Alysanne Targaryen

## Princess Alysanne Targaryen

Princess **Alysanne Targaryen** (244 AC - Present) is the sister of King Aegon VI. Formally styled as **Alysanne of the House Targaryen, the Mistress of Whispers** or **Her Royal Highness the Princess Alysanne of the House Targaryen**, she is one of many Targaryen woman, but she is different from those who came before her in fundamental ways. Similar to her namesake, the good Queen Alysanne, Princess Alysanne is loved by her brother’s subjects but is easily as ruthless as the Dragon Lords of old.

## Biography

### **Birth**

Princess Alysanne was born a mere year after her older brother, Aegon. It is said that the same joy that filled the hearts of the common folk when the heir, Aegon was born, filled the streets again when the young princess was born. Her birth was easy, and they say Jenna Targaryen fondly smiled into the eyes of her baby girl, holding her up and claiming her the joy of the kingdom.

They had a future ruler, and now they had a beautiful princess to faun over. In truth, King Jaehaerys II and his lady life, Lady Jenna Targaryen (née Tyrell) couldn’t be any luckier. To have birthed two healthy and happy children, a boy and a girl, was a celebration in itself. And thus, the first year of Alysanne’s life was spent with revelry and joy throughout Westeros. The promise of the future burned brightly in the seven kingdoms, with the birth of two Targaryens and the hope for the future, to erase the past wrongs of the Dragon Dynasty and the Mad King.

Just as her brother, before her, Alysanne was given straight to the care of their beloved governess of Tarth, Mariyanna Orkwood. Also, like her brother, Alyssane never wanted for anything in her early years. Deeply materialistic as a child, Alysanne would oft be found with her various dolls, or trailing in the footsteps of her brother, causing an ambience of problems for the future sovereign. Alysanne was particularly fond of her older brother, and it should be noted that she was oft seen in his company, whereas the young prince was content to be on his own.

### **Early Life**

Alysanne Targaryen’s laughter was hardly a rare sound in the Red Keep during the early years of her life. Rowdy and rambunctious, the Princess was instantly a handful for the family’s governess and was cherished deeply by those close to the royal family and common folk alike.

One memory surfaces when thinking about the young dragon, and is a tale that is told across taverns in Westeros from admirers and amused folk alike. When young, hardly more than a babe, the princess decided that she was going to be a knight. Naturally, a small girl of five years of age could simply not be a member of the Kingsguard, but the girl took it upon herself to protect her father. Armed with a stick, Alyssane Targaryen became the fiery protector of her father, accompanying his Kingsguard everywhere. Alas, the knights spent most of their time keeping the child away from sharp objects, and her time as a knight was short lived. Although, the stick used by the princess as a mock blade is told to still be in her chambers, as a fond reminder of gentler times and a young daughter’s devotion.

A reminder indeed. Just two years later, at the tender age of seven, Alysanne felt her life fall apart before her eyes. Her father had never been close to her, but Alysanne had always admired the stoic man and looked up to him. His death left Alyssane inexplicably confused and left with questions of morality. Lonely and discouraged, her beloved brother was the solace needed. However, Jenna Targaryen and Lord Tytos II Lannister had different plans. The Lannister man became the regent of the future King. Slowly but surely, Alyssane was pushed to the side. Her mother’s sole focus became her son, and her attempts to fashion him into a ruler.

Alysanne found herself alienated and isolated after the death of her father, and any comfort found in her brother was short-lived. She found herself focusing on natural pursuits for a Princess but still was never an obedient child. She acted out desperately, in attempts to instil her mother’s attention. Still beloved by the people, Alyssane found comfort in her own vanity. Armed only with her wits and developing beauty, Alysanne began to become a public presence in the capital city, happy to manipulate the common folk into giving her much needed affection.

It should be noted that Alyssane was never mistreated. She was simply a very vain child and found the lack of affection from her mother and brother to be a wound that needed healing. Even though her beloved governess still roamed the palace, along with countless other ladies and lords alike, Alysanne was more focused on pursuits of a royal sort, unwilling to sully herself with the dullness of bickering lords and ladies.  The princess was just 11-year-olds at this time but was quickly titled as the young dragoness and a friend to the people. Meanwhile, back at court, she was seldom seen. When seen by the ladies and lords of the court, the Targaryen princess was quick to praise and even quicker to win friends. None were smart enough to expect foul play from the sweet-hearted princess, who was a mere child. Her mind could simply not be cunning enough to be thinking about politics already. Yet, they were proven wrong in the coming years. Alas, the folly of the old compared to the mind of the young and proud is never an even challenge.

### **Majority**

Alysanne was fourteen when her brother was crowned King. She was said to have a pensive expression on her face when her brother was crowned, but her expression softened in remembrance of the boy she had once played with. After her brother’s coronation, Alyssane celebrated the coronation as strongly and merrily as any other in the realm. Seldom was she seen without a smile in the days after Aegon IV’s crowning.

Per Diem, Alysanne bloomed into her Targaryen beauty. She had developed the spirit of Old Valyrian Dragonlords, which was a trait that bloomed just as quickly as her budding beauty. Instead of developing the typical traits of a Westerosi woman, Alysanne was always as rampant and wild as wildfire. She refused to her life as an obedient wife to some lord, or to be wedded off after her first flowering. The Princess set her eyes upon the title of Queen, and attempted to seduce her brother into a family marriage, as was often done with their families in the past, but gave up after seeing the licentious habits of her brother firsthand.

Discouraged, some of the ever-burning fire in Alysanne was rumoured to go out. But, that was the most blatant lie ever told. Her passion was directed elsewhere, as the Princess realized she would have to take less traditional routes to power. In the past, she had relied exclusively on her name to get matters resolved, but Alysanne slowly began to build rings of spies, and dabble in the art of cons and visages.

A friend of the common folk and nobility alike, it was far too easy for Alyssane to develop her own ring of spies and find out about rumours. What was shocking was the discovery that she was good at secretly meddling in matters, and learning about rumours. As a child, she had oft been manipulative and cunning, but those unsavoury traits worked in the Princess’s favour, as her ring of spies grew and encompassed areas outside of Kings Landing and Westeros.

Alysanne was 15 when she barged into a Small Council meeting and demanded to be made Mistress of Whispers. Whether her request was obliged or not made no difference. From then on, Princess Alyssane was self-titled as the Mistress of Whispers and always found a way to join Small Council meetings.

The true testament of her proneness towards manipulation and meddling from the shadows was the fact that Alyssane always managed to keep her public image positive, even as she caused problems and meddled in affairs behind the scenes. Her persuasion and ranking as a Princess made it impossible to hate the woman, even if she was a vastly different person behind the scenes. Power was still something Alyssane had set her eyes upon, but she settled down in her older years. Less vain and more thoughtful, Alyssane grew into her womanhood and titles, just as her brother grew into his title of King.

Alysanne's true colours only reveal themselves around those she trusts, which is limited to the Small Council and her brother. Deeply distrustful of her mother, Alysanne is often plotting around or against her mother, Jenna Targaryen. The wounds of Jenna’s fixation upon Aegon as children never truly left Alyssane, and even though Alyssane understands why her mother did what she did, there is still a grudge that logic cannot hide or fix.

The only person Alyssane implicitly trusts is herself. While she is more truthful with the Small Council, she is wary of sharing such things. Aegon has her utmost respect, but there are still some secrets kept from her dear brother. As is the way for a Master of Whispers, or as Alyssane prefers to be known as a Mistress of Whispers.

It is said that when a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin. If that is true, the coin tossed for Alysanne Targaryen is perpetually suspended between heads and tails. She has the madness of any Dragonlord of Old, but the spirit of any good Westerosi. Together, the two sides of the woman come together to form a woman who is universally beloved but feared for her sadistic nature that appears in the form of punishment. It is easy to forgive her more brash nature when faced with the copious charm and alluring beauty. Alyssane wields her beauty like a fine-honed blade, keeping it fresh and usable.

This sadistic nature is proved in her loyalty to her family, for reasons unknown besides familiar loyalty. A harlot once claimed to be carrying her brother’s son in her womb. To have such a bastard, so early in his reign, would be disastrous to the Targaryen family, and Alysanne's own pride as a loyal sister and a devoted ally to the King. A quick-thinking Alyssane commandeered the woman to walk through a gauntlet of flames, claiming that "any woman carrying the seed of the dragon would not burn". The unborn babe and his mother burned, as such a claim was ridiculous. But, Alysanne was adamant. Swift was the woman’s death, as Alyssane ordered her shot through the head with the bolt of a crossbow, thus ending the suffering of the burning woman and her unborn babe. The flames burned in Alyssane Targaryen’s eyes, as she decreed that any of her brother’s whores trying to give their children a bid for the throne would have to walk the same path of flame, and would not be granted her mercy.

The Princess was told to have then stepped on the charred body, studying the husk of the woman, before repeating her family words in a tone that hushed those gathered. Fire and Blood, indeed. The common folk somehow spread this rumour throughout the taverns and brothels of Westeros, but it was hard to believe the kindly princess had done such a thing. Still, this only added to her reputation with the common people. Their beloved princess now had a controversy on her hands, and perhaps a backbone, if the words that were spoken were true. Never one to douse a fire, when asked, Princess Alyssane was rumoured to simply smile and talk of her loyalty to the King of Westeros, before changing the subject in her typical manner of smiles and compliments.

Her family is not something to be trifled with. Alysanne and her brother were both raised to be fiercely proud of their title and status as Targaryens. Even if she is loyal to family, Alyssane hardly counts her mother as family. Her mother was born a Tyrell and therefore does not share the blood of Old Valyria. Or, that’s what Alyssane tells herself to nurse the ever-burning fires of resentment towards Jenna. Her brother sorely missed their mother when she was sent away, but Alyssane never shed a tear for the woman. Twas unbefitting for a dragon to mourn but a simple rose impersonating a dragon.

Growing strong? Hardly. Alysanne’s distaste for her mother carried into her adult life, but the young Princess was nothing, if not civil to her extended Tyrell family. Her distaste for Jenna Tyrell never truly became widely known, but it is not uncommon to watch the Princess undermine her mother when she is brought up in conversation.

## Titles, Styles and Honours

### **Titles and Styles**

* **244 AC - Present** - *Her Royal Highness the Princess Alysanne of the House Targaryen*