𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐁𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 (Aemond Targaryen x Fem!Sand/Martell! OC)
— Chapter II: Red bricks, black waters
AO3 link (kudos & comments are appreciated 💚)
ᴘʀᴏʟᴏɢᴜᴇ || 1 || 2
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As Qoren had predicted, the letter from King's Landing arrived only a couple of days after our raven had left, and it brought with it a positive response.
I happened to be in the Old Palace that afternoon, posing in my niece Aliandra's chambers while she painted my portrait, so I had the good fortune, or misfortune, to read for myself the words from the Hand of the King.
"To the Prince of Dorne and Lord of Sunspear, Qoren Nymeros Martell:
Your approval has pleased his Majesty, Aegon, the Second of his name, and has filled the halls of the Red Keep with joy.
House Targaryen has great respect for House Martell, since for a century they have seen in them a worthy opponent and envied the bravery with which you have faced their dragons. The King believes it is time for our forces to join yours and for the Rhoynar blood, brimming with bravery, to meet his own, and so he celebrates the union of his brother, Prince Daeron Targaryen, with your sister, Lady Alaessa.
That is why King Aegon II invites you and Lady Alaessa to King's Landing and eagerly awaits, as do all of us on the Council, that you leave for the capital as soon as you receive these words.
The Hand of the King, Ser Otto Hightower."
“Very nice words, yes, but did you notice that he didn't dare write my complete name?” I observed with the papyrus in my hand.
“It was the first thing I noticed, sister”. Qoren smiled at me, somewhat sympathetically, and walked over to his daughter. He looked at the portrait she was making carefully and then looked at me, comparing the two. “They're desperate”.
“I know," I agreed, shifting uncomfortably in the chair. “The problem will be when the war is over. What will they do with me then?”
“By then, you'll have Targaryen children and dragons in your possession," Qoren said.
“Alae, would you be quiet?”, Aliandra caught my eye with some annoyance in her voice. She held her pencil in her fingers.
“I'm sorry," I obeyed. I was in enough trouble as it was, without adding my niece's grumpiness.
“They say Daeron is the best of Viserys' sons," Aliandra interjected. “Aegon had to marry his own sister, and they say he spends more time drunk than sober, while the second brother, Aemond, is one-eyed. One of Rhaenyra's children disfigured his face for claiming a dragon”.
“Fucking Targaryen”, I sighed and tried to stand still, though my body was begging me to stand and walk. “They'll either marry or kill each other”.
“Apparently Daeron is handsome”. Both Qoren and I brought our attention to the princess, who was smiling smartly. “What?”, she questioned in annoyance when she noticed our stares. “Alaessa, this is the last time I'm telling you: stand still”.
“He must have got the handsomeness from his mother because, carrying so many generations of incest on his shoulders..." I observed.
I heard my brother burst out laughing. The surprise was so great that even his daughter put down the pencil to turn and look at him in confusion.
“You're right," said Qoren. “It’s a miracle of nature that he’s handsome. I think you'll even have to thank your God if the boy's cock gets hard…”
“Boy?”
There was silence. Aliandra cleared her throat uncomfortably and pretended to keep drawing, though I had already stopped holding the pose. I saw Qoren take a breath of air, as if it had suddenly dawned on him that he had unleashed a storm.
“Tell me, niece," I spoke directly to Aliandra, for I knew my brother was going to evade the question, "how old is Daeron Targaryen?”
Aliandra looked at her father out of the corner of her eye, cursing him inwardly for dragging her into this situation.
“Fifteen”.
“A fucking child”. Jumping to my feet, I closed the distance to my brother, clenching my fists. “You've betrothed me to a fucking child”.
“That 'child' is the age I was when I inherited the title of Prince of Dorne”. For some reason, Qoren had reddened. “At fifteen, I was already allied with the Triarchy in the Stepstones and I was at proxy war against King's Landing. By fifteen I had long since scattered my seed across the pillow houses of Sunspear”.
“You're overlooking the most important thing," I said, mumbling, "all of that, you did with your consent. Daeron Targaryen is being forced to marry a woman nine years older, and he doesn't even know me”.
“You care about a dragon now?” I saw a smug grin break out on my brother's face, and that was a bad sign: the counterattack was coming. “Well, you're getting attached to them faster than I thought”.
The punch went straight to the jaw and Qoren took it without complaint. The prick even let out a chuckle. That's when I decided to walk away.
“Where are you going Alae?”, my niece called me, “I want to finish this drawing today!”
“You'd better draw your father," I replied, barely turning around. “Draw him with that smile of his, and put special detail on the teeth, as I don't think he'll keep them much longer”.
As I crossed the corridor, I heard Qoren's laughter again.
“See you, dearest sister," he teased me. “Tomorrow, we’ll leave for King's Landing. Tell your maid to pack your best clothes”.
And, despite the annoyance and regret that was growing in me by the second, I did as he had said.
We set out for King's Landing at the hour of the nightingale and did so by land, for word had reached us that the Velaryon fleet had taken control of the Narrow Sea. We travelled through the deserts and barren ground of the Red Mountains of Dorne and then into the dense, damp forests of the Stormlands, where we had to kill a horse that had broken its leg after slipt. By the time we reached Storm's End, we were joined by twenty Baratheon knights as custody, and I had to endure my brother cursing them from then on.
Because of the setbacks, it took us nearly a week of ordeal to reach the Crownlands, and by the time we crossed the Kingswood, Qoren's moodiness was almost as insufferable as my own.
The first thing we met in the Capital was an unbearable stench that forced me to close the window, despite the heat. When passing through the King's Gate, the bustle and smell was so strong that Qoren banged on the carriage, demanding the driver to hurry up.
“This city is a shithole," Qoren couldn't sit still in his seat, and I was about to open the door and throw him through it.
“A shithole that will be my home”.
“Let's hope the Red Keep doesn't stink like this. Do you think this is why the river is called ‘Blackwater’?”
“King's Landing has nearly a million people, Qoren”. I sighed, begging for patience. “And those million people must shit every day”.
Holding my breath, I opened the window and peered out as I knew we were approaching the Red Keep. At the end of the narrow street, the red brick building stood monumental on its hill. I was in equal parts awe and fear, as I imagined its dark corridors, its endless rooms, and the ghost of kings and queens roaming them.
Our knights and the Baratheons preceded us carrying banners, and as we waited for the rake of the Keep being lifted, I caught a glimpse of a figure approaching at my window.
The next thing I felt was a spit in my face.
“Fucking Dornishmen," a thick, bald man with all his teeth missing insulted me. “Turn around and go back to your fucking desert, with your fucking scorpions and your fucking spears”.
I was ready to spit back at him, but then I heard the door on Qoren's side and as I turned I saw that my brother had got out of the carriage.
"Fuck, Qoren."
I had to watch as my brother beat the man to a pulp, rolling him in the faecal mud at the same time as a Baratheon knight tried to stop him.
“Let go of me, you bloody deer-fucker!”, Qoren broke free with ease. “Don't touch me with your filthy hooves”.
The commotion then escalated into a sword fight between Dorne and Storm knights, a conflict that had been brewing since the latter had joined us and got so out of hand that the City Watch had to intervene.
"This is pathetic," I thought as I wiped my face with a handkerchief. "Amazing how men are capable of sending diplomacy to the dogs when they feel their pride has been wounded”.
The idiot who had spat at me was taken between three men to the dungeons, and when my brother tried to get into the carriage, I locked the door.
“Oh, no. Don't even think of that with your clothes full of shit," I said. “You can walk from here”.
“I defended your honour," his hair was dishevelled and his yellow silk clothes were torn and dirty.
“I asked nothing of you, Qoren. Once and for all, stop deciding for me”.
The Green Council was to receive us in the afternoon. For my stay, I was appointed spacious and bright rooms in Maegor's Holdfast, the same place where the royal apartments were located and where the Queen Dowager, the King, the Queen, my future husband and the other brother slept. The butler who escorted me there took great pains to emphasise this to me, as if they were granting me some kind of privilege, but, in my opinion, they were only doing so because it was easier to study me if they had me close by.
I asked Nalia, my maid, to put on the purple silk dress that a lover had brought me from Tyrosh, for it matched my eyes and had been dyed with a color that was much sought after in Old Valyria. Over it, I wrapped a crisp shawl of linen and golden thread around me, matching the earrings and heavy necklace of pure gold that I decided to wear. My brother had strictly forbidden me to wear anything green, even though it was the colour of choice in the Red Keep, arguing his demand that he did not want the Hightower to think they had completely bought our support.
Qoren came to meet me, freshly bathed and beard trimmed, wearing the red and orange of our house. He offered me his arm and we made our way to the Council Chamber.
It was there that I met him for the first time, Maester. Yes, I’m talking about Aemond. I first saw him as we walked down the corridor with my brother, and he was coming from the opposite side, with hurried pace and clenched fists.
He was dressed in black leather from head to toe and his silver hair shone with golden highlights in the evening light. I knew he was the Targaryen prince Aliandra had mentioned because of his eye patch and I couldn't help but look at him: his gait exuded a certain magnetism as well as insolence.
With his one eye fixed on a point in front of him, I thought he had not noticed us, but then, as he passed us, I saw his iris glare at me. I held his gaze for that fraction of a second until he was lost behind us, leaving the smell of leather, ash and dragon in his wake.
I don't know what made me turn my head to watch him go, but I regretted immediately as he seemed to have the same impulse and turned as well, causing our eyes to meet again.
"Fuck," I cursed inwardly and turned, swallowing heavily.
“So that's the Kinslayer," my brother commented, passing by.
“What?”, I felt dazed.
“The one-eyed one, I mean," he explained. “A few weeks ago he had his dragon chase down and devour his nephew, the Black Queen's son, on the shores of the Stormlands," Qoren sighed and shook the head. “You should be thanking him for your future marriage, sister. It’s his fault that things among the Targaryen have been complicated of late, and that they’ve had to call on Dorne for support”.
The Green Council greeted us standing at their respective chairs, tense and silent. As soon as I stepped through the door, I noticed everyone's eyes on me. I saw the Queen Dowager inhale uneasily as she rubbed her hands together anxiously, the Hand of the King give a slight bow that seemed forced, and the rest of the members exchange glances with each other. There was also the King, who remained seated, with the crown of the first Aegon on his head, and a tall, silver-haired boy who half-opened his mouth when he saw me arrive.
"My future husband." I cursed Qoren inwardly, once more.
“Welcome to King's Landing, Prince Qoren and Lady Alaessa," Otto Hightower greeted us. “I hope you had a pleasant journey”.
“Well, not necessarily”, my brother didn't even bother to say hello. “The overland journey was long and tedious, full of trouble, and when we arrived in the city we nearly died of shit-smell suffocating”. Qoren took his seat, as did I, and completely ignored the way the Council's mood was beginning to sour. The only one who was amused by my brother's words was the King.
“We are trying to fix that problem, my Prince, but the summer is proving hotter than we expected and... well, this weather can make the smells worse," Ser Otto explained.
“If I may, Ser, that's an excuse”. Apparently, my brother was eagerly to start a fight that day. “It's three times as hot in Sunspear as it is here, but it doesn't stink”.
“We will be delighted if, during your stay, you can give this Council some advice about urban planification," the Queen Dowager interjected, smiling. She was soft-spoken and seemed kind but did not give Qoren room to speak further. “By the way, Maester Mellos is going to be our scribe and will transcribe everything we discuss, for the record, in case our agreement does not come to fruition for any reason," she explained, cleverly. “Lady Alaessa, you are more beautiful than I was told," she added, out of the blue and, surprised, I turned my attention to her.
“Thank you, my lady”.
“‘My Queen’," a white cloak guard, whom I had not noticed until then, corrected me with impertinence.
“No," I spoke directly to the guard. “She’s not my Queen. Dornish people have no kings or queens, only princes and princesses”.
The atmosphere began to grow thick from there, and let me tell you, Maester, it would only get worse.
“She will be your Queen when you marry her son," Aegon spoke for the first time, and watched me with narrowed eyes.
“If anything, she'll be my mother”.
“Princess," a new voice added, and then I knew it was my future husband speaking. Aegon cursed under his breath when he heard him call me that, "You have no idea how lucky I feel to have you as my lady wife”.
I settled back in my chair and hated the silence that followed. Everyone was waiting for me to say something, even Qoren.
“So am I, my prince”.
“Well, I see little point in holding this meeting, when the bride and groom themselves seem to have come to an agreement," Ser Otto said, with some urgency. “Prince Qoren, if you wish, you and Lady Martell may join us for dinner," he added, and it did not take him a second to realise his mistake.
The awkwardness, the dense atmosphere and the eagerness played tricks on the calculating Ser Otto.
“Sand," my brother corrected. “Lady Alaessa Sand”.
“On that note, and with your permission, we plan to legitimize Lady Alaessa by Royal Decree and bestow the Martell name upon her," the Queen Dowager, Alicent, commented.
“Why?” I had to interject, after all, it was me they were talking about. “I don't need to be called Martell to know I'm one of them. Besides, I'm very proud of my bastardy”.
“Proud?” Aegon questioned. “Who the hell would be proud to be a bastard?”
“Any Dornish person, my lord," I countered.
I saw Aegon open his mouth, ready to say something, but Qoren beat him to it.
“In Dorne, bastardy is no shame. Lady Alaessa is the daughter of my father's former paramour, a worthy woman who was also his friend”.
“All the more reason she should be called Martell," Alicent insisted.
“My legitimacy would make me my brother's heir, would it not?” I questioned but received no answer. “Not that I don't trust you, my lords, but in order to safeguard the lives of my brother's children and the independence of Dorne, I prefer to keep my bastardy”.
“It's not about Dorne, my dear.” Alicent Hightower spoke to me in a calm voice, but her brow was furrowed. “We have Prince Daeron's image to look after. It does us no favours for his wife to be a bastard, for it would show weakness in the face of our enemies”.
“In that case," Qoren interjected, "there’s still time to stop this venture. I can marry Alaessa to Rhaeyra Targaryen's youngest son, as I hear he has not yet been betrothed and, like my sister, it is said he’s a bastard, so I don't think the Black Queen will mind”.
"Good move, Qoren," I congratulated him in my thoughts as soon as I saw the entire Green Council turn pale.
“Joffrey Velaryon is six years old," Ser Otto observed.
“Sister, would you be willing to wait ten years to consummate your marriage?”, Qoren asked, complicit.
“Of course, brother," I replied, humouring him.
“Sentencing Lady Alaessa to ten more years of maidenhood would be a punishment for her, Prince Qoren," Maester Mellos countered, speaking for the first time. “She is twenty-four now, so she would not be deflowered until she is thirty-four”.
“It’s nine years since I ceased to be a maiden," I blurted, and suddenly there was a silence as heavy as lead. But I enjoyed it, delighted, as did Qoren beside me.
“Don't write that, Maester," Alicent Hightower ordered.
“I like you, Lady Martell," Aegon said, smiling. Even though he was King and in the middle of a war, he took it all less seriously than he should have.
“If I may say so, this is a small matter, and as far as I know, only I, her future husband, should care about Lady Alaessa's maidenhood," Prince Daeron interjected, to everyone's surprise. “Princess," he insisted on calling me that, "I know these matters are handled differently in your land. Please let me adopt, little by little, your ways”.
I watched as Alicent Hightower's face drained of colour and her eyes widened in perturbation, while King Aegon smiled, delighted, as if the situation were hilarious.
“Any objections?”, asked the Hand of the King, after clearing his throat.
But no one said anything. Perhaps they had given up. Perhaps they were too stupefied to speak.
“We'll see you at suppertime, then”. Qoren stood up and offered me his arm. “It's been a pleasure," he added, haughtily.
We walked away from the Green Council without anyone having the decency to even stand up from their seats. When we opened the door, we saw that on the other side, leaning against the wall, was Aemond Targaryen.
He had been listening, it seemed, and his intention was to be discovered. When he saw us, he looked first at Qoren and then at me, taking more time.
“Are you lost, boy? In your own castle?”, Qoren provoked him with some annoyance in his voice.
But he did not answer. Instead, he uttered an almost imperceptible "hmm" and stalked off the way he had come, walking as if he could carry the world before him. Qoren and I watched him walk away and then started walking too.
“Are we really going to have to have dinner with that child?”, Qoren questioned.
“Surely, he's the King's brother too”.
“Every second I spend in this Keep full of madmen increases my regret that I got you into this," my brother said, and that annoyed me. It was impossible he had been oblivious to the atmosphere in King's Landing up to that point.
No doubt Qoren was trying to lessen his burden of guilt.
“Too late," I said , with a bitter feeling in my throat.
And in fact, dear Maester, it was late but not only for me, but also for Qoren, Daeron and Aemond Targaryen.
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Update for the Dorne fandom...
Hey all. I am an active player of Blood of Dragons MUSH, the ASOIAF roleplaying game run by Elio and Linda of westeros.org fame. For those of you don’t know, a lot of stuff there is made up by them in order to flesh out the time period for the roleplayers, but there’s also some canon details incorporated either from GRRM’s notes or cut content from “The World of Ice and Fire.” The game itself has spanned the years 158 - 169 AC and there are some interesting details about the post-Dance era noted to be canon.
What’s considered canon: Princess Aliandra Nymeros Martell succeeded her father Prince Qoren, and is noted to have had some controversial trading policies with the Iron Throne during the regency of Aegon III. She was noted to have always treated Alyn Velaryon warmly when he visited Dorne as Master of Ships (ironically he would later be instrumental in Daeron I’s Conquest of Dorne), and there were many rumours about the extent of that warmth -- yes, heavily implying a relationship between Alyn and Aliandra in spite of her marriage to Drazenko Rogare (and, of course, his to Baela Targaryen). She is remembered as a controversial figure in Dornish history and her policies were very unpopular with her siblings.
Note: subject to change due to being unpublished (Fire and Blood could retcon this, for example)
Non-canon detalils fleshed out by Elio and Linda that I personally find interesting:
The currency of Dorne during its independence was the “golden sun.”
Prince Qyle, youngest child of Prince Qoren, died at 21 in an “accident” in a botched attempt to overthrow Princess Aliandra.
Aliandra was never supposed to be heir. Her brother Prince Gaynor died at age 19 fighting pirates on the Stepstones mere days before the Dance broke out, leaving behind a 15-year-old widow, Tamsyn Toland. She would later go on to marry Ser Warryn Uller and their daughter Liane would be heir to Hellholt one day.
Prince Qoren had a bastard son called Ser Bastian Sand, “the Bastard of Sunspear.” He married Adara Ladybright and had 5 children also bearing the name Sand despite their legitimacy (like the children of Walder Rivers); 1 was promised to the the Citadel and 2 to the Faith. He died at age 43 in the Conquest of Dorne, at Hellholt.
Prince Qoren’s niece Lyrella Martell was married to Lord Guerin Wyl, who would imprison Prince Aemon in the pit of vipers that King Baelor I saved him from.
Princess Aliandra herself died childless at an “accident” at age 26, conveniently paving the way for the ascension of Princess Coryanne, Prince Qyle’s elder twin. She herself died seven years later at age 31 in a great fall; her paramour Ser Manfryd Qorgyle was imprisoned at Gaston Grey thereafter.
The future Lady of Skyreach, Marcia Fowler, was a lady-in-waiting and good friends to Princess Coryanne. The Princess was also good friends with Damarya Allyrion, the heir to Godsgrace.
Ser Manfryd Qorgyle was actually the nephew of the Princess’s husband Ser Quinlan Qorgyle. Quinlan was the younger brother of the Lord Ganlos Qorgyle who would kill Lord Lyonel Tyrell in a bed of scorpions.
Coryanne had four children: Marence, Cadan, Rhodry, and Ariana. Marence was 13 when she died and so he named Quinlan as regent - the title “Lord Protector of Dorne” was bestowed upon him.
Marence gave up being a squire and was permitted to study at the Citadel (without forging any links) while his widowed father ruled in Sunspear.
Marence was married and widowed twice when he was young, first to Lady Tristana Jordayne, mother of Princess Mariah and Prince Maron, and the sickly Princess Vanora who did not long outlive Lady Tristana dying in childbed at 22. Marence and Tristana did not get along well due to her hot temper. His second wife was Lady Cordelia Yronwood, who he married when she was 14. She died in childbirth at 15 during the Conquest of Dorne, giving birth to Prince Malor.
Prince Cadan and Princess Ariana were two of the hostages sent to King’s Landing upon the Submission of Sunspear.
Prince Rhodry was the one to slay King Daeron by stabbing him in the neck with the pointy end of a peace banner.
Prince Cadan was married to Senara Santagar, heir to Spottswood, but their marriage was extremely complicated. The prince was rumoured to have affairs with many ladies, including Joleta Gargalen, heir to Salt Shore, Kellyn Crakehall Lannister, wife of the heir to Casterly Rock, (both of these are shrouded in at least some layer of mystery, however), and openly with Allia of Lys, who died while she was pregnant with the Prince’s child. By 165 they had separated so poorly that their two children were in different houses: the oldest, Leyla, a Martell, the younger, Aron, a Santagar.
Prince Rhodry had a complicated love life, too. He was paramour to Ser Corentyn Yronwood, but Corentyn was killed by Ser Sarmion “the Stormbreaker” Baratheon in the conquest. During their paramourship he claimed a bastard Lewyn, though Ser Corentyn was rumoured to have an equal chance of fathering the child upon the unknown woman. At the end of the Dornish Rebellion he went to Braavos and came back with Samara Sand, the half-Dornish, quarter-Lyseni, quarter-Dothraki daughter of Ser Mavros Uller (the arch-rival of Ser Quinlan Qorgyle). She bore bastard twins, Oberyn Sand and Roxana Sand, in 162, but they were not claimed until 169, a few months after he was betrothed to Tanyth Toland.
In 163 Lady Linnet Yronwood, the Bloodroyal, rebelled against Prince Marence citing his alleged weakness in the Conquest and Rebellion. Due to crafty use of military tactics she nearly won, but agreed to settle the Yronwood-Martell feud by betrothing her son and heir, Farien, to Princess Ariana. The two married in 167 and their son Cletus was born in 169.
In 166 a feud broke out between the Dalts and the Gargalens after Ser Blaise Dalt, heir to Lemonwood, was killed in a duel by Ser Willum Gargalen due to a dispute over to which house some wells belonged. During a feast of reconciliation, Prince Marence was poisoned. Ser Quinlan took up the regency once more, and the Prince sojourned with Lady Dayne from 166-169.
From 164-169, Prince Maron was in King’s Landing -- he was squire to Ser Aidan Dayne, “the Knight of the Twilight,” brother of Lady Dayne and captain of the guard of Prince Marence’s embassy to King Baelor.
In 169, Prince Rhodry was said to have killed the First Sword of Braavos and brought back with him the young daughter of an old keyholder family, Amalea Parnel.
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The Dornish Prince Who United The Seven Kingdoms
aka my “who the hell was Myriah and Maron’s father” meta
Like many of the ruling princes and princesses of Dorne, we have very little information to go on when trying to piece together this Unnamed Prince of Dorne. It’s equal parts odd and frustrating, because this Unnamed Prince was one of the most important figures in Westerosi history and yet we don’t have a birth date, ascension date, marriage information, birth dates for his children, a death date, or even a name.
And yet this is the man who stopped Daeron the Young Dragon’s conquest of Dorne only to successfully negotiate a cease fire between Dorne and the Six Kingdoms as well as a marriage contract for his heir and daughter Myriah with Baelor the Blessed. His influence lives on in his son, Maron, who furthered his father’s peace negotiations by meeting with Daeron II and agreeing to enter the Seven Kingdoms at last - but with a Targaryen bride and more than a few concessions. Daeron’s shortsightedness in dealing with Dorne leads directly to the Blackfyre Rebellions but you can’t deny that Maron at least was a shrewd negotiator because he and his people came out of this negotiation having given up very little. Myriah, for her part, is a well loved Queen despite racism in Westeros against the Dornish, and goes on to have several children with Daeron, who she seemed to love.
So…who the hell was Maron and Myriah’s father? Well, looking at the series proper, the world of ice and fire, and fire & blood, I’ve come up with two theories on him.
Theory One: The Marence Martell Theory
Marence is the son of Aliandra and Drazenko (or possibly, he’s the son of a second husband).
Theory Two: The Qyle Martell Theory
Qyle, the younger brother of Aliandra and only son of Qoren Martell, takes the principality when Aliandra dies childless.
Let’s delve in…
The Facts
Aliandra Nymeros Martell is born in 115 AC so any siblings must be born after this date.
Aliandra's younger brother brother Qyle (and their younger sister Coryanne) is old enough to disapprove of Aliandra's flirtation with Alyn Velaryon in 133 AC.
Aliandra and Drazenko Rogare married during the Lysene Spring 134.
Drazenko died in 135 under suspicious circumstances (it's because his family was acting up see: The Fall of the House of Rogare)
Now a little bit of speculation here...
The Small Council is desperate to marry off Baela in 132 AC (when Aliandra is 17) bc she’s unruly and mean and does hot girl shit, so they’re not gonna betroth her to someone much younger than her, because they need this girl to get laid and calm down.
Qyle is brought up as a potential match. If Aliandra is 17, he could very well be 16, or near enough, and an option for her to marry. This would make his birth year 116 and make him 42 at the Submission of Sunspear.
If Marence is Aliandra's only child by Drazenko, born in 135 AC, it would make him 23 during the Submission of Sunspear.
If The Unnamed Prince of Dorne Is Marence Nymeros Martell
This is interesting for a few reasons. For one thing, it puts Marence of an age with Aegon IV, who was also born in 135 AC during the Lysene Spring as well. It makes sense that Baelor, with his cousin Aemon already on his mind due to his captivity, would see a man roughly the same age as one of his male cousins, and think of Aegon's recently born son, Daeron II, as the key to smoothing things over.
Baelor eschews marriage, not just with his sisters, but in general, and while we don’t have his POV to see what he was thinking about an heir (if he was even thinking of it), given the precedent of uncles and younger brothers usurping female Targaryens, and Baelor’s own *waves at the Maidenvault* nonsense about women, it seems likely Baelor viewed his uncle as his heir and not Daena the Defiant, and thus betrothing the first born son of Viserys’ first born son to Myriah, Marence’s first born daughter, ties everything together neatly.
For Marence’s part, this plan is incredibly risky. Daeron and Myriah are around 7 and a lot can change in the ten years it will take for Myriah to reach the age of majority. Maron could die, and there’s no guarantee Marence can have another child before he himself dies. Myriah could die and throw the whole plan into question. Marence’s people did just torture the everloving hell out of Aemon (and while the Wyl's are a bit notorious for being super violent towards invading forces, we have no idea whether Marence encouraged that the way Aliandra and Deria do, or if he discouraged it the way Nymor does), and Viserys might not be too fond of the plan. But this is Aliandra’s son. This is the son of a goddamn Rogare. High risk plans with little hope of succeeding are their lifeblood and it's clearly a chance that may be worth taking if he wants to finally calm down the warring.
And being Aliandra's son, it's even possible she told him stories about her relationship with Alyn (hopefully not the sexy ones but who knows). Perhaps he's thinking that this might work out, if Baelor can come here and forgive him after they tortured Aemon and killed The Young Dragon, if his mother could find something worth respecting in Alyn. It's a young man's dream for a better, less violent future for his people and for his young children.
If Marence is the Prince, it also means he dies pretty young. Maron is ruling Prince by 174 AC, so even if we push the death date to have happened the very first month of 174 AC, it means Marence is just 39 years old when he passes. He lives long enough to send his daughter to an unknown fate in a still hostile kingdom, to see Baelor die, Viserys II die, and Aegon the Unworthy take the throne and make overtures at continued war while Mariah is essentially a hostage in King's Landing, and now, with only his young son Maron to protect her and to protect Dorne. A wild, risky life with a sad, early death; just like his mother Aliandra.
If The Unnamed Prince of Dorne Is Qyle Nymeros Martell
Firstly, if it's Qyle, I can 100% see why he kills Daeron I and tortures Aemon; we already know he dislikes the other kingdoms of Westeros and after spending years being forced to make nice because of Aliandra, who dies childless and passes the principality to him, an older, hardened Qyle may decide there is no point in trying to make peace with these people. He takes a page out of his ancestor Meria's book and decides to fight dirty and to the last man. Why on Earth would he trust them, why on Earth would he confine himself to the rules of their game? Even without dragons, these people insist on destroying his home so he will fight them until his last breath.
And then this deeply pious seventeen year old (the same age as Aliandra when the principality passed to her!) shows up barefoot with all the hostages who are mostly unharmed and asks to make peace. And now Qyle is approaching middle age (being like 44 at this point), looking at this very odd mirror to his deceased older sister, who is asking him to put aside all anger. There's no charming flirtation or coy words like what Alyn offered Aliandra nor is there the threat of violence and subjugation like what Daeron offered just a few years before. It's a risk yes, but when faced with this bloody-footed seventeen year old and the release of the hostages, it might seem like a risk that's worth taking.
And again, if we push his death date to the first month of 174 AC, it means Qyle is 58 years old. Hardly old by our years, but it's more than several other notable rulers get in ASOIAF. Old enough to have seen relations with the Iron Throne go up and down and when he dies, the future is uncertain yes, but he's spent his life trying to make things better in the only ways he knows how.
SO THAT'S THE UNNAMED PRINCE OF DORNE.
I think both scenarios are interesting and they both seem likely! I hope one day we know a little bit more about this elusive character, as well as about Myriah and Maron - did Myriah resent the marriage her father arranged for her? Did she resent having to give up her claim to the principality or did she see this as a chance to gain further power? Clearly, Maron believed in continued peace making through marriage because he agreed to marry Daenerys as an adult; how close was he to his father then? Was he devastated by his father's death? Did he love Myriah and write to her the way Oberyn and Doran loved Elia? If he is Qyle, and older when he has children, does this impact how he sees them? And if he's Marence instead, and had children young-ish, does that impact their relationship? How does he even die???
Much to think about and I hope we get concrete answers one day!
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