That concludes Nightmare.

If you could not tell from the title, the story was always meant to be sad. As I planned this and wrote this (for as you know, this was originally a one-shot that avoided the Dance), I knew that I could not bring Daenys a happy ending. It would be impossible given the circumstances, and it would not align with the unfortunate situation she was born into: she would always be needed.

Daenys has been one of my favorite characters to write, and that is perhaps because I followed her for so long in her life. When I first wrote her, she was 13. At the time of her death, she was 50. I wanted to explore all the sacrifices she had to make for her family, all the ways she was pulled back and forth by selfishness. In my head, she was the version of Daemon who openly cared for his family and did more of what was expected of him. They were a powerful duo, practically two halves of the same person. Yet, unfortunately for Daemon, Daenys would never want someone who was going to control her.

Daenys wonders often in this fic about what would have happened if Otto hadn't betrayed her. What would have happened if Viserys married her or named her heir. Even earlier, what would have happened if Rhaenys was chosen as heir and if Rhaenys and Viserys had been married from the first. The answers to these questions are mostly up for interpretation, but I'll let you know that much would still have gone astray.

I thought of several songs that made me think of Daenys, mostly from watching TikTok edits of other characters. The ones that stood out to me the most were her love songs with her two love interests. With Rolf, I feel she had a very much 'Die With a Smile' by Bruno Mars & Lady Gaga and 'Sailor Song' by Gigi Perez vibe, a true passionate love that transcended all. With Otto, it was more melancholic with 'About You' by The 1975, 'History of Man' by Maisie Peters (because the men start wars yet Troy hates Helen, iykyk), and 'Silver Springs' by Fleetwood Mac (because time cast a spell on her and she couldn't forget him, she knew she could have loved him but he wouldn't let her). Additionally, with her family as a whole I really like 'No1 Party Anthem' by Arctic Monkeys because of that beautiful 'look of love' verse.

Anyway, thank you to those who stuck with this story as I developed Daenys and also figured out how I wanted to write the unreleased seasons of HotD. This story was so fun to write and I am going to remember it so fondly.

Without further ado, my next fic (Daemon Targaryen x OC) is out now! Look for 'The Rogue' on my profile : )

Mischief Managed,

Sprinting Fox