Bethany Bracken

Bethany was raised in Stone Hedge as the daughter of the lord of House Bracken and the younger sister of Barba Bracken, and both groomed her with one aim: taking Melissa Blackwood's place as the king's favorite mistress.

Her chance came in 177 AC, when Aegon IV traveled to Stone Hedge to visit his bastard son Aegor Rivers. There he noticed Bethany and chose to bring her back with him to court.

Yet the king was not the man she had hoped for: heavy, ill-tempered, and increasingly hard to bear. At court Bethany grew close to Ser Terrence Toyne, a knight of the Kingsguard, and that closeness soon turned into a secret love.

In 178 AC, Aegon IV caught the couple together in bed. Their protests of love changed nothing: the king ordered them both put to death. Terrence Toyne was cut apart piece by piece, and Bethany was made to watch his execution before facing her own.

Terrence's brothers sought revenge and moved against Aegon IV himself. Prince Aemon Targaryen, known as the Dragonknight, stepped in to shield him and died doing so; the Toyne brothers did not survive their attempt at regicide.

The episode marked the beginning of the end for House Toyne, dragged down by their sons' treason.