Chapter 6

Alayne

Alayne stared down at her sweet Robin with unshed tears in her eyes. He had passed, for the past three days three masters had fretted over him while he cried out for her. She soothed him the best she could but in the end a terrible shaking fit had killed him. She cried, the boy was spoiled and irrational but he was sweet at times and he looked at her with love. She stroked his hair and murmured her apologies.

"Sweet Robin, I'm sorry"

"Sorry for what dear?" She turned and wiped the tears from her eyes. Harrold Hardyng stood before her, tall handsome with sandy blonde hair and eyes the color of the sky. He looked down at the former Lord of the Vale and frowned.

"Has he passed?"

Alayne clutched at her skirts and nodded her head, tears streaming down her face. Why did she always cry? She had to be strong, like her lady mother. Harrold walked forward and pulled her head towards his chest.

"There, there love. It was his time." He said as he stroked her hair. She curled her hands into his tunic and tried to choke back her tears. Harrold and had warmed to her in the past year and she had allowed herself to warm to him. He was prideful but not cruel, charismatic but not manipulative, romantic but not forceful. Alayne could do worse and had done worse when she held another name.

They had played a game he would chase and she would run just far enough for him to catch her. Petyr had told her that men desire that which they can not have but always see. She learned what she could about him and even took some delight when she heard he had rebuffed Myranda's attempts to seduce him. In the entire time he knew her she never allowed him to see her cry, all her saw were her laughs, japes, occasional scorn but not her tears.

"He was so young." She mumbled.

He hushed her and lifted her face up to his to wipe away the tears. "Look at him." She turned to look at her Sweet Robin. He looked like he was sleeping.

"He's at peace, you stood by his side and eased his passing. He will never shake again."

Alayne buried her face into his chest again and wailed. He held her like that until her father walked in.

"Oh dear, has he finally passed."

Sansa took a step back and Harrold straightened. Harry did not like her lord Father, Alayne knew this, but he kept a civil tongue for her sake. Petyr bowed deeply "Then I greet our new Lord of the Vale. I'll call upon the silent sisters and make preparations for the funeral. Excuse me."

Harrold let out a sigh, "Better love?"

She nodded and wiped her tears. "I am sorry for crying in front of you."

Harrold smiled broadly "You're beautiful when you cry." Alayne frowned as was momentarily reminded of Joffrey. "Not that I like seeing you cry, it's just I never have and I liked that you let me hold you and even though you weren't in danger I felt like I was protecting you. So I liked that." He rambled with the slightest hint of a blush. Alayne smiled despite herself and chuckled, she placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him chastely "My sweet knight." Harrold grinned and reached for her but she swiftly evaded him. "I need to help make preparations to send Robin off."

"Of course, If I can help." Harry said with a dejected look.

"I'll call for you" Alayne bowed and left the room to find a septon.

Her father was waiting for her in the sept. "They've sent the silent sisters for the boy. Have you calmed down?"

"Yes, I'm sorry for Harry, he was trying to comfort me." Alayne said without meeting his eyes.

"I'm glad that you've so entranced him, but I'm not sure if the wedding will go forward." Petyr said watching her face for a reaction. Alayne managed to keep the dread from her face and instead raised an eyebrow.

"I thought your plan was for me to marry Harry and unite the Vale and the North behind Stannis."

"Yes, but with the rise of the Dragon Prince to the South we may have an opportunity to the Iron Throne. Sansa Stark would be an excellent candidate for Queen of Westeros."

Alayne sat down on a stone bench and mulled over the issue. Aegon was an unknown, there was no guarantee that this plan would work or that he would be as compliant as Harry. Not to mention Targaryens were known for their tendency towards insanity. But this would not be enough to dissuade Petyr.

"I don't believe we should pursue him yet if at all" Alayne said as she looked up at Petyr. She knew he was more likely to listen to her when he could look down at her and feel larger.

"Why?"

"Daenerys Targaryen, she is coming West and she will come with dragons. Any action Aegon takes will immediately be challenged by her arrival. Not to mention her paternity and identity has never been in question, his always has. Many don't believe him to be Aegon, he could be a Blackfire or just have the blood of Old Valyria. If we tied ourselves to him now we could make a stronger enemy later. It's best to stay in the Vale, when the time comes I'll convince Harry to tie himself to Daenerys."

Petyr grinned with pride "Wisely put. We'll stick with the current plan. You'll be married within he month." He stroked her cheek. "Pity we have to keep you pure for the wedding." He kissed her roughly and walked away when he had his fill.

Alayne waited till he left the room to wipe her mouth and show disgust. When Harry married her she knew Petyr would try to have her, and that was the only thing that she dreaded about her wedding.

)O(

A few days after Robins funeral Alayne was called to a private dinner with Harry, Lady Waynwood, and Petyr. Most of the dinner was uneventful until dessert. Harry passed her a plate of lemon cakes and Alayne smiled and thanked him. He didn't smile back, instead he looked away, his seemed like he felt guilty about something. That was what first set Alayne on edge.

"Well now that the meal has been completed it's best we get this out of the way. What can we do to break this engagement." Lady Waynwood said simply.

Alayen would have been shocked if she and Petyr hadn't been prepared for this. They knew that as soon as Robin died Lady Waynwood would not thing Alayne suitable. But Petyr did love his games so she sat back and allowed him to play the wounded party.

"And why would you want that, is Alayne not the ideal beautiful lady?" Petyr said as he sipped his wine to hide his smile

"The issue is that she is not a lady. She is lovely, kind, cultured and pious. But all her various gifts do not deter from the fact that she is a bastard and Harrold will soon be the new Lord of the Vale. He cannot have a bastard seated beside him, no matter how pretty, let her be his pet."

Alayne looked towards Harrold to see his reaction, his fists were clenched and jaw set firmly. It was obvious that they had fought about this and he had lost.

"Well then if you do not wish for him to wed my dear Alayne I have another bride in mind."

"Spare me your machinations, we have plenty of viable candidates."Lady Waynwood said with a wave of her hands.

"My lady you have greatly offended me and mine, the least you can do is listen to my proposal."

Lady Waynwood stiffened for a moment then nodded. Petyr smiled and called a serving boy forward. He whispered instructions into his ear and smiled.
"The bride I offer you is the daughter of two very old, very powerful noble families. Her father fought beside King Robert and her mother was all a noble woman should be. Should young Harrold choose to marry my dear friend he will have claim to lands far greater and richer than these stony steps."

"Who is this paragon of women." Harrold said with a grumble as he tried to catch Alayne's eye, who was staring resolutely forward.

"You'll see soon enough, I've hidded her from all eyes but my own. She has many enemies you see and few friends of note. But she has the love of her people. She is in the greatest of danger from the Lannisters, but with this marriage she will finally be able to go home to her people."

The serving boy came back with two serving girls each holding a bowl.

"Perfect, Alayne please come here. Young Harry you should say goodbye, this will be the last you see of dear Alayne."

Harrold stood up at once and glared at Petyr. "What is the meaning of this?" He reached towards Alayne but she had already left her seat and walked towards Petyr.

"Alayne." Harrold murmured and she managed to resist turning towards him.

Alayne looked down at the bowls with dread, she wasn't going to be Alayne anymore. Sansa was a stranger to her. She tilted

"Please my dear, just like we spoke of before." Petyr said in what he probably thought was a soothing tone.

Alayne bent forward and dipped her long hair into the mixture.

"In Tyrosh it is common for men and women to color their hair to a more luscious brighter color. To create Alayne I used a relatively cheap brown that dulled her beauty and managed to hide her true identity. She has her mother's coloring you see, and she is the greater beauty of the two. I am both reluctant and proud to say this."

The brown was coming out and the auburn in her hair was starting to show at the tips. She continued to soak as Petyr rambled on, he was enjoying himself while she washed away her identity. The bowl had soaked away much as it could and she motioned for the next one.

"I squirreld her away from the Lannisters and only my poor dear Lysa and Robin knew. I have a letter from him and Lysa stating as much if you need more proof."

She dunked her head in the last bowl to get the color out of her roots and when she finished she rose her head as Sansa Stark.

"I present to you, for your consideration, lady Sansa Stark. Daughter of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully, granddaughter to the late Hoster Tully and the one true heir of Winterfell."

One of the serving girls presented Sansa with a towel and gaped at her openly. Sansa nodded in thanks and dried her hair. She remembered how her mother used to love brushing it. Her lady mother would send their handmaidens away so she could brush Sansa's long hair. Suddenly she wanted to cry. She brought the towel to her face to wipe away some of her tears that she hoped everyone would think was water from the bowls.

Lady Waynwood and Harrold were at a loss for words and Petyr was more than pleased with himself. "Should we set the wedding for next month?"

Lady Waynwood turned towards him. "How do we know that this isn't another Stark imposter like the girl who was married to Ramsay Bolton?"

"If you want we can send for Sansa's brother Jon at the wall, I'm sure he'll come if we promise him men for the wall and the danger he keeps writing about. How old were you when you last saw your brother?"

"Eleven, he was with Tyrion and my uncle Benjen. We were going South for the first time, me and Arya and Father. With the King and Queen. I didn't say goodbye to him because mother always had told me that he was a bastard and not truly my brother. Arya clung to him and cried, she always loved him best and never cared that he was a bastard." Sansa smiled sadly at the memory "I told her she was being shameful and she called me stupid and rode ahead on her horse."

Lady Waynwood sat down and stared at Sansa, "How did you escape Kings Landing?"

"Lady Petyr hired Ser Dontos to smuggle me out of Kings Landing, sadly he died of his injured before we could board the ship."Sansa said as calmly as she could.

"There is still no proof that you are who you say, even if you have the Tully look about you."

"Jon would know, there's a story that only my brothers and sisters know about the ghost in the Crypts of Winterfell"

"Ghost?" Harrold finally asked.

Sansa smiled at him sadly. "Old Nan used to tell us stories about the crypts of Winterfell, that there were spiders the size of Dogs. Robb took us down there one night. Me, Arya and Bran, Rickon hadn't been born yet. I think mother was pregnant with him. He was telling us about the ghost Kings of Winter. As we walked down the crypts he told us that the rust stains on their laps were from the iron swords they used to bear. It was their vigil and what kept them in their graves. When the iron rusted away into nothing their ghosts could roam free. When we reached my Grandfather, aunt Lyanna and Uncle Brandon, Jon jumped out from behind one of the statues covered in flour and moaning for blood. I was so scared I started to run away and Bran bawled and clung onto Robb. Robb told me later that Arya didn't even flinch she punched Jon and said 'you stupid, you scared the babies.' Father laughed after I tattled and mother tried to calm me down even though she wanted to laugh too."

Lady Waynwood smiled at the story and Harrold had a strange expression on his face. "If I wrote this story to your brother would he know it was you?"

"Yes, he would. I have other stories."

"Fine, I'll send a letter out, for now your engagement with Harry stand. Petyr, I think they have much to talk about, join me in the grand hall." Petyr nodded and smiled at Sansa before he left.

She stood in front of Harrold and dried her hair avoiding his gaze.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Harrold asked from his seat.

"When did you two decide to absolve the engagement?"

He stayed silent and clenched his hands. "Was it all a lie? Was anything about Alayne real? Why didn't you trust me with this? Why hide from me?"

"Because I didn't want to be Sansa!" She cried out and held back tears.

"All Sansa could do is cry about her dead family, all Sansa could do was hide from the Lannisters. Don't you see? It's all my fault their dead. If I didn't beg to become Joffrey's Queen then maybe father could have broken the engagement. If I hadn't lied about Nymeria Lady would still be alive. If I hadn't gone and told the Queen that we were leaving then father might still be alive." She tried to choke back the tears and continued with intermittent sobs. "I chose the Lannisters over my family each time and got everyone killed. Sansa is a stupid girl with stupid dreams who got her entire family killed. If I had only told the truth, if I had only been good."

Harrold grabbed her brought her into a strong embrace. "I don't know half of what you're saying, but what I do know is that this was years ago and you were little more than a child. It wasn't your fault."

Sansa felt him stroke her back.

"It wasn't your fault." He repeated over, and over again. Sansa wailed until she fell asleep in his arms.

When she woke late into the night she was on Harry's lap, he was propped up against a few pillows and had a blanket draped over her. The door was open and there was a guard posted outside. She rubbed her eyes and started to sit up when Harrold brought her back down onto her lap.

"Don't move" He whispered low and Sansa stilled.

"Baelish and Waynwood said you would have to go back to your quarters with the guards when you woke."

Sansa's heart raced, was she to be a prisoner again?

"They just want to make sure you're safe, but if you ever want to get away from the guards just tell me."

She nodded and smiled "Thank you."

Harry grinned and leaned forward to kiss her. When he finished he whispered something else. "I fell in love with Alayne, I don't think Sansa is any different. Different name, same girl. I don't know anything about Sansa and I want to find out more."

"I don't think I know how to be Sansa anymore."

"Don't be Sansa, be you." Harrold frowned "I don't want any secrets between us. I know why you lied, but I'm still angry. No more secrets and no more lies. You know about my shortcomings, and I can't promise that I will never stray," Sansa turned away at that. Harrold had a long history of womanizing but he had calmed down since she had won him over. She knew he took other women to his bed, but he didn't seem attached to any of them. She tried not to think about it but it still bothered her when the serving girls gossiped within earshot. He turned her face back towards him. "But I will never lie to you. We are going to be husband and wife. Which means I will always protect you and you should always trust me. I know Petyr saved you, but he isn't going to be your husband. Trust me and never keep anything from me again. Promise?"

Sansa pondered for a moment. Petyr had saved her, but she would be an idiot to trust him. Harrold despite his shortcomings was honorable and wanted to protect her. He would be her husband, and Petyr, what? What was he planning? And that was when she realized what Petyr wanted. She would give Harrold a son, a son of the North and the Vale, grandson to Lord Hoster Tully and possible heir to three different regions. If Harrold died Sansa would be free for Petyr and he would place himself as the childs regent. Sansa felt horror, Petyr would never be satisfied.

"I promise."