𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 | 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐬 𝐕𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧

𝐦𝐞̄𝐫𝐞

rewritten: 8/4/24

124 AC

"It had been centuries since the Doom of Old Valyria, and not once—even sailors like pirates—had anyone attempted to sail near the mainland, as they believed that demons and other hauntings lured people away the region, keeping anyone from settling."

"What's with the sudden interest in Old Valyria?" The young Jacaerys asks the princess Astraea as they walk through the garden.

"What if when we're older, we try to fly with our dragons back to Old Valyria and fight the demons that they say—restore the mainland, create and practice new laws that will help us and the people who might take interest in living there!"

Astraea's suggestion caught the young prince off guard, "It seems impossible, but perhaps we can try. What about these demons that reside there? Aren't you terrified? What will happen to Kings Landing?"

"Kings Landing has become a joke, even the rats seem to stray away from here, and I have you. Why should I be terrified? Besides Halaena, you're the only person who has ever acknowledged my existence when my brothers couldn't bother to do so. Now promise you'll come with me to Old Valyria when we age."

The princess looks over Jacaerys, hoping to see a smile on his face. Instead, a frown greets her. "What's wrong, Jace?"

"What if I'm afraid?"

"Then I'll hold your hand as I do now while we face those terrifying monsters."

"What if we don't make it out alive?"

"Then we make way for our tragedy. Will you quit this negativity, Jace? I am hopeful that we'll find a way to bring life back into Old Valyria—even if others might say otherwise."

The prince smiled as he put his hand on top of the princess. "Then I'll go wherever you allow me to."

♕

At a young age, Alicent Hightower was forced into adolescence because she had a duty to perform.

She married King Viserys I and bear children for him. She took care of his children even though she was the one hungry for food that her father couldn't provide, leaving her starved and wanting more.

Alicent isn't the best mother; she knows it herself. She often wonders if it's her fault or the court that has led Aegon and Aemond to become as they are.

Her other children, Halaena, Daeron, and Astraea, weren't like their older brothers—Halaena mainly had an interest in bugs that kept her company. Daeron, whose kind was sent to Old Town as a child away from the Red Keep writing letters to her mother to keep their relationship going, and then there's Astraea, who continues to live on the sidelines—often quiet and would instead be left alone.