There was a kind of peace in the Vale. Though the occasional petty squabble stirred now and then, life remained largely quiet—so long as one did not irritate or offend Lady Jeyne.

To be fair, the Vale was a finer place to reside than most... or so the Vale folk would claim. Not all saw eye to eye with the other regions, true, but they did send aid in times of need.

Still, they held no fondness for a certain prince.

Prince Daemon had never been welcome. His marriage to Lady Rhea Royce stood as the perfect example of why no one in the Vale ever warmed to him.

Then, one day, he left. Vanished—after learning his wife was with child.

You.

It had been an arranged match, forged by Queen Alysanne, his grandmother. Neither party wished it, and Daemon's disdain for his wife was no secret. He named her his “bronze bitch” with careless venom.

And yet, when he left—long before you had even begun to grow within your mother’s womb—you still came into the world whole.

Why?

Though born of resentment, you bore his features... but you were your mother’s child in spirit.

And the Vale? They raised you as their own..