivalled the conquerors and their dragons. They mirrored each other, responding and reacting very similarly.

Rumours spread that Astralis, nicknamed "Little dove" by the Targaryens, was the only dragon that Queen Alicent could stand. Perhaps that had to do with the fact that Princess Naerys was said to be her favourite, though she had never admitted such a thing out loud. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that Astralis had a wonderful temperament, behaving almost exactly like her rider, or that she was much smaller than most of the other dragons that resided in Kingslanding.

Princess Naerys became a dragon rider at 9, 2 years older than her half-sister Rhaenyra had been when she herself had ridden her dragon Syrax for the first time. While she greatly enjoyed riding her dragon, she only did it the once then, as Astralis was extremely small for her age and the princess did not wish to harm her dragon by her own greed. Between the ages of 10 and 13, Astralis grew quickly in size, becoming leaner and longer by each coming day. While she did not possess much bulk, she was said to be extremely quick, her speed and near invisibility when flying making her a formidable opponent. However, the reason the she-dragon had grown so quickly in that short time was wildly discussed.

The most common reason was that the she-dragon had taken the strength of her rider, Princess Naerys, when Princess Naerys had suddenly become horribly ill at the age of ten. The maesters had quickly deducted that her horrible aliment was in fact a type of the sickness that had plagued the realm during The Old King's reign, something called "The Shivers."

An outbreak had happened down in Fleabottom, killing hundreds. While some would argue that unfortunately the princess had caught the earlier start of the outbreak, others would say thankfully. Because the princess had gotten so ill so quickly, investigations were done and actions were made to prevent the spread, squashing it from spreading as quickly as it did when it last emerged.

A maid had brought it in, infecting the princess very quickly. Her chambers were locked off, save for maesters coming in and out at every passing hour of the day. Queen Alicent was distraught, screaming and crying when she heard the news. The King, who was suffering from his own steadily increasing aliment, was kept under lock and key as it not risk catching it. Prince Daeron, who was extremely close with his younger sister, was sent to Oldtown quickly after the princess caught The Shivers, for fear that he too would catch it in an attempt to be near his sister. He spent his time squiring there for many years.

Princess Naerys's other siblings, Prince Aegon, Princess Helaena and Prince Aemond, were all forcefully kept from their younger sister, though Prince Aemond seemed to be the only other sibling who would try to sneak into his younger sister's rooms to help. After Prince Daeron left for Oldtown, that behaviour quickly stopped.

Many times the maesters told the Queen and King that the princess would not survive, and many times did she wake soon after, recovering. After her first brush with death, where her breathing stopped and her lips turned blue, her body seemed stuck in a trance. It was like the disease could not kill her, but she could not heal either. Every time the princess got better, she quickly got worse, and every time she got worse, she quickly got better. Her disease remained, even after she (oddly) stopped being contagious. Her mother was able to spend time with her, as well as the rest of her family. While the realm as a whole were overjoyed that she wasn't constantly on the brink of death, they were quickly saddened with the effects the sickness had on her body. She could barely stand most days, spending her time bedridden. Seeing her at an event hosted by the king was rare, if ever. Her dragon mourned the lose of her rider's presence as well, spending her time sleeping and crying.

Her delicate condition kept her from enjoying most things, though she somehow remained positive and happy, smiling and laughing when she could.

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Hi! So this is my attempt at a HOTD fic.

Just wanted to let y'all know now, this fic is both Jacaerys Velaryon and Aemond Targaryen. Three headed dragon fr 😃🤞🤞🤞

Also, this might totally suck, but at least I'm trying!!! Some things might be inaccurate, but just take it as the author's creative choice, yes?

I'm so excited for this, honestly.

Okay okay, this is the end of this so far, but lemme know if y'all like it! 🤭🫶