She didn't remember when was the first time she submerged into the sea or when she learned to dive to the depths to get oysters. But she did remember the first time she found a pearl.

She was eight years old and had escaped before dawn towards the beach. It was difficult to keep her in her bedroom at those early hours of the morning, and she never missed a chance to go out while the rest were still sleeping. Behind her, a brown Labrador puppy tried clumsily to keep up with her.

"Shh... Jaws, they will discover us," she ran back to the dog and picked him up, continuing her way, "You're getting too heavy for this now."

Jaws was her adventure companion, she had rescued him four months ago. She had escaped to see the sunrise at the beach; she liked to watch how the sun warmed the water while wetting her feet at the shore. That morning, a hooded man threw a sack into the sea that made strange noises. Without hesitation, she ran towards the spot and dove into the waves. By the time she managed to bring the bundle to the shore, it was too late.

Inside the cloth, there was a litter of puppies, and they all had drowned, or so she thought. From the bag, she heard faint cries, and among the bodies of his siblings, Alyssa found the little Jaws alive.

Her mother was furious when she saw her coming to the palace, soaked from head to toe, with the little puppy held against her chest.

"What did you expect me to do, let him die with his siblings?" the little girl said indignantly.

"That dog will grow huge and stink up the whole house," her mother replied.

"A dragon grows enormous, and they smell a thousand times worse!" Corlys couldn't help but laugh at the situation. His daughter was right; what size could that dog reach compared to her mother's dragon, let alone her sister's? Alyssa smiled at her father, knowing that she had won the argument with that laughter. She obediently listened to her mother's lecture about responsibility, "No servant will help you take care of it, and the Seven protect you if the dog is not trained properly."

She had to feed the puppy with milk every three hours until he grew enough to eat solids. Since she rescued him, Alyssa and Jaws became inseparable. He turned out to be an intelligent dog, although a bit clumsy due to his age. There was no need to keep him tied up as he followed his owner wherever she went and responded quickly to her call.

Once outside the palace, they both ran through the meadow towards the beach. The dog wagged his tail happily, playing to catch up with his owner, which made her laugh. She could see Meleys sleeping nearby, so she lowered her voice. It was better not to wake her; she didn't want to alert anyone.

On the beach, she approached a rocky area where old nets and ropes hid a small boat. Putting the dog inside the boat, she began to push it towards the water, with drops of sweat spilling from her effort. As she rowed, she hummed the song used by her father's sailors to drop anchor. She had heard it so many times that she knew it by heart. She reached the reef that protected the island as the sun began to rise on the horizon. Smiling, she took off her shoes, rolled up some old pants that once belonged to her brother, and loosened her shirt.

"Don't move from here," she told Jaws in High Valyrian, to which the dog only turned his head.

She dived into the water headfirst with a net bag tied around her waist and sank to the bottom. Her long silvery hair floated gracefully as her dark hands eagerly searched for oysters and other mollusks. With several in each hand, she pushed herself back to the surface, storing her treasure in the bag. Like a sea serpent, she emerged from the surface with the sunlight welcoming her and making her lilac eyes shine. She heard a splash the next time she dived, and she saw Jaws swimming around her, diving into the depths with her. The dog brought up to the surface anything he found at the bottom, happy to help his owner. The Labrador loved the water, which was quite ironic considering how he was rescued.

The sun separated from the sea as the bag hanging from the young girl's waist began to weigh considerably. When she pushed herself to the surface after her last dive, she saw the hull of a merchant ship darkening the sun. She recognized those planks anywhere and smiled, lifting her head from the water and shouting with all her might:

"Ahoy, the ship!"

The vessel veered to avoid her small boat. On the port rail, a tall, bearded man with brown hair and violet eyes smiled at her.

"Sailors, we are lucky! We just found a mermaid. Bring a couple of ropes!" the man's voice resonated.

Laughter echoed from the ship. With agility, she grabbed one of the ropes and tied it to the small boat while she fastened the other one to the dog, creating a harness. She watched as the sailors hoisted her furry friend onto the ship, while she climbed up the boarding stairs. Once on deck, the dog shook himself, splashing water on those who were closest. With a smile, she untied him and headed towards the captain. Brego had a distant kinship with her father; they both had joined the same crew when they were kids. Since then, they had a brotherly relationship that even her uncle Vaemond envied.

"What were you doing in the water at this hour? Your parents are going to kill you," he said, shaking the girl's hair.

"Only if they find out," she smiled innocently, approaching her father and saying, "really wanted to eat oysters, so I decided to bring a few for the cook."

Brego couldn't help but burst into laughter. The young lady of Driftmark was anything but a lady. She caused her septa a lot of trouble, escaping whenever she could to the sea. It seemed as if the Seven had punished her by giving her lungs instead of gills since she spent all the time she could in the water, swimming, diving, jumping from cliffs... And sometimes, when she felt complete, she pleased the sun with beautiful songs that she sang perfectly.

To her father's pride, the girl showed the Velaryon genes. Some said that she had salt and seafoam running through her veins. It wasn't the first time he had found her in the water when he sailed along the coasts of Driftmark with his ship. Even when he had to leave on a long voyage, he had heard her sing a farewell song. They called her the Velaryon mermaid, some sailors did. But it was the first time he had seen her in the water at this hour. Alyssa was like the sea, untamed. With her, you could only go with the flow, as swimming against the current was in vain.

"You should check if the oysters have pearls before giving them to the cook"  said Brego, smiling at the girl's furrowed brow.

"Do pearls come from there?" She said, scratching her head.

"Of course, where else?"  the captain laughed.

"Then the cook must have kept hundreds of them!" she exclaimed in alarm "Now I understand why he keeps asking me to bring some whenever I can."

Her grumpy expression was so endearing that it could melt the heart of the fiercest sailor. With grace, Brego extended his hand for the girl to give him an oyster, and with a simple wooden-handled knife, he showed her how to open it to look for the jewel. A cry of astonishment came from the girl when she saw the silver oval come out of the mollusk's flesh.

"Is it that easy?" she said in amazement, getting closer to the pearl to examine it up close.

"You just have to open them with the knife and search in their flesh" Brego said, handing her the dagger by the handle.

"For me?" her eyes lit up as she held the knife in her hands.

"Why not, all yours. But be careful not to cut yourself; I don't want your father to kill me" he spoke as he watched the young girl sit next to the starboard railing and started to open her oysters  "I'm not sure if this was a good idea..."

As the galleon reached the port, the crew began to furl the sails, singing the song that the young girl knew so well. Alyssa's voice rose among the sailors, and Brego couldn't help but look at her with pride. Seeing her sitting on the floor next to her dog gave goosebumps to those who listened.

"My mother told me 

Someday I will buy Galleys with good oars 

Sail to distant shores

 Stand up on the prow 

Noble barque I steer 

Steady course to the heaven 

Hew many foe-men (bis)"

When the ship docked at the port, Alyssa couldn't help but exclaim, "Uh-oh." Her father was there to welcome his friend after the long journey. The smile on Corlys Velaryon's face froze when he saw his daughter and Jaws descending with his friend from the ship's plank. As if she were not involved in any trouble, she walked alongside the captain, innocently smiling, and before standing in front of her father, she said.

"Well, Uncle Brego, I'll come back to get my boat later"  she greeted her father with a nod  "Father."

And before he could say anything, she passed by him, as if it had nothing to do with her.

"Alyssa Velaryon, come back here right now!" High tide's lord shouted.

But the only response he got was the girl's laughter as she started running towards the castle, followed by her dog. Brego could only laugh at the audacity of his best friend's daughter as he approached him and gave him an affectionate hug.

"I don't know what to do with that girl. At this rate, it will be impossible to find her a husband" the father lamented.

"Poor man who tries to tame her!" the two friends looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.

The sun touched the water again, this time to hide and give way to the moon. In the palace's hall, Corlys tried to have a serious conversation with his daughter, while his wife supported him from a distance. The girl looked angrily at the blue dress she had been forced to wear, while furiously scratching her head where the handmaid had tied her braids too tightly. In one of her dress pockets, she kept a little bag with the pearls she had obtained that morning, her little treasure. Jaws lay by the fire, enjoying the caresses his mother made behind his ears - a little traitor, she thought.

"Darling, it's time to grow up. You can't escape from your septa; you have to learn to behave like a lady, or you'll never find a husband."

"But I don't want to get married; I'm too young for that " she said defiantly, looking into her father's eyes.

"Yes, you're still young, but before that, there's the engagement" he knelt before her "Wouldn't you like to be engaged to a good man?"

"Engaged?" she frowned at the new word.

"Being engaged is a very nice stage, where your suitor showers you with gifts" he said, trying to convince her "Who knows, you might even find your true love. Wouldn't you like that? Some time ago, when the king came to ask for your brother's hand, he also asked for yours. He wanted to engage you to Prince Aemond. Your mother and I told him we would think about it. Wouldn't you like to be a princess?"

"Why would I want to be a princess? If I were one, I would have to leave Driftmark, and I like living here " she said sadly "Besides, what kind of gift could they give me that you couldn't?"

"The most beautiful flowers, jewelry, pearls..." That last part caught her attention.

Did suitors give pearls like the ones she had in her pocket? With a smile on her lips, she searched eagerly for the bag. Her father's face brightened with triumph. He had finally captured his daughter's attention; if that simple excuse convinced her to take her lessons with the septa, he would be happy. But not everything was that easy.

"Father, don't worry. You don't even need to accept the king's proposal" she said as she opened the bag "look, the sea has given me pearls. Does that mean it's engaged to me?"

Alyssa couldn't stop smiling, showing all her teeth as she happily shook the small bag, making the pearls inside resonate.

"Father, stop searching" her gaze was serious "He is my true love; I will marry him and never have to leave Driftmark."

Corlys Velaryon was left speechless by his daughter's logic, and Rhaenys Targaryen couldn't help but burst into laughter. Alyssa was unique."

***

"We begin this adventure, first of all, thank you all for reading and voting. I want to clarify that the story will be built gradually. So don't expect to see Aemond in the next chapter. For now, enjoy the introduction of our two main characters, Jaws and Alyssa, the duo we will follow in this fanfic."