The following years have been something straight out of a dream for Aenar. For the majority of his life he had been focused on one thing, to prove himself better than his brother and earn the things he believed were rightfully his. That drive had died the day he'd been exposed to the cause of Valyria's Doom, the being that has latched onto him and is slowly bleeding into his being. Never in his life had he thought about having a family with anyone. He did not doubt that his parents would set him up with the daughter of some Lord or the other, but even with that knowledge, he did not dream of a family.
Yet here he was now, watching his children grow.
When Gwyn had become pregnant with Faeyn, Aenar never left her side if he could. And if he couldn't, he had his unsullied loyal men at arms guarding her. Two were posted at the door and two were posted on the other side of the door to the secret passage (the construction of Aegonfort had been finished by then and they had all moved to the castle). And when she was born, she was just so small. The Maester declared her a healthy babe, but both Aenar and Gwyn feared for her since she was so small. So afraid of her survival, the two of them did not name the girl until a year had passed after she was born.
Faeyn was a copy of her mother. The same eye shape, the same nose and mouth. But she'd inherited the silver hair and purple eyes of the Targaryen. And much like her mother, she took a shine to swordsmanship. Which got her closer to her cousins Aenys and Maegor.
Aenys was the eldest of the three, born in 7 AC to Aegon and Rhaenys. Much like Faeyn, he was small at birth, but unlike his cousin, he was a sickly thing. He cried all the time and his limbs were spindly, his eyes small and watery, and many feared for his survival. He would not feed from anyone's tit but his mother's and it was a nightmare when he was being weaned. So different the child was from the nature of his father, that many suggested that perhaps the child was never the King's but rather some minstrel's that Rhaenys favoured.
They were so close to the truth yet so far.
It had happened a year before Aenys' birth. Depp into the night Aegon, Rhaenys and Visenya had come to visit Aenar and Gwyn in their chambers with a simple yet important request.
They wanted Aenar and Gwyn's help with producing an heir.
They had tried for years since their marriage, but they did not have the success they yearned for. None of them knew who the problem resided in.
Aenar and Gwy heard their plea and promised that they would think of it. And they did. For a few days that was all they'd discuss in secret. In the end, the decision was made in favour of the King and his Queens.
Aenar and Gwyn would invite one of the Queens to bed first and wait a year to see if it stuck or not before inviting the other and repeating the procedure before they invited the King to their bed. They would both be present for the bedding in all cases.
The couple took Rhaenys to bed first and a year later she gave birth to Aenys. If Aenar was still hung up on proving to be better than Aegon, this was easily the biggest proof of it.
It was a secret the five of them kept to themselves (not even Orys knew) and did everything in their power to never let this information leak. In the end, giving Aenys his dragon was the only thing that could silence the tongue wagglers. Once Aenys bonded with Quicksilver(a dragon born at the same time as Aenys from Meraxes) the boy began to thrive.
Two years later Gwyn gave birth to Faeyn.
Two years after that Gwyn once more took to the birthing bed and Gaewyn was born, a son that took completely after his father in every way but the colour of his eyes (this time it was Rhaenys who teased the couple about naming their son by combining their names).
Gaewyn was a bookish child, more interested in the stories his mother and father would tell him than anything to do with swordsmanship. His parents adored him regardless, as did his older sister Faeyn.
The same year Gaewyn was born, Visenya approached the couple and put forward the same plea she had with Rhaenys and Aegon before Aenys was born. Aegon had his heir and he stopped trying entirely. Even if Visenya tried to force the pregnancy on her with spells, Aegon would not finish inside her to allow it. So she came to her other brother, who had proven that his seeds were strong.
Aenar and Gwyn discussed it much like they had the previous time before agreeing. This time Gwyn would not be joining (considering how she'd just given birth and wanted to not involve herself in anything sexual until she recovered, much like she had during Faeyn). Aenar used the passages in The Dead of the Night to arrive at his sister's bedchambers (Aegon and Rhaenys were busy in their own chambers) and made love to her till morning. Aenar would later tell his wife that Visenya was a lot wilder in bed but so easy to dominate, something that intrigued Gwyn and was the reason why she'd visit Visenya on some nights with Aenar until Maegor was conceived.
Maegor was born in 12 AC, a year after Gaewyn and his complete opposite. He came squalling into the world, more robust than any child ever born (something Maesters and Midwives all agreed on). He weighed twice as much as his brother Aenys and half-siblings Faeyn and Gaewyn. This child nobody would doubt was Aegon's, considering how the child was born in his image.
Of course, Aegon and Rhaenys both did not believe it (knowing Aegon's condition). And when they confronted Visenya about it, she told them the truth. Aenar and Gwyn were drawn in as well and for a while, Aegon was not pleased with his brother and sister-in-law (Rhaenys understood, considering how Visenya had always dreamt of being a mother). But in the end, even he relented and apologised to Aenar and Gwyn, before profusely apologising to Visenya for not doing enough for her.
Things mellowed for a while as the children grew, but worrying signs were seen in the proceeding years.
His children were all fine and healthy, as were his 'nephews'. But the worry lay in them as well.
Aenys and Maegor were not close to one another as brothers should be. But then again, neither were Aegon and Aenar at their age. Aenys was five years Maegor's elder but if one were to judge on size alone, everyone would mistake Maegor for being the elder brother. The latter was tall, muscular and had a sharpness in his gaze, much like Aegon and Visenya. The former on the other hand was not as tall, lean and had a softness in his gaze, much like Aenar and Rhaenys.
But what set them apart was the same thing that set Aegon and Aenar apart, their father's favouritism.
Aegon favoured Aenys, took him on all royal visits with him, trained Aenys himself or had one of the Kingsguards train him. Aegon was open-handed with all the interests Aenys had, most of all his interest in riding. Aegon gave him coursers, palfreys, and destriers, but Aenys always preferred his dragon Quicksilver.
Maegor meanwhile was left at Kingslanding with his mother. Aegon was open-handed with Maegor as well, but not to the degree he was with Aenys. All because the man did not know what interests his 'second son' had. All he knew was that Maegor preferred swords over anything else, a short but apt way to describe the Prince's hobby. Maegor was trained by Ser Gawen Corbray, a deadly sword hired by Visenya. He taught Maegor everything he knew about swordsmanship and the boy absorbed it all like a sponge.
Aenar, Rhaenys and Visenya tried to get Aegon to see what he was doing, but they failed. It was not that Aegon did not try, he simply could not help himself from favouring one child over the other (Gwyn would whisper that it was because Aenys had taken more after Rhaenys and that made it easier for Aegon to spoil him like he did Rhaenys).
So Aenar had taken up the empty role in Maegor's life and acted like a father to the boy. It helped Maegor to lose some of the roughness he had in him that stemmed from the boy just trying to prove himself to his father and make him see that his younger son was worth it (Aenar had a serious sense of déjà vu).
On the other hand, his children with Gwyn were growing into fine men and women, each one receiving equal amounts of love and adoration from both their parents.
Faeyn had grown to love songs and stories, which brought her closer to Aenys. She had let go of training with a sword (unlike her mother who still swung a sword with her father to keep sharp). But she had good reasons for it. At age nine Faeyn had claimed a dragon of her own, a dragon with scales the colour of amethyst (and flames to match it) and eyes bright as silver. She named the dragon Melkasta, Purple in High Valyrian (she was nine, an excuse she would go on to use for the rest of her life).
Gaewyn had changed somewhat from his early days. He'd picked up a sword and proven himself to be quite adept at using one. He still loved hearing stories, but mostly he loved to read now and anything relating to history drew him in. He had not claimed a dragon.
Gaewyn's training as heir to Harrenhal was coming along well as well, the Maester hard at work to give him the education he needed to take up the role at any given moment.
Normally it would have been Faeyn who would have taken up the role of Lady of Harrenhal after her father (as per the Doctrine of Exceptionalism that Aenar and Aegon established with the Faith of the Seven). But since Aenys and Faeyn were to marry, she passed the title to her brother Gaewyn.
Aenys and Faeyn married in the ways of the seven in 22 AC, and after a year Faeyn gave birth to a young girl that they named Rhaena.
Maegor was betrothed to Alyssa Velaryon and later married her when he hit his majority. It was a political marriage, unlike that of Aenys and Faeyn.
Aenar relinquished the seat of Lord of Harrenhal to his son Gaewyn in 28 AC when he reached the age of seventeen (the maester declared his education complete and him ready to take on the role of Lord). Gaewyn took Golda Grey as wife, one of the Riverlands' most sought-after ladies. They married in Harrenhal, attended by many from all across the kingdoms (including the royal family). It was a political marriage, to tie the riverlands to Aenar's blood and not isolate them from the rest.