"Heavy is the head that wears the crown."

"Tell me, dear sister, was it worth all the pain?"

THE TARGARYEN line closest to the throne seemed to be cursed. It was no secret that Viserys Targaryen, the King, wanted a son.

A son... Cursed was the man who wanted a son. As his wife's belly began to swell, he excitedly anticipated the boy he so desperately wanted.

Midwives and ladies of the court spoke about their pregnancies to the Queen, telling her that boys were notorious for making their mothers quite large, which only fueled the fire when it came to Viserys' expectations.

When Aemma's labours finally began, the truth was revealed. There was never a boy in her belly. Instead, Aemma carried two babes. Two daughters. Two girls.

The Gods turned their back on him. They took his first son away, and now he was given two daughters.

He heard the whispers echoing through the Red Keep, how the Lords would talk about marrying into the Targaryen family for their own political gain, how the Ladies of the court would snicker under their breath when Queen Aemma talked about providing the King with a son.

He also heard the whispers about Daemon.

The Gods seemed to favour his younger brother, who had sired a son even when he carried no love for the woman he was married to.

Rhaenar, they called him. Without even trying, Daemon had an heir worthy of the Targaryen name.

The babe, with his white hair and his sharp nose, was the spitting image of his father. His eyes were a different case, however.

The babe was born with big blue eyes, rivalling the Narrow Sea with their beauty, a trait he'd inherited from his grandmother, Lady Narcissa Royce.

His blue eyes were the only thing that distinguished him from the rest of his family.

Viserys' girls were a different story. Both babes were undoubtedly Targaryen, carrying the white hair and violet eyes so reminiscent of their own mother.

Rhaenyra. That was the name of the firstborn babe. Her sister had been named Maena.

Their names weren't strong like their cousin's. Neither of the girls were fighters. At least Viserys didn't see it that way.

Maena, as dear as she was, was a fragile thing, meant to be treated as such, and Rhaenyra... Rhaenyra was his firstborn, and she always would be, but she wasn't a son.

Their names described the girls perfectly in Viserys' eyes. Girls were, in his opinion, inherently weak, which was why they never sat the Iron Throne. They could not carry the burden of it.

But as always, the King was wrong, and it didn't take an eternity to prove that.

Maena Targaryen and Ser Criston Cole

(Thea Sofie Loch Næss and Fabien Frankel)

Elise Hightower and Rhaenar Targaryen

(Ella Hunt and Callum Turner)

and the rest of the characters as they are described, and as their respected actors

Dedications >>>

Disclaimers:

I don't know High Valyrian, so every time someone speaks High Valyrian, it will simply be the English translation in italics or a different font.

Also, this book will include all the regular crazy shit that HOTD deals with, including Maena being exactly like her sister (a mother to some distinctly untargaryen babies)

I've spent countless hours revamping this cast page and I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about it
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy reading!