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The royal family
Includes their immediate kin-by-marriage. Dowager Queen Alysanne Stark
Formerly Alysanne Targaryen. The universally beloved Dowager Queen and her son's regent.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: At the start of the story, she is hit with it very hard. Not only does she lose her daughter to the Shivers as per canon, she also loses her beloved husband whom she has literally known all her life, and with Exceptionalism rejected by the Starry Sept, she is forced to remarry just a year after Jaehaerys dies while trying to prevent her living children from being recast as illegitimate bastards. For many months, she is near-numb with grief.
- Batman Gambit: She tells Alaric to oversee the financial problems of the court, knowing very well that he and Florence Tyrell have different approaches to spending money. However, she also knows them to be level-headed enough to find the middle ground between niggardliness and frivolity, which they do.
- Berserk Button:
- She is usually nice and friendly, but grows furious whenever anyone suggests women are in any way inferior to men.
- All forms of rape and Sexual Extortion enrage and disgust her so much she doesn't even go berserk after hearing of them: she goes into venomous Tranquil Fury mode.
- Dramatic Sit-Down: Alysanne is so shocked and overwhelmed by Alaric's Anguished Declaration of Love that she sits down (in fact, almost falls) on the couch.
- Good Stepmother: She dotes on Alarra Stark, and Alarra is deeply devoted to her — it helps that their friendship developed long before there was any notion of Alysanne marrying Alaric.
- Green-Eyed Epiphany: For the first time, she admits to herself she might have fallen in love with Alaric after she fears he has grown too friendly with Florence Fossoway.
- The Heart: She makes sure everyone at court is content and gets on with each other. To varying degrees of success, she tries to fulfill the same role for the entire kingdom.
- The High Queen: Technically, she is only the Dowager Queen now that Jaehaerys is dead, but she continues to fit the trope, being a benevolent and just authority figure.
- Mama Bear: She is ready to fight tooth and nail for her children and their rights. At the first shadow of a rumor that her children by Jaehaerys might be viewed as bastards, she rushes to Oldtown to talk the matter over with the Starry Sept.
- Marriage Before Romance: She enters her second marriage without any romantic feelings for Alaric (unlike Alaric himself). As time passes, she gradually falls in love with him.
- Motive Misidentification: When little Alyssa turns away and starts to cry just after tasting her milk, Alysanne thinks that the baby senses her mixed feelings towards her and therefore can't stand to be fed by her. The author's notes reveal Alysanne's milk at that point simply tastes bad due to her new pregnancy.
- Moving Beyond Bereavement: Alysanne has to marry Alaric while she's grieving for Jaehaerys and Daenerys, and a good deal of her arc involves her finding closure with her loss.
- Nothing Is the Same Anymore: In-Universe, though the grief itself is gradually healing, Alysanne often feels terrified and lost when she muses just how drastically her life has changed. After the loss of Jaehaerys and Daenerys and the hastily-arranged match with Alaric, she gets another shock when she learns Rogar Baratheon is dying, and even the news of Elinor Costayne's impending departure to Lannisport, minor compared to everything else, again prompt her to think about the old pre-Shivers times that would never come back.
- Oblivious to Love: At first Alysanne has no idea Alaric is madly in love with her (he does his best to hide it). As he, with her encouragement, grows more confident in expressing his affection, she begins to understand he is at least very fond of her.
- Sex Equals Love: Her opinion on marriage. She believes that a couple has a much higher chance of attaining Perfectly Arranged Marriage level if they have sex, which is why she starts sleeping with Alaric on the wedding night already, even though he assures her he is ready for a Sexless Marriage and she at that point isn't even attracted to him.
- Silk Hiding Steel: She may be sweet and charming and mild-mannered, but she won't let anyone walk over her during negotiations.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: One of her reasons for choosing Alaric as her second husband is that he will treat her as an equal and won't try to claim the throne for himself.
- Stepford Smiler: After the loss of her husband and eldest daughter, Alysanne often puts on a mask of cheerfulness in public while being anxious and sad in private.
- Took a Level in Cheerfulness: She sinks into melancholy after losing Jaehaerys and Daenerys to the Shivers. More than a year later, she begins to gradually recover her usual sunny demeanor after marrying Alaric.
- Unfocused During Intimacy: During her wedding night with Alaric, she constantly thinks about Jaehaerys and feels guilty for remarrying so soon, almost bursting into tears.
- What's Up, King Dude?: She encourages her subjects to share their wishes and grievances with her. In fact, when she is in her regal attire, it's a sign that she is ready to listen to her people even when it's not the formal time for an audience. When she is dressed simply, it's to show everyone that she is taking a break from ruling and only wants to spend time with her nearest and dearest.
Lord Alaric Stark
The Warden of the North, rumored to be niggardly (which is true) and humorless (which is less so).
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Unable to pretend he only married Alysanne for political reasons any longer, Alaric finally confesses his feelings to her in Chapter 11, though he realizes she doesn't love him. Alysanne admits she likes him very much but still can't make any promises, and her thoughts reveal she hasn't let go of Jaehaerys.
- The Chains of Commanding: He finds it very hard to take care of an entire realm, since he can barely spend any time with his family. He longs for Aemon to reach his majority and for himself and Alysanne to leave for Winterfell (the North is still a big responsibility, but a way lesser one than the Seven Kingdoms).
- Didn't Think This Through: When Alysanne offers him marriage, Alaric acts extremely disinterested and skeptical and looks as if he's agreeing to it through gritted teeth. He does it to avoid scaring Alysanne with the passion he really harbors for her, but it results in her belief that she all but forced him into marriage, and she is tormented by guilt.
- Eating the Eye Candy: He often finds himself entranced by Alysanne's beauty. At the Hightowers' feast, he thinks he could have gazed at her all evening.
- Fish out of Water: He isn't feeling too comfortable surrounded by the culture of the South.
- Fool for Love: He is generally cynical and pragmatic, but not where Alysanne is concerned. At one point, he announces that there will be no celebration at all on Warrior's Day, but one Puppy-Dog Eyes look from Alysanne is all it takes for him to agree to host a tourney. Luckily for him and for everyone in general, Alysanne is not exploiting the trope without really good reasons.
- Good Stepfather: Downplayed at first – he feels no particular emotional attachment to Alysanne's children by Jaehaerys, but he is ready to raise them well for her sake, and he defends Aemon's right to the crown rather than claim it on behalf of his own potential future son. As time goes by, he starts to really bond with Aemon.
- Last-Second Word Swap: While Alaric is angrily scolding Aemon for being forty minutes late to a lesson, he starts saying "You'll grow up and be half a year late for your progresses, like your-", when he catches himself and awkwardly ends the phrase with "like your childhood misdemeanors, only worse".
- Locked Out of the Loop: Of what happened south of the Neck before 61 AC, he knows few details. For example, he doesn't get the reference when Alysanne recalls the unhappy marriage of Princess Rhaena and Androw Farman.
- The Lost Lenore: For a long time after his first wife Jonelle's death, he was heartbroken and certain he would never love or even be happy again.
- Marital Rape License: When Alysanne rejects him, claiming she is tired (she is actually distressed), Alaric, who has been looking forward to Sex for Solace after his sons' departure to the North, briefly considers ignoring her wishes, but the sheer idea of Alysanne suffering through it is enough for him to defy the trope and leave.
- Not So Above It All: For all his disdain of tourneys, he is happy to see that his sons Roderick and Edwyn acquit themselves well at the tourney at his wedding.
- "Not So Different" Remark: When Alysanne admits she was jealous (with no reason, as it turns out) of him and Lady Florence, he assures her he made the same mistake on their wedding day, getting very unsettled when Ryam Redwyne crowned Alysanne queen of love and beauty. That makes Alysanne laugh about how people from the Reach always seem to provoke jealousy in others.
- Real Men Love Jesus: He is a very devout follower of the old gods and is greatly moved when Garth Fossoway shows him the ancient godswood of Highgarden.
- Significant Name Shift: He starts calling Alysanne by her first name immediately after the wedding ceremony. She is startled, since it's one of the aspects of their marriage they haven't discussed beforehand, but accepts it without comments and switches to First-Name Basis with him as well.
- Unreliable Narrator: In his thoughts, he calls Florence Tyrell too open-handed and frivolous, but when she makes an appearance herself, she is shown to have a reasonable approach to finance.
- When He Smiles: Aemon decides that Alaric looks a lot less scary when he's smiling.
- You Can't Go Home Again: Downplayed. The one sacrifice Alaric makes to marry Alysanne is moving to King's Landing to stay there until Aemon reaches majority (meaning for ten years). He deeply misses the North, though he knows his sons rule Winterfell capably.
King Aemon Targaryen
King of the Seven Kingdoms after his father's death, Aemon is six years old at the start of the fanfic.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: He is crowned at five.
- Big Brother Instinct: Aemon is very protective of his little brother Baelon. When Alaric learns of it, it's the first time he feels a bond with his eldest stepson, because the latter reminds him of his own big brother Walton. Alysanne mentions Aemon has grown much more responsible since Baelon's birth.
- Face Your Fears:
- Although he is frightened of dragons, he always readily agrees to visit the Dragonpit since he knows dragons are the symbol and source of the Targaryens' power and he will have to ride Caraxes sooner or later.
- He is very scared of the Iron Throne and is even less enthusiastic about sitting on it than about going to the Dragonpit. However, he realizes it's inevitable for him as the king.
- Obliviously Evil: Aemon orders his new nurse (filling in for the injured Lady Hogg) to let him and Baelon play longer than they're supposed to, ending up getting to his lesson forty minutes late. He is aware that he's skipping the lesson, but he doesn't realize that his actions lead to the nurse getting punished (unlike Lady Hogg, she's lowborn, new at the job and therefore too frightened to argue with the king, even if said king is only six). He is horrified with himself when Alaric calls him out for it.
- Puppet King: Since he is a little kid, the ones holding the actual power are Alysanne, Alaric and the small council.
Prince Baelon Targaryen
The Prince of Dragonstone, he is four years old at the start of the fanfic.
- Dragon Rider: To be one is his longtime dream. He wants to claim Balerion, but when Alysanne expressly forbids it, he decides to settle for the second largest dragon – Vhagar.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Brave and energetic, he also loves to draw.
Princess Alyssa Targaryen
Alysanne's last child by Jaehaerys, she is several months old at the start of the fanfic.
- Baby's First Words: At the age of eleven months, she says her first word – and it's "Nana" (addressing the royal nurse) rather than "Mama".
- Someone to Remember Him By: Played for Drama. She is conceived a couple of months before Jaehaerys dies, and is born during such a difficult and stressful time that she ends up as The Unfavorite.
- The Unfavorite: Alysanne's pregnancy with Alyssa was discovered right on the heels of the deaths of Daenerys and Jaehaerys, and Alyssa was born in the midst of grief and diplomatic turmoil. Alysanne couldn't muster enough emotion to love Alyssa, and she still is colder towards her than towards Aemon and Baelon, though she's determined not to let it show.
Lady Alarra Stark
Alaric's daughter and his youngest child by Jonelle. She is Alysanne's Lady-In-Waiting and gets elevated to chief lady-in-waiting due to her Great House lineage and to her father's marriage to Alysanne.
- The Baby of the Bunch: Being respectively ten and seven years younger than her two brothers, Alarra Stark has always been viewed as the little girl of the family, even after she joined Alysanne's court and became much more independent.
- Cool Big Sis: Alarra is very fond of Aemon and Baelon and tells them Northern legends.
- Going Native: After three years spent at Alysanne's court, Alarra has fully embraced the culture of the South.
- Hormone-Addled Teenager: She is thirteen at the start of the story and quick to be impressed by any handsome man in sight. By Chapter 17, though, she is getting focused on Mandon Chelsted.
- Kids Play Matchmaker: A downplayed example. When Alaric, before his wedding to Alysanne, sharply insists the marriage is purely political, Alarra believes him and asks him to be kind to the queen, since she has suffered so much.
- New Parent Nomenclature Problem: Though she loves Alysanne, she calls her by her name and only addresses her as "Mother" when required by court etiquette, since she remembers the love and close bond she shared with Jonelle.
- Parental Sexuality Squick: Alarra is perfectly okay with her father and Alysanne getting married, but she freaks out when Alysanne announces her pregnancy, because it's clear evidence they are sleeping together.
- Plain Jane: Fenella Lannister describes her as "drab" and "mousy". According to Rogar Baratheon, she is "somewhat gangly" but no worse than anyone else at her age.
- Proper Lady: Much like Sansa Stark in canon, she is graceful and feminine, with excellent manners. At one point, Alysanne wonders whether Jonelle would be okay with her daughter turning out so different from her own self.
- Pushed in Front of the Audience: When Ellara fails to show up for the Sunflowers' premiere of The Royal Penance, Alarra offers to play the Maiden herself instead. Since the audience consists of her father, stepmother, siblings and Jonquil Darke, she is allowed to do so.
- You Need to Get Laid: She suggests Heloise Baratheon should be married off to get rid of her depression. Alysanne has to explain to her that marriage doesn't solve any psychological problems automatically.
Lord Cregmar Stark
Alaric and Alysanne's son.
- Affectionate Nickname: Aemon calls him "Creg".
- Kaleidoscope Hair: Downplayed. His hair is brown in the dark and gleams silver in the light.
The small council
Septon Barth
The Hand of the King, a devoted friend of the royal family and especially the late Jaehaerys.
- Conflicting Loyalty: Downplayed, since he is aware of it and stays quite reasonable. He is sad when Alysanne falls in love with Alaric, since for him, it means someone has replaced his late best friend. However, both from the religious and the political points of view, he realizes it's good news.
- Excellent Judge of Character: He is the first one to notice Alaric is in love with Alysanne.
- Good Shepherd: Although it's hard for him to find time for his spiritual duties, he consoles Alysanne and her children after Jaehaerys and Daenerys die, and when Alysanne brings news of the death of Lord Towers, Barth speaks a prayer for him despite never having met him.
- Parental Abandonment: His parents sent him away when he was just a child.
- The Perfectionist: He is one towards his studies. He didn't even let Jaehaerys look at his drafts of The Unnatural History, since it was unfinished.
Lady Aspen Turnberry
The mistress of whisperers who used to serve Tyanna of the Tower before swearing her allegiance to Jaehaerys.
- I Have Your Wife: She claims that she only served Tyanna of the Tower to protect her son, one of the Warrior's Sons. Since Tyanna, Maegor and most of their closest retainers are dead, it's a Conveniently Unverifiable Cover Story.
- Older Than They Look: She is sixty but looks a lot younger, so much that Septon Barth suspects she might be dabbling in sorcery.
- Out of Character Is Serious Business: She only ever smiles with genuine joy when she talks about her son.
- Sole Survivor: She is the only one of Tyanna of the Tower's whisperers who survived Maegor's reign and bent the knee to Jaehaerys.
- Stepford Smiler: She always speaks in a mild and polite voice and has an ever-present small smile on her face, which makes Septon Barth suspect she wears a mask.
Lord Manfryd Redwyne
The master of ships and lord admiral.
- Good Parents: Despite his faults, he loves his sons.
- Jerkass: He doesn't seem to care much about smallfolk, suggesting defending Aemon's right to the throne with "fire and blood" and later arguing against the laws prohibiting Sexual Extortion.
- Papa Wolf: He is infuriated when it's suggested his son Robert is incompetent at his job.
Lord Rodrik Arryn
The master of laws and lord justiciar.
- Put on a Bus: Leaves King's Landing for the Vale to be by his pregnant wife's side in Chapter 18 and hasn't been seen since.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: An able master of laws, despite being appointed at fifteen. Deconstructed, since not only is he overloaded with work, but he is afraid to voice his concerns at the council, feeling intimidated by the older members.
Lady Florence Tyrell
Born Florence Fossoway; the one actually doing the master of coin's work.
- Professional Butt-Kisser: According to Alaric, who doesn't like her, she always speaks in an oily ingratiating voice.
- Professional Maiden Name: Downplayed. Alaric and Alysanne think of her as Florence Fossoway more often than not.
- Statuesque Stunner: Tall, stately, and very attractive.
Lord Martyn Tyrell
Holds the official position of master of coin, though everybody knows the job is done by his wife.
- Authority in Name Only: He only holds his position formally.
- Henpecked Husband: In Alaric's opinion, he is sometimes openly disrespected by his wife. It should be noted, however, that Alaric doesn't like Lady Florence in general.
- Yes-Man: He rarely does anything at the small council except agree with his superiors.
Grand Maester Elysar
Grand Maester since his predecessor's death of the Shivers. Originally a bastard son of a minor Hightower branch.
- Bastard Angst: He deeply resents that, as a Hightower bastard, he was forced to choose between the Faith and the Citadel.
- Dr. Jerk: Anyone treated by Grand Maester Elysar feels it's their own fault they got sick.
- Hates the Job, Loves the Limelight: A non-acting example. Although in general he doesn't like his duties of a maester, he quite enjoys the respect he gets in the Red Keep.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: He has a Tragic Dream of having a loving family of his own, which can never come true due to a maester's vows of chastity.
- Pet the Dog: Jocelyn Baratheon recalls that, in contrast to the maester at Storm's End, he has told her that being a Tomboy is in no way harmful for women.
- Stepford Snarker: He is so acid-tongued because it provides at least some enjoyment in his life.
The Kingsguard
Ser Joffrey Doggett
Formerly Grand Captain of the Warrior's Sons, he had accepted Jaehaerys's offer for him to join the Kingsguard.
- Blunt "Yes": In reply to Alaric:Alaric: You were afraid I might close the septs altogether and start planting godswoods all over the place.Joffrey: Yes.
- I Gave My Word: He would rather die than break a vow.
- Knight in Sour Armor: And a literal one, too. He is deeply honorable but quite pessimistic, expecting a new wave of religious persecution after Alysanne marries Alaric.
- Old Soldier: He is described as having gray hair.
The City Watch
Ser Robert Redwyne
Lord Manfryd's eldest son and Commander of the City Watch.
- A Father to His Men: He tries to look out for the watchmen under his command. Even though he comes from one of the Reach's wealthiest families and doesn't have to worry about his own future, it's painful for him to see the lower-ranked watchmen barely get paid at all, and he is delirious with joy when that salary is finally raised.
- Took A Level In Cynicism: Robert Redwyne used to be a Wide-Eyed Idealist desperate to prove himself, but serving as commander of the City Watch during the Shivers and its aftermath took away most of it.
- The Proud Elite: To a lesser extent than his Jerkass father, but Robert is still very much aware he's the heir to the Arbor and wouldn't want anyone to forget it.
- Young and in Charge: He has already been in his position for two years, and he is only twenty-two.
House Baratheon
Lord Rogar Baratheon
Lord of Storm's End at the story's start, stepfather to Alysanne.
- Green-Eyed Monster: In a platonic version of the trope, Rogar Baratheon feels deeply envious of Alaric Stark, who is everything Rogar used to be (healthy and strong, Happily Married to the Dowager Queen, acting as one of the boy king's regents) and is at the same time a year older than Rogar.
- Honorary Uncle: In private, Alysanne addresses him as "Uncle Rogar".
- The Loins Sleep Tonight: With the pain he suffers from his disease, he doesn't even want to think about sex.
- Parental Neglect: He is always kind to his daughter when she wants to talk to him, and she never wants for anything, but she feels he isn't really interested in her life.
- Stay in the Kitchen: He believes women should stick to Acceptable Feminine Goals and Traits. The reason is that, due to the worst luck, he has had some bad experience with the tomboyish women he has met in his lifetime: his grandmother's attempt at a Last Stand resulted in a humiliating defeat, Action Girl Visenya Targaryen gave birth to monstrous tyrant Maegor, and the Dornish, with their equal rights for women, are the Baratheons' longtime enemies.
- Wicked Stepfather: Downplayed. Alysanne has had a frosty relationship with him ever since he attempted to break up her and Jaehaerys (and it's not even the attempt itself that angered her so much but the fact that Rogar didn't even try to learn her opinion of the matter). However, she acknowledges that he has done a lot of good for their family and the realm, and she is deeply saddened when he tells her he is dying – for all his faults, he has been a constant in her life since her childhood.
- Younger Than They Look: Like in canon, Rogar Baratheon looks like an old man due to his sickness, but he is actually forty-four.
- Your Days Are Numbered: By 61 AC, he is aware his disease isn't going away and there is no hope for him.
Lady Jocelyn Baratheon
Rogar's daughter, whom he brings to be raised at court when she is seven.
- Affectionate Nickname: Aemon calls her Lynnie.
- One of the Boys: She loves playing at swords with her half-nephews.
- Tomboy Angst: She sometimes fears that her tomboyish interests could be harmful for her character. However, Grand Maester Elysar has told her it's ridiculous.
House Lannister
Lord Tommen Lannister
Lord of Casterly Rock at the start of the fanfic.
- Declaration of Protection: His romantic relationship with Fenella has deteriorated, but he makes sure to tell Tyler that it doesn't mean he would allow her to come to harm.
- Formerly Fit: According to Fenella, he used to be handsome but let himself go during the Shivers and had grown plump since.
- Malicious Misnaming: He calls the Sunset Palace, one of the Lannisters' Lannisport residences, "the Bloodbrook" due to the prevalence of red color in both the furnishings and the building itself.
Lady Fenella Lannister
Born Fenella Estren, Tommen's wife.
- Break the Cutie: She has never been the same since losing her three children to the Shivers.
- Character Catchphrase: She often says "Wonderful" in Sarcasm Mode whenever something angers her.
- Mama Bear: Furiously protective of her only surviving child.
- The Resenter: She is half-consciously angry at Alysanne for having several living children and a loving marriage.
- Unreliable Narrator: In her thoughts, she muses that Alysanne's having her sixth child while Fenella only has one, meaning that she includes Alysanne's deceased children in the count, but not her own.
Lord Tymond Lannister
Tommen and Fenella's only surviving son, a toddler at the start of the fanfic.
- Cheerful Child: He is pretty lively and playful.
- Posthumous Sibling: His sister and two brothers died of the Shivers before he was born.
Lord Lymold Lannister
Tommen's younger brother, serving in the City Watch of Lannisport.
- The Eeyore: According to Tyler and Tommen, he is a horrible grump.
- Evil Uncle: When Tommen doesn't want to send his son to King's Landing with only Lymold for company, Tyler thinks that his brother suspects this trope to be in play. After thinking it over, Tommen decides to keep Lymold away from his son, just to be sure.
- Token Good Teammate: According to Fenella, he is the only Lannister brother to be kind to her without any ulterior motives.
Ser Tyler Hill
Tommen and Lymold's bastard brother, Commander of the City Watch of Lannisport.
- Abhorrent Admirer: Fenella can't stand him, and the failure of her marriage to Tommen hasn't changed that.
- Ladykiller in Love: He used to be a flirt before falling deeply in love with Fenella. Sadly, she is married to Tommen and he went about it entirely the wrong way.
- Stalker with a Crush: He is smitten with Fenella and constantly found excuses to visit her and showered her with attention, until she complained to Tommen and Tommen told him to stop.
- Took a Level in Kindness: He used to stalk Fenella until Tommen put an end to it; now he is very respectful towards her.
House Chelsted
Lord Chelsted
The head of House Chelsted at the start of the fanfic.
- Ambition Is Evil: He claims to believe in this trope, although it might be that he is simply a coward.
- Archnemesis Dad: Ser Mandon doesn't get on with him at all, especially because of how Lord Chelsted treated his wife and Mandon's mother.
- The Bully: He is a domestic tyrant but cowers before everything and everyone outside his castle's walls.
- Irony: He acted kinder than ever towards his wife during her second pregnancy... with a child that might not have been his.
- Took a Level in Kindness: After he saw his wife could actually earn popularity and admiration, he began to treat her better, and he became even more tender towards her after she found out she was pregnant. Sadly, all of this hit a Reset Button after Cynda died.
Lady Cynda Chelsted
Lord Chelsted's wife and Ser Mandon's mother; born the youngest daughter of Lord Scales.
- Beautiful All Along: When she is beside herself with happiness after Mandon wins a tourney and crowns her queen of love and beauty, everyone realizes she actually is a very beautiful woman.
- Delicate and Sickly: Mandon recalls she always caught every disease possible.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Her second child might have been conceived after a tryst with Lord Velaryon. Since she died while still pregnant, it can never be known for sure.
- Nouveau Riche: The other reason (beside her frail health) for her being unpopular among potential suitors. House Scales has only been around for four generations since one of the Velaryons gave their founder a lordship.
- Posthumous Character: One of the first victims of the Shivers in the crownlands.
- Sympathetic Adulterer: She happily accepted the flirtations of Daemon Velaryon and may have slept with him despite being married to Lord Chelsted, but even her son by the latter doesn't judge her due to the constant abuse she receives in her marriage.
Ser Mandon Chelsted
The heir to House Chelsted at the start of the fanfic.
- Glory Seeker: He joins Lord Rogar's army and goes to fight the Vulture King, all for the sake of winning glory for himself and rising in the royal family's favor.
- Gold Digger: Subverted. When his father asks him, he reveals his motive for pursuing Alarra is the influence she has at court, not any riches the marriage would bring (Alarra's brothers and nephews are ahead of her in line for Winterfell, and Mandon has no interest in moving halfway across the Kingdoms anyway).
- Jailbait Wait: After being told Alarra is too young for courtship, Ser Mandon (four years her senior) agrees to wait until she's sixteen.
- The Lady's Favor: He asks for Alarra Stark's favor twice, at the tourney on Alaric and Alysanne's wedding day and at the Warrior's Day joust. The second time he does it, it indicates he's intent on courting her in the future.
- Like Father, Unlike Son: His father doesn't have a shred of ambition, in particular, marrying the least highborn and least attractive noblewoman in the crownlands. Mandon is extremely ambitious and aims to marry Alarra, one of the most eligible brides in the entire realm.
- Momma's Boy: He adored his mother and is very devoted to her memory.
- Social Climber: He intends to make a name for himself at court, for which purpose he wishes to marry Alarra.
- Uriah Gambit: He uses a combination of threats and bribery to send a captured Dornish soldier, to whom he previously promised a pardon, on a clearly suicidal mission, all for a chance to distract Rogar from Borys Baratheon and kill the latter by himself.
House Darklyn
Lord Arnold Darklyn
Father to Derryk Darklyn and Jonquil Darke.
- Believing Their Own Lies: Jonquil thinks he fits the trope. He tells her he planned to send her away to be raised by commoners because he thought she'd be happier in a two-parent family, but Jonquil suspects it had more to do with him not wishing to anger his wife.
- Change the Uncomfortable Subject: Back when Aenys I ascended the throne. When Lord Darklyn's fiercely pro-Maegor cousin Davos started badmouthing the new king and said, among other things, "your bastard girl is more ferocious", Lord Darklyn immediately snatched the opportunity to change the subject to Jonquil, then Derryk, then Derryk's squiring.
- I Owe You My Life: He made Jonquil a landed knight and gave her a noble's last name after she saved his life.
- Took a Level in Kindness: He became much nicer towards Jonquil after she saved him.
- Tough Love: He sends Derryk away to be fostered after he realizes the boy is severely spoiled.
Lady Photinie Darklyn
Lord Darklyn's wife.
- The Mourning After: She is brokenhearted after her husband dies (apart from some problems such as the infidelity that resulted in Jonquil's birth, they were quite devoted to each other).
- Out of Character Is Serious Business: She offers Jonquil whatever reward she wants for rescuing Lord Darklyn, and her usual icy demeanor drops.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Lady Darklyn has borne many children, but only Derryk has survived beyond infancy. Some of her children have died in the womb.
- Wicked Stepmother: A milder version than most. She is polite but cold towards Jonquil (it gets better after Jonquil saves Lord Darklyn's life and even more so after they bond over their love for Derryk's son).
Lord Derryk Darklyn
Half-brother to Jonquil, he becomes Lord Darklyn after his father's death in 50 AC.
- Belated Child Discipline: In Jonquil sans Florian, Derryk is extremely spoiled and willful due to being the heir and the only legitimate child in the family to survive past infancy. When he is eleven, his father realizes enough is enough and sends him away to squire for Lord Massey. Six years later, Derryk returns, having grown into a mature and responsible young lord.
- Big Brother Instinct: He is fiercely protective of Jonquil. In fact, it's at his insistence that she's raised in Dun Fort at all.
- Former Teen Rebel: A Spoiled Brat who grew up into a mature and responsible lord.
- Formerly Fat: Plump as a child, he becomes lean by the time he is seventeen.
- Fridge Horror: When he throws a tantrum demanding for Jonquil to be raised in Dun Fort, he shouts at his mother that he doesn't have any other siblings and threatens to stop eating unless Jonquil is allowed to stay. Later, looking back, he realizes it was a lot harsher for his mother to hear than he thought, since Lady Darklyn had lost several infant children and always feared for Derryk's health as a result.
- Offstage Villainy: Downplayed. He used to be a horrible Spoiled Brat, but we aren't shown much of that because currently his childhood is only shown through the eyes of Jonquil, to whom he was always loving and supportive.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: He was in love with Jalline Massey but couldn't marry her, because the Masseys were Maegor's loyalists and the Darklyns were formally Team Switzerland and actually secret sympathizers of the Faith Militant.
Lady Elmire Darklyn
Born Elmire Rosby, Derryk's eventual wife.
- Break the Cutie: After the fear and strain she goes through during the last year of Maegor's reign, she miscarries her first baby and is utterly devastated.
- Nice Girl: Sweet and cheerful, she quickly wins the hearts of the rest of the family.
House Darke
Lady Jonquil Darke
Born Jonquil Waters. Alysanne's fiercely loyal sworn shield, half-sister to Derryk Darklyn.
- Action Girl: As per canon, she is an excellent fighter.
- Affectionate Nickname: She was "forest child" to Derryk when she was little, and "sister dear" after growing up.
- All There in the Manual: There is a prequel which details her backstory.
- Big Brother Worship: She has practically idolized her half-brother Derryk since birth, considering he is the only one in Dun Fort who has always treated her with love and care. After they grew up, she became less blind to his flaws but remained absolutely devoted to him.
- Conflicting Loyalty: She had to choose between staying with her beloved family and going to protect Alysanne for the good of the realm.
- Exact Words: When she is going to try out in the War for the White Cloaks, she points out that the Kingsguard knights swear to take no wives, while there is no mention of husbands in their vows, so she won't be swearing to celibacy if she is accepted there.
- Free-Range Children: Subverted. She thinks she explores Dun Fort all on her own at the age of four, until Derryk tells her that he has assigned two guards to watch over her whenever she ventures towards high-risk places like the castle wall.
- Honorary Aunt: She is "Aunt Jonquil" to Aemon and Baelon.
- Humble Hero: She doesn't view her rescue of her father as a big deal, since she's not even sure the lynx she shot was intending to attack him.
- Improbable Age: Played with. She is made a junior captain in Dun Fort's guard at thirteen. However, her father does it out of concern for her safety, wanting her to get well-acquainted with the servants and smallfolk in case she needs to quickly escape from the castle.
- Morality Pet: She used to be one for her brother Derryk when he was little, since he was a major Spoiled Brat and she was the only one around whom he became caring and responsible.
- Parental Neglect: Her mother died soon after she was born. Meanwhile, her father didn't pay her much attention and her stepmother only tolerated her for Derryk's sake (until Jonquil saved her father's life, that is).
- Pretending to Be One's Own Relative: In the last year of Maegor's reign, she posed as her own sister-in-law several times to save the latter from being chosen as a Black Bride.
- Red Is Heroic: As mentioned in canon, she has a suit of ceremonial armor which is "as scarlet as the setting sun", in Alarra's words. In everyday life, except when she is on a spying mission, she also wears red.
- The Reliable One: She is privy to many royal secrets and is one of the few people whom Alysanne can trust with looking after her children without extra supervision. Her own POV segments show the trust is fully deserved.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Unwittingly. In the first months of her training, the guards go easy on her because they don't want to anger her brother, while she genuinely thinks she's making amazing progress. When Derryk is sent away to Stonedance, however...
- Stealth Expert: Before she began her training in arms, she developed excellent spying skills which she still puts to use on occasion.
- Super-Senses: Probably (she reasons) thanks to her spying skills, she also has very good hearing.
House Hightower
Lord Gyles Hightower
The Lord of Hightower at the time of the story's beginning.
- Innocently Insensitive: He says, in all seriousness, that "Septa Rhaella seems quite normal", without realizing how tactless it sounded.
- Nervous Wreck: He lost his father-in-law and his own mother to dragonfire during Maegor's reign, which has rendered him extremely fearful around any dragon and dragonrider, even if the latter is as kind and gentle as Alysanne.
Ser Eustace Hightower
Lord Gyles's son and heir.
- Like Father, Unlike Son: Courageous and decisive, he is the opposite of his nervous and fearful father.
- The Mourning After: He has lost his wife and children to the Shivers and still feels the loss extremely acutely, though, like Alysanne, he was forced to remarry soon and already has a daughter with his new wife Amalia.
House Hogg
Ser Willem Hogg
The elderly head of House Hogg at the start of the fanfic.
- Outliving One's Offspring: By the time of his marriage to Myranda, he has outlived five wives and all his children.
Lady Myranda Hogg
Ser Willem's young wife and one of the royal nurses.
- Mal Mariée: Downplayed. She is young and married to an old and uncaring husband, but he allows her to do whatever she pleases as long as 1) she gives him children and cares for them 2) is discreet about her lovers, should she take any 3) makes sure she doesn't have another man's child.
- Mandatory Motherhood: Ser Willem clearly only married her for her womb. Fortunately, she adores children.
- Parental Substitute: Thanks to Alysanne's neglect of Alyssa, Myranda has grown so close with the princess that she views her as her own daughter.
House Manderly
Lord Theomore Manderly
The Lord of White Harbor at the start of the fanfic.
- First-Name Basis: Alaric refers to him as "Theomore".
- The Ghost: So far, he is only mentioned but never appears.
- Money Dumb: Downplayed. According to Alaric, he is far less careful with money than he should be and often takes loans.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Due to stormy weather in the Neck and the northern Riverlands, he hasn't received the most recent ravens from the capital and doesn't know about Cregmar's birth or the planned education reform.
Lady Mara Manderly
One of Theomore's daughters, a lady-in-waiting at court.
- The Quiet One: According to Alarra, she is a quiet, reserved girl who prefers reading and embroidery to talking.
- Rich Bitch: According to Jocelyn, she is prim and proud.
The Faith of the Seven
High Septon (Lemmar Hightower)
The High Septon who holds the position at the start of the story.
- Adaptational Villainy: He does it In-Universe to himself while he's thinking up the plot of The Royal Penance. The play!High Septon is a ruthless Knight Templar who makes the heroine climb the highest mountain as penance for incest, separates her children from her and makes them join the begging brothers. The actual High Septon's most harsh suggestion was for Alysanne to join the septas or silent sisters, and he took that back precisely because she reminded him she had three small children to care for.
- Hidden Depths: Turns out to be quite an expert on theatre.
- Knight Templar: Unlike his own counterpart from the play, he is a downplayed version. He does push Alysanne to get married again to someone not related to her, but his scenes show he genuinely wants what's best for the realm and the people and is very sorry for Alysanne and her children (or at least is polite enough to act like he is).
Septa Rhaella
Alysanne's cousin, a septa in Oldtown.
- Cowardly Lion: She is timid and fearful, but offers to become one of a new group of Walking the Earth Seven Speakers, if sending them out is what's needed to secure Aemon's claim on the throne.
- ...Or So I Heard: She says that the plays performed in Oldtown end with a magnificent grand finale, and immediately adds that it's what she's been told and that she wouldn't dream of attending one.
- Shrinking Violet: As in canon, she is extremely shy with everyone save for Alysanne, the High Septon, and the septa who tutors her.
- Stutter Stop: She stammers all the time, except when she talks to the few people she really trusts.
Elinor Costayne
Previously one of Maegor's Black Brides, later one of the Seven Speakers who defended the legitimacy of Jaehaerys's marriage to Alysanne, later still joins the Faith of the Seven in a motherhouse in Lannisport.
- Don't Call Me "Sir": Technically, she has the title of Dowager Queen. However, she absolutely hates it — which is understandable, since she only gained it due to having been forced into marriage by Maegor.
- Good Parents: Even though King's Landing is a place full of terrible memories for her, she stayed there for her youngest son's sake. She only decides to move to Lannisport after her son leaves for the Reach to become a squire.
- Missing Mom: She has been forced to stay away from her eldest son for so long that he barely remembers her.
- Taking the Veil: She decides to take vows in a motherhouse in Lannisport.
- Younger Than They Look: She has a wrinkled face despite only being in her thirties.
Septa Lyra
One of Alysanne's companions, a survivor (and heroine) of the Jonquil's Pool attack.
- Improperly Paranoid: Ever since the attack at Jonquil's Pool, she has been very frightened of assassins, even in the Red Keep which is about the closest to safe one can get.
- Nice Girl: Very kind and industrious, she oversees the city's orphanage and consoles Heloise and Ermesande Baratheon in their grief.
Septon Beric
Born Lord Beric Turnberry, the son of Lady Aspen Turnberry. Formerly of the Warrior's Sons, he is now a confessor of the City Watch in Lannisport.
- Antagonistic Offspring: His mother loves him deeply, but he doesn't have a kind word to say about her.
- Holier Than Thou: Harshly judgmental about everything and everyone he sees.
- Insane Troll Logic: Sometimes he goes beyond Moral Myopia and straight into this. He accuses his mother of not fulfilling "a woman's proper destiny" in motherhood (by marrying again and having more children) — while refusing to have any contact with her, thus depriving her from a relationship with the son she does have. Moreover, in his accusation he apparently forgets at least about the existence of septas and silent sisters, whose destiny is defined, among other things, by a vow of chastity.
- The Thing That Would Not Leave: Septon Barth, who already feels somewhat territorial about the royal sept, is extremely annoyed by the prospect of sharing it with Septon Beric for an unknown period of time.
The Sunflowers
One of the theatre troupes invited to stage The Royal Penance, whose rehearsals Alarra attends. Myribeth
The playwright and leading actress, born on Oakenshield.
- Affectionate Nickname: She is Myrie to friends.
- The Chains of Commanding: She is finding it extremely tough to lead a theatre troupe; thanks to the Sunflowers' uncertain future, she is almost constantly on edge.
- Dawson Casting: She is middle-aged and plays an Expy of Alysanne, who is supposed to be in her mid-twenties at most. Her thoughts reveal there is simply no one else in the troupe able to be a leading lady.
- Follow in My Footsteps: She wants Brennan to be a mummer, though he has little acting ability and dreams of becoming a sailor.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: She has quite the temper, but a kind heart beneath it all. It's gradually revealed that, despite the Sunflowers' constantly precarious financial standing, she adopted Brennan after he was orphaned, allowed Obella to stay in the troupe after she got pregnant and gave birth to Garnet, and let Ellara and Melara join the troupe after the girls were orphaned (and, in Melara's case, widowed), even though they are terrible actresses.
- I Was Quite a Looker: She used to be very pretty when she started acting, but more than twenty years of a traveling mummer's life had taken their toll, and she is aware she'll soon be unable to portray the beautiful main characters.
- Improperly Paranoid: She is wary about trusting Alysanne, thinking that she uses the women's courts to gain information that can be used against the women later. Alysanne has no such designs.
- Nepotism: She tries to defy it so furiously that she goes straight to the opposite extreme, constantly yelling at and belittling Brennan at the rehearsals and claiming he can do nothing right.
- Nice Character, Mean Actor: Downplayed. She plays a gentle virtuous queen but is quite an unpleasant person offstage. However, a lot of it comes from the strain she has to bear rather than genuine nastiness.
Garris
An orphan of the Greenblood, specializing in villains.
- Honorary Uncle: "Uncle Garris" to Garnet.
- Irony As He Is Cast: In-Universe. In the production of The Royal Penance, he plays the High Septon. The orphans of the Greenblood very pointedly refuse to accept the Faith of the Seven.
- Master Actor: Easily the most gifted of the Sunflowers. Only Obella gets as much praise from other characters, and her acting is hindered by her inability to play romantic leads (for no fault of her own).
- Mean Character, Nice Actor: He is an honest, reliable and kind Cool Old Guy with a knack for playing terrifying villains.
- Supreme Chef: His cooking wouldn't look out of place on a high lord's table, in Myribeth's opinion.
Brennan
A Lyseni orphan and adopted child of Myribeth.
- Crosscast Role: In-Universe. He used to play girls occasionally before his voice broke, and after Ellara is traumatized and unable to act, he gets cast as the crackling-voiced Crone.
- The Dutiful Son: He stays in the Sunflowers, despite having no interest in acting and no talent for it, because he feels deeply indebted to Myribeth for taking him in. He plans to leave and become a sailor only when he's certain Myribeth won't want for anything.
- Underage Casting: In-Universe. He is a teenage boy playing twenty-six-year-old Expy of Jaehaerys in The Royal Penance. Since the king in the play gets an early Plot-Triggering Death, Myribeth deliberately gave the part to Brennan; it's his first major speaking role.
Obella
A dancer from Sandstone.
- Ensemble Dark Horse: In-Universe. She plays the minor part of the Mother, but Alysanne thinks she is the best among the Sunflowers.
- Hypothetical Casting: In-Universe. Alysanne thinks she would be much better at playing the queen than Myribeth.
- Irony as She Is Cast: Absolutely nails the role of the Mother, but has a troubled relationship with her own daughter.
- Maternity Crisis: Gave birth to Garnet in the Sunflowers' cart when it was on the road.
- My Beloved Smother: She is overprotective towards Garnet, who, in turn, resents it.
- Parents as People: She loves her daughter but, it's implied, struggles to keep a close relationship with her.
- Rape as Backstory: She was raped twelve years earlier and still hasn't fully recovered, considering There Are No Therapists in Westeros. Even Myribeth, who is generally sympathetic towards her, views her trauma as a pesky reason why Obella can't succeed her as the Sunflowers' leading lady.
Garnet
Obella's daughter.
- Child by Rape: She was conceived when her mother was raped by an ironborn.
- Converting for Love: In a platonic version, she is so close to her Parental Substitute Garris that she converted to the Rhoynish faith when she was eight.
- Crosscast Role: At the start of the fanfic, since she is eleven years old, very slim and has a deep voice, she plays boys.
- Sweet Tooth: She's very fond of sweetmeats.
Caleotte
A handsome Reachman.
- Hiding the Handicap: He is going blind, which becomes the reason for him to join the Sunflowers at all rather than seek to become a sellsword.
- Ignore the Fanservice: He pays no attention to the numerous hopeful girls who try to make his acquaintance.
- Implied Love Interest: Alarra thinks he is in a relationship with Myribeth – she is strangely mild towards him (and since he is young, handsome, and healthy, it can't be out of pity like in Ellara's case or out of respect for old age and experience like in Garris's case), and he never shows any interest in his fangirls. Actually, it's revealed he is slowly but surely going blind.
- Mr. Fanservice: He is drop-dead gorgeous, graceful and tall, with a beautiful voice, and is always smartly-dressed. Many girls in the audience swoon over him.
- The Quiet One: He is strangely reclusive and is rarely seen anywhere except the stage and the Sunflowers' cart. That's because his sight is rapidly failing and he is desperate to hide the fact.
- Super-Senses: He has excellent hearing, which Jonquil finds out when she's sent to spy on him.
Ellara and Melara
Twin sisters from Dorne.
- Crosscast Role: In the first act of The Royal Penance, they play begging brothers.
- Old Maid: Ellara, at twenty-two, is desperate to find a husband and start a home of her own.
- Trauma Conga Line: During the Shivers epidemic, they lose their father and Melara her husband, so they have to join the Sunflowers. Since they have no acting talent whatsoever, they mostly act in silent and Bit Character parts, so they don't even get A Day in the Limelight, literal or figurative. Then Ellara, desperate to improve the situation, accepts Hugh's Casting Couch offer, only to be let down in the cruelest way possible.
- Underage Casting: Melara, only twenty-two, plays the Crone (until taking over as the Maiden).
