THE FLAME AND THE LILY | aemond targaryen

PROLOGUE. LITTLE LILY FLOWER

trigger warnings. stillborn child, miscarriages mentioned

PROLOGUE
Little Lily Flower

In the cold winter of 109 AC, wailing for all of Highgarden to hear, Malon Tyrell was born to Lord Garratt Tyrell and his wife, Lady Manon. Six years an elder of the cold-born first heir, Luther, and twenty years before the coming of Lord Lyonel, her babe of a brother. For a near majority of those years and especially after the stillbirth of little Luther, did she feel the misfortune of being a girl. A firstborn girl, no less.

For the early bouts of her childhood, she was either with her mother, rather shy in appearance, especially amongst Lords, or busy in her studies. She was remarked as wonderful with needlework, her little hands assisting her well in the embroidery work she was put up to. She was but a quiet and gentle child according to those who frequented the castle, assumedly for fear of her father's anger. It was well known by the time she could speak that Garratt held an unfavorable opinion of his daughter and saw to it that she knew well.

Despite her natural inclination for silence and in some accounts, isolation, she was well-known and well-liked by those who had the pleasure of meeting the little lady. Although Tyrell house flies the sigil of a radiant golden rose, Malon was well known as the 'lily' of Highgarden. Perhaps just an affectionate name for the Reach's beloved young lady, when compared to the namesake, Lily of the Valley, the resemblance was clear. Taught to keep her head low and her presence small, she was nowhere near a Tyrell rose. Small and delicate like a lily, but nowhere near as deadly.

For that toxicity would come much later in her short life.

Originally, the girl was meant to be sent to King's Landing to act as a lady-in-waiting for the royal family's young princess, Helaena, once her mother's second child was born when she was just shy of six. Unfortunately, for the two girls who would quickly become close, their time together came much later. At the unexpected and very difficult loss of their son, Luther, the heir of Highgarden, Manon made her demands that Malon remain [with her] for just a while longer. "To lose my little babe, my son, only for the crown to take my sweet girl away only days after," she allegedly said. "Would be the most terrible pain of all."

So, as per the lady's demands, Malon remained in Highgarden for a short three more years. It was in this time that the crown welcomed their youngest boy, Daeron, and where Manon experienced an unparalleled amount of lost children. It was not until she was much older that Malon would begin to understand and allow a swift hatred to fester for her own family.

When Malon was nine, her mother finally freed her and it was then the girl was introduced to King's Landing. Although her mother was painfully heartbroken at seeing her daughter off, many could admit that Lord Garratt seemed easier to deal with in every way after she left. It was no surprise she never returned to Highgarden until after he died of sickness.

It was no secret that Malon and Helaena took to each other well. As the princess's first lady-in-waiting and with their aligned ages, their relationship had all the space in the castle to grow. As if she'd been Helaena's sister since the beginning, they were soon attached at the hip, entertaining their days with embroidery, the strange little creatures Helaena adored so much, and whatever other comely duties they were expected to do. Swiftly, Malon was accepted into the family.

For a while, there were a few other girls who came along to accompany the princess, all from noble houses and not expected to marry anytime soon. But Helaena, in her strange nature, subtly refused them like a doe to her man-touched fawn and once more, it was just the two girls again.

But in a realm such as this one, seldom can girls only be girls.

used a mixture of fire and blood/helaena's wiki to assume the style i used to write the prologue in particular and tell me why it took me a day to get 700 words???

who am i?? a college student being forced to write an essay- like get the ball movin girl

anyway malaena (malon/helaena) 4eva im sorry for ruining you for a man 😭😭

!!!!EDIT: unpublished the first chapter to fix some timeline issues that have been messing with my wee brain and keeping me from doing more work. will be back up soon as either the same first chapter or a bit later i dont have an exact plan yet. adding this book to your library will make sure you're alerted when i update or have anything to say!!! <33