Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for Edena "Eydie" Arryn.

Anyway, hi everyone! I'm surprised I got this chapter out so quickly. I'm trying to make them as long as I can, but I'm pretty sure the rest will be longer... at least I hope so.

I'm trying as hard as I can to not make Eydie too much of a stereotypical OC so please let me know if you have any issues or the storyline starts to become too familiar.

Anyway, hope you like it!

Chapter 1: A Lady's Duty

"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have."

– Abraham Lincoln

I was five years old at the royal wedding. Due to my father's position I was allowed to by present during the ceremony. I remember it so vividly, just like it was yesterday. I remember my blue dress was so pretty I thought I would burst from excitement at getting to wear it. The air smelled like the flowers that hung from every surface.

Everyone was envious of Cersei Lannister. The maids commented bitterly on the match like vicious birds of prey picking apart a dead carcass. She was the luckiest maiden in Westeros to get the honor of not only becoming Queen, but to marry a man such as King Robert. What a proud, perfect specimen he was.

We waited for what felt like hours for the ceremony to begin. My step-mother tried to hide me from view when Cersei entered the room, but I snuck around her and got the perfect view.

Cersei Lannister was a vision in gold. Her dress glittered around her as she walked gracefully to the dais. Her flowing hair was embedded with jewels and little intricately designed braids. She glowed with the light that only truly happy people wear. Her smile did not once leave her face that day.

Looking at the pair, I thought to myself that this is the perfect couple. Two beautiful and powerful people who are obviously so in love. This is what I want for myself.

I idolized Cersei, for I thought that she was the perfect woman. Once she married King Robert, she became the perfect Queen.

The next day, though, I hid down the hall from the royal chambers. No one noticed the small girl hiding in the curtains, when the King left the Queen's chambers for the first time. It was through the open door that I saw the sad, empty woman staring at the King's retreating form.

I knew then that they were not in love. That like most marriages, it was out of duty. Why should the Queen get any different? Yet still, I wanted to be even more like her. Because unlike many women, Her Majesty continued to be the perfect woman. She refused to give into her emptiness, and pushed forward through life to give the King three beautiful children. As I grew older, the Queen remained my idol. She was just as beautiful as the first day I set eyes on her. However, as I grew I realized she was also a caring mother, a loyal wife, and a graceful Queen. She was sharp and smart and dutiful. She did what was right for her family, and never disgraced her husband's name or her father.

She spoke to me once. When I was almost thirteen name-days old, I received my first blood. Delivered to me with the morning sun, my sheets and nightgown were stained red in greeting.

My maids quickly got rid of the disgusting laundry, and my Septa was sent for to explain how to tend to myself. My blood was not as painful as some, so I took a little milk of the poppy and went for a walk. I was hiding in an alcove when the Queen and her ladies had stumbled upon me. Not knowing who to turn to with questions, I turned to crying instead.

The Queen stopped when she heard my sniffles, thinking it was one of her own children, and peeked behind the curtain at me. I promise you, that having the Queen see my tears on such an embarrassing day was not the highest point of my life.

"You, girl. Why do you cry?"

I was ashamed, but knew that it was better to not lie to your Queen, and answered plainly. "My flower has blossomed, Your Majesty."

"And? If it is painful you should be in bed."

"It-it's not painful, Your Majesty. I cry because I wish my mother was here to guide me through this…ordeal." I chose the words carefully, not wanting to offend Queen Cersei.

She watched me a minute before waving her ladies away. They waited down the hall while she took a seat next to me. She observed me carefully. "You are the Hand's daughter, correct?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Do you not have a new mother to speak with? I believe your father indeed has a wife, the Lady Lysa. Is that untrue?"

I winced and nodded. "She is my father's wife and shall soon birth my first sibling, but she is no mother to me. My mother was Lady Rowena Egen before she married my father."

The Queen watched me for quite a while, with what I could only describe as a calculating gaze. Suddenly, her hand reached out and took my hand in hers. "I, too, was motherless during my first bleeding. You are a woman, now. You will be expected to act like a true high-born lady. The suitors will soon come calling, and it will be up to you to use your womanly charms. A face like yours will gather many options for a match." When I blushed and began to thank her, she made an impatient sound at me. "Do not be embarrassed by your appearance. Your looks are one of your many tools over men. Embrace it and use it well, and I promise you that you will not regret it."

She left me then in that corner of the castle. Though we did not speak again about that day, she never ignored me. She would nod at me when she recognized my presence at feasts or in the hallways. My admiration for this perfect woman would continue to grow.

I was barely fourteen when my step-mother whispered in my father's ear ideas about marriage and sending me away. With my brother Robin born, she wanted me as far from them as possible, but settled for arranging the marriage between I and the young Lord Romar Royce. His father was one of my father's bannermen, and his elder brother was married to my mother's cousin. I was to stay at the Eyrie where my father's men and servants could protect me, and Romar would come to stay at the Eyrie with me for periods of time so we may grow to like each other. My brother was not even a year old when I left. The Queen's children, respectively, were eight, five, and two.

My father was sad to see me go, but thought that I would be more likely to one day love my future husband if I spent time getting to know him for several years before the actual wedding would take place. He threw a feast for me as a goodbye present. Though he did not know that the greatest gift was that the Royal family was in attendance!

As I watched the dancers from my place beside my father, I could not help but overhear his discussion with the King.

"You could've done better. We both know it. Hells, everyone knows it." The King's face was red from the wine, but even I know these were the words of a truthful man. "She seems like a good enough sort. Any child of yours certainly deserves more than the second son of a bannerman. She won't even become a true Lady of any land unless damn Andar dies without an heir."

"I know the boy's father, Lord Yohn. If he is anything like him, Robar will treat my Eydie like she deserves." My father's voice was unwavering.

This time the Queen spoke up, surprising both the men and myself. "The daughter of the Hand deserves better. She's fair enough, weren't there more suitors?"

"Aye," nodded my father. "But they all were too far, or not quite right for her. I would like Edena to be close to home and with someone I already know and trust. I want her to be safe." He took a slow drink of his wine. "The Royce's have never wavered in their loyalty to House Arryn, and Edena's mother was especially close with Lord Yohn's wife. It is a good match."

The King scoffed at my father's words. "It is a safe match, not a good one. You want her looked after, but you don't care to ensure she will receive anything prosperous from this match."

It was then that I understood the uncommonness of my match. My father wanted me to be happy, and thought a marriage to a Royce would be good for me. He didn't realize that what I really wanted was to bring honor to our family by marrying a high-born Lord and blessing him with many sons! The only thing I had ever wanted was quickly slipping through my fingers. How could the man who raised me not realize that I could do so much better than what he was placing before me?

I turned to leave, wanting nothing more than to hide away in my room and cry into my pillow. The face watching me beside my brother was what stopped me in my tracks.

My step-mother recognized the upset look on my face and smirked. Suddenly I knew who had really suggested this marriage. Lysa was a bitter woman who held a grudge against a girl who had done her no wrong. With this match, not only will I no longer be around to distract my father from giving my brother and my step-mother all of his attention, but now I will be married below my position, something she somehow knew would shame me like no other.

I turned away from her that night, realizing then that nothing could ever bring the two of us closer. We would never be close, and what she had done would now seal that forever.

The next day as I left King's Landing, I promised myself that if I could not raise my position any higher from that which I was to marry into, I would never show that it had affected my output on life.

I was a Lady, and nothing could take that from me. Especially not Lysa Tully.

Feel free to review, but don't feel pressured. Thanks to those four people who subscribed to my story after just the introduction! You lot are probably what encouraged me to get this one up as fast as I did.

A brief explanation, because I know someone will have questions: Eydie is very much a typical girl in this chapter, clinging to what she believes is the perfect example of what a woman is. In no way do I like Cersei, but I feel like especially when Cersei was younger, she was probably what every girl dreamed of becoming. This idolization of her does in fact warp Eydie's view of things, but I think everyone had that person in their life at some point or another.

Also, for those who think she's just going to be a simple girl who wants to be a Lady and spends all her time trying to please people-NO. Stick with the story a couple more chapters and I promise it'll heat up.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

SimplyMarvy