khaleesi, oc book

» [j.t.] background

Lady Jacaera Targaryen is the daughter of Princess Viserra Targaryen, tenth-born child of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen and Queen Alysanne Targaryen, and Ser Theon Manderly. From infancy and early childhood in Pentos, Jacaera is presented as the bastard daughter of Prince Daemon Targaryen, nephew to Viserra, and is taken in by his wife, Lady Laena Velaryon.

Under his aunt's behest and desire to see her daughter be welcomed into House Targaryen, Jacaera's true parentage is kept secret from the realm, including Jacaera herself, in order to put forward a claim of her relation to Daemon. King Viserys I, desiring to reunite the quarreling factions of his family, legitimizes the child and receives her as his ward to be presented and raised in King's Landing. However, rumors regarding Jacaera's lineage circulate quickly around the court, raising the concern of several parties such as Queen Alicent Hightower.

While Jacaera feels out of place in Westeros and misses her parents and two half-sisters, Baela and Rhaena, she makes the acquaintance of her lawful cousin, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and her young sons, Prince Jacaerys and Prince Lucerys Velaryon. As heirs who are also contested as lawful sons of Ser Laenor Velaryon, Jacaera's maternal uncle, the children quickly became friends and grew up alongside the Queen's children, Prince Aegon, Princess Helaena, and Prince Aemond, who was formally betrothed to Jacaera before her arrival to Westeros. However, friendship and romance are buried in the spirit of competition between the prince and the lady. As years passed and Jacaera proved herself of a worthy wit and seamless skill with her dragon, Nymerax, Aemond grew more jealous. Coupled with his insecurities and the realization that his father bore admiration for a girl largely believed to be a dragonseed, Aemond secretly cuts Jacaera's hair. It's perceived a personal insult due to sensitivity over her darker hair color and proof of her illegitimacy.

When Jacaera absorbs the blame over the incident, both children attempt to reconcile over their differences and seem to bond over their shared love of reading and dragon lore. The two became unlikely friends, often frequenting the library of the Red Keep and sharing stories of living dragons, such as Vhagar, legendary mount of Queen Visenya Targaryen and current dragon of Jacaera's mother.

When tragedies came flocking in a spew, from Ser Harwin Strong perishing in a mysterious fire to Laena Velaryon's death, Jacaera grew more isolated and began to relinquish her faith in the Seven. Her relationship with many in King's Landing, including Aemond, grew strained as the House of the Dragon faced confrontation on Driftmark for the funeral. There, is where the match struck and fire burned.

Scorned by the cold words of Ser Vaemond Velaryon and regarded indifferently by many in attendance, Jacaera began to close in on herself and recognize the faults of her family and the cruelty of the gods. yet nothing could have been more cruel than the bitter taste of betrayal that roused in the night. Woken by her sisters to realize Vhagar was being mounted and ridden, Jacaera came to the startling discovery that it was Aemond who claimed the hoary beast. Violent words turned to violent strikes, an eye was claimed by a dagger of her belonging, and justice was demanded. When tensions struck highly and hotly against Princess Rhaenyra and Queen Alicent, the separation of House Targaryen was seemingly set, and that of a long-standing betrothal.

Unwilling to see it through, Prince Daemon and Queen Alicent forfeited the alliance and Jacaera and Aemond found a disheartening agreement with the decision.

In the nine years that followed, Jacaera blossomed into a comely yet strong-headed maiden interested in the business of the smallfolk of Dragonstone and the slums of King's Landing. Ever fond of rich dressing and the styles of Houses Targaryen and Velaryon, she grew to favor jewel tones, bold tints of purple, teal, and sometimes maroon silks and velvets, seed pearls, and delicate embroidery. Taking after her mother and stepmother, Jacaera's fingers were decorated with rings though she preferred moonstones as her jewel of choice and never strayed far from her mother's gold ring: a mermaid clutching a pearl. Shrewd yet starved, Jacaera's loyalty belongs to her stepmother, Rhaenyra, and she yearns to help the prospects of her siblings in any way she is capable of. While her family grew larger and more content on the island, she grapples with peace and her duty to the realm.

Haunted by memories of a prince that slipped through her fingers and troubled by the reckonings of the now, Jacaera finds that a path may not be blazed if it had already been charted for her, woven in the sky and intertwined with another's. A curious work of the gods, indeed.