Once you had allowed yourself to spend more time with your husband, you decided you didn't mind living in Highgarden so much. Willas often allowed you to come with him when he was working with the dogs and horses, though you were not so fond of the hawks he reared, preferring to watch them flying around from the windows of your chambers which overlooked the green hills where he trained them. And Oberyn had been right on two accounts, firstly Highgarden was strikingly beautiful, the gardens behind the house were full of blooming flowers of all colours and they always smelled beautiful and fresh, and the fields surrounding every other side of the building were always lush and green. And secondly, Willas was not as bad as you had once believed. In fact, he was kind and loving towards you, listening when you spoke and answering any questions you had for him.
It was another warm, sunny afternoon in High garden, the weather was always so perfect here with a slight breeze to keep the heat at bay, though it made it seem relatively cold compared to your old home. But you wouldn't be venturing outside this afternoon, Willas was out on the grass, one of his many hawks swooping around in the cloudless sky. Every now and then it would dive for a piece of raw meat which it would snatch from the hand which wasn't clasping his walking stick, Willas had told you once that they preferred rabbit's meat to deer, though he hadn't managed to work out why yet. You could see that he was smiling as he watched his pet flitting around, every once in a while glancing to see if you were still watching from the window you were standing at on the second floor.
Willas knew you always watched him with the birds of prey, you told him once that you were not a fan of the creature but enjoyed seeing the way they dipped and dived through the air, as if they were gracefully performing a dance fit for a king. He enjoyed the way you described things, noticing little things that no one else tended to notice. And seeing you watching him with his pets and finding happiness in it was something he felt a lot of pride over.
He had to admit that he was surprised when he first saw you standing watching the display, and he had been worried that you would think him stupid for his interest as many other women would have, but you didn't seem to be anything like other ladies. Of course, you were beautiful, as they were, but you were kind, and curious, and interesting. He found it enticing that you voiced your thoughts on the happenings of the war his sister's betrothed was waging against the North, often pointing out why an attack may have failed and suggesting alternative ways of winning the battle.
Once he was done with the hawks, he looked up at you and you gave him a small wave with a smile which he quickly returned before putting the animal back into its cage and watching as it got safely carried away by his steward before finally moving to come inside. You decided to go down and greet him at the bottom of the stairs, with the idea that you would go for tea together. His father was finally travelling back from King's Landing with Willas' grandmother and sister, and though it was a fleeting visit for Willas' name day you were excited to finally meet them.
As you reached the bottom of the stairs, you saw him striding through the door, pulling of his gloves and handing them to another steward to put away for him. He uttered a quick thank you before coming over to you. "I see you were enjoying the show," he started softly, giving you a sweet smile as you nodded enthusiastically at him.
"It was beautiful," you told him, placing a small kiss on his cheek as you linked your arm with his. "Have you heard news from your Fathers travelling party yet?" you asked with a smile, as you moved towards the room where your tea would be served, overlooking the gardens.
"They should be another few hours yet, definitely before dinner is served," he muttered as he pulled out a chair for you to sit in, helping to push it in for you with a smile. "I'm glad you are so excited to meet them, they are very important to me," he told you, leaning over to place a hand on your knee as he smiled at you, which you quickly returned.
"They are my family now, it would be good for me to get to know them in person. From your stories they seem so nice that I'm sure I will love them," you responded as your tea was poured and a tray of small cakes was placed on the table. "Thank you," you uttered to the serving woman who quickly nodded at you, an uneasy smile on her face at your genuine one.
"You will enjoy Grandmother's stories, she has so many from her youth," he told you as he sipped on his drink, holding the small china cup between both hands as he watched you pick at a small cake, leaving it hardly touched. "Is everything okay?" he asked and you simply shrugged in response.
"It's nothing, really," you murmured, watching as he gestured for you to continue. "What if they don't like me?" you finally asked him and he let out a small chuckle at your comment until you shot him a surprised look, your brows knitting together in confusion.
"Why wouldn't they like you? You're my wife," he told you and you rolled your eyes at him. "Y/N, they will love you, not only because I love you, but also because you are a strong, smart, funny woman. You're practically perfect," he told you leaning close to press his lips to yours gently. "You worry too much, sweetness," he told you as he pulled away and you let out a soft chuckle.
"I happen to think I worry the perfect amount," you told him with a smirk on your face and he laughed with you, until a cough interrupted you both, causing you to turn to face the person. Standing behind you was a plump older man, with white hair which surrounded his head and a matching fluffy beard.
"Father," Willas was on his feet in an instant, leaning heavily on his stick as he moved towards the man before you. "We weren't expecting you so soon, if we had known we would have waited for you to arrive before we started with tea," he continued and the old man smiled at him.
"Don't worry yourself, Willas," he chuckled, reaching out to shake his son's hand. "Now are you going to introduce me to your wife or will we have too do the honours ourselves?" he asked and Willas quickly came to your side as you stood up to greet his father.
"Yes, of course. Y/N, this is my Father, Lord Mace Tyrell; Father, this is Lady Y/N Tyrell," he spoke softly a smile coming to his face as you both said a quick greeting.
"It is lovely to meet you, Dear. We are sorry we couldn't attend the wedding but we have been busy in King's Landing" he told you as he moved around the table, "Can I sit?" he asked and you nodded as you sat opposite him.
"We understand, Of course. It was a small affair anyhow, there weren't many people to witness," you told him and he smiled at you as you began speaking again, "but I'm so glad to finally meet you, Willas has told me so many stories from when he was a child," you spoke and the man scoffed.
"Only good things I would hope," he laughed and you chuckled giving a quick nod. "You know, I'm sure I have some stories from when he was a child that he doesn't remember so thoroughly, that is if you would like to hear them," he told you again, his voice light and full of humour as you nodded enthusiastically again.
"Save your stories until we have all had the pleasure of meeting the girl, Mace," another voice spoke from behind you and you stood to greet them, "I'm Olenna, Willas' Grandmother, and this is his sister Margaery," she told you and you smiled.
"It is lovely to meet you, I'm Y/N," you greeted her before giving them each a small hug.
"Your cousin told us to send his love, he's visiting King's Landing at the moment," she told you before also moving to sit down.
"You know," Margaery started, "Oberyn told me you were pretty but he didn't do you any justice," she told you with a small smile and you smiled back at her saying a quick thank you as you both moved to sit down around the table. "Father, you should start with your stories before the tea gets cold," she spoke again and you grinned as you relaxed into the chair, placing your hand into Willas' and entwining your fingers with his happily.
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