#justice for princess elia and her children

[sunspearesque]

i can't even begin to understand the thought process of rhaegar and his utterly absurd decision to take the most powerful kingsguards with him to either fight or to guard his 15-year-old mistress/abductee (?) and their babe with questionable legitimacy while leaving behind his wife and his two children (one of them is his fucking heir) to be guarded by who exactly? 16-year-old jaime lannister? (who was “guarding” the king that kept him “hostage”)

rhaegar knew damn well his father is going even more insane after a war he started by his utter stupidity and selfishness and they won’t be safe yet he didn’t bother to ensure their safety before he fucks off… the only explanation is that he didn’t give a flying fuck about anyone but himself and his delulu which makes him complicit in their tragic death as much as his mad daddy who kept them hostages and the lannisters who slaughtered them

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

Prince Rhaegar as a character often gets some deserved criticism - and a lot of underserved hate. And one of the things that I think he unfairly gets blamed for is Elia Martell's tragedy. Elia's death is one of the primary objections people have towards Rhaegar and Lyanna being depicted as a romance, with readers believing that if they were just tragic lovers, then that diminishes Elia's own tragedy.

I...disagree. It is understandable (and honestly right) that readers would rally behind Elia. Not only was she horribly brutalized and murdered, but her children suffered absolutely terrible fates as well.

However, in trying to center Rhaegar and Lyanna's doomed dalliance in this, a lot of readers are missing the answer that has been already provided to us within the narrative. Not only that, but this line of thinking also ignores the key context in which Elia's senseless murder is portrayed.

As far as the text goes, Elia’s death is laid squarely at the feet of Tywin Lannister and his men, Ser Gregor Clegane and Ser Amory Lorch. It's House Lannister's burden to bear.

Doran for one, Elia's brother, directly blames Tywin Lannister:

“You mistake patience for forbearance. I have worked at the downfall of Tywin Lannister since the day they told me of Elia and her children.”

The Princess in the Tower, AFFC

Even Oberyn agrees:

“Dwarf,” said the Red Viper, in a tone grown markedly less cordial, “spare me your Lannister lies. Is it sheep you take us for, or fools? My brother is not a bloodthirsty man, but neither has he been asleep for sixteen years. Jon Arryn came to Sunspear the year after Robert took the throne, and you can be sure that he was questioned closely. Him, and a hundred more. I did not come for some mummer’s show of an inquiry. I came for justice for Elia and her children, and I will have it. Starting with this lummox Gregor Clegane … but not, I think, ending there. Before he dies, the Enormity That Rides will tell me whence came his orders, please assure your lord father of that.” He smiled. “An old septon once claimed I was living proof of the goodness of the gods. Do you know why that is, Imp?”

Tyrion IV, ASOS

“Is that the game we are playing?” Tyrion rubbed at his scarred nose. He had nothing to lose by telling Oberyn the truth. “There was a bear at Harrenhal, and it did kill Ser Amory Lorch.” “How sad for him,” said the Red Viper. “And for you. Do all noseless men lie so badly, I wonder?” “I am not lying. Ser Amory dragged Princess Rhaenys out from under her father’s bed and stabbed her to death. He had some men-at-arms with him, but I do not know their names.” He leaned forward. “It was Ser Gregor Clegane who smashed Prince Aegon’s head against a wall and raped your sister Elia with his blood and brains still on his hands.” “What is this, now? Truth, from a Lannister?” Oberyn smiled coldly. “Your father gave the commands, yes?” “No.” He spoke the lie without hesitation, and never stopped to ask himself why he should. The Dornishman raised one thin black eyebrow. “Such a dutiful son. And such a very feeble lie. It was Lord Tywin who presented my sister’s children to King Robert all wrapped up in crimson Lannister cloaks.”

Tyrion IX, ASOS

“Elia Martell, Princess of Dorne,” the Red Viper hissed. “You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children…“I came to hear you confess.”

Tyrion X, ASOS

Varys and Tyrion both understand that House Martell (but more specifically Doran) hates the Lannisters.

“The Dornishmen thus far have held aloof from these wars. Doran Martell has called his banners, but no more. His hatred for House Lannister is well known, and it is commonly thought he will join Lord Renly. You wish to dissuade him.” “All this is obvious,” said Tyrion. “The only puzzle is what you might have offered for his allegiance. The prince is a sentimental man, and he still mourns his sister Elia and her sweet babe.” “My father once told me that a lord never lets sentiment get in the way of ambition … and it happens we have an empty seat on the small council, now that Lord Janos has taken the black.” “A council seat is not to be despised,” Varys admitted, “yet will it be enough to make a proud man forget his sister’s murder?” “Why forget?” Tyrion smiled. “I’ve promised to deliver his sister’s killers, alive or dead, as he prefers. After the war is done, to be sure.” Varys gave him a shrewd look. “My little birds tell me that Princess Elia cried a … certain name … when they came for her.” “Is a secret still a secret if everyone knows it?” In Casterly Rock, it was common knowledge that Gregor Clegane had killed Elia and her babe. They said he had raped the princess with her son’s blood and brains still on his hands. “This secret is your lord father’s sworn man.” “My father would be the first to tell you that fifty thousand Dornishmen are worth one rabid dog.” Varys stroked a powdered cheek. “And if Prince Doran demands the blood of the lord who gave the command as well as the knight who did the deed …” “Robert Baratheon led the rebellion. All commands came from him, in the end.” “Robert was not at King’s Landing.” “Neither was Doran Martell.”

Tyrion IV, ACOK

Really, all the nobles know where to look at when assigning blame for Elia's murder. Tywin.

“Prince Doran comes at my son’s invitation,” Lord Tywin said calmly, “not only to join in our celebration, but to claim his seat on this council, and the justice Robert denied him for the murder of his sister Elia and her children.” Tyrion watched the faces of the Lords Tyrell, Redwyne, and Rowan, wondering if any of the three would be bold enough to say, “But Lord Tywin, wasn’t it you who presented the bodies to Robert, all wrapped up in Lannister cloaks?” None of them did, but it was there on their faces all the same. Redwyne does not give a fig, he thought, but Rowan looks fit to gag.

Tywin, for the most part, quite shamelessly tries to disassociate himself from his own moral failings; this is nothing new, because he follows this same MO with squarely blaming the Freys for the Red Wedding even though he played an integral part in planning for it.

“Then why did the Mountain kill her?” “Because I did not tell him to spare her. I doubt I mentioned her at all. I had more pressing concerns. Ned Stark’s van was rushing south from the Trident, and I feared it might come to swords between us. And it was in Aerys to murder Jaime, with no more cause than spite. That was the thing I feared most. That, and what Jaime himself might do.” He closed a fist. “Nor did I yet grasp what I had in Gregor Clegane, only that he was huge and terrible in battle. The rape … even you will not accuse me of giving that command, I would hope. Ser Amory was almost as bestial with Rhaenys. I asked him afterward why it had required half a hundred thrusts to kill a girl of … two? Three? He said she’d kicked him and would not stop screaming. If Lorch had half the wits the gods gave a turnip, he would have calmed her with a few sweet words and used a soft silk pillow.” His mouth twisted in distaste. “The blood was in him.”

Tyrion VI, ASOS

“And when Oberyn demands the justice he’s come for?” “I will tell him that Ser Amory Lorch killed Elia and her children,” Lord Tywin said calmly. “So will you, if he asks.” “Ser Amory Lorch is dead,” Tyrion said flatly. “Precisely. Vargo Hoat had Ser Amory torn apart by a bear after the fall of Harrenhal. That ought to be sufficiently grisly to appease even Oberyn Martell.” “You may call that justice …” “It is justice. It was Ser Amory who brought me the girl’s body, if you must know. He found her hiding under her father’s bed, as if she believed Rhaegar could still protect her. Princess Elia and the babe were in the nursery a floor below.”

Tyrion VI, ASOS

Tywin tries to alleviate himself of any responsibility by blaming his men, but the narrative actively calls bullshit on this (through Tywin's own son no less).

So the narrative shows through multiple POVs that Elia's murder is contextualized exclusively as a failing on Tywin Lannister and his men; not only was it a moral failing, but Tyrion also questions if it was politically necessary in the first place. It's also important to note that ASOS is when we really dive into the matter of Elia and her children (mostly through Oberyn), but we also have to remember that this is the same book as the Red Wedding. The Red Wedding, another one of Tywin's senseless massacres that he tries to postulate as politically necessary.

So, we have agreed that the blame and context for Elia's (and her children's) murder is presented through the lens of Tywin as an immoral politician who often makes politically unnecessary moves. But then we ask ourselves, can the responsibility of this tragedy be extended? Well, yes it can. And it has been in the text.

Ser Barristan extends this tragedy beyond Tywin and his men

...to King Robert.

“Prince Rhaegar had two children,” Ser Barristan told him. “Rhaenys was a little girl, Aegon a babe in arms. When Tywin Lannister took King’s Landing, his men killed both of them. He served the bloody bodies up in crimson cloaks, a gift for the new king.” And what did Robert say when he saw them? Did he smile? Barristan Selmy had been badly wounded on the Trident, so he had been spared the sight of Lord Tywin’s gift, but oft he wondered. If I had seen him smile over the red ruins of Rhaegar’s children, no army on this earth could have stopped me from killing him. “I will not suffer the murder of children. Accept that, or I’ll have no part of this.”

The Kingbreaker, ADWD

Ned Stark does as well.

Ned did not feign surprise; Robert’s hatred of the Targaryens was a madness in him. He remembered the angry words they had exchanged when Tywin Lannister had presented Robert with the corpses of Rhaegar’s wife and children as a token of fealty. Ned had named that murder; Robert called it war. When he had protested that the young prince and princess were no more than babes, his new-made king had replied, “I see no babes. Only dragonspawn.” Not even Jon Arryn had been able to calm that storm. Eddard Stark had ridden out that very day in a cold rage, to fight the last battles of the war alone in the south. It had taken another death to reconcile them; Lyanna’s death, and the grief they had shared over her passing.

Eddard II, AGOT

And so does Tywin, who uses Robert's tacit approval as justification for this senseless act.

Lord Tywin stared at him as if he had lost his wits. “You deserve that motley, then. We had come late to Robert’s cause. It was necessary to demonstrate our loyalty. When I laid those bodies before the throne, no man could doubt that we had forsaken House Targaryen forever. And Robert’s relief was palpable. As stupid as he was, even he knew that Rhaegar’s children had to die if his throne was ever to be secure. Yet he saw himself as a hero, and heroes do not kill children.” His father shrugged. “I grant you, it was done too brutally. Elia need not have been harmed at all, that was sheer folly. By herself she was nothing.”

Tyrion VI, ASOS

So if we can't extend the blame to Rhaegar, because the narrative doesn't do so either, what can we hold him responsible for? Let's take a step back and look at Rhaegar's culpability in this whole thing.

Was Rhaegar (and Lyanna) responsible for starting the war that would eventually lead to Elia's murder?

No. GRRM doesn't think so. The war actually started when King Aerys murdered the Lord of Winterfell and his heir, a bunch of other northern nobles, and then called for the heads of Robert Baratheon (Lord of Storm's End) and Ned Stark (the new Lord of Winterfell). Aerys broke the feudal contract, and so Jon Arryn declared war.

I don't think I would have stayed loyal to the Mad King. Do I think they were justified? Yes, and no. [...] There was no doubt that the Mad King was mad. He was paranoid and he was abusing his power. And Westeros has no Magna Carta or anything like that. There was no way to handle this within the rule of law. But was what they do justified? Especially when you consider that it was triggered by a personal grievance. The execution of Ned's father and brother was really a thing that radicalized Ned and put him in opposition to it. Robert was just rolling for a fight and didn't like the fact that he'd lost his girlfriend. So you know, the personal informs the political.

source

Rhaegar and Lyanna's disappearance was merely the spark - it led to a misunderstanding that caused Brandon Stark to ride to Kingslanding. What really caused the war was Aerys' Targaryens subsequent actions as the king. So if we want to blame someone for causing the chain of events that led to Elia's death as well as her children's, the author himself says to blame Aerys; even though I don't think this is right either because we once again stray from the necessary (and sole) context of Elia's murder - Tywin's bloody hands.

Fine. Rhaegar was not responsible for the war. But surely he is responsible for leaving Elia in King's Landing, right in the clutches of Mad King Aerys. Well, this again, is not true. As far as Rhaegar knew, Elia was in Dragonstone with Aegon and Rhaenys where he left them.

As cold winds hammered the city, King Aerys II turned to his pyromancers, charging them to drive the winter off with their magics. Huge green fires burned along the walls of the Red Keep for a moon’s turn. Prince Rhaegar was not in the city to observe them, however. Nor could he be found in Dragonstone with Princess Elia and their young son, Aegon.

“The Year of the False Spring”, The World of Ice and Fire

At some point, Elia was called to King's Landing. And it was Aerys who kept her hostage there as insurance against possible Dornish betrayal (remember, he was paranoid).

Side Note: Aerys kept another important political hostage in King's Landing along with Elia - Jaime Lannister; this is to deter anyone from trying to blame Jaime for doing nothing. He was a teenager and a hostage himself!

“My Sworn Brothers were all away, you see, but Aerys liked to keep me close. I was my father’s son, so he did not trust me. He wanted me where Varys could watch me, day and night. So I heard it all.” He remembered how Rossart’s eyes would shine when he unrolled his maps to show where the substance must be placed. Garigus and Belis were the same. “Rhaegar met Robert on the Trident, and you know what happened there. When the word reached court, Aerys packed the queen off to Dragonstone with Prince Viserys. Princess Elia would have gone as well, but he forbade it. Somehow he had gotten it in his head that Prince Lewyn must have betrayed Rhaegar on the Trident, but he thought he could keep Dorne loyal so long as he kept Elia and Aegon by his side. The traitors want my city, I heard him tell Rossart, but I’ll give them naught but ashes. Let Robert be king over charred bones and cooked meat. The Targaryens never bury their dead, they burn them. Aerys meant to have the greatest funeral pyre of them all. Though if truth be told, I do not believe he truly expected to die. Like Aerion Brightfire before him, Aerys thought the fire would transform him … that he would rise again, reborn as a dragon, and turn all his enemies to ash.

Jaime V, ASOS

Ok, fine. So Rhaegar did not abandon her with Aerys then run off to Lyanna. But he should have done something when he came back, right? Why didn't he leave more Kings Guard with Elia and the children?

Well....this is a war. The knights of the KG are important assets on the battle field. Kings Landing, at the time, was not the most dangerous location. The KG were better off at the Trident, as a victory there would protect those who were left behind in KL.

And it's not that Rhaegar didn't do anything. Beyond going off to lead the battle himself, he tried to make moves that would help those who were back in KL (Elia and the children included).

He floated in heat, in memory. “After dancing griffins lost the Battle of the Bells, Aerys exiled him.” Why am I telling this absurd ugly child? “He had finally realized that Robert was no mere outlaw lord to be crushed at whim, but the greatest threat House Targaryen had faced since Daemon Blackfyre. The king reminded Lewyn Martell gracelessly that he held Elia and sent him to take command of the ten thousand Dornishmen coming up the kingsroad. Jon Darry and Barristan Selmy rode to Stoney Sept to rally what they could of griffins’ men, and Prince Rhaegar returned from the south and persuaded his father to swallow his pride and summon my father. But no raven returned from Casterly Rock, and that made the king even more afraid. He saw traitors everywhere, and Varys was always there to point out any he might have missed. So His Grace commanded his alchemists to place caches of wildfire all over King’s Landing. Beneath Baelor’s Sept and the hovels of Flea Bottom, under stables and storehouses, at all seven gates, even in the cellars of the Red Keep itself.

Jaime V ASOS

And Jaime's POV once again shows us that Rhaegar banked on victory at the Trident, and was fully expecting to come back to KL and amend the fraught political situation.

The day had been windy when he said farewell to Rhaegar, in the yard of the Red Keep. The prince had donned his night-black armor, with the three-headed dragon picked out in rubies on his breastplate. “Your Grace,” Jaime had pleaded, “let Darry stay to guard the king this once, or Ser Barristan. Their cloaks are as white as mine.” Prince Rhaegar shook his head. “My royal sire fears your father more than he does our cousin Robert. He wants you close, so Lord Tywin cannot harm him. I dare not take that crutch away from him at such an hour.” Jaime’s anger had risen up in his throat. “I am not a crutch. I am a knight of the Kingsguard.” “Then guard the king,” Ser Jon Darry snapped at him. “When you donned that cloak, you promised to obey.” Rhaegar had put his hand on Jaime’s shoulder. “When this battle’s done I mean to call a council. Changes will be made. I meant to do it long ago, but … well, it does no good to speak of roads not taken. We shall talk when I return.”

Jaime I, AFFC

So Rhaegar wasn't leaving with no care about what happened back in King's Landing. We don't know what he wanted to do with Aerys, Elia, Lyanna, and the aftermath of the war because he died at the Trident. But we do know that he, at the very least, was planning to do something.

So we can't blame Rhaegar (and Lyanna) for starting the war and we can't blame him either for abandoning Elia in King's Landing with no care about what happens next. So, again, what can we blame him for?

“It's not entirely correct that the Martells stayed out of the war. Rhaegar had Dornish troops with him on the Trident, under the command of Prince Lewyn of the Kingsguard. However, the Dornishmen did not support him as strongly as they might have, in part because of anger at his treatment of Elia, in part because of Prince Doran's innate caution.”

SSM, 09/11/1999

GRRM states that Dorne was angry about Rhaegar's treatment of Elia. What is this treatment, though?

Ned remembered the moment when all the smiles died, when Prince Rhaegar Targaryen urged his horse past his own wife, the Dornish princess Elia Martell, to lay the queen of beauty’s laurel in Lyanna’s lap.

Eddard XV, AGOT

Specifically, Rhaegar riding past Elia to crown Lyanna the Queen of Love and Beauty. Yes, that is a humiliation. And it's undeniable that no one was happy.

The crowning of the Stark girl, who was by all reports a wild and boyish young thing with none of the Princess Elia’s delicate beauty, could only have been meant to win the allegiance of Winterfell to Prince Rhaegar’s cause…Yet if this were true, why did Lady Lyanna’s brothers seem so distraught at the honor the prince had bestowed upon her? Brandon Stark, the heir to Winterfell, had to be restrained from confronting Rhaegar at what he took as a slight upon his sister’s honor…Eddard Stark, Brandon’s younger brother and a close friend to Lord Robert, was calmer but no more pleased.

“The Year of the False Spring”, The World of Ice and Fire

But, humiliating Elia is not the same thing as being responsible for her death. The narrative never equates these two things in any way. Elia's death is about Tywin's immoral and blood thirsty political actions. It's about Dorne's desire for justice (or is it vengeance?) which they know they will not get from the Lannister regime. House Lannister's downfall in King's Landing will be brought about by Prince Aegon's rise - Aegon who is proclaiming to be the long lost son of Prince Rhaegar, and who is being supported by House Martell as of now.

We can criticize Rhaegar for some things, but Elia's death is surely not one of them.

[thewitchqueenofharrenhal]

“The Dornishmen burn to avenge Elia and her children.” (A Game of Thrones, Daenerys I)

“In Dorne, the Martells still brood on the murder of Princess Elia and her babes.” (A Game of Thrones, Eddard XV).

“The only puzzle is what you might have offered for his allegiance. The prince is a sentimental man, and he still mourns his sister Elia and her sweet babe.”( A Clash of Kings, Tyrion IV)

“Elia even made the noise that young girls make at the sight of infants, I'm sure you've heard it. The same noise they make over cute kittens and playful puppies. I believe she wanted to nurse you herself, ugly as you were.” (A Storm of Swords, Tyrion V)

My brother is not a bloodthirsty man, but neither has he been asleep for sixteen years. Jon Arryn came to Sunspear the year after Robert took the throne, and you can be sure that he was questioned closely. Him, and a hundred more. I did not come for some mummer's show of an inquiry. I came for justice for Elia and her children, and I will have it.” (A Storm of Swords, Tyrion V)

"But that was the tourney when he crowned Lyanna Stark as queen of love and beauty!" said Dany. "Princess Elia was there, his wife, and yet my brother gave the crown to the Stark girl, and later stole her away from her betrothed. How could he do that? Did the Dornish woman treat him so ill?" (A Storm of Swords, Daenerys IV)

“It is not for such as me to say what might have been in your brother's heart, Your Grace. The Princess Elia was a good and gracious lady, though her health was ever delicate.” (A Storm of Swords, Daenerys IV)

SOME PRINCESS ELIA OF HOUSE MARTELL MENTIONS IN ASOIAF SERIES WRITTEN BY GRRM.

[goodqueenaly]

do you think tywin ordered gregor to rape elia, or did he "just" order gregor to murder her brutually?

Does it matter?

Is Tywin absolved of guilt for Elia's death (and the horrific manner of it) if he did not literally say the words "ok Gregor, now when you get inside the Red Keep I want you to make sure you brutally rape Princess Elia before you murder her"? Does Tywin get to shift the blame entirely to Gregor, as he asserts to Tyrion, for the rape and murder of Elia, because, he, Tywin, "did not tell him to spare her"?

Whatever Tywin told Gregor with respect to Elia (and I tend to doubt Tywin's insistence that he did not personally want to take vengeance on Elia, given how petty and thin-skinned Tywin always was), Tywin undoubtedly sent a brutal, sadistic young knight (along with Amory Lorch, another brutal knight) to murder an infant in the care of that baby's own mother. Tywin picked Gregor Clegane specifically and gave at least that specific order. This was not a situation like, say, the northmen who murdered the tavern women along the Red Fork, where an independent loyalist band for a certain faction took it upon itself to commit horrific crimes against the (perceived) enemies of its faction (though even there, I think, the story very much wants readers to consider how those actions reflect on the nobility of Robb's faction); this was Tywin giving an order to a hand-picked soldier - a man who was "huge and terrible in battle" - to terrorize noncombatants and murder an infant. The blood was on Tywin's hands for Elia's death and the circumstances of it, just as much as it was on Gregor's (and just as it was on Amory Lorch's for the murder of Rhaenys).

This is a point that the story underlines again and again - Tywin cannot escape blame for his crimes simply because he raised his hands and said "well, I didn't swing the sword, I didn't say 'do xyz'". Think about his attempts to outsource his terror program in the Riverlands initially to Gregor Clegane, a clumsy ruse that Ned saw right through back in AGOT. Think about Tywin's facially hypocritical declaration to the small council in ASOS that he would give Prince Doran Martell "the justice Robert denied him for the murder of his sister Elia and her children", a ridiculous promise that Tyrion gleefully (if silently) mocked. Think about Tywin's flimsy excuse when Tyrion points out the breach of guest right at the Red Wedding - "The blood is on Walder Frey's hands, not mine" - and his distaste at Tyrion referring to his, Tywin's, "plotting" with Walder Frey for the massacre - a recognition that he, Tywin, was no better than Walder in breaching arguably the most fundamental Westerosi socio-political tradition to murder Robb Stark and his men. The horrific rape and murder of Elia Martell is no different: Tywin not only specifically empowered two bloodthirsty, terrible men to carry out the murders of innocent children with the full knowledge that their mother was living with them (and so every reason to expect her to fight for their survival), but chucked the dead Amory Lorch's body under the bus to explain Elia's murder explicitly so that his favorite attack dog Gregor could live to terrorize another day. What Gregor did, in Tywin's name and with at least some direction from Tywin, falls on Tywin too.

[sugarbarbie-ocs]

"No soul is born with vengeance in their blood." Her hands traced the bars lining in front of his holding cell. "I am what they made me," she looking at him, a sly grin on her face, "the mad king, the mountain, and your father." Her voice was low, hands tightening around the metal.

For a moment, Jamie saw a ghost of what she had been to him—the charming lady he danced with all those years ago during his first night at Harrenhal. She loved to smile then; for she was happy, truly happy . . .

"They are all dead now," she smirked. "My son's murders are dead, but I will never forget, never." The cold gleen in her eyes making him shudder. How could someone so beautiful be so terrifying?

Vorian Martell, son of Oberyn Martell and Felicity Florent, the valiant little prince who'd died holding on to a dagger trying to protect his cousin Aegon, and aunt Elia.

Jamie remembered him a child barley passed his seventh name day with his father's viper eyes and mother's sweet smile, the brave lad who dreamt of becoming a knight.

King Aerys had ordered Ser Jonothor Darry to rip the boy away from his mother's arms, and have him locked up alongside Princess Elia and her children.

All to keep the Dornish from turning against their King.

And Jamie had watched it all happen.

He wondered if he could've stopped it sooner?

But he didn't, he stood by as Jonothor obeyed the King's orders.

Felicity had cried and screamed as Ser Barristan Selmy was dragging her away, back to her chambers.

Jamie had wavered then, clasping on to the handle of his sword with half a mind to cut down the King and his fellow brothers of the Kingsguard.

Vorian Martell did not live to celebrate his eight name day.

In his rage Prince Oberyn had killed all four messengers who had arrived from King's Landing to deliver his son's remains, Jon Arryn had barley escaped with his life.

"The red viper wants you dead Tywin, he wants us all dead, he wants justice." he had told them after returning from Dorne.

"let him try" his father dismissed the hands concerns.

Jamie wished he didn't remember it all.

The little boy's blood soaking the floor.

Felicity's screams as she held her son's lifeless frame.

But He could never forget, not now, not ever.

just a random scene I wrote for my oc Felicity Florent. set during the time Jamie went to Dorne.

Fel suffers from my son is dead syndrome just like my other oc Shiera 😔

OG GIF CREDITS : @lucyllawless @mistressvera @jaeausten @spellfuls

[ladylookslikeadude1]

ok but Doran convinces Obreyn not to kill Lyarra bc this must be the gods way to give them the chance to get revenge for Elia

you know since they have a direct and valid claim to the throne

I...may have a soft spot for Oberyn Martell, which is probably very obvious here.

Lyarra had been genuinely surprised that Oberyn hadn’t dragged her out of the birthing bed, but perhaps he still had some affection for her despite the fact that she was the daughter of the woman he hated more than anything.  But when the Maester declared her healed enough to walk, he guided her to a meeting with Doran.  

Which was another surprise-she’d expected to be forced to answer for the crimes of her parent’s in front of more people than just Oberyn and Doran.  Even the Sand Snakes were absent, and they were rarely far from their father’s side.  Oberyn finally seemed to understand her hesitance, and his firm grip on her gentled, his hand sliding to her wrist where her soulmark rested.  “You are my soulmate, my wife, and the mother of my children.  I could no more harm you than I could have Elia. I swear that you have nothing to fear from me, Lyarra.”

She let out a slow, shaky breath.  “I-You have my thanks, husband, for making that clear.  I would make a liar of myself if I said there was no fear involved.”

Doran leaned forward, his expression fond as he watched the two of them.  “We want vengeance and justice for Elia, Lyarra, but not at your expense.”  He paused.  “However.  You are the last living direct heir to the throne, and you have two babes of your own now as well.  We are in a…unique position, with our current options.”  

Lyarra knew exactly what he was saying.  They could say that, by right of blood, the throne was hers.  What better revenge on those who had murdered Elia and her babes-and the man who’d laughed when he saw the slaughtered children-than a Prince of Dorne and his wife taking the throne?

At any other point in her life, Lyarra would have probably said no.  They would have been disappointed, but they would have found another way for Elia’s justice.  

However.

Sansa had married Prince Joffrey just a few moons ago, and her letters had made it clear that the little best was hurting her.  It was said very carefully of course-everything Sansa did was careful-but it was clear as glass for someone who’d grown up beside her.  “Promise me,” she murmured, “That Sansa and any children that monster has gotten on her will be safe.”

Doran exhaled sharply.  “Monster?”  He asked grimly.

Lyarra nodded.  “She couches it in delicate language, but I know her.  I know how she writes.  I know what she means.”  And they might have developed a code as girls, something fun that they could giggle over before Lady Catelyn had started to create a divide between them.  But that wasn’t something she would share.

“We don’t hurt little girls in Dorne,” Oberyn murmured.  “No harm shall come to her or any children, I swear it.”

Lyarra nodded.  “Very well.”

From a bastard to  Princess of Dorne to a future Queen.  Who would have expected her to rise so high?

[isefyres]

𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄.

Prince Oberyn Martell. Brother of Prince Doran and Princess Elia. Known as the Red Vyper, Oberyn is obsessed with bringing justice to what happened to his sister during the Rebellion.

Princess Elia Martell. Married to Rhaegar Targaryen, Elia died during the Rebellion after being put aside by her husband. Elia and her children perished in the last days of the Rebellion.

Prince Trystane Martell. The youngest son of Prince Doran, and the bethroded to Princess Myrcella Baratheon. Trystane is kind and generous, only showing fighting spirit when he must.

Princess Arianne Martell. The eldest daughter of Doran and his heir. Arianne is a guidance to Princess Myrcella. Seductive and scheming, Arianne wants her father to see her value as heir and wants Myrcella to be seen as the same.

𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋.

Lord Gwayne Dayne. Lord of Starfall and father of Edric Dayne. Gwayne is currently in the Water Gardens and is part of Princess Arianne's protection as she travels to meet the supposed Aegon who survived.

Ser Arthur Dayne. The Sword of the Morning, a kingsguard of King Aerys II and protector of Prince Rhaegar. Ser Arthur helps the prince take Lyanna Stark and eventually dies at the Tower of Joy protecting the newborn son of his lost friend.

Lady Ashara Dayne. The Lady with the Laughing Eyes. Ashara is regarded as one of the most beautiful women in the realm. A lady for Princess Elia, she falls for Ned Stark during the Harrenhal tournament and thinking they will wed, the two sleep together. Ashara eventually dies after the Rebellion, after seeing Ned one last time.

Lady Regent Allyria Dayne. Youngest sister of Arthur and Ashara and Gwayne. Allyria is Regent of Starfall and tutor to her young nephew and heir to Starfall, Edric Dayne. Allyria is fiercely loyal and adamant that her sister Ashara and Lord Ned Stark were in love, even suggesting the name Ned as nickname for her nephew.

𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐐𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐘𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐄.

Arron Qorgyle. is a knight of House Qorgyle, the second son of Lord Quentyn Qorgyle of Sandstone. Arron is one of Prince Oberyn's Squires that accompanies him to King's Landing when he is to take a seat at the council.

Quira Qorgyle. Third daughter of Lord Quentyn. Quira is known for having heterchromia, two eyes of different colors, some say it's a sign of goodwill or witchcraft. Either way, Quira was a lady for Princess Arianne, however, often resenting how close she was with Ser Damon Sand. She grows close to Princess Myrcella.

𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒.

Lady Valena Toland. Valena Toland is the eldest daughter of the Lady Nymella Toland of Ghost Hill. Valena greets Princess Arianne Martell and her companions when they arrive at Ghost Hill. She is the heir of Ghost Hill.

Lady Jynessa Blackmont. She is the eldest child and heir of Larra Blackmont, the Lady of Blackmont. Jynessa, accompanied by her mother and brother, are a part of the escort that accompanies Prince Oberyn Martell to King's Landing when he comes to claim his seat on the small council.

Lady Jayne Ladybright. is Dornish noblewoman from House Ladybright. She is the niece of Alyse Ladybright. Jayne accompanies Princess Arianne Martell on her mission to meet Jon Connington in the Stormlands.

Lady Elenor Tyrell. Elenor's mother is a woman from House Dalt of Lemonwood. With her mother deceased and Deziel Dalt's brother and heir away in exile, there is rumors she is to be send to Dorne to become the new lady of Lemonwood.

Lady Myria Jordayne. is a member of House Jordayne and the daughter and heir of Lord Trebor Jordayne of the Tor. She is the current heir. Myria is part of the escort that accompanies Prince Oberyn Martell to King's Landing.

[fromtheboundlesssea]

Into the storm:

Robert should kill Rhaegar dead. Like after he smashes his hammer into him just continously do so until someone pulls him away because wtf.

We already hate him from canon because of what he did to Elia and her children, his kidnapping of Lyanna or at the very least dubious escape with her because of 1) the power imbalance(not underage in their world not definitely in ours) and I don't imagine she wanted to stay after she found out about her father + brother but nevertheless we hate him.

Celia is a child, there is no dispute about her role in this. She was minding her business when him and his posse decided to kidnap a little girl and scar her for life. This isnt Roberts ego being bruised at the possibility of being jilted this is righteous fury, justice for the little sister he promised to take care of.

Dorne fighting for the crown makes sense since they are in the same position as the rebels but I can't imagine there being many loyalists in this fight. Will Robert be offered the crown here as well?

He won’t be king in this. He’s just the Lord of Storm’s End.

Elia and the children live.

And the horrible thing is that Rhaegar crowning Celia didn’t raise too many eyebrows since Celia was his little cousin and it was her very first tourney. Everyone just thought it was a sweet thing since she was also sitting with the royal family because she loved Elia “a real life princess.”

And then it’s announced that she was kidnapped by the crown prince and suddenly everyone realizes what the crowning means.

[wolfanddragon98]

Headcanon: @dreaming-for-an-escape

So it has been implied and stated multiple times in the show that the relationship between Dorne and the Targaryens is not that great. What if one of the reasons as to why the relationship is so strained is because the Martells are still holding the grudge about what had happened to Aurelia Martell? I mean let’s think about Oberyn for a sec and how dedicated he was to seek justice for what happened to his sweet sister Elia Martell and her children in GOT? The Martells and Dorne as a whole don’t fuck around. The fact that Maegor took a Dornish Princess to wife by force, abused her (whether it was emotionally or physically, or both) and she just vanished without a warning...that’s sus as hell. And now they supposedly have Aurelia’s granddaughters? Oooohhh things are not looking so good for the Targaryens. 

[sunspearesque]

The Mountain v. The Viper (book version)

“Are you hungry, my prince?” “I have hungered for a long time. Though not for food. Pray tell me, when will the justice be served?” — Tyrion V, ASOS

art by Magali Villeneuve / quotes from A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin

[shipcestuous]

If we're going to talk about disappointment and widowhood as the Greek mythology anon said, I really am a Targaryen incest widow and unfortunately the adaptation of Dance with Dragons doesn't appeal to me at all. I've tried to piece together some random thoughts I have about.

1. There's enough canonical incest in Dances with Dragons, but it's overshadowed by war. It's basically tragedy. Rhaenyra and Daemon married to people they don't love (like most in ASOIAF) and having children with these people before getting together. The poor Helaena married to her brother and being forced to choose between her children. I should probably be used to it, there are things like that throughout the writing, but Dance with Dragons is especially gory and stands out in my mind more negatively than others eras. I will probably read AU fanfics when they exist.

2. Totally a matter of taste, but I would much prefer an adaptation of the Blackfyre Rebellions. See the beautiful Shiera Seastar and her relationship with her brothers. well, there's war, there's tragedy too, but in my opinion nothing compares to Dance with Dragons.

3. It probably won't happen for a while, but an adaptation of Conquest of the Targaryens is not something I would be happy to see, I mean I would certainly appreciate the cast choice, they did a fantastic job on House of Dragon, but seeing Visenya being passed over by Rhaenys? That's not how a romantic threesome is supposed to work. well, Rhaenys dies and so and so, but the son of Visenya is known as Maegor the cruel, the current Targaryen lineage is not even directly related to her, it comes from Rhaenys' son Aenys. Did she really get nothing good out of this marriage? I know Visenya was an amazing strong woman, that's why I admire her, but her resilience in dealing with Aegon and Rhaenys is commendable, I would hate them. Another Targaryen incest I wouldn't want to see.

Fourth point, which should actually be the first, Viserys/Daenerys had SO much potential. It ended before it started with Viserys' early death, and I feel like it's so disappointing, and that the things might be different if Viserys wasn't so...weak. I honestly never understood why Viserys never went to Dorne. With the right persuasion they would help with a promise to avenge Elia, and though they would not putting Rhaegar's crimes under Viserys's head, I doubt they would want to see another Princess Martell on the Iron Throne anytime soon. I don't think it would all be over if he married Daenerys. What went through his mind to marry his sister to that man and think he could reclaim the throne that way is beyond my comprehension and I will never truly understand.

Also, there are no fanfics that do justice to this couple out there, I'm sure Dany's life would be better with a stronger, more loving Viserys.

There aren't many Daenerys/Rhaegar around either, in fact hardly any, I don't like Rhaegar Targaryen, he's a scum but he's handsome and I wouldn't mind reading smut oneshots of him with Dany. Viserys/Rhaegar/Daenerys would also have been great and an improved version of the Conquerors.

There are many other things I'd like to say, but I've tried not to be wordy (failed), i also lost some thoughts while writing, maybe there are things missing and maybe my spelling is missing in some places, I didn't proofread the text, i hope you understand.

I guess basically I'm complaining about not having enough Targaryen incest, but I know you would mention House of Dragon and I explained why that's not an option for me. So yes it sucks like incest, with little representation and the little representation that there is you're not comfortable watching, I'm a clown 🤡

One thing I will say about House of the Dragon is that it may not be faithful to the source material - though I doubt for the better.

It's a shame that all the potential of House Targaryen and their long history of incestuous marriage hasn't given us anything really good to ship/watch/gush about.

I suppose we've got to hope that House of the Dragon is a success, so that we might get more GOT/Targaryens in the future.

I'm totally with you on Visenya/Aegon/Rhaenys. Visenya being the odd one out would just be hard for me to watch.

Viserys as written really did make an odd choice turning to the Dothraki. I can only assume the influence of others were what really made the decision

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Anon. I am sorry for your pain!

[thewitchqueenofharrenhal]

Targ stans need to stay out of the Martell tags. The brain rot is real. Dorne being pro Targaryen restoration doesn't mean the Martells are Targaryen lap dogs. It means they want to avenge Elia and her children and putting Viserys/Dany on the Iron Throne gets them that. It doesn't mean Dorne was alright with Rhaegar humiliating their princess, Aerys holding her hostage, and Dornishmen dying because Rhaegar needed his third head of the dragon

Lol that argument comes up like every other month and I do not understand it 😭

“House Martell is pro Daenerys” - Should they not be? Is Daenerys guilty by association for the crimes of her r*pist daddy and pedo brother? Why wouldn’t they aim for an alliance with the girl who is being revered as a powerful Queen and their blood since the time of the 2nd Daenerys?

“House Martell is pro Aegon VI” - So they’re pro the guy who is pretending to or is Elia Martell’s son? Also their blood?

“House Martell wanted to marry Arianne to Viserys” - Once again? Is Viserys supposed to be held responsible for the crimes of Aerys and Rhaegar?

“House Martell were desperate for Targaryen approval” - So much so that they let Daenerys & Viserys live a life of untold horrors without ever extending a hand to them. So much so that despite creating a marriage alliance between Viserys & Arianne - they were happy to keep it a secret until Viserys proved himself.

“House Martell is pro Targaryen restoration! So ha they’re pro Rhaegar!”

- As opposed to what? Being pro House Baratheon/Stark/Arryn/Tully who provided no justice for the murders of Elia & her children? Or House Lannister which sanctioned said murders?

Which house should they have allied with since apparently siding with two innocent children ( Daenerys & Viserys ) means supporting their r*pist daddy and brother?

“They’re still pro House Targaryen so ha! They clearly weren’t upset with Rhaegar”

About being upset with Rhaegar - GRRM himself cleared that up on his blog.

Rhaegar had Dornish troops with him on the Trident, under the command of Prince Lewyn of the Kingsguard. However, the Dornishmen did not support him as strongly as they might have, in part because of anger at his treatment of Elia, in part because of Prince Doran's innate caution. - GRRM

R&L Stans love to center their self inserts however House Martell and all it’s major plots revolve around Elia Martell, not Rhaegar or Lyanna.

As a Daenerys Targaryen fan myself, I don’t know why it needs to be said but she is not responsible for her family’s actions.

Y’all know I’m a House Martell fan first but as Daenerys fan as well I find it incredibly disingenuous to pretend House Martell did anything to help her.

I find that House Martell has been incredibly self serving in their quest for justice for Elia and that has affected their family deeply. It’s a tragedy.

However back to the question on hand I don’t know why it needs to be pointed out but House Martell had also been seeking marriage alliances from Daenerys/Viserys meaning in either circumstance - They intend to get a Martell Queen or King. They are perfectly fine using House Targaryen in their quest for power and as a vehicle for justice against the Lannisters.

Said Lannisters who btw are the only ones left alive to have hurt Elia of Dorne seeing as Aerys & Rhaegar have been dead for years and all 😛

[siobhan-ashleigh]

I've noticed, the people that don't like Sansa are probably the same people that think Rhaegar did nothing wrong by abandoning his wife and children, resulting in their deaths.

[inky-duchess]

Plots and Knots: A Tale of Revenge

(why this header? This was the single best revenge moment of the decade, perhaps the century. That's why)

Revenge. A sweet, sour, complex and simple goal of any character or any story. Revenge can be chalked down to the bare bones of a character retaliating against another for a perceived insult of crime, of which the character cannot forget or forgive. So how do we write an effective revenge  story? In this post we will be looking at 4 of my favourite revenge stories: Batman, Six of Crows, Revenge (TV series) and Game of Thrones.

In the Beginning

The audience needs to understand why your characters are going down this path. Your character must face a wrong, either onto somebody close to them or onto themselves. But usually, for the audience to feel root for your character, the character in question usually has to be innocent. They have to be the innocent party in the entire mess.

Batman: Bruce Wayne watches his parents get murdered in front of him in a mugging home wrong.

Six Of Crows: Kaz Brekker watches his brother die and almost dies himself due to them being fleeced by a conartist out their last money.

Revenge: Amanda Clarke is torn apart from her father after he's  falsely accused of a terrorist act which leaves her shunned by society 

Game of Thrones: Elia Martell and her children are violently murdered by the Mountain.

The Payback

The heart of a revenge story is how your character wants to pay the villain back for their doings. The audience will need to understand your character's motives and what they want out of their plans. This is also a great way to show your character's traits and how they think. A character's blueprint for revenge doesn't necessarily have to be a long winded one or even complicated.

Batman: Bruce wants to clean up Gotham and prevent crime. To do this, he becomes the madked vigilante Batman.

Six Of Crows: Kaz wants to make Pekka understand how losing everything feels. To do this, he plans to methodically strip away everything that Pekka holds near and dear.

Revenge: Amanda wants the people who framed her father to pay for their role in his downfall and her subsequent terrible childhood. To do this she follows an elaborate plan to target every single one of the conspirators on detailed personal revenges.

Game of Thrones: The Martells want justice for their Princess and her children. To do this, the Martells want to overthrow the current Lannister regime and watch Tywin Lannister die.

The Justice Vs Vengeance Dichotomy

How far is too far? While taking revenge is frowned upon by many religions or moral communities or society it still remains one of the most desired things of all mankind. We carve an ending to things but most of us believe in balance. If your character is to be the hero of their story, they need to understand where the line between justice and vengeance stands. Beyond that line, and the hero and villain may not seem as different as they ought to be.

Batman: Bruce has a strict no killing policy. He doesn't ever kill Joe Chill (the guy who actually shot the Waynes) nor Lew Moxon (the guy behind the murder). He pays back their crimes by trying to rid Gotham of crime.

Six Of Crows: Kaz manages to disarm Pekka Rollins, taking away his status, his money, his businesses and all the while, not harming anybody Pekka cares about (he does make Pekka think he did, but in the end its a ploy)

Revenge: Amanda manages to clear her father's name yet however she does end up doing too far on multiple occasions. Frankly, how she treats Daniel and Charlotte is appalling despite them being as innocent as herself.

Game of Thrones: Years after the death of Elia, her brother Oberyn faces the Mountain in a duel which he loses. Oberyn's daughters, the Sand Snakes each want a different revenge. Obara wants to burn Oltown. Nymeria wants to kill the man who ordered the death of her aunt (which in turn led to her father's death) Tywin, his children and grandchildren. Tyene wants to spark a war between Dorne and the Iron Throne which would cost thousands of lives. Thankfully, their Uncle Doran has a better plan.

The Cycle of Revenge

Revenge begets Revenge. One wrong doesn't make a right. No revenge tale can truly end until the hero understands that the best revenge is to let the grudge die. Revenge, though cathardic, can harm a character and those around them. There has to be a human cost to revenge, a price to pay for the vendetta.

Batman: Bruce foisted his lifestyle upon on his adopted children which leads to some rifts between he and them.

Six of Crows: Kaz had a tunnel view of his revenge for quite a while which has distanced himself from his friends and love interest, he's slowly building up those relations now.

Revenge: Amanda's plans effectively ruin the lives of everyone who comes in contact with them, from the Graysons to their staff and even Amanda's own friends and family.

Game of Thrones: Ellaria Sand highlights this in her last scene in ADWD, asking whether the Sand Snakes and Doran are ready to pay the price for their plans in the blood of her children and Dorne. She reminds them that if they die, her children will feel obligated to take vengeance which could kill them too.

[kybervisions]

the sun will rise [robb]²

summary: chaos consumes the capital as dorne plans an assault on the reach. the young wolf is named king of the trident, and armies begin marching on highgarden. on the bright side, wedding bells will soon be heard throughout westeros.  

author’s note: [ᵖᵃʳᵗ ¹] the plot thickens (〇_ｏ) sorry this took so long i’ve been moving back to campus and classes are starting :/ plus it takes me a while to write a plot that fits into the world so lmk if y’all like it!! if i make a third part best believe dany will be showing up 

tags: description of reader (vague dornish features), westerosi politics, pain 

When the Mountain’s head arrived at Sunspear, the high lords and ladies of Westeros understood Robb Stark was not a man to be trifled with. His army had captured Lord Tywin's mad dog in the riverlands, the king beheaded him, and now Gregor Clegane’s monstrous head is mounted at the gates of the Old Palace. You invade the Reach with twenty-thousand soldiers and meet with Lord Tarly. 

“Dorne supports Robb Stark’s claim to the North. He has no desire to sit on the Iron Throne. The Lannisters are treacherous bastards that killed his father and now hold his sisters as hostages in the capital. Robb Stark wants justice,” 

“Robb Stark was seen marching north,” Lord Tarly attempts to portray Robb’s choice to take his army to the riverlands as weak, and it angers you. 

“Robb Stark retreated to defend the riverlands against the Lannisters,” You snip and narrow your eyes. “They set the country on fire, and he chose to send his army and help the river lords,” Because he’s a good man. A good king. 

“And what do you want? Why have you brought an army into my country? To set it ablaze?” He’s hostile. It is to be expected, when a force of twenty-thousand Dornishmen appear at your castle.  

“I want to see the rightful heir take the throne, and I want Tywin Lannister’s head on a spike,” 

“Did you ask the Young Wolf for the Mountain’s head?” Randyll Tarly can be more useful alive than dead, all you need to do is convince him to break his oath to the Lannisters. With Robb killing Gregor Clegane, you have quite a bit of leverage.

“No, I told him what the Mountain did to my aunt. How he murdered her children and raped her with their blood on his hands, and then that ugly head showed up. I’m sure Tywin Lannister’s head will come soon enough,” Robb has yet to lose a battle. Lord Tarly must know that.

“Princess Elia was a good woman. What the Mountain did to her is sickening, unspeakable, something only a beast could commit,” 

“And what of the beast’s master?” You ask. If he is so morally repulsed with the Mountain’s actions, will he break his oaths with the Tyrells and the Crown? “Tywin gave Clegane the order to kill your crowned princess and her children, and now he sits on the Iron Throne,” 

“Joffrey is king,” 

“Joffrey is a bastard boy with no sense of true power,” You scoff.  

“You support Stannis?” 

“No,” Stannis would not be a good king. No. In your mind, only a Targaryen could ever sit on the Iron Throne. “I would see Daenerys Targaryen take the throne. It is her right by name, and when her dragons are grown, Westeros will be hers by conquest,”

Daenerys has recently obtained eight thousand Unsullied, and your uncle wants to send your father to escort her to Westeros. 

“So it is true,” Lord Tarly looks to the floor. “The Targaryen has three dragons,” He states. With them, she killed the slave masters and sacked Astapor. Reports say her dragons are now the sizes of small dogs, and they keep growing. 

“The same as Aegon when he conquered the six kingdoms,” You remind Lord Tarly. “You remained loyal to House Targaryen during the Rebellion, the only man to give the Usurper a defeat. Your honor is unquestionable, Lord Tarly,”

“What do you want from me?” The old man sees right through your flattery. 

“You are one of the finest battle commanders in Westeros,” You tell him, continuing with flattery. “Daenerys Targaryen has Ser Barristan Selmy guiding her, but she will need more advisors like you,” No one would ever question Barristan Selmy’s honor, and if he supports the dragon queen, more will flock to her. “A Targaryen will sit on throne again, and the Reach will need a need a new, loyal Warden of the South,” 

“How may I serve?” He asks.

“Help me take Highgarden in the name of Daenerys Targaryen and vow to destroy her enemies,” You’ve never met the girl and she has no idea you exist, but here you are, leading a war in her name, leading your uncle’s war. “Tywin Lannister will not survive this war, but you can. Your family can,” 

And so Horn Hill breaks faith with House Tyrell, Joffrey the Illborn, and Old Lion on the Iron Throne. 

A raven comes in the night with news of your success. Robb smiles as he reads your writing. He rolls the parchment and puts it with your other letters. In the months since his departure from Dorn, Robb has kept close correspondence with you. You now hold dozens of his letters, many in which Robb stopped short of admitting his love for you.  

“What’s got you all melancholy, Stark?” Theon teases as he enters the private chambers. 

“Y/N has claimed Horn Hill, and Lord Tarly has turned against the Tyrells,” Robb tells Theon. “They ride for Highgarden,” 

“That’s a good thing,” Theon states. 

“Yes,” Robb replies. He supposes. Though, he wonders how you took Horn Hill from an experienced and narrow minded man like Randyll Tarly. Had you met him in battle? Were you wounded? Had you convinced the old man to turn against the Crown? 

“But?”

“I want to see her again,” Robb admits. He misses your Dornish drawl. The way you say his name. Your playful little smile. The way your eyes shine. 

“So do it,” Theon smiles. “Demand she meet you here at Riverrun,”

“It’s not that simple,” 

Robb looks at the war map on the table and moves the sun piece representing Dorne on the war map to Horn Hill — Horn Hill and Highgarden are close in proximity and the vast of the Tyrell army went to King’s Landing to help defeat the Baratheon army. Perhaps you’ve already taken Highgarden. 

No one expected Dorne to turn against the Crown and attack the Reach. The Tyrell army rode with Tywin Lannister to King’s Landing, and they’ve remained there ever since, but that won’t last long. Not when news reaches the capital. 

“I could go to her,” Again. 

Robb smiles; he would help you keep the Reach and meets with his generals in the morning to discuss Dorne’s invasion. “My lords, the princess of Dorne has taken Horn Hill. She and Lord Tarly move on Highgarden as we speak,” 

His generals are elated at the news. 

When he returned with forty thousand Dornish soldiers, there was a tide in the war and his army was reinvigorated. With the Dornish aid, Robb helped his uncle reclaim the riverlands, and the riverlords named him king. 

“But for now I ride to the Crag. I will take forty thousand men to Highgarden to help our southron allies take the Reach,” 

“And what about Casterly Rock?” Lord Umber questions. They’ve already made plans to assault the seat of House Lannister. 

“Tywin Lannister isn’t at Casterly Rock. The castle means nothing to me. The Reach, with all its food and wealth, means everything to him,” Robb explains. He’s certain Tywin will move to take Highgarden. 

“They’re still burning our lands,” His uncle the Blackfish states, weary about Robb’s decision to abandon the riverlands and help a southern princess take the Reach.

“That is why I’m leaving ten thousand men in your command, Blackfish,” Robb replies. A seasoned warrior, a veteran of half a hundred battles, he trusts his uncle to protect his kingdom while he rides south to you defeat Tywin Lannister.

And Robb feels the cool sea breeze before news hits the capital of Dornish forces in the mountains bordering the Reach. 

Highgarden falls within a fortnight, and the citizens of Highgarden are gathered to hear Randyll Tarly claim the castle in the name of Daenerys Targaryen. 

After implementing order within the castle, ravens were sent out to inform the other lords of the Reach of Highgarden’s fall and news reached the capital. You write to your uncle, informing him of the developments and asking if he had sent your father east.

You expected the Lannister and Tyrell armies to mobilize after the royal wedding, now in three days, but Dickon informs you of a scout’s recent reports. 

"My princess,” Dickon Tarly unnecessarily kneels after entering the war room. “A Lannister host was spotted on the Gold Road. Some twenty-thousand men,” 

If Tywin was sending an army to take back Highgarden, they would be traveling on the Roseroad. You expected Tywin to move on Highgarden, so you’re disappointed with Dickon’s news. You’ve sent a small host, some five thousand men, to claim houses east of Highgarden and ready the castles. 

“There is still no word on the Tyrell army, princess,” Dickon adds. 

“We should take a vast host north and take Goldengrove,” You think of sending Dickon to command the capture of Goldengrove. He is a good fighter, and the son of a respected lord. House Rowan would bend easier if a Tarly was to ride north.   

And then Maester Lomys enters the war room to inform you that the King in the North is in the Great Hall, asking for the princess of Dorne. 

In the Great Hall, you lay eyes on the stocky, ocean eyed, and auburn haired northman. He looks at you and smiles, making you weak to your knees. He looks so regal. His hair has grown, more red-brown curls decorate his head like a crown. You can see the blood still on his breastplate. The Young Wolf smells of war. 

“You were in the riverlands,” You’re shocked to see him. It’s to be expected. Since his landing at Crakehall, Robb has led his army south to Highgarden, easily taking Red Lake and Goldengrove. 

“I was,” Robb grins. “And now I’m here,” For you, his eyes tell you. 

Your dark eyes pull him closer, and he finds himself entranced all over again. You’re wearing armor now, and your raven hair is now braided in intricate braids that are decorated in small gold metal cuffs. You’re striking, and your obsidian eyes could stop a man’s heart. Robb is sure of it. 

“Have you missed us?” Theon asks. 

“You? Oh, so, so, so much,” You say with clear sarcasm and the smile on Theon’s face drops, making you laugh, oh and how wonderful a sound that is. Robb smiles again; his heart fills with joy. 

“Red Lake and Goldengrove are yours,” Robb proclaims.

You look confused. Your eyes narrow and brows stitch together as your pretty lips part, “I don’t understand,” 

“Robb claimed everything north of Highgarden in your name,” Theon repeats. 

For Daenerys, you think to yourself. The Reach is for Daenerys.

“Thank you for coming to our aid, Your Grace,” You say it so formly. So...detached. “We expect assaults from the northern mountains and the Rose Road,” You inform him of the military situation. 

That is when Robb sees the two men standing behind you. 

“Your Grace, we had not expected you,” Lord Tarly states. He extends his arm, “It is an honor to meet the man that sent Tywin Lannister running,” They shake hands. 

“When riding to Highgarden, we saw troops marching east,” Robb notes. 

“The princess has ordered captains to ride and prepare Cider Hall, Longtable, and Bitterbridge,” Dickon informs the king. “Your Grace,” He quickly adds and bows before Robb. 

“A sharp tactic, princess,” Robb compliments your aptitude, grinning ear to ear at your recent accomplishments on the southron front. Within half a year you’ve mobilized an army through Dorne and took Highgarden from Tywin Lannister. Joffrey may marry Margaery Tyrell, but it means nothing so long as you hold the Reach. 

Lord Tarly takes them to the war room, and you reveal to Robb your plans to defend the Reach against the Lannister-Tyrell army. Robb has never met a woman as brave, strong-willed and intuitive as you. You would make a good queen, he thinks. 

The following night, Robb asks a Dornish soldier to take him to your room, desperate to see you in a setting you weren’t preparing for battle. When the sun rises in the morning, you’re expected to ride for the mountains with Lord Tarly’s son and a host of forty-thousand; Robb will march east with Lord Tarly. 

“Fuck off,” He faintly heard through the door after knocking twice, and he chuckles.

“That’s no way to speak to a king,” Robb says to the door.

Within seconds the door is opened, and he sees you.

“You shouldn’t be here,”

“I wanted to see you before you left,” Robb admits. He sailed and rode for weeks to see your smile again, and now he wants to be at your side for as long as possible. He wanted to feel peace, and now Robb knows he can only achieve that with you in his arms. 

Even while you were readying for war, he felt safe. He felt reassurance that this war would be won. He felt a calmness makes him terrified of losing you. He felt love. 

But now you can’t even look him in the eye, always avoiding his glance. You hug yourself, indirectly pushing your breasts up, and Robb glances at the low neckline of your brown-gold silk nightgown.

He quickly looks away and clears his throat. “You were right. I shouldn’t have come. I didn’t mean to offend. Apologies, princess,” Robb almost turns away, embarrassed with your rejection.  

When he turns his head, Robb sees Lord Tarly approaching, and his blood runs cold. Visiting you so late in the night was a stupid idea, Robb thinks to himself. Stupid and selfish. To Lord Tarly, it may appear you invited Robb to your private chambers, and Robb feels a pit in his stomach at the thought of tarnishing your honor. 

"Lord Tarly, we-” Robb was ready to explain, but the concerned look in Randyll’s face stopped him. “What’s happened?” The continent is at war, a many number of things could have made Lord Tarly white with fear. Stannis Baratheon could have taken the capital. 

“We’ve received a letter from the Vale,” Randyll informs the king and princess. 

They are convinced in the war room. 

“Lady Arryn plans to marry Petyr Baelish soon after the royal wedding,” Lord Tarly reveals to the small war council. 

"The Vale borders the entirety of the riverlands. If they join the war and support the Lannisters, they’ll attack your kingdoms,” You look at Robb, concern now in your eyes. 

“She’s your aunt,” Theon comments. “She wouldn’t hurt her family,” The young boy assumes. 

“My mother says she’s not the woman she once was,” Robb shakes his head. 

“Then we should assume Baelish will pull the Vale into the fold, and the Knights of the Vale will fight for the Crown,” Randyll says. “I suggest we advance the wedding, princess,” 

“And just when would the wedding take place?” You ask, displeased with Lord Tarly’s request and angered he would speak of it in front of Robb. “Now? Hours before we ride for war?" You scoff. You can’t even look at Robb, afraid of facing the wave of sadness in his baby-blue eyes. 

“My princess, it-”

“I will hear no more of this,” You bite, angered with the Tarlys. “You’ll have the marriage you want when the war is won,” That was the agreement. Lord Tarly would break faith with the Crown and the Tyrells, but only if they would be given Highgarden and a suitable marriage; and a marriage with a princess of Dorne would ensure the Tarlys remained loyal to the Targaryen queen. 

“Why are you marrying Dickon Tarly? Why now?” Robb knows why. He understands. Though, his understandment does not make you marrying another man any easier. 

“I don’t love him,” You proclaim. I love you. “I could never love him,” Because I love you. “Our engagement is purely political, to cement the alliance between the Reach and Dorne. If I marry him now, the Tarlys will gain more legitimacy as lords of Highgarden,” 

Robb sighs, “Walder Frey expects me to marry one of his daughters when the war is over,” He tells you, and you can’t even be angry with Robb’s withholding of his engagement. You only feel heartache, knowing your oaths and vows must be kept if the war is to be a success. 

“But I don’t love her,” Whomever she may be. “You are the light of my world. I look at you, and I know that I would-” break my vows, Robb meant to say. He meant to declare his love for you, but he is stopped with a kiss. 

He feels your soft and full lips on his and your slick tongue in his mouth, and Robb kisses you back with the hungry desperation of a man in a desert, pulling you closer to him and wrapping his right arm around your waist.  

You hold his face and pull away from the kiss, studying the look on Robb’s face. The boy is utterly in love with you, and you with him. 

“War is an inconvenient time to be in love,” You whisper, pulling your body away from Robb’s hold. He lets you go. Despite the passion and lust you feel for the northman, you can never act upon it. That kiss will be all you have. You will keep your word to the Tarlys, as unhappy as it makes you. 

Robb half-believed you were ready to throw away your promise to Lord Tarly and run away with him, but he knows that is not the woman you are. As fierce and strange as you are, you are a princess: proud, honest, and true. 

And he is a king. It is expected he keep his oath to Lord Frey. 

Four years Robb has been fighting, chasing Tywin Lannister’s army, winning every battle, but Sansa and Arya are still captives. He just wants his family to be whole again. He just wants to go home. He wants to be yours. 

Before Robb met you, he saw no end to this war, but you gave him hope. Robb sees saw you by his side, your hands in his and taking vows before a weirwood tree. 

“I’m tired,” he sighs, sitting at the edge of the bed, “and it’s awfully difficult to see a happy ending if you are not beside me,” He confesses, looking up at you, dejected. 

Your eyes soften. 

“I may never be your wife,” your words stab his heart, “but I will always be at your side,” 

“Lying is not very princessly,” Why did you kiss him? Why would you give him a single second of serenity before ripping it away entirely? How could you be so cruel? When he is old and blind and can no longer walk, he’ll still remember the feel of your lips on his. The ghost of your lips will forever haunt him.

Though Robb could never find it in his heart to hate you, he tears his eyes away from you, unable to bear seeing you in a wedding gown meant for another. It physically pains him that, within a few short minutes, you’ll be bound to another. 

Robb feels sick. 

Marriage isn’t for love, it’s political, your uncle told you. So, when you envisioned your wedding, you held no expectations that you would ever marry someone you loved. All that you wanted was to be dressed in traditional Dornish garments, to be wed wearing the colors and symbols of your country. 

Instead, here you stand, in a foreign country dressed in unpleasant clothes and jewelry, deeply and unequivocally in love with Robb Stark, yet destined for a political marriage. 

You feel sick. 

“Princess,” Lord Tarly calls for you. You turn and see him standing at the doorway of the chambers, donning his battle armor with a cape of his house colors. “It is time,” 

You’ve never felt such dread before. 

You look to Robb once more, memorizing the shade of his eyes and the way his curls frame his face. “I love you,” You confess in a whisper. “My vows to Tarly will mean nothing because I am yours, until my dying breath, I am yours,” Your declaration breaks Robb’s heart in two, because you won’t be cloaked in the sigil of a direwolf and he won’t wear your house colors. His heart shatters because you’ll never embrace as husband and wife. 

So, Robb rides for Cider Hall before the small wedding ceremony takes place, lacking the strength to witness the woman he loves pledge herself to another. 

[nooneeverlookedforagirl]

We can have an argument about why GRRM chose to tell Daenerys’ story instead of Rhaenys', but they are not the same. They are not interchangeable. Daenerys’ story isn’t Rhaenys’ and Rhaenys’ story isn’t Daenerys’.

A living Rhaenys would not have fled from city to city with the Beggar King. She never would have suffered physical, verbal, and sexual abuse from Viserys. No one would have sold Rhaenys to Khal Drogo.

Do you think that Doran would not have personally funded her even if he could not bring her to Dorne? There would have been no homelessness for Rhaenys, no being kicked out of the house with the red door. Rhaenys may have dreamed of a lemon tree, but it would be the ones in the Water Gardens, not in Braavos.

Do you think that Oberyn would not have gone to her? This man gathered up his bastard children to be raised as warriors in his family home. He travelled the world and studied in the citadel; poisoned men in duels and founded a sellsword company. Rhaenys would have no half-forgotten Willem Darry, she would have her uncle at her side to protect and guide her.

Rhaenys would have Dorne, she would have a family, she would have tales of the Mad King and Princess Elia to grow up on, she would have family and support.

Imagine. Rhaenys dreams of the river, not of dragons. In Volon Therys she stands in the remains ribcage of a dragon her people killed, the bones dwarfing her completely. Across the river lies Sar Mell, and as she looks at these destroyed twin cities she knows what she must do. It is here she remembers that she is not only a Targaryen. Not only Valyrian.

When she cannot raise an army in Volantis because she is "only" a girl, she leaves the city and heads North, travels to the ruins of the Rhoyne. There she finds the ruins of cities and the bones of dragons, and the long-forgotten magic of her people. What Nymeria left behind a thousand years ago when they fled the dragonlords.

There are burned, blackened castles in Sarhoy and Ghoyan Drohe that she visits, and when she touched the charred marble it turns to ash under her skin. She walks through the broken green marble halls of Ar Noy and the ruins of the pink marble palace that belonged to Princess Nymeria in Ny Sar.

This Targaryen born of Mother Rhoyne, this girl disregarded by the Mad King for the color of her skin, this princess of a kingdom lost for a thousand years ventures even to Chroyane where the Shrouded Lord rules. Oberyn fears it will be her doom.

One of their crew warns her that Garin the Great's curse still stands in the city. Many a voyager has been lost here, poleboats and pirates and great river galleys too. They wander forlorn through the mists, searching for a sun they cannot find until madness or hunger claim their lives. There are restless spirits in the air here and tormented souls below the water.

But Rhaenys dreams of the river. This last daughter of the Rhoyne will not be deterred. She slips past the pirates to the north and the Volantene galleys to the south and enters the great city.

For many days Oberyn and her crew wait for her, always under the threat of pirates and the stone men. The crew fears she is dead and tries to flee, but Oberyn refuses to let them leave. He will not return to Doran to tell them Elia's daughter is dead. Then the water begins to rise. It drowns the city and overturns the boat of the pirates. Even the Volantene galleys fall back, fearing the greyscale the water brings.

Still Oberyn will not leave.

Then, one dark dawn, a figure comes toward them, floating on the water. The crew believes it to be the Shrouded Lord, come to kill those who have lingered too long. Behind him come thousands upon thousands of his stone men. They are afraid.

It is not the Shrouded Lord.

Or, it is, but it is Rhaenys too.

She found the secrets the river called her too, she found Mother Rhoyne. It was Rhaenys who flooded the city, Rhaenys who killed the pirates, Rhaenys who healed the Stone Men.

It it Rhaenys, Princess of the Rhoyne, who comes to Westeros with Fire and Blood. She lands in Dorne, is crowned in Sunspear, and marches north. No army can defeat her. When they fight alongside rivers she summons men made of water to her aid. When they fight against the ocean she calls in the tide to drown her enemies. She floods Storm's End and Casterly Rock. She kills the men who would take her birthright from her. At last Elia has her justice, by her own daughter's hands.

An when the White Walkers come creeping through the cold snows she marches north again to defeat them. Not even they can stand against her, for she raises the snows and the ice to her command. With her aid, the Starks defeat their ancient enemies. Then they swear to her, as they had to Aegon so long ago.

She raises the cities of the Rhoyne to their ancient power. She rules Westeros long and well. She founds a dynasty that will last ten thousand years.

Rhaenys is not Daenerys. She hatches no dragons and frees no slaves. She is never sold to a Dothraki lord.

Daenerys is not Rhaenys. She cures no stone men and has no home to return to. She casts no spells learned from a river.

Rhaenys is Princess of the Rhoyne and Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men.

Rhaenys is a Targaryen, and Rhoynar too.

Rhaenys is herself.

That is more than enough.