A Heart For Any Fate
by solitariusvirtus is a A Song of Ice and Fire Alternate Universe Fic, where Jaehaera Targaryen, the last of the Greens, survives an attempt on her life. United with her cousin Aegon III in marriage, the young and broken couple must learn to grow together while having to deal with the Decadent Court that is King's Landing.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Badass: In the books, both Aegon and Jaehaera were largely passive figures following the Dance of the Dragons, with the former being a Puppet King at the hands of his regents for most of his youth. Here, the royal couple are capable of asserting themselves in spite of their young age, with Jaehaera making an effort to become The High Queen to her subjects.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Alicent never tells Jaehaera to murder Aegon as she did in the book.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's left unclear as to who was responsible for the first attempt on Jaehaera's life. While Unwin Peake is the primary suspect, which results in him getting expelled from the court under threat of execution, the mastermind has yet to be confirmed. Regarding Jaehaera's murder in canon,
solitariusvirtus herself doubts that Peake was responsible due to how unnecessarily cruel her death was, and instead suggests that her murder was driven by personal reasons as well as political, implying that it was Baela and Rhaena who were responsible. - Altar Diplomacy: As in canon, both Aegon and Jaehaera are wedded to each other to reunite the Blacks and Greens, thereby ending the Dance of the Dragons. Despite some hiccups, it soon becomes a Perfectly Arranged Marriage.
- Awful Wedded Life: While visiting Winterfell in Chapter 16, Aegon notes that there are some signs that the marriage between Cregan Stark and Alysanne Blackwood has become strained in recent years.
- Bathtub Bonding: Aegon and Jaehaera stay at the Grassy Vale while touring the Reach in Chapter 13, where they end up sharing a bath together. While they continue to put the consummation of their marriage on hold due to Jaehaera's age (she's only 13), this moment marks the point where their relationship becomes more intimate, culminating in their First Kiss.
- Birds of a Feather: Aegon and Jaehaera bond with each other due to the emotional and psychological scars they both suffered during the Dance of the Dragons, which includes watching their loved ones get brutally murdered before their eyes.
- Both Sides Have a Point: In Chapter 12, Aegon and Viserys get into an argument over the need for dragons to restore the Targaryen's power. Aegon, still reeling from the trauma of watching their mother getting Eaten Alive by Sunfyre, argues that dragons are ultimately animals driven by instinct, which makes them much harder to reason with than with soldiers or sellswords. Viserys, for his part, points out that Sunfyre only killed their mother on its master's orders and can still be loyal if tamed and trained properly.
- Courtly Love: Aegon and Jaehaera's relationship is pretty much this, with the most intimate moment shared between them being a kiss. This is partly due to Jaehaera not being old enough for them to consummate their relationship.
- Dropped a Bridge on Her: As with the books, Alicent Hightower succumbs to the Winter Fever while Jaehaera is recovering from the attempt on her life. To twist the knife further, she dies believing that her granddaughter would not make it.
- Easily Forgiven: Despite being openly insulted and eventually poisoned by Baela, Jaehaera went out of her way to convince Aegon to spare her life and let the issue drop quietly, partly because Baela herself is a mother.
- Everyone Has Standards: Rhaena Velaryon may have no love for her sister-in-law Jaehaera, but even she was shaken when Jaehaera gets poisoned, by her own twin sister no less.
- Fix Fic: The story is partially one to address G.R.R. Martin's unpopular decision to kill off Jaehaera and replace her with Daenaera Velaryon as Aegon III's wife.
- Head-Turning Beauty: Larra Rogare. Even Aegon, despite being indifferent to his sister-in-law, couldn't help but stare at her on some occasions. This is a source of insecurity for the petite Jahaera.
- Last of His Kind: Following Alicent Hightower's death, Jaehaera is the last surviving Green Targaryen at least until Chapter 10, where it's revealed that her uncle Daeron survived as well. On the other hand, she's still publicly the last of the Greens, as Daeron's survival is kept known to only a handful of individuals.
- Man in the Iron Mask: Daeron is revealed to have survived the Second Battle of Tumbleton and somehow managed to make his way back to King's Landing. Aegon III confines him in the black cells and keeps his survival a secret from everyone but Jaehaera (Daeron's niece) and Maester Orwyle (who tends to Daeron's wounds), preventing him from being used as a potential figurehead for any remaining Green loyalists. At the very least, Aegon ensures that Daeron is given proper treatment and basic care.
- Necessarily Evil: How Aegon justifies sparing Larys Strong against Jaehaera's objections, as they would need a man of his skillset and political thinking.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Aegon's half-sisters, Baela and Rhaena, vocally oppose his marriage to Jaehaera, though Rhaena at least tries to be more sympathetic towards the royal couple. And then Baela attempts to kill Jaehaera with poisoned tarts.
- Pet the Dog: Cregan Stark gives Jaehaera a doll, sewn by his sister Sara Snow as a gift.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: While their marriage is primarily out of political convenience and restore some semblance of peace in Westeros after the Dance, both Aegon and Jaehaera come to genuinely love each other.
- Raised by Grandparents: Due to her mother's Sanity Slippage and subsequent suicide, Jaehaera is instead raised by her protective grandmother Alicent.
- Spared by the Adaptation: The premise of the fanfic is that Jaehaera survives the assassination attempt that killed her in canon. Aside from her, there are other characters who have been spared as well.
- Daeron the Daring is revealed to have survived the Second Battle of Tumbleton, though the experience has shown to have left him with severe psychological scars.
- Larys Strong has similarly been spared from being executed by Cregan Stark. However, he is no longer ruler of Harrenhal, which is instead ruled by Oscar Tully.
- Likewise, Maester Orwyle was spared at Aegon's behest for treating Jaehaera when she gets wounded by assassins, as well as for taking care of a Not Quite Dead Daeron.
- Gaemon Palehair does not die from poisoned sweets, as it is Jaehaera who ends up being poisoned instead.
- Wandering the Earth: This was what happened with Daeron after he was supposedly killed at the Second Battle of Tumbleton, becoming a wandering vagrant until he somehow ended up in the secret passages of the Red Keep.
- You Killed My Father: Jaehaera is uncomfortable with Aegon's decision to spare Larys Strong and bringing him back to King's Landing, partly because he was among those responsible for poisoning her father.
