Leona Tyrell

Leona Tyrell is the Lady of Highgarden by birthright and marriage to Gareth Tyrell, its decreed Lord and former heir of House Tyrell of Brightwater Keep. She is the widow of Prince Maekar Targaryen and former Princess Consort of Summerhall.

Appearance
Leona is a small woman, both narrow-shouldered and small of waist despite her petite frame having thickened with the births of her children, becoming almost supple where once she was thin. A graceful, pious woman- she dresses modestly yet elegantly, and is scarcely ever seen without her cherished amulet bearing the seven-pointed star. Often, she wears her brown hair drawn back from her hazel eyes.

Family & Supporting Characters

 * Ser Byron 'the Blue', a member of the Rainbow Guard and Lady Leona's personal sworn-sword. Ser Byron has lead several search parties organized to locate Leona's eldest daughter, Rhaena Targaryen, who has been missing for many years.
 * Elowyn Tyrell, Leona's niece, daughter of her late sister, Margaret.
 * More

Birth and Childhood
Fabled Highgarden rejoiced when dawn broke and Leona Tyrell was born- just moments before her brother, Lyonel, in 380 AC. Lord Gareth Tyrell and his wife, Lady Liane Hightower, understood the importance of submersing their children in scholarly pursuits from a young age and Leona and her siblings partook in their lessons almost as soon as they could speak well enough to string full thoughts together in conversation. Though the Tyrell brood were afforded the best education and tutors available, Leona craved knowledge only old, dusty tomes could teach. Much of her girlhood was enjoyed at play within the verdant confines of Highgarden's lush courtyards, but more was spent with her nose buried between pages scoured left to right with centuries-old ink. At the age of ten, Leona painfully parts with her brothers in lieu of the Hightower, where she would serve her aunt-by-law, Lynora Lannister, as a companion.

Leona quickly became affixed with Oldtown, with its bustling life at court and seemingly endless library of books and scrolls. The years she spent there were most formative of not only her character, but her religion, as well. With the resurgence of the Starry Rites in Westeros, Leona grew close to her faith and increasingly more devout year by year. Hers was a most welcomed sight to behold in the Starry Sept, alongside that of her cousin, Leyton Hightower - with whom she shared a playful bond despite his being five years her junior. As her courtly education continued, the bookish little Leona grew to become a graceful young lady that had effortlessly won the respect and admiration of her friends, family and peers.

At the age of five-and-ten, her father summons her home to Highgarden and shortly thereafter a tournament is hosted at her childhood home in honor of her (and Lyonel's) sixteenth nameday. The families of many Reachlords attend and compete for glory, but none so prolific as the champion of the joust himself - Prince Maekar Targaryen, whom Leona first met previously in Oldtown whilst he, too, visited his cousins of the Hightower. Leona is crowned as his Queen of Love and Beauty and thus the flame of their courtship ignited. Their passion blossoms and the pair are wed within the year - and their first child, a daughter called Rhaena, would be the fruit of their union.

The Rose of Summer
Their marriage prospered and Leona made a home out of the palace of Summerhall, despite the presence of fire made flesh: flying, breathing, living dragons- the constant sight of them was never underwhelming, with each look upon them just as apprehensive and awed as the last. In the year of 399, Princess Gael Targaryen would be born in those halls and soon, her father would return home from the War of the Three Kings as both a victor and a hero to reunite with both of his young daughters and his wife.

All is well and Leona becomes heavy with child again in 402, proudly giving birth to the couple's first son later that year. Baelor's birth is met with boundless joy by the newly minted Targaryens of Summerhall, but the young family becomes worrisome with the babe's health as the moons stretch ever onward and he proves sickly - prone to colic and coughs that rack him, and fevers that even the maester finds trouble alleviating.

After the spoils of war concluded and its soldiers had marched safely home, Prince Maekar was offered and accepted an advisory position upon the king's Small Council. With him, Leona and their three children relocate from Summerhall to King's Landing, much to her dismay. King's Landing is rife with the schemes of ambitious men and Leona did not fail to notice; she comes to despise the capital, and unhappily yearns for home. Paired with her hopeless longing is the guilt that comes inevitably with it- conflicted by the scales where upon one plate her husband's growing prestige is weighed, and the other heavier with the belief that there, she is surrounded by those that are not truly Faithful. Princess Leona's dread only worsened when time with her husband became sparse, save for their worship within the sanctuary of the sept. The sept would become her only sanctuary when Baelor succumbed to a sudden sickness, and the grieving couple returned to Summerhall following Maekar's resignation when Visaera is named their grandfather's heir.

Leona is effectively plunged further into the clutches of her grief when the loss of her infant son is coupled with that of her elder brother, Luthor, whose rule of Highgarden had stretched merely seven years following the death of their father. The next few years of Leona's life would be stricken by immeasurable loss that strained all hope; these she would consider the darkest times of her life, and the darker they grew the more withdrawn Leona became - turning faithfully to her Gods and her husband upon the heel of her last vestige of hope.

The Mummer's War, and all those whose deaths lead up to its final battle, would all but extinguish it. The crippling loss of her twin brother, Lyonel, was felt equally with that of the infant, Baelor. After his fall, Liane Hightower devised a plan to install Leo Tyrell, a distant cousin, as Lord of Highgarden - further solidifying his claim with a match that saw him married to Leona's younger sister, Margaret.

The year of 407 AC would see Leona the widow of Prince Maekar Targaryen and the last rose of Highgarden. In search of support of his claim, her husband met his end in Dorne. Leona was left with no choice but to leave Oldtown for Summerhall with Gael in tow, but without Rhaena who had disappeared without a trace. Upon their arrival, they were found by Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, and taken in custody back to King's Landing, where Leona would be forced to denounce her fallen husband before the Queen and her courtiers. With Leo murdered at the Hightower, the inheritance of Highgarden would be decided there - and Visaera Targaryen would decree Lord Gareth Tyrell of Brightwater Keep its new lord and Leona, his soon-to-be wife.

Lady of Highgarden
Though she and the Gods would know no other man could claim her heart, Leona Tyrell was wed in Highgarden, her childhood home, to its new lord. Though loveless, their union was not wholly unpleasant, but filled instead with cold politeness. Leona found some comfort in the company of her sister, whose abdomen had grown round with child. She spent much of her time worrying with Margaret's pregnancy - anything to preoccupy her mind of what troubled her, those worries that persisted in their torment at night, concerned with the fate of her only remaining daughter, Gael, and what would become of her as a ward of the queen in the capital.

Margaret died in childbed late in the year of 408, having given birth to a healthy baby girl that Leona would name Elowyn, and care for as her own daughter. The next year, Leona would give birth to the first of her four sons with Gareth.

Recent Events

 * Leona attends the Tournament of Summerhall with her husband and children, and then depart for King's Landing, intending to find a suitable match for their eldest son and heir, Garlan.