Caielle meant breathless wind in old Valyrian. Her father had told her as much many times over, insisting that she was all the beauty of the summer islands, packed within herself with wisps of flowers and spice. Her Lady Mother had said the same, telling tales of the isles and it's wonders while brushing through her daughter's long hair. They, along with most of the iron isles, were convinced that Caielle Greyjoy was every bit the delight her parents made her out to be.
But they were wrong.
Caielle knew she was no ordinary flower as she dropped down from the tall rock, landing with her ankles in a cold, saltwater pool. Her petals were made of crashing waves, dark gray and seething with the ocean's wrath as they collided with the shore. Her stem was wrought of the darkest iron, born from generations of hard life on the northern coast. The sunshine that brought her life was instead a roaring fire, fueled by her determination, tended with the willful pulse inside her heart that her mother hated.
Caielle Greyjoy was a summer storm, swirling madly out at sea. Waiting for the most precise, calculated moment to rain down it's fury on those who dared to defied it. She was the tossing surf that swirled over rock and sand as the gale drew closer, foamy gray, hiding swift currents that could sweep away the Drowned God himself.
One such storm was looming on the horizon as Caielle made her way along the shore, intent on reaching Pyke before the rain hit. She'd strayed too far from the castle, losing herself in tracing the movement of a pair of Ice Sharks she'd spotted stalking a seal and its pups. Curious, Caielle had followed in quick pursuit. By the time the sharks had caught one of the fat pups, they'd lead her past Dead Man's cliff and into a narrow stretch of the shore that held dangerous tide pools.
A quick burst of wind warned her that the storm was far closer than she'd like. The water was beginning to rush at her feet, the waves growing stronger as dark clouds pressed closer to the island. Caielle broke into a run, keeping as far away from the water as she could. The tops of the tallest masts in the port were already visible over an outcrop of tall boulders that rested in the sand. She ran toward them, feeling the wind whip her dark hair over her face.
There were scrapes on her hands and she'd managed to bruise her calf by the time Caielle managed to pull herself over the rocks. Even dressed as she was in long pants and a thick jacket, the surface of the rocks was rough, pulling at her flesh until she landed in the soft sand on the other side of them. The sky broke open as she headed for the castle, unleashing a hard rain that seeped into every part of her clothing as soon as it hit her.
When she'd reached the tall castle doors, Caielle was soaked to the bone. She shivered as she slipped into the entrance hall, water dripping from her hair and clothes as she shut the door firmly behind her. The guardsmen on duty nodded to one another as they saw her, leaving room for a page among them to run into the next hallway, no doubt alerting her parents to her return.
"Good afternoon, Lady Caielle." Maester Sryr appeared in front of her, a disdainful look on his face as he handed her a hot drink she could only assume was tea. "Drink this. Your lady mother will be beside herself if you fall ill"
"Thank you Maester" Caielle accepted the drink eagerly, taking a large gulp of the bitter tea just as soon as she got it in her grasp.
Footsteps clattered in the hallway as she lowered the cup, signaling the arrival of the Lady of the house. Caielle had never seen her mother so angry as she stormed into the entrance hallway, Annette in tow. Two servants scrambled out of the way as she made a beeline for her daughter.
"Caielle Greyjoy where have you been" Her mother hissed as she reached her, fury written across her face. "You walk in her hours after you vanish, soaking wet, and shivering like a frightened mutt. Do you have any idea how worried your father and I were! And to leave poor Annette alone, I simply cannot believe this"
"I think leaving Annette is the least of her crimes, Elaina" A low chuckle came from her father as he joined them, Rodrik and Maron just behind him with wide, amused, smiles on their faces. "So tell us, Caielle. What was it this time?"
"Theon" Her mother glared.
"Ice sharks, Father." Caielle hid her smile in another drink of the tea.
"Ice sharks!" Little Annette's eyes widened, her grip on her mother's skirt tightening. "You really saw them?"
"I did" Caielle nodded, pleased with her sister's interest. Elasia never wanted to hear stories of the creatures that lived on and around Pyke, much preferring their wet nurse's stories of captured princesses and knights. "They were sleek and all white. As big as the rowbots they use to board the ships too large to fit into the harbor. Their fins were topped with black and they had teeth sharper than Valyrian steel"
Annette gasped in curiosity and horror. Caielle smiled, proud of herself. She'd gotten her knack for story telling from her father, a quality her mother often reminded her of. It didn't do much for her older brothers, both who were uninterested in fairy tales and who had already learned what lived off the coast of their islands. But little Annette was fascinated by every gruesome tale Caielle returned with.
"And what did these Ice Sharks do, dear sister?" Rodrik asked, his arms crossed over his chest.
"They were hunting seals. A mother and two pups" Caielle watched longingly as the tea was taken from her hands.
"There will be no more of this nonsense, young lady" Her mother was not amused by her exploits. "Go to your room immediately and dry off. It will not do to have you fall ill before you're due to leave for King's Landing."
"King's Landing?" The name caught her interest immediately, though the context of what her mother had said was blurred. King's Landing was the seat of Westeros, home to the iron throne and all the power that kept their Seven Kingdoms in check. King Robb Stark lived there, along with Queen Jeyne and their son Prince Edwin. It was far from Pyke, and though her father was friends with the king, there was little reason to visit.
"Yes, you, Elasia, and Maron will be accompanying your father to the city for Prince Edwin's wedding. Now upstairs. Now" Her mother said, whisking her into the hall that held the staircases that lead further into the castle.
Caielle didn't remember much of the crown prince, though she knew she'd met him as a child. The image that came to mind was of a scrawny eight year old, still shorter than she had been at seven. Prince Edwin had taken after his mother in all but name as it so happened. Her mother and Auntie Asha had remarked several times that the boy seemed far too weak to even lift a sword, let alone swing it.
"Mother, who is Prince Edwin marrying?" Caielle asked as she was stripped down by a pair of maids, her mother watching like a hawk for any signs of injury.
"King Robb has decided that he will marry Rhea Targaryen" Her mother said, frowning when she saw the marks on her arms knees. "What in the world have you done, Caielle? You look like a common farm girl all scraped up like that"
"I merely slipped" She shrugged as a clean towel was run over her body. One of the women set to work on her hair, combing the wet sand and salt from her dark waves. "I thought Rhea Targaryen was a traitor"
"She is. Under crown law her father was branded an usurper and her mother is a traitor to both Baratheon and Stark reign." Her mother's eyes narrowed. "But King Robb has decided she will marry his son."
"Why would he allow that?" Caielle said, turning her eyes to her mother as best she could. Like her brothers, Caielle had been taught politics and the law of the kingdom at a young age. She was the eldest daughter of the Greyjoy line, expected to marry into another warden house. Unlike her sisters, both who would marry lords of the iron isles, she would be in a foreign land, managing the household of a warden lord. "Does King Robb still believe Daenerys Targaryen is a threat to the crown?"
"I do not know what his grace believes, Caielle." Caielle was reminded how fearsome her mother could look as Elaina shook her head. "All I know is that there will be a wedding. And you and your sister will be there. Rhea is younger than you. Take note of that."
Caielle frowned. Though King's Landing was an exciting prospect, she knew what else it meant for her. She was seventeen, shy of her eighteenth nameday by a few weeks. She would, in fact, reach it on her father's ship, bound for King's Landing. If Rhea Targaryen could be married at fourteen, so could she. Though her father would choose her husband, a suggestion from the king, or from another Lord, would not be taken lightly.
"I must tend to Annette. Please do hurry, Caielle. You will be expected at dinner" The door shut with a slam at her mother's exit, leaving Caielle with the two women who were still tending to her mess of hair. She sat still as she could as the maids dipped her head back, soaking her hair in a basin of warmed water they'd brought with them. The suds were mixed with lavender and spice oil, filling her nose with their scent as the women went to work scrubbing the marks of her adventure from her hair.
Caielle had thought a lot of marriage, especially when her sisters were betrothed. She hoped her husband wasn't as mild as Annette's boy was, nor would she like him as sour as Alesander Botley. She hoped his lands were ripe with territory to explore, and that his castle was filled with nooks and secrets that she could find herself. Above all else, she wanted him to make her happy. She'd seen far too much unhappiness between Rodrik and Marisse. Caielle wanted no more of it.
"You are ready, Lady Caielle" One of the servants mumbled as she finished toweling the water from her hair. "Lady Greyjoy has asked us to leave your hair down for tonight's dinner. It would not be suitable otherwise."
She kept her groan to herself as a clean dress was pulled over her head, and the fresh tangles were combed from her hair. Her mother rarely allowed her to go without her hair being teased into one style or another. Though she did agree that her hair looked best when it was down. Caielle had inherited her mother's long, dark, hair, ending in loose curls that framed her face and fell across her shoulders. Unlike either of her sisters, Caielle hadn't gotten much of their father, taking from their mother's side in build, height, and facial structure. She was, however, given her the Greyjoy eyes. Her father loved to tell her that she was the first Greyjoy to have them since his own father's father. The deep grey eyes had passed over Balon Greyjoy, and none of his children had been given them either. But Caielle had them. The same stormy eyes that had been passed on from the days of the salt kings.
The dinning hall was filled when she reached it, each seat taken by another one of her father's men. Caielle could see her siblings already, seated at the high table next to their parents and their individual betrothed. Rodrik and Marisse, her niece and nephew with them. Maron and Avinais, Elasia and Alesander. And finally little Annette and Idyn Sunderly. Only two seats remained open at that table. One for her, and one for the man she would marry.
There was a quiet murmur in the room as she crossed it, ignoring the looks cast by lords and their sons alike. It was no secret that there was still belief among the Iron Lords that Lord Greyjoy had only avoided marrying his oldest daughter because he still wished to give her to one of his own Iron Lords, keeping their blood pure in the iron isles. In truth it was only due to his refusal to marry his child to a House he had no taste for. If it were not for Elaina there was a large chance none of his daughters would be married.
"Caielle" Maron smiled as she took her seat next to Marisee. As the oldest daughter, she was second to only her older brother and his wife. Maron was the second born, and so he sat on her left. "Rodrik and I were just debating what lordling father will give you to while in King's Landing."
"Maron bets it'll be Lorlan Tyrell." Rodrik seemed just as amused as Maron did as he chewed a thick bite of roasted lamb.
Maron rolled his eyes. "It will be. Mother wouldn't hear it otherwise. There's no way she'd let Caielle marry Dagon Martell. Besides, what would Caielle want with a bit of sand and too much sun?"
"And what do your wives think?" Caielle asked. "Avinais? Marisse? Surely you have much more insight into whom I may marry than either of my brothers"
"I do not care, who you marry" Marisse was as cold as ever, her eyes sharp and hostile. It was a marvel either of her children were as sweet and gentle as they were with a mother whose bite was harsher than an Ice Sharks. "I only hope it is someone whose lands are softer, so that you may not experience the cold of this place ever again."
Caielle hated how bitter she was. Marisse was a pampered northern girl, raised in her father's Dreadfort by her pompous mother. She'd often heard her father remark that while Bolton was her name, it was Frey that she answered to. Having been shipped off to Pyke after living a privileged life made Marisse bitter. Some said her mother had wanted her to marry Prince Edwin. She had even heard her mother whisper that Rodrik would have a harder time as Lord of Pyke with a sore like Marisse in his side.
"Come now, Marisse. Don't be so gloomy" Maron's wife was much more to Caielle's taste. Avinais was of House Merlyn, a loyalist house that had aided her father in his taking the driftwood chair from his uncle after his father's death. She had been raised on the isles, and was as cheerful as Marisse was bitter. Avinais beamed with amusement as she looked at Caielle. "I think Lord Theon will offer her to Rickon Stark."
Rickon Stark, Dagon Martell, Lorlan Tyrell. The names didn't matter. They were just lords. Rickon would rule Winterfell, Dagon had Sunspear, and Lorlan would be Lord of Highgarden. The only thing they really had was their names. Stark. Martell. Tyrell. Same as Lannister or Baratheon. Bolton or Merlyn. Names. She suddenly found herself wishing that Elasia had been the oldest.
"Marriage isn't so bad, Caielle" Avinais must have noticed her distress as she smiled. "Think of it. The Godswood in Winterfell is the oldest in all the seven kingdoms. And Highgarden has more orchards and rivers and secret places than you'd know what to do and Dorne, imagine Dorne! Hot sands, warm beaches. The ruins of Nymeria and her followers. All for you to explore! And I can hardly wait to see your children. All dark hair and pretty grey eyes."
"If you want them to have her eyes, you'll need to protest her marrying a Stark" Marisse said, her own cold blue eyes turning on Avinais. "It's hard to drown out Tully blue. And all of Eddard Starks children, save for Arrya and his bastard had the Tully eyes."
"You're from the North, Marisse. Tell us, is Rickon Stark as handsome as they say? I've heard his brother Brandon is quite attractive, shame he won't ever father children." Avinais spoke in a hushed whisper, pretending she didn't want either her husband or his brother to hear. Maron chuckled under his breath, returning to a conversation he'd been having with Rodrik and their father.
"He is the spitting image of Catelyn Tully. As I said, It's very hard to kill the Tully blood. Though he does have the same black hair as I was told his father had." Marisse was bored, Caielle could hear it in her tone. She did this often, pretending to humor her younger sister in law just to stop her chatter. "You should know these things, Avinais. Younger children take from their mother's line. To keep the blood fresh"
Caielle wanted to ask why both her children had Bolton eyes if that were true, but she refused. Vicktor and Alannyse were innocent of their mother's bad temperament. And it wouldn't do to remind her brother how little they looked like him. Victor had his father's height, as the child was several inches taller than she should be at his age, and Alannyse would likely follow, but aside from his height both the children were Bolton in all but name.
She'd only just begun to nibble at a plate of roasted fish, its skin crushed with herbs and spices, when her aunt stormed into the hall. Asha Greyjoy had never made a quiet entrance, and becoming a Botley hadn't changed anything. So no one so much as blinked an eye as she came striding in, dressed in a fine shirt and overcoat. A thin axe hung from her belt, the same one she'd used to kill half the men in the Dreadfort during the war of Kings. Caielle heard a distinct sigh from her mother and Marisse as Asha approached the high table.
"Going to King's Landing, brother?" She said, a thin smile on her face. "I'd thought you swore to keep all your children on the isles the day Eddard Stark rode in as the King's Hand, only to lose his head and his daughters."
"I thought you swore to take to your ship and never set foot on dry land again when you heard you were to marry Tristopher" Her father answered coldly. "Things change, Asha. Now are you going to have a seat, or did you come to make obvious statements"
Asha didn't ever refuse the offer to make her presence known. She gladly slipped into the seat next to a Sunderly lord, having always preferred the low tables to the high one. Both of Caielle's parents breathed sighs of relief as they returned to their meals.
"Eat while you can, Caielle" Maron laid a great piece of honeyed lamb on her plate, following it with a serving of roasted potatoes and rock carrots as he did so. "There will be little variety once we're on board. Nothing but fish, dried and salted meats, cheese, and bread while it lasts. King's Landing isn't a long journey by sea, but Father wishes to resupply at Old Town and Sunspear"
Caielle grimaced when thinking of the long journey by ship. Though it was summer, the seas between Pyke and Old Town would be rough with storms and underwater currents. The longships were built to navigate them, but Caielle knew she'd spend most of the trip listening to Elasia's complaints of boredom and the wind tussling her hair. The food was the least of her problems, as her father encouraged them to drag nets through the water to collect fresher food when they could, and though Old Town was far, she knew they would be collecting fruit and other supplies from there to ward off illness. The projected trip would be a few weeks at the least. It would take months on horseback.
"Are you traveling with us to King's Landing, Avinais?" Caielle blinked as her younger sister joined the conversation for the first time. Elasia was far too polite at gatherings, basically breathing etiquette when their mother was looking. Up until her question, she'd been quietly picking at a bit of toasted bread and a thick stew, watching to make sure Annette didn't inhale anything she could get her hands on.
"No. I'll be staying here" Avinais shook her head. "Marisse needs help with the children. And besides, sea travel as never been kind to expectant mothers"
Elasia swelled with excitement as Avinais touched her hand to her stomach. She and Maron had been married for almost two years now, trying for a pregnancy the entire time. Both had been discouraged when Marisse had given Rodrik his first child within the first year, and a second not long after that. Alannyse was still just a babe in arms and Marisse was expecting their third child judging from the swell of her stomach. There had been talk of Avinais being sterile, but a pregnancy would quiet all of that.
"Congratulations!" Elasia said excitedly, wasting no time in touching Avianis's stomach on her own. "How far along are you? Do you have any names thought out? Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl"
"We are very excited" Avinais smiled. Her patience was admirable. "It has been three months of missed bloods. I will love my child regardless, though I hope for a son"
Her wishes were understandable. It had taken nearly two years for their first child to be conceived. In most cases it took months within their first year. Avinais and Maron would likely only have a few children in their lifetime, and if none of them were boys there would be no carrying on of his line. Rodrik was the oldest of course, and had already had a son to keep the Greyjoy line, but Maron would inherit Greywatch, a newly settled island guarding the Iron Isles from the North. If he did not have sons to keep it, his daughter would be married and her husband's name would rest upon Greywatch.
"And names?" Elasia persisted, her attention completely turned from her plate now. "Surely you must have thought of some"
"Well...I was thinking that we should name our first son Balon, after your great-grandfather" Avinais gave a careful smile. "And any girls would likely be named after my mother, or perhaps Lady Elaina if she would permit it."
"Our great-grandfather was a traitor to the crown and gave orders for King Robb to be murdered" Caielle said quietly. She felt guilt settle in her stomach as almost every eye at the table turned to her. Avinais was frowning, a hand rested on her stomach. "I'm sorry, Avinais. I shouldn't have-"
"No. It's right that you speak your mind, Caielle" Her aunt had risen from her table again, facing the high table with a smile on her face. "Our father was a traitor. And nearly saw House Greyjoy destroyed for his mistakes. I thought that was why neither Rodrik nor Maron bare our father's name, but Avinais will mother no sons that will take Pyke, so Balon cannot be such an unlucky name."
"Asha" Her father warned, eyes narrowed. Caielle could tell she was in for a lecture without even looking at him. "Please do not excuse rudeness from a Lady." He took a deep breath, turning cold eyes on Caielle. "I think it would best if Ciaelle prepared for the journey to King's Landing"
"Of course" Caielle knew better than to argue. "I do apologize, Avinai. Maron. Please excuse me"
She stepped out of the hall, hushed whispers following her as she went.
Caielle Greyjoy was indeed a summer storm.