Description

Meleys, called the Red Queen, was a she-dragon ridden by Princess Alyssa Targaryen and later Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. Meleys had scarlet scales and pink membranes on her wings, for which she received her alias, the Red Queen. Her crest, horns, and claws were bright as copper. In 75 AC, Meleys was considered to be one of the swiftest dragons in Westeros, easily outpacing Caraxes and Vhagar. By 129 AC, Meleys had grown lazy, but was still fearsome when roused. Meleys was old, cunning and no stranger to battle.

Meleys, a dragon, resided in the Dragonpit in King's Landing by 75 AC. Prior to that, she had never been ridden. In that same year, Princess Alyssa Targaryen claimed her. Two years later, in 77 AC, Alyssa carried her newborn son Viserys on Meleys for a flight. She did the same with her second son, Daemon, within two weeks of his birth in 81 AC. Meleys was left without a rider when Alyssa died giving birth in 84 AC. Princess Rhaenys Targaryen claimed Meleys in 87 AC. Two years later, in 89 AC, Rhaenys and Meleys flew to Highgarden to accompany King Jaehaerys I Targaryen on his progress to the Shield Islands. When Rhaenys married Lord Corlys Velaryon in 90 AC, she made sure to arrive at the wedding on Meleys.

During the Dance of the Dragons, Rhaenys rode Meleys. When Ser Criston Cole's army besieged Rook's Rest in 129 AC, Rhaenys and Meleys went to lend aid. Meleys was attacked with iron bolts, which angered her but did not harm her. In retaliation, she spewed fire on the men below. Meleys engaged Vhagar and Sunfyre in a fight when they arrived above Rook's Rest. According to Archmaester Gyldayn, Meleys may have stood a chance against Vhagar alone, but not against both dragons combined. Meleys managed to clamp her jaws around Sunfyre's neck, but Vhagar then attacked them, causing the three dragons to crash to the ground half a league from Rook's Rest. Meleys did not survive the fall, and her body was torn apart. Afterward, Meleys's head was brought to King's Landing by King Aegon II Targaryen's forces and paraded through the city on a cart, leaving the smallfolk in awe.