Hiya! I'm back everyone! Sorry for the long wait. I am happy to report that I finished online school with an 82+ page paper and a master's degree on its way! Yippee!
I'm free! Now, if only I can find a job with that master's...
Before we begin, I would like thank everyone for their patience. I would also like to thank Mander River for their defending my story in their review. It was highly appreciated, Mander, thank you very much. I would also like to thank my three constant reviewers: Shockeye7665, and Blake and Brent Parsons. I always look forward to what you guys have to say as well as see what suggestions or tips you have.
Anyway, without further adieu, enjoy the new chapter and see the Pact of Ice and Fire be fulfilled!
Author's Note: Profanity and a slight lemon ahead.
The North
Three Months After the Twentieth Year Tourney...
Weddings are supposed to be happy affairs, but Alyssa was not feeling at all happy about her future nuptials. In fact, she was dreading her wedding to Lord Rickon Stark, the heir to Winterfell. The princess did not want to marry him, she did not want to become a stepmother, and she did not want to live in the North. Alyssa remembered feeling her blood run cold in her veins after her father announced her second betrothal and who her new fiancé was. Her reaction upon learning that she was to marry Lord Stark was one of disbelief and outrage.
"So, you are feeding me to the wolves now?" grumbled Alyssa.
"No, sweetest daughter, I am marrying you to one." Jace had replied sardonically before going back to speaking more formally. "Not only will you be getting a husband, you will also be getting two stepdaughters too. Their names are Serena and Sansa."
Alyssa blinked and her mouth hung open for a bit before she spouted off again.
"What?! I do not want raise another woman's children! I do not want to spend the rest of my life trying not to freeze to death up in the North!"
"You have no choice, Alyssa." Jace responded coldly. "You brought this on yourself. Remember how we got here?"
Alyssa became quiet after hearing that. Glad to have finally made his outspoken daughter quiet, Jace continued speaking.
"You could have had a rose for your husband, Alyssa. You would have lived amongst flowers and greenery at Highgarden, and watch your children play amongst the rosebushes and fountains or in the briar maze. But now, my cousin Saera and her unborn child, and anymore children she may have with Lyonel, will have that future. You will have to content yourself with snow, ice, and bareness; I have read that snowfall can occur even during summer! I have arranged for you to marry Rickon two months from now on what would have been your wedding day at Highgarden..."
Noticing how crestfallen his daughter had become, Jace sighed and tried to reassure her, lacing his stern tone with fatherliness.
"Try and make the best it, Alyssa. I have a good feeling about Rickon. I would never agree to marry you to a man who I feel would not be worthy you."
Alyssa felt some comfort from her father's words, but her dread remained. Her dread was like an iron ball that sat in her stomach, and it grew heavier as the months went by. Traveling to the North via ship was expected to take two weeks at the very least if the weather was good. Preparations for the voyage north were made well ahead of the departure date at the Red Keep. Confined to her bedchamber still, and forbidden to ride Aemma or even a horse to keep her from escaping to gods know where, Alyssa's only release from her growing dread was sewing and embroidering, or listening to her half-cousin, Valaena, recite her poems.
As Alyssa tried to seclude herself in a tenuous bubble of safety, the preparations for her wedding continued. Correspondence with Rickon's father, Lord Cregan Stark, revealed that most of the Northern nobility were going to be present at Winterfell for the wedding, so, to prevent overcrowding, only Alyssa's immediate family and a sprinkling of her extended family were going to attend her wedding along with a few members of their households. Immediate family included both of Alyssa's parents: Crown Prince Jacaerys Velaryon and Princess Baela Targaryen, both of her brothers: Princes Baelor and Aelyx Targaryen, Baelor's cousin-wife, Princess Alysanne Velaryon, and their young son, Prince Aemon Targaryen. Extended family included one of Alyssa's paternal uncles: Prince Joffrey Velaryon, his wife, Lady Nell Beesbury, and their two sons: Princes Aeric and Daemion Targaryen. Lord Alyn Velaryon, who was going to lead the fleet that was to take his half-niece up to the North, was also going to attend Alyssa's wedding as the representative of her Uncle Luke.
As if eleven people were not enough, however, eight dragons were also going to accompany the bride and her family to the North too: Aemma, Galewing, Macetail, Moondancer, Palefyre, Redfang, Tyraxes, and Vermax! This seemed to be a bit much, but it was not like the dragons were going to be feasting with the other wedding guests in Winterfell's great hall. Cregan had written saying that he would be fine with the presence of the dragons at his family's seat, and that he would ensure that the great beasts would be provided with mutton and venison for however long the royals stayed.
"How kind of him." Alyssa had remarked when she heard about Cregan's accommodations for the dragons. But not even this act of generosity on her future father-in-law's part did anything to alleviate the sinking feeling that Alyssa had in her stomach as the date of her departure for the North approached. When Alyssa's last night at the Red Keep arrived, her grandmother held a small feast for her in her honor at the Queen's Ballroom.
"To my dear granddaughter, Alyssa, the bride-to-be." Queen Rhaenyra said as she raised her goblet up in a toast. Everyone else followed suit with their goblets held up in the air. "May her future marriage to Rickon be happy, loving, and fruitful. Seven Above, guide and protect Alyssa on this new journey that she is about to embark on. Seven Above, give her joy," Rhaenyra then grinned, "and give her warmth when she lives there!"
Giggling and chuckling could be heard coming from those gathered at the table. Alyssa feigned being humored by her grandmother's joke, but her fake smile fell almost immediately.
"Seven Above, why did you not make the Princess of Dorne's brother send a raven to father asking for my hand in marriage instead?" Alyssa said to herself as her relatives and the courtiers drank their wine. "It may be hot as fire down there, but it is better than being cold."
Although her favorite food and drink, peppered duck and Arbor Red, were being served at her going-away feast, Alyssa could hardly bring herself to eat or even sip. She was able to tuck away some of her meal, but barely half of it, and yet she went to bed later that evening not feeling hungry or thirsty at all. Sleep took its time coming to Alyssa too, and she laid away in her bed that night staring at the waxing moon outside of her bedroom window contemplating its light and beauty and how it would soon be full. Trying to fall asleep, Alyssa rolled over on her mattress, grabbed one of her pillows and hugged it close to her chest as if she was trying to crush the anxiety and dread that was plaguing her.
Imagining that the pillow was Florence caused the princess to weep. "Flo..." she whispered sadly to herself at the memory of her faraway beloved.
Forbidden to contact each other, Alyssa wondered how her precious Flo was coping with her marriage to Lord Aldus Florent. Being married to a man who was a little older than her own grandfather had to be hard enough to cope with, but having ten stepchildren who were older than her and most of whom were parents and grandparents themselves had to have made the marriage even more strained for the young Florence. Thinking about these things actually made Alyssa start appreciating her own betrothal a little bit since it could have been worse. Her fiancé was only four years older than her and the ages of his daughters were in single digits.
Sighing, her eyes still wet with tears, Alyssa finally drifted off to sleep whilst still clutching the pillow to her chest. The following morning, everything seemed to be a blur to the princess. Waking up, getting dressed, eating breakfast, and getting ready to leave seemed to all happen at once. Before leaving the Red Keep for the city docks, Alyssa visited her grandfather in his bedchamber. King Daemon held his arms out when he saw his favorite grandchild enter his room, and Alyssa happily wrapped her arms around her grandfather.
Daemon wanted to hug his granddaughter tightly, but his elbows ached too much when he tried to do so. Alyssa, young and strong, wanted to hug her grandfather tightly too, but she was afraid that if she did, she would break his ribs. The Rogue Prince felt so fragile in Alyssa's embrace, and it was a sad reminder on how Daemon was merely a shadow of his former self now. "I wonder if that will be the last time I will see him alive..." Alyssa thought as she left her grandfather's bedchamber.
Bittersweet as it was to say good-bye to her grandfather, Alyssa next had to say farewell to the rest of her family at the city docks. She embraced her half-uncles Aegon and Viserys, her half-aunt Visenya, their spouses, and stooped down to hug her half-cousins. The princess was in for a pleasant surprise once she reached her grandmother.
After embracing her granddaughter, Rhaenyra I cupped both of Alyssa's cheeks with her hands and she gave her a grandmotherly peck on the forehead. "Gods be with you, my sweet." Rhaenyra murmured kindly to her granddaughter, "I know that you will flourish up in the North. Know that I will love you always." Hearing those words warmed Alyssa's heart; she was glad to know that both she and her grandmother were now reconciled.
Boarding the flagship of the bridal flotilla, Fair Lady, Alyssa and her relatives waved from the ship's deck at those who were gathered at the city docks as they all sailed out from Blackwater Bay. They kept waving until the crowd were barely visible in the distance. Despite the reconciliation between grandmother and granddaughter, Alyssa was still under one prohibition: she could not fly her dragon up to the North. It was precautionary measure meant to prevent Alyssa from escaping her nuptials by flying away to Seven knows where, or to fly to Brightwater Keep to liberate Lady Rowan and fly away with her to Seven knows where. Alyssa was disappointed at first, but she contented herself with watching the waves as the Fair Lady sailed.
Just as expected, the voyage up north took two weeks to complete. The first stop for the flotilla after leaving Blackwater Bay was Driftmark. Prince Lucerys Velaryon and Princess Rhaena Targaryen hosted their relatives at High Tide for the night and a splendid feast was held in their niece's honor. Alyssa received two magnificent wedding gifts from her Uncle Luke and Aunt Rhaena that night. From her aunt, Alyssa received a beautiful thread of gold girdle that was sewn with aquamarines and pearls, and from her uncle, Alyssa received her most favorite gift – a bow from the Summer Isles made from goldenheart wood.
Exporting goldenheart wood, or anything made from it, from the Summer Isles had been forbidden for centuries since the Slavers' Wars, and this made Alyssa's new bow even more special, other than the fact the exotic wood was said to make the best bows. When the amazed and grateful princess asked her Uncle Luke how he got the bow, he revealed that he found it in the vaults that contained the treasures that the Sea Snake had accrued during his many voyages. The bow that was now the new prized possession of the Sea Snake's great-granddaughter had been obtained by him when he sailed to both the Summer Isles and Volantis aboard the Summer Maid during his youth. The princess wrapped her arms around both her aunt and uncle after they gave her those gifts. It was the first time that Alyssa had smiled so broadly since before the Duskendale Scandals.
Just like she had done at King's Landing's docks, Alyssa bid farewell to her aunt and uncle and cousins at Spicetown's docks. Sadly, Megaera was not present. She had been forbidden by her mother-in-law to visit her cousin. As for the reason why Juno enacted such an edict, Alyssa learned from Meg via letter that her mother-in-law was fearful that her womb could be "tainted by Alyssa's presence" because she was, in Juno's words, an "unnatural woman." Juno had also forced her son and daughter-in-law to participate in a cleansing ritual at Pentos's red temple after they had returned from Duskendale following the outbreak of the scandals.
Departing from Spicetown, the flotilla sailed up the Narrow Sea until they reached their next stop, Gulltown. Hosted by House Grafton once again, Baelor was reunited with Dowager Lady Ellyn Butterwell, who now not only a widow, but also senile and frail too. She mistook the nearly four year old Aemon for his father, and she was flabbergasted by how much the young prince resembled Baelor when he was his age after learning who was who. Father and son were doted on by Ellyn, and she provided them with a seemingly endless supply of frosted lemon cakes. Although pleased to be reunited with a familiar face from his bygone childhood, Baelor left Gulltown crestfallen since he knew deep down that the kind lady who had spoiled him during the Arryn Succession Crisis was not long for the world.
The next leg of the voyage was the longest one. Sailing out of the Bay of Crabs, the flotilla had to circumnavigate the Vale of Arryn, braving tempestuous winds and choppy seas. Alyn was able to successfully guide the flotilla up through the Narrow Sea, past the Fingers, and then to the island of the Paps to be hosted by House Elesham. The flotilla began island hopping from the Paps to Pebble, the seat of House Pryor, and then to Longsister in the Three Sister's island chain, the seat of both House Longthorpe and their overlord, House Sunderland. Leaving the Three Sisters and entering the Bite, Alyssa and her family members were well on their way towards White Harbor.
Excitement amongst the crew and passengers spiked after the crow's nest on the Fair Lady spotted Oldcastle, the seat of House Locke, at the entrance of the inlet that led to the mouth of the White Knife where White Harbor was located. Alyssa's dread increased as the ships made their way through the inlet. Up in the cloudy sky above, her father Jace, older brother Baelor, and their Uncle Joff and cousin Daemion flew on dragonback. Aelyx observed how his older sister was staring impassively at the cliffs from the Fair Lady's main deck.
"Are you nervous, Alyssa?"
"What do you think, Aelyx?" was Alyssa's snippy response. She instantly regretted her tone. "I am sorry. I did not mean to say it like that..."
"Do not worry about it." Aelyx replied comfortingly. He then took his place by his sister and they watched the scenery pass by together in silence for a few minutes before Alyssa finally spoke again.
"Here is a more polite answer to your question, Zorse. Yes, I am nervous." Alyssa lowered her voice to a whisper. "I do not want to get married."
Aelyx smiled both out of sympathy for his older sister's plight and amusement over her uttering the nickname she had given him at birth.
"I know." Aelyx murmured as he gently placed his hand on her back. "It will all be fine, Alyssa. You have not even met Rickon yet."
"You are starting to sound like father."
"Better than sounding like Baelor, though." whispered a grinning Aelyx.
Brother and sister chuckled over this comment. Their older brother came off as being pompous to them for as long as they could remember, and they would mock how Baelor would talk and conduct himself when he was not within earshot or sight of Alyssa and Aelyx. It was all good fun unless they were caught by Baelor. The princess reached over and playfully tousled her younger brother's silver-streaked brown hair.
"Hey!" he chuckled after his sister had made a mess of his hair. Alyssa observed Aelyx as he fixed his hair. There was a strange look in her indigo eyes.
"If I was given the choice of who I could marry, it would be Florence I would pick."
Aelyx frowned when he heard that. He did not think it was wise for his sister to bring up Lady Rowan while their mother, sister-in-law, nephew, and Uncle Joff's wife and their oldest son were present out on the deck. Alyssa saw her younger brother's expression and she sighed.
"Of course, that would not be possible. Mother and father would be so wroth if I were to run off with Flo."
"They would be." Aelyx said. "However, I think they were angrier over you ending your betrothal to Lord Lyonel Tyrell than they were about finding you in bed with Florence, Alyssa."
"You think so?" Alyssa asked, to which Aelyx nodded. Jacaerys and Baela were furious to discover their daughter in bed with another woman, but what if that anger stemmed mostly from the idea of Lyonel finding out that his betrothed was being unfaithful to him before his own infidelity was revealed that same day rather than discovering their daughter's sexual preference for other women? Who's to say, though? Alyssa certainly was not going to broach the subject to her parents.
Looking away from her brother, Alyssa stared at the cliffs and the grey-blue water below before uttering, "If I were to choose any man in the Known World to be my husband, it would be you Aelyx."
The prince's brown eyes shined when he heard his sister say that.
"Really?" he asked. He felt so flattered.
"Yes." Alyssa nodded. "We could be like Rhaena the Black Bride and Aegon the Uncrowned. Well, except for all the blood, death, and heartbreak that they went through..."
"Heh, that's for sure!" Aelyx replied. "But we could have had the happy married life they would have had had the Faith Militant Uprising not have occurred or if their uncle had not stolen Aegon's birthright after their father's death."
"So many what ifs, so little time to contemplate them all..." Alyssa said wistfully.
"Very true." Aelyx replied. "It is all in the past now. Nothing we can do to change any of it."
"Correct."
Conversation ceased as the two siblings took in the bleak scenery as the flotilla made its way up through the inlet. Orders being given, gull cries, dragon wings flapping, sails be buffeted by wind, and the crash of waves were the sounds that filled the silence between Alyssa and Aelyx. The silence was broken when the crow's nest spotted White Harbor up ahead. Greeting the flotilla first as it entered the city's outer harbor was a massive grey-green rock formation called "Seal Rock". Aemon squealed with delight in his mother's arms when he saw all the seals that were basking in the sunlight on the rocks that jutted out around the base of Seal Rock.
There had to have been at least forty seals gathered around there. Some of the seals sniffed the air as the Velaryon ships made their way past them while a few of their seemingly unimpressed brethren nonchalantly slid off of their perches into the cold seawater below. The animals were delightfully round with slick grey and black mottled skin, big black eyes, and long whiskers.
"They're so round!" Aemon squeaked as he observed the seals, causing his relatives to chuckle over how cute he was being. His Aunt Alyssa, while sharing Aemon's fondness for the seals, viewed the animals under a different light.
"I wonder if Aemma would like seals? They've got a lot of meat on them."
While seals captured the attention of the passengers aboard the Fair Lady, the princes on dragonback were interested by another sight that was on Seal Rock. An ancient ringfort stood on the apex of Seal Rock. Old as it looked, the princes caught glimpses of the artillery that lined the ringfort's battlements – scorpions and spitfires. Crossbowmen wearing Manderly livery lined the battlements to get a good look at the dragons as they flew by as well as the flotilla as it sailed past Seal Rock fifty feet below them. Up next was White Harbor.
Fishing boats and trading cogs were going in and out of the harbor as the flotilla made its way through. Gathered at the Fair Lady's bow, the Targaryen's saw the impressive skyline of White Harbor. They saw the great prison that was the Wolf's Den, the domed roof of the Sept of the Snows, and the pale stone turrets of New Castle, the home of White Harbor's overlords, House Manderly. Obscuring the Targaryen's view of the city's inner harbor was a mile long and thirty foot tall defensive wall that was lined with watchtowers that all rested on a jetty.
"The Manderly's are certainly keen on maritime defense." Joffrey said to himself as he considered both the wall and Seal Rock. "I wonder if their land defense is just as secure?"
Entering the city's inner harbor through the wall's gate allowed for the Targaryen's to see that White Harbor's docks and the battlements of the "Seal Gate" were crowded with both curious onlookers and a splendid welcoming party from House Manderly. Aelyx reached over and touched his sister's hand to comfort her as the ship reached the docks. Feeling her little brother's hand on hers, Alyssa held it in hers and gently squeezed it out of gratitude. A gust of wind blew through White Harbor and brought a smattering of flurries along with it. The sight of these flurries surprised the princess and her relatives; it was cool for a summer's day, but they did not think cold enough for flurries to fall.
"Fucking great..." Alyssa thought to herself as she and her family disembarked from the Fair Lady. Seeing his family disembark, Jacaerys flew Vermax down low over the crowd. Flapping his wings to get people to disperse, Vermax landed after enough room had been made for him. Palefyre and Redfang landed on the turrets of the Seal Gate while Joffrey remained in flight to keep the unridden dragons in line with Tyraxes. Greeting the crown prince and his family was the Lord of White Harbor himself, Ser Torrhen Manderly.
Obese for a knight, Torrhen was nevertheless a courteous and welcoming host. He bowed to both Jace and the rest of the Targaryen's as they left the Fair Lady.
"Welcome to White Harbor, my lords and ladies. Welcome to the North. I hope your journey from King's Landing was pleasant for the most part."
"It was, Lord Manderly." Jace replied pleasantly. "The wind was quite strong and the seas rough during the last leg of our journey, but here we are."
"Very good." Torrhen nodded before turning his attention towards the prince's family members. After Jace had introduced everyone, Torrhen set his eyes on Alyssa and announced, "Kinsmen and citizens of White Harbor, standing here before us is our future Lady of Winterfell, Princess Alyssa Targaryen. Let us all give her a warm welcome."
Torrhen clapped, signaling for the rest of the crowd to clap along with him. Alyssa blushed a little and became bashful over being the recipient of such attention. As if sensing her rider's discomfort, or possibly curious about the people clapping, Aemma swooped down from the sky above and circled over the quay. Nervous eyes glanced skyward as Aemma's shadow circled about.
"Is that your dragon, princess?" Torrhen asked as his eyes followed Aemma as she flew her circuit.
"Yes." nodded Alyssa. The Lord of White Harbor sounded curious, but Alyssa thought she detected some nervousness. Alyssa suspected that Torrhen feared that Aemma might find him to be a tempting meal. He had a reason to be scared, being that he was fatter than any of the seals at Seal Rock (nearly as big as a walrus in Alyssa's opinion), and the princess was unsure on when her dragon had last ate.
Thankfully for Torrhen, Aemma soon lost interest in the crowd once she realized there was nothing out of the ordinary going on, and she rejoined her riderless brethren up in the sky.
"What stunning creatures dragons are." Torrhen muttered, feeling greatly relieved that he was not on Aemma's menu. He then clasped his hands together. "Now then. You all have had a long journey from King's Landing to my beautiful city." Torrhen then gestured towards the wheelhouses that were lined up behind him. "Your carriages await, my lords and ladies. Allow me the honor of escorting you all to my humble home of New Castle."
Nodding in agreement, the Targaryen's piled into the wheelhouses along with the Manderly's and headed off towards New Castle. Unable to see the fish market outside of the Seal Gate due to the crowds, the royal visitors were able to get a good look at the city itself. White Harbor's buildings were made of whitewashed stone with slate roofs - white like sea foam and grey like the Bite's waters, and a mélange of aromas permeated the city's air: saltwater and seafood, both fresh and rotten, with the faint, appetizing hint of fish being fried. More people lined the wheelhouses' route as the cortege made its way up to New Castle. From his mother's lap, Aemon pointed at "Old Fishfoot", the great merman statue that stood proudly on a fountain in the middle of Fishfoot Yard along with the large wood and iron doors of the Old Mint, along with the massive Wolf's Den and the Sept of the Snows again, too. So many things to see, so little time to see them all; New Castle stole the limelight from all of these structures anyway.
Towering majestically over White Harbor atop a hill in the middle of the city, the seat of House Manderly was a sight to behold. It was built of white stone like the rest of the city was, and a flag bearing the Manderly's coat-of-arms: a white and green merman holding a black trident on an aquamarine field, fluttered from New Castle's tallest turret. The Targaryen's were further impressed by their host after they entered the castle. The guards at New Castle wore wool cloaks that were dyed in blue and green and they carried silver tridents to emulate the Manderly merman, and their lordship's guests were in awe of the Merman's Court. The hall was decorated from floor to ceiling with murals and carvings of nautical scenes and marine lifeforms like fish, shellfish, sharks, octopi, leviathans and krakens and so much more.
A splendid feast welcomed the Targaryen's in the hall. As his royal guests dined on the bounty of the sea, Torrhen's manservant entered the Merman's Court carrying a big wooden chest by its iron handles. Seeing his manservant, Torrhen, who had earlier been stuffing himself silly with lamprey pie, dabbed his lips clean and cleared his throat.
"My lady, Princess Alyssa, I have a gift for you from your betrothed." Torrhen then gestured for his manservant to lumber over towards the princess with the chest while his lordship continued to speak, "Lord Rickon had this sent down here for you all the way from Winterfell."
Gently putting the chest down by the intrigued Alyssa's chair, the manservant opened the lid and pulled out a beautiful sable fur cloak. Black as night, the glossy fur was striped in moon white. It was a beautiful garment. Alyssa gently took the cloak from Lord Manderly's manservant to get a closer look at it.
"That is "shadowskin", my lady." Torrhen explained. "The skin of a shadowcat. The shadowcat whose fur lines your cloak was felled by Lord Commander Cole of the Night's Watch."
Cole. Ser Criston Cole. Winner of the Tourney at Maidenpool in 104 AC. Originally the beloved sworn shield of Queen Rhaenyra I Targaryen during her childhood, later her sworn enemy, and the protector of Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower. Last Lord Commander of the Kingsguard to serve under the reign of King Viserys I Targaryen.
For the older Targaryen's, it felt so uncomfortably odd to hear Ser Cole's name again two decades after he was exiled to the Wall. For the younger Targaryen's, it was unusual to hear the name of a man whom they were taught to view as a contemptible enemy since childhood, an enemy that seemed to exist only in tomes and in their parents' memories. It was even more unusual to learn that Criston was still drawing breath and had become Lord Commander again through a different order. An uncomfortable silence descended upon the Targaryen's as they recalled the drama and heartache that once existed between the queen and her first love all those years ago when the Young King was alive. Alyssa broke the silence with a question.
"How did he kill the shadowcat?"
"Shattered its skull with his morning star." Torrhen answered. "Apparently a ranger got between the cat and a deer that they were both hunting. The cat had slit the ranger's belly open with one swipe of its claws and was about to rip his hand off until Lord Commander Cole snuck up on the cat and brought his morning star down hard upon its head. Took one blow to kill it, I think.
As fortunate as Criston's intervention was, he arrived too late, for the ranger bled out, his watch ending Beyond the Wall." All was silent as Torrhen regaled his guests about Ser Cole's heroics and the origin of Alyssa's gift. Lord Manderly continued. "Criston sent the shadowskin to Lord Cregan Stark, and it was Rickon who ordered for it to be fashioned into that cloak that you are now holding in your hands, my lady. He had a similar cloak made for his late wife, my dear daughter Jeyne, as a wedding gift as well..."
"Rickon's wife was your daughter, my lord?" Alyssa asked, lowering the cloak to look at Torrhen, who nodded sadly.
"Yes, she was. Rickon was good to my Jeyne when she was alive, and I know that he will be good to you too, my lady. My granddaughters are looking forward to meeting you as well."
Alyssa tightened her grip on the cloak. Lost in her interest over the shadowskin and Ser Criston Cole had caused the princess to forget for a little while why she was in the North now. Dread returned, but with it, thanks to Torrhen, a little hope came to Alyssa as well. Cregan was the first to mention that his son was a good husband in writing, and Rickon's former father-in-law was the second to vouch for his character. Perhaps this upcoming marriage would not be so bad after all?
The shadowskin cloak would be used for the first time that night. Cool for a summer night, Alyssa draped her cloak over her blanket, and she thought she could smell faint hints of pine and earth on the fur as she pressed it against her face – scents that came from the dead shadowcat's home. She wore the cloak the following chilly morning as her family and host boarded a ship to sail up the White Knife with their Manderly host that included Torrhen and his cousin and heir, Ser Ogden Manderly, and his two sons: Marq and Anton, along some other members of Torrhen's extended family. Fierce rapids further upriver prevented the ship from sailing any further, and the Targaryen's and Manderly's disembarked at the intersection where the White Knife split in two. A small host consisting of men from Houses Cerwyn, Hornwood, and Stark greeted the dragons and mermen there.
House Stark's banner was identified right away, and Marq Manderly pointed out to Alyssa, Aelyx, Aeric, and Daemion that the banner with a black axe on a silver field belonged to House Cerwyn, and the brown moose with black antlers on an orange field belonged to House Hornwood. Other than being the more prominent bannermen sworn to the Stark's, Lords Cerwyn and Hornwood were also the husbands of Torrhen's other daughters, and some of his grandsons were present in the host, too. Leading the host were twin brothers Lords Torrhen and Orys Stark, Lord Cregan's sons by his second wife. Being identical twins, the men both shared the same physical appearance, a combination of the traits of their mother and father's houses. They had the brown hair and long faces of the Stark's, and the blue eyes and burliness of the Baratheon's.
Identical as they were, Torrhen and Orys could be told apart since the former was cleanshaven while the latter had a beard. Compared to the other men who made up the host, seventeen year old Torrhen and Orys appeared to be both the biggest and strongest men there. The Stark twins walked up to their older half-brother's future second wife, and they bowed to her and her family.
"Greetings." the twin brothers said in unison, their voices sounding deep. "I am afraid that from here until we reach dry ground, we will have to traverse through the bog on horseback if you so incline."
Alyssa's eyes widened and she was about to interject on how she was going to ride on Aemma's back until her mother firmly tugged on her braid to quiet her.
"You can't ride Aemma, Alyssa. Not until the day after your wedding."
Alyssa scowled. Her hatred for horses had not abated over the years, although (forced) horseback riding lessons had made her a somewhat decent rider. Decent or not, Alyssa still found horses to be stinking, stupid creatures, and she'd sooner feed one to Aemma before riding one. She was still scowling when she mounted the grey mare that was provided for her. Wanting to make the ride more bearable for her, Alyssa invited her nephew to ride with her, an offer that little Aemon happily accepted.
Aemon's cheery presence helped his aunt deal with riding on horseback much better, and they rode together all the way through the bog before reaching solid, hilly ground. Dragon shadows floated over the grass as the procession made its way to Winterfell. Before continuing on the last mile, Aemon was given over to his mother so that his aunt's future husband would only see her on horseback once they arrived. Disappointed over being parted from her dear nephew, Alyssa took a deep breath and spurred her horse on the final mile towards her new home. She tightened her grip on the reins once Winterfell was spotted.
News of the royal bride's arrival reached Winterfell and the town outside of its walls, and people lined the road leading to the castle gate. Very few townsfolk emerged from their homes and an inn whose sign read the "Smoking Log". It was a strange sight. Where were all of the smallfolk? A slightly larger crowd greeted the royals once they rode through the main gate. Standing front and center in the crowd were the Stark's themselves, and they were surrounded by the members of their household. Everyone bowed as the Targaryen's dismounted their horses. The Lord of Winterfell greeted his royal guests.
"Welcome to Winterfell, my lords and ladies. We all feel blessed to be graced with your presence here in the North. And Winterfell welcomes Prince Jacaerys Velaryon and his lady wife, Princess Baela Targaryen, for the second time. It is good to see you two again."
Jace nodded in appreciation and responded in kind to his gracious host.
"It is good to be back, Lord Stark. I see you and Lady Cassandra have made a lovely family together. I remember my wife and I coming here to attend your wedding nearly twenty years ago. How quickly time passes us by..."
After the two men exchanged pleasantries, Cregan introduced his family to the royals, finally allowing Alyssa to learn about and get a good look at her future in-laws. Forty-one year old Lord Cregan Stark looked imposing and stern, his greying beard contrasting sharply with his still youthful looking brown hair, and he gave off an air of solemn pride. Standing on Cregan's right was his second wife and the Lady of Winterfell, Cassandra Baratheon.
Thirty-six year old Cass was somewhat overweight due to her two pregnancies, but she still looked as lovely as she did the day she married Cregan eighteen years ago in 131 AC. Her Baratheon black hair was braided and she wore a gold circlet on her head. Cass looked every inch like a Southron noblewoman, standing with her back straight and shoulders back, her hands folded over her stomach, and a haughty expression graced her face. When her blue eyes met Alyssa's indigo stare, Lady Baratheon's brow crinkled like she had smelled a bad odor. Alyssa was sure that her fiancé's stepmother had just mentally called her an abomination.
Standing beside Cass was her and Cregan's only daughter, fourteen year old Lady Kinna Stark. Kinna looked exactly like her mother with black hair and blue eyes. Even her posture and demeanor were exact duplicates of what Cass's were at the moment, although Kinna's expression looked humbler and more curious than her mother's. Lady Stark's blue eyes glanced at every Targaryen, Manderly, and dragon that was in her field of vision. She turned pale and looked away when Moondancer, who was perched up on one of the turrets that guarded the main gate, met her eyes and let out a low hiss.
Standing on Cregan's left was the main source of Alyssa's anxiety, her twenty-one year old fiancé, Lord Rickon Stark. He looked exactly like his father in some respects. Rickon had brown hair that was cut short, and friendly grey eyes that did not seem to fit his expression, which was stern, but not as stern as his father's, which rested on a long face. When Alyssa and Rickon's eyes met, they both stiffened, and the princess and heir to Winterfell curtseyed and bowed to each other quickly in greeting. Needing a distraction from the awkwardness, Alyssa trailed her gaze down on the little girl who was standing right front of her fiancé, whose hands were holding both of the girl's tiny ones.
The girl was four year old Lady Serena Stark, Rickon's oldest daughter by his late first wife. She had big grey eyes that stared at her future stepmother, especially at her platinum white hair. Standing beside Rickon was his bastard half-aunt, Sara Snow, and she held his youngest daughter, two year old Lady Sansa Stark, in her arms. Sansa resembled her older sister, and she rested her head against her half-grandaunt's shoulder so that she would not have to look at Vermax as he gazed down at the crowd down below from another castle turret. Little Sansa also seemed to be taken by Alyssa's looks.
Standing beside Sara was Rickon's squire and step-cousin, Cass's nephew, eleven year old Lord Tyland Westerling. Tyland was a handsome boy with brown hair and blue eyes, and he was tall for his age. He bowed his head at Princess Baela when they made eye contact, acknowledging her as being a former close friend of his mother during her brief first marriage and first stint of widowhood. Baela smiled when she laid eyes on Tyland. He looked to be growing into a fine young man.
After Jace introduced his family, everyone retired inside to rest for the day. One hour after Alyssa and her family had settled down, Sara arrived to fetch her and escort her to meet Rickon personally for the first time. The meeting had been agreed upon by Cregan and Jacaerys in the former's solar during the past hour. The meeting place was definitely unique. It was Winterfell's glass garden.
Green and yellow glass windowpanes were lit up by the sun, making the enclosed garden feel warm and humid under a faux late afternoon light. Some windows were open to let in a cool breeze. Clay pots and wooden planters filled with vegetable and fruit plants and flowers filled the room. The glass garden smelled of soil, moisture, and plant matter, and it was heated all year round thanks to underground hot springs. Rickon was standing by the planter that contained the strawberry plants and he was helping himself to some fat, juicy, ruby red strawberries.
Looking up from his snacking, Rickon's grey eyes widened in surprised. Embarrassed to be caught gorging on the strawberries, Rickon quickly chewed and swallowed the berry he had in his mouth so that he could apologize.
"Many apologies, my ladies. I have not eaten much today, and, well, I have a weakness for strawberries and these have just become ripe. I could not help myself." Sara nodded with an expression that indicated that this was not the first time she had walked in on her half-nephew ravaging the strawberries like it was going out of fashion. Rickon then held out his hand, which contained three more of the plump, tantalizing fruits. "Would you like some, Princess Alyssa? Aunt Sara?"
"Certainly." Alyssa said curtly with a nod. Both women walked towards Rickon and they each plucked a berry out of his hand and popped it into their mouths.
"Thank you, Rickon." Sara said after eating the strawberry. "I will give you two peace now. Enjoy yourselves."
Sara bowed to Rickon and Alyssa before leaving the glass garden. Now alone together for the first time amongst the greenery, the couple were rendered mute. Awkward was the right word to describe this interaction. Rickon was well aware of his fiancée's scandalous behavior back in the Crownlands, and it was clear to Alyssa how her fiancé was uncomfortable over being with another woman since his wife died. It was quite a quandary.
How does a man who has been a widower for two years become acquainted with a woman who prefers the intimate company of other women and vice versa? It was plain to see that this match was unusual, let alone ill-made. And yet, Rickon was his father's heir and more heirs needed to be born to ensure House Stark's continuation through the generations. Alyssa had a reputation that needed to be restored through holy matrimony to a man, and she had an unused womb that was slated to carry children who would bear the Stark name. A marriage of convenience indeed, but that did not mean that Rickon and Alyssa could not make it work.
Rickon offered his arm to the princess.
"Would you like a tour of the glass garden, my lady?" he asked.
"Yes, please." Alyssa nodded shyly.
Arm in arm, the couple walked through the garden. Rickon pointed out the produce and flowers that grew in this warm and verdant sanctuary. Strawberries were far from the only fruit that was grown in the glass garden. Blueberries, raspberries, and gooseberries grew in abundance. Even lemon trees were cultivated in the glass garden, but the branches had been all but stripped bare as of late to make lemon cakes for the wedding.
Turnips, parsnips, beans, sweetgrass, onions, garlic, and spinach had also been harvested from the glass garden as well. Flowers like goldencups, gillyflowers, lavender, and forget-me-nots added further color to the place. But the most stunning flower that grew in the glass garden, as Alyssa soon discovered, was the winter rose. Colored in frosty pale blue, the winter roses looked too beautiful to be real. Alyssa thought she was dreaming when she first laid eyes on the bush from which these magnificent blooms were growing from, and she blinked several times to make sure she was not just seeing things.
"Aren't they beautiful?" Rickon asked as he and Alyssa admired the flowers.
"Yes." the princess responded. "They look so otherworldly."
"They certainly do." Rickon said as he reached out to cup one of the roses. "Have you ever heard any of Bael the Bard's songs?" Seeing the princess shake her head, Rickon told her the tale of Bael the Bard and how he deflowered and impregnated the only daughter of Lord Brandon Stark "the Daughterless", and how he later crossed swords with his own son, his bastard by Brandon's daughter, when he was a man grown. Winter roses had a part in this tale.
One such rose had been given to Bael as a reward by Brandon for his excellent singing, and it was that same rose that was found on Lady Stark's empty bed the morning after it was bequeathed to Bael. Alyssa found the tale to be both romantic and tragic, although she found the "romantic" part to be a pretty cover for connived exploitation. Romance or exploitation, however the story was regarded did not dull the great beauty of the winter rose. Rickon plucked the rose from the bush and handed it to Alyssa. "Gods. I have seen my fair share of roses!" Alyssa thought to herself as she realized how roses had played a role in all of her important relationships so far whether they be yellow, pink, or blue.
Then again, what was wrong with receiving or giving a beautiful rose? Alyssa gingerly took the flower from her betrothed's hand and she sniffed it. The rose had a pleasing aroma.
"The petals compliment your ensemble, my lady." Rickon said kindly. He was right. Blue was Alyssa's favorite color, and the winter rose blended in with her blue and black dress, and indigo eyes. The color was also lighter than Aemma's scales too.
Pleased with this, Alyssa, who was now smiling and feeling comfortable, fit the rose over her right ear. This elicited a grin from Rickon, who was also feeling more comfortable around his betrothed now too. "You will be wearing a crown of winter roses on our wedding day. You will look lovely in them."
"Thank you..." Alyssa blushed. "Rickon..." she mumbled, causing Lord Stark to chuckle. Slowly but surely, the wolf and the dragon princess were starting to (hopefully) warm up to each other.
Taking Alyssa's arm once more, Rickon concluded the tour in the glass garden to show her around the rest of the castle. During the tour, Rickon told Alyssa about his family. He talked about his father, stepmother, half-siblings, and especially his two little girls. Alyssa liked to hear her fiancé talk. She was starting to like him, but more as a new good friend rather than as a husband.
Later that afternoon, Alyssa privately met Serena and Sansa in one of the castle's open-air gardens. The young girls were as nervous to meet their soon-to-be stepmother as she was about meeting them. Serena barely remembered her mother's face, and both she and Sansa were accustomed to the maternal bond they had with their step-grandmother and half-grandaunt. Alyssa's Valyrian looks intimidated the two sisters at first. Serena tried to hide behind her father when he tried to cajole her to walk up to Alyssa, and Sansa began to fuss and cry when Sara tried to hand her over to the princess.
Cringing internally from the awkwardness, Alyssa desperately brainstormed ideas on how to warm up to her future stepdaughters. Taking notice of Serena's long, flowing hair, Alyssa finally had an idea.
"Um, Serena..." Alyssa began. "Would you like for me to braid your hair? Like my hair is?"
"Serena." Rickon said gently to his bashful daughter. "Why don't you let Alyssa braid your hair? She's a princess, and you will look like her if you do. Wouldn't you like to look like a princess?"
Serena nodded quietly in agreement to what her father had said. Without saying a word, Serena walked up to Alyssa's bench. Moving down the bench and patting on the empty end, the corners of the princess's lips rose when Serena sat on the end of the bench and followed her instructions. Sansa watched from Sara's arms with big curious eyes as her older sister got her hair braided. Alyssa did her best to be as gentle as possible with the four year old's hair as she worked it into a braid.
Thankfully, the braiding did not take long at all, and Alyssa tied the braid off with an artistic flourish when she was done. "What do you think?" Alyssa asked Serena after she was done. Serena reached behind her back to touch the braid, and she smiled when she felt it.
"Don't you look pretty." Sara remarked.
"What do you say to Alyssa, sweetling?" Rickon said.
"Thank you..." the little girl mumbled cutely before hopping off the bench to show off her braid to her father and her little sister and their minder. Seeing how happy her sister was after being with Alyssa made Sansa want to be the princess, too. She reached out to her, and Alyssa carefully took the two year old from Sara's arms and placed her on her lap.
"I'm afraid that I can't braid your hair, Sansa." Alyssa said as she rubbed the top of the little girl's head. "Your hair is too short. But," she reached over her shoulder and pulled her own braid over it as Sansa was beginning to pout, "you can play with mine if you would like."
Sansa's eyes widened with awe when she saw her stepmother's hair up close. She tugged, twisted, and played with the platinum-white braid, marveling at its color and how it felt in her hand. Jace and Baela, as well as Cregan, were pleased to hear from Rickon on how his daughters liked Alyssa, and how much little Serena liked having her hair braided. The bonding between the princess and Rickon's daughters continued over the next three days after the Targaryen's arrived at Winterfell. The day after her arrival at Winterfell, Alyssa took Serena and Sansa for rides (which her parents permitted her to do), one at a time, on Aemma's back. Nervous at first, both girls let out excited squeals when they flew through the sky, becoming the first Stark's to ride on dragonback.
Serena and Sansa found their future stepmother to be an exciting and interesting woman, and they could not wait for their father to marry her. Alyssa in turn found the two sisters to be sweet and adorable, and she became fonder of them by the day. Now if only she could become fonder of Rickon. He had many good qualities: he was affable, a devoted family man, and a gentleman. Acting stern and formal in front of polite company, Alyssa got to see a cute, boyish side of her fiancé when they met at the glass garden.
What was not to love about Rickon? Then again, Alyssa thought that Lord Lyonel Tyrell was charming until she learned about his infidelities and bastard children, and later his controlling and exploitive side in the aftermath of the Duskendale Scandals. What if Rickon was a better actor than Lyonel? What if he secretly resented the idea of being married off to a disgraced princess to help restore her reputation? Worst of all, as her wedding day approached, Alyssa began harboring fears that Rickon would rape her on their wedding night in an attempt to "tame her" and "make her into a real woman".
Part of Alyssa felt that this fear was ridiculous, but another part of her felt that it was well-founded as she recalled hearing how some men had boasted that they could "show the princess what she was missing" after her affair with Florence came out. Fears of marital rape were buried somewhat as Alyssa busied herself with learning about the Northmen. Noble guests from the North had been steadily streaming into Winterfell to attend the wedding. Rickon pointed out the heraldry of his father's subjects, and he taught his fiancée the family names of the other most prominent bannermen of the Stark's who had been invited to the wedding other than the Manderly's, Hornwood's, and Cerwyn's: Houses Bolton, Dustin, Flint (both from Flint's Finger and Widow's Watch), Glover, Karstark, Locke, Mormont, Ryswell, Tallhart, and Umber. Minor noble houses like Overton, Poole, Reed, Whitehill, and Woolfield among many other arrived too, and Alyssa even got to meet some of the chieftains of the North's mountain clans like "Houses" Burly, Harclay, Norrey (Rickon's maternal relatives), and Wull.
Alyssa did her best to keep up with Rickon as he pointed out who was who, what their titles were if they had any, if they were trusted allies of House Stark or not and so forth, but it was a lot to remember, and soon all the names and titles became a blur. "I'll just ask Rickon who they are again later..." Alyssa thought to herself. Keeping track of names may have been a little tricky for the princess, but both she and her family did notice that most of the wedding guests had brought their daughters, nieces, and granddaughters who were around Alyssa's age. Lord Glover brought his seven daughters, Lord Cerwyn brought two of his nieces, and Lord Umber brought his eldest granddaughter to name a few. Jacaerys and Baela, their sons, daughter-in-law, and Joffrey observed this trend amongst the visiting highborn Northmen with some concern.
They had thought that Northmen were humbler than their Southron counterparts, but apparently, they shared some things in common when it came to trying to curry favor with social superiors. Joff did his best to reassure his oldest brother, but he and Jace were in luck. Alyssa was not too interested in the noblewomen who were introduced to her, and she was actually very annoyed by this blatant act of sycophancy, a sentiment that was shared by Rickon and Cregan too. The Bolton's were the only ones to not bring any kinswomen to Winterfell.
Only four men comprised House Bolton of the Dreadfort now: Stesanor, the family head; his twin sons Levin and Gerin, and his younger brother Joren. Stesanor's only daughter Matilda had been living in Essos with Ser Victor Royce and their lovechild, Drystan Snow, for two years now estranged from her family following her disownment in the aftermath of the Affair of Snow and Stone, and his only other known female relative, a cousin of his, Lady Barba Bolton, had been deceased for some time. The Stark's were surprised by the presence of the Bolton's. Alyssa found the Bolton's to be cold and unnerving. She remembered hearing how Stesanor's father had skinned a young serving girl for accidentally spilling wine on his boots the year her grandmother was crowned queen, and how Cregan had exacted bloody retribution upon the long dead Lord Rogerius Bolton by having him suffer the same horrific fate that he had inflicted upon that poor girl. Cregan would have offered clemency to Rogerius if he gave up his family's ancestral flaying tools, but instead, Rogerius refused, got into an argument with his overlord, and he sealed his fate after he stupidly, in the heat of passion, made a threat towards Cregan and a then one year old Rickon, a threat that Alyssa learned from Rickon himself after he whispered it into her ear when they were alone.
"Wolves do not scare me, Lord Stark, for my ancestors have made banners from Stark hide before. And by the grace of the Old Gods, if anything else untoward is to happen between us, my family and I will gladly make pelts out of you and your pup!"
Alyssa shuddered when she heard those words. Rogerius was a cold-hearted, child-killing bastard! The princess was immensely pleased when she learned how the long dead Rogerius had died: being flayed alive. Karmic justice indeed. Hearing about Lord Bolton made Alyssa leery of the man's sons and grandsons.
They all had black hair and unworldly pale grey eyes that would have looked better on the face of a supernatural creature of the night rather than on a person's face. Stesanor was tall and broad-shouldered, and his scowling face wore a well-groomed, salt-and-pepper beard. Twins Levin and Gerin were a foot taller than their father and were clean-shaven, their hair being shoulder-length. Their Uncle Joren was strongly built with long hair and sideburns. Lord Bolton and his sons gave off an air of frigidness, but there something sinister about Joren that Alyssa picked up on right away when she first laid eyes on him.
"Lord Bolton's brother has a reputation that is as black as his hair." explained Rickon after his fiancée shared her dislike for Joren. "He has been married thrice. His first two wives died under suspicious circumstances, and his third wife took her own life the day after she married Joren. He has no children, neither trueborn nor bastard. Rumor has it that there are no cats at the Dreadfort since Joren reputedly skinned them all..."
"Gods..." mumbled Alyssa in disgust. Matilda was lucky in hindsight. She did not have to put up with her cold father and brothers, and a murderous, bloodthirsty uncle anymore! Other than being a bluebeard and a cat-skinning bastard, Alyssa also discovered that Joren liked to stare too, especially at her.
Whenever she was in the same place with Joren, Alyssa felt that someone was staring at her, and when she would turn around to see who was looking at her, Joren would suddenly move his head away when her eyes fell on him. When the nobility went out on a hunt in the Wolfswood the day before the wedding was due to take place, Joren followed Alyssa and Rickon into the forest to the observe the princess's skills with a bow. Joren frowned when he saw Alyssa down a stag that was larger than the one he felled, and he was seen to be scowling throughout the rest of the afternoon. As if Alyssa sensing something amiss about Lord Bolton's younger brother wasn't enough, her dragon also picked up on Joren's innate foulness. When the Bolton's went to see the dragons at some point during their visit to Winterfell, Aemma glared at Joren and hissed at him, causing the man to freeze where he stood out of fear of the great blue beast.
But soon, Alyssa did not have time to worry anymore about the Bolton's as her wedding day approached. On the eve of her wedding, Alyssa's fears of Rickon forcing himself on her resurfaced, and she barely touched her food and wine during the feast that night. She went to bed that night nervous with her heart pounding, and tossed and turned for some time before finally falling asleep. Roused the following morning by servants, Alyssa flinched and sighed deeply before getting out of bed. After getting bathed and anointed with perfume, Alyssa was dressed in a snow-white gown made of fine wool, and the girdle her Aunt Rhaena had given her was tied around her waist.
As she was having her hair brushed, Alyssa received a visitor. The visitor was the princess's mother, Baela. Baela was dressed to impress in pale-green and white, colors similar to that of Moondancer's scales, and in her hands was a beautiful crown made of winter roses. Alyssa was in awe of the crown, and she remembered that Rickon had told that she would be wearing a crown of winter roses on her wedding day. The sight of the beautiful blue flowers made Alyssa forget her nervousness for a moment. Baela smiled at her daughter's reaction to the crown.
"Isn't it beautiful?" she asked. "They complement your eyes."
"That's what Rickon said after we first met." replied Alyssa with a small smile on her face.
"How sweet." Baela then walked over, dismissed the serving girl, exchanging the crown for the girl's hairbrush so that she could finish the job herself. After she was done, Baela braided her daughter's hair. It was a tender moment of mother-daughter bonding. It was Baela who had taught Alyssa how to braid her hair when she was a little girl, and this was most likely her last chance to braid her only daughter's hair again before she became Rickon's wife. Nothing was said between the two as the braiding took place, and instead, Baela and Alyssa enjoyed the moment together in content silence.
When the braid was done, Baela took the winter rose crown from the serving girl and gently placed it on top of her daughter's head. Completing the outfit was the wedding cloak bearing the royal family's heraldry. That same cloak had been worn by Baela when she married Jace in 129 AC, and by Rhaenyra I during both of her weddings in 114 AC and 120 AC. Alyssa was captivated by her reflection when she looked into a mirror.
"You look beautiful, Alyssa." commented Baela. Alyssa felt happy upon hearing her mother's comment, but the dread she felt remained. Seeing the mix of happiness and apprehension in her daughter's eyes, Baela embraced Alyssa. Tears welled up in Alyssa's eyes as her emotions began to overwhelm her.
"Everything will be fine, sweetling..." Baela said as she comforted her only daughter.
"How will it be fine? This is so unfair! Unfair for both me and Rickon..." these thoughts kept the younger princess's negative feelings anchored to her heart, and she forced a smile when she parted from her mother's embrace. Alyssa and Rickon were married in Winterfell's godswood later that same day.
Escorted by her father past the crowd of wedding guests and family members, Alyssa felt the great weight of her obligation of being a dutiful wife and stepmother. All eyes were on her, including the ones belonging to the ancient weirdwood that the princess and her groom were going to be married in front of. Rickon smiled when he saw Alyssa, and the princess's heart hurt at the sight of it.
"He deserves a proper bride... A bride that will love him back..."
The ceremony was quick for a wedding, but it seemed to last longer to Alyssa. Her father gave her away after Rickon identified both them and himself to the weirdwood tree. Alyssa accepted Rickon as her husband, and they both knelt before the tree and bowed their heads to it and began to pray in silence. Summer flurries blew through the godswood and over the heads of those attending the wedding, which the Northmen took as a sign that meant that the marriage between Rickon and Alyssa would be cold. Thankfully, no one mentioned this aloud.
"Old gods, and Seven above." Alyssa intoned quietly to herself. "Whoever hears me, please help me. I don't know what to do. Please open my heart to Rickon. If it has to be done, then "cleanse me" of my... affliction. Make me a normal woman for my husband's sake..."
Florence's face appeared in Alyssa's mind at the conclusion of her prayer, and Alyssa opened her eyes. Her desire to be "cleansed" was not sincere as her heart still raced at the memory of her precious Flo. The princess was distracted from her thoughts as Rickon rose to his feet. Rising with him, Alyssa stood still as her husband removed her cloak and replaced the Targaryen dragon with the Stark direwolf. Ice and fire were now joined in holy matrimony for the first time in history.
And to think that if the Duskendale Scandals had not occurred, then Alyssa would be marrying Lyonel at Highgarden, and the Tyrell rose would have replaced the Targaryen dragon instead. Then again, fangs were better than thorns. But Alyssa did not know that yet. She was greatly surprised when Rickon scooped her up into his arms and led everyone back to Winterfell for the wedding feast. Seeing the wedding party exit the godswood, Aemma screeched in greeting and she dismounted from one of the castle turrets to fly a celebratory circuit.
The feast passed by in a blur. Alyssa picked at her food, but drank cup after cup of wine. She did try to engage with her newlywed husband by asking him to remind her who some of the Northern noblemen were, complementing his drinking horn, which had been gift to him from Cass after she married his father all those years ago, and talking about Serena and Sansa. At some point during the feast, Rickon sang to his new wife, his singing being accompanied by Aunt Nell's harp, which had been prearranged in secret during the days leading up to the wedding. The heir to Winterfell had a lovely voice, and it seemed to soothe the newlywed princess of her fears, and she had an expression of genuine happiness on her face as she and everyone else applauded both Rickon and Nell after the song was finished. Would Lyonel have sung for Alyssa if he had the talent and if they had gotten married?
Her heart fluttering from both wine and her husband's song, the princess had a smile on her face for the rest of the evening. Her smile faltered, however, when the bedding was called to begin. Jacaerys and his sons, younger brother, and nephews all got up to oversee Alyssa's bedding, while Lady Cassandra oversaw her stepson's bedding with a critical eye. Joren was getting up out of his chair to participate in the bedding with his twin nephews until his older brother stopped him and made him sit back down, which seemed to greatly displease Joren. Alyssa's unease turned to anger when she felt hands touching her intimate areas, and she swiped and growled from time to time at those who dared to get "bold" with her.
Stripped down to her shift, Alyssa was carried up to her marital bed to await the arrival of her husband and for the beginning of the consummation. She froze when Rickon was brought in deposited down beside her on the bed. The slurred, jovial words of the bedding participants faded away after the bedroom door was closed. While Alyssa felt as if she was made of ice, Rickon was lit by a fire, an odd reversal given the families that the couple hailed from. Rickon's enthusiasm dimmed when he noticed how rigid his new wife was when he touched her, and he noticed how nervous she looked.
"It's alright..." Rickon said comfortingly. "I will be gentle. We don't have to do this tonight if you don't want to..."
Fearful, angry at herself, and desperate to mask her insecurities, Alyssa took the lead. She did not know what to do with a man in bed, but she wanted to prove to Rickon that she was capable of bedding him. Burning with the flames of determination, Alyssa took Rickon by surprise by rolling him onto his back and pinning him to the mattress. She kissed him on the lips with false passion, she gnawed on his neck and chest as if she were a wild beast. Alyssa kissed down Rickon's body and froze with her lips just above his navel, too nervous to proceed in exploring the rest of her husband's body.
Taking advantage of his fiery wife's distraction, Rickon, having regained his senses, grabbed Alyssa and rolled her back onto her own back. Rattled but aroused, Rickon soothed his wife with kind kisses and he gently consummated their marriage. Alyssa's once fierce expression became impassive as a sense of numbness washed over her. She tried not to pay any attention to what was going on, but it was hard not to. Intercourse with a man was more painful in comparison to having relations with another woman, and it felt more invasive, so to speak, even though Rickon was making a conscious effort to be gentle with his new bride.
"Why can't I enjoy this like everyone else can? Why did the gods decide for me to be different from everyone else in my family?"
When he was done, Rickon leaned down to kiss Alyssa, but she turned her face away and he only kissed her cheek. Sighing with disappointment, Rickon laid down next to his second wife with his back to her. Tears fell from Alyssa's eyes.
"Flo..." she mouthed silently.
Emotional and exhausted, Alyssa drifted off to sleep dreaming of flying through the sky atop of Aemma with Florence to faraway lands.
Poor Alyssa and Rickon... Hopefully they can make their marriage work to the best of their abilities. Next up will be the second appendix and after that, well, let's just say that everyone's patience will be rewarded. By the way, inspired from a conversation that I had with a fellow Fanfiction member, I have the following two announcements to make. I have been planning two other alt-history ASoIaF stories, a trilogy of sorts.
The story I plan on publishing after the release of the second volume of Fire and Blood will be titled "The Lioness Queen". Here's the premise: Princess Rhaella Targaryen dies giving birth to Prince Rhaegar Targaryen during the Tragedy of Summerhall alongside her grandfather, King Aegon V Targaryen, and uncle, Prince Duncan Targaryen. With only four Targaryen's remaining, the newly crowned King Jaehaerys II and Queen Shaera Targaryen host a second Maiden's Day Ball to find another wife for their son, Crown Prince Aerys Targaryen. Out of all the beautiful women that are presented before the prince, Aerys selects a one Lady Joanna Lannister to be his second wife. What intrigue, scandals, and bloodshed will occur after Aerys and Joanna marry, and when Tywin later becomes Hand of the King?
The second story is called "A Song of Three Queens". Here is the premise for that one: King Aegon I Targaryen was heartbroken over the death of his beloved younger sister-wife, Queen Rhaenys Targaryen, after both she and her dragon Meraxes were shot down during the Siege of Hellholt in 10 AC. Although he never voiced his opinion on the matter, Aegon never took up a third wife even when people began whispering that his older sister-wife, Queen Visenya Targaryen, was possibly barren. But what if he did remarry. Enter Queen Emelyn Greyjoy, the daughter of Vickon Greyjoy, the Lord Reaver of Pyke, a man who viewed himself as being Aegon the Conqueror's number one.
I have timelines for both stories written out, but ASoTQ is still rather underdeveloped while TLQ is overdeveloped! I also intend to write a sequel for RotDQ, and possibly even do a trilogy for Targaryen kings like what would King Aegon II Targaryen's reign would have been like if Rhaenyra had died in childbirth in 129 AC, or if Prince Aemon Targaryen had not been killed on Tarth, if Prince Baelor Breakspear had not been killed in 209 AC, and so forth. So many ideas, so little time. Anyway, thanks for reading the story, and please review! :)