The seawater shimmered under the watchful gaze of the moon in the night. It was a cool night in Strongsong as it was more north than King's Landing and since it was situated in Vale, the mountains also provided the cool air as they blocked the warmth coming from the south. This did not bother Inis at all. She liked the cool air far better than the heat of her…home. The thought of Red Keep alone made her sick.
She wanted to be as far away from that place. Fortunately enough she had her mother's beauty and her own charm to get the permission she wanted from her father to wander around Westeros without the royal pomp that came along with her title so she could familiarize herself better with the people her father was supposed to reign over and protect. Indeed, being king Robert's firstborn had its advantages. As fond as she was of her father…in a way so to speak, she wanted to be as far away from her wretched mother.
If her mother, the beautiful Cersei Baratheon-Lannister as she always liked to point out in letters she sent; thought Inis did not know about her and her uncle Jaime and the fact that the other three children were her not father's, she was mistaken. Any fool with decent sight could see that that imbecile Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen were all Lannister and not one drop of Baratheon blood. And then there was the whole thing about Inis seeing her mother and uncle fucking in her mother's bedchambers when her father was away on a hunt.
Inis was brought out of her thoughts by sound of footsteps behind her back. She shifted slightly on the rock and looked over her shoulder to see a lean figure wrapped in dove-grey cloak approaching her. Kyra Celtigar was her one true friend in the rat's nest. Many sought her 'friendship' but if there was one useful trait she got from her mother, was the ability to see through other people's lies. She guessed that since Lannisters were truly masters of lies, it did not pose much of a challenge to recognize a lie from someone lesser than them which in Tywin Lannister's opinion was everyone else.
Kyra was handy with a sword though she was much deadlier with her bow. As a lady from Free City of Volantis, she came to King's Landing as a little girl and Robert not being able to resist his sweet little girl, allowed Kyra to live in the Red Keep next to Inis. Though her mother Cersei protested, Robert simply waved it away and her mother could do nothing because Kyra's family was killed not so long before her arrival by some sellswords; making it impossible for Cersei to blackmail Kyra into anything.
"Came to admire the scenery or to join me in a swim?"
"Swim? At this time of night?" Kyra asked playfully as she came to sit down next to Inis.
"Well yes. No one can see us in the dark and I can dry us quickly." Inis nodded.
"I think we will have to postpone that. Lord Belemore's maester Lucas gave me this ten minutes ago. It's from King's Landing."
"If this is yet another demand from my mother…"
"Your father." Kyra quickly cut off Inis' rant.
Inis gave her a surprised look and took the letter. The sigil of her father was broken but Inis trusted Kyra enough to allow her to read her letters. She unrolled the parchment and read the message.
"Well, the weather is still warm enough for us to travel. And it has been some time since I was in Winterfell."
Indeed it was so. Last time Inis was in Winterfell when she was six and begged her father to meet his close friend and brother in arms Lord Eddard Stark. Though two men did have a fight before she was born, Robert agreed and visited Winterfell with her and small party of knights that included three of the Kingsguard. Her mother was too busy fussing over two year old Joffrey to care too much.
She was sorry to hear that Jon Arryn was dead. She liked the man, a rare man of honour and sincerity in the city of falsehoods, whores, drink and grovelling nobles. But this summon from her father to meet royal party in Winterfell meant more than just a social visit. There was only one reason her father was going this far North. To ask Ned Stark to be his hand. She could see certain advantage in that, lord Stark was not a man to buy. But she also knew this meant her father would marry her to Ned Stark's oldest son Robb.
Inis absolutely detested the very concept of arranged marriages but she could have been thrusted into far worse hands than Starks. Much worse in fact. She heard several times her father and grandfather arguing since Tywin Lannister fought tooth and nail for her to marry a lord of his choosing rather than Robert's. Her father however was adamant and it was one of the rare times she loved him for his sentiment. And she would not detest the idea of marriage to a Stark until she met her peer. Though rumours almost always had a grain of truth in them, she preferred to give people clean slate before she decided if she trusted them or not.
"He will insist you marry, won't he?"
"Yes and he has put off my hand in marriage long enough. I will be glad to be away from King's Landing, despite the fact that winter will be upon the land soon."
"I am actually quite interested in the North."
"That makes two of us then. Perhaps we can find you a husband there as well so you can stay with me."
"I would stay with you one way or the other." Kyra stated as they started to walk towards the castle.
"I know that my friend. Come, we should speak with Lord Belemore and get some sleep. We will leave for Winterfell in the morning. This raven travelled day and a half to here and another will take another three and a half to Winterfell. If weather serves us well, at average pace we can be there couple of days after the royal party arrives since father is already on the way."
"Agreed." Kyra smiled and locked her arm with hers as they slowly made their way back to the castle. "Let us hope your ability to attract trouble will not be active this time, I'd hate to end up in clutches of the lurking hill tribes."
"They do say that hope is last light to go out."
They truly had a long journey ahead of them and Inis could not shake a small feeling of foreboding in her stomach. Maybe it was because she knew she would be married soon. Albeit she suspected it could be far more serious and sinister.
AN: Yes, yet another OC meddling in the fates of G.R.R. Martin's characters. Like many other authors here on , I just could not resist it. More to come during the week. Just like everyone else, I like reviews and laugh at flames.