King's Landing, 284 AC
Stannis and his small escort watch King's Landing getting closer and closer, as their ship sails closer from the coast. On the pier, Jon Arryn is waiting for them. He has become the Hand of the King and Robert has sent him to welcome his brother for his wedding. The event is supposed to set tomorrow, but Stannis did not want to lose days spent at court. Now that Robert is King, he is busy being the new Lord of Storm's End and has been appointed by his brother as Master of Ships. Therefore, when Robert has known about the fleet of the last Targaryens, the previous Queen Rhaella, pregnant, and her surviving child Viserys, he has ordered Stannis to build a fleet and to attack Dragonstone, the last stronghold of the previous royal family. Stannis has wanted to protest, arguing his men were exhausted after almost a year of starvation and siege, but he has known Robert would have not cared, so he has obeyed without a word. The ship on which he sails to King's Landing is called the Fury, and is one of the last ships built. Stannis has taken it on purpose so Robert sees it, and he would not even take the trouble to welcome him on the pier. Stannis sighs, turns to Ser Davos, going with him and jumps off the ship when he's close enough.
Jon looks at the young man walking to him, and a man right behind him, watching King's Landing with a slight smile. He holds his hand at Stannis:
"Hello Stannis", he smiles gently. He is surprised to see him in such a good shape: the siege must have been grueling, but Stannis looks just like the same than before, except maybe for his hair, way shorter, and his cheeks, a bit hollowed.
"Lord Arryn", Stannis greets in turn, shaking firmly his hand. "Congratulations on your appointment."
"Thank you, my Lord", Jon smiles. "You must be tired. Come, I will show you your chambers."
Stannis turns to Davos:
"May I introduce you to Ser Davos Seaworth. The man who saved us from starvation."
He has emphasized "the" and Jon wonders if it is aimed at Robert. With Stannis, it is hard to know when it is satire or not. Jon nods gently at the young man:
"Welcome to King's Landing, Ser"
Davos smiles:
"I know the city, my Lord. I was born here."
"I do not think you know the court, though", Jon nicely notices, looking at the old clothes of the knight. Davos laughs heartily:
"No, my Lord! That I don't!"
Jon chuckles and walks with them, leading them with an escort to the Red Keep and their chambers. Most guests have already arrived, and the night is short before the big day.
Stannis wakes up slowly, still having trouble sleeping peacefully: he has dreams, or nightmares, he does not really know, where he eats, all the time, stuffing himself, until he gets fat, and fat, and suddenly, an intense pain in his belly, and his stomach explodes literally, guts squirting out of his skin. He wakes up in a sweat, breathing hard, the smell of the guts filling his nostrils up. Until he realizes he is in a warm bed, safe and at peace. This morning, he stands up slowly; noticing breakfast has already been served to him: Robert has always loved to eat, and it shows in the breakfast the cooks serve. Fruits, bread, meat, cheese. The tray is filled with food, way too much for him alone. He knows the wedding feast will be splendid, and he thus chooses some grapes and a piece of bread. Stannis sits down and eats slowly, his stomach painfully growling. He hopes no one will notice during the feast. Once he is done, he washes himself and, thirsty, gets the carafe standing on the table and pours a cup. He rolls his eyes: it is wine. And of course, no water. Robert has always found suspicious that his brother does not like wine. But he hates the taste; he cannot do anything about it. So be it, he will not drink before the feast. With a loud sigh, he walks to the desk and grabs a razor, starts shaving carefully, not willing to bleed. He washes his face when he's done and walks to his clothes and dresses up. He loves how his room is bathed in light, very warm and charming, a wooden desk standing by the door, Robert has known he would keep on working, even away, and a bed pretty small but comfy. He looks at himself in the mirror, caressing slowly the stag embroidered on his tunic, arranging his breeches and tying a leather belt around his waist. He puts his boots on, and is ready to leave when a knock on his door makes him startle:
"Come in", he says.
The door opens on Ser Davos, wearing a weird tunic: a black ship, on a pale grey filed, with a white onion on its sails. It looks like nothing Stannis has seen before.
"What's that?" he points at it with a wince.
"My wife Marya did it. You don't like, my Lord?" Davos asks, disappointment heard in his voice.
"What is this coat of arms? I have never seen it", Stannis asks again.
"Mine, my Lord. You said I needed one", Davos says surprised.
Stannis stands up and stares at his knight:
"I was thinking of something more…. Knightly", Stannis says as nicely as he can. "This does not look like a coat of arm, but more like a pirate's flag."
"The Stormlands lords mock me calling me the Onion Knight. I thought this would be cocking a snook at them."
Stannis smiles slightly:
"You're right. From this point of view."
He gets closer and Davos stands straight, sticking out his chest. He grabs the tunic, watches it carefully, strokes the cloth, pouting all along, and then says:
"Your wife is a good dressmaker."
With these words, he walks out and Davos follows him.
They get in the Sept, Davos looking around marveled at the statues: Stannis knows Davos is a believer, but that does not bother him. He does not ask people to not believe just because he does not. Stannis grinds his teeth when he sees all these Lords he has to greet, just because they are Lords and compliment the dresses of their wives and daughters. What a hell, he thinks and suddenly, he hears his name shout. Or rather yelled. He turns around with a frown and he sees a brown flash rushing on him and two arms suddenly wrapping around his waist tightly.
Aylis has arrived with her family a fortnight before the wedding: Lord Tully has wanted his children to spend some time together, as they have not seen Lysa since she left for King's Landing and Catelyn since she joined her new house, Winterfell. The little girl is so excited to finally visit the capital and to see her sisters again. Maybe Lysa is pregnant! As the carriage is taking them closer and closer from the town, she pops her head around the carriage's door and gapes as she realizes how big King's Landing is. She soon gets back in the carriage though, the smell getting awful as they get closer. The carriage leads them to the Red Keep, the place where the royal family stays, and Aylis gets in it holding Edmure's hand very tightly. Lysa welcomes them and she hugs her tight, genuinely happy to see her. Jon is very nice with her and Edmure and she thinks he would be a great dad. She gets to have her own chamber, and she feels really proud of it: it is small, a child's room, but comfy and with everything she needs. She keeps asking if Stannis is going to come, but her father refuses to answer her. They have been here for ten days when Catelyn, Ned and little Robb join them. Her sister looks weirdly sad, and, one evening, after dinner, they have a stroll together around the Red Keep.
"You look so sad, Catelyn, what is wrong?" Aylis asks innocently.
As soon as she says that, Catelyn bursts out crying. Aylis does not understand her reaction and stammers:
"Wh-what did I say wrong?!"
Catelyn sobs violently:
"It's not you Aylis! It's Ned!"
Aylis gives her an incredulous look: Ned looks fondly in love with her, and is very considerate. But she has been cold as ice with him since they have been there.
"What has he done?" she asks, hugging her sister to comfort her.
Cat just keeps crying loudly for a few minutes and cannot answer. She ends up wiping her tears away and chuckles nervously when Aylis gives her her tissue.
"When I have arrived in Winterfell with Robb, there was a young toddler by his side. He looked like him, Aylis, you cannot imagine how much. I knew, right away, that he was his son."
"His son?" Aylis asks with a frown. "How old is he? The boy?"
"He is one year older than Robb", she sadly says.
Aylis holds her hand tightly:
"But Cat, if he is born two years ago, he was not betrothed to you yet, right? So why are you so sad?"
Catelyn looks down:
"I just cannot stand that he had a baby with another woman."
They stop walking and sit down on a small stone wall. Catelyn has stopped crying, but her eyes are red and puffy.
"Is he nice with you?" Aylis asks again.
"Very. But... I cannot forget this and I have spurned him a lot lately. And I hate that he refuses to tell me the name of the mother of his son."
The little girl frowns again, wondering why grownups are so complicated:
"Why would he refuse?"
"He says I just need to know the baby is from him. But I think the woman is from Dorne, because that's where he come from when he came back in Winterfell with the baby", Catelyn sighs.
"He must have his own reasons. Maybe he is ashamed? Give him time. You love each other, it shows. I'm sure you'll be very happy together", Aylis gives her a comforting smile. "Robb is so sweet; he looks a lot like you. What is the name of the other baby?"
"Ned said he has named him. He has called him Jon, after Jon Arryn."
"That's cute", Aylis beams.
"Yes", Catelyn whispers and Aylis feels talking about him will not be a good idea so she quickly changes the subject:
"And how is life in Winterfell?"
Catelyn laughs:
"Cold! But everyone is nice with me, so I don't complain. It is very different from Riverrun, and I miss the castle, Father, and you and Edmure. I miss seeing you growing up. But, overall, I am happy I am married to Ned. He has even built a Sept for me, so I can pray the Seven."
"Oooooooh", Aylis beams. "This is SO romantic Cat!"
The young woman smiles:
"Yes, it is. Aylis, we should go back, it is getting cold", she wraps her arms around herself.
Aylis nods and they walk back to their chambers, Aylis leaving her in front of the one she shares with Ned.
"Promise me you will talk to him?" Aylis asks.
Catelyn smiles tenderly and kisses her little sister's brown hair:
"I promise. Goodnight Aylis."
"Goodnight, Cat."
She leaves to her own chamber and falls asleep as soon as she lies in bed.
On the wedding day, she puts on the dress her father has bought for her and let the handmaids do her hair. When she gets in the Sept, she tilts her head the best she can to try and see if Stannis is here. She has never seen so many people, great Lords and Ladies, most of them grownups and very few children of her and Edmure's age. She stays close to her father and to Cat, Lysa a bit away from them, tickling Robb's ribs to make him wait. It's a bit long for a baby, especially since they are all reunited and waiting for the bride to get in. Ned is by Robert's side, and she smiles at Robert, thinking he's even more handsome than the last time she has seen him. Everybody is chatting pretty joyfully and she walks away from her family to look for Stannis. And suddenly, her eyes stop looking for him. Her lips curl up in a huge grin and her eyes shine with emotion. She sees him at least: he is talking with two men she does not know, and is with a boy who must be her age. Probably his brother Renly, she thinks. But she does not care. She stares at him, devours him with her eyes, noticing how much he has grown up since this day at the tourney of Harrenhal. He looks way thinner as well, but still strong, and has cut his hair. She hears her father calling at her, but it is like she does not hear him. All she sees is Stannis, standing here with a beautiful yellow and black tunic, wearing proudly his colours and his coat of arms. She walks to him and soon runs, yelling his name, unable to stop herself, not caring about her father now shouting her name. Her little legs run fast, as fast as they can, and she never stops looking at Stannis. He turns to her and they exchange a look before she crashes her body against him and hugs him as tight as her little arms allow her to. She does not say anything; she just wants to feel his body against hers. Suddenly, a hand brutally pulls her back:
"Aylis! You are embarrassing Lord Stannis!" her father's voice makes.
She looks up, ashamed, at Stannis, and realizes everybody is looking at her and that the Sept is silent. Stannis looks surprised and embarrassed, it is true. She curtseys:
"Forgive me, my Lord."
"Come", Hoster says. "The ceremony is going to start."
He leads her away from him and she desperately looks at him but he just nods, as a way to tell her to obey, and she holds back a frustrated groan before standing by Catelyn and Edmure. She watches Cersei Lannister getting in the Sept with her father, Lord Tywin, the man who has betrayed Aerys at the last moment, and the man responsible, people say, for the death of Elia Martell and her children. The future Queen looks gorgeous, Aylis thinks, but something about her makes her very ill at ease. The Septon proceeds to the wedding, and Aylis finds everything very romantic, but is also very hungry. Right after the ceremony, everybody walks to the Great Hall for a huge feast. Aylis sits by her father, and notices Stannis, by his brother, Renly on his left, and the two unknown men standing by his side. She stares at them, wondering who they are, and they smile hugely at her with a bow.
They start eating hungrily and, after a few toasts, proposed by several Lords, she looks at Robert standing up the best he can: he is already pretty drunk, and his face is red. His laugh rings out in the Great Hall and his booming voice turns everyone silent:
"My Lords, my Ladies, a toast!"
Everybody stands up with its drink, and Aylis thinks it is very sad to toast with a glass of water.
"To my brother, Stannis! Come here!"
She sees Stannis, obviously embarrassed again, walking with his cup to Robert. His brother puts his hand on his shoulder noisily:
"My brave brother, who held our home for almost a year against your forces, Lord Tyrell and Lord Tarly!"
They nod slightly, and Robert turns to Stannis. He winces with the smell of wine:
"What better day to announce betrothal, aye?!"
"Aye!" most of people say back cheerfully, when Stannis gets as white as a sheet.
"As a reward for your bravery and your loyalty, I give you the hand of Lady Aylis Tully!" Robert says with a loud laugh. "Aylis! Where are you, child?"
She stands by her father's side, unable to move, her cup shaking so much in her hand water falls on her beautiful dress. She feels Catelyn's hair tickling her neck and she hears her telling her to go join the King. She walks there slowly, feeling all the looks upon her, and hating this feeling. Stannis is as white as a sheet, she notices, and feels nauseous suddenly. He does not want her. It is obvious. The big hand of the King falls on her shoulder in turn, and she makes a face with pain. He pulls her closer from Stannis, and turns to the gathering:
"To Stannis and Aylis, and to their numerous sons!"
Everybody cheers joyfully, but Aylis hears the mocking laughs and turns red with shame and anger. This is ridiculous, she thinks. They are here, a grown up man, and her, a little child, side by side, betrothed in front of the whole kingdom. She does not even dare looking at her family, she looks down, her eyes staring at her shoes. This is not how she wanted it, this is not how she wanted it... When the King tells her to join her father, she hurriedly does so, and glances at Stannis, walking back to his seat. She sees him exchanging a few words with the men sit by his side, and they all look at her. She quickly grabs her cup, and downs it, before wishing she could bury herself in the ground.