Theories about books suggest that Daenerys Targaryen secretly lived in Westeros as a child, and Game of Thrones totally passed on the details surrounding it. Everyone who’s seen Game of Thrones knows that Daenerys began her journey with an older brother, Viserys, who had made her life miserable up until the moment of his gruesome death. However, one would have to read the A Song of Ice & Fire books to know precisely where they lived prior to ending up in Pentos. The life of the escaped descendants of a fallen monarchy is tumultuous and one of constant movement.

After Robert’s Rebellion and the end of nearly 300 years of Targaryen History, Viserys and Daenerys fled from Westeros to begin their lives in Essos. At least, that’s what Viserys has told Daenerys. He was old enough to remember more from these earlier days, but he wasn’t the most honest individual, and it might have been to his political benefit to keep certain matters a secret from his sister, allowing him to use her as an item for trade. Daenerys recalls her past, but there’s compelling information that contradicts what she believes.

The House With The Red Door & Lemon Tree In Daenerys’ Backstory Explained

Daenerys’s Memories Are A Critical Part Of Her Book Story

Daenerys earned her title “Stormborn” due to the violent storm that raged as she was birthed on Dragonstone. Her mother passed away in labor, and the Targaryen fleet was destroyed in the storm, leaving no choice but for Daenerys and Viserys to escape the castle while they could. As Stannis Baratheon prepared to win over Dragonstone for his brother, Ser Willem Darry and others brought the Targaryen children into exile. According to Daenerys in A Game of Thrones, their first home was in Braavos, the city that Arya travels to train with the Faceless Men in Game of Thrones.

Notably, in A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys’s memories of Braavos are described as “half-remembered.”

Daenerys describes her home in Braavos as a house with a red door and a lemon tree resting under her bedroom window. Throughout the series, Daenerys envisions this red door in multiple dreams and even sees it in the book’s version of her trip into the House of the Undying, which is very different from the TV show’s. Willem Darry eventually passed away, and Daenerys and Viserys began to travel around the Free Cities of Essos, including Myr, Qohor, Tyrosh, Lys, and Volantis. Notably, in A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys’s memories of Braavos are described as “half-remembered.”

Why Daenerys’ House May Not Be In Essos

There Are No Lemon Trees In Braavos

Image Created by Lukas Shayo

The strangest thing about the detail of the lemon tree is that the books have specifically cited that there are no lemon trees in Braavos. In medieval times, lemons required a specific climate to be grown, which means that a cold, wet climate like Braavos or the North wouldn’t be ideal for them. In fact, most regions of Westeros wouldn’t be possible. So, it’s undoubtedly the case that the house Daenerys described wasn’t in Braavos, which leads to numerous questions about where she lived, why Viserys would lie about it, and more.

One might think that this is an accident. Martin has said that there are aspects of the early novels he wishes he could change, but this isn’t one of them. There are dozens of occasions when lemons are mentioned in A Song of Ice & Fire, and yes, Martin has a penchant for talking about food in his novels, but the quotes about lemons often feel like targeted clues. On the matter, Martin has said, “There’s a certain revelation about the red door that will come into the books that I have yet to write” (via 7Kingdoms).

Where In Westeros Could Daenerys Targaryen Have Lived?

Dorne Is The Location In Westeros That Grows Citrus

So, if Daenerys Targaryen didn’t live in Braavos, it raises an obvious question. The answer to that question is more than likely Dorne, the home of House Martell, a plotline that Game of Thrones notoriously botched. It’s mentioned numerous times throughout A Song of Ice & Fire that lemon trees grow in Dorne; there’s even a castle called Lemonwood. From there, the questions become about Daenerys and House Targaryen’s connection to Dorne.

Dorne and the Targaryens got off on the wrong foot during Aegon’s Conquest, as the southern nation was famously impregnable. It took nearly 200 years for Dorne to join the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, long after everyone else did. By the time Robert’s Rebellion rolled around, however, they were loyal supporters of King Aerys Targaryen, as the heir to the Iron Throne, Prince Rhaegar, was married to Elia Martell. It makes sense that Daenerys might have been hidden in Dorne after being sent in exile, as the Dornish never fancied the subsequent Baratheon/Lannister rule, holding Tywin responsible for Elia’s murder.

In Game of Thrones, the Dornish eventually become allies when she sails to Westeros and begins to conquer the Seven Kingdoms, but the plot is much different in A Song of Ice & Fire. After Oberyn’s death in A Storm of Swords, several members of House Martell are introduced in A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, and it’s hard to pinpoint what their ultimate goal(s) is, with the patriarch Doran Martell being one of the most dangerous schemers in the realm. At this point, there’s too much to speculate on and nothing of concrete relevance.

GRRM Needs To Pay Off This Part Of Daenerys’ Backstory

Daenerys’s Origins May Drastically Affect Her Future

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Out of the countless narrative elements fans are hoping to see resolved in The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, answering the questions about Daenerys’s origins seems among the most crucial. Martin writes cyclical tales, so her beginning will be vital to the poetry of her ending. There’s something significant about the red door, and even though there are some phenomenal, complex theories analyzing the visual for its colors, themes, connections to houses, characters, you name it, none of it matters until George R.R. Martin figures out the ending to his fantasy epic and connects all the pieces.

The red door isn’t simply a childhood memory. It could connect to her having allies in Dorne or any other number of possibilities. Some have even questioned whether Daenerys was the one born at the Tower of Joy and not Jon, though this would raise dozens of other questions. It’s one story detail Game of Thrones left out, and one book readers are dying to hear more about. Hopefully, The Winds of Winter will eventually hit shelves to satisfy the craze.