Family, Duty, Honour Chapter 4: Harrenhal (4), an a song of ice and fire fanfic

AN:

Alright, I admit I suck at Elvish and if anyone who speaks elvish can help me correct the elvish parts I would be happy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the lyrics or the song

It was like watching a movie.

A crime-horror movie.

Knights broke into her home, they smashed her baby to the floor and stabbed her daughter, and she herself was brutally raped and then torn apart. And when she looked at her face it slowly turned into Elia Martell's.

"Why didn't you save me?" She spoke to her.

Lysa woke up all sweaty and horrified. It took a few minutes before she could move as the fear went away.

Lord, why did you give me such a dream?

Is this the ending of Elia Martell's life. Is this what becomes of her when Rhaegar loses the war against the rebels?

Lord, please. Please, help me understand why I had such a dream. Is it to tell me to help them? And if that is case how can I help them? God, please guide me.

She prayed far longer than she would usually do that morning.

"My Lady?" She heard her maid outside the door.

"Come in." Lysa stood up.

"I brought breakfast."

"What time is it now?"

"It is still the beginning of afternoon."

"Oh, then there is not enough time for Fairytales and Legends. Are the others upset?"

"Mostly concerned. Lord Renly and Stannis, Lord Tyrion and Jaime as well as Lady Selyse have been asking about your well-being. Your sister and brother, Lady Catelyn and Lord Edmure has come from time to time to see you while you were sleeping. Your uncle, Ser Brynden has also visited you."

Lysa smiled at the warm thoughts of everyone being concerned for her.

"Was that everyone? Good."

"And..." Lissa, the maid, seemed unsure of something.

"Was there anyone else who was asking about me?" Lysa splashed water on her face and began to clean herself and get ready for at least a walk in the gardens and for dinner.

"The prince, his highness, Rhaegar Targaryen, came and visited you." Lysa froze with the towel in her hand to dry her face and stared at Lissa.

"Don't tell me he entered my room alone." She hoped that her servants hadn't been stupid enough to leave them alone.

"He had asked to be alone with you while you were sleeping."

Lissa's knees shook from the glare she was receiving and she went down on her knees and begged for forgiveness. It was truly difficult as a commoner. If she refused the orders of the prince she would get punished. If she refused the orders of her mistress she would get punished.

"Lissa, tell me. What did he do to me while I was sleeping?" Lysa calmed herself down.

"I don't know, my lady. I wasn't allowed to be in the room like everyone else." The maid answered in almost a whisper.

Since there was no use

"How long was he inside my chamber?"

"About half an hour."

"Does anyone else know about his visit?"

"No, my lady. No one seems to know about it, except for Ser Arthur Dayne, And we, your servants, kept our mouths shut about it until now."

"Good. Because if anyone else heard about this, especially Baelish, I would make your lives miserable. And make sure that all the other servants keep their mouths shut. I want this incident to be buried in history and taken to the grave. Understood?"

"Yes, my lady?"

That disgusting little piece of crap had dared to enter her chambers without her permission! She would need to get to the bottom of it but she couldn't risk them talking about it in public. Whatever Rhaegar did to her while she was sleeping she would need to know, but how would she get that information out of him?

She had seen Selyse Florent alone in the gardens together with Stannis Baratheon. Their topic of conversation seemed to have been about her.

"My, my, my isn't this a lovely little couple I see. Lady Florent and Lord Baratheon," She teased and curtsied.

"Lady Tully," Stannis bowed politely.

"I see you are well now, Lysa." Selyse took her hand and hugged it gently. "I was worried when I heard that you had a fever."

"Should you be up and walking so soon?" Stannis seemed genuinely concerned even if his facial expression said otherwise.

"It is good for the body to exercise. Besides, as long as I'm not doing anything straining my body I won't get a fever so soon again. Anyway, I'm sorry that we couldn't play Fairytales and Legends today."

"That's alright. Your health is more important to us," Selyse sweetly said. That adorable angelic little child.

"Well, since we are taking a break from playing the game, how about I teach you how to speak elvish. Since you are an elf in the game."

"There is an actual made up language?" Stannis raised his eyebrow.

"Yes, Edmure and I use it as our secret way of communicating. Would you like to learn elvish?" She looked at Selyse.

"Of course, yes. Hopefully it is not too difficult."

"Oh, but it isn't. We'll start with easy phrases such as 'Mae g'ovannen' which is a greeting phrase and means 'Well met'"

"Mae govannen," Selyse repeated carefully.

"Ah, my dear sister. I see that you are teaching our friends Elvish." Edmure appeared from nowhere. That little bugger must have found a hidden passage. "Mae g'ovannen melloni nin. Well met, my friends."

"Oh, that sounded so pleasing to the ears." Selyse said. "Mae g'ovannen melloni nin"

"See that wasn't so difficult." Lysa said.

"Muinthel, tirannen in ernil ihûg a firieth draug." Edmure said while smiling so that no one understood the serious meaning behind them.

"Man nér tai carila?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Miquelë, di felminqua." Edmure smirked.

Rhaegar was truly a disgusting person. Wasn't Lyanna about as old as Lysa (physically)? Rhaegar himself is at least ten years older than both of them. Was he some sort of pedophile or something?

"What are you talking about?" Selyse asked curiously.

"Just something Edmure saw while playing by himself. But it is nothing important. Anyway, how about I teach you how to say 'I love you'. Say 'Gi melin'."

"Gi melin." Selyse repeated.

The entire afternoon was spent on teaching Selyse some easy phrases to say in Elvish as well as how to write them too. When Cinderella learned Elvish during her days in the university she actively hung out with friends who were real Lord of The Rings fans. It was from them that she learned Tengwar as well as Sindarin and Quenya, however, because she saw Sindarin and Quenya as the same language she often mixed the words up, which annoyed her friends a lot.

Since Lysa still remembered the beautiful Elven language and the beautiful writing she taught it to Edmure and it eventually became their secret code. She later taught some to Catelyn so that she wouldn't feel left out.

"This is my elven name, remember it. 'Eruaistaniel Ithilethiel' and my name means 'Declare to God moon maiden'. And this is how you write it," Lysa wrote it down on the paper with a quill.

"That is so beautiful. I also want an elven name that isn't my real name or character's name."

"Well, then you can just choose an elven name."

"But how do I do that?"

"Just tell me what you want your name to mean."

"I don't know... How about you suggest a name?"

"Alright. Err... Oh, what about 'Selsyless' which would mean 'high fairy beloved'. It's very close to your name Selyse and it's written like this." Lysa wrote down her name in Tengwan but Selyse didn't seem to like it. "Oh, how about. 'Selianna' meaning 'high lady' and you write it like this."

"That's it. Selianna. Simple and easy to pronounce and beautiful to write." Selyse eagerly looked at her new elven name.

Edmure and Stannis looked at them in smiles.

"Do you also have an elven name, Lord Edmure?" Stannis asked.

"Yes, I do it is 'Eiltahltrillon' which means 'Sharp blade dancer chief' as my goal is to become the best blade fighter. And you spell it like this." Edmure borrowed some quill and paper from Lysa and Selyse as he wrote it down.

"Hmm. Maybe I should get an elven name too. What do you suggest, Lady Lysa?"

"Well, since your house is represented by a stag, something with 'Ev'. How about 'Evalruil' which means 'stag sea noble' or "or noble stag of the sea." Lysa recommended.

"Something that sounds similar to Stannis would be better." Edmure interjected. "Something like 'Sh(e)thanruil' meaning 'time vigilance noble' or 'noble of vigilance and time'. And you write it like this."

"I like Edmure's suggestion. Shtanruil shall be my elven name."

"Well, then hir Shtanruil and hiril Selianna, Lord Stannis and Lady Selyse, Eiltahltrillon and I Eruaistaniel Ithilethiel shall remember your names."

The four of them walked together to the dining hall and Catelyn approached them as they got closer to House Stark's table and hugged Lysa as she said that she was glad that Lysa was healthier. Brandon Stark also approached and said that Catelyn had been so concerned over Lysa's well-being that she hadn't been able to focus all day long. To that Lysa said to Cat in elvish that she was sorry for having worried her. When Brandon heard the elvish language he loved it so much that he told Cat that when they married he would have her speak elvish to him when they were in bed. Catelyn became so red that anyone would have thought that she was having a fever. Brandon simply laughed like everyone else at Stark's table. Lysa smiled and glanced at Lyanna Stark who was laughing. She wondered what it was that drew Rhaegar to her. Was it her young age? Her naivete? Her fierce nature? Why had she gained Rhaegar's attention?

Ned Stark must have seen her because he stared at Lysa with a frown and she could feel his gaze even when she sat and ate.

After dinner Lysa wasn't so surprised to be invited by Ned Stark to dance with him. The guy had been staring holes at her back since she sat down on her seat. She took his hand and let him lead her out to the dance floor where everyone else was dancing.

"Lord Eddard Stark or do you prefer Lord Ned Stark?" She smiled politely and tried to keep up with his dancing.

"Please, call me Ned."

"Very well then Ned. Can I ask you if I have done anything to displease you?"

"I saw the way you looked at my sister. Can I ask you why?"

"Perhaps you should ask your sister why she is meeting a married man secretly." She hadn't meant for that to slip out but Ned was making her angry with his harsh touches and strong grips.

"Preposterous. You are accusing my sister of adultery." He hissed as he spoke quietly in her ear.

"Well, I never accused anyone, Ned. I'm not saying this to hurt her or your family. I'm saying this because you are going to become my family and if Lyanna tarnishes House Stark's reputation it is also going to tarnish my sister as she will wed your brother and become a Stark."

Ned glared even more at Lysa.

"Look, Ned. I want you to warn your sister to stay away from the prince. It will be best for all of us."

"Why because you see my sister as a threat?" He smirked as he thought that he had figured her out. "I've heard all about how you have gained the prince's attention lately. You must see my sister as a rival. After all, the prince dances with my sister and not you. He danced with every eligible lady in the room but never with you. You are the only one who hasn't been offered a dance with him. So you let jealousy blind you."

"Ned, don't antagonize me." Lysa was losing her patience.

"Then don't accuse my sister of adultery with the prince."

"If you don't want to hear my warning then I shall be silent and not speak more of this." They continued to dance in silence until the song ended.

She was tired of it all. She didn't care anymore about anything. She didn't care whether Rhaegar's actions would have them all killed or not. Her feelings were welling up from the bottle inside of her.

It had been the most painful and uncomfortable dance she had ever danced and Lysa went back to her seat with a frustrated look. Edmure knew that the cause of it had been Ned Stark.

"Edmure, don't." She ordered her brother who she knew would prank Ned Stark or do anything which embarrassed Ned. "He is a Stark and he is going to become our family too."

"But, Lysa."

"No, Edmure. I don't want to risk Catelyn being on bad terms with her future family. Is that understood?" The boy nodded.

Lysa looked around in the room. She didn't want to be there. She didn't want to be anywhere where the prince was. The prince who may or not use her to cover up his affair with Lyanna Stark. She didn't want to sit close to the Starks because of Ned and Lyanna. And she couldn't stand seeing Elia Martell's face, not after her dream. Even when the hall was so large she couldn't breath. She needed to get out of there before she fainted.

"Edmure, let's get out of here." The boy seemed hesitant as he was still eating, but he agreed in the end.

"Let's get Stannis and Selyse. They seem as miserable as I am."

Selyse had been sitting alone while watching her cousins dance and be invited to dance. Stannis didn't want to dance with anyone and sat alone while watching everyone else having a good time. He especially frowned at his brother Robert who was making a fool of himself with the ladies.

Edmure and Lysa walked towards the table with House Baratheon's banner hanging next to it. She managed to convince Stannis to go and have an evening walk with them. She then went to House Florent and asked Selyse's uncle if it was alright to take Selyse out on an evening walk. Lord Alester Florent allowed his niece to go with her and of course there was a guard that followed her.

They walked to the balcony that had the view of the garden. The music from the feast wasn't faint from where they were. The entire way she had unconsciously been humming a song.

"What's the song you've been humming all this time?" Selyse wondered as they walked side by side.

"Oh, it's called 'noble maid'. A very scandalous song." Edmure chuckled.

"Why is it scandalous?"

"Because it's about a common man vying for the love of a noble maid."

Lysa smirked and began to sing and dance and not caring about a single thing in the world.

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Noble maid

She's been living by the baron's glade

Methinks she's never felt a rough embrace

Her mother tries to keep her in place

I see the grace of a

Noble maid

In her gown of silk and her shoes of suede

For she grows weary of her tower on high

And seeks a common man who won't be shy

Could it be I?

And when she knows what she wants from her time

When she finds mettle

And settles her mind

She'll see I bear no ire

When my heart both desire

For a

Noble maid

We have frolicked by the palisade

The maiden did to me her heart confide:

She does not wish to be some dandy's bride

She can decide

Noble maid

Though I'm titleless and poorly paid

I hope that one day thou would come to see

All of the things that I hath done for thee

And marry me

For when she's walking

She seems so divine

And when she's talking

She'll say she's mine

She'll see I bear no ire

When my heart both desire

For a

Noble maid

In her gown of silk and her shoes of suede

For she grows weary of her tower on high

And seeks a common man who won't be shy

Could it be I?