Daena Bittersteel

Daena Bittersteel is the only daughter of Rhaegar Bittersteel and Roslin Osgrey, and the former heir apparent to Harrenhal.

## History

Daena Bittersteel, born Daena Flowers, was born to Lord Rhaegar Bittersteel (then Rhaegar Rivers) and Roslin Osgrey at Coldmoat. Rhaegar had fallen for Roslin at the Tourney of Tumbleton, naming her the Queen of Love and Beauty after winning, and thus he decided to follow the Osgrey household back to Coldmoat. Rhaegar and his friends, now hedge knights, offered themselves in service to the Lord Osgrey.

A lengthy courtship followed, though Roslin and Rhaegar were smitten with each other and soon Roslin grew pregnant. The Lord Osgrey would not allow Roslin to wed a bastard, however, and thus Daena was born a Flowers. She was named after the great Blackfyre queen, the Realm’s Delight. From the start, she was intelligent, learning quickly how to walk and speak and later, how to read. She spent the first four years of her life at the castle where she’d been born with her mother and her father, who was then a knight sworn to Lord Osgrey.

When she was four years old, however, her father left, to return to Harrenhal and see his father and bastard sons there. While he was gone, war broke out, erupting across Westeros, and House Bittersteel, her father included, was caught in the thick of it, though she was too young to understand that at the time. All she knew then was that her father was gone, and she wanted him back.

Then, in 270, when Daena was five years old and the war had been raging for months, everything changed in one night. In one night, the king was dead, the war was over, and she and her parents were suddenly one of the most powerful families in Westeros. Her parents were finally, blessedly wed, and both Rhaegar and Daena were legitimized by royal decree. She had gone from a nameless bastard girl to the heiress of House Bittersteel.

As Daena grew up in the halls of Harrenhal, she began to learn from her father, being taught the ways of logistics, government and politics. At the same time, her mother taught her how to act, how to smile, how to be a perfect lady. She took to both sets of lessons with enthusiasm, though she was more interested in those she receives from her father. She was also taught High Valyrian, a remnant of their family’s heritage, and soon spoke it just as well as the common tongue.

Not long after, Daena began a love affair with information after discovering the many books in the library of Harrenhal. She became curious, though this trait was often hidden well behind her polite and courtly mask, and eventually developed into a persistent interest in espionage.

When she was thirteen, she saw her half-brothers in the yard practicing swords, and decided that she wanted to be able to defend herself as well. The world was a dangerous place, after all, especially for women. She couldn’t use a sword, of course, but daggers are easily hidden in a lady’s skirts. She enlisted her eldest half-brother, Cailan, to help her learn, and he was happy to help.

Two years later, shortly after Daena turned fifteen, her father offered her as a bride to the young King Daemon. However, he spurned her in favor of his cousin Daenerys, and Daena lost her chance to become queen. Anger and hurt began to blossom in her chest.

Not long after, Daena left Harrenhal to travel to King’s Landing with her father, to celebrate King Daeron III Blackfyre’s sixteenth nameday, and his true ascendency to the throne.