Two days had gone by since the feast and it was Lilia's thirteenth name day. She had learnt that her father had been appointed as the new Hand of the King as a replacement to Jon Arryn. Well, appointed wasn't the right word as he had yet to accept the offer.
Her mother was absolutely thrilled especially because Sansa was now to be the next Queen. Lilia and Arya were not so pleased as it meant they they'd have to go South and in Lilia's case, it meant that sooner rather than later she'd be betrothed to someone else and the thought was quite frightening.
The Lannisters were still in there, wandering around their home. Lilia didn't like their presence, it made her feel hesitant and even threatened. She hated that feeling. So, in order not to be bothered, she would spend her time with Jon, of whom no one really cared about to begin with. That way she was able to run from the attention.
That morning, when Lilia woke up, she got dressed and headed towards the great hall to break her fast with her family. However, much to her disappointment, once she got there, she found a crowd looking at her as usual. The King stood up and his court did the same, then he walked towards her a little clumsily and hugged her, causing her ulterior discomfort.
"Happy name day!" he told her. The smell of alcohol was strong and left Lilia intoxicated and willing to throw up. How could the Queen stand to sleep next to him at night? And how did he find out that it was her name day? Surely, her father must have told him and that wasn't a good thing as now she'd be the focus of the day.
"Thank you, Your Grace" she replied with a smile as he separated from her. "Your presence makes it memorable"
"Drop the formalities, we're going to be family soon! Aren't we, Ned?" she froze at those words and looked at her father, quirking her brow in confusion. "Once your sister marries Joffrey, I'm going to make sure I find you a suitor worthy of your beauty! That son of mine doesn't deserve this kind of northern beauty by his side! Even if I gave it to him, he wouldn't know what to do with it!"
Lilia's cheeks burnt at his statement. Everybody had heard his words and all she wanted to do was crawl under the table like she used to when she was child and never leave. It was so embarrassing not just for her but for his son. Did the King not have any sort of consideration for him?
"I'm looking forward to that day, Your Grace" she responded politely. The one good thing was that Sansa was going to wed Joffrey and that meant that she would be free for some time.
"Happy name day, Lilia" the Queen wished her. Lilia was quick to curtesy.
"Thank you, Your Grace," she said and then looked at the two sweet children hiding behind their mother. "Is it my impression or am I seeing two little lions? Or are they stags? Hummm..."
"No," Tommen said as he giggled, peaking through his mother's skirts and leaving as the Queen bid him to. "Happy name day, Lady Lilia"
"Thank you, Prince Tommen" he smiled at her as she caressed his golden hair. Then, the Princess appeared as well, as beautiful as ever. "You look lovely today, Princess Myrcella"
"Thank you, Lady Lilia. Happy name day!"
The siblings shared looks and then hugged her. She couldn't hold back her smile as the sweetness of the children was quite endearing to her.
From the other entrance, Prince Joffrey walked inside with his sworn shield vainly. As he approached her, he took her hand in his and kissed the back of it, not looking away from her. Lilia stood there dumbfounded as the Prince flirtatiously kissed her for longer than it was appropriate. "Happy name day, Lady Lilia. Your sister told me you count three and ten name days today. It is my pleasure to be part of it"
Lilia regained her composure as quickly as she could, noticing the stares from the Queen and the King. "Thank you very much, Your Highness. I'm delighted that you and the rest of your family are part of this day" she replied politely, not allowing herself to be intimidated by the attention.
"Come on, my children. It is time that we let Lady Lilia spend some time with her family. We'll see her around and at the feast tonight" Cersei said, pushing Myrcella and Tommen. Joffrey only left when the King slapped his arm and even then, she could feel his gaze lingering on her. She did her best to ignore it as she didn't wish to feed ill-natured rumours or even betray her sister's trust. It wasn't her intention to steal away her place and she was sure that Sansa wouldn't doubt the rumours if she caught wind of them. Lilia would be as polite and kind as she should, showing the Prince the respect he was due but nothing more.
"Happy name day, my dear child!" her mother said as she walked inside the hall, hugging her. Despite all the conflicts, the different ideas and the interests that they both had, Lilia loved her mother very much. "You have turned into such a mature young girl!"
Lilia distrusted those words. Her mother would never shut up about how immature she was and how she should be more like Sansa. Still, it felt nice to hear those words even if they were lies.
"I owe it to you"
As much as she liked to deny it, she owed her mother everything. If she had given the Royal Family a good impression it was all for her mother's effort on making her a true Lady. On top of Lilia's worries was disappointing her parents, especially her mother, and it seemed that she did that a lot.
"My sweetest Lilia, I'm very proud of you. Happy name day," her father approached her and, that time around, she was the one to jump into his arms. She had always been closer to him as he allowed her to be who she was. She couldn't imagine her life without him, which was why the possibility of him leaving her in Winterfell broke her heart into a million pieces. Who would orientate her? Who would be the wise, old, friend? Despite having Robb and her siblings, she knew that her life would never be the same if he left for King's Landing, most especially if she was bound to leave with him. He'd be there but he'd too busy in matters of the King and she'd be left alone.
"I couldn't be happier for having you as my father" she whispered in his ear. "I wish I have a husband like you one day, I would be happy"
"I'm sure you will have a better one"
Lilia giggled although she was sure that those words were not intended as jokes. She trusted that he'd give her away to a worthy man but who could guarantee her that?
As they split from the hug, she watched as her siblings came inside the great hall. Robb was the first, being quick to put an arm around her. "Happy name day, little sister! Looks like you are turning into a woman!" he joked. "You just have to get into that stubborn head of yours that you should always be humble and obedient"
"You really like to mock my motto!" she sarcastically argued, punching him on the chest. It was a soft blow but being dramatic as ever, Robb took his hand to his wound and opened his mouth in fake shock. Lilia crossed her arms under her chest and lifted her eyebrow as he watched his act go down. "We should create a motto for you, dear brother... how about dramatic and boring? It definitely applies to you!"
"You are just so funny!" he commented sarcastically. "Come here, winter rose. I love you!"
"I love you too" they hugged for a second until Lilia felt three children hugging her legs and almost making her fall.
"HAPPY NAME DAY!" the three screamed at the top of their lungs. She was sure that Arya and Bran were the ones to have that idea. She kneeled in order to be the same height as them or, at least, close to it. "We love you very much!"
"Thank you, little beans!" she hugged them as Arya tried to free herself. She hated hugs, let alone, bear hugs. Rickon, on the other hand, enjoyed it a lot. He enjoyed feeling the love and that's why Lilia would strangle him with hugs all the time, to the point that he started to run from her. "Oh, you want to be free but almost making me fall is fine for you!"
"Of course, it's too much fun!" Arya teased. She had been grounded since she basically embarrassed Sansa in front of everybody at the feast by throwing food at her. It resulted in both Robb and Lilia leaving the feast sooner to handle the situation. Sansa, understandingly, was furious. Arya ruined her dress and her chances to make it good in the Capitol, so... the fight between them was not very pleasant.
"Even though I would love to keep talking to you, my stomach is flipping out of hunger so... can we please just eat and get it over with?" she asked and her family laughed. "Wait, we're missing on Jon and Sansa!"
"Jon said that he's not feeling well, so he is taking some rest for now" Robb informed her and she nodded. Obviously, that was as true as her feeling unwell when she was about to walk with Joffrey. Jon didn't like to be around her mother too much, as the woman constantly made him feel bad about himself, so he always did the best he could at keeping his distance. Nevertheless, she was going to see him after breakfast and spend some time with him. "And Sansa is over there"
Lilia's eyes went straight to the direction where Robb had pointed. There she was, carrying something which looked like a present. The redhead rushed to meet her family and hugged her sister.
"Happy name day! You look gorgeous in that gown! Have you made it yourself?" Sansa asked, to which Lilia nodded. "It looks really good, I love it!"
"Thank you! I finished it yesterday but you were too busy with Prince Joffrey" Sansa blushed slightly at her sister's accusations. She was infatuated with the boy's looks and his attitude. Lilia didn't understand what she saw in him. She agreed that the boy had gorgeous golden hair and beautiful eyes but his exterior wasn't able to make her forget about the rest. "Awn, Sansa is in love!"
"Shut up!" she commanded as her cheeks grew redder and redder. Lilia high-fived Arya, who was very amused at the situation as well. Embarrassing Sansa was one of Arya's many hobbies and she had a blast while doing so. Lilia would team up with her at times and when she did, it seemed that Arya enjoyed it even more. In conclusion, the only person who didn't have fun was Sansa as all the Stark siblings enjoyed it very much. "I don't know if you'll like it, but I've made you this" Sansa told her, hading her the package.
Lilia's curiosity was sharpened and she opened it straight away. As soon as she saw what it was, she almost cried.
"It's... beautiful" Lilia said. The words to describe it didn't come out of her mouth. Most people would think that Sansa had made her another gown but, this time, she had done something completely different. Sansa knew her mother wouldn't approve that present, but she knew that it was ideal for her sister. Instead of those ugly, tomboy, riding clothes, Sansa had sewn her beautiful, feminine, riding clothes. "Thank you so very much! I love it!"
"I'm happy that you liked it, I worked very hard to make it, especially since you were always around and I knew that if you saw it, you would figure it out immediately!" Lilia didn't let her sister finish, wrapping her arms around her as tight as she could. Sansa had many flaws but she was Lilia's best friend. There were times where Lilia wanted to hate her but she never could. She was the one who got along well with all siblings since Arya and Sansa were always fighting one another. Lilia was the one who always would stand in the middle and calm them down. She was the anchor that kept things steady.
"Get this to my chambers, I shall wear it as soon as I can!" Lilia told one of the handmaiden, who nodded and bowed when she left. Then, the family started to eat as they laughed and smiled together. Lilia knew that if her father went to King's Landing, she would never live moments like that again. Without him, nothing would be the same. They were the wolves, they were a pack, and without one wolf, the pack could never work in the same way as before.
Another chapter! It's amazing to me how I didn't know how to make chapters longer. It's also very hard for me to write this way but I must because that's Lilia's brand. She was a teenage girl who constantly thought about the same stuff over and over again.
I decided to edit a little of Joffrey. I think that Lilia was kinda Mary Sue-ish, distrusting Joffrey from the get go... and what for? I think it's more impacting to have her realize it later on.
Again, I hope you're doing well! See you next time!
XOXO,
-BW