#viseryon

The Prince that was Promised

It is the herald of my coming. The gods have sent it to show me the way.

Please don’t use my art without credit

* CW: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Homophobic Mother, Breakups, Betrayal by an Intimate Partner. 

Further Heads Up: Like most of what I retell, I don’t feel it was necessary below to go into vivid detail on elements of a story that are already covered by the source material and are triggering, but not necessary to the point of the post. If you want to know more about Rhaena’s story and don’t know it already, just be warned that you could run into triggering content not covered by the warnings above. Happy reading and I hope you have a great rest of your day!

They would call them the “four headed beast,” the dragon and her favourites. First came Samantha Stokeworth, who was close with Rhaena since childhood, a big woman, boisterous and boastful; next was Alayne Royce, plain, plump, and bravely and steadfastly loyal; finally, fatefully was Elissa Farman- sharp witted, sharp tongued, and absolutely fearless. When Rhaena Targaryen, daughter of king Aenys I and eldest grandchild of Aegon the Conquerer was a child, she could hardly have been described as social. She preferred animals to people, and had a shy and dreamy demeanour, her socially-conscientious mother despaired of how she failed to connect to a rotating cast of young ladies selected to be her peers. Until she finally did. Not long after becoming a dragonrider at 12, Rhaena became inseparable with a maternal cousin of hers, Larissa Velaryon, something that resulted very suddenly in Larissa being betrothed, married, and hurried out of Kings Landing. In her thirties, then harrowed and traumatized by a tumultuous life, Rhaena would muse that the girl was one of her “ghosts” though “A good one.” (Fire and Blood). A string of favourites followed, Samantha Stokeworth being the first place of comfort the young princess found after the loss of Larissa. Rhaena showered all of her beloved companions with endless attention, lavish gifts, and was open in her affection, all of which set the court to whispering. Her behaviour was so undeniable that her mother became fearful of how to raise her younger daughter Alysanne, replacing that child’s girlhood friends as often as she was able to in the hope she would grow to have differing proclivities from those of her sister. Anyone who witnessed it could see, Rhaena was in love. Frequently and loudly. As a teenager Rhaena remained independent, what time she didn't spend  alone, or with her siblings, was spent stealing away on dragonback with one favourite or another, a thrill reserved for them alone, outside the bounds of Rhaena’s own family. Though she had numerous suitors, she conspicuously ignored them all in favour of her girlhood companions. Declaring herself mature enough to fly wherever she wanted, her dragon Dreamfyre was spotted as far away “As Harrenhal, Tarth Runestone, [and] Gulltown.” (*See map markings below).

So quite far! Rumour had it that sometime around age 18, Rhaena had been spotted in one of these places during a tryst. Some named her partner at the time as a “hedge knight” others a “blacksmith,” although one wonders if Rhaena is one of the numerous bisexual characters in the world of ASOIAF, having never been friendly at any age with any man, outside of one of her only childhood friends, her younger brother Aegon. If there is an element of truth in the story, since Maesters acknowledge the allegations might have been a furtive excuse to rush Rhaena into marriage, was it one of the women who were Rhaena’s companions who joined her on that occasion?

One particularly funny and sweet story from this phase in Rhaena’s life was her very unenthusiastic attendance at age 14 on her father’s royal progress, which parted her from her current favourite at the time, the young Melanie Piper. On their journey, Princess Rhaena became spectacularly sullen, in a way that would put even the moodiest of teenagers to shame, she: 

Did not appear to want to be there, nor did she approve of anything she saw or heard. She scarce seemed to eat, would not hunt or hawk, and and when pressed to sing–for she is said to have a lovely voice—she refused rudely and returned to her chambers.

In fact, Rhaena continued to sulk and didn’t participate in any of the celebrations until her mother finally relented a summoned Melanie to join them on the progress.

Her first marriage was not resented but was arranged, her second forced, when Rhaena finally chose her own spouse, the unremarkable Androw Farman, it was said that she was really eloping with his sister, Elissa. According to the observations of House Farman’s Maester Smike, at least. Elissa and Androw’s father had always been kind to Rhaena, fond of her. Both previous marriages had been extremely difficult and dangerous periods of Rhaena’s life in different ways, but her new home home on Fair Isle was a refuge for her. Her kind and amiable, now father-in-law, Lord Marq Farman, was the one who had first named “four headed beast” in his good-natured teasing.

Elissa Farman befriended Rhaena’s other favourites quickly too and was a love for Rhaena unlike any other, at least in intensity. The young woman was a truly thrilling person to be around. Adventurous, fiery, and a skillful sailor who had earned the respect of anyone who frequented their dock, Elissa had never taken much toward suitors either, having been betrothed twice but “scaring off” both boys.

Unfortunately, it’s A Song of Ice and Fire, so there are no happy endings.

Once Lord Farman died, his son Franklyn expelled Rhaena’s little court and, after bouncing around the Westerlands for a while, the group settled into Dragonstone, a place where Rhaena would suffer some of the worst moments of her life. 

Things started off badly when a rift occurred between the wanderlust filled Elissa and Rhaena, who habitually perceived abandonment in the actions of her family and partners. Elissa longed to return to the Sunset Sea where she spent her childhood, desiring to sail beyond the edge of the known world. Since her relationship with her older brother, Lord Franklyn Farman, who objected to her refusal to marry, was so rocky, it was Rhaena she turned to when she needed enough gold to build the ship of her dreams. Rhaena flatly refused her, saying how she needed her, how she couldn’t bear to see her go, and that she certainly wouldn’t fund Elissa’s leaving her. But Elissa was already gone, the pair grew distant, and when Elissa finally made it known that she was leaving Rhaena Targaryen she:

Received the news stone faced. 

“I have asked you to stay, I will not beg. If you would go, go.” 

Elissa departed early the next morning for Essos to commission the shipbuilders in the Free Cities, but not alone. She’d stolen three dragon eggs, which she sold there to fund the ship she had wanted for so long to sail West beyond the map. She called it Sunchaser. Three dragon eggs in Essos... sounds familiar...

Me at the end of s08e04

Inktober Day 12: Daenerys Targaryen