"Cousin Edda mentioned the strangest thing, Lord Stark." Ned Stark was always Lord Stark, never uncle. Something her mother taught her with a voice colder than winter. "She said that Lord Arryn decreed in his last testament that he and my aunt were to be Lord Robert Arryn's regents, not his mother, nor Ser Jaime. Edda said it's common knowledge that Lady Lysa usurped the regency with the help of Lord Baelish, who has a man who falsifies signatures in his employ. Lord Varys offered to teach me how to tell apart his forgeries, but I have not had the time to answer him."
Lyanna likes to give the impression that she rambles on and on with little to no point. But she always has a point, and by pretending to be a ninny she makes people stupider than her see it and think themselves clever.
"It is a serious accusation, Lady Lyanna, one that would insult many people if there was no proof of it." He warns her as they walk to the Godswood.
As a gift to the King for his visit north, Granda Roddy had given him a robust Weirwood sapling. Phrased it in such a way that the King could not refuse. It was still young, almost at her shoulder, but thin and fragile like a lanky squire who just took up training.
"Uncle Yohn has a legal copy of the will, as does Lord Stannis, it seems that Lord Arryn had foreseen it's need." Lyanna said it as if she hadn't rehearsed this conversation for hours. "There is an issue regarding Lord Robert's education and health, apparently the boy is nearly of an age with Arya and Prince Tommen but can't even read or ride yet."
Reading and riding were basic education for noble children, if one can't do either by the age of seven, it was very awful and seen as a failure by the parents.
The only exception to that rule was if the child was lacking things like body parts or intelligence to do that -most Maesters who specialize in childcare say such coddling will deny him good health - but Robert Arryn's mother was treating him like a toddler. She even feeds him from her breast!
"Auntie was cast out of the Eyrie, apparently Lady Lysa lacks the sensibility to accept advice from a woman who has raised her six children and the twin daughters from her husband's first marriage." Lyanna added as, annoyed at how mismanaged the Vale was becoming.
To insult the most powerful of your banner men was akin to committing suicide. Might as well wrap a silk curtain around your neck.
Lady Lysa needed to be removed from her seat for the sake of the realm.
"Willas had a printing press made this year, the High Septon is angry because he is opposed to letting people have copies of the Seven-Pointed Star." Loras tells her as they play cards with her cousins.
Primera was quite popular these days, a card game introduced by some Volantene nobles who came to the Court of Aegon the Unlikely. Lya quite enjoyed it, but she's been told it's not good to be seen as a gambler.
"I suppose a man who preaches about maintaining a strict distinction between ranks will be opposed to the smallfolk learning about the Gods." Lyanna played her hand, made a bad play on purpose. Her plays were calculated, these new friends often lost large fortunes on these games.
Desmera Redwyne had left court after she lost an heirloom ruby parure to Lady Genna Lannister three moons ago and her father found out during the Hand's Tourney.
Lyanna had lost a gold dragon and gained three gold dragons and twenty silver stags so far.
Loras Tyrell was a terrible player and would need a vowel if he advanced to the next round. Renly was a passable player when he wasn't cheating and Robar was annoyed that even with Edda helping him cheat, he was doing only slightly better than Loras.
"Sometimes I wish the Seven were as simple as the Old Gods, no books nor lengthy mass every Sun's Day." Renly begins as he plays his turn and takes a card and flashed them all his winning smile.
"Chorus of Kings."
He wins this hand and it's met with mixed results.
"I swear on the Warrior's cock I did not cheat, Edda. It is not my fault that I am naturally lucky." Renly retorts when Edda called him a cheat after she was forced to part with the last of her gambling money. "What was I saying again?"
They take a break as the castle servants bring them refreshments as another clears the cards and returns the deck back to Loras' chambers.
"How simple the worship of the Old Gods it is, my lord." Lyanna answered and was reminded that among friends one does not use proper terms like lord or ser or even lady.
Just Renly.
If she hadn't known he was only into men, she may have been flattered by his flirting.
It was all for show, the flirting, the way their group of friends insinuate Lyanna and Renly are enamored with each other to get Robert to undo her betrothal to Lancel the Dunce.
Each region had united against the Westerlands (and the Freys). Not that the Westerland contingents cared to socialize with the other realms.
They were worse than the Florents, or so Robar had said when she saw how they distanced themselves from all the other people in Court.
The purpose of Court was to make allies to better the seven kingdoms, the more friends you have the less likely you will have to deal with problems between the kingdoms, or so Edda had explained when she introduced her to young ladies from all over for needlework last Moon Day.
The Westerland ladies only cared to socialize amongst themselves. Occasionally nobles would interact with nobles of other realms, but only if Lady Genna was here to order them to do so.
"Ah, but you'd miss all that pageantry you love so much, Renly." Robar points out making them laugh. Lyanna wasn't privy to their inside jokes yet, but soon she will. "Mama got cross when the servants put ribbons to mark the way when they blessed Andar's baby girl last year."
Babies of the Old Gods are placed directly under the tree, over the gnarled roots of the ancient weirwood trees while the eyes of the tree looked at the parent. You say a quick prayer and it is done.
Babies of the Seven were anointed in septs by being bathed in the holy waters of the rainbow pools. The smallfolk dipped the babe or adult into the pool reserved for them outside or in the smaller septs, but the wealthy and noble had a special marble pool inside the Sept of Baelor.
Babies get water poured onto their heads seven times by a little golden bowl, older children and adults must be submerged fully and then embraced with a warm towel by her sponsors or godsparents.
Lyanna would be washed free of her sins in the marble pool with the Queen as her godsmother and Bronze Yohn as her godsfather.
She's not looking forward to being groped or being gawked at this Sun's Day, and as such her new friends would be letting her indulge in as much sin as they could socially allow.
Today was gambling, last night they had smoked hashish on the golden shisha someone lost in a bet to Renly and tomorrow she will be submerged seven times in a white linen shift and follow a new faith.
Her mother was not aware of this, Lyanna dreads to know what sort of response will come in the next moon.
Never had the Lord of the Barrows been a follower of the Seven.
It doesn't matter when a consort does, or that Lyanna will still worship the Old Gods, it only matters that Lyanna has thrown away centuries of tradition and the respect of her people.
But she will gain it all back when she returns to Barrow Hall as Queen Consort of the Seven Kingdoms, or so Varys had told her each time she asked him if she was doing the right thing.
Varys had recommended her to wait and do it privately, but when the King caught a whiff of it -no doubt told to him by Renly- earlier this week, it was decided that she be converted this Sun's Day.
It disgusts her to know that spiritually she will be Cersei's child after tomorrow. This made any relationship between Robert and Lyanna incestual in the eyes of the Gods.
If Robert wished to marry her, he'd have to get a special dispensation from the High Septon and this High Septon was in Tywin Lannister's pocket.
Everyday felt like Lyanna was being taken further and further away from the Crown.
"I mislike the attention our niece is getting by the king and his brother." Ned Stark confided in the Valeman.
The Valeman was his only faithful friend in Court and Ned felt relieved when Bronze Yohn told him he was to stay in King's Landing until the matter is over.
"Lord Renly wishes to court her, he finds himself enamored by her and her character, such girls are rare in Court. He means well, Robar and Andar vouch for him." The older man assured him about Renly Baratheon's intentions. Of the King, Ned could not say the same.
"If only I could say the same thing of his grace. Robert is not the man I knew; I fear that my sister's fate will fall on her, Lord Royce." He never thought he had to keep her safe from Robert.
That is Ned's newest nightmare, seeing Brandon's girl die like Lyanna. In each new nightmare the girl dies in a bed of blood while Barbrey and Brandon and William ask why he didn't protect their child.
"The queen tries to shield her from his advances, she is tired of losing ladies because of his grace's wandering eye. She may be causing the realm ill, but she has never allowed her ladies to become his whores. By being her godsmother, she adds another obstacle in his path to our niece." Whatever Cersei is hiding is out of fear of her husband and for the safety of the children, she would not hurt Lyanna, no matter how much she dislikes the girl for her appearance.
Ned distrusted Robert's reasons for pushing her to convert so openly. Lyanna was curious like Brandon had been, he finds himself thinking what his brother would do. Would he guard he keep her under lock and key, or would he let her run wild?
The Widow Dustin took him to the Heart's Tree and made him swear he would die if he must keep Brandon's only trueborn child safe.
She is all I have, the widow admitted as they finished the blood oath. No one did blood oaths anymore, but a vow didn't feel enough for them.
So, with the dragon bone dagger William Dustin gave her on their wedding day, she cut their palms. They said the words as drops of their blood fell together on the gnarled roots of the proud faced tree.
He can hear his sister's laugh as his niece plays tennis with her Royce cousins and his daughters in the Hand's courtyard below them. She is Lya reborn. He knows her name is in honor to her great aunt, but sometimes Ned feels the gods allowed her to look and be called the same as his sister to hurt him.
"Lya, go easy on the girls, they just learned tennis yesterday!" young Robar shouts with a laugh as Lyanna and Sansa are declared the winners of the match.
"I will be better than you, I promise, Lya!" Arya shouts at her cousin reminding him of all those times Lya bested Benjen at things.
Brandon's daughter just laughs and spins Sansa around before crossing under the net and doing the same to Arya.
"Promise me, Ned." He doesn't know whether its Lya or Barbrey whispering it in his ears.
notes:i am basing the Faith of the Seven on medieval and early renaissance Catholicism, with the High Sparrow being a mix of reformation theologians who lead the Reformation in 16th century Europe as that is the time period I am having Westeros be in. I added the things about godparents and baptisms and segregation between the lower class believers and the upper class believers to make it more realistic.
Gutenburg's Printing press was made in 1436 and the first book her made with it was the Gutenburg Bible(aka the Vulgate), however it was certain translations made by people who were reformers that made the Catholic Church make it illegal in some countries(like England). Here, Willas has acquired the first printing press in Westeros and is being vagued by the High Septon who doesn't think the Seven Pointed Star be so available to people because then they will rise up against him and the Most Devout(the council or curia of the church) for their corruption and hypocrisy.
Lyanna is baptized in white linen because in some cultures white linen symbolizes purity.
Primera/Primero is medieval/renaissance poker that was either invented in Spain or Italy. here it was invented by Nobles in Volantis. Renly has a royal flush(chorus of Kings)
hashish is arabic for cannabis/marijuana and shisha is the Arabic term for hookah used in Egypt, Sudan and other Arabian countries
tennis was invented in the 12th century by french monks. here france is the region of the Reach.