"My lord it's your move." Rhena said politely from her side of the game board.
Tywin looked away from the open window which flooded the cheerfull sounds of King's Lanidng. A look of contentment sat on his face as the smell of salt and bread and cakes floated into the lord's sitting room and Rhena found herself at peace in the small moment.
"Ah I suppose it is my dear." He said, glancing down at the board. "I will have the Lannister dress sent to you within the week. We can begin your portrait and have it hung in the Hall of House before you arrive at Casterly Rock. For the rest of your stay here, I have assigned Lyanna Stark to your service as your head lady in waiting. I was hoping if you two become companions, there may be a way to bond the North and West in later betrothals or friendships." He sent a pointed look towards her and moved his head piece.
"I was actually thinking of just that last night, my lord." Rhena answered while countering his attack against hers. "Since Lyanna is betrothed to Robert Baratheon, house Lannister could gain two houses in friendship if I find Lyanna to be an agreeable soul." Tywin studied her with a sort of fondness.
"Are you sure you aren't my daughter, perhaps one of my aunts resurrected to haunt me?" Rhena raised an eyebrow in question and he shook his head. "You have my brain of steel, looks to make any woman jealous and any young man swoon. I'd say those are prominently Lannister traits." Rhena chuckled. "By the gods, you're Cersei without all of her sneering and schemes." Rhena gave a full laugh now and poured herself a glass of fruit punch. She enjoyed the taste of wine, but found the traitorous liquid to spill more secrets than a man under torture.
"Perhaps, but wouldn't you prefer me outside of your house to marry Jaime, than inside to marry say Rhaegar or Visarys?" She asked after taking a long sip. Tywin shrugged and picked up a playing piece, debating where to put it.
"With your looks, I would have still become the father of a princess. If you were mine, you would have snagged Rhaegar instantly, unlike Cersei who scared him away with her bitter attitude." He paused before placing his piece in the only open spot, and effectively winning the game. Rhena looked over the board in concentration, and realized that she had been digging a hole for herself from the very beginning. "She looks so much like Joanna." Tywin said, leaning back in his chair and returning his gaze to the window next to him. "Yet she has so much of me in her that every drop of her mother has been squeezed out. She has no kindness or compassion as Joanna did, nor does she have the patience that she'll need later in life."
Rhena watched him carefully. This man was coarse and rough, and had been beaten down by life. But he had thrived in the chaos and fighting against it had become his way. She aspired to be like him, cunning, smart, ambitious, but she wanted to be more than him. She wanted to be there for her children. She wanted enough light left in her that she could still see the good in things but the time she reached five and forty.
After a while, he snapped out of his wondering and looked to the princess in front of him. "I'm sure you have other things to attend to, the young Stark girl perhaps?" Rhena nodded and stood gracefully. "Make sure her allegiance is to the West before Storm's End. The Starks will become a vital key in the wars to come, I'm sure of it." Rhena curtsied and Tywin nodded his head.
"Don't worry," She said with a small smirk that told him that she would survive his house. "I won't fail."
Tywin would have smiled if he was a smiling man, and shook his head. "I've never doubted you my dear." Rhena grinned and retreated from his study, which was adorned with golden lions and red walls. A sight that will most likely become a familiar thing in her life. A color that will surround her till the end of her days.
Rhena traveled down the great stone hallways of the Red Keep, down to the guest quarters to begin her friendship with Lyanna Stark. Something she hoped would become real and not just an alliance with the North built on false courtesies and lies. The Starks were being held up in the Northern part of the Keep, a sort of tribute to their heritage she supposed. Her feet were clad in soft boots and she wore pants with a dress robe of black and golden trim. Rhena had heard that Lyanna was a fan of horseback riding, and she was happy that they would be able to bond over something.
When Rhena came to the large oak doors that lead to the Stark's rooms, she readied herself for a day and many to come with the wild Stark girl. She raised her hand and knocked three times, the sound echoing down the wide hallways and releasing out an open window. A breeze kicked in and ran cool fingers through the girl's waist long ringlets, softly blowing them around her shoulders and tickling her face. A man with a long face and soft grey eyes opened the door. At first, she thought he was Brandon who she had met the night before last at the ball. He had been kind to her and she found her with one friend in the North, though it was not the one who Tywin wanted. The man standing in the door was an exact replica of the man she had met last night, though he had a few more wrinkles, and his eyes held more depth than the free spirited northern man who she had laughed with the night before.
This had to be Rickard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, there was no one else who could have that face, and the uncanny resemblance to both Lyanna and Brandon was a sure sign. "My Lord Stark." She said dipping into a deep curtsy. The man, seeming to figure out who she was by her trademark silver hair and violet eyes, bent at the waist in a low bow, face grim and frowning.
"Princess." He said, voice a deep baritone that bounced around the stone walls. "For what do I owe the pleasure?" His eyes never faltered, he looked her straight in the eye and did not flinch back just because of her name.
"I met your son Brandon the night before last at the ball, lovely boy." She said with a sweet smile that seemingly did nothing to melt the ice in the lord's eyes. "I heard that my Lord Tywin had assigned Lady Lyanna as one of my ladies and I wanted to get to know her a bit, perhaps take her out riding. I've heard around court that she loves to ride horseback." A hint of a smirk passed the old wolf's eyes and he tilted his head.
"Aye." He said. "My Lyanna's better at riding and sword play than most of my men. I would tell her mother all the time that she should have been born a boy, she would have been the fiercest warrior." He sighed as if lost in memory.
"Father, don't speak of such things." A smooth voice behind Rickard said, holding a teasing note. "You know you wouldn't have been able to keep up with four sons." The face of Lyanna appeared from around the corner of their rooms and she kissed her father's cheek. "And who would take care of you? Certainly not any of my brothers." A genuine smile spread across Rickard's face as he watched his daughter, clearly proud of her sharp tongue. Lyanna turned to the princess and curtsied.
"Princess," She said with a bright smile. "I overheard you talking to my lord father, would you prefer bareback or saddle?" Lyanna grinned and Rhena grinned back. Oh yes, she would be enjoying this girl's company greatly.
"I love bareback but Jaime would have a fit, he thinks that I'll fall and hurt myself. As if I'd ever let myself do that. I'm sure you know someone like that Lady Stark. Growing up with brothers is never easy." she joked. Lyanna laughed and sent a pointed look to her father.
"I do know someone like that." She teased softly. Rickard smiled and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder.
"Go get dressed in your riding clothes, we don't want to keep the princess waiting do we?" Lyanna's eyes lit up and she linked arms with the southern girl.
"Come Princess, you must meet my other two brothers. I know you met Brandon already, but Eddard and Benjen have heard nothing but what my dear eldest brother can describe of you." Lyanna pulled the princess into their rooms, both with smiles and carefree laughs.
Rhena's eyes were bright with laughter as she stepped into the sitting room, grey and silver lined the walls and the color was so different from the brooding reds, golds and blacks that she had spent her whole life around. "Please, no more your highness's, or princess." Rhena insisted. "You're to be one of my ladies, and as such, I would want at least one friend in my company." Lyanna smiled.
"Well then you must call me Lyanna." The northerner implied. "Lady Stark was my mother and I can't bear to take the title for myself." Rhena nodded in understanding. Though it was a larger title, one that she never hoped to gain, Rhena couldn't imagine suddenly being called Queen if her parents and brother were to perish. Good thing the line of succession was strong and with Rhaegar's marriage to Elia Martell the next day, a son would surely follow, and she would never need fear the title of Your Majesty.
When they rounded the corner, Rhena saw not three men sitting around a table straight back'd and brooding as she expected, she saw three boys in the company of each other, sprawled out on the floor, laughing and joking about something or other. Rhena smiled warmly as she watched the brother's engage in what brothers should do, fun and games. Lyanna rolled her eyes and cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the three on the ground. Brandon was the first to stand, no doubt recognizing the princess from their brief dance the other night. He kicked the two on the ground who yelped and got to their feet, complaining all the way. Rhena had to bite back the giggle that was bubbling in her chest.
"Your Highness." Brandon said with a bow. This got the attention of the younger two who stopped their complaining and scrambled into a bow.
"Oh please, you don't need to Brandon." She insisted, righting his stance and placing a hand on his shoulder. No matter how many times she was addressed as royalty, she would never be comfortable with it, which was strange, because she had been branded with the name since before she opened her eyes for the first time. It was like when someone sang a jolly song for your birthday. All you can do is sit there and smile softly, trying to get out of the spotlight. The same went for her name. What was the point in naming royalty at all, if all they were called by was your highness, and majesty.
She moved down the line of Starks and came to the second boy. "You must be Benjen." She said with a smile.
"Yes My Lady." he said, eyes twinkling with mischief and kindness. An unruly pair, if she should say so herself.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Brandon was telling me of your archery skills just the other night. Mayhaps you could join me in the sparring grounds later this week and we can test those skills?" Benjen nodded and stepped back, next to his older brother.
"Eddard correct?" She asked the last boy. He did not bow like his older brother but instead stared straight into her eyes, as if trying to figure her out.
"We call him Ned." Lyanna said with a bright smile. "He's our baby." Ned's face flushed red and he pushed Lyanna's shoulder.
"I'm older than you, you hag." He protested lightly. Lyanna giggled and glided towards her room.
"I'll be back, Your High-Rhena." She said after getting pinned by a look from the princess. "These three knuckleheads can be your company for a few minutes." Rhena smiled and turned back to the three boys who were still in the same spots as she left them.
When Lyanna returned in the thinnest furs she had (her father had urged her to bring her thinnest clothes to the warm south) Rhena was sitting on a large cushion next to Eddard and laughing about something the boy had said. It did Rhena good to be with people who could relax with her. It's why she loved spending time with Jaime and Tyrion. They all but ignored their titles, Tyrion sometimes forgetting that they were even there, and they were able to just be friends and enjoy each other's company.
When Rhena caught sight of Lyanna's fur lined boots and jacket, she decided that it simply wouldn't do. "You'll burn yourself to death if you wear that on a horse." She chided lightly. Lyanna looked down to her outfit in slight embarrassment. "Come, I have an extra outfit that will suit your complexion perfectly. Lyanna started to protest, but was cut off by Rhena. "Please, I insist, I don't want you passing out on your horse." Lyanna nodded and smiled softly.
"Thank you for the offer." She said. "I suppose I must accept." Though her words were dreary, the lady of the north had a bright smile on her face, one, Rhena noted, that never seemed to vanish completely.
Hey everybody, finally got another chapter up! So sorry for the longer wait and thank you to everyone who's still reading this. Jaime and Rhena fluff coming in the next chapter! Stay tuned and stay safe!