The romantic relationships in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are complex. Amid duty, alliances, and politics, the few relationships of genuine affection often end badly. There is one of them, extremely sad, which yielded the song Jenny from Oldstones. If one day the adaptation of the book The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms gets off the ground, we’ll see how it all happened.

Jenny, who is from Oldstones, is like a Wally Simpson or, more recently, Meghan Markle of Westeros. To be with her, a prince abandoned the crown. In this case, Duncan Targaryen, eldest son of King Aegon “Egg” Targaryen V, was being prepared to succeed him. Duncan and Jenny’s tragic story has both hope and tears and is one of the most-sung legends in Westeros.

As heir, Duncan was the Prince of Dragonstone and was named after the King’s best friend, Ser Duncan the Tall. The prince had a strong personality and challenged his father to follow his heart. All because in a passage through Riverlands, Duncan fell in love with a mysterious girl named Jenny from Oldstones. Jenny was mocked by the local population for claiming that she was descended from kings of the First Men (now extinct) and lived among ruins, like a savage. To the people, Jenny was nothing more than a disturbed peasant, possibly a witch as well. Anyway, Duncan fell head over heels in love with her as she did with him. Hidden marriage was a political problem.

Like all heirs, the decision of who to marry was made by the King, and Duncan was already betrothed from young age to the daughter of Ser Lyonel Baratheon. Breaking the commitment was cause for rebellion, which, of course, happened. Aegon V did his best to break the union, demanding that Duncan cast Jenny aside. But, just like his father’s characteristic stubbornness, Duncan denied it. It got to the point of being summoned to a convention in which he would have to choose: either Jenny or the Iron Throne. The prince relinquished his rights to the Crown and his brother Jaehaerys took his place. Duncan could not be without the woman he loved.

As a consequence, Aegon V had to face the Baratheons who felt harmed and the battle was bloody, only ending when Ser Duncan defeated Ser Lionel in a man-to-man fight. To be fair and to try to repair the damage caused by his son’s passion, the King gave his solemn word that his youngest daughter, Rhaelle, would marry Lord Lyonel’s heir.

The engagement party also served as another important event. Rhaelle took a liking to Jenny, by now called Lady Jenny, and her sister-in-law went to Stormsend for the ceremony, where she was officially accepted by the nobility. Throughout the Seven Kingdoms Jenny also became a popular figure as the first commoner to become a princess. Even with the succession resolved and Peace restored, you have to remember the Game of Thrones mantra, if you’re not paying attention you’ll forget that there are no happy endings here.

Jenny’s best friend was a little witch from the forest and she quoted the prophecy of the Song of Fire and Ice, nailing that the promised prince would be born from the lineage of Prince Aerys (future Mad King) and Princess Rhaella Targaryen, children of Jaehaerys, who was not yet King.

Upon learning of the prophecy, Jaeherys forced the children to marry, even against Rhaella’s wishes. By this time, Jaeherys’ father, King Aegon V, had only one obsession: restoring the presence of dragons in the Seven Kingdoms. Dragons became extinct in the Civil War between Rhaenyra and Aegon II, and in the last years of his reign, Aegon V wanted to see a live dragon. The quest for knowledge to achieve the goal included traveling to Asshai, far from Westeros, and also developing other possibilities. It seems he found a chance to hatch the eggs if using Greenfire and summoned his closest friends and children to accompany him to Summerhall, where he would celebrate the imminent birth of his first great-grandson, Rhaegar with a real dragon. His dear son Duncan was among the party.

Little is known about what actually happened next. A letter from Maester Corso says that there were seven dragon eggs to honor the seven gods. But the flames grew out of control, licking the castle in flames and leaving it in ruins. Among the dead were the King, his friend, Ser Duncan, Prince Duncan, and… Jenny. The legend says that in the ruins, it is possible to see her dancing with her ghosts.

Jaeherys and his children survived. In that fire, amid the ash and fire, was born Prince Rhaegar, son of Aerys and Rhaella. Years later, having lost several children, on a stormy night, when Aerys was killed by Jaime Lannister, Rhaella gave birth to a girl, Daenerys. Rhaeghar was killed in battle by Robert Baratheon, Rhaelle’s grandson, but was secretly married to Lyanna Stark, with whom he had a son, Jon Snow. Jon is the true son of Ice and Fire. As we know, the prophecy was right.

If one day Duncan and Jenny’s story hit the screens, it will certainly be one of the most beautiful and saddest in the Game of Thrones universe.

High in the halls of the kings who are gone
Jenny would dance with her ghosts
The ones she had lost and the ones she had found
And the ones who had loved her the most

The ones who’d been gone for so very long
She couldn’t remember their names
They spun her around on the damp old stones
Spun away all her sorrow and pain

And she never wanted to leave, never wanted to leave
Never wanted to leave, never wanted to leave

They danced through the day
And into the night through the snow that swept through the hall
From winter to summer then winter again
‘Til the walls did crumble and fall

And she never wanted to leave, never wanted to leave
Never wanted to leave, never wanted to leave
And she never wanted to leave, never wanted to leave
Never wanted to leave, never wanted to leave

High in the halls of the kings who are gone
Jenny would dance with her ghosts
The ones she had lost and the ones she had found
And the ones
Who had loved her the most