Please enjoy another chapter :)


Chapter 3: The Calm before the Storm

Few months later …

The Eyrie, Seat of power of House Arryn in the Vale


Kenna knocked on the heavy wooden door. No one answered but they never did anyway. She pushed the door aside and saw Alyssa sitting at her desk painting an image of an ocean and some ships with black and gold sails. She didn't turn around to greet her sister just keep staring at the ships floating on her imaginary sea.

Kenna walked over to her sister and put her hand on her shoulder while kissing the top of her head. "It is lovely," she whispered in Alyssa's ear. Alyssa gave her the smallest of nods as an acknowledgment and continued shading the ocean in with her brush. Kenna dropped onto a chair beside Alyssa and closed her eyes. Every day since their return from the Iron Islands to the Eyrie Kenna would visit her sister and every day she would sit in her current chair in silence for a few hours watching Alyssa and organising her thoughts.

Why hadn't she received a reply from Eddard Stark yet? She had sent him a coded letter detailing her father's evidence that the royal children were not Robert's but Jamie Lannister's as well as a written statement that Lysa had seen Ser Hugh put something in Jon Arryn's cup the night he died of his fever. Ned just needed to find the book and interrogate Ser Hugh to find out who had paid him to poison his liege lord. I could go myself I suppose, thought Kenna but she couldn't leave Alyssa again. Alyssa had withdrawn further into herself since Kenna had left the Eyrie to collect their father's body in King's Landing and Kenna couldn't bring herself to leave her again.

There was a weak knock on the door and a young boy with curly black hair poked his head around the corner of the door.

"M'lady, Lord Royce is requesting your presence in the courtyard."

"Tell him I will be there momentarily Artys, and don't run you'll fall down the stairs again."

The youth shyly nodded and disappeared from sight. Kenna stood up, kissed her sister on the cheek and followed Artys to the courtyard. Kenna approached the courtyard and observed that it was set up for archery practice. Lord Royce was attempting to teach Lord Robin Arryn, heir to the Vale how to hold a bow correctly. By the exacerbated look on his face Kenna judged he was failing. As Kenna walked down the marble stairs to the courtyard she overheard Robin complaining "I will have archers to shoot arrows for me I don't need to learn how to do it myself." Royce expressed his frustrations in a long sigh.

"My Lord, you have need of me," Kenna addressed Lord Royce.

"Yes my Lady, I was rather hoping you would be able give your brother a lesson in archery since he won't listen to me," Royce said while pointedly looking at Robin who had the graces to look abashed. "He claims he doesn't need to learn," Royce said in a disappointed tone.

"Robin how do you expect to lead and command the respect of your men if you can't do what they can?" Kenna asked. Lord Royce smiled at that comment, he had said those exact words many times since taking over the training duties of Lord Robin and was probably happy that someone was listening to him.

Robin seemed to have lost his tongue, Kenna was unfazed this happened a lot to the young Lord in the few months that Kenna had known him. Kenna had hoped that the feeble young boy she had met on the day of their father's funeral would grow into a capable ruler away from King's Landing but the past few months had not been encouraging. Kenna plucked the bow from his hands and demonstrated the grip to be used.

"Are you watching Robin?" Kenna asked.

"Yes I am," the young lord replied once prodded by Lord Royce.

"Firstly you need your stance to dictate where you want the arrow to go," Kenna adjusted her stand to be side on to the target. "Then get a feel of the distance to the target and steady your aim," Kenna drew the bowstring back on her bow and concentrated on the target. "Then focus on the centre of your target and let the arrow fly", Kenna took a few deep breaths then held one and released the taut bowstring. The arrow struck the red centre of the target firmly.

"That is how you do it," Royce said to Robin. Robin simply nodded and excused himself.

"Don't worry Royce he will get better, as he can't possible get any worse," chuckled Kenna.

"I wouldn't be so sure," grumbled Royce. "May I escort you back inside my Lady?"

"No, I would like to practice some more. If you don't practice you lose the skill and I very much want to maintain the ability to kill at range."

Lord Royce bowed and retreated to the stairs. By the time he had got there Kenna had fired five arrows and each one had pierced the centre of the target.

"Gods help the man she thinks is her target," muttered Royce.


Kenna was out there for a few more hours. If pacing and walking stimulated Kenna's thinking, archery focused her thoughts and right now she had to figure out her next moves in bringing her father's murderer to justice. Why wasn't Ned replying to her letters, he always replied when he was in Winterfell….. Kenna slackened the bowstring on the bow as it dawned on her ... he wasn't getting her letters. Someone in King's Landing was making sure her letters never reached the Lord Hand's desk.

Who could that be, there isn't a shortage of candidates, Varys is the obvious one, Cersei if she suspects me, Little Finger maybe, even Maester Pycelle could stop the letters if he knew to stop them. Ned might be in danger in King's Landing if someone is tampering with his letters. I should go to King's Landing and warn him, thought Kenna.

The only thing holding her back was leaving Alyssa alone in the Eyrie, she didn't fare well when they were split up. Everything bad that had happened to them had been because they were split up.

Kenna still remembers when a twelve-year-old Alyssa revealed her big plan to stop Kenna going to Winterfell.

"I'll go to Winterfell instead of you. I have always wanted to travel and you know no one can tell the difference between us anyway," Alyssa said.

"But I don't want us to be split up, that's why I don't want to go to Winterfell. You going to Winterfell doesn't solve this," Kenna pointed out.

"Kenna we can't stay together forever, one day we will both have husbands and they won't be in the same place. It's time to leave King's Landing and I am ready to go even if you aren't." Tears threatened Kenna's eyes. "I didn't mean it like that. It is okay to be afraid of leaving your home," said Alyssa.

"Then why aren't you?" Kenna shot back.

"I've seen the Vale and King's Landing. I now want to see the North," Alyssa said in a soft determined voice "and when you are ready you can come visit".

"Okay," Kenna murmured.

Alyssa hugged her and mumbled through her twin's hair. "We should really get down from here before father's guards ruin this hiding spot for us."

Over the next few days they hatched their plan together. On the day that Kenna was supposed to leave for Winterfell Alyssa would take her place and travel North. Once at Winterfell Alyssa would write a letter to their father explaining the switch. Kenna would have to be ready to back up the letter and explain she wasn't ready to leave her home for some unfamiliar city with unfamiliar people.

Kenna had been right. Their father did not like this development. He accepted it after a lot of tears from Kenna and made Kenna promise never to lie to him again and in return her father promised to not send her away from him until she was ready.

You always were the stronger of us two, thought Kenna.

Kenna's reminiscing was cut short when Artys nudged her elbow.

"M'Lady?, M'Lady?"

"Yes Artys, what is it?"

"Oh M'Lady I thought you couldn't hear me. Um Lady Catelyn Stark of Winterfell is here and she brought a prisoner."

"Who?"


Kenna charged through the corridors of the Eyrie to reach the High Hall where the moon door was. She heard her good mothers voice before seeing her on the weirwood throne.

"Lady Stark I was unaware you were in the Vale," Kenna said while gliding down the stairs catching the attention of the gathered crowd.

"There was no time to send word, Lady Kenna," Catelyn said tersely.

Kenna sat down on one of the marble benches as the conversation between Lysa and Catelyn continued.

"Lysa," Catelyn said firmly. "You wrote to me about the Lannisters warning me-"

"To stay away from them", Lysa interrupted. "Not to bring one here."

That was news to Kenna, so Lysa had written to her sister about the Lannister involvement in Jon Arryn's death.

"He's little," Robin squeaked.

"He is Tyrion the Imp of House Lannisters. He killed your father, he murdered the Hand of the King," Lysa shrieked.

Kenna turned around to look at the prisoner and it certainly was none other than Tyrion Lannister, son of Tywin Lannister. Kenna thought it was more likely Cersei that was responsible for her father's death but Tyrion might have been involved and if that was the case he might be the key to bringing Cersei down. He looked nervous. I would be too ifI thought Lysa was to be my judge,mused Kenna.

"Oh did I kill him too?" jested Tyrion. "I've been a very busy man."

"You will watch your tongue," snapped Lysa. "These men are knights of the Vale. Everyone of them loved Jon Arryn, everyone of them would die for me."

"If any harm comes to me my brother Jamie will see that they do," Tyrion stated.

"You can't hurt us, no one can hurt us, tell him mummy," Robin shouted from Lysa's lap.

Lysa calmed Robin's outburst. "He is just trying to frighten us. Lannisters are all liars".

Can't disagree with that one, thought Kenna.

"Mummy I want to see the bad man fly," Robin said in a petulant voice. Kenna rolled her eyes, you want to see most things fly.

Kenna had been watching Catelyn Stark throughout this encounter and she didn't seem impressed, sometime she even seemed disgusted with her sister.

"This man is my prisoner, I will not have him harmed," Catelyn said loudly, catching her sister's attention.

"Ser Vardis my sister's guest is weary take him down below so he can rest. Introduce him to Mord." With that command Ser Vardis marched the Imp to the sky cells and the crowd of Vale nobility dispersed.

Starks and their honour thought Kenna. It's time to put an end to this mess. Kenna stood up and followed Ser Vardis. If Kenna had known Catelyn was coming she could have handled Catelyn and Tyrion without Lysa getting involved. Lysa wasn't an issue to the running of the Vale as long as she was fussing over Robin. Normally she was content to let Kenna handle the day-to-day matters but Kenna conceded a captured Tyrion Lannister wasn't a day-to-day matter.


Author's Notes:

The table setting continues but I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

Shout out to Supremus85 thanks for the review and there will be other big changes coming!

Next Up: Still chilling in the Eyrie but more Tyrion coming up.

Cheers,

R.M