Artys Arryn

Artys had spent more time in King's Landing than he did in the Vale, due to the circumstances surrounding his father and the duties required by him. But Jon had always made sure that Artys built up the connections and interactions that would be needed when the day came for him to inherit the Eyrie and the Vale. Artys had made frequent trips into the Vale, sometimes with Lyonel and other times with his father, and made sure to build up relationships with the Lords of the Vale. Now Artys would be traveling to the Eyrie, without either of those two men. A hole had formed in his heart, he felt isolated and alone because Artys considered Lyonel and Jon his only family.

Artys was far older than his brother Robert, and Lysa was never a mother to him. She was always occupied with Robert and her delusions about him, she saw a gallant knight and a fantastic lord in her son. All Artys could see was a sickly boy who couldn't hold a sword, much less rule one of the Seven Kingdoms. Artys mused that Lysa thought of him that way, she felt that Artys was an incompetent boy who would lead the Vale to doom. He recalled an incident months ago when he overheard Lysa ranting about how Robert should be Jon's heir and not Artys, words such as disinherit and the Night's Watch were used by Lysa. But Jon stood firm with Artys as his heir, something Lysa dealt with by throwing her wine goblet onto the nearest wall.

Artys wasn't the kind of person who could hold grudges for a long time, but Lysa was an exception. Whenever Artys interacted with Lysa he had to actively fight the urge to throw her out the nearest window. He was sure that anyone who remotely knew Lysa felt the same way about her, she was intolerable. Artys didn't know why or when she became the way that she was, but he heard rumors as you do if you live in King's Landing. Some say she was jealous of her older sister and that poisoned her mind, others say she had an affair with a stable boy and a child was conceived from that affair, a child her father murdered as soon as it was born. All Artys knew was that Lysa was not always the difficult person she was in the present, he cared not why she became a difficult woman, he only cared about how he would deal with her.

The ink on the letter Artys was writing finished drying allowing Artys the action of folding it up and pouring hot wax over a small portion of the letter. Artys placed the official seal of House Arryn on the wax, taking it off once Artys was satisfied that the seal had done its job. Artys gestured for Colemon, a Maester in House Arryn's service, to take the letter.

"Make sure that gets to Ser Brynden right away, it must be the first thing he sees. In fact, send a rider ahead with the letter. I want it received at the Eyrie long before Lysa gets there." Artys ordered.

"Yes, my Lord." The Maester replied, rushing out to grab a rider loyal to Artys.

Lysa was in another part of the Red Keep, breastfeeding Robert. Artys shuddered at the thought of Lysa continuing to coddle a boy of ten, reasoning that it was why Robert was still a sickly child. As Lord Paramount of the Vale, Artys had the authority to order their separation. But Artys withheld that order for the moment, after all, he needed Lysa to be lulled into a false sense of security.

In the letter he wrote, Artys had placed specific instructions on the Lysa matter. To Brynden Tully, Lysa's uncle and a knight in House Arryn's service, Artys ordered Lysa be separated from Robert at all times. Guards were to escort them at all times, even during baths. Lysa was to be kept confined to her chambers at all hours, meals and baths would be served there and Lysa was only allowed out to relieve herself. Artys was no fool, if he left Lysa unsupervised she would do anything and everything to undermine his rule of the Vale. He knew that while some Lords of the Vale projected an image of honor, they would be more than happy if Robert ruled instead as he was easier to manipulate. He also couldn't have her interfere with his plans for Robert, it was better for everyone if Lysa was temporarily detained until Artys could deal with her later.

The plans Artys had for his brother were radical, in that it's the complete opposite of what Robert's currently doing. Lysa spoils Robert, breastfeeding being just one of the many things she indulges her son with. Robert can barely walk anywhere, much less run because Lysa forbids him from actions that she considers undignified. Artys was now ordering Ser Brynden to take over caring for the boy. Ser Brynden was to get Robert's sword training up to par with other boys his age, shift his diet towards a more healthy one, keep Lysa away from him at all times, and educate Robert properly. In short, Artys was making decisions that should have been made a long time ago. If Robert stayed his current course then he would end up no better than Joffrey, the mere thought of that happening made Artys shudder. This course correction was so that Robert could one day become a worthy knight and proper heir to House Arryn. In an amusing sense, Artys was going to see Lysa's vision of Robert come true, though he doubts she would agree with that.

With that business now out of the way, Artys turned his mind to the past, or more specifically, Cersei Lannister. She had approached him days earlier during a Silent Sister ceremony, publicly to offer her condolences but only a fool would ever believe the public persona Cersei had. Their conversation started out normal enough, condolences and grief were exchanged. Cersei said that, as per tradition, Artys had been named the new Warden of the East. She then approached the topic of Jon's last days, something that was immediately suspicious since Cersei had no reason to inquire about that.

Artys knew that he had to tread carefully if Cersei was interested in his father's last days alive, it wasn't because she cared at all. He had informed Lyonel of everything that preceded his father's death and sudden illness, and Lyonel had declared certain details off limits to anyone that Artys did not trust. Cersei fit that description perfectly. But still, she was the Queen and Artys could not avoid an order from her without drawing suspicion. So he informed her of his father's last words.

'The Seed is strong.' Artys recalled.

Strange last words to say the least, but Artys felt comfortable in telling Cersei that as Grand Maester Pycelle had taken over his father's treatment and had been present when Jon began muttering those words. What Artys left out was that an hour before Jon died he began muttering Lyonel's name, both Artys and Lyonel found this the most strange thing said by Jon. Lyonel did not know why Jon was so focused on him, but as a precaution he had Artys omit what had happened. Artys also took it upon himself to omit the events leading up to his father's death. Like Jon and Stannis Baratheon sneaking out of the castle in the dead of night, or feigning illness and then sneaking out of the Red Keep. Both schemes that Artys accidentally stumbled upon for one reason or another, though Stannis nor Jon ever noticed that Artys had seen them leave the Red Keep.

Then he overheard his father talking to Stannis one night in the office of the Hand, Artys had gone there as his father had promised to eat dinner with the rest of his family that evening. The door was ajar just enough that Artys could look through the crack with one eye and listen in on what was being said. Stannis and Jon were both too caught up with their conversation to notice their eavesdropper.

Phrases such as "...Bastard...", "...looks just like him.", "The book is telling the truth." and "Only one child is legitimate." were thrown around. Though Artys could not hear any more than that, nor could he gleam the context for such words. Artys hadn't even told Lyonel about what he heard, it was too strange to inform the prince without gaining the context for the situation.

Satisfied with his response Queen Cersei departed from that topic and switched to another one of fewer suspicions before she eventually left. Artys's mind was spinning from everything that was happening, he could tell that he was digging himself into something far greater than himself but just didn't know what it was. Artys decided to rest and return to the topic another time.

In the coming days, the Royal court would depart for Winterfell so King Robert could name Eddard Stark the Hand of the King in person. Artys elected to go with them, in order to spend as much time with Lyonel as he could, and on the return trip leave for the Eyrie. He decided that now would be a good opportunity to introduce Lyonel to House Stark, in order to gain their support for his coup. Though Artys doubts Lord Stark would ever go through with such a thing, he seemed too honorable to ever depose Joffrey from the throne. Even if the Crown Prince was a madman.


Tyene Sand

It had only taken a single day of discussion with Viserys Targaryen and Illyrio Mopatis for Tyene and Obara to be accepted into the Targaryens service, Tyene suspected that Viserys was so happy that somebody from Westeros was here to pledge themselves to his cause that he ignored common sense. So he threw caution to the wind and took the two ladies with open arms. Rhaella's crown only sweetened the deal that Tyene suspected would have passed regardless of whether or not the sisters had brought it. In any event, Tyene was now a handmaiden to Daenerys Targaryen while Obara was sworn to defend and obey Viserys. However, Viserys spent more time with Tyene, a handmaiden in service of his sister, rather than Obara, his new bodyguard.

Viserys had called her the fairest lady he had ever seen, Tyene thought to her self that Visery's comment could be attributed to the fact that Viserys has never really seen a person of Andal descent. Tyene had inherited her mother's looks, a septa in Oldtown, but Viserys ignored the fact that Tyene had her father's mind. Tyene had been the one to handle the talks with Viserys and had been the one to come up with their backstory. Tyene claimed that after years of secretly wishing for a Targaryen restoration the sisters just couldn't take it anymore and simply had to restore the mighty Targaryens and see Viserys as the shining king they knew he would be. Viserys seemed like the kind of man who could be manipulated by stroking his ego, he carried himself as an entitled man. And Viserys proved Tyene right by instantly welcoming Obara and Tyene after she said her backstory and other compliments towards Viserys.

He decided that a delicate lady such as Tyene would be better off serving his sister Daenerys then seeing the nasty business a king must get into in order to win back their crown. Tyene had obeyed, and for a week has been taking care of Daenerys. In that time Tyene has run into Viserys multiple times, and in every encounter, he had a look in his eye. Tyene recognized the look, it was the same look her father had given many women over the years. Tyene was not stupid, men often lusted after women they considered beautiful and often acted upon that lust. Viserys was like many other men in that regard, he found a foreign beauty and now his cock is dictating he claim that beauty. Viserys was also unmarried and not promised to any woman, so it was reasonable that he would pursue an affair. Still, that did not endear Viserys to Tyene. As much as Tyene loved sex, she doubted she would love whatever she did with Viserys.

So she turned her attention to the much more pleasant Targaryen, Daenerys. Her job, specifically, was to observe Daenerys. But Tyene felt she could be a bit more liberal with her assignment. She wanted to probe Daenerys and see what characteristics the young woman possessed. With that in mind, Tyene carried several books on Westeros's history to Daenerys's chambers in Illyrio's Pentos palace. She knocked on the door to Daenerys's bedchamber and opened it.

"My Lady, I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I have some books here and I felt we could read them together." Tyene said to the young Targaryen sitting on her balcony.


Author's Notes

I originally planned for this chapter to include more Sand Snake story, but I've instead opted to do that in the next chapter.