Ashara's Lement
She replayed the scenes of when she and the Princess of Dorne first met the Starks of Winterfell on that fateful Tourney at Harrenhal – that lasted for ten days, with seven day long competitions. The first day, lords and ladies arrived and raised their tents and made merry, and after midday the first competition – tourney of singers took place and lasted till nightfall.
At the feast that night Prince Rhaegar sang and played on his silver string harp – leaving many a woman crying.
On the second day, Aerys II Targaryen the Lord of Seven Kingdoms, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, announced the beginning of the tourney – started with seven-sided melee with seven lords; the lords had five men bearing their colors of the realm competing in an ancient style that simulated a battle on the horseback.
The third day was an archery contest, an axe-throwing contest and a horse race, and on the fourth day, the jousting matches started - there was five days allotted to the joust.
At the end of the second tourney day, Lady Ashara Dayne of Starfall had meet Lady Lyanna Stark of Winterfell. Lyanna was the first of the Stark's that Ashara had met.
Lyanna might not have been a great beauty, like Cersei Lannister, the lioness with her long gold hair, emerald eyes, and curvy figure and a face that turned many a man unwise enough to look deeper than her looks and see ruthless ambition underneath.
But the daughter of Winterfell made a striking and lasting impression to all that took the time to get to know her. She had curly dark brown hair, very fair skin, and enchanting large silver grey eyes.
It was the meeting Ashara wouldn't soon forget; she was careless not asking her brother to accompany her, the second part of the jousting would have started the next day, and even the nights were hot – so Ashara stepped out for a bit of fresh night air.
It was an eventful second day of the jousting competition, and the third day of the Tourney of Harrenhal. The appetence of the Mystery knight – that was dubbed the name of Knight of the Laughing Tree, who was named thus because of the blazon on his shield – a smiling weirwood heart three. He arrived in the late afternoon and challenged three knights that won their place among the champions – with a booming voice that reminded Ashara of the plays she, her brother, and younger sister played. Allyria would put the iron bucket over her head and shout as she searched for them– her voice boomed just as well as this mystery man's voice did.
The knight, even with his small stature and mismatched and shabby armor, won all three tilts against the Knights of Houses: Haigh, Blount and Frey. Winning custody over their horses and armor, none of them were particularly popular, so the smallfolk cheered for the mysterious knight. When the defeated trio sought to ransom their former property, the knight declared his intriguing terms;
"My Lords!" his voice boomed across the field, "You but only have to teach your rude squires honor. And then you may keep your belongings."
True to form, the trio of defeated lords proceeded to chastise their squires sharply right then and there.
She closed her eyes for but a moment when a drunk lording approached her. Ashara did not recognize him at first. Not until he stepped closer to the light.
It was Lord of Storm's End, the man that won a seven-sided melee in ancient style on the second day of the tourney. He unhorsed many and taken opposing Lord's as hostages; they had to pay him golden dragons or surrender their horses and armor.
Beside him was Ser Richard Lonmouth, his drinking companion, Ashara remembered them boasting about how they would unmask the Knight of the Laughing Tree.
"My Lady," the dark haired, blue eyed man slurred. Ashara's nose wrinkled, yes she was not a virgin, and yes she was Dornish and Dornish don't frown on sex between two consenting parties. But she was drawing a line before drunken lusty pigs, who only think of their own pleasure and not of their partners as well.
She was a Lady in Waiting for Princess Elia and she knew well of what kind of man Robert Baratheon was.
"My Lady," Lord Baratheon slurred his words, "you know what I like in a woman?" he asked.
Ashara raised both her eyebrows. "No, nor do I care too."
"My dick," he laughed uproariously.
"And your humor is sorely lacking … now if you would excuse me…"
"Hey, hey lady..."
"Unhand me right this instance," Ashara hissed, but Baratheon paid her no heed, neither did his wandering hands; alright then, she thought, and twisted in his hold reaching downward and squeezed.
"This is all of me your dick will ever have."
Robert yelled and pushed her away, and then his companion advanced on her.
"Hey, leave her alone!" a woman's voice shouted, and something rectangular hit the advancing lordlings – hard – because they toppled to the ground cursing to the seven hells and clutching their heads.
The woman had a cape with a hood that covered her features. "Come on, hurry." She beckoned. Even more intrigued Ashara followed her, but then as they passed Princess Elia's tent, she halted the woman, "This way," Ashara whispered.
"Ash what's wrong" Elia stood up from the chair she was sitting in by the fire.
Ashara quickly grabbed her rescuers wrist, before she could flee back into the night. Then Ashara heard a soft curse as the veiled woman curtsied before the Princess.
"Your Highness," Ashara greeted, "I was just assaulted by Lord Robert of Storm's End and his little friend." Interesting, at Robert's name the woman flinched. "This woman here hit him with this and we fled away." She motioned to the object in the woman's hand.
"You rescued my dear friend, would you entrust us with your name?" Elia said kindly.
"Yes your highness." The woman rose to her full height, which wasn't much; she was smaller in stature than Ashara and Elia were and pulled her hood down.
"I'm Lyanna Stark."
After that she and Lyanna with Elia talked until the Prince came to see his wife. It was Prince Rhaegar who noticed what the object really was and deduced Lyanna's connection to the mystery knight.
In the end they hidden the shield in Elia's tent and when the King declared the mystery knight his enemy, and the manhunt began, Rhaegar brought the shield to his father and spun the tale of finding it in a tree.
It was during the tourney when Ashara was introduced to Brandon and they carried well enough together. Well enough that Brandon Stark proposed to her, and considering she was carrying his child, she agreed and at the end of the tourney they wed at the Isle of Faces.
The days after their meeting passed, and then months, she had given birth at Starfall; she kept quiet because she wanted to surprise Brandon with their child. But it wasn't meant to be – their healthy daughter that was kicking strongly in her womb – was stillborn.
That was not the end of it…Elia had written of the King's displease and threats he uttered to the Princess – she was fearing for her life. Lyanna feared for herself as well, because apparently the betrothal between Robert and her was blessed by the King. Lyanna however didn't want to marry Robert Baratheon. Ashara could sympathize Robert would not make good husband to any woman.
Then one day a letter came, where Elia wrote that they found the solution to their problems; Rhaegar would wed Lyanna, making her and Elia sister wives.
Ashara agreed, having more than one wife was not forbidden for a Targaryen by the Faith of the Seven. They tried, but even then the High Septon was an uncle to the King's Wife. So it was prestige the High Septon was concerned about.
Lyanna and Rhaegar wed by the heart tree on the Isle of Faces; the witnesses of the procedure were Princess Elia Martell, Ashara's her brother Arthur Dayne, Ser Oswell Whent of the Kingsguard, his brother Lord Walter Walter and Lady Shella Whent, along with the woods witch that lived on the isle.
It was too much for her now, first she lost Brandon, and he intended to end the betrothal to the Tully girl because he married Ashara in secret, at the Isle of Faces before the Old Gods, when he rode for Riverrun on that day. But then all reason left him and he went to King's Landing and committed treason by calling for royal blood.
If there was a sane King sitting on the Iron Throne, Brandon Stark might have survived his folly. But it was not so, for King Aerys II Targaryen was descending into madness and paranoia as the years progressed.
Brandon Stark and his father Rickard died on the same day. Some months later, after singing Dornish lullabies to her kicking child – her daughter was born – it was a stillbirth.
Then Eddard Stark, her husband's younger brother, brought the great sword of the house Dayne, Dawn, to Starfall and with the Dayne family's sword news of the death of her brother.
Arthur was dead, Lyanna and Elia were dead, their babies with them, and her daughter was stillborn; she had nothing to live for – so one day she decided to end it. Humming the lullaby she always hummed to her unborn yet daughter, she made to jump off the cliffs.