Riverrun, 278 AC

Hoster Tully has just come back from a long journey and he's watching his children chasing each other laughing. His lips curl in a sweet smile, as his eyes stare at his eldest, Cat. He has news to tell her, but he wants to let her enjoy this moment with her siblings. His smile quavers a bit when he sees her embracing Aylis tight, picking her up and laying loud kisses on her cheeks, making her roaring with laughter. As he keeps looking at them, the differences between them, and the complicity they share, that they do not share with their other siblings strike him. Aylis has been, from the moment she was born, like a living doll to Catelyn. And as Catelyn has her mother's high cheekbones, Aylis is still the one who looks like her the most. Before she was born, Catelyn and Lysa were inseparable, and, should you see them for the first time, you could have thought they were twins. And tho, Cat gets along the best now with the little girl, the only one having the dark hair of her mother, and not the Tully's auburn color. Her eyes are also different: blue like the Tullys, but another shade, more grayish. When the sun was shining brightly, they looked green; when it was raining, they had the colour of the clouds. Hoster's eyes don't leave the little toddler. They watch Cat grabbing her pony and taking Aylis with her. They watch them starting to trot, and Aylis's laugh, this beautiful child's laugh, ringing out in the castle, making the handmaids smile with tenderness. They watch Catelyn galloping suddenly, Aylis stopping laughing. His heart skips a beat when he hears the loud noise and sees his daughter on the ground, still.

He storms out of the room, his heart beating furiously in his chest, and walks down the stairs running. He rushes on the spot where Aylis fell: Catelyn is holding her, crying loud. Hoster slows down, scared of what he's gonna see. As he gets closer, the handmaids move away and he lets out a sigh of relief: Aylis is crying as loud as Cat, but she seems alright, even though her brow is bleeding slightly. She looks up at him and sobs "Father!" before running to him, crashing her little body against his leg. She raises her little face to him: big tears run down her face, her china skin is dirtied by mud and blood, her nose and ears red with the fall and she wraps her little arms tight around his legs. "I am sorry, Father, I am so sorry", he can hear Catelyn sobbing loudly, totally panicked and shocked. He looks up at her, opens his arm and she rushes to them, burying her face in his chest. Clumsily, he picks Aylis up and she gasps, surprised. He has never held her, except when she was born. Hoster feels emotion overwhelming him but he doesn't show it. Aylis's tiny arms wrap around his neck and she buries her face in, her sobs slowly calming down. Hoster had always been overflowing with hugs and kisses towards his children. Except with the two last ones: Edmure was a boy and Aylis had killed her mother. He closes his eyes at this thought and bites his tongue hard. He should stop thinking like that. He doesn't want to think like that, to see an innocent child as a murderer. She is not a kinslayer: she is his daughter, she is Aylis Tully. Slowly, he turns around to go back in the castle, followed by Catelyn, still huddled against him.

In the castle, they have bread and jam to regain their composure and Hoster sits with them, grabs a piece of bread and eats with them.

"Cat, I need to talk to you", he solemnly says.

The little girl's lips tremble with anxiety:

"I swear, Father, it was not my fault! I was holding her and…"

He interrupts her:

"It's not about the accident."

"Oh… What is it then?"

She turns curious eyes to him and he smiles slightly, runs a hand in her thick auburn hair. My little girl…

"You have bled for the first time a few weeks ago…" he says, pretty embarrassed.

She blushes deep red and nods quickly. Those are the moments when he regrets Minisa the most: she should be the one talking about that. Or an aunt, or an older sister. But Hoster has no sisters, and Cat is the firstborn.

"So is the time when we must think about your future", he goes on.

Catelyn's eyes leave his to lock into Aylis's one. It's time, she thinks. Time to talk about leaving the castle. She suddenly feels emotion and tears filling her eyes and she has to bite the inside of her cheek very hard to not cry.

"I have talked with Lord Rickard Stark", Hoster starts saying, watching at his daughter's reaction.

Cat's cheek reddens and she feels her heart beating faster: Stark… The wardens of the North, the most powerful Northern house…

"He is thinking about marrying his firstborn Brandon to you. And his daughter Lyanna, to Robert Baratheon. What do you think?"

She knows the question is genuinely nice. Cat knows the Lords's ways. The marriage is already settled if her father talks to her about it. But she does not care: it's a great opportunity for her and for the Tullys. She looks up at him:

"Thank you for this splendid match, Father. I am sure this man will make me very happy."

Hoster smiles, sadly. When he had discussed the wedding with Lord Rickard, it was not cheerfully. Brandon had started a relationship with Barbrey Ryswell. Lord Stark is an ambitious man, and has refused to betroth his firstborn to one of his bannermen's daughter. He had wanted the daughter of a southern Lord, and Catelyn was a perfect match. Would they love each other? Hoster hopes so. But a first love is hard to forget. Of course he remains silent in front of Cat but she asks, worried:

"Is everything alright, Father?"

"Yes… I am just sad to know you will soon leave me", he argues.

She nods and kisses his cheek:

"The wedding will not occur right away. I am not gone yet", she whispers, leaning her head on his arm, watching Aylis eating greedily.