Harrenhal, 281 AC
Today is the first day of the Tourney of Harrenhal. The whole kingdom had gathered here, or most, to celebrate Lord Walter Whent's daughter's nameday. The tourney should last for five days, and Aylis Tully, as she wakes up and gets ready to leave for Harrenhal, is very excited. It is the first time she is going to meet so many different Lords and Ladies, and she cannot wait to be there. Riverrun is not far from Harrenhal at all, and she hopps up and down, waiting for her sisters. She rushes in their room, and sees Catelyn having her hair done by a handmaid.
"Cat!" she exclaims. "Hurry up!"
The young Tully laughs heartily:
"Sweetheart, the knights are not going to vanish, we still have time before joining Harrenhal."
The little girl pouts cutely and joins her:
"Are we going to see Brandon again?" she asks.
"Yes. His whole family will be here", Catelyn beams.
Aylis smiles back and asks, frowning:
"Where is Lysa?"
Catelyn shrugs, and looks at her reflection in the mirror. Aylis leaves and finds Lysa, sat on a bench, lost in thoughts. She sits by her and takes her hand:
"Are you alright, Lysa?" she asks her.
Lysa sighs and quickly slips her hand off her:
"I'm fine", she coldly says.
Aylis gasps slightly with her brusqueness, but is not surprised. Lysa has changed, lately. She does not know why but everyone has noticed it, including their father. She has turned quiet and stern, when she was always laughing and nice. It is with Cat she is the nastiest now, and Cat cannot understand why. So she ends up avoiding her, and Lysa finds herself mostly all alone. Aylis, silently, stays by her side, until Hoster calls at them all and they join him. Aylis has chosen a beautiful red dress, made out of silk from Essos. It fits her flawlessly, draping past her ankles. The two straps are made of red laces, and reveal her fair skin. Her dark hair, similar to her mother's, has been done in an elegant bun, giving free rein to the beauty of her face. She is only six, but most of Riverrun people praise her beauty, and insist she could be even more beautiful than Cat, when she'll grow up. Aylis hears the words, but pays that no mind. As she walks in front of a mirror, she admires herself, still knowing that, as soon as the tourney is over, her hair will run freely on her back, and she will run in the mud with her siblings. She joins her father, and turns to him:
"Can I take Smudge?" she asks him.
Smudge is the pony her father has bought for her, for her last nameday. She has named him Smudge because he has a weird coat, both black and white. On the first days, the servants had found her sleeping with him in his stable. Hoster had to threaten to sell it back so she would stop.
Hoster turns to her:
"No. You are going to ruin your dress"
"Father, please!" she insists.
"I said no!" he shouts and she startles a bit before looking down.
They all walk out of the castle, Petyr with them, and gets in two different chariots. Aylis is with Lysa and Edmure, while Cat and Hoster are in the second one. Aylis looks around the road excitedly. But they are soon in Harrenhal, and everyone leaves in different directions. Hoster goes to meet Lords, and takes Aylis with him. Edmure goes with Cat to see the Starks, Lysa follows them, obviously unwillingly. Aylis moans, willing to follow Cat, but Hoster holds her firmly, and Brynden, who has joined them, tries to cheer her up. Hoster introduces her to several Lords she does not even know about, and, soon, Cat joins them with the Starks and their host, Lord Whent. Aylis beams when she sees Brandon, holding Cat's arm. By him is a young man who looks a lot like him, and introduces himself as Eddard Stark. With Ned, stand Robert Baratheon, Lyanna Stark, and an unknown man. Aylis looks up at them all and her eyes stop on the last young man: she stares at him as if it was the first time she sees a man. He is tall, almost as much as Robert, and they share the same black hair, the same blue eyes. Although, as much as Robert is smiling, this one looks clearly pissed of being here. Robert puts a hand on his shoulder:
"The killjoy here is my brother, Stannis", and heartily laughs right after.
Aylis curtseys as she has been taught to and Stannis slightly smiles. Lord Whent turns to them:
"Lord Tully, Lord Baratheon, would you like to see your chambers?"
"Stannis, would you be kind enough to stay with Aylis?" Hoster looks at him. "I have matters to discuss and Edmure needs to come with me"
Stannis looks a little puzzled, but still nods quickly and walks away. Aylis follows him obediently, and soon needs to run to follow him. As they walk together, she talks about Riverrun, the castle, her family. Stannis barely says a word. They go to the Godswood. There, she sits down and Stannis looks around him:
"It is not very careful for you to be on your own", he says, a hand on the handle of his sword.
Aylis looks at him and smiles:
"I am not alone. You are here. You will protect me if something happens."
Stannis smiles slightly and looks around: it is the first time he goes there, and he must say it is quite nice. The tourney does not interest him, and he is not really pleased with the presence of the little girl either, but he adapts to it. He feels her look upon him and it embarrasses him.
Aylis cannot take her eyes off the young man standing in front of her. Her eyes greedily run from his face, pleasant, to his strong arms and chest, and his large hands. She feels he could smash her skull with his bare hand if he wanted to. When she will marry, she would like her husband to look like him. Tall and strong, a man who could protect and love her, and who will give her healthy children. A black crowned stag, standing on a gold field, proudly rearing, is embroidered on his tunic. House Baratheon. Words: Ours is the Fury. Seat: Storm's End. Lord: Robert Baratheon. She automatically repeats in her head what she has been taught by the maester of Riverrun. She is still very young, but has developed a passion for the different houses of the realm. She often plays with Cat and Lysa, asking them what are their favorite words, apart from their own of course, the most beautiful sigil, the most impressive castle. Aylis liked Highgarden, tho she has never been there. But from what people said about it, she is sure she would love it. Cat, of course, is all about Winterfell. Lysa talks about Casterly Rock. None of them is appealed by the regent house, or the capital. They love being with their own people, and wish they would go on this way, all of them. She notices how Stannis looks at the Godswood, and says:
"My family used to worship the Old Gods before the Andals came. I have always loved them. I wish we could still worship them. Maybe they would hear my prayers, because, obviously, the Seven do not. Do you believe in the Gods, Lord Stannis?"
"I am not a Lord", he smiles a bit and shakes his head. "I have stopped believing in them when my parents died."
Aylis bites her lips, ashamed with her mistake:
"I am sorry for your loss. How did they die?"
She was still a little girl, and very curious. Stannis sits by her:
"Their ship sank."
As he finishes his sentence, a sudden rustle and a blurry vision makes her cry out with fear. Stannis chuckles:
"Do not be afraid. It is simply Proudwing."
On his forearm, stands a goshawk. Aylis beams and holds her hand at him. Stannis moves away:
"Careful! She can pinch."
"I love her name", she smiles again and stares at Stannis, as his hand gently strokes the grey feathers. He slightly smiles as he looks at his bird, when Proudwing's beautiful orange eyes stare at the little girl.
"Thank you", the young Baratheon says, and he lets Proudwing fly away from them.
"Has your father bought her to you?" she asks.
He shakes his head and looks at her:
"No. I found her. She was injured. I took care of her. She can fly now."
She smiles huge:
"So you love animals?"
"Not all of them", he shrugs. "I don't like cats."
Aylis laughs heartily:
"My favourite ones are horses! I have a pony, Father has offered me for my name day! His name is Smudge!"
"So you ride horses?" Stannis raises an eyebrow.
She nods frenetically:
"Cat says I ride as good as a boy!" she proudly asserts.
Stannis smiles: he had thought this time with her would be boring, but she is indeed quite entertaining. Aylis giggles and strokes the tree they're leaning on, before losing her smile suddenly:
"I wish gods would listen to me, sometimes."
"What do you ask them?" he carefully asks, not willing to be rude to her.
"That my father loves me more. That my mother comes back to life", she plays with grass at her feet.
"How did your mother die?" he asks again.
"Giving life to me. That's why Father hates me", Aylis mumbles.
"I am sure he does not hate you. But your mother cannot be revived. She is dead, you need to accept it", he tells, her staring at her. "If you live all the time in childish dreams, if you always believe in what the songs and the poems say, if you keep living on illusions, your heart will be quickly and very easily broken."
She stares at him, a bit shattered by how brutally he says that, but also impressed by his honesty. Her heart hammers violently in her chest, and she knows it is not because he has just made her sad. There is something else she feels, something new, something she has never experienced before. Without even realizing it, she leans on him and places a kiss on his cheek. He smells good, she tells herself, and his skin is soft and warm.
"My lady", a voice does, and she turns to the person who said that. It is a servant, and she looks at them weirdly.
"The feast is ready. If you would follow me", she curtseys and walks away. Stannis stands up, helps Aylis doing the same and they leave together, Stannis lost in thoughts.
The tourney lasts for five days. Every night, when Aylis joins her bed, she dreams of Stannis. Sometimes he is a conqueror, on a beautiful horse; sometimes, he is just a common man, sat on the grass. Every time, she is older, and not a simple little girl. At days, she tries to stay with him, which is not difficult as Cat herself does not leave the company of Brandon, Eddard and Robert. She watches the tourney and cannot decide if she likes it or not. She is just happy Stannis does not participate. The defeated knights are thrown to the ground, some seriously injured. On the first day, Jaime Lannister, who Hoster intended to betroth to Lysa, is welcomed by his new brothers in the kings guard. Lord Tywin is not at the tourney, and it is rumored he was furious after Aerys: Jaime is his heir, and, as a knight of the king's guard, he cannot marry or have children. Tywin's only heir is then Tyrion, the Imp he hates. Jaime's sister, Cersei, lives in King's Landing with their father, as he is the Hand of the King. People say Tywin wanted to marry him to split the twins, but no one knows why. A mysterious jouster also appears, wearing a shield with a smiling tree on it. He defeats three squires before disappearing on the following day. No one ever knows who he is, and why he has disappeared.
During the first evening, Howland Reed had been attacked and Lyanna Stark happened upon them and chased them away. She has taken care of him before introducing him to her brothers. During the feast, as Aylis, very tired with the day, was about to fall asleep, Rhaegar Targaryen, the king's son, sang a romantic song. Aylis has thought it was pretty cheesy, but she has seen Lyanna crying, her brother Benjen mocking her and Lyanna, as revenge, pouring wine on her little brother's head. They all had a good laugh and then had gone to bed.
At the end of the tourney, as Rhaegar defeats Ser Barristan Selmy, he is declared as the winner of the tourney and chooses a new Queen of beauty. Aylis is here, by her father's side, cheering with everyone else, when the handsome prince passes by his wife with a crown of blue winter roses and hands it to Lyanna Stark. Immediately, the cheers and the clasps stop. Lyanna stares at him, takes the crown, when Elia Martell stares blankly in front of her. Aylis looks at her and sees a tear rolling down on her face.