Princess Daella Targaryen was the eighth child of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen and Queen Alysanne Targaryen.
Appearance and Character[]
Daella stood at five feet and two inches, and many who met her mistook her for younger than her age. This was in part due also to her somewhat childish aspect.
Daella was considered to be sweet, kind, and gentle, but also shy, delicate, and often tongue-tied. She liked flowers, but avoided gardens as she was scared of bees.
She was not regarded as clever. She could read, but only haltingly, and never with true comprehension. She was unable to memorize the simplest prayers, and, whilst she had a sweet voice, she disliked singing, as she would not remember the correct words. She would cry at the slightest scolding.
History[]
Daella was born in 64 AC. She was a shy and frightened girl, who looked up to her older sister, Maegelle, who she called her "guiding star". She had a kitten when she was little, but it once scratched her, and so she became scared of cats. She was the victim of some of the pranks of her younger sister, Saera, who would fill her bedchamber full of cats, and once filled her chamberpot with bees.
King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne oft assumed that Daella would marry her elder brother Vaegon, as only one year separated the two. However, though Vaegon tolerated her presence, the two disliked each other. Vaegon considered Daella to be stupid, and Daella thought him to be mean. In 73 AC, one of Alysanne's companions asked when the two would be wed, to which Vaegon issued a public rejection. Daella then ran from the room, followed by her mother. It was then agreed that different matches would need to be found for the two.
Finding a match for Daella would prove troublesome. At the age of thirteen, she travelled to Driftmark to meet with Corlys Velaryon. However, Daella grew seasick on the way there, and complained that Corlys seemed to like his ships more than he liked her. At the age of fourteen, Daella spent time with several promising squires her own age: Denys Swann, Simon Staunton, Gerold Templeton, and Ellard Crane. However, Simon tried to make her drink wine, and Ellard kissed her on the lips without asking, and Daella hated them all.
At the age of fifteen, Daella and her mother visited Raventree Hall, where she was courted by Royce Blackwood, the son of Lord Blackwood. Daella was smitten with him, and the two parents started to arrange wedding plans, until Daella discovered that House Blackwood held the Old Gods over the Faith of the Seven, and that she would have to wed before a weirwood. The betrothal never occurred.
On the first day of 80 AC, Jaehaerys offered Alysanne an ultimatum, that Daella be married by the end of the year. Fearing that the girl would not take a husband, Alysanne asked what alternatives Daella had, as she would not be accepted by the Faith, due to her not being able to recite prayers. Jaehaerys suggested the Silent Sisters, though he implored his wife not to let it come to that.
Explaining what Jaehaerys had said to Daella, Alysanne offered her three potential matches. First, Boremund Baratheon, the Lord of Storm's End, then Ser Tymond Lannister, the heir to Casterly Rock, and lastly Rodrik Arryn, the Lord of the Eyrie. Daella chose Rodrik, stating that he was "good and wise, like father", and expressing excitement at being the new mother of his four children by his first wife. the queen's response to such a statement is unknown, but Grand Maester Elysar simply wrote "Gods be good!".
Daella and Rodrik were married before the end of the year in a small ceremony on Dragonstone, watched by a small crowd. No bedding ceremony followed the feast, as Daella had stated that she couldn't stand the shame of it. Afterwards, Daella accompanied her new husband to the Eyrie, to meet his children. She clashed with the eldest, Elys Arryn, but became fond of the younger three. Rodrik was kind and caring to Daella, pampering and protecting her, as he had promised. Daella sent letters to her mother, written by Rodrik's youngest child, Amanda, talking about how happy she was.
In 82 AC, after a year and a half of happy marriage, Daella wrote a letter to her mother, in her own hand, to inform her of her pregnancy, telling her she was frightened, and that she wanted her mother to come to the Eyrie, which Alysanne promptly did, flying on the back of Silverwing, and arriving three months before Daella was due. Daella had a long and troubled labour, which started a fortnight early. Though her daughter, Aemma, was born healthy, Daella suffered from childbed fever shortly after the birth. It did not improve, and she died, aged eighteen.
Though Lord Arryn requested for permission to bury Daella in the Vale, Alysanne refused him, saying that she would be cremated and interred on Dragonstone, alongside her sister, Daenerys. Archmaester Gyldayn believes that Daella's death prompted the first hint of the rift that formed between Alysanne and Jaehaerys, as the queen believed her husband had forced their daughter into marrying too early.