266 AC

When I was born into this world, I decided very early that I would not even attempt to act my perceived age. Firstly, I would probably fail at it anyway. Secondly, pretending to be an infant child sounded way too exhausting for my taste.

Fortunately, I was not born to a family of peasants toiling in the fields. Folks like these tended to be of a rather superstitious lot and could see me as a cursed or demonic child. Being strangled or drowned to appease the gods would not be fun. Instead, I was born to a rather important family. Though not a particularly liked one. You see, when your father is a dictator, you don't have a lot of friends. Not real friends anyway. You get servants, sycophants, but not friends.

My father was Alequo Adarys, the Tyrant of Tyrosh, installed as the current ruler of said city by the Band of Nine. He was not a good man. He was not even a decent man. He was a cruel, greedy despot. The only reason his nickname was the Silvertongue was because when he was still just a wealthy merchant he had a good way with words when striking particularly profitable deals.

I was born in the year 261 after Aegon's Conquest, at least by Westerosi calendar. It was not used in Tyrosh outside of convenience regarding documents and trade with the people of the Seven Kingdoms. When I was born, my father ruled Tyrosh with an iron fist for a year already. While the Band of Nine was defeated by Westerosi armies, with Ser Barristan Selmy personally killing Maelys Blackfyre in combat, my father managed to remain in power. After all, the Iron Throne had no interest in the affairs of Tyrosh and as such has not sent anyone here to depose him.

My mother never loved my father and I deeply suspect he did not love her either. It was a marriage of convenience and perhaps against my mother's will. I dare not think too strongly as to the circumstances of my birth, lest I focus too much on the possibility of being a result of rape. Soon after I was born, people at my father's palace noticed how odd I was. A baby which does not cry? A baby which rarely smiles? Strange, weird, unusual.

Naturally, I gained the ability to talk and walk much sooner than regular children my age. But then again, I had thirty-two years of past experience to work with while they did not. My father ignored all questions regarding my behavior and intelligence. He claimed it was a gift from a god. Notice the wording: not "Gods" or "God" but "a God." Frustratingly, nobody ever asked him which god. Red? Many-faced? Tits and wine? When I asked him myself, he said I'd learn in my own time.

But, I get ahead of myself. I'm rambling and throwing exposition at you, yet here I am standing over my father's fresh corpse.

Poison, as expected. I guess even my birth has not changed history in that matter. It seemed my father was fated to die by being poisoned by his own wife regardless if I existed or not. If I have my memories in order, my father's regime will fall in a matter of days. I wonder if I will survive them? Just then, the doors open and inside rush several of my father's trusted men. One of them closely checks my father's corpse while another grabs me.

"Princess Saelyna, your mother is already calling upon her loyal sycophants. Quickly, we must flee," he whispers to my ear.

Well, that answers that question.

294 AC

Some would describe the room as small and unworthy of a princess. She instead would describe it as home, a safe place where she could play with Daemon. There was a modest bed, tailored for a size much larger than her (to last longer). Shelves, filled with her favorite toys and gifts from Saelyna. A wardrobe with her clothing (she didn't have much, but she did have enough).

She did not want for toys, for she had them plenty. Dolls sewn from high quality Myrish fabric, wooden figurines of 'Pocket Monsters' to play in mock battles against Daemon (and sometimes even Viserys), books with various adventures and tales of faraway lands. Her three favorites were Xena the Warrior Princess, Red Sonja the Barbarian and Lyarra Croft the Treasure Hunter. They inspired her to believe that as a girl she isn't just destined to give children to a man, but can have adventures of her own. She often dreamed of fighting in the pits like Xena, or saving the innocent from slavery like Sonja. Even finding hidden treasures in forgotten ancient temples like Lyarra would be interesting.

Of course, fun wasn't the only thing filling her days. She had chores to do. For one, she was expected to be the only one cleaning her own room. Another thing is she would be expected to attend lessons with Teacher Qyburn and Priestess Melisandre. Qyburn always gave her sweets to eat and always treated her like his favorite granddaughter. He did make it clear however, that she was always to pay close attention to his lessons. She did so, if only to get more sweets.

Some subjects were difficult to grasp, at least initially. The art of psychology sometimes confused her, for it was a science dedicated to the ways the human mind works. She discovered that some issues with the mind were acquired while others could be inborn. She learned her letters and sums pretty quickly in comparison. History was a sore subject. She rarely wanted to speak of her father after she learned what kind of a man he was. Her brother Rhaegar was a similar case, though with her lessons in psychology she suspected that Rhaegar could simply have fooled himself to belive different facts that what was real.

The science of biology made her and Viserys uncomfortable. The knowledge that marrying within the family did not actually keep the blood pure, but made it weak and cause mind sickness was a shock. Viserys denined it vehemently in the beginning, but after being shown examples from his own family as well as some other noble Westerosi families, he was beginning to see the truth of it. Qyburn had even shown them his extensive writings of years-long experiments including various animals, like mice, to demonstrate what happened to children whose parents were siblings.

Failing organs, appetite for violence, unreasonable behavior, just to name a few. Neither she nor Viserys have voiced support for marrying too close ever since. "If you know how closely you are related to someone, then it is too close," became the new rule for later years.

But there were many subjects she did like. Priestess Melisandre taught her to sing, Saelyna herself had taught her to create drawings and paintings. Even Teacher Qyburn made her interested in the higher mysteries (though he himself admitted there were others with more knowledge in that area).

This month, Daenerys would reach ten years of age and with that would begin learning to fight. Saelyna insisted that Dany know how to defend herself, as there could come a time when Viserys or Daemon would be out of reach. Saelyna's men, Lysero and Aronar went to the Seven Kingdoms looking for a suitable instructor for her. Dany wondered why there and not Lys, or Tyrosh, but Saelyna explained that there was a man she wanted to recruit for a while and only now managed to hear rumors of his location.

It was therefore why Saelyna, Dany, Daemon and Viserys stood on the hidden pier of their Stepstones Hideout to welcome the new arrival. The ship entered the large cavern and slowly came into dock. Not a few moments later, several men came down to the pier. Dany recognized Lysero and Aronar immediately, but the third man was a stranger, which clearly meant he would be her new instructor. Saelyna walked up to him first and gave him a small sack before whispering in his year.

The man checked the contents of the sack before smiling.

He inclined his head to them and spoke, "greetings, dear children, my name is Bronn and I'll teach you how to kill."