Disclaimer: I don't own the A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Author's Note: Thank you to anyone who read the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy the new chapter.

Chapter Twenty-One: Dreams and Discoveries

Even now, days after the news of his father's death, Artys was finding returning to his duties difficult. He'd done his best to gently tell Robert that their father was gone, and although his little brother didn't seem to fully understand, he had burst into tears screaming for his mother and Alyssa. Ysilla had had to step in, and had comforted Robert as best as she could, but Artys wondered now if he should have waited to tell him. Alyssa was the one who knew how best to speak to their little brother, no doubt she would have done a better job with him than Artys himself had.

Despite his grief however, Artys knew that he could not neglect his responsibilities. Most of the Arryn household from King's Landing was on the way back along with his father's bones. The lords of the Vale would also come, to swear their oaths to him as their new liege lord. He'd have to ensure that all was ready, both for the lords arrival and for his father's burial once Alyssa had returned from Highgarden.

For now, however, he was answering letters. Many had come in the past days. Most were from lords of the Vale, offering him their condolences but a few others had come with similar messages from elsewhere.

At the moment, he was looking down at a scroll that had just come in that morning. It bore the Stark direwolf seal, and when he opened it, he smiled faintly. The message was from Ned Stark, and his kind words of condolence brought him at least a little comfort.

It had been many years now since he'd seen the lord of Winterfell, Artys mused as he began to write a reply to thank Ned for his kindness, and to offer his own condolences. He knew that his father considered the man another son, as he did the king, and so Artys liked to think of him as an older brother of sorts, despite the fact that he did not know him particularly well. After all, he and Alyssa had been very young when Ned and king Robert were wards in the Eyrie.

Just as Artys was sealing his letter to Ned, there was a knock on the solar door. He sighed slightly, hoping that whatever it was, it wasn't more bad news.

"Come in." He called out, and a moment later the door opened. To his surprise, his father's loyal captain of the guard Ser Vardis Egen was standing there.

"Ser Vardis?" Artys asked, not bothering to hide his surprise. "I did not expect you here so soon. Are the rest of the household back also?"

Even as he asked the question, he knew that it was impossible. He would have been informed, and besides it was too soon for all of them to have returned.

"My lord Arryn," Ser Vardis bowed low. "I am deeply sorry for your loss, your father was a good man and it was he who sent me here."

Artys frowned in confusion, why would father do that? Still frowning, he gestured for Ser Vardis to take a seat which the knight did.

"You were with my father not long before he died," He said. "How did it happen, Ser Vardis? The king said it was a fever, but father was well when I last saw him."

Ser Vardis sighed, shaking his head mournfully. "It was passing strange, my lord," He told him. "Lord Arryn seemed fine one day, and the next, he fell ill and was at death's door. I do not believe that I've ever seen a man fall to illness so quickly."

Artys scowled at the thought. While the knight had been spoken, a suspicion had begun to take shape at the back of his mind. "That does not sound natural," Artys muttered. "Ser Vardis, that sounds like poison."

The old knight's eyes widened in horror. "By the seven, surely not." He gasped, he clearly had not even considered this possibility.

"I would not consider it either," Artys told him, "But why did father send you here, Ser? Why were you sent to me?"

"He wrote a letter, my lord, for you and the lady Alyssa. He said that it was of upmost importance that it reach you."

Artys nodded slowly, his thoughts a jumble. "And where is this letter?" He asked, looking at the knight.

"Right here, my lord." Ser Vardis took a scroll from within a pocket and handed it over. Artys nodded in thanks, staring down at the Arryn seal and trying not to think about how this was the last thing that his father had written.

"Thank you for bringing this to me, Ser Vardis. I fear your loyalty will be greatly needed in the days to come."

The knight rose, and bowed low. "I am yours to command, lord Arryn, now and always."

"I thank you, Ser," Artys replied. "Your loyalty to my house will not be unrewarded."

"I need no reward, my lord, it is an honour to serve house Arryn. That is all the reward I need." Vardis replied, and, seeming to realise that Artys wanted to be left to read the letter alone, he bowed again, and left the room.

Artys turned his attention to the letter in his hand. He wondered if he should wait, at least until Alyssa arrived, but something told him not to. Somehow, he knew that whatever was in this letter could not wait, and so he slowly broke the seal and began to read.

My Children,

It pains me that I cannot tell you all I wish to, but my time is short and I have things to say that both of you need to know. I am dying, I will be dead now when you are reading this, so first of all I must tell you how much I love you both, and Robert too. I am proud of all of you, please remember that always.

I have made some discoveries of late which could destroy the realm as we know it. The Lannisters are traitors to the crown. The queen's children are not Robert's, they are bastards born of incest between Jaime and Cersei Lannister. I have visited several of the king's bastards personally, and every one of them had black hair and blue eyes. The royal children are Lannister through and through, and there is proof of this in a book: The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms. All Baratheons have black hair, and blue eyes, except for those three children.

My children, Robert must know of this. The Lannisters realised that I knew too much, and now I am dead. It is up to the two of you to ensure that the truth of this is known. Talk to Ned and Lord Stannis, they will help you in the weeks and moons to come. I have been investigating alongside Stannis, Robert's true heir, and if the worst happens and the Lannisters decide to move against Robert, you must support Stannis as the rightful king.

I know that the future of the Vale, and of our house is safe in your hands. I am sorry to burden you with these truths as well as everything else, but as loyal subjects of the crown, it is our duty to see that Robert know the truth so that the situation may be put right.

Again, I love you, my children.

Your father.

A myriad of emotions went through Artys as he read the letter. First was grief, these were his father's last words to them after all. Then, there was shock. He did not want to believe these things, but he knew that his father would only write this if it were true. Finally, there were rage and yet more grief. How dare the Lannisters do this? Who dare they parade their vile bastards as royalty and murder his father when he found out? No, this could not go unpunished but what was he to do?

First, he thought, he had to hide this letter. He took it, and put it into a locked box where he kept other letters that he didn't want to be seen by anyone. After doing that though, he had no idea what to do. Should he march to the capitol, the Lannisters would know that he knew something. If he wrote to the king, the same would happen.

Sighing, he began to pace, frustrated. He could not sit still and do nothing, he thought, but then what to do?

And then, it hit him. King Robert was going north to Winterfell, to see the Starks. If he could get there first, he could tell Ned what was going on and he could help him.

He thought on it a bit more, and smiled. Yes, that would be best, he thought. It would mean that Alyssa would be alone a bit longer, and that thought caused him agony. He'd write to her, perhaps if she was in Highgarden...she'd at least have a distraction from the awful news of father's death, he decided.

For now though, he had many preparations to make. He'd be going north, for the realm, and because it was what his father would have wanted. He'd see this situation dealt with, his honour, and his fury over father's murder, demanded it.

There were falcons flying above Alyssa as she watched on curiously. There were four of them, three young ones, and an old, proud one that flew over the others. Somehow, she knew, this was her family.

Smiling, she followed their progress with her eyes. All seemed well, but suddenly, the older falcon fell from the sky with a desolate cry. The falcon hit the ground, clearly dead, and Alyssa woke, the shrieks of falcons still ringing in her ears.

She sat bolt upright, crying out in shock. Her heart was pounding, and looking down, she saw that she was shaking slightly.

"Alyssa?" Elyse's soft voice made her jump, and her eyes scanned her surroundings. She was in her tent, and her friend was looking down at her with worried green eyes.

"Alyssa, are you well? You cried out in your sleep, I thought that something had happened."

"I..." Alyssa shook her head slightly, trying to find her voice. "I...I'm well," She said at last.

"Are you certain? You look pale." Elyse said, her worry clear.

"Quite certain," Alyssa murmured, but she wasn't sure if that was true or not. "It was a bad dream is all."

Elyse nodded, looking a little less concerned. "Oh, I see. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Alyssa said, shaking her head. "Thank you, Elyse, but I am all right. i could use some air though, is it morning yet?"

"It is," Elyse nodded. "Dawn broke not long ago."

Alyssa tried for a smile. She was relieved, she wanted out of the tent, she needed a distraction from that awful dream.

"Good," She said. "Would you get my riding clothes, Elyse?"

"Of course." Elyse nodded, and in only a few minutes, Alyssa was sitting outside, her hair in a simple braid and a fire was being started to cook breakfast. She let out a sigh of relief, and smiled, watching the fire.

"Good morning," Alyssa looked up, smiling more easily as Domeric came to sit near her.

"Good morning, Domeric." She replied softly. They had agreed to call each other by name some days ago, they were friends after all.

"Did you sleep well?" Domeric asked pleasantly.

"I slept well enough," She said caughsiously "I had a troubling dream, but it is of little consequence. And you, how did you sleep?"

"I have troubling dreams at times, as well," He told her sympathetically. "But not last night, however. Would you like to talk about your dream? I find doing so can be helpful."

She wanted to say no, to tell him that everything was fine, but when she met his gaze she could not lie to him. "I saw four falcons flying," She told him, hoping that it didn't sound foolish. "Three young falcons, and an older one."

Domeric looked at her, brown eyes curious. "The falcon is the sigil of your house, and there are four Arryns, are there not? How curious, what happened next?"

"There are," She agreed, nodding. "Well...I saw the older falcon fall...and, it was dead, Domeric. The older falcon was dead."

Domeric listened quietly, and when she was done, he didn't say anything for a long moment. "That is a troubling dream indeed, Alyssa," He said softly. "But I would not worry if I were you. It was only a dream, after all, it does not mean anything."

Alyssa studied her friend for a moment, and he gave her a small reassuring smile. It helped, at least a little, and she smiled in return.

Just then a servant came, handing plates of breakfast to both of them. Elyse had made herself scarce when Domeric had approached, it seemed, and Alyssa tried not to feel guilty about it.

"After Highgarden, will you be heading north to your home?" Alyssa asked him curiously. She didn't want him to go, she'd gotten used to his company, and the thought of being without her friend was a little sad. Still, he was an heir, and she knew that he'd be going home at some point.

"I don't know yet," He admitted, smiling a little. "My lord father seems happy for me to stay in the Vale for a little while longer, but I'll be going home soon. I have to learn how to rule the Dreadfort, and I want to meet my brother."

"Oh, you have a brother? You haven't told me that before."

"I do," He admitted, a wistful look in his eyes. "Well, he's my half-brother, really. His name is Ramsay Snow. I've never met him, but I will when I go home."

Alyssa nodded, smiling softly. Snow was a bastard name, she knew, but that did not matter to her. He was Domeric's brother, she thought, and if she had a bastard brother, she'd want to meet him too.

"I hope you find him," She said gently. "And I'm sure if he's even a bit like you, he'll be a good man."

Surprise flickered across her friend's face, and he smiled. "Thank you, that's kind of you to say. My father doesn't think I should see him, but I can hardly just ignore my own brother."

"He disapproves? But why? Ramsay is his son as well."

"Yes, exactly," Domeric sighed. "I don't understand my father a lot of the time. I want to change quite a lot of things when I'm lord Bolton."

Alyssa tilted her head, curious. "Which things will you change?" She asked him.

"Well, the sigil, for one," He said, smiling slightly. "A flayed man...well, it isn't the most cheerful sigil, is it?"

"I suppose it's not," Alyssa agreed. "But do you know what your new sigil will be?"

"No," He admitted, slightly abashed. "I haven't figured that part out yet."

"You will." Alyssa told him confidently. "House Bolton will flourish on you, I'm sure."

"Thank you, Alyssa, truly." He said, and he shared a smile smile.

After that, they ate their breakfasts in companionable quiet, broken by the occasional light comment. After they had finished, they began the day's riding, and Alyssa did not think about her dream for the rest of the day.