Prologue
House Tyrell, loyal as ever, was in somewhat of an uproar as its fighting men readied for battle. A raven had arrived in the wee hours of dawn carrying news of an army marching on King's Landing. Everyone in Westeros knew that their King had gone mad but this- to stand against the Targaryen's as a whole meant war. But one person in House Tyrell was not worried about the Dragon Dynasty but instead one Targaryen in particular.
"You know what you must do, yes?"
Alerie Hightower, Lady of Highgarden and Wife of Mace Tyrell, crosses her arms and purses her lips trying to comfort a chill that isn't really there.
Her most loyal member of her guard, a knight named Ulrich from House Florent, stands before her and exits the Great Hall with breakneck pacing and his blades sheathed on his back.
He is to head for King's Landing and get there as fast as he can, whatever it takes, to attempt to get into the castle and rescue her young cousin and her young cousin's baby before the opposing forces get in. It wasn't so long ago that she and her husband were in bed and having the talk of the century over a letter brought directly to them by one of their spies all about the lesser Hightower's plight.
Dearest Alerie,
I write this to you knowing that if it gets intercepted- I will surely die. But I fear for my child's safety if I do not receive aid and I cannot ask for the help of my father. You yourself know how he feels about bastards. My child is the product of rape. The dragon in power is the father. I have made peace with the situation but no one knows she is his, please. I beg that you burn this letter and send for me.
With love,
Aella Hightower
Neither Mace nor Alerie could believe their eyes. They did as requested and burnt the letter immediately but Mace was firm. He told his wife that nothing is technically wrong and that her cousin is simply freaked out by the parentage of her child. And Alerie was content to send back some coin for the pair.
Now though- if no one acted…Alerie had a dark and anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach. It had been a year and a half since that letter arrived and if they did not act now well she shuddered to think what would happen to her cousin, the girl who taught her how to braid.
Should Alerie's trusted servant succeed in saving them- House Tyrell would then possess the key to the Iron Throne as well as there would be no mistaking the fact: Aella and her babe would be slaughtered if not.
Ser Ulrich Florent hadn't been asked to go on personal errands often if ever for his lady and he knew the severity of this one should he fail.
"I'm doin' this so's I can save a babe" Ulrich said, abandoning his formal way of speaking and holding one of his blades to the boat owner's throat.
The man was nothing more than a humble trader who stopped to make port, the poor soul. But he knew that Ulrich would kill him and so he sailed. And he sailed fast as Ser Ulrich never once moved his blade away. And when night fell and he asked for a break, Ser Ulrich did not give him one.
Ser Ulrich was sure they'd set a record when they arrived in Kings Landing in two nights, on the dawn on the third day. They didn't port where they would normally and instead docked on the sandy shores where the children of the city play. It looked as though he just barely made it in time as Lannister soldiers began marching through the gates just as he breached its entrance as well.
He broke into a run and cursed himself for not studying the layout of King's Landing further during the ride over. It wouldn't be and wasn't hard to reach the palace but where on earth was he to find Aella and her baby?
The gods smiled upon Ser Ulrich for as he burst through the kitchen exits, which he had to bribe his way through thanks to a naive and horny servant girl being the only one in there when he snuck in, a woman who could be none other than a member of the Hightower family bumped into him. The woman had brown curls and a wide brow as well as she wore a commoners outfit but in the colors of House Hightower.
"Aella? Aella Hightower?" He asked, trying not to sound as fervent and rushed as he really was.
She furrowed her wide brow and nodded her head but didn't say anything. Suspicion shone through her gaze.
"C'mon. We have to get your baby and go. My name is Ser Ulrich and I've been sent by your cousin, Lady Alerie of Highgarden."
Relief flooded Aella Hightower. So much so that the woman didn't even reply. She grabbed Ser Ulrichs wrist and took fast and clumsy strides down the hall, rushing to the closet-sized bedchamber she and her infant called home. Even if it was late- help from Highgarden had finally arrived. Her nightmares of her babe growing up and being forced into incest as well as madness haunted her. She couldn't wait to have her little girl safe and tucked away with The Tyrells. She wrenched the door open but for the first time ever: her baby was not in its cot.
"She was right here. We have to spread out and find her. Someone must have taken her within mere moments while I went to the kitchen."
Aella was about to disappear with a level of adrenaline pushing her but stopped lastly and told Ser Ulrich-
"My daughter has a birthmark underneath her left eye in the shape of a very tiny heart. You have to look to see it but it will help identify her if you find her."
And that was the last time that Aella Hightower drew breath. As they split up and she rounded the corner of the next corridor a man she'd never seen before wearing fancy armor stabbed her right in the head. She fell onto velvet floors lifeless leaving the fate of her baby in the hands of Ser Ulrich.
Ser Ulrich already knew how difficult things were about to get. He was lucky to find Varys, King's Landing's local spymaster, for a brief moment of passing whilst scouring the halls opposite the way Aella had gone. But that was all that mattered as it turned out the bald bastard had been the one to snatch Aella's daughter. He pointed Ulrich to the crypts where the dragon skulls are kept and that's where he found her.
How in the name of the maker did Aella manage to hide you? Ulrich wondered as his eyes landed on his charge for the very first time.
A pair of dark violet colored eyes bigger than any he'd seen on a baby before, like that of an owl, blinked up at him.
The handmaiden Varys sent to hide with the infant stood crouched behind the largest of the dragon skulls with a bundle of white blankets in her arms holding the child. The servant girl knew Varys would send someone down but she didn't know who and so she narrowed her eyes and held her tighter.
"That little girl has family with The Tyrells. I've been sent to bring her to safety and kill anyone in my way. I don't want t'a hurt ya but I will. Hand her over" there is weight to Ser Ulrichs words because he means them. His blade will be in her throat before the next minute is up if she refuses.
The handmaiden stared back at him for only a moment to think and then handed him the bundle.
With the princess in his arms- Ser Ulrich could have done a happy dance. Somehow he made it in time and somehow he found her. He made sure the birthmark was there, which it was, and then tossed a sack of coin at the woman who hid her. He tucked the baby under his armpit and didn't lower his armored arm, instead sticking it out slightly to cause his cloak to cover her from view.
Now, the escape. Ser Ulrich moved toward a hidden passage that led deeper into the crypts. It was a route known only to a select few, and he hoped it would lead him away from the prying eyes of the Lannister guards.
The passage was narrow and winding, and he had to squeeze through with the baby cradled in his arms, but she didn't cry. The darkness closed in around them and he could feel the infant squirm, but Ser Ulrich pressed on. His heart pounded with every step, and the weight of the baby served as a constant reminder of the life he was sworn to protect. Finally, they emerged into a secluded courtyard. The cool open air filled his lungs, and for the first time, Ser Ulrich allowed himself to breathe. They were free from the castle's suffocating grip. The baby girl made a sound of happiness- cooing.
But the danger was far from over. The streets of King's Landing were fraught with peril, and Ser Ulrich knew that they would need to find a safe haven quickly. With the baby cradled in his arms, he set off once more, determined to deliver her to the safety of House Tyrell.
The trader who got him there apparently gave a rat's ass because he was waiting just where they'd arrived on the shore. With men from the Lannister's hot on his trail and the princess in his arms starting to stir, Ser Ulrich launched himself into the boat while yelling 'row' and cradling his precious cargo.
In Highgarden- Alerie grew numb waiting for news. She never thought that she would care about the Targaryen's yet there she stood on her balcony with baited breath. She couldn't help but wonder if Ser Ulrich even made it to King's Landing in time.
You can imagine her surprise when rapid knocks and an announcement arrived only four days after she sent him out. Normally, it would take that long just to arrive at King's Landing. And somehow Ser Ulrich managed to get there and back. She couldn't believe it and didn't until she threw open the doors to the Great Hall.
Ser Ulrich stood looking no worse for wear than when he had left, just dirtier, sweatier, and in his arms?
The bastard of The Mad King sat all but silent.
"She didn't cry the whole way here, My Lady."
A decision was made between the two that night.
Alerie's husband would be informed of the truth once he returned from battle but the entirety of what Alerie had done must be kept secret from everyone else. The little girl would be taken in and raised by Ser Ulrich as his own- the product of an affair with a Shadow Priestess from Asshai would be the cover story and explain away the baby's one-of-a-kind dark lilac orbs. Raising her to be a commoner would give her a unique perspective and Alerie knew that she could trust Ser Ulrich to protect and raise her cousin's babe well. And with Ser Ulrich being her 'father' for all pretenses and purposes- that meant that Alerie and her husband could keep her close. The princess of all of Westeros would grow up in Highgarden beside their own children. Alerie knew that Aella had done the right thing by contacting herself and not the remaining Hightowers. For the Hightowers would have sooner sold her out to Tywin than helped out The Mad King's bastard from one of their families handmaidens.
"You did splendidly, Ser Ulrich. Mace and I will see you compensated greatly. And of Aella?" Alerie praised her guard and patted him on the shoulder, cooing down at the calm little baby in his arms who smiled back up at her looking so much like her childhood companion.
"I saw her once I arrived at the keep but only briefly. We were forced to split up to find the princess here and I didn't see her while escaping. I'm afraid she didn't make it."
Ivory skin, a button nose, Aella's full lips and wild head full of brown hair. The Targaryen in her was in her eyes but the rest of her was that of her mother. A single tear was shed by Alerie then.
"I dunno the next thing about raisin' a tyke, Your Grace" Ser Ulrich said as he began following Alerie out of the Great Hall with his new daughter in tow "but I suppose I'm about to find out? I'll be giving her my family name of course, then. What of her first name? Her mother was nowhere to be found on my way out of the keep and no one informed me of it."
Alerie hummed.
"Perhaps you ought to name her, perhaps it's best this way. If you were to raise her under her birth name with eyes like that, I'm afraid the truth of her identity would eventually become quite obvious."
Alerie as well as Ser Ulrich went to bed that night knowing they had done something for the greater good. They saved an innocent and a relative who could later save House Tyrell or put it on the precipice of great power. They helped to save a dynasty of people loyal to the realm in that one teensy life.
And the newly named Neria of House Florent cried finally, going to sleep in an unfamiliar cot in an unfamiliar place.
Four years had passed since Ser Ulrich walked away from the royal castle of Highgarden with a daughter to his name. The nameless and calm Targaryen babe he'd rescued had grown into her new name, her new self.
Every morning Neria Florent would go with her father to the market. It smelled of roses and perfume but then so did most of Highgarden. The shop owners who'd known her since her first days there had grown to adore her and greeted her with cheer, as she was one of the few children who showed remarkable self control. At ages two and three and four and now five- Neria's willpower never wavered. The brunette would follow Ulrich everywhere, question every single little thing she saw, and often won people over with natural charm, honesty, and kindness.
"Woah, Lady Tara!" Neria exclaimed as she came to a stop in front of a particularly large stall in which a woman pirate stood looming over a variety of trinkets. The little princess turned commoner's headtop barely reached the rise of it and she had to lean on her tippy toes to see.
Tara grinned with mischief and waved at her regulars.
"You like my new shipment, Neri? I've got something just for you and your father, this time."
She turned around and flipped her ash smelling red hair over her shoulder and began digging in the various chests behind her until finally she whipped around holding two items.
"Wooooooah" Ser Ulrich just knew, hearing that 'woah' again from Neria, and reached into his pocket for his coin purse already.
A tome of great mysticalness, it was worn all the way around, massive, and looked like something straight out of The Citadel. Neria loved books and being read to as well as learning to read herself and it was clear that was for her and the more expensive of the two items. For Ulrich, Tara held up an odd looking cloak. He didn't recognize the fur it was made of and it was pitch black resembling velvet and it looked as if it was a bit too small for him, as if it would end on either side of his elbows.
"Can this one be free, Lady Tara?" Neria had never asked that question before. Usually she got free shit from the shopkeepers enough to where she didn't need to so Ulrich couldn't help but wonder what made the five year old do so.
It took him a minute and he completely missed her bargaining with a grown woman while he contemplated it, but then he realized- Neria had noticed and somehow figured out that the book held before her would be quite costly. You can imagine Ser Ulrich's surprise doubling when he focused back in to see Lady Tara handing her the book free of charge just as she asked with a twinkle in her eyes and sliding the minimalistic cloak over to where his hands rested on her tabletop.
"I promise that one day, we will go on a pirate adventure together!" childish as ever, Neria declared the words just a little too loudly and shook her baby-like fist in the air adorably while heartily wielding her new book in the other.
"As long as your father permits then that sounds like a lovely form of payment and a great adventure for us one day, Neri. Ser Ulrich I can see your face and I know what you're thinking. This cloak is not a boy's cloak. It is smaller because it is magic. Though I thought you would recognize that seeing as you bred with a priestess of the shadows but I digress. I offer it to you for three golden dragons. It is said to protect you from all elements of mother nature."
Unpulsed that she was charging him and not the five year old charmer- Ulrich paid her regardless of the truth to her statement. If the cloak worked, if it didn't work, it didn't matter. He always set aside some coin for his neighbors and friends.
Ulrich could see what a great ruler young Neria would make then and it caused his heart to clench. He never expected to have a child of his own and now that he did- the thought of such greatness and danger being ingrained in her fate shook him to his core. He wrote off his own struggles with her future and was a very patient and loving father who never once let it show to her that he was keeping something from her. He waited for her when she saw something of interest and wanted to observe it, he told her innocent tales of make believe like one's father should at such an age, and even began to teach her how to wield a blade though she was still little and it had to be done with a training one.
Neria didn't have memories of her mother or her first year of life in King's Landing and for that- both Alerie and Ulrich were grateful.
It proved to be much easier keeping her life as a Targaryen a secret, after all if she did have questions it might stir up parts of the truth for anyone close enough to her to notice as well as it made it that much easier for her to adapt to her new life in Highgarden as Ulrich's daughter.
"Let's go, pa! You're walking sooo soooo sloooow" Neria sang her bell-like voice as she skipped ahead of Ser Ulrich on their usual path out of the back of the market and towards the main castle of Highgarden and the seat of The Tyrells with her new book in hand.
Every day after they visited all the stalls in the market then the pair would head into the main castle where Ulrich would guard Lady Alerie and Neria would read and play with the royal children, unbeknownst to them being her relatives.
One time, only a few months prior to that very moment, she asked Ulrich 'Why don't the other knight's children play with us?' as she had just finished a riveting game of tag with Loras Tyrell in the royal gardens.
A question that showed just how smart she truly was becoming.
"Simply because I'm Lady Alerie's most trusted guardsmen. Wouldn't you trust your children to play with your right hand man's?" he replied to her as if she was an adult, a farce that went a long way in regards to how Neria responded. An answer the girl accepted with ease as she responded by simply dashing off to continue playing.
Used to their routine, the pair went their separate ways though they wouldn't be far apart. With one by the throne and the other following Alerie around, well Alerie liked to watch the children play unless she was conducting business so that often meant looming in the doorway of Alerie's chambers while she stood on her balcony watching the children. Occasionally the pair would converse about their circumstances and Neria's development, of course.
Mace Tyrell all but bumped into the Targaryen bastard girl as she skipped carelessly straight towards his children.
He smiled and laughed heartily, having grown used to the ball of energy being around.
"Neria, what is it you've got there?" The Lord asked her.
He eyed her new book with great intrigue.
"I don't know yet, My Lord" Neria responded maturely but with a look of determination in her young purple eyes "the pirate lady gave me it today in the market."
Ahh, Lady Tara. That woman had been great for trade in Highgarden and most of the nobles and common folk stopped by to see her every other day. After all, in Westeros it's rare to find someone who sells actual magical items.
"I'm sure it will be amazing and I would love to hear all about it, once you've read it of course" Mace ruffled her brown curls with his large hand "now I have business to attend to but you have fun today. Margaery and Loras are already out and having lunch served, my dear."
The Tyrell's are like family to Neria. She beams at Mace and thanks him, promising to tell him about her book once she is able to read it all, before going back to skipping onwards.
In the gardens, Margaery and Loras sit on a picnic blanket in the grass by their largest fountain with their septa and lemon cakes being served. Margaery is two years older than Neria and much like the older sister Neria never had. Every time the pair get together, Margaery dotes on Neria. She would ask about what outfit she picked that day, how things were going, and then they would debate over heroic tales and dark political ones. Loras is the same age as Neria and he looks up to her. Not in the way that he looks up to his heroes, but because Neria is the jewel of Highgarden. Everywhere she goes- citizens enjoy her regardless of her station. Adults and children alike look at her differently and so, so does he.
Neither of them know of their blood relation to Neria but having played with her everyday since her arrival, she is as much a part of their family as any.
Life continues for Neria beautifully until at the age of ten, something mystical happens to her just like in the stories she reads about.
In her home just outside of the markets resting peacefully…Neria has the first of what (unbeknownst to her) would be many visions.
The bitter cold is everywhere and her limbs are numb even though she's bundled well. All around her there is nothing but snow covered mountains and the wilderness but for some reason she doesn't feel afraid.
Suddenly- Neria's yanked forward by an unknown force and in front of her face only mere inches away appears the scariest face she's ever seen before. It looks like it was once a man but no longer- now its flesh resembles ash and its eyes glow like a set of magical stones. Her heart feels like it's about to beat out of its spot in her chest and in the next instant…everything fades away to black.
She finds herself sitting in what appears to be the void.
"Skoros zȳha" An unfamiliar male voice comes out of the nothingness not that she understands what it means.
In front of her eyes on the same level in the blackness of which she sat- a sea of corpses varying in likes begin appearing. What can only be a bunch of direwolves, strangers, a normal dog, a lion, and-
Before her dreams can further confuse and alarm her- her father shakes her gently awake.
"I give you an extra serving of soup one time and look at this, you've slept the day away, Neri" Ser Ulrich says, standing above her bed with a familiar smile on his face.
Neria simply yawns in response feeling as if she actually didn't get any sleep at all.
"Pa, do you know what 'skoros zȳha' means?"