Prologue ... 18 years after the Tudors' fall and Lady Mary's mysterious death:
"Why not honey?"
"Because I am not your honey."
"Yes you are Visenya you are just like me. You think you are special but then you realize you are useless until you realize you are wrong, they were wrong, you are not special, you are not useless, you are something else. The future, the very thing your mother was afraid of. She would have hid you and kept you lock away like you were some thing, some animal she was afraid of."
The former queen ... walked closer to her. "I know because I was done the same by your mother's mother. She and my father conspired against me as they would have conspired against you if they knew that the prophecy was meant for you."
"But I don't get it, why me? The prophecy speaks of a man."
The former queen let out a small laugh. "The prophecy spoke of a savior, men in their everlasting arrogance ... well" she spread her hands and joined them again. "... they just had to put their chauvinistic twist on it."
"I am here to guide you Visenya because you are my niece, my blood and most importantly the hope of our world."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Why shouldn't you? I am your aunt. Your grandmother's sister."
""Because you are the monster"
"Am I?"
Juana asked then she told her the whole story, everything from her great-grandfather's betrayal to her grandmother's and later being abandoned by the same man they had once trusted and marrying that oaf king who set her aside for a woman of lower birth and finally her mother and the ugly truth that the present duchess of York forgot to tell her.
"But I don't understand ... I mean ..." Visenya started, very nervously, this was all very new to her. "my mother loved me, that is why she did all of this; Katherine Parr told me-"
"Katherine Parr is a chicken just like the rest. We are not like the rest, I am a queen, my place was stolen from my by the people I loved, you are dragon born from ancient blood of Valyria and ofthe blood of the ancient dragons of Britain! You are unique, don't you see? You have it on yourself, your eyes, your hair, everything you are screams of magic, of power. Together we can take back what was ours." She took both her hands, not afraid of what she or her dragon might do.
Visenya let go. "No, I don't believe you."
"Mmm, you need proof then. All right then I will show you. Come with me, come, don't be shy." Juana said and led her to the ancient cave where the runes and writings of the First men and Valyrians stood.
Visenya didn't believe in fairy tales. She and Arya scoffed at them when old Nan told her about them, but their siblings on the other hand enjoyed them. Then there were the Christian tales about a man and a woman who were vanished from a paradise oasis because they listened to a talking snake. The cave however had none of these, as she looked closely, she realized these were not runes at all.
As if reading her mind, Juana said, "The writings are from the very first peoples that inhabited the Earth, some depict monkeys, apes turning into humans. Funny really but some are quite scary."
"How come?"
"Well they show sea monsters, giants, children and women, powerful women being devoured by the children inside them."
"Here we are!" Both pulled to a stop and Juana extended her arm pointing to a stone altar with weird designs carved on it.
"What is it? A sacrificial chamber?"
"No sweetheart, sacrificial chambers are bigger. This is where your mother meant to sacrifice you."
"What? What are you talking about."
"When you were born, you were told your mother whispered your name, naming you with her dying breath. It's such a beautiful tale. Unfortunately it's not real. You see your mother really wanted to have a son, she believed as others of the Catholic faith that once she had her son she would be free but she was wrong very wrong ... "