Bronze Beauty | Daemon Targaryen

How Time Flies

112 AC

Many things had changed in the twelve years since they'd returned to Westeros and court life. Calamity after calamity hit House Targaryen. But it only took one look at the Dragon Lords and their power to understand the only thing able to destroy a dragon was another dragon.

After they had returned to mourn the loss of Queen Alysanne, it wasn't long before tragedy struck again. What was once supposed to be a year's visit became a more permanent residency in King's Landing when the once hale and healthy Prince Baelon died of a burst belly in 101 AC, only five days after being named Hand of the King. With his death, the question became: Who would seat the Iron Throne after the ailing King Jaeherys' death?

The answer: Prince Viserys, eldest son of Prince Baelon.

In the nine years since Old King Jaeherys had passed on and Prince Viserys ascended the throne, despite it being said that his cousin Princess Rhaenys had the better claim. Her being the first-born daughter of Aemon Targaryen, the oldest living son of King Jaeherys and Queen Alysanne.

But when the old king's health had begun to fail following the death of his true love and queen and both of his sons and heirs, he'd called upon a Great Council to decide the state of inheritance to avoid an all-out war. Fourteen candidates were put forth, many with armies backing them, but only two had been truly considered, Rhaenys and Viserys. In the end, Viserys had been voted heir on account of his owning a cock, and Rhaenys had returned to Driftmark with her husband Corlys Valaryon, having been proclaimed 'The Queen That Never Was.'

But such was the will of men, to never see a woman truly rise above them.

Smiling to herself, Diana looked down at the training yard, watching as her husband of 15 years trained his children in the art of sword fighting. Aelyx, now 14, had grown into a handsome young lad with unusually short-cropped hair for a Targaryen. Shaved at the sides and longer on top made him an intimidating figure as he crossed training blades with his father while his younger siblings watched with keen eyes.

Alycia, Diana's second-born child and only daughter, was beautiful, with long, curling silver hair pulled back into a braid and a tall, thin frame that spoke of how often she exercised with her siblings. Her normally porcelain skin had been bronzed by the hot sun of King's Landing, making her seem even more exotic to the young lordlings who panted after her at court.

Lastly, but certainly not least, stood the baby of the family. Daemion Targaryen was a quiet boy who, unlike his siblings, had inherited his messy brown locks from his mother. At age ten, he was far more partial to reading and learning the history and politics of Westeros alongside Diana rather than being in the training yard with his father, Daemon. Still, he loved his father and knew that one day it would be his duty to protect his own family in time, so he went and trained hard until he bled and sweated through his leather armour.

Her two younger children were night and day as they watched Aelyx train, grunting and sweating while he struggled to hold his own against their father's training practices. While Alycia's face had a dark, bloodthirsty smile as she cheered on her brother, Daemion was quiet, using the time to take in the fight and find out when and where his brother went wrong against a stronger opponent.

With one final brutal kick to the chest, Dameon sent a panting Aelyx flying backwards, hitting the dirt hard and dropping his sword in the process. When the boy didn't get back up and instead lay panting for several long moments, Daemon seemed to take pity, smirking as he stepped forward and, with a grunt, dragged his eldest to his shaky feet.

Seeing how disgruntled and disappointed Aelyx looked, Daemon's face softened, and with a firm hand, he grabbed the boy by the back of his neck and pulled him into a hug, gently knocking their foreheads together.