Annara Hayford

Annara Hayford is Lord Renfred Hayford’s eldest daughter and the current heiress to the Castle of Hayford. She resides at court in King’s Landing as Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen.

Appearance and Character
Annara’s darker hair is mainly reminiscent of that of her Rambton mother. Her build is slender, allowing her the agility required for her combat style, although she is not fragile, either, but has a healthy complexion.

Much like her father, Annara can be stubborn and decisive, something that has not necessarily helped her in her search for a suitor, but also has kept unwanted candidates at distance. She is diligent about her duties, and curious to learn more about them, her ambition focussed on those, rather than superficial status.

Early Life
Annara Hayford was born in 413 AC as the first child of Renfred Hayford, then the heir of Hayford, and his young wife Mira Rambton. Early on, she was instructed by the Maester of Hayford in fields that would concern a girl and a boy alike, preparing her for more practical tasks than courtly ones, while leaving out anything that would be related to personal combat.

In 419 AC, her younger brother Marston Hayford was born, but young Annara was already taking well to her lessons in reading and arithmetic, so that her administrative education was continued, something her father, in particular, valued highly. Over the years, Annara became more and more skilled as a steward, but also in the more academic fields.

King's Landing
In 426 AC, when her father was appointed as Master of Coin, Annara followed him to King’s Landing. Now a maiden flowered, she became a Lady-in-Waiting to the Princess Rhaenyra. She had been little prepared for the courtly fields of leisure and intrigue, but it turned out that her royal companion would be able to teach her even more useful skills, and Annara began to take part in combat training with the Princess and her fighting companions, while on the more academic side learning the High Valyrian tongue, soon speaking that venerable language fluently.

While not as athletic as Rhaenyra, and thus usually defeated in friendly duels with the older woman, Annara’s benefit lay in her agility, and so, she learned to fight with a rapier instead of a heavier sword, being instructed by teachers from across the Narrow Sea that dwelt in the Capital.

On the political side, Annara became heiress to Hayford soon after her arrival in King’s Landing, when both her grandmother Bethany and her two brothers died of a fever in 427 AC. All the more, young Annara took to assisting her father in the administration, becoming more familiar with the Hayford lands, while Lord Renfred managed the finances of the Iron Throne itself.

In 433 AC, Lord Renfred resigned from the Small Council and returned to Hayford, but instead of following her father, Annara remained in King’s Landing, only occasionally visiting her home, in order to stay close to Rhaenyra, now the Queen Consort, especially with the growing factionalism, and to manage House Hayford’s possessions in the Capital, herself living in the manse of the House. So, she has taken more and more to the management of House Hayford’s administration, while representing her house at court.