CHAPTER 1: The Beginning

The wailing of a baby could be heard from deep within the forest as well as the hushing after it. In the midst of the forest, there was a woman, a little girl, and a baby. It was an unusual sight. The woman and the girl were covered in grime and blood, and the baby was wrapped in a dirty blanket. The little girl was clinging on her skirts as she looked warily around the forest, scared of the noises the animals made.

The woman was trying to calm the baby down, she rocked him as she hummed a lullaby. The baby was hungry, yet the woman had nothing to give to the child. Their boat had shipwrecked, tossing over their food and gold to the bottom of the ocean. The woman glanced around, hoping no vicious animals were nearby.

The woman, Daena, had a moment of sudden revelation. She was happy she continued to carry her trusty Valyrian dagger beneath her skirts. With a weapon, Daena knew she could hunt and feed the children.

Daena turned to the little girl, Rhaenys, who was holding onto the folds of her dress.

"Rhae…" she cooed, trying to get the girl to face her.

Rhaenys looked up, her head tilted in a questioning manner.

"I want you to hold Aegon for a minute," Daena said, but before she could complete her sentence, Rhaenys shook her head violently. Her deep purple eyes filled with panic, she didn't want Daena to leave, like her mother.

"Oh darling, I'm not going to leave you here," Daena said, in a soft and calm voice. "I only want you to sit here with Aegon until I come back with food for us." She said, gesturing towards a log in front of them.

Rhaenys slowly nodded her head in agreement. She sat down on the log and held out her hands for her brother.

"Be careful with him." Daena muttered, as she gently placed Aegon in Rhaenys' arms.

Daena took her dragon-glass dagger out from her thigh holster and walked deeper into the forest. Her stomach growled, and she instinctively held her hand against it. I must get something for the children to eat, she mused.

She kept her feet light as she walked over the roots and through the dampened ground. Daena was glad Ser Barristan Selmy had taught her how to hunt and fight, regardless of what her father thought.

The trees stood utterly still, where no leaf dared to fall, and dark shadows caressed her face. Daena closed her eyes and breathed in the earthy scent of fresh rain on dry soil. She breathed out and looked around, the green foliage had fresh morning dew over it. A long time had passed since she wandered in the forest.

Daena shook thoughts about wandering and admiring the forest out of her head. She had to focus on the task at hand, which was getting food for the children. Daena's hand gripped the dagger tight.

From the corner of her eye, Daena noticed a bush twitching and rustling. With the balls of her feet, she walked close to it, as not to scare the animal. She was a few meters away when she saw it was a rabbit, a fat and juicy one. She bent her wrist toward her forearm and with a quick snap, the dagger flew towards the bush.

Daena made her way to grab the dead rabbit. Ah, the rabbit was fat, enough for both of us, she thought. Now, all she needed was a few berries for Aegon as he was still small and couldn't consume meat.

Her eyes roamed around the forest, and by a large oak tree, Daena saw a raspberry bush. Perfect, she thought, I am awfully lucky today. She traipsed towards the bush and set the dead rabbit by her feet. Daena ripped a large swatch of fabric from the skirts of her dress and started picking the fresh berries. Once she thought it was enough, she tied the fabric like a pouch and grabbed the rabbit by her feet.

With a brisk pace, she made her way to the children. As Daena reached the clearing, she saw little Rhaenys seated right where she left her. She was rocking her brother in her arms and her eyes perked up at the sight of Daena's arrival.

"I got food for us," Daena said, holding up the rabbit and the pouch. Rhaenys smiled at the thought of food, it had been far too long since they had a hot meal.

Daena set the rabbit down by the log and held out arms for Aegon. "Rhae, why don't you grab some branches for the fire, I'll feed Aegon in the meantime."

Rhaenys nodded and gave Aegon to her aunt, before running to the edge of the clearing.

"Don't go too far!" Daena called out. All she got back was a small grunt.

Daena laughed to herself and she ceased it when she saw her nephew, his lilac eyes were watery, and he looked pale. We have to find someone or someplace to stay and fast, she thought, worried.

She put Aegon in her lap and took out a single berry from the pouch. Daena knew babies required mother's milk, but with Elia gone, there was no way she could provide that for Aegon. Then, she recalled a Maester speaking about giving mashed items to babies was an easier way to feed them.

Daena crushed it between her fingers and held out a single digit towards Aegon's mouth. He ate it and cooed, loving the flavour of the berries. One by one, she fed Aegon all the raspberries.

She looked up and saw Rhaenys happily running around the forest. Rhaenys was gathering branches and tinder into a pile in the middle of the clearing.

"Rhae, I think that's enough," she said. "Here, hold Aegon. I will cook the rabbit."

Rhaenys stopped in her tracks and dropped the remaining branches into the pile, before making her way to her aunt. Daena placed the baby into Rhaenys' arms. She cooed at the baby.

Daena gutted and skinned the rabbit quickly, it wasn't as precise as she wanted. She wasn't experienced at skinning animals, only at hunting. The servants back at Kings Landing usually did butchering and cooking. Daena picked up a granite rock from the side of the log and used it to create a fire. As the fire raged, she skewered a long piece of meat on a branch and held it over the flame.

The meat cooked under heat and Daena looked up at the blue sky. The sunlight filtered through the tall trees, casting shadows all around. When the meat finished cooking, Daena gave half of it to Rhaenys and ate the remaining half. She continued the process several times, until they finished the rabbit meat.

With their stomachs full, Daena and the children now had energy to walk through the forest and to find civilization. Daena cradled Aegon in her right arm and clutched Rhaenys hand in the other. The trio walked cautiously through the forest, avoiding large roots and vicious animals.

It was almost evening as Daena and the children trekked through the forest for hours. As they rested on a large block of wood, a breeze of wind brought the scent of crisp, salty air towards them. None of them drank water for hours, and their throats were dry. Daena abruptly stood up, cradled a sleeping Aegon, and shook a drowsy Rhaenys awake. She walked at a determined pace, Daena knew there would be people at the shoreline.

With every step they took, the scent of salt got stronger, and Daena knew they were on the right track.

At last, they were behind a bush when Daena spied a man, an odd-looking man. He was working on an unfinished boat, a boat that looked unlike the ones they had back in Westeros and the Free Cities. The boat had twin, large hulls which were long and narrow. The man was bald, thin and tall, quite taller than any of the nobles or peasants back in Westeros. Regardless, the sight of a man meant that there would be civilization nearby as well as food and water.

Daena let go of Rhaenys hand and brought her hand up to shift the branches away, to get a better look. Rhaenys whimpered and clutched her skirt once again. The man's head snapped to the side and he got up, yet he didn't turn around. Daena decided it would be best if she showed herself, instead of spying at the man with the risk of getting attacked.

She stepped out from behind the bush and cleared her throat. The man finally turned around and he looked terrifying with black kohl lined around his eyes, bald with a long, scraggly beard.

Note:The story starts off right after Rhaegar loses to Robert at the Trident and as for Vikings, its right after Ragnar came back from his trip to England with Athelstan.This is a AU where both Rhaenys and Aegon were both saved. Our OC Daena Targarean is the sister of Rhaegar, younger by 3 years, we'll get into more of her backstory as the story progresses.