10th Month of 298 A.C. Runestone
Lord Yohn Royce
The Vale was stirring, since Jon Arryn's death, grievances and grudges that had been buried were coming back to the surface. There were old wounds being reopened and there was tension, a lot of tension. Lysa Arryn was shut away in the Eyrie, content to play court to any number of suitors whilst the overall affairs of the Vale were left to ruin, there was nothing that the woman was not content to overlook, she overlooked everything, from the most minor of squabbles to full corruption. It angered Yohn, it angered him a lot to see the hard work that his old friend had put in so easily dismantled, by the Tully cow. She was going to be the end of the Arryn line, and the boy, the boy Yohn was not so convinced that the boy was Jon's son, indeed he was certain that that rogue Baelish was the father. And yet there was no much he could, it was frustrating, thankfully he was not alone in his frustrations.
Lords Belmore, Templeton, Melcolm and Lady Waynwood were all dissatisfied with the way Lysa Arryn was running things and so had agreed to meet at Runestone to discuss that as well as other matters. Yohn looked around his solar and saw that they were all filled with either anticipation or fear about what he was about to say. He takes a deep breath and then says. "My lords and lady, thank you all for coming here. We all know why we have agreed to meet. The Vale is falling into a state of chaos, Lysa Arryn remains content to sit in the Eyrie and play lady to a host of suitors, all the while never intending to marry a single one of them. This has allowed those fools in Corbray and Grafton to grow more powerful. The Vale is stirring and we must decide what course it will take when it wakes."
Lady Anya Waynwood speaks then. "Lady Catelyn Stark remains in the Eyrie right now. I do not know fully what she and her sister discuss, but I feel it would not be too much of a stretch to imagine them discussing Jon Arryn's murder."
"Are we convinced then that Lord Jon was murdered?" Lord Belmore asks tentatively.
"There can be no other reasonable explanation for his sudden death." Yohn says firmly. "Lord Jon was a healthy man, old yes, but healthy. More than likely he could have outlived us all had he so wanted to. And such a man does not suddenly fall ill and die as quickly as he did. No he was poisoned."
"But who would want to murder him? Surely whoever did so would know that the Lords and Ladies of the Vale would find out as would the king?" Lord Belmore says.
"It would not surprise me if the Lannisters were responsible for Lord Jon's death," Yohn says. "It would sit well with what they want. Increased control over the throne and not a single thing able to stand in their way."
"Would they risk it though? Would they risk being caught out to achieve something they are already doing? The king we all know is not the most attentive of people, and Lord Jon himself was not able to successfully stem the increasing Lannister presence. One way or another they were getting control over the capital. Why kill him?" Lord Belmore asks.
"If Lord Jon was looking into things that perhaps the Lannisters did not want him looking into? That could be a reason for why they decided to kill him." Lord Melcolm says speaking for the first time.
"But what sort of things could these be? What secret could the Lannisters have that is so big and so incriminating that they are willing to kill over?" Lord Belmore asks.
Yohn sighs, this is a question he has debated himself. "Whatever it was, it was enough to press Lady Lysa into fleeing the capital and returning here. And it must have been enough for her to believe her husband murdered."
"But then why has she not sought justice? Why has she not looked to the king and asked him for the justice that such a crime would deserve? Why does she sit in her castle, happy to play hostess whilst the Vale stews?" Lord Belmore asks.
"Because Lady Lysa has never been the bravest of women." Lady Anya says. "She is more mouse than falcon. Always has been. She will make accusations but so long as the Lannisters do not come calling she will be happy to sit and wait. She will be happy to allow justice to go unanswered whilst she courts danger."
"Then Queen no doubt understands that. That is why she has not asked Lady Lysa to come back. Even though there was talk of her son fostering with Tywin Lannister." Lord Melcolm says.
"Tywin Lannister? I do not think Jon Arryn would trust his son and heir to a man such as Tywin Lannister. You must have misheard." Yohn says.
Lord Melcolm a proud man, and a cunning one as well replies. "That is possible my lord, but I do not know, why would my sources make this up? There is no reason for them to, and it does fit in well with what we know of the Lannisters. I would not put it past them to try and gain more influence through Lord Robert."
Yohn considers this for a moment and then replies. "That is troubling. Very troubling. The lord of the Eyrie fostering with the Lannisters? There would be all kinds of chaos because of that. And yet if Lady Lysa believes it will keep the lions away from her and her accusations she might well allow it."
Lady Anya snorts at that. "I do not think Lady Lysa will be content to allow her son to go anywhere out of her sight, let alone to the Westerlands. She is far too protective of that boy, it is not healthy. There are some things that must needs be done to ensure that he is not a weakling. And yet she does not allow it to happen."
Yohn rubs his temple in frustration. "Why? Why does she not allow the boy to grow up as any other boy should do? This over protectiveness will be the downfall of House Arryn. And that is something I will not allow."
Lord Melcolm speaks then. "It does not need to be the downfall of House Arryn my lord, for you have Lord Robert's heir as your squire do you not?"
"Harry? Harry is older than Robert yes, and is healthier that is true. And yet Robert is Jon Arryn's true heir. He is his son, what you are hinting at is wrong." Yohn replies.
"But would it not be better if Harry were to sit in the falcon throne than a boy who is nothing of Jon Arryn and all of his mother? Lysa Arryn courts danger, she courts it whether willingly or unwillingly I do not know. But a man such as Lyn Corbray as Lord Protector? That is a Vale that I do not want to see. There would be war, constantly. You know this, we all know this. So why not do something about it. Harry is someone who would make a good heir, it is time he was turned into a good lord." Lord Melcolm replies.
"Lord Melcolm is right Yohn," Anya says. "Robert Arryn will be corrupted by whoever it is his mother chooses to marry. Be it Grafton or Corbray or even Hunter, the Vale will be set to light and there will be war. Arryn will be nothing but a puppet, and that is something none of us want. Harry would make a good Lord, a truly good lord."
Yohn considers this a moment, before looking at Lord Belmore, the look on the man's face is one of confusion, lust and desire, he wonders if the man is spying on them. His voice is soft when he asks. "Benedar you have been awfully quiet on this matter. I would have thought considering the impact all of this could have on you, that you would have something to say?"
The man's flustered expression is more than enough proof for Yohn. "I…why yes of course. I think that Harry would make a good lord as well. But the question is how does one ensure that comes to pass? So long as Lysa Arryn is alive, the boy will remain alive."
Putting his suspicions to the side for a moment Yohn replies. "That is true, and yet as Anya and Jasper have said, should Lady Lysa marry Lord Hunter or even Lyn Corbray, she will not live long enough to see her son into adulthood. Perhaps, and this is going against my sounder notions, we should allow such a thing to come to pass?"
Belmore looks surprised by this. "You want to allow Lady Lysa to marry one of those two? But I thought they were the reason this meeting was being held? If Lady Lysa marries either one of those two men then our chances of gaining revenge for Lord Jon vanish."
And is that truly such a bad thing for you Belmore? Yohn wonders. Aloud he merely says. "That is true, but it does give us more reason to begin working on ensuring their fall is sped up. Of course we could always encourage Horton to pursue his marriage proposal or indeed one of his sons."
"Redfort? You'd want Redfort or one of his brood married to Lady Lysa? Then our chances of getting justice would evaporate more quickly than a whore does." Belmore pouts.
"Horton and his sons were extremely loyal to Lord Jon, they would continue to be so to Robert. That might not be such a bad choice." Yohn muses. Taking some pleasure as the colour drains from Belmore's face.
"So you would not want Harry to be put into a position where he could take over straight away should something befall Lady Lysa or seven forbid Lord Robert?" Lord Melcolm asks.
"Oh Harry will be trained alright. But we must keep all our options open. I want to know what is being discussed in the Eyrie. I want to know what the Tully sisters are discussing." Yohn replies.
"I shall be able to inform you of that soon my lord. I shall be going to the Eyrie to meet with them both on the morrow. When I am done I shall write to you. It should not be hard, I do not think Lady Stark is working for the Lannisters though the Lannister presence at Winterfell is a worry." Lady Anya replies.
Yohn nods. "That is a concern. And whilst Gerion Lannister might not be his brother or even his niece, he is still a Lannister and experience has taught me that a Lannister no matter who they are can never be trusted. That Lord Stark seems to trust the man is worrying. Perhaps there is more to it than we know, but at the same time it seems for now we must rely on ourselves to get to the bottom of this mess."
The others nod, and then Lord Benedar asks. "So what decision are we making on Lady Lysa's marriage proposals? Do we allow Hunter and Corbray to continue or not?"
Yohn looks at the man for a long time before responding, he looks at how his face is made in such a way as to try and hide his anxiousness and yet Yohn knows that the man is truly worried. Perhaps he is working for Lysa, perhaps for Grafton, or perhaps even to that worm Baelish. Whoever it is, Yohn intends to remain as cryptic as possible and not give too much away, though he does admit that perhaps too much has been given away already. "Aye we shall allow them to continue their proposals, and we shall also encourage Horton to encourage his sons to put forward their names for Lady Lysa's consideration."