Maiden's Day curse

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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]

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. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Fire & Blood, Under the Regents - War and Peace and Cattle Shows.