illaine (she/they)

Dunk is there when Daeron II Targaryen marries Myriah Martell. He is present when Baelor, Aerys, Rhaegal, and Maeker are born. He saw them through their infancy, childhood and then their teenage faze eventually he saw them as men grown.

Unfortunately his nephews inherited their Targaryen inclination towards family members, in particular, Dunk himself. Dunk is as always oblivious when it comes to romantic overtures.

It starts with Baelor saying when he is older he will marry Dunk and make him a proper Targaryen wife, then Aerys says he'll accompany Dunk into the shared bathing quarters and read to him, Rhaegal drags Dunk into dancing and making merry all the time, Maeker challenges him everyday and is relentless in making Dunk cross swords with him. Dunk just thinks their being good Targaryen Princes and that they like to keep up with their family members in all manner of ways, he does not notice when they start marking him in their scents or when other courtiers get scared away from their overzealous peacocking.

Dunk being a bastard of Aegon the unworthy and growing up alongside his half siblings, he learns the sword and is never left alone, his elder half brother Daemon is constantly at his side, correcting his form, his grip and his stance. His hands never strayed far from Dunk. People would whisper behind their hands and watch the two pointedly.

Others would say Daemon was possessive and had hoarded Dunk's attention zealously, Daemon would follow Dunk with his eyes all the time, in the training yard, in the keep, in the streets of Kingslanding, and on the road whenever the king sent them on small retrieval missions. He would drag Dunk to his tent in the night and make him share a bedroll and when they were back in Kingslanding Daemon would drag him to his rooms.

The last few times a person tried to pull Dunk's attention to themselves, they had been challenged publicly and loudly, each and every time they would lose, most times they would lose a limb or be permanently embarrassed that they would not show their faces for an age.

When asked why he guarded Dunk like he was a fair maid, he would say that's because Dunk is his fair maid. Aegon IV was asked to restrain his sons obsession with his younger brother and it was said he laughed and laughed and laughed till the person asking was escorted out and never seen again, people stopped asking after that.

Some try to ask Dunk if he is ok being so isolated, and he only says he isn't, he trains with his half brothers, he helps the servants if he sees them struggling and his speaks to other knights. He just thinks Daemon is passionate about their shared blood and wants to protect Dunk as any good elder brother would.

Daemon wants to marry in the old traditions of house Targaryen, he wants to mix his blood with Dunk's and bind their souls together forever more, he met Dunk completely by accident, he and his other brothers had entered fleabottom in search of mischief, Aegor had spotted Dunk first and proclaimed him the largest boy he had ever seen. The others had griped and taunted and said there was no way he was a boy, he must be a man grown.

All of them had walked closer and closer till Dunk was crowded, Daemon had stopped short when he realised that this boy had their eyes, lighter and a tad bit bluer in the shadows but when they were in the sun the purple would come to life like an inferno. His face was dirty and anyone could tell he didn't have consistent meals but his beauty had shown through.

The others had stilled too, wether because of the boyish face or because they too found him pretty, Daemon had been the first to reach out and grab him. Dunk was dragged all the way back to the royal lodgings, Daemon had stripped him down and shoved him into the bath, scrubbing until his skin was clean of all the dirt, Dunk was unsuccessfully trying to cover himself. Shy and pink and sinking under the water to escape the harsh grip Daemon had encased him in, Daemon wouldn't let him go for long cause he would grab Dunk under his arms and lift till he wasn't submerged. No servants were allowed to assist, Daemon had threatened them all away when they had first tried to strip Dunk, only him and his brothers were permitted to look upon their newly found half brother.