Chapter 4
ALYSANNE TARGARYEN
They called her the good queen. The protector of women all over the realm, yet here she sat beside the jewel of her life, after failing to protect and save her own daughter.
Alysanne had lost count of the daughters she had lost, some to folly, some to vanity, and yet in each loss, she saw her own failure. Their deaths may have been the will of the Gods, but they were her daughters, and she should have done more.
She should have done more for Daenerys, for Daella, for Viserra, for Saera, and for Gael. She should have been better, yet she had failed them all.
And if it were not for a miracle, she would have lost her precious Gael as well. And Alysanne could understand the pain of losing a child, the pain of betrayal, but she had been so lost in her own sufferings and pains that she had become blinded to Gael's pain.
Her winter child. Her only daughter had been suffering in silence all this time, while Alysanne had wallowed in her own grief.
"Why?" she asked in desperation, yet Gael refused to answer as she lay there in her bed, glancing at the door.
"Answer me," she begged, as she rubbed her head, and her daughter refused to look at her, and it tore her heart into pieces.
"Please, I beg you, Gael," she began, and finally she shifted and turned to look at her as she answered in a whisper.
"Because I had to know," Gael whispered, her voice trembling.
"I had to know if the Maesters were right," and she had feared as much, as she closed her eyes.
"And they were," she continued as her shoulders began to tremble, as tears fell down her daughter's eyes.
"They were right. The Gods are punishing me," Gael continued, and Gael's suffering had pushed even her own belief to the limit, but she had to keep her doubts and complains to herself.
"I will never be a mother again. I am a failure as a woman," and despite her various struggles, one could not deny that in this society, the greatest calling for a girl was her ability to birth children for her lord husband and propagate a family, and without it, most women were considered failures.
"No," she assured her as she caressed her face.
"You are not a failure. You are the Princess," and Gael scoffed.
"I am a fool," and her voice grew strained as Gael screamed.
"I let that singer fool me, and now I have ruined both my own and the honor of this family just like Saera," and Alysanne gasped as she heard that name.
"Now, father will abandon me just as he abandone...."
"Do not compare yourself to Saera," Alysanne interrupted sharply. Though both were her daughters, Gael was nothing like Saera, and the mere comparison was a crime against her sweet child.
"You are no Saera, my dear," she reassured her again as she remembered the girl who had caused them all so much grief, whose shadow still hung over this castle.
"She was wilful, angry, and conniving. She was your sister, but you are nothing like her," she assured her, as she cursed Jaehaerys for his cruelty against one of his own children.
"Yes, you made a mistake, but you have suffered for it," she consoled her as she wiped away her tears. But the Gods are merciful," and Gael did not believe her words.
"Then why was Father trying to marry me off just like Saera and Viserra?" The shadows of their death still hung over the castle, and despite the years since their deaths, she had never thought that their actions would come to haunt them like this.
The conciliator, they called Jaehaerys. But the man knew nothing about raising daughters and how to treat them, and his actions had already cost them three daughters. And in that moment, despite her weakness, she made a promise to herself that she would not let Gael suffer the same fate.
"Every parent wants to see their children settled, and your father desired the same," she still protected him in front of her.
"No. He was simply trying to get rid of me," and she shook her head.
"No, your father loves you. Yes, he was searching for a suitable match, but you are a woman now, and it was time for you to marry," she added.
"We are no longer young, Gael," she continued softly, and even now, her bones ached as they never had in years, and even as her daughter went missing, Alysanne found herself helpless to do anything and was forced to rely on others to search for her.
And the mention of her age and impending death softened those eyes as Gael turned to face her.
"There was a time when I was as young as you, yet look at me now," she said, and glanced towards the mirror, where she saw only an old woman. Her luscious hair had become thin and frayed, and the bones of her face showed.
The flawless pale skin of her youth was gone and replaced by wrinkly old skin.
"The Stranger may come for me and your father anytime now," and so it was her desire to see her daughter happily wed before that.
"We only wanted to see you wed in front of our eyes," but if she did not wish that, Alysanne would protect her as she had failed to do so for Saera and Viserra.
"But if you did not want that, you should have just asked," and Gael was silent before she began.
"I wanted to get married. I wanted to be loved by someone just as father loves you, I wanted to build a family," and her voice hitched at the mention of family.
"But all of that has been taken from me," and her daughter began to weep, as she shook her face.
"No. You have a family. The world is vast and ever changing, perhaps in a few years there might be a miracle, and they could find a cure for your illness," and her daughter scoffed.
"I went out in search of just that. But even the miracle healer only confirmed the maester's condemnation..."
"...that I can no longer bear a child."
.
.
.
.
In the end, Jaehaerys never came to visit their daughter and met her in his solar as she told him all that Gael had whispered, and with each word, his expression turned more and more grim until he sighed.
"To think that Saera and Viserra's actions would continue to haunt us even now," and even now he refused to acknowledge his own mistake, and put all the blame on the two of them.
And yes, they were to blame. But so were they.
"They are not the only one's who bear blame for this," she cut in as Jaehaerys frowned.
"We share an equal burden for the fates they suffered. You refused to listen to Viserra, and even now Saera is alive...."
"I have no daughter by that name," Jaehaerys raged, and even age had not taken away his rage.
"I only acted as a King should," he defended himself as she scoffed.
"But not as a father should," and she may have backed down before, but she had lost too many children. She would not lose another.
"I have made a promise to Gael that we shall not marry her off," and Jaehaerys scoffed and gave a firm retort.
"I doubt that we would be able to do that even if I tried," and by now, the entire city knew of Gael's actions, and soon enough, the secret about her affair and stillbirth would be revealed, erasing any and all prospects for her hand in marriage.
"Now, because of her actions, the Targaryen name has been thrown into the mud all over the realm," and even now he cared little for their daughter, for Jaehaerys would always think first as a King.
"Then so be it," she replied angrily, and her frustrations must have shown, as he became quiet.
"But regardless, I have made that promise and I intend to keep it," she declared as she looked him in the eye, and after thirty years of marriage, he must have realised that she would not back away, and if he were to push, then the historians would have another Quarrel to write about.
But alas! This time, there would be no Maegelle to conciliate between them.
"So be it," and though she did not doubt his love for their daughters, before she could say anything else, there was a knock on the door, before the door was opened, and his new Hand walked in.
Even now, Alysanne felt odd seeing that pin on the chest of someone other than Barth, and the aged Septon had served the realm for more than three decades, but had succumbed to his death a few moons ago.
A seasoned knight he may be, but he was no Barth and Jaehaerys, for all his wisdom needed a Barth as his hand.
"The healer, he is outside," and that piqued her interest as well, for she also wanted to see this mysterious 'miracle' healer, who had saved her daughter's life.
"Send him in," Jaehaerys answered, and the man nodded, and motioned for the guards to bring in the man, and the first thing she noticed about him was his age.
She had thought that he would be older, yet the man brought in was barely a man. He had to be around Gael's age, barely entering his adulthood. He was also tall, and lean but not weak.
His hair were clearly dishevelled from this whole ordeal.
"Your grace," the healer bowed as Jaehaerys motioned for the guards to leave him, and she could see those amethyst orbs narrow as he asked him.
"So, you are the healer who saved my daughter's life," he asked, and despite facing the King, the young man continued to look down at the floor, and one could blame it on anxiety and nervousness, but Alysanne could sense that there was more to it.
"Yes," he answered shortly, as Jaehaerys raised a brow.
"They say that you are a healer," and again he nodded as she cut in.
"Who trained you?" she asked, because Gael had mentioned how the healer was quite famous, and from what little she had been able to gather, he was different than the regular quacks that were spread all over the city.
"I was trained at the Citadel," he answered, and that was a surprise, for the Citadel did not admit anyone to the order.
"Are you a noble?" Jaehaerys asked again, and this time he waited before he answered.
"I was born to the son of a blacksmith and a maid," and he had not called them his father.
"Then how were you able to join the Citadel?" Alysanne asked, and the young man finally glanced up at her, and she nearly gasped as she saw those brown eyes. They felt eerily familiar to her.
"The order on the recommendation of my mother took me in," and Jaehaerys was running out of patience.
"But you just claimed that your mother was a maid?" he began.
"No. The woman that birthed me was a maid. I was an unwanted child, and was abandoned at the age of six when I got afflicted with Greyscale," and just as he took that name, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard moved and pulled him away.
"How dare you try..."
"I am no longer afflicted!" the boy defended himself, and she found herself surprised when Jaehaerys suddenly cut in.
"WAIT!" and he halted Ser Ryam, as her own mind spun as she remembered a letter she had received years ago. In her mind doubt began to emerge, but she could not hold her tongue.
"Name?" she whispered.
"What is your name?" she asked, and those lips thinned until the boy answered with words she had read years ago in a letter from one of her daughters.
"Galen," and her eyes widened with surprise.
"My name is Galen." And in that moment, Alysanne knew her hunch had been correct.
"You are the boy Maegelle wrote to me about?" and Jaehaerys had forgotten about it, but she had not. Just a few days ago, she had read that name.
"Maegelle?" Jaehaerys asked, as Ser Ryam straightened as well at the mention of the Princess.
"Yes," she answered, turning towards Jaehaerys.
"When Maegelle began to care for the children afflicted with Greyscale, she was able to save one child. A boy by the name of Galen," and she then turned towards the young man once again.
"You are that child," and he finally nodded.
"Yes, the mother I speak of is indeed your daughter, the Septa Maegelle," and the whole room descended into silence, as Alysanne found herself marvelling at the work of the Gods.
Just as she had begun to doubt their magnanimity, they had shown her a sign.
"Can you prove it?" Jaehaerys asked, and she cut in.
"He is the one, Jaehaerys," she came to his defence, and even now she could recite word by word how Maegelle had described the young boy in detail, and though he had changed, his features remained the same.
"Yes," the young man answered, much to her surprise.
"I have a letter written by her at my home. She gave it to me before she died, so that I could present it to the Crown in case I found myself in some trouble," and she had called that boy her own child, and had tried to protect him.
"The guards will take you to your home. You will come back and present me this letter," and the young man nodded, and with a final bow, left the room as she turned towards Jaehaerys.
"Do you doubt my words?" she asked, frustrated that he had refused to trust her.
"No," Jaehaerys sighed, and she saw his eyes dull as he began.
"Did you not notice it?" he asked, the question made her frown.
"What?" she asked, and her words made him lean back.
"Ahh! I forget that you do not know."
"Know what?" she asked, and she saw Jaehaerys hesitate for a second, and while they had argued and fought and disagreed in their marriage, they had never kept secrets from one another.
Never.
"What secret are you keeping from me, Jaehaerys?" she demanded, her voice low and sharp
"It is not my secret that I keep," he answered, and he seemed torn, as he continued.
"It is Barth's...."
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