Rhaena Targaryen and Elissa Farman

Rhaena Targaryen and Elissa Farman’s friendship, rooted in their girlhood, became one of the most painful attachments of Rhaena’s life on Dragonstone. Rhaena wanted Elissa to stay; Elissa wanted the freedom to sail. When Elissa departed and three dragon eggs went missing, affection gave way to suspicion and anger, leaving their relationship divided by both a personal parting and a consequential loss.

Friendship on Dragonstone

Elissa was Rhaena’s girlhood friend and, later, a beloved presence in the queen’s household. Their closeness is clearest in the conflict over Elissa’s wish to leave: Rhaena said she could not bear to lose her, while Elissa heard only a refusal. Rhaena’s attachment was genuine, but it did not make her willing to support the journey Elissa wanted.

The refused voyage

Elissa had been denied any share of the incomes of Fair Isle by her brother, Franklyn Farman. She asked Rhaena for enough gold to build a large, swift ship in the shipyards of Driftmark, intended for a voyage across the Sunset Sea. Rhaena refused. Her stated reason was personal: she could not bear for Elissa to leave. The refusal exposed the difference between them: Rhaena understood the request through the prospect of losing her friend, while Elissa’s plans depended on money and a ship that could carry her away.

When Elissa later told Rhaena that she could no longer endure life on Dragonstone and that the sea was calling her, Rhaena answered that she had asked her to stay but would not beg; if Elissa wished to go, she should go. The exchange shows Rhaena trying to hold to her dignity even as she faced the separation she feared. Elissa departed without the support she had sought, and Rhaena did not persuade her to remain.

Departure and separation

Aerea Targaryen, Rhaena’s daughter, reacted more openly to Elissa’s farewell. She wept, clung to Elissa’s leg, and asked either that Elissa stay or take her along, saying she wanted to sail and have adventures. Elissa shed a tear, gently pushed the child away, and told her that her place was at home. Her departure the following morning made the separation final for both Rhaena and Aerea.

Elissa sailed first to Driftmark, then across the narrow sea to Pentos, and travelled overland to Braavos. Rhaena and Aerea did not know her eventual destination; Rhaena believed she had gone no farther than Driftmark. The distance between what Rhaena knew and where Elissa had actually gone deepened the rupture: Elissa had left not only Dragonstone but also the reach of Rhaena’s immediate understanding.

The missing eggs and the rupture

A fortnight after Elissa left, Ser Merrell Bullock reported that three dragon eggs were missing from the dragon yard. After questioning those with access, he was convinced Elissa had taken them. Rhaena’s response was furious. She ordered sharper questioning of the grooms and stableboys; when it produced nothing, she removed Ser Merrell from command and expelled him, his son Ser Alyn, and a dozen other men she considered suspicious. She also summoned her husband, Androw Farman, and demanded to know whether he had helped his sister. His denials intensified the argument until their shouts echoed through Dragonstone’s halls.

Rhaena sent men to Driftmark and then to Pentos, but the trail ended there. She eventually flew Dreamfyre to the Red Keep to tell her brother, Jaehaerys Targaryen, what had happened. Rhaena believed Elissa wanted gold to build a ship and would sell the eggs; Jaehaerys warned that, if they hatched, they could create another dragonlord beyond the royal house. The missing eggs thus turned a private separation into a threat Rhaena brought before the king. The account leaves their friendship without reconciliation: Rhaena had tried to keep Elissa close, but after Elissa’s departure and the suspected theft, their closeness was overshadowed by anger, unanswered questions, and the loss of the eggs.