GAEMON TARGARYEN had been born with tragedy in his blood. 

When he was merely half a year old, his uncle Laenor wed his aunt Rhaenyra, and at the feast, Joffrey Lonmouth died at the hands of Criston Cole. Criston Cole was removed from the Kingsguard and sent to the wall. There was nothing so sacred as a wedding, and to kill a man at a wedding was to ask for death. He should have been put to death, all knew it. But as he had been a member of the Kingsguard, and the protector of Queen Alicent's, he was dismissed and ordered to take the Black instead.

Well, initially he had. But he had never actually gone North. Instead, Queen Alicent persuaded her husband to name him the Lord Commander following Harrold Westerling's death in 117 AC. Rhaenyra and Laenor both never forgive him.

Though the marriage was not all bad. Rhaenyra and Laenor were quite well suited to each other, despite the obvious objections. Shortly after Gaemon's first nameday, a babe was born to Laenor and Rhaenyra. And his name was Jacaerys Velaryon.

As boys, they were friendly with each other. Driftmark and Dragonstone were not so far away from each other. Gaemon lived on Driftmark with his family, while Jace lived on Dragonstone with his. Gaemon had two sisters. Baela, born a year before Gaemon, and Rhaena, born two and a half years after Gaemon. Some whispered that they were Aegon and his sisters born again. If that was true, Gaemon hoped for a happier ending.

In his youth, Gaemon spent some time as a squire for Ser Gwayne Hightower in Oldtown, together with his younger cousin Prince Daeron. Daeron was the youngest son of King Viserys, together with his second wife Alicent Hightower. Gwayne Hightower was her brother, and to enforce Daemon's loyalty, Queen Alicent had his only son sent away to be raised in Oldtown. Though a kind and shy boy, Gaemon knew when to act out. And he had hated it in Oldtown, so he set fire to Gwayne's robes once, and was quickly sent back to Driftmark. When he was seven years old, he returned home. 

As they were brother and sister, there were whispers that Gaemon and Baela would be wed. And truly that had never even been considered, as in 118 AC, seven year old Baela was betrothed to five-year-old Jace, and both three years old, Lucerys and Rhaena were betrothed as well. 

Gaemon was glad for these arrangements, for there was now no sister left for him to marry.

"To strengthen the family line," Viserys had ushered. "For that very same reason, Prince Gaemon will wed Princess Helaena, mine own daughter," That was the first day that the cracks between the sides of the family were beginning to show. Gaemon would have been betrothed Helaena Targaryen, though Queen Alicent forbade it. Gaemon later declared he would have been happy to wed his cousin Helaena, if that had saved her from the fate she would soon suffer: being Aegon's wife.

("You may do as you wish, husband. When I am cold in my greave," Queen Alicent had supposedly said.) 

And so no betrothal was made for Gaemon, while Helaena was betrothed to her brother, Aegon, instead. Two years later they were wed and not even a year after that, Helaena birthed twins. Prince Jaehaerys and Princess Jaehaera. A future king, the Hightowers' whispered from in the shadows, born with his wife attached to his hip (and an extra finger).

Driftmark had always been his home. A fortnight before Gaemon turned eight, his mother died. And then his father wed Rhaenyra Targaryen, at the very beginning of 120 AC. The relation between Gaemon and Rahenyra was confusion, so he always just called her aunt. 

Where Gaemon had been born very early into the year, his new half-brother Aegon had been born very late into the year. That was, the very last moon of 120 AC had been the place of his birth. After the moon had turned and a new year had begun, only then did Gaemon start to warm to his baby brother.

So now, he lived at Dragonstone. Rhaenyra was the heir to the Iron Throne, after all. The Princess of Dragonstone. Though Gaemon was called the Prince of the Tides by the smallfolk. The little boy was loved by all, noble and common alike. He loved to run around the markets in Dragonstone and Driftmark, and this is where he first met Addam of Hull. A boy near his own age, he bore a striking resemblance to Gaemon's grandfather Corlys. Addam had a younger brother as well, a boy named Alyn. And Alyn in turn resembled Gaemon.

By 127 AC, Gaemon is almost a man at five and ten. A great feast is held in honour of his cousin Maelor's birth, and here it is that Gaemon sees his cousins Aegon, Helaena, Aemond and Daeron for the first time in years. They are no longer the children he grew up with, now they are spiteful teenagers with a vendetta against Rhaenyra. Dragon's blood calls to each other, but theirs was poisoned by Hightower lies.

Gaemon was a dragon of the Tides. He loved to ride in the skies, atop of his great dragon Vermithor, but he also loved to sail and seek adventures. One day, he'd sail to Old Valyria. Returning was not part of his plans. And he'd take Jacaerys with him, of course. 

(And that, Mushroom wrote, is how the affair between the Prince of the Tides and the heir's heir began.)

Gaemon Targaryen, Kit Young

112 AC / The Prince of the Tides, The Rogue's Son, Gaemon the Seaborn

Jacaerys Velaryon, Harry Collett

113 AC / Heir's heir, Lord Strong, Jacaerys the Valiant

Baela Targaryen, Bethany Antonia

111 AC / She-dragon, Princess of Waves, Baela the Brave

Rhaena Targaryen, Phoebe Campbell

115 AC/ Lady Dragonheart, Rhaena the Beautiful

Lucerys Velaryon, Elliot Grihault

115 AC / Son of Storms, Prince of Driftmark

Morrigan Flowers, Kaitlyn Dever

110 AC / The Unwilling Septa, Lady Flowers

daemon targaryen matt smith / rhaenyra targaryen emma d'arcy / alicent hightower olivia cooke / viserys targaryen paddy considine / corlys velaryon steve toussaint / rhaenys targaryen eve best / criston cole fabien frankel / otto hightower rhys ifans / aegon targaryen tom glynn-carney / aemond targaryen ewan mitchell / helaena targaryen phia saban / cregan stark tom taylor