the ballad of elissa swann (a.t.) (UNDER EDIT)

one

The little girl from Lys was only a few months shy of her third year, as Lady Susanna was able to glean from conversation with her. Her lysenni accent gave her speech a foreign lilt that sounded almost melodic, but her fluency in common tongue was impressive, even for a westerosi babe of her age. She was small for her age, however, and thin to the degree that it worried her new parents. It was evident that neither she nor her 'grandpapa' had eaten a decent meal in the time they had been traveling, and Lady Susanna hadn't the vaguest idea how long that may have been.

For the Lord and Lady of Stonehelm, to see the nursery - closed and barred since Orren's thirteenth name day, many years passed now - opened and unpacked once again was a bittersweet experience. It seemed that with every day, the little girl found new traces of Orren which had been lost to time - a parchment he practiced his letters on, his old toys, a wooden sword. When Elissa came upon a watercolor painting pressed in a book showing a young man with dark hair and darker eyes, she brought it to Lady Susanna in her solar.

"My lady," she asked in her melodic accent, standing sheepish in the doorway.

Lady Susanna, who was charmed by the young girl and glad to have a child in Stonehelm, however melancholic it made her feel, set aside her needlework. "Yes, little one? Come closer."

Elissa padded softly over, and placed the small parchment in her hands. "Who is this man?"

Lady Susanna studied it and felt the corners of her eyes begin to prick with tears. "Oh, oh my." She said softly. "Dear one, fetch my handkerchief from the table."

Elissa dutifully gave it to the older woman, still curious and anticipatory as she watched Lady Susanna dab at her eyes.

"That is my son, Ser Orren Swann." Susanna explained, her voice hoarse. "He has gone home to the Seven, my dear one."

"Like grandpapa?" Elissa asked.

Lady Susanna took the girl's hand in hers. "Yes." She paused for a moment, letting herself calm, and then asked "Elissa, did you ever meet your mama or papa?"

The girl thought and then shook her head, "No, I only know my grandpapa."

Lady Susanna considered the lie they had told the King, and handed the painting back to Elissa. "This is your papa. He died before you were born, dear one."

Elissa studied the image with renewed fascination, and Lady Susanna brushed a strand of hair back behind the girl's ear. "You have eyes the color of his."

Elissa looked up, and Lady Susanna smiled. "Just like him. Dark and rich, like the color of a mahogany table." The older woman pulled little Elissa into her lap and added, "And it means that I am your grandmother, and Lord Swann is your grandfather."

Elissa looked at her, wide eyed. "Truly?"

Lady Susanna pressed a kiss to her hair. "Truly. And we will take good care of you, dear one. Stonehelm will be your home, Elissa Swann."

Elissa gleamed at her grandmother. It twisted Susanna's heart - she really did have Orren's eyes.

Under the care of her grandparents, Elissa grew to be a strong, healthy, happy girl. Lady Susanna spared no expense in finding a bright and learned septa to teach her. Though apprehensive about taking her in at first, Ser Erik Swann presented her with her first horse for her twelfth name day. By that time, all memories Elissa had were of her life in Stonehelm. She knew her father to be Orren Swann, and her mother to be a nameless smallfolk woman. Any knowledge of her origins in Lys were buried in years of life at her grandparent's manor.

By her fifteenth name day, her grandfather wrote again to the king to settle once and for all the matter of Stonehelm's succession - and it was returned that Lady Elissa Swann would inherit the manor and lands upon her grandfather's death, and it would pass through her to any children she would have. It was not an unheard of decision in Westeros - after all, Princess Rhaenyra had been invested as princess of Dragonstone in absence of a prince being born. Even still, it caused some murmurs in the setting of the Stormlands. Her inheritance caused her to become a sought after marriage prospect in her teen years, but many were dissuaded when informed that they would not be her liege lord as her husband, but consort.

Every marriage proposal in Elissa's teen years was denied outright by her grandmother, who maintained Elissa would not be wed until she reached a majority. Her grandmother had not been quite her majority when wed, and though it was a love match, she privately suspected her early marriage contributed to her many lost babes later in life. With conviction, she would prevent Elissa from suffering the same fate.

When Elissa was seventeen years of age, her grandparents realized at last that she could no longer be contained inside Stonehelm. With the death of King Viserys, Lord Swann was summoned to King's Landing for the coronation of the new king, Aegon II. In his absence, a summons arrived to Stonehelm's lady - recalling her and her heiress to Storm's End, where Borros Baratheon was mustering his bannerman to a council.

"He wishes me to attend?" Elissa asked her grandmother across the dining table, confused.

"Indeed," Lady Susanna - gray but elegant in her advanced age - sighed. "He has asked for all heirs to be brought to Storm's End with their lieges - I imagine to prevent any house from acting alone without his blessing. It just so happens that you are the sole lady among them. I will attend in your grandfather's place, of course."

"Of course," Elissa agreed, taking a sip of her tea.

"Be advised, my dear one, Borros Baratheon may have a crop of daughters, but he is well known in his opinions on a woman's place. He opposed your appointment as heir of Stonehelm, you know." Her grandmother added.

"Truly?" Elissa asked, leaning back in her chair.

"Yes. Loathsome man, but don't tell anyone I said as much." Susanna dismissed.

Elissa grinned. Her grandmother was a dignified lady - but an opinionated one, to boot.

They arrived the next day in Storm's End - and to no surprise, Elissa was not encouraged to join the council. Her grandmother was admitted out of respect for Lord Swann, but it was clear the lords of the realm were not eager to do so.

Elissa, visibly snubbed, was not pleased. Her grandmother squeezed her should as she passed her. "Why not take a walk in the gardens? It is a beautiful day my dear - take advantage of it."

Lacking anything else to, Elissa heeded her. The gardens were admirable, showcasing the hardy roses and shrubs which grew freely in the stormlands, and she trailed slowly along the path carved throughout. She paused to smell a bloom, just as footsteps began to sound on the gravel path behind her.