Their visit with the king had left Daena incredibly unsettled and upset. Of course she had know that her grandsire was in fragile health, but she had not expected him to be so weak.

Jace suggested they walk the palace grounds to reminisce on their childhood. An attempt to get his younger siblings to stop thinking about their grandsire, but if anything it only made them all feel worse. Although the years away from King's Landing had been filled with peace, the reality was that leaving was a mistake.

"Smaller than I remember." Luke commented as they walked through the courtyard.

Daena and Jace looked forward ignoring all the curious glances in their direction, they knew what was expected of them. Her brother was to be king one day and he could not show any vulnerability. If he showed any weakness they would never respect him as their king.

"It looks exactly the same." Jace replied as he looked around the courtyard in awe. There was a childish glint in his eyes that she had not seen in a very long time.

The last couple of years although lives in peace away from Kings Landing were also filled with hours of preparation and training for Jace.

"Ah, Luke, come on." Jace urged as he headed to the other side of the courtyard placing his hand against the brick wall. His finger ran across a large crack in the bricks where there was a small piece of wall missing. "See? I told you this would still be here. And you thought you could swing Criston's morningstar."

"And you almost took your own head off." Daena continued remembering that day vividly. She had been with her grandsire watching her brothers and uncles train from the balcony, when Luke had picked up the weapon. When he swung the weapon had missed his head only by an inch. It had scared them all.

"What's your problem?" Jacaerys questioned, unlike Luke the wandering stares from everyone in the courtyard did not bother him. It was something that he had grown used to, Luke however could not so easily ignore their judgment.

"Everyone's staring at us." Luke whispered as he looked down the the weapons attempting to ignore all the curious eyes around them.

Jace picked up a small blade from the table twisting it between his fingers. A mischievous smile touched his lips before to extended his arm in one quick motion, the tip of the blade was a couple of inches from Daena who rolled her eyes in response. "Hyah!"

"Must you?" Daena questioned as she placed a finger on the blade lowering it.

"No, must you both be so sad?" Jace countered as he placed the blade back on the table.

"No one would question me being heir to Driftmark... if..." Lucerys muttered softly as he looked around to courtyard to find that there were still those who were looking at the three siblings as if they were oddities. Her younger brother was clearly deeply affected. "if I looked more like Ser Laenor Velaryon than Ser Harwin Strong."

"It doesn't matter what they think." Jace replied firmly and he believes this to be true. That the opinions of others did not matter, they were the children of the heir to the Iron Throne. That was all they needed.

Daena placed a comforting hand on Luke's shoulder, nosing that there was little she could say or do with so many curious eyes. "Remember what we talked about."

Before Luke could reply a crowd had formed at the other side of the courtyard, the commotion as the crowd cheered drew the three siblings closer. Daena was not sure what she expected, maybe it was that she had not thought of her uncles in years but seeing Aemond Targaryen shocked her.

He had grown drastically in the last six years, and as he trained against Ser Criston Cole it was clear that he had spent the last six years focused on training with a sword. Aemond was easily able to overpower Ser Criston earning him an excited applause from the crowd.

"Well done, my Prince. You'll be winning tourneys in no time." Ser Criston praised clearly proud of the prince that he had been training for years.

"I don't give a shit about tourneys." Aemond replied as he turned towards Daena and her brothers. Now that she met his eye it was incredibly clear that there were no more traces of the boy that she knew in her childhood. "Niece. How you've grown."

There seemed be a slight hint of a threat in his voice, or at the very least a dangerous tone. It was something that both of Daena's brothers were not ignorant of as they stepped in front of her protectively.

She was sure that they remembered just as well as she did the scar that was hidden under her gown. The large scar on her collar bone that Aemond had given her as children the night he had lost his eye.

"Nephews... have you come to train?" He mocked as he took a step closer clearly intending to intimidate her brothers.

"Open the gate!" One of the guards ordered causing everyone to turn their attention to the large wooden gates of the Red Keep.

Horses and solders wearing the sigil of House Velaryon stepped inside, it was all for show. That much was clear when their uncle Ser Vaemond entered the courtyard on top on his horse, head held high.

Seeing him for the first time in so many wear gave Daena her first sense of doubt. Vaemond Velaryon was exactly what the people expected the heir of Driftmark to look like.

And with the condition that her grandsire was in it was clear to Daena that although the Red Keep was their by birthright that they had no allies here.

The Weirwood tree in the godswood remained exactly as she remembered when she was a child. Though it did not bring her the peace that it once did, she remembered how often she would spend hours under the tree simply to get away from the wondering eyes of court.

Maybe she was here now wishing for that same comfort, but their future was so uncertain comfort was not an easy thing to find. If Otto Hightower decided that it would be her uncle Vaemond that inherits Driftmark, he would be declaring her brothers as bastards.

"Is it as you remember?"

She turned to face her uncle, remembering the last time that they were both standing under the tree they were both children. That felt like such a long time ago, and although she felt as though she had not changed he clearly had. "Yes, though the same cannot be said for the rest of the Red Keep."

"You have been gone for many years niece." He replied, as he stepped closer to her, almost like a predator assessing its prey. "It is clear to me that we are no longer children."

"That much is true."

"We are pleased by your return." Aemond told her though she was no fool and knew his words lacked any real sincerity.

"Yes, we felt incredibly welcomed upon our arrival."  Daena replied causing her uncle to smirk, almost like he enjoyed taunting her. He was no longer the shy boy and insecure boy that she remembered. "It pleases you, does it not?"

"What do you mean my dearest Daena?" He said in a mocking tone, she knew he was aware of what she meant. He only meant to play games with her.

Normally Daena would not entertain mocking, she preferred avoiding conflict of any kind but in this case she could not simply stand by and allow her uncle to enjoy her brothers suffering. "That we must come here to defend my brothers claim of Driftmark."

"Of course it pleases me." He replied, and though his answer did not surprise her it did disappoint her. It did not surprise her as his resentment of Luke was expected, after all the last time that they had seen each other he had lost his eye. But she had foolishly hoped that it would all be in the past, they were family at the end of the day.

"Niece." An unfamiliar voice declared, for a moment she believed it to be Helaena but the voice lacked the timidness and kindness that Daena remembered from her aunt. When she turned around she saw someone who she had not seen for much longer than she had Aemond. Her aunt, Valaena Targaryen, who had been living as a ward in Oldtown with her younger brother Daeron. Both of whom Daena hardly knew at all as they had been sent away at a very young age. "Look at how beautiful you have grown."

Valaena was the only one of the Queen's children to resemble her. Unlike her brothers and sister, Valaena did not inherit silver hair but her mother's auburn hair. The only reflection of her Targaryen blood was her violet eyes, but she was just as ethereally beautiful as any Targaryen.

Although she did not know her aunt very well, she had heard much about her as she had caused much controversy across Westeros. When Aegon had married Heleana is seemed as though they could not have any children, and only a year later he was wed to Veleana. Many disagreed with him having two wives, others believed Aegon having two sister wives as Aegon the Conquerer had to be fate.

In the end Princess Velaena wed her older brother at the age of five and ten, and gave him three children. Her aunt was only two years older, and Daena could not be more grateful that her mother had chosen to wait for her to be older before making her wed. Even now her mother had not discussed the topic of marriage, though her and Jace expected to be wed soon.

"It has been too long. I hardly even recognize you." Valaena continued acting as if they had been close before.

Daena did not want to assume the worst of her aunt, after all she did not know her. But her kindness seemed like an act that was well perfected, so perfected that Valaena Targaryen seemed to believe it herself.

Or maybe Daena had chosen to believe that all of the Queen's children were just as cruel as she was. It was a terrible prejudice to have considering that her aunt Helaena had always been kind.

And kindness was difficult to find. Especially in King's Landing.

A/N: During act two I will be adding some new original characters. You already met Alleras earlier in the story and he will have a big role to play. But Valaena will be a character that I am planning a spin off for. So although you won't see too much of her here, she will be a lot more fleshed out in her own story.