A/N: I own nothing except my OCs. A song of Ice and Fire is owned by George R.R Martin.
The Road to Knighthood
-Eyrie-
Alyssa was practicing her needle work for the day. The septa of House Arryn had been teaching her ever since her mother died. It soon became a favorite pastime for the young lady. She was stitching a shirt. Someone knocked on her door.
"Come in" Alyssa called. The door opened and her father entered her chambers.
"Practicing needle work, are we?" he asked with a smile.
"Aye, I do enjoy it" Alyssa replied. Jon sat down beside her, looking at her work.
"Seems like you`re making a shirt" he noted.
"You are correct. It is for Artys" Alyssa said.
"I am positive that he will be happy, yet embarrassed at this" Jon stated.
"That sounds like him" Alyssa giggled.
"Speaking of Artys, we should go speak with him before he leaves" Jon said. Alyssa nodded, finishing her needle work. Jon had agreed with Lord Yohn Royce to let Artys foster at Runestone, the seat of House Royce. As there was no master-at-arms at the Eyrie, they knew that Artys couldn`t be trained well there. They agreed to having him train at Runestone for two years. Alyssa didn`t like it, but by the time she knew about it, they had already decided on it. Jon and Alyssa found Artys standing around in the Cresent Chamber.
"Artys" Alyssa called out.
"Father, Alyssa" the young lord responded. Artys was of average height for a boy at the age of eight. He had short blonde hair and sky blue eyes, much like his sister. Though her hair had grown out over the years, as it now reached down to her lower back. He wore a sky-blue shirt with House Arryn`s sigil, a sky-blue falcon soaring against a white moon on a sky-blue field.
"Are you ready?" Jon asked.
"Aye" Artys nodded. Alyssa smiled at her younger brother`s excitement.
"Make sure you train hard while you are there" she encouraged.
"I will, when we meet again, I will be even better than the Knights of the Vale!" Artys exclaimed.
"The lad has got spirit at least" a voice said behind Artys. He turned around and saw Lord Yohn Royce accompanied by a pair of guards.
"Lord Royce" Alyssa said with a courtesy.
"Lady Alyssa" the elderly Lord bowed.
"Can I get you something?" Jon asked.
"No thank you my Lord" Yohn declined. "If Lord Artys is ready, we will leave shortly."
"One moment please" Artys said. Yohn nodded. "Well, I guess this is goodbye for now" Artys said, turning to his father and older sister.
"For now" Jon nodded. He then embraced his son. "Take care Artys" he said.
"I will" Artys assured him. They then pulled away, only for Alyssa to bring her brother into an even tighter hug.
"Please, be careful" she told him.
"I-I will" Artys struggled to reply through the hug.
"Alyssa, you are almost crushing him" Jon stated.
"Oh" Alyssa let Artys go, lightly blushing from embarrassment. "Forgive me" she bowed apologetically.
"Relax, it is fine" Artys said. He turned to Yohn Royce. "I am ready to leave" he said.
"Very well, let us get moving" Yohn said. Artys gave his family one last wave before exiting the reception hall.
-Runestone-
At the castle of House Royce, Artys was sparring was Ser Samwell Stone, the master-at-arms of Runestone. As the heir to the Vale swung his wooden sword, Ser Samwell sidestepped to avoid the slash. He then took a swing at Artys, who only barley managed to block it. Samwell swung harder this time, knocking Artys flat on his back. He then pointed his wooden blade at the young Lord.
"I yield" Artys said. Samwell smiled and stretched out his hand, helping Artys back on his feet.
"Looks like we have a lot of work to do" Yohn stated, who had been watching the sparring session himself.
"Have you had any training before this my Lord?" Samwell asked.
"No, not really" Artys replied.
"Perhaps we should continue this later" Samwell suggested.
"Aye, let the young Lord relax" Yohn agreed. Samwell nodded and put away the practice blades.
"How did I do?" Artys asked.
"If you plan to become a Knight, you will need to get much better than that" Yohn replied. Artys` expression fell.
"Do not worry, we will help you get better in time" Samwell assured the young Lord.
"I suppose" Artys said. Yohn then led the Vale`s heir into the castle of House Royce. Runestone was smaller and less extravagant then the Eyrie, Artys noticed. It did not bother him much however. Yohn called forth a servant to show Artys to the room he would use during his stay at Runestone. Like the castle, the room was smaller than his chambers back home.
"If you need anything, do not hesitate to call on help" the servant said.
"I will remember that" Artys stated.
"Have a good day, my Lord" the servant bowed, leaving Artys to himself. He then opened his bag. He took out the things he brought with him, mostly clothes. However, he found something he didn`t remember bringing. It was a knitted sky-blue shirt with a white falcon on the chest.
"Aly" he smiled to himself. His sister did love her needlework, especially when made for her loved ones. Artys put it back into the bag, not wanting anyone to see it. While he loved his sister, Artys felt slightly embarrassed whenever she made something for him. He felt like she was spoiling him.
In the third moon of his stay, Ser Samwell took him to the archery range. Targets were lined up opposite of them, with a few arrows stuck in them. Samwell took the liberty of removing the arrows out of the targets.
"Lord Yohn, why are we here?" Artys asked.
"Did you think knights only swing swords around?" Yohn retorted. Artys only shrugged in response. "Today, Samwell will train you in archery. It is just as important as using a blade." Artys nodded in understanding. Samwell handed Artys a bow, holding a quiver filled with arrows.
"Now, your task is to hit that target" he said, pointing to the target closest to them. Artys took an arrow and, with instructions from the master-at-arms, aimed his shot. However, he missed as his arrow flew past the target. Artys tried again, missing once more. After many shots, almost emptying the quiver, Samwell stopped him.
"My Lord, you are too tense" he stated. "You need to take a breath, relax and aim carefully."
"Aye" Artys nodded. Following Samwell`s advice, he took a deep breath
"Knock!" Samwell called out. Artys took aim once more. "Draw!" He pulled back on the arrow, focusing on the target. "Loose!" Artys let the arrow fly. This one hit the target, barley.
"Hm, he succeeded in the end" Yohn noted. Artys fell on his back with a pant.
"That was more exhausting than I expected" he stated. Samwell handed him a water skin. Artys took a drink from it before giving it back.
"Looks like archery is not your strong suit" he stated.
"If that is the case, just focus on fighting on and off horse-back" Yohn commanded.
"Aye, my Lord" Samwell nodded. Artys let out a sigh.
-Gates of the Moon-
A year had passed since Artys had been taken to Runestone. He had seen a large amount of improvement during that time. Even so, Yohn said that he was far from being worthy of becoming a Knight of the Vale. One of his biggest strengths they found was riding on horseback. Both Ser Samwell and Lord Yohn agreed that he was quite good for someone his age. Deciding to change things up, the three of them took a carriage to the Gates of the Moon, a castle that was at the base of Giant`s Lance, the mountain the Eyrie sat on. Artys was quite excited. He had simply passed through the castle on his way to Runestone. Now he would be able to see the castle fully.
As they arrived at the castle, Artys took note of the size of it. It was even larger than his home, the Eyrie. Artys followed Yohn and Samwell into the castle.
"Lord Artys, do you know the history of this castle?" Yohn asked.
"If I recall, it was the first seat of House Arryn" Artys replied.
"Aye, the Eyrie was built afterwards" Yohn stated. "Do you remember who had it built?"
"It was the fourth King of Mountain and Vale, though I cannot remember his name" Artys admitted.
"It was Rolan I Arryn" Yohn stated. Walking past the postern gate, they found a dense forest. A pair of servants were tending to some horses.
"Now, Lord Artys, we are going to do something different" Samwell stated. "You will ride this horse through that forest".
"What is the point of this?" Artys asked.
"For you to ride through obstacles" Yohn replied. "It is important for a knight to be able to ride under many circumstances."
"Oh, I see" Artys said, understanding a little more now. Samwell patted the horse closest to him.
"Now, you know what to do" he said. Artys nodded and walked over to him. With some help, he got on the horse. He then took off into the woods. Unbeknownst to him, Samwell was quietly following behind him on his own steed.
At first, Artys was riding slowly through the woods, carefully watching out for anything suspicious. However, this left him feeling rather bored. He then decided to speed up to make things more exciting. It did not take long for him to regret it. Riding too fast, he did not notice a branch that was lower than most. Once Artys noticed this, it was too late. The branch hit him in the chest, knocking him of his horse.
"Ow" he said through gritted teeth. He got up with some groaning, brushing himself off. He ran over to his horse. The brown steed had stopped to eat some grass. Artys patted it before getting himself on the horse once again. "I think I will turn back" he said to no one in particular. He then made his horse turn back and rode back the way he came. Samwell, watching out of the heir of the Vale`s view, smiled while following quietly.
-Eyrie-
Artys` stay with Lord Yohn Royce had ended. The boy was now ten years old. Alyssa, Jon and Maester Colemon were standing in the reception hall, waiting for Artys to arrive. The suspense could be felt in the air by anyone present. The doors swung open and Yohn Royce entered the hall. Artys walked behind him. Alyssa ran over to her brother.
"Artys!" she exclaimed before embracing him in a tight hug.
"G-Good to see you to Aly" Artys struggled to say through the hug. Jon joined the hug.
"You have grown" he told his son and heir with a smile.
"I guess I have" Artys rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"How was he to train, Lord Royce?" Jon asked.
"It was not a difficult task. Lord Artys behaved well, for the most part" Yohn replied.
"That is good to hear" Jon stated.
"I can assure you, my Lord, he will become a great knight one day" Yohn smiled. Jon nodded and Yohn left with his guards.
A/N: And there is the second chapter. I`m not sure if I got Yohn Royce and Samwell Stone`s characters right. Feel free to let me know if anything about them was off. Anyway, I`ve narrowed down the candidates for Artys and Alyssa. For Artys, I`ll pick either Ashara Dayne, Cersei Lannister or Catelyn Tully. For Alyssa, it will be either Jaime Lannister or Brandon Stark. These are the options you lovely folks have. Pick wisely.
One last thing, thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited. I really apprieciate it. The next chapter will be up soon. Have an awesome day.