AN: I know I said that I was scrapping this fic and just work on the re-write, The Rise of the Lone Wolf, but idk, I guess perhaps the new season has renewed my interest in at completing this fic with complete chapters instead of summaries with chapter. However, most of my energy will stay directed towards the re-write.
Enjoy ^.^
Chapter 35: Lady Tully
She didn't understand why she couldn't continue to participate in the war councils like she had been for the past two months.
Lyra, Cersei was already quite "touched" when I last saw her in King's Landing. Her trial will only unhinge her even more. She will eventually know about what happened in the North; and depending on her mood, she could summon you for an inquiry into possible treason. She still wants Sansa, and she will not be pleased when she hears how you simply left her in the North, regardless as to why. We already have enough problems, and letting into the council will only create more problems.
Jaime had argued with Lyra that morning regarding the subject. When she argued further, Jaime told her that as her lord husband he couldn't allow for it.
All that aside, Jaime added; putting a hand over his lady wife's belly. You need to rest, Lyra, he gently scolded her. You're in a serious condition. All of that hard riding and fighting you did during your journey North is hard on your body and you need to stay healthy for your sake and the babe's.
When he saw Lyra beginning to relent, Jaime asked his pregnant wife to please simply relax and rest until they got to the Rock. At this, she finally relented and agreed to her lord husband's request to not get herself worked up about battle.
After Jaime left that morning to speak with the Freys about taking Riverrun, Lyra went back to sleep with Meraxes curled up beside her, asleep as well.
Ashara had been taking care of Meraxes since Lyra left the Trident. Life had gotten so hectic though that Lyra had forgotten about her beloved old cat until Ashara brought him to her and Jaime's chamber that morning. Lyra felt so terrible about forgetting Meraxes that she played with him until they both grew too drowsy.
Waking from her nap to the midday sun, Lyra stretched and decided that she should dress when her handmaidens came in with food for her midday meal.
Remembering her mother, Lyra felt bittersweet as she smiled at how her mother would be horrified that it was midday and Lyra still wasn't dressed.
I miss you mother—Lyra felt her eyes sting at this. Her children would never know any of their grandparents. They'd never see how beautiful and gentle Lady Joanna was nor how brilliant and shrewd Lord Tywin was; and they'd never see how fierce but loving Lord Brandon was nor how much the elegant Princess Meria loved to laugh and make everyone around her smile. Most importantly though, Lyra and Jaime's children will never know their grandparents' love. Despite Lord Tywin's stoic almost irritable demeanor and behavior, Lyra knew that he loved Jaime in his own way- he would have loved Jaime's children too. They're the future of House Lannister and carrying Tywin's legacy. Their children would carry the name Lannister, not Baratheon like Cersei's, and they'd be born through the Golden Lion of Lannister. Tywin's love may have been shallow, but he would have loved the grandchildren whom he'd never know.
Having only been at the Twins for a day and North for over a month, Lyra pre-occupied herself with trying to find her clothes and possessions that had been packed away. Riffling through her wardrobe once she'd found it, Lyra began choosing a dress. Being in the Riverlands, and thus, unable to stop thinking about Sansa and Robb and the Tullys, Lyra found herself being drawn to a light blue dress. Simple, yet elegant, the dress reminded her of the Tullys and Roslin.
Getting an idea, Lyra decided that she would spend the remainder of the day with Lady Tully. Lyra couldn't help but to be endlessly curious about the woman who Robb refused to marry and catalyzed his and his kingdom's demise during the War of Five Kings.
Looking at the dress, Lyra decided to take a leaf out of Sansa's book—If I have to be here among these cravens, then I can at least make them feel uncomfortable in their own home. Finding her sewing kit, Lyra found a needle and thread and began her work.
The stitching didn't take long; by the time Lyra was done stitching the sigil on the dress, Ashara and Joyce came with midday meal. It was fish, which Lyra wasn't surprised to see, but happy to have. She found it odd that she didn't have cravings during her first pregnancy, but she was definitely having them now. Smelling the cooked trout with potatoes and thyme, Lyra dug in hungrily while vaguely wondering if the Freys were trying to slight her by feeding her trout; the sigil of House Tully.
Ashara nudged Joyce before the latter said something to Lyra about her manners while eating. Their lady was pregnant and she hadn't been eating enough for Ashara's taste, as well as Lord Lannister's considering that he'd asked his wife's handmaiden that morning to make sure that Lyra ate well and ate everything on her plate; Ashara felt that Lyra should simply be left alone to wolf down her food if she was that hungry, especially since they were alone.
As Lyra ate, she could hear her two handmaidens moving about behind her. Looking out the window from across the table, she admired the beauty of the river. All while she waited for her handmaidens' response once they saw her new stitching on her blue dress. She got it when she heard a gasp from, which she assumed to be, Joyce.
"Lady Lannister," Joyce said to Lyra; shocked. "The Freys are hosting the Lannisters at the moment. Won't they take this offensively?" Joyce pointed to the red Stark direwolf that Lyra had just finished stitching onto the blue dress.
Though the red direwolf could be mistaken for Lyra's solidarity with her own house as well as her husband's, the dress was meant to be a statement of solidarity with the North and the Tullys—the true lords of the Trident. "If they do, who cares?" Even Ashara looked taken aback at Lyra's sudden impetuousness towards the Freys. Her exchange with Lord Walder Frey the other night had been bold, but there was a point to it. This however, Lyra's new goal to subtly slight House Frey as much as possible, had no actual purpose that for her to bother Lord Walder and his cowardly sons.
This made Lyra think for a moment; since when had she become so headstrong and petulant? It was odd, but it had certainly made Lyra grow and become stronger. She supposed that it all began when Cersei attempted to kill her in King's Landing, but was catalyzed by her time as a general of her own portion of the Lannister army.
"The Freys are nothing but cravens," Lyra told the disgruntled blonde. "They'd have nothing without House Lannister backing them." With an iron voice, she turned to the Lannister handmaiden; "If anything, House Frey should be concerned with offending us, not the other way."
Ashara and Joyce backed down and began to clear the table before helping Lyra dress for the day—well, what was left of it. Since winter was coming, the sun was leaving earlier and earlier. Now, it went down so early that they all had to sup in the night instead of the evening.
It took Lyra's handmaidens some time to track Lady Tully down; but they eventually found her with the other Frey girls in the Sewing Room.
Gathering her sewing kit, Lyra took this perfect opportunity to get to know Roslin Tully, and also to make blankets and swaddling clothes for her babe.
Grabbing her cloak—the hallways feel so cold now that winter is coming—Lyra walked down the drafty hallway. There were blue tapestries, probably made by the Frey women, over the windows in an attempt at helping with the draft in the hallways. Turning a corner, Lyra came upon a rather large door with a long, curled handle. It even looked well used as she could see some of the brass rubbing off from years of frequent use,
Entering a large room, it appeared as if every last Frey woman had gathered there to work on their various projects together. As Lyra surveyed the room looking for Lady Tully, it felt like she was looking through a sea of grey Frey women, all in various different chairs as if the room had run out of chairs; so to remedy this issue, they'd simply brought less used chairs from various parts of the castle.
They Frey women were certainly not an attractive group, but they were nothing but kind and welcoming to Lyra. As she passed them, most of the Frey women stopped their work and turned to Lyra to either nod or smile.
The young Lady Frey even stood up to formally welcome Lyra to their sewing circle before asking the servants to bring her a chair in order for her to sit next to Lady Tully.
"Lady Lannister," Roslin addressed Lyra with a smile as she knit a blue-grey woolen cap for Brynden. The little boy was in a basket sitting next to his mother, asleep.
"Lady Tully," Lyra addressed Roslin, who seemed taken aback by being referred to by her title—it's almost as if nobody believes that she'd Lady Tully.
The two sat in relative silence as the other ladies chatted away, however, Lyra thought it to be a comfortable silence. She simply enjoyed the company for a change. Roslin then began humming a familiar tune that Lyra had heard Aunt Cat sometimes sing to the girls when they were little.
While Roslin hummed and knitted, Lyra took out her sewing kit, but she couldn't decide on Lannister or Stark themes.
Though she had made blankets and swaddling clothes during her previous pregnancy, she had thrown them all out. Lyra, emotional and angry with herself over falling into Cersei's trap, threw them out because they kept reminding her of the babe she should have never lost. Except for the ones Mother made—the only articles that had been spared from Lyra's emotional outburst were all in Martell colors and themes. One was a blanket with a golden sun stitched onto a red velvet field, it was similar to the one Lyra had when she was little.
Deciding on a blanket with a black Stark direwolf stitched onto a crimson field, Lyra then got to work as well. The color theme she'd chosen reminded her of her warrior garb. The babe is just as much mine as it is Jaime's; why should I be judged for wrapping my own babe in a blanket made with my personal sigil? Lyra may be the Lone Wolf, but she was House Lannister's—the house in which my children will belong.
After a while, little Brynden awoke from his nap so Roslin had to stop her knitting. Trying to soothe Byrnden, she began humming again as she rocked him gently in her chair.
Lyra couldn't help but to smile, "He looks so much like Robb." Growing up, Lyra had often heard that Robb looked like Aunt Cat's little brother, Edmure Tully; but Lyra had yet to meet Edmure, thus Brynden looked more like Robb to her.
At Lyra's words, Roslin seemed as if she could only star at Lyra, speechless. "He certainly has the Tully features, Lady Lannister." Roslin's response worried Lyra—Her words and responses remind me of Sansa when she was in King's Landing. It's as if she'd simply saying what she thinks I want to hear.
"Roslin," Lyra tried to comfort the other woman by putting her hand on her shoulder. "I'm married to a Lannister, but that doesn't mean I'm like Tywin or Cersei. It's okay for you to talk to me about Robb and Edmure. There's no need to be afraid." Lyra chose her words carefully; though Roslin seemed kind, Lyra still did not know her well enough to trust her.
At the mention of Robb and Edmure, Roslin looked down in shame.
Lyra had heard a little of what happened to everyone at the Red Wedding; including what Roslin's awful father ordered her to do. "Don't feel ashamed for doing what you had to do," she attempted to assure Roslin, whose face reddened at the memory.
"Is your father cruel to you Lady Roslin?" Lyra asked quietly.
Though Roslin never explicitly answered the question, Lyra could tell from the way the other woman looked.
I can't let them stay here… Lyra decided then and there that the woman who reminded her so much of Sansa was coming to the Rock with herself and Jaime.
Around suppertime, Lyra invited Lady Roslin to dine with herself, Lord Lannister, and Walder Frey. When the other woman tried to protest, saying that she needed to care for her babe, Lyra had her handmaidens take care of little Bryden.
"They can take care of him for you, Lady Roslin. I must insist that you come join us for supper!" Lyra exclaimed.
Roslin looked a little apprehensive at first, but she eventually relented when Lyra swore that all would be fine.
Sitting at the table, Roslin and Lyra chatted away while they waited for Jaime and Walder. Like Lyra, Roslin was also more of a singer than a dancer.
The song Roslin had been humming earlier was a hymn about the Father. The very hymn their family would sing to them to comfort both girls about losing their mother in Roslin's case and father in Lyra's case. The hymn was about the Father and his divine, but merciful and understanding judgment of the dead.
"My older sister, Walda, used to sing the hymn to me when I couldn't sleep because I was grieving for mama," Roslin admitted to Lyra. Both women had more than a glass of wine as they waited for the men, and it was causing Roslin in particular to be more social. "I suppose Walda was the closest person to a mother I ever had," Roslin added, fondly remembering her kind older sister. It was known among the Frey women that what Walda lacked in beauty, she made up for a thousand times in kindness.
"But now she's gone…" Roslin's beautiful blue-grey eyes watered at the memory that her sister died brutally at the hands off her own stepson, Ramsey.
Lyra, giving Roslin a handkerchief so she could wipe her eyes, changed the topic of conversation to knitting.
As they began discussing the different types of fabrics to use depending on the weather, Jaime and Walder finally arrived. Lord Walder barely acknowledged his own daughter's unexpected presence before taking his seat. Jaime and Lyra greeted each other warmly before taking their seats.
The table conversation was pleasant enough, that is until Lord Frey began boasting of his achievements. Upon this, Jaime looked annoyed and Lyra simply conversed with Roslin in an attempt to quell her growing anger as the topic switched to the Red Wedding.
Lyra was listening to Roslin talk about how Brynden was trying to say words when Lord Walder interrupted.
"Of course, the Red Wedding couldn't have gone as well as it did without our Ros, here," Lord Walder addressed Roslin.
"I knew she wasn't beautiful for nothing. Lord Edmure was so distracted by her that he didn't even notice his king being murdered in the Great Hall until our guards came to take him in chains." At this rather public revelation, Roslin looked down in shame.
At this, Lyra stood indignantly, and stormed out of the room, taking Roslin with her. "Come Lady Tully," Lyra took her arm in a friendly manner. " We don't have to stay in the company of a craven," Lyra snapped at Walder Frey.
"Call me a craven all you want girl! At least I took what was mine instead of leaving my seat to those it doesn't belong to," Lord Walder barked.
For the first time, Lyra was thankful not to have something sharp on her.
When she came back to her and Jaime's room early, Lyra took out Night's Queen and began practicing with it. With each swing, she tried to imagine that she was cutting off Lord Walder's head.
Tiring, Lyra put her sword away in time for her handmaidens to help her ready for bed.
By the time Ashara and Joyce were done, the hour was growing late and Lyra was surprised that Jaime had yet to return. Taking out a book Lord Tywin had given her about the history of the Rock, Lyra read about her future home while she waited for Jaime in bed. One passage in particular caught Lyra's eye:
In fact, Casterly Rock is reputed as being so fortified that Queen Visenya Targaryen was relieved when the last King of the Rock yielded to her and her brother-husband because she feared that Dragon fire couldn't penetrate the natural walls of the fortress.
Hearing the door open, Lyra put her book away and greeted Jaime.
"Quite a scene you made at dinner," Jaime lightly commented. Jaime had no doubt that Walder Frey was being intentionally rude to Lyra.
"I cannot believe we are allies with these people," Lyra told him with both shock and anger.
"I know," Jaime admitted; even his father was not terribly keen on allying with the "Late Walder Frey". The Freys have never been known for their military prowess or their bravery in battle. They were a house full of people whom were more or less cravens and swindlers. "Allies is a loose term for them too. What's the point in being allies with a house when they can't even hold their own castles?" Jaime didn't like Walder anymore than Lyra, and after his wife had left the dinner table, Jaime told the Lord of the Crossing, himself, how craven of him and his house it was to kill the Northmen in the manner they did.
Lyra thought aloud to herself about how she couldn't allow the Tullys to stay under the watch of the Freys. Especially since Lord Walder is such a manipulative opportunist with no honor.
Before they turned in for the night, Lord and Lady Lannister had a glass of Dream Wine and spoke about their day. Apparently, the Freys were so incompetent at sieging that they were threatening to kill Edmure should his uncle, Brynden, not yield the castle; and they still couldn't take the castle!
"Not only that but they're stupid enough to not follow through with their own threats. Lord Walder and his sons are both stupid and cruel; a terrible combination," he added, draining his wine.
After Lyra spoke to Jaime of her day with Roslin, she figured now was the best time to ask Jaime since they were already on the topic of Lord Walder's cruelty and stupidity.
"I'd like to invite Roslin and her son, Brynden Tully, to stay with us as our guests at the Rock."
When Jaime asked her why, Lyra told him the truth; Lord Walder and the Freys are cruel and incompetent, and as the Wardeness of the West and wife of the Frey's liege lord, she could not allow for a woman and child under her protection to stay in such a place.
Jaime seemed as if he were about to tell her no so she added, "the Freys are clearly power grubbers, and like you said; what's the point in them being our allies if we have to constantly save them or retake their own castles? Despite the Freys being the new Lords of the Trident, the people of the Riverlands will clearly follow any Tully over the freys given the fact that there's still so much resistance against them here."
Jaime sighed; he was tired and stressed so he was not in the mood to argue with Lyra as to why it would be a problem. "I'll think about it," he said in an attempt to pacify her for the night.
Next: Riverrun- Jaime forces Walder Frey's hand, the Lannisters travel to Riverrun, Jaime treats with the Balckfish, and Lyra meets Edmure and faces the fallout of her past choices.