Part 103:
Arya had almost made it back to her chambers, four guards around her and tiara in hand, when a large red and white direwolf pup came bounding towards her. "Rufus!" She exclaimed joyfully as the direwolf (one of Sansa's and a brother to Alyssa's direwolf, Visenya) tried to lick her face. She evaded the direwolf's tongue, hugging him instead, then pulled back and studied him. The guards around her looked at each other nervously, seeming unconvinced that the bouncing ball of energy was not a threat, Arya noticed one guards hand stray towards his sword.
"Raymont, harm my nephew's direwolf and I will harm you." She snapped, as she started giving Rufus a good scratch behind the ear with her free hand." Raymont quickly pulled his hand away from his sword and Rufus sat down, on Arya's feet, panting and enjoying the attention.
Rufus (or Lord Rufus as Mace insisted the direwolf be called) was a true red direwolf, there were no hints of black or grey on him at all, even his nose was pink. Oh, he still had white markings, like all of the other direwolves, and a white underbelly, but he was as red as any direwolf could be. His eyes were a clear light blue, almost the same shade as Sansa and Olenn's eyes, it was no surprise that Sansa had chosen this direwolf for her son. The red colour was unexpected, and had deepened since Arya had last seen him. Arya had expected the mating of Grey Wind and Lady to produce pups ranging from grey to smokey-grey, all with yellow eyes, yet only three pups had been greys, all female, and only two of those had yellow eyes. (Maester Pylos said that the red could have been repressed in either or both parents.) Visenya, the direwolf that Sansa had gifted Alyssa at Summerhall, on her second name day, had light silvery-grey fur, with some black markings around the head, much like Lady, but grey eyes. The other two greys had been smokey greys, like Grey Wind, with their parents yellow eyes, and Sansa had decided to take them North for Robb's two daughters, Bryn and Gwenffyrd. All of the male pups had red in them, but the other two also had grey and black. Sansa had given the red black and grey pups to Jon for his two boys, Eldrick and Bennard.
Arya still felt guilty that Alyssa's second name day had been such a small affair. Arya's health had been far from certain at the time, as had the health of the babies, many nobles had come to Summerhall, but Arya had left most of it to Gendry and Renly. Maybe that was part of why her putting on a good show was so important to Renly? They needed to show strength, at Summerhall she had shown weakness.
Arya pulled herself from her contemplation, and the direwolf now sitting happily at (on) her feet, and scanned the hallway for Sansa or Lady. It was over three moons since Sansa had gone North to Winterfell, almost four, and Olenn's second name day was fast approaching, surely Sansa was back by now? She continued to scratch behind Rufus' ear as the door to the nursery opened, but it was Wylla Manderly, not Sansa, that emerged.
"Lord Rufus, there you are!" Wylla exclaimed in an exasperated tone. "You know Olenn won't settle without you, and he needs a nap." She paused and nodded at Arya. "Princess Arya," She greeted. "I swear by the seven that direwolf can open doors!"
"Wylla." Arya replied, she lightly pushed Rufus off of her feet and started making her way towards the nursery. "Rufus, to me." She called when the direwolf didn't follow.
Arya soon had her nephew settled in a cot beside Alyssa's, each toddler curled up with their direwolf, once all of the children were calm, and under Brienne and Saia's watchful eyes, she lead Wylla to her room. She placed the tiara carefully on her dresser and turned towards Wylla. "Where's Sansa?"
Wylla frowned, meeting Arya's gaze. "Mace was hoping you could answer that question." She replied, one hand fiddling with her braid of green hair, as her sleeve rode up slightly Arya noticed the charm on her wrist. Green sea-glass and a single white pearl, similar (but not identical) to the one worn by Ser Marlon Manderly. "He's had but one raven since she arrived at Winterfell, he's sent her a dozen with no response, when did you last hear from her?"
Arya frowned as she tried to recall when she'd last had a raven from Sansa. "The same," She finally replied. "One raven saying she arrived safely, and a letter describing our nieces and saying that Wynafryd was well, nothing more… but I've sent nothing either."
Wylla nodded in understanding. "I'm sure it's been difficult, with the children and all. I… Visarya is very small, Connie says she doesn't feed easily?"
Arya stiffened at the mention of Visarya. "She feeds fine when I feed her," She said in a very quiet voice. "Connie is just offended that Visarya won't feed from her." Connie had been with her since Summerhall, and with House Buckler for years before that, Connie's own boy was seven now, and a page in the service of House Buckler. The Stormlands woman was tall with broad shoulders and dark laughing eyes, her hair was almost Baratheon-black, and in seven years she'd never found a babe she could not get to feed, until Visarya.
Wylla's expression softened. "But that's not normal, is it? A hungry babe should feed from any offered teet."
Arya took a deep breath, she tried to remind herself that Wylla was concerned, not attacking. She let the deep breath out slowly before replying. "Normal or not, Visarya will only feed from me, which means if she'd not getting enough milk it's my fault… if she dies it's my fault. I won't let her die."
Wylla gave her a sad smile, one that clearly stated the woman did not agree, but let the conversation turn to other matters.
~~/~~
Elenei seemed to have anticipated Renly's request of a more formal dress and had the perfect item hidden away, it made Arya wonder how long Elenei had been waiting to stuff her into it? The dress was designed for autumn, and comprised of an underdress and over dress. The overdress was yellow samite intricately detailed with dragons, stags, and direwolves. It was tied in such a way as to act as corseting under her bust, but was not too restrictive. The underdress was grey heavy brocade inlaid with silver thread in intricate detail, it had a flap at the front, held up by two artfully disguised buttons, to make breastfeeding easy. The pattern reflected roses and elder trees encircling a large depiction of a laughing weirwood, the heart tree perfectly centred on Arya's chest. Arya wore a silk slip underneath. Silk was expensive compared to cotton or linen, but Elenei assured it would be more comfortable. By the time Arya was dressed she was layered in silk and samite with long narrow sleeves cuffed with soft stoat fur, white dappled with black. The collar of the overdress and square neckline of the under dress were also trimmed in stoat fur.
The heavy detail of the yellow diamond gorget necklace didn't look right with the tiara, or the dress, and there was no way to wear the cuffs with the over dress's sleeves, so Arya decided to put them aside for a change, she simply wore the two Valyrian steel keys on their black silk cord around her neck. She wore chains of black and grey pearls in her hair, but no diamonds. Instead Sarella linked many of the chains of yellow diamonds and Dragonsteel together, to form a long belt which went around Arya's waist and trailed almost to the ground. Arya felt naked without her armoured jewellery, or her blades, but for once she would have to trust Renly and her guards. She shivered as she pulled her battle cloak around her shoulders, but not from the cold.
Renly had tried to dictate Gendry's wardrobe, but Gendry had rejected the silly looking doublet that Renly had offered, opting for the same black shirt and yellow samite surcoat that he had worn for every formal event since the first celebration of Alyssa. Arya thought he looked quite grand, especially with the four inch wide Valyrian chainmail and ruby sash going from his left shoulder to right hip. Gendry had conceded to Renly on two accounts, he'd left his sword, Promise, behind (the belt that held the surcoat in place was gold links) and he wore a golden coronet, with stag antlers coming off of it.
Renly was of course wearing an elaborate doublet, this time in yellow with black pleats in the puffy sleeves, and ridiculously puffy matching pants which stopped just above the knee. The yellow theme didn't end there tough, he had bright yellow silk stockings, and his feet were clad in silly looking black cracks, with pointed toes so long that they curled up on themselves. Despite the chill in the air he wore a short black cape that stopped at his waist, at least he had started wearing the Baratheon colours, instead of his greens. He also had a new crown for the event, or an old crown maybe? Something from the vaults of House Baratheon? The crown seemed almost a match to Arya's tiara, but set in gold. It was large, the rolling swirls of gold invoking the feel of a storm, the crown rose to a peak, with a single round cut black star sapphire inset into it. (A gem so dark blue as to almost be black, but that reflected light in a star-like pattern.) Arya had never seen such a gemstone before, only read of them.
Renly had clearly chosen Jon's attire, and never had Jon looked more like a Targaryen. The clothes looked as if they had come out of some royal wardrobe, and likely had. Jon was dressed mostly in black, but the red three-headed dragon embroidered on his samite surcoat left no question as to his heritage, nor did the heavy cloak around his shoulders. (Arya was sure that Jon had said 'no' at least a few times as he was not in an eccentric doublet, and his footwear was sensible.) Jon had moved the cloak so that it exposed his right shoulder, the action was due to the pain that it's weight caused his still-healing burns, but it unintentionally made him look more regal, and it drew attention to the intricate clasp, a golden dragon with ruby eyes. His hair, still too short to tie back, was carefully brushed and styled. He wasn't wearing his sword, instead a heavy golden belt (less detailed than Gendry's) encircled his waist. At Renly's request he had not brought Ghost to the feast. Officially Jon held no title, he was not a lord, nor a prince, yet Renly insisted he enter the feast with them. But then he was a Targaryen, and a Dragon Rider, and he was Renly's distant cousin.
As they formed up with the guards and awaited to be announced Renly sighed heavily, causing Arya to frown. "What's wrong?" She muttered.
Renly turned around to face her, a sad smile on his face. "You won't like it… but." He let the smile fall away, showing only sadness. "I hate entering these things alone. At least when I was married…" He stole an envious glance at Arya's arm, resting on Gendry's, and shook his head, shifting his gaze to Gendry. "I'm sorry, nephew, I know you don't like to be reminded of her." He turned around just as the trumpets sounded and their titles began to be announced.
"All stand for his royal highness, King Renly Baratheon, first of his name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Six Kingdoms and friend to the North…" The herald's announcement droned on.
Arya frowned and looked to Gendry, not knowing what to do. Gendry raised an eyebrow, then dropped her arm. Arya frowned again and shook her head, but Gendry nudged her forward.
"… Prince of Dragonstone, Heir to the Iron Throne, and Dragon Rider…" The herald continued.
Arya glanced behind her at Jon. 'What do I do?' She mouthed. Jon gave her a look that suggested she should step up beside Renly, but wasn't that presumptive, that wasn't her place.
"…She whom does not kneel, the Little Wolf, Princess Arya of House Stark, wife of the Prince of Dragonstone…" The herald continued.
Did it really take a herald to remind her who she was? No. They needed Renly on their side. Gendry and Jon needed her to play the part Renly needed of her, the game of faces. Renly was lonely, he'd even admitted that to her, and that loneliness was dangerous, it could lead him to make stupid choices, it had done so in the past. Just as the herald was drawing to the end of announcing their titles Arya stepped forward and looped her arm with Renly's.
"…Dragon Rider, Isaeyan Targaryen, nee Jon Snow." The herald finished, and the trumpets sounded again.
Renly looked down at Arya, a small, but genuine, smile briefly touching his lips. "Thank you." He whispered. Arya nodded, she glanced back just in time to see Jon step up beside Gendry, and then they were walking. Arya gripped Renly's arm tightly, struggling to keep up with his long strides, he seemed to notice and soon slowed his steps. Once they reached the top table Renly placed her to his left, the space usually taken by the queen, Gendry went to his right, and Jon stood at the last seat, to Arya's left. Renly took in the crowd for a moment, and smiled, then he spoke.
"Thank you all, thank you for coming to celebrate the heirs of House Baratheon." He smirked. "But tonight I would like to celebrate the woman that gave them to us. You all know I have no queen, and will never take another. Gendry is my heir, his children my legacy." He half turned towards Arya. "I will never forget the day you placed Alyssa into my arms, the way you hovered protectively, silently demanding that I accept and love her. I knew right then that only you could name her, you didn't even know that she was Gendry's then, yet you loved her. I remember how you sat beside me and asked me what I wanted for her, how you promised me that you would teach her to be strong. And now you have given House Baratheon four more beautiful children, three beautiful girls, and a black haired, blue eyed, boy."
"You named Alyssa after Alyssa Velaryon, the mother of House Baratheon as we know it, I did not realise then that you would be House Baratheon's new mother, but I know that now. Starting tomorrow we will celebrate Toby, Lysana, Renella and Visarya, the coming week is for them, but tonight, Arya, this feast is for you."
Arya just looked at Renly in shock as the crowd cheered. People started to shout things like "Long live the Queen of Bastards." and "May she have many more children." Suddenly Monford's voice caught her attention. "To the mother of stags, the aunt of dragons." Slowly the entire feast began to take up the chant. "The mother of stags, the aunt of dragons!"
Arya took a step forward and raised her hand, slowly the feast drew to a hush, they all expected her to say something, but what? "I'm also an aunt to direwolves." She muttered, she looked to Renly and he gave her a nod of approval.
"Let's feast!" Renly declared, and so the feast began.
As Arya took her seat she looked past Renly to Gendry, her husband simply gave her a nod of approval and a gentle smile. Tonight there was no way she was escaping being the centre of attention. She returned her attention back to Renly and noted he was smiling contently.
~~/~~