Maiden's Day curse
The Maiden's Day curse is the name given to the number of calamities that befell several highborn ladies prior to the Maiden's Day Ball in 133 AC.[1]
Background
A ball was to be held for King Aegon III Targaryen, so he could choose his new queen. It was no secret that the Hand of the King, Lord Unwin Peake, wished for Aegon to choose his daughter Myrielle Peake. A number of rumors or events of ill fortune befell several promising highborn ladies prior to the ball, some said to have been arranged by Unwin Peake to defame or eliminate the damsels he considered his daughter's greatest rivals.[1]
- Cassandra Baratheon was again rumored to have had a part in Queen Jaehaera's death.
- Ysabel Staunton was said to be fond of wine.
- Elinor Massey was rumored to have been deflowered.
- Rosamund Darry was said to have had six nipples, for her mother had supposedly lain with a dog.
- Lyra Hayford was accused of having smothered her infant brother in a fit of jealousy.
- The "three Jeynes": Jeyne Smallwood, Jeyne Mooton, and Jeyne Merryweather were said to dress in squire's garb and visit brothels, fondling women as if they were boys.
- Tyshara Lannister was found abed with a groom. She said he had climbed through her window uninvited, but Grand Maester Munkun found her maidenhead to be broken.
- Lucinda Penrose was set upon by outlaws whilst hawking, and her nose was slit.
- Falena Stokeworth took a tumble down the stairs and broke her leg.
- Lady Buckler and her daughters drowned when their boat sank in Blackwater Bay.
- Volantene maidens, daughters of ancient houses, were carried off by corsairs from the Basilisk Isles while on their way to King's Landing.[1]
After all these calamities, some men began to speak of a "Maiden's Day curse", while others saw secret hands at work. However, it is uncertain if Unwin Peake and his minions were responsible for all these misfortunes, or if they were merely coincidence. Nevertheless, Mushroom, the court fool, confesses in his Testimony to having been paid "handsomely" to spread the gossip to Aegon's ears, to poison him against these maids and others. Mushroom says Tessario, captain of Lord Peake's personal guard, gave him a choice between "silver or steel," and "to my shame, I bade him sheath his dagger and seized that sweet fat purse."[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Fire & Blood, Under the Regents - War and Peace and Cattle Shows.