Alyssa
Two days past they had gotten word from the capital. Her uncle, Lord Eddard Stark, had been arrested for treason, it was said, while Lord Horton Redfort's three eldest sons had all been slain.
Lord Tywin Lannister had ordered men to invade the Riverlands as well from what she had heard, though she wasn't sure where they were, but mother said that they were bad.
Despite that, mother refused to send men to help her grandfather and uncle.
Uncle Brynden had asked for men to go aid his house, but mother had told him no. 'One sword or ten thousand, it is too many,' she had told him. The other lords were not pleased either. Lord Royce wanted to go to war too, and Lord Redfort wanted to avenge his sons. There were many others that wanted to go to war too, though Alyssa couldn't remember all of them.
Princess Marla's father, King Robert, was dead too, and she had been keeping to her room since then. Whenever Alyssa did see her, her eyes were often wet with tears.
It was yesterday during dinner that mother had told them that today she was to marry Edric. Edric was just three and ten, and Marla just past eleven, but Marla had flowered, so mother deemed them old enough. Alyssa remembered though that when father arranged the match that they wouldn't marry until Marla had passed her six and tenth nameday.
When she had asked mother about it, she had waved away her concerns. Something about wanting to prove herself to be a loyal subject to the crown, though Alyssa had thought her mother hated the Queen, and thought surely the queen would hate mother for this as well.
Prince Joffrey was the king now, which seemed strange. It would've been better if Tommen were king. Even if he was young, he was kinder, but it had been Joffrey who was crowned, just as Edric became Lord of the Eyrie after father died rather than Sweetrobin.
The Sept in the Eyrie was small like most everything else in the castle, but it was quite full of witnesses for Edric's wedding, as would befit the marriage of the Lord of the Eyrie to a Princess of the throne, even if none of Marla's family was there. Alyssa stood by her mother and them both wearing blue dresses in the color of their house.
Lord Horton was there with his last son, Mychael, who both wore black in mourning. Lord Horton's three eldest sons had all been slain in King's Landing not long after the death of the king too.
Uncle Brynden had come to the wedding, and even if he was not pleased with the marriage, or Alyssa's mother, he was going to be present for his great-nephew's wedding.
The Lord of Runestone, Bronze Yohn, was there with his son and heir, Andar, and his daughter Ysilla with her husband, Domeric Bolton, the heir to the Dreadfort. When Alyssa had first met Domeric, she had been scared of him, though his nature had proven to be kinder than he looked.
Lord Yohn was also married to her half-sister too, though she was even older than mother was, Sharra, who father had with his first wife, Lady Jeyne Royce.
She spotted Lord Nestor Royce, Lord Eon Hunter, Lady Anya Waynwood, Lord Gerold Grafton, Ser Lyonel and Ser Lyn Corbray, Ser Symond Templeton, and their children too had come as well, but there were few other lords and ladies that had come.
No one was speaking up during the ceremony, but Alyssa could see their guests were not happy, or at least most of them weren't.
Septon Hyle was the one performing the rites, a frail, old and bald man, who was past his seventieth nameday. He was almost as old as father had been.
With Marla's father dead, and her brothers all in King's Landing, she had no kin to give her for her wedding. She only had her sworn sword, Ser Meryn Trant, in the castle with them, and it was he who gave Marla away. Alyssa didn't like Ser Meryn much, and mother didn't either. If it had been for mother to decide, she would have ordered Ser Meryn away, but the King had insisted Marla have a White Knight to protect her, and the King's orders had to be followed.
Edric wore a blue doublet, with a cloak that featured the winged falcon of House Arryn in white on a blue background. He looked very handsome today. His auburn hair nearly reached his shoulders, and his deep blue eyes were shining like sapphires. Slender and tall, he looked every bit like a Lord of the Vale should, Alyssa thought to herself.
Princess Marla was not wearing black today, but instead a golden dress with the crowned stag of House Baratheon on her cloak. She looked beautiful with her golden blond curls and emerald green eyes, but she seemed half a girl. Her chest was still mostly flat, and even though she was tall for her age, she was still quite short for a bride.
She still wept too, though Alyssa guessed the tears were for her father, and not for her marriage. Alyssa had seen her mother wipe away tears from her eyes as well today, though now she managed to remain poised throughout the ceremony, and when they had finished in the sept, following Edric and Marla's kiss, they had traveled back to the main hall. Edric and Marla were allowed the Lord and Lady's seat together at the high table, and now Marla's cloak matched Edric's.
Alyssa sat next to her mother right next to Edric and Marla, while the other lords and ladies of the Vale began to stream in.
Food had already been set out for them, their first course being a beef stew. Alyssa quite liked it, but she also managed to listen to what the people of the table were saying. Her mother had told her that during the wedding feast it was best she be seen and not heard, and so she did, keeping to herself, save for when she was asking for food or drink.
Most lords had taken their turn in congratulating Edric and the Princess on their nuptials, as well as toasts to them, one proclaiming a toast to the ladies of the Vale even, that the true conversation began. "My lady I had thought it would sooner be you marrying than your son," the Knight of Ninestars, Ser Symond Templeton said, addressing their mother.
Her mother did not respond in kind. "I will hear no talk of my own hand in marriage today," she answered.
Ser Symond didn't seem pleased by her mother's answer, but he didn't say another word about it. Alyssa sat as she listened to other conversations unfold, with lords speaking of sums and trade and lands that she didn't really understand. Once or twice she heard someone pay her a compliment though, before finally they were allowed to Dance.
It was not hard for Alyssa to dance with most of the men in the hall, since there weren't terribly many guests for the wedding. She had started with her Great-Uncle, the Blackfish, before she had paid others dances as well.
After she had danced with Edric, she felt tired, and asked her mother to go to bed, which she was allowed.
Alyssa began to walk back to her chambers when suddenly she heard voices speaking.
"We had been planning to return to the North anyways Ser, you ought to come with us." The first voice that she didn't recognize said.
"Surely Lysa will see the sense in aiding Lord Eddard," said a second voice that she recognized to be her Uncle, Ser Brynden.
"She will not, this wedding is proof enough of that," said the first voice. "Why else would she wed her son to the Princess unless she meant to remain true to the throne?"
"The Queen will not take well to this. Mayhaps she means to provoke her," a third voice said.
"Stark's heir will not remain idle for long, I am certain, but the Bloody Gate is still manned by men loyal to Lady Lysa, even if you hold the title," a fourth voice added. "Coldwater lacks the ships necessary, and so our only way to lead men to war is to sail them south from Gulltown but Lord Grafton will not join us."
"Then we should fight," a fifth lord said. "They slew our sons when they imprisoned Lord Eddard."
"That would be treason, my lord. I mourn my Robar as you mourn your sons, but to make war would be treason," the fourth man said back.
"There must be something we can do father," said a sixth voice, a woman, Alyssa noticed.
"We cannot send a host to aid them, but I can go, and tell Stark we support him, fight for him," the first voice said. "It is past time we take our leave for the Dreadfort, my lady."
Alyssa realized that the first voice must have been Domeric Bolton, who was a ward to Lord Horton Redfort, and the woman was Lady Ysilla, whose father was there too, but she was not certain of the other two voices.
"Is Stark's son our friend truly?" The fourth man said. "I would gladly go to war for Lord Eddard, aye, but Stark married one of my daughters to one of the Targaryens without my leave and hardly even my knowing."
"He will not do nothing," said the one she had recognized as Domeric. "His father sits in a cell, and he has called his banners against the Lannisters. He means to go to war, that much is plain."
"I would go," said the fifth voice. "Though I am not as young as I once was, and the years lie heavy upon me. I fear that I cannot."
"I will go father," a new voice said. "They were my brothers, as they were your sons. I will avenge them if I may."
"I will not deny you, if that is your wish," said the older man, "But swear to me, you will not throw away your life in needless folly. I cannot bear to lose you as well."
"Your sons will be avenged, have no fear on that count," said an eighth voice. This one Alyssa recognized too, it was her sister, Sharra. "Edric is my brother too, and his mother has not proven himself to be fit as regent. Yohn, we only need to try to take the regency ourselves, and the lords will follow, and after we can lead men to war."
"Lord Edric is sealing his allegiance to the Lannisters as we speak," said the third voice. "Now that he is wed to the Princess, it is doubtful he will allow war against his good-family."
"Any less than the Young Wolf?" Asked Domeric Bolton. "He wed one of the King's daughters yet gathers his swords even now. My lady, if you could take the regency, you would be able to lead the Vale to war."
They are speaking of overthrowing mother, Alyssa realized, and she started to run away, only she tripped, and cried out when she fell.
Alyssa hit the ground with a thud, and she heard the voices were talking more loudly, about someone having heard them, and were coming in her direction. She started to cry, fearing what they might do to her when they saw her, but when they saw her though, they didn't seem to be angry like she thought they would be.
"Oh…" She heard Sharra say, and move towards her. "Are you hurt Alyssa?"
"No," Alyssa managed to answer through her tears. She felt herself being picked up though, and Sharra was looking over her to make sure she was alright.
"You ought to get some rest Alyssa. Tomorrow is a big day," her sister said.
It was true. Tomorrow they would descend to the Mountains of the Moon, and on the day after they would be having a tourney in celebration of Edric's marriage.
She felt herself being pulled even higher, and when she looked, she saw it was Uncle Brynden who was doing it, and he started to carry her to her bedchamber.
Alyssa remained silent in her uncle's arms until they finally reached her bedchamber, where he put her down in the bed, and helped her into bed. "Are you going to hurt mother?" She asked when he was starting to leave.
Ser Brynden shook his head. "No Alyssa… Your mother will be safe here."
"Why were you talking about removing her from the regency then?" Alyssa asked curiously.
"There are some things you don't understand now, child. You would do well to try and forget about what you overheard us speaking of."
Alyssa felt a little skeptical, but she trusted him at least. "You won't hurt mother though, right uncle?"
"Yes," her uncle said.
"You promise?" Said Alyssa.
"I promise," Uncle Brynden replied.
Author Notes:
Sorry about the lack of prior notice of Sharra's marriage, and the only edited in notice of the existence of Edric and Marla, but with the Alyssa chapters, they've kinda proven to be a huge struggle where the best I can often do is edit in new things that allow for me to get chapters even close to where they need to be.
This is the last Alyssa chapter for Return, and in at least the next part of this series, she won't be a very frequently occurring POV character, and not even the dominant Vale POV.
As always, thank you guys for reading, and for all your wonderful feedback.
GRRM owns ASOIAF, not me.