In the years that followed the First Blackfyre Rebellion, Princess Daenerys Targaryen of Sunspear seldom spoke of her half-brother Daemon Blackfyre again, save to her husband, Prince Maron Martell. It was said by those closest to her that a shadow never fully left her eyes, nor did her heart ever fully mend. And yet, from grief, Princess Daenerys drew compassion, and in compassion, she left a legacy that would outlive the fires of war.
In 198 AC, the heat in Sunspear rose to such sweltering heights that even the Dornish lords took refuge behind shuttered windows. To escape the harsh sun, Princess Daenerys took her children—three of them, young and bright, to the Water Gardens, a place of beauty made of colored marble, with pools, fountains, and trees her husband had built for her when first she came to Dorne.
The Water Gardens, with their cool fountains and tiled pools, had been designed as a sanctuary of peace and beauty. There, amongst the lemon trees and marble courtyards, Daenerys found comfort in watching her children play. And on that day, something more.
The princess saw children laughing and splashing in the pools—some of noble birth, the sons and daughters of lords and ladies; others the children of guards, servants, and tradesmen. For a moment, Daenerys simply watched them, their little forms darting between sunbeams and shade, naked and unburdened by names or blood. She realized she could not tell one child from the next. Nor did she wish to.
Turning to her attendants, she commanded that no child be turned away from the pools that day, or ever again. "Let them play," she said, "for naked, they are only children. And all children—be they born in castles or taverns—deserve life, love, and protection."
It is said that she then called over her eldest son, the boy who would one day rule Dorne, and bade him look upon the children in the gardens. "These are your people," she told him. "There is your realm. Remember them, my son, in everything you do."
Thus was born the tradition of the princes and princesses of Dorne visiting the Water Gardens with their heirs, teaching them not from scrolls or sermons, but from the laughter of children at play. To this day, the pools of the Water Gardens remain open to highborn and lowborn alike, and the heirs of Sunspear are taught there that true rule is not only in power or law, but in compassion and care.
So it was that Princess Daenerys, a dragon wed to a sun, left behind not only children of royal blood but a gentler legacy, drawn from grief and forged in love. No monument stands in her name, no songs were written of her mourning—but in the laughter of children playing under the sun, her spirit endures.