MODERN VERSE: From Homecoming Queen to Soccer Mom
Rhaenyra grew up as the only child of two very wealthy parents in a beautiful country estate with everything she could ever dream of provided. Her father and mother came from old money and her father owned a massive company that secured their lifestyle. . While he worked long hours at times, Aemma was always at home with her little girl and the best mother Nyra could have ever wished for. They went on trips together, had adventures, spent a lot of time in nature, watched Disney on the couch on rainy afternoons and despite being spoiled rotten, Aemma always ensured that Rhaenyra learned life skills. So they cooked and baked together and even though they had maids, Nyra was responsible for cleaning her own room and picking up after herself.
She never noticed when her mother got sick. Looking back, she still cannot say if it was a slow process, or if it happened as quickly as she thought. One day she was told that she was going to be a big sister, the next her mother was hospitalized, because her blood work to check on the baby had turned up leukemia. As she found out in her adult years, her parents debated back and forth on whether to end the pregnancy, but her mother insisted on keeping the baby. From that point on she got sicker and sicker, spent much of her time in bed and tolerated the treatment very poorly. Rhaenyra hated school then, because it meant leaving her mother at home and she often feared that Aemma would be gone when she came home. That was sadly exactly what happened in the end, because one afternoon she returned from riding school and learned that her mother had been taken to the hospital, because her little brother came early. Aemma died on the operating table during her c-section due to cardiac arrest as a side effect from the treatment she had and her little brother died in the NICU a day later, because he was born very prematurely and despite everyone's best efforts did not make it either. Nyra was six years old at the time.
Until that day, Nyra had never been confronted with grief or loss, so she felt entirely lost. Her father locked himself into his office most days, so her only companion was her beloved uncle Daemon, who spent as much time with his niece as possible during the time to distract her and give her comfort, knowing his brother was incapable of it as he faced his own grief. One year later, her father remarried the daughter of his oldest friend and soon one child after the other followed. Nyra felt replaced and invisible in her own home most of the time and hated being there. She advocated to be sent to a boarding school and went to England when she was 10, only coming home for holidays. Nonetheless, she was fond of her siblings and liked to play with them when she was around, though she didn't connect with her stepmother.
When she was 14, she returned home permanently to switch to a more prestigious private school and entered her rebel era. She started sneaking out, going to parties, indulged in some underage drinking and at the ripe age of 15 started dating her high school sweetheart Harwin Strong, whom she had known for a while already, because they went to the same school. He was slightly older than her, but they were a match made in heaven, despite their ages. Unfortunately, Rhaenyra was not the most responsible at that age and ended up falling pregnant at 16, much to her father's and stepmother's dismay. A huge fight ensured, which ended in Rhaenyra packing her bags and moving out that same day. She never went back.
Instead, she stayed with her uncle, until Harwin and her could stand on their own two feet. She graduated with honors when Jace was only a couple of months old and had Luke during her third year of college. Even though no one had believed she would make it, or let alone stay with Harwin, the two made everything work somehow. They got married at 19 & 20, Nyra finished college a few years later and started her own pharmaceutical company in honor of Aemma, becoming one of the world's leading companies in cancer research, with several treatments and trials that were very promising for different types of cancer. She also ensured that there were always charities available for patients who could otherwise not afford treatment, because she never wanted another little boy or girl to lose their mother like she had. Both Jace and Luke grew up with very young parents, but were very loved by everyone, even their grandparents. Though they made up in later years, Nyra never had a close relationship with her father again. Her siblings, however, are always more than welcome in her home and have their own rooms, keys and know they can call any time of day and night if they need her.
Even though the family planning was supposed to be over after Luke, because Nyra decided two rambunctious boys were more than enough, they decided to have one more when the boys were old enough and had little Aemma, who made their little family complete.
( disclaimer: this verse contains the mention of other canon characters. should anyone writing them disagree with my headcanons for this verse, it is absolutely no problem and we'll work it out & change things as needed. just hmu and we'll discuss what needs to be adjusted so we all enjoy the verse <3 )
