The Mummer

The Heir's Tournament

Note: Hey guys, so I just wanted to give a little context and transparency for this chapter. First, the context. This book will follow the show, even in regards to years and ages. However, once we get to where season one ends, I will loosely follow the book. Now, for the transparency. This is not my best work for this chapter. It will, likely, be my worst one and is rather scattered. This is because Vaelora as a person is not developed, and is not important in regards to the story yet. She is revolving around the story, rather than the story revolving around her. Next chapter and all further chapters will be better as her purpose is actually realized. I just do not want this work to be judged by this chapter, because, again, it will likely be my worst one.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the 97th year after Aegon's Conquest, the then Prince Viserys Targaryen and his wife, the Lady Aemma Arryn, would welcome their first child. A daughter named Rhaenyra. Donned as the "Realm's Delight", she would become the youngest dragonrider at only seven years of age after she took flight upon her dragon, Syrax.

Following the birth of Princess Rhaenyra, the couple would struggle to have another child. Aemma Arryn would suffer a miscarriage, a stillbirth, and a babe lost in the cradle. It would not be until two years after the birth of their first child, when they would welcome their second.

In 99 AC, two years before the death of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, and the crowning of King Viserys I Targaryen, that the couple would feel the joys of another child. Except... the birth was instead met with bitter disappointment and chaos.

Vaelora Targaryen was born late in the night after a long and difficult labor. The girl was born not breathing, and there was great fear that she would die, much like the sibling that preceded her. However, after intensive work from the maester, the girl opened her mouth and cried out, quite loudly, in fact. It was recorded that her cries could be heard throughout the Red Keep.

But the happiness that came from the girl's survival quickly passed and upset settled into the bones of her father and the realm as a whole. Aemma Arryn had, once again, birthed a girl. And that was an issue. See, the absence of a cock on the babe, meant the absence of an heir. Hope had originally risen high when the pregnancy was announced, but quickly fell when it was revealed that Vaelora was not born a boy.

The babe grew though. In her infancy, she was known for hardly ever crying. A strange trait, but not one that sparked worry at the time. In her childhood, it was stated she had an aversion to touch, even from her own mother, much to the queen's despair. Vaelora was remarked as being silent, not caring much to play. It was said that after her fifth nameday, that the girl would be plagued with night terrors. She would often wake screaming, causing guards to rush into her chambers in worry. But, upon finding the girl unharmed, they would return to their posts.

It was also stated that the girl was rather frail. Deep blue and purple bruises would cover her pale skin from the softest of falls and the lightest of touches. But despite the marks being seemingly painful, the girl would still never cry. The only time she was remarked as crying in her youth, before the death of her mother, was when she turned seven, and her dragon egg had still not hatched. At her age, her elder sister, Rhaenyra, had flown Syrax for the first time, yet here Vaelora was, dragonless.

Eventually, the frail child would give way to an odd girl. Vaelora was remarked as being beautiful in her youth, with long silver hair, soft facial features, and deep purple eyes, but it was also remarked that there was something deeply odd about her. As if something was extremely wrong, but no one could ever describe what. Instead, they would just say they felt uncomfortable whenever her eyes were upon them. She hardly ever smiled, and it was even rarer for her to laugh. According to Mushroom, the fool had tried often to entertain the stoic child but was never graced with so much with a look of raised lips.