Alica felt the carriage start up again, she wondered why it had stopped in the first place. Alica smiled, she didn't admit it to anyone, but she missed the north. It may have been cold, but there was a warmth to it the south didn't have. Everyone seemed happier up north, even though this wasn't the case for Alica, she was still excited to feel the nostalgia of her childhood.
Alica took out a book to read for the last minutes of their journey, it was the same book her father gave her before her marriage, but she brought it for old time's sake. She had done a lot of reading and sewing on their journey to keep herself occupied, she even made Cersei and Myrcella new mink gloves after their silk ones proved useless in the cold weather.
Alica eventually heard a gate open, and the voices of men talking about the matter of the royal arrival. Alica sat up straighter, her excitement increased. She was so excited to see people from her childhood again when she thought that might have never happened again.
She waited patiently until the carriage door was opened. She waited for Cersei's ladies in waiting and her seamstress to exit before she did, leaving Myrcella, Tommen, and Cersei to follow behind. She stood at the side of the carriage entrance opposite of Cersei's ladies in waiting. She bowed her head as Cersei made her exit from the carriage, but Cersei took no notice. Alica watched as Lord Eddard and King Robert laughed and conversed, it made her smile even more, feeling the northern hospitality already.
She looked at each one of the Starks. Like King Robert said, Lord Eddard had put on some weight. Catelyn looked much the same, just aged more. Robb had become a strong man. Sansa was prettier than ever. Arya was still just as wild, and young Brandon had grown so much. And the new Stark child, Rickon, was as sweet and adorable as she had heard of.
Alica observed their interactions, taking mental notes of how she should approach each Stark. She looked at the way Sansa and Arya interacted in particularly, noticing the hostility between them. She saw Sansa's and Joffrey's immediate interest in each other, and Robb's disagreeing look with that situation. She noticed how Cersei and Catelyn were not on the best, but still civil terms, as was Eddard and Cersei.
"Who is the Lady travelling with you?" Lord Eddard asked.
"That's Lady Alica, my father's new wife." Cersei said, openly showing her hostility towards Alica's marriage to her father. Eddard looked at Alica, shocked to see her.
"Lady Alica?" Catelyn said in shock. She walked over to Alica and wrapped her arms around her, Alica returning it. "You have changed so much since I saw you last." Catelyn said lovingly.
"It's for the better, my lady." Alica replied.
"Thank the gods for that." Catelyn said, thinking about how Alica's potential to have been negatively affected by her marriage to Lord Tywin.
"Lord Tywin is very kind to me." Alica said. "Now I've been with his child for a month!" She spoke excitedly.
"Oh, how wonderful!" Lady Catelyn said jovially. "Do you hear that, Ned?" Catelyn asked. Eddard nodded and smiled.
"Congratulations, Lady Alica." Lord Eddard said.
"Thank you, Lord and Lady Stark, for everything." Alica said.
"Where's the imp?" Alica heard Arya asked. Cersei walked towards her brother at the question.
"Where is our brother? Go and find the little beast." Cersei told her brother.
Alica had not talked to Jaime much, and hadn't talked to Tyrion at all. She didn't want to get too involved with the two of them in case they felt the same hostility towards her as Queen Cersei did. Also, Alica, while neutral about them, knew her husband didn't take too kindly to their life's choices.
Not long after, Alica, Cersei, Myrcella, and Tommen were escorted inside by Catelyn, shown to their chambers. Alica's servants weren't too far behind with her things. When Alica was shown into her cozy chamber, she looked around as her servants unpacked for her. She knew there was going to be a feast in several hours, which left her a few of those hours to relax on a proper bed. She curled up into the fur covers of her bed, picked up her book, and read until she fell asleep.
She was woken up a few hours later by a Winterfell handmaiden, who told her the feast was only in a few hours and she still needed to bathe. Alica scrambled out of bed and stripped out of her cotton gown to bathe. Once she was done bathing, the handmaiden dressed her in a red and gold embroidered silk gown. She put on her Lannister pendant, she didn't feel the need for fancy jewelry. Her hair was straightened and done in a version of the southern style where more of her hair was down, the crescent at the crown of her hair significantly smaller than on the other southern ladies, but that gave her more room to make the braids and twists on the crescent more elaborate. Blush was applied on her face and she looked the most presentable she had been in the past month.
Alica was escorted to the dining hall by her handmaidens to see that she was early. Most haven't shown up except the current residents in Winterfell. Catelyn gave her a smile, as did Sansa, who looked curious about Alica. Sansa hadn't been in the presence of such powerful women, first she knew she would meet the Queen, but now she had the woman with the most power under her (or at least, that's what Sansa thought,) the wife of Tywin Lannister, before her. Alica returned their smiles and joined them.
"Lady Catelyn, I thank you for your hospitality. This all takes me back to my childhood." Alica said.
"You're welcome, Lady Alica." Catelyn replied. "It makes me happy that you can still appreciate the north after being in a place like Casterly Rock for so many years."
"I appreciate both for different reasons. I was a girl in the north, and became a woman in the south." Alica told Catelyn. "Both are so different, yet pleasant, there is no comparing them." Alica looked at Sansa, whose smile grew wider. "How are you doing, Lady Sansa?" Alica asked.
"I am doing very well, Lady Alica." Sansa said excitedly. Alica couldn't help but adore Sansa's happy innocence, she would pray to the gods that it would remain forever in her. "Oh! My lady, I have good news! I have been betrothed to Prince Joffrey!"
"How wonderful!" Alica said, knowing deep down that this was probably not the best arrangement for a girl so sweet. "You will make a wonderful queen someday, you have a queen's beauty and a queen's gentle heart." Alica complimented, making Sansa blush.
"I don't like the prince!" Said a bold voice behind Alica. Alica turned around to see Arya walking into the dining hall with a scowl on her face. "You're only excited because you want to become queen, Sansa." Arya sneered.
"That's not true! Joffrey is very handsome!" Sansa raised her voice at Arya.
"Girls, please, not tonight." Catelyn said. The two girls looked at their mother and stopped, glaring at each other before Arya turned away and sat down next to Robb.
"Don't mind Arya, Lady Alica, she's just rude." Sansa told Alica. Alica chuckled, Arya reminded her of herself when she was younger, and she had a younger sister much like Sansa she used to bicker with.
"Sansa." Catelyn said, giving Sansa a corrective look. Sansa stopped, sighing deeply.
The rest of the feast was entertaining, Alica sat to Catelyn's right. She, Catelyn, and Cersei talked to each other for most of the feast. It became more apparent how much Cersei didn't want to be here, and it annoyed her to see Alica happier than she was.
Alica, while she enjoyed herself, would have rather been in Tywin's arms and in danger than alone and safe.