To the victims of the Paris terrorist attacks, and those who suffered in Beirut, Baghdad, India, Mexico and Japan, this might not mean much, but my thoughts are with you. Stay strong and stay safe.
3rd Month of 299 A.C. The Eyrie
Ser Brynden Tully
He was old, he was old, and that was one thought that would never leave his mind. The Blackfish, the man who had fought death more times than he could remember was old. Hoster would laugh at that, his brother so strong was dying, Brynden missed his older brother, and yet pride had kept him away all this time. He regretted that, regretted not being able to say the things he wished he could have said, the apologies he could have put words to, the embraces he could have shared with his brother. Too many regrets, and too little time, and now, well now his home was under threat, and his niece was not willing to allow them to leave and fight, and he would not have it anymore.
Brynden looks at his niece and says. "Lysa, surely you do not think that the Lannisters will simply forget about you if you remain here? It was your accusations that sent Lord Eddard down to King's Landing in the first place. What do you think it looks like now, then if you do not act?"
His niece merely sniffs. "I do not care. I will not endanger Sweetrobin or anyone else by sending men out to die for something I do not believe in."
Brynden feels anger begin to grow inside of him. "So you do not believe that your Goodbrother needs to be avenged? That the destruction being done to the Riverlands does not need to be responded to? That your father does not need protecting?"
"Edmure is there, if Edmure had not taken his army to the Westerlands, then perhaps father would not be in such dire need of protection. Anyway, what do you care? You and father have not spoken since the end of the rebellion." Lysa says.
"And I regret that more and more and with every passing day. Lysa, please child, your father needs you. He needs the men of the Vale. Your nephew needs you, he cannot win this war on his own. Tywin Lannister will come calling sooner rather than later. And when he does, the might of the Vale would help serve to protect the riverlands. Or do you want more innocents to die?" Brynden asks.
His niece looks at him then and scowling responds. "The Riverlands, never did anything for me. When I was alone and scared, they never once thought to ask whether I was alright. They merely assumed that I was. Only Petyr was there to help me, Petyr with his kind words and actions. Not even you bothered to ask me how I was uncle." His niece pauses a moment her eyes wide. "And why should I have expected anything different, after all, you all preferred Cat. It was always Cat that you people preferred. I was just the child who was there."
Brynden can hear the raw pain in his niece's voice and feels something sink within him. Gods Minisa, I am sorry. "You know that is not true Lysa. I was always there for all of you. I was there when you hurt yourself, when you wanted someone to speak to, someone to play with, I was always there."
"No you weren't. You were always there for Cat. You never once spoke for me when father was angry. Especially not after that foolish duel. I was just someone who was there to be seen and never heard. I know I was." Lysa shouts.
Brynden looks around and sees servants stopped outside of the throne room, he merely looks at them and they walk on. He turns back to look at his niece. "Stop acting the child Lysa. You know you are speaking nonsense. Baelish was not good for you. He was a leech who was only trying to use you to get to somewhere he would never have gotten to on his own."
"And what gives you the right to say that? You do not know Petyr like I do! You do not know what it was like being alone here, and in Riverrun. Knowing that father was fighting to come back for Cat, not for me, never for me, only for her and for Edmure." Lysa sobs. "What did I ever do wrong that father could never look at me? Was it because I was born a girl and not a boy? A second girl, a burden for the great Hoster Tully?"
Brynden feels his heart ache for his niece, and anger comes to the fore once more to himself and to Hoster, he takes a deep breath then and responds. "You know that is not true Lysa. Your father loves you very much, he did only what he thought was right."
"Then why did he force me to marry Jon Arryn? Why could he not allow me to marry Petyr? I would have been far happier with Petyr than I ever was with Jon Arryn." Lysa screams.
Brynden looks at his niece then and says. "Do you truly believe that Lysa? For if you do, then you are far too gone for me to ever be able to help you. Petyr was not someone you ever cared for before the duel happened. Not truly, I know that for the truth, for you told me yourself on many occasions. Do not forget what he did to you Lysa. Please, I beg of you."
For a long moment he fears his niece will simply reject what he says, and as the silence stretches on the fear intensifies, but then she sighs and says. "What am I to do uncle? I know what Petyr wants, and I know what I should do. But what do I do for my son? I cannot do anything to harm him. Please uncle help me."
Brynden feels his heart ache once more, and he moves towards the throne, where his niece stands and runs to his arms as she did when she was a little girl. He whispers into her air. "I will help you, I promise sweetling. But we must first help Hoster, we must take action."
"Then we shall. For Edmure, and for Cat. For Lord Eddard, we shall." his niece whispers into his chest.
