Lady of the Vale

lovelyladylysa:

It was a while before Catelyn was able to rise from her bed, even for short periods, for the birth of twins had drained her far more than any previous birth…but these lived as Robb had done, and for that she would bear the exhaustion a thousand times over for their sake. Arya had the greater lungs than her brother, waking the whole castle with her cries some nights, while Bran was far more the quieter of the pair, but also far more the wriggler, and even when she lay in her bed and her son was in his cot, she could see his little legs fly into the air before coming to crash down once more upon his bedding. 

“Ned shall be here on the morrow; he has been journeying as quickly as he was able, but there were Wildlings on his path,” Catelyn explained the contents of the letter she had just been given as Lysa helped her from her bed. She felt as if she had been lay beneath those covers far longer than she truly had, and for a moment she feared she might have forgotten how to walk, but it was only that her muscles felt tense and weary from the birth. 

“Having travelled so far, they fought viciously to keep what they had gained, but Ned and his men triumphed, thank the Gods,” Catelyn smiled with relief at her sister, “I cannot wait for him to meet them, I doubt he shall contain his smiles well….“ But suddenly, at the thought of Ned’s return, Catelyn became aware that her hair was unbrushed, her shift unchanged and felt as if she were a maiden at the meeting of her first consort “How do I look, sister?” 

As the days passed, Lysa’s fear of the boy Catelyn had birthed only grew. She saw easily how the second child seemed a constant strain to her poor weakened sister. Her body was not as strong as Lysa’s and she truly believed that her sweet sister was not made for birthing babes. Or if she had once perhaps been then it had been frozen out of here in this wasteland. The girl was loud, but it was a sweet sound to hear. The boy. There was nothing she found sweet about the boy. But soon he would not be a concern and her sister might truly have a chance to recover.

“Wildlings?” Lysa exclaimed in feigned surprise, “How terrible! I thought those savages did not venture south of the wall, Cat..” She frowned and shook her head in concern, “I do not like to think of them roaming free in such relative close proximity to you, sweet sister. Are you sure Winterfell is quite safe?”

She nodded and refrained from rolling her eyes, “Yes thank the Gods for that,” She agreed and then smiled, “I am sure he will be most pleased with them, Cat.. For how could he not be?” She laughed and pulled her sister to her side as she helped her from the bed, “You look as if you have just birthed two babes, sweet sister.. But do not fear.. we shall have you looking your pretty self before your lord comes home,” She grasped her upper arms gently as she stood in front of her, “But you must promise me that you will rest often and do no overstrain yourself.. You are not yet recovered and you do not look well yet, Cat.”

there was hesitation as he stood in front of the door unsure if he wanted to go forward or not. elijah looked down at the piece of paper kate had scribbled down the address of where elizabeth lived, telling him to go and see her, to meet elizabeth so they could all know each other. kate seemed eager on the matter and how could he say no to his older not-sister? ( he rather liked that term, a term that kate had taught him in dealing with relations to others due to their past lives ). but now, he wanted to turn away for some reason. glancing over his shoulder – a habit he had picked up ever since that fateful night maggie had found him – elijah took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell.

a long pause greeted him, long enough for elijah to almost turn away before the door opened and he was greeted face-to-face with someone he could only assume was elizabeth.

“are you elizabeth?”

Elizabeth had only just finished typing up her notes for the evening when the unmistakable scent of something burning assailed her senses. She frowned for a moment, having no idea what it could be before cursing and rushing through to the kitchen. She grabbed a towel and opened the oven door, thick black smoke pouring out as she grabbed the smoking black lump on the tray and dumped it into the sink. She’d completely forgotten about the pizza she’d put in for dinner. But that didn’t stop her still wanting one. So when the doorbell rang only ten minutes after she’d placed an order she’d practically run to open it.

But when the door opened the man in front of her was not holding a pizza, “I am..” She glanced down at his empty hands with a little frown, “You’re not the pizza man.” She looked up at him, tilting her head to the side a little and finally giving him a little smile, “Sorry.. Do I know you?”

lovelyladylysa:

Kate wondered if any person being told to stay calm ever successfully did so, for despite Lizzie’s reassurances, she still felt as tense and worried as ever, though she forced herself to take deep cleansing breaths in order to settle her heart a little, and though it didn’t calm down entirely, the beeps from the monitor slowed down to a pace that was a little less frantic. 

Her heart rate went up once more however when she felt the incision; it wasn’t painful, nor did it shock her or make her feel as if she might bleed to death, in fact she wasn’t panicking at all about it….it was just the memories. Steel upon her hands, across both her hands, Valyrian Steel, sharper than anything, a dagger, pressed to her throat, but she held it back with both her hands, pushing it away with all her strength, the grip becoming slippy as her own blood flooded the blade and her palms…until she sank her teeth into the hand of her attacker and ground her teeth until she tore his flesh away. 

Even as she lay in the hospital seat, she swore she could taste the man’s blood in her mouth. A man from a thousand years ago. 

“It feels like I want to pull it out, like when you have something lodged in your throat…but it’s…in my chest,” Kate explained as Lizzie continued to work, but as she glanced at her not-sister, she saw the hesitation in her face. “What is it?” She asked, lifting her head a little in an effort to see for herself. 

There was a part of Elizabeth that wished she was here only as a family member that she might hold Kate’s hand and offer her calming words of reassurance, rather than the role she was currently playing. However she knew she would not have been able to content herself with only standing by to watch as someone else took a scalpel to her not-sister’s neck.

“I’ve had it described that way before.. Uncomfortable more than anything.. probably even more so than if it were lodged in your throat because at least then you have the pretence of swallowing in an effort to move said stuck object,” Lizzie smiled at her a little, though again it did not reach her eyes. She sighed and looked at Kate’s face for a moment before quickly using one hand to press some gauze to her neck, “I need you to lie still until we can get you sewn up again, sweetheart..” She bit her lip for a moment, working her hands quickly and carefully to get the sample she needed, looking back to Kate as she handed the sample to the nurse. Her eyes remained on her not-sister’s as she pressed the gauze to her skin again, “We need to wait for the results..” She lowered her voice and swallowed, “But it looks like I would expect for someone suffering from restrictive cardiomyopathy.. But.. But we need to wait for the results to know for sure,” She tried to sound hopeful, but all of Kate’s symptoms and previous tests.. and now this. She knew she didn’t need the results for they would only tell her what she already knew, “Let’s finish up here and we can talk, sweetheart.”

lovelyladylysa:

The grip upon her hand was almost painfully tight and Catelyn wondered if her sister was having one of her fits again. She never suffered such things when they were younger, but in later years, with each stillbirth and cot death, they had begun to developed, fitful moments which would go as quickly as they came, accompanied too often by unpredictable mood swings that made you feel as if the conversation were alike to walking a tight rope. Unpleasant and tense. 

“Lysa, Lysa– hush, darling, Lysa, listen to me…it can’t be Petyr, I promise you. The hand they identified was Petyr’s…even he cannot control all the police and certainly not beyond the grave,” Catelyn hurried to reassure her and wondered privately how it was her sister became so convinced of the dangerous madness which had taken their childhood friend in recent years, as for quite some time Lysa seemed so convinced that Catelyn had imagined the whole thing in a state of delirium, no matter the evidence thrown at her. 

“The murder of Walder Frey is some other matter, I’m sure, and your baby is as safe as ever, I promise”

If there was no so much riding on her reactions, Lysa would have laughed at the concern on her sister’s face. It only made her angrier.. It was all her fault. All of it.. If only she hadn’t been so cruel to Petyr.. accusing him of such terrible things that her poor sweet love was now forced into hiding.. So much so that she might never see him again.. That he might never lay eyes upon his only child. It was so unfair. So cruel.. She knew he would want her to make sure that Catelyn paid. Catelyn and the stupid little boy who for some reason had followed his mother’s trail of lies and had also accused Petyr of terrible things.

She shook her head, “How can you promise me that, Cat? Just because they identified the.. the hand as.. as being Petyr’s..” Her poor Petyr. How he must have been so terribly hurt. She wished with all her heart she could go to him and be a comfort.. But if that were ever to happen, she had to play her part here. Just as they had always planned, “It does not mean that he is dead.. He could be anywhere! How do you know he isn’t watching us every day?”

She covered her mouth for a moment, her breathing quickening, “How do you know? How do you know it is not related? He had his hand, Cat! He must know where he is.. What if he’s here? He will know it’s his child.. I can’t.. I can’t lose my baby.. I can’t lose another, Cat.. I can’t.. I wouldn’t survive it..” She shook her head again, “I know what everyone thinks.. I know everyone thinks it would be no loss because it is his.. And that no one thinks it will survive anyway.. But it is MY baby too, Cat.. I don’t want him to hurt it.”

lovelyladylysa:

Cruel though it was to think it, and selfish to indulge it, Catelyn could not believe that Lysa knew her true feelings on this matter. Lysa may have held a fondness for Jon Arryn, friendship may even have been harboured between them, but nothing in her letters or the few visits made between them over the years had revealed anything of deep love and affection between the Lord and Lady Arryn. And the Lysa she had found here, playing with men’s hearts and appeals, enjoying the wildness and proclaiming that ‘this time’ she would choose her own husband only strengthened Catelyn’s opinion on that matter. 

Lysa had not loved Jon as she had loved Ned, and could not know this grief, the grief which tore at her heart until it felt as it were mere tatters and shreds. And Gods, what of their children; she had lost her husband, the rock her life was built upon, but they had lost their Father…and her daughters were in the capital….had they been forced to watch? Had they bore witness to his execution? And her sweet little boys in Winterfell, receiving such terrible news by raven as she had and….Robb…Gods he was alone. She wanted to go to them all, she wanted to leave, she hated this place and she needed to be with her children…but the child inside her kept her bound to this ivory tower as much as her sister. 

The child inside her. The child which would never know their own Father. In three months, the babe would come into the world already half an orphan. 

“I would like to be alone,” Catelyn said quietly, “I would like to sleep”

Her poor sister, Lysa thought as she watched her. She was hollow and broken.. And had fallen so very hard from the pedestal she had seemed to place herself on. Even now she was not content to simply accept words and gestures of comfort. Believing herself to be in an agony known to no one else in the world, she could tell. For Lysa could see the disbelief in her sister’s eyes when she had spoke of her own loss. Of course she did not mean it, but for Cat to be the one to dismiss her feelings so readily as if she was the only one in the world to have ever lost someone close to her. Lysa had lost far more than Catelyn ever had. Perhaps the Gods now thought to even things between them a little starting with the ever so honorable Lord of Winterfell.

“Of course, sweet sister,” Lysa murmured as she pulled back the blankets that her sister might crawl beneath them, “Come..” She reached for her hand and helped her in to the bed, sitting for a moment on the edge as she brushed back the hair from her face and kissed her forehead, “I will leave you to sleep a while, but I will wake you in a few hours to eat,” She looked at her sister with a firm kindness, “I know you do not feel like it, but you must eat for the sake of the babe,” She kissed her forehead once again and brushed her hand over Catelyn’s belly, “I will be in the next room.. I promise I am never far should you have need of me, sweet Cat, you need only call.”

lovelyladylysa:

Genevieve had heard that the Eyrie was impenetrable, that it was the safest place you could find, but only safe against armies, against large numbers, small numbers were not so guarded against, small numbers, individuals, they could be sneaky and secret themselves. If Lysa was right, right in that the Lannisters had killed her husband wanted her dead also, would also want Genevieve dead, then what was to stop them sending one person, one hidden person…..nothing was impenetrable, Genevieve had learned, many years ago. 

She tried to smile, and thought perhaps she did so, “That is very kind of you. To think of me, to think of me in that way, very kind” She smiled again, managed it more easily this time…managed to make herself believe that Lysa Arryn was trying to be kind, that her actions, though brash, brutish, were kindly meant, to marry her, to supposedly make her happy, “Thank you. But I do not think it is likely…men, they always want younger, when they marry again, prettier” At least, she hoped that they would. 

There was a part of Lysa that felt sorry for Genevieve. If only for the fact that she seemed so certain that she might be able to talk her way out of her current situation. That she thought somehow if she talked enough of what she perceived to be sense to Lysa that she would be allowed to leave and go merrily on her way. In truth she was never going to permit it to happen. If Genevieve had indeed talked with Jon or even overheard conversations he may have been a part of.. It was a risk Lysa could not afford to take.

She laughed again, delight evident on her face, “Oh such nonsense! You are beautiful for a woman of your age and station, Genevieve and many a lower lord would see you as a prize! In fact there are several I can think of immediately and I shall be more than happy to pay a dowry for I know you have no one or no means to do it on your own!” She smiled and placed her hand on the woman’s cheek, patting it gently, “But we must see to it that their loyalties lie in the right place and that it is someone close that you may still remain as my companion!” She took her hand and then kissed her cheek, “You are a true friend.. And I intend to keep you close.” A friend must be kept close, and an enemy closer. Whichever Genevieve proved to be.. She would be close.

lovelyladylysa:

“what they decide is best for rickon isn’t really any of your business.” if lysa had her way, robb wouldn’t be surprised if she had rickon with robert at all times, always around the two of them. from the immense progress that his baby brother had already made, there was still more to go and robb didn’t want to see any of that undone. already his brother was making leaps and bounds further than what he had believed possible. after all, it wasn’t long ago when rickon had been shaking in his arms while they watched a movie because of nightmares.

robb was very aware that he could have the support from the others around them, have the support from different people besides just his parents. but allowing them to give the support was another question entirely. robb wasn’t just going to accept free handouts. he knew he needed to work for everything. “luckily eddie won’t really have to worry about that.” robb said just as eddie handed him another car before swapping it with a different one. “the state schools are just as good as the other ones.” robb shrugged as he felt his phone buzz. glancing down he could see it was his mum messaging him back.

it was quite difficult to stop himself from rolling his eyes but somehow robb had accomplished it. he didn’t believe that lysa was truly apologetic for some of the things she said but he also didn’t argue against it. instead, he simply nodded. “then i suppose it’s the time where we decide that world isn’t going to destroy us.”

Lysa looked at Robb sharply with a look of shock and hurt on her face though it was anger that truly seethed within her. How dare he speak to her in such a way when she was only expressing concern towards her nephew. Hadn’t she a right to do so when the little beast was making such terrible claims about the man she loved.. Just as Cat continued to insist upon it and just as Lysa had been forced to betray Petyr in such a terrible way if only to keep herself and her unborn child safe. She looked down, “I meant no offence Robb and I was only concerned. Cat is my sister and next to Robert there is no one I love more in this world.. When your own brothers and sisters have children perhaps you will understand how protective of them you can be. How concerned.. But as it is.. You are little more than a child yourself and have much still to learn.” Much to overcome. She thought perhaps he was even more childish than his younger brothers and sisters for the way he acted.

She would say no more on the schools. If Robb wanted his son harassed by the press then there was little she could do to stop it. Again his childish stubbornness would be paid for by someone else. She also said nothing of how rude he was to be constantly on his phone while she was speaking with him. Had Catelyn taught any of her children any manners at all, she wondered.

She looked at him with a wistful smile, “If only it were that easy.. It can be very hard to remain strong when it seems we are being attacked constantly from every direction.”

lovelyladylysa:

How was it that the Gods had taken so many children from her and yet would bless her with the successful birth of twins, where so many others had perished? What had fared so differently this time? She might have thought it the strength of the support of sisters side by side, if not that Lysa had suffered her first loss within these walls. It must have been a great strain upon her sister to remain in Winterfell, when it was the one place she had ever lost a child, but she had stayed to support Catelyn in her own hour of need, and for that she was eternally grateful, most especially in Ned’s delayed absence. Gods, she prayed he would be able to continue his journey soon; what delights would greet him here. 

The babes shifted in her arms a little, their tiny limbs moving beneath the lose swaddling, and they seemed to be searching for something, maybe to nurse, maybe they were already wanting to nurse, and Catelyn turned to Maester Luwin curiously, silently asking the question of him. “All babes are different, my lady, but if they already hunger, they will latch on quickly enough”

Catelyn unlaced the top of her shift and struggled a moment to find a suitable way to place and balance the babes, for never had she nursed more than one child, but they settled quickly enough, and though both searched for her breast, it was Arya who latched first, suckling greedily, while her brother took a moment more.

“We should send for Robb and for Jon,” Catelyn said to Lysa, “They should see them…do you not think?”

Lysa watched her sister settle the babes at her breast and encourage them to latch on. For a moment it caused her chest to constrict and she was certain her own breasts felt heavier in that moment, though she knew it could not be so. Her body ached to nourish her own child and hold him in her arms as Catelyn was doing now and it took her a moment to remember to breathe.

She smiled and kissed her sister’s head, “I think they should and I shall go get them for you if you only promise me that after a short time they will leave and you will get the rest you so need, my sweet sister.” She laughed and turned her attention back to the babes, reaching forward to gently touch the back of Arya’s head, “She is a greedy little thing.. I think you shall have no fear of her not having a healthy appetite, Cat!” She watched the boy then. Seeing how he took longer and as she looked at him closely it made her feel uncomfortable. There was almost something calculating about his gaze, though she knew he was but only a few minutes in this world. She smiled at him just the same and touched his head lightly as she stood from the bed, kissing Cat’s head once more, “I shall go fetch the boys.”

She nodded her head as she passed the old Maester, closing the door behind her as she left her sister’s chambers and leaning against it for a moment. She closed her eyes, trying not to think of her own sweet boy. Now was not the time. She promptly found the boys outside and called them over, “Come!” She smiled at them both when they ran to her, though it pained her in the case of the bastard, “There are two new little Starks who wish to meet you both!”

lovelyladylysa:

Lizzie was trying to explain things clearly and gently, Kate knew, but it did not nothing to relieve the tension or nerves she felt pulsing through her body, making her faulty heart beat heavy and fast in her chest. It all sounded as frightening as the potential diagnosis…..suddenly she felt very medieval in her thought patterns. She remembered when there was no such thing as IVs and biopsies and MRIs, when the world was far simpler in it’s diagnosis. Would Maester Luwin have known a traditional, simpler way to deal with her affliction? Would they have found an answer in ancient knowledge, somewhere in his tower of books, that had long since been lost with the centuries that had passed. 

Reluctant and wary as she was, Kate lay back upon the bed, but kept silent, not trusting her own words, uncertain whether it would be Catelyn or Kate who would speak, for in her dread, Winterfell was becoming so much clearer, and the hospital room fading away, as if the past could give her a comfort that the present could not. 

“Just please, do it. If we have to do it, just do it,” She said simply. Hesitating would not serve any of them, and her fear would not lessen with waiting. 

Lizzie nodded and squeezed Kate’s hand gently before starting to hook her up to the heart monitor. She didn’t need the rapid beeps that started almost immediately to tell her that her sister’s heart was beating almost wildly. She placed her hand on Kate’s shoulder for a moment and adjusted some settings, waiting until she knew the anaesthetic had taken effect, “Try to stay calm for me, Kate,” She murmured as she gave her another small smile, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

She turned away to reach for the scalpel, keeping it low so that Kate wouldn’t have to look at it if she didn’t want to, “You might feel some pressure as I make the incision ,” She said quietly and pressed the blade to her sister’s skin, keeping her hands steady as she cut, “Just tell me if you need me to stop at any time.” She waited until the nurse stepped in, holding a surgical cloth to the wound, before she turned and placed the scalpel back on the tray. She began to gently thread the plastic sheath through the open blood vessel, “You’re doing great,” She said quietly, not taking her eyes away from the monitor showing her progress and only when she eventually saw the heart tissue on screen did she stop. She fed the catheter through the tubing slowly, “This will feel uncomfortable, but it’s completely normal,” She said as she started to manipulate the bioptome to gather the tissue from the right ventricle. Her own heart sank as she felt the undeniable resistance. Even without knowing the results, she could feel that the tissue of Kate’s heart was hardened, “We’re almost finished, sweetheart.”

lovelyladylysa:

As Catelyn was taken to her chambers, her loud, animalistic sobs turned to something silent with an eerie stillness, her sobs silently caught in the back of her throat, her eyes glazed over with tears that no longer fell, but seemed trapped within her like an internal waterfall. Ned was dead. Ned was gone. She could not believe it. She could not believe that she would never look upon his face again, never look into those eyes, that he would never smile at her, nor whisper things in her ear as they lay together in their chambers, she would never hear his heartbeat thudding in her ear, nor feel his strong, warm arms about her. He was gone from this world, and it was a greater pain that she felt she could survive

They have killed me too, Catelyn realised as she sat numbly upon the edge of the bed, when they took his head they killed me too. 

“I cannot fathom a world without Ned in it,” She said hollowly, as if lost to this world herself, even the babe she carried seemed to still, his movements no longer robust, as if it too felt the loss of it’s Father “It is almost as if the colour has gone from everything, only grey and darkness remain….”

Lysa held her sister close to her as she led her back to her chambers. Poor Cat was in a terrible state of shock. She was no longer crying aloud but Lysa thought perhaps it was because there was nothing left for her to cry. Her sister seemed almost empty. As if hearing that her husband was dead had striped her of her very own soul. She knew not what to say to her as she sat on the edge of the bed, she only looked down at her, her hand gently on her sister’s shoulder. It was as though she no longer knew what was expected of her or what she was even doing.

“You need to rest,” She whispered as she sighed and kneeled down in front of her sister and began to untie the laces of her boots. She paused and looked up at Cat’s face and she reached up to touch her face gently, “The color has gone and your food may taste of ash for you shall feel that nothing holds the same importance as it once did without him here by your side,” She took her hand and kissed it before turning back to finish unlacing the boots, “I loved my husband, Cat.. And that is how I felt when he was taken from me.. But I do not pretend that I was as in love with him as you are with your Ned.. and I cannot imagine how much worse this must be for you, my sweet sister.” When she finished unlacing the boots, she carefully took them off before sitting beside Cat on the bed and taking her hand, “But it is not only grey and darkness that remain.. For you carry a part of Ned inside you even now and you must keep going for Ned and the babe, Cat.. And I will be here for you, I promise I shall not let you bear this alone, sweetling.”

lovelyladylysa:

“Well, you had me worried, Robb said you were on the doorstep and you wished to speak to no one but me,” Catelyn returned the kiss upon the cheek, before guiding her sister back to the couch where she could sit once more. “What is it? What’s wrong?” She wasn’t surprised Brynden had insisted on taking Robert out for a while, if this was the state Lysa was working herself into. The previous night’s events had been terrible enough, but they couldn’t fall apart from it; none of them could afford that. Lysa has never been as strong as you, Cat, their Uncle had once said in confidence, and she did wonder now if it were true. 

“Petyr?” Catelyn’s eyes widened and she coughed in shock, “How can know? Do you mean Walder’s death? Or the hand and ear?”

“I’m sorry..” Lysa shook her head and looked down again for a moment, “I didn’t mean to worry you, I’m sorry,” She thought perhaps that Robb had been exaggerating in his eagerness to leave her and must have been very insistent that Cat come home and relieve him of the burden of having to speak to his aunt. She let her sister lead her back to the couch and sat down, and reached for her sister’s hand, “What’s wrong?” She frowned and shook her head, “Cat.. Last night.. What do you mean what’s wrong?”

She nodded and gripped her sister’s hand almost desperately, “All of it! Can’t you see, Cat? It’s no coincidence that the police identified the hand found in the river as Petyr’s all those weeks ago and now suddenly Walder Frey was going to make some huge announcement?” She shook her head and looked at Cat with terrified eyes, something she had been sure to perfect. She had to make Catelyn believe she was scared of her poor sweet love, “Petyr’s come back! He’s come back from wherever he was hiding and he’s the one who killed him and he’s going to come after me, Cat, I know it! What if he knows I told you? He told me he would make me pay if I ever told! What if he takes my baby, Cat!”

lovelyladylysa:

The laugh was shrill, shrill and disturbing. Cersei Lannister laughed, she had that little sly laugh when she thought she had some joke, some joke that no one else was privy to, that only she found funny, but this was worse….

Genevieve forced herself to nod, to nod and to smile, that genuine smile she had learned that no longer seemed false to anyone, so often had she done it, so often that it now felt natural, as if it were real even to her. “Of course,” She said, and wished for her sons, wished for her sons and for the husband she had lost so many years ago, too many years. 

“No place is ever entirely safe,” Lady Reyne insisted, “Even the Eyrie will have–” She stopped at Lysa’s outburst, her grey eyes wide with bewilderment, with bewilderment and shock, “A match? No, I am too old, too old for children,” In her early 50s, she was barely younger than Tywin Lannister, her child bearing days were long gone…but widowed men often wanted wives to raise their Motherless children, women who would not bear children themselves, not bear them and push the others side. 

“Good!” Lysa smiled and patted Genevieve’s hand, “I am glad we understand one another..” She thought perhaps the woman was at least beginning to understand. That she was beginning to see that whatever happened to her now was no longer in her control. Lysa would make sure that her mouth remained firmly shut when it came to speaking vile and malicious lies when it came to her sweet son. She would not allow any of the nonsense put forward by Jon to be discussed by this woman only for people to get ideas and try to take her sweet boy away from her. She would die before she let that happen. She would see she and Genevieve both dead before she let someone take her boy’s birth right from him.

“Oh but the Eyrie is! For the right people, the Eyrie is the safest place you could imagine!” She laughed and held Genevieve’s hands, her eyes dancing with excitement the longer she thought on the idea, “What nonsense! You could make a man of the Vale very happy! You might even have step-children and I have heard of women older than you bearing a child, Genevieve!”

lovelyladylysa:

there were points that robb knew not to argue with lysa about and he had a feeling this was one of them. she didn’t seem to understand that he wasn’t just going to accept all that money and help from his parents. sometimes he wondered if lysa was truly all there or if she was stuck in her own little world where everything was perfect and made sense. somehow he doubted that she truly understand but then again, somehow he doubted he would ever truly understand the situation she was in with her son either.

“i don’t blame you,” robb had to admit as he looked at eddie who continued to smash the two cars together. even robb knew, from the moment he had first held eddie, that he would do anything for him. but holding robert out of school… surely she didn’t think that could actually help him? at her apology, robb looked back at lysa with a slight frown on his face. “rickon’s been through a lot.” that robb would agree on. robb would agree that his brother wasn’t exactly the same but he also knew that rickon was there, despite whatever lysa believed.

“we all have the support of our family.” robb pointed out as if she had forgotten that they all were supportive of one another. truly she did not think they could easily lose their support for one another? even earlier in the year when robb wasn’t talking to catelyn after she’d been arrested, he’d still been there. even now, as the thoughts were forming, boiling because of lysa, robb would support his mum.

“i couldn’t do that,” robb immediately replied. while he and jeyne had money, they weren’t poor but they weren’t as well off as the others either. and robb was perfectly fine with that. eventually, once they hopefully had everything back and robb would sit where his father sat, it would be okay. “plus, not all the private schools are better than any of the public ones. i don’t really care where he goes as long as eddie has a good education.”

Lysa studied her nephew closely for a moment. Despite what he said, she knew he didn’t understand. The boy had too much of his father in him and as far as she was concerned any amount of Ned Stark in someone was too much. She nodded, “And whatever his kidnapper put him through will probably stay with him for life.” She refused to use Petyr’s name. She still didn’t believe it to be true. Not her sweet Petyr. It was all some terrible misunderstanding.. She knew Rickon was mistaken and she was determined to get to the bottom of it, “I’m surprised your mother and father aren’t having him see someone.” And perhaps a psychiatrist might knock some of the savageness out of him.

“Of course we do,” She agreed with a smile, “But I only want you to know that family doesn’t stop with your parents, Robb. You all have me, Brynden.. even Edmure, though he seems more a child himself sometimes, he is as willing to support you as anyone.” She shook her head and held up her hands, “I don’t mean to offend you.. I’m sure some of the public schools are just as good..” She sighed and gave him a kind smile, “It can just be that they are less equipped to deal with what is sometimes needed with children in our circles.. The press for one thing.”

The press was always such a concern sometimes second only to safety. With some of the things printed about their families it was not unusual for some vile children to mock and bully little Robert and it took so little for the stress to build up for him.. and though she hated to admit it, every time he had one of those terrible seizures he was weakened by it for a long time.

“I’m sorry..” She looked at her nephew, “I do not mean to speak out of turn.. I think it is born of a desperation to do something when the world seems to determined to destroy us all.”

lovelyladylysa:

There was a babe in her belly who would never know it’s Father, and Ned would never look upon their child’s face. Their sixth child. Mayhaps a boy with the hair and eyes of a Stark, their last little one before she became too old to bear children..they had both been hopeful for it. When there had been so much strain with Arya’s birth, and she had fallen pregnant Bran so soon after, still nursing Arya at her breast, she had struggled to conceive after that. Maester Luwin had said it was the strain, that the body could become tired, but there was still a chance of more children in time. It had been almost four years when Catelyn had begun to believe herself barren after Bran’s birth, but then she had fallen pregnant with Rickon, their wild, determined, little babe. And now a sixth as well…they were to be happy, to live their days into old age with children and grandchildren alike. 

She should never have sent him south. He had known his place was in Winterfell, but she had not listened…why did she send him south? No Stark sent south had ever returned, so why had she believed her husband would be any different. Oh Gods, Ned…….

“Gods, I cannot breathe,” Catelyn wept, her sobs loud and shaking, and the babe in her belly turned and rolled as if it were weeping too, “How could they…Ned was a good man, and so loyal to Robert, how could they ever think him a traitor, how could they…..Oh Gods, Ned, my sweet Ned…” The tears flowed freely with reckless abandon and Catelyn had not the strength to stop them. 

Though there were still tears that fell from Lysa’s eyes, for a brief moment she could not help the small smile that crept across her face when her sister was held to her breast and could not see it. Her sister did not deserve such a cruel blow.. But Ned Stark was a foolish man who had rushed to his own death. She had done all in her power to keep her sister’s family safe by sending that letter warning her about the Lannisters. But Cat had failed to do her duty to her family and now her husband had paid the price with his life.

She guided her sister over to sit on the old wooden bench that stood to the side, keeping her arms about her and holding her securely to her, “You can breathe, my sweet sister.. You can breathe..” She soothed her as she rocked her a little, kissing her head and rubbing her back gently, “There is no reason to what the Lannisters have done and there is no justification for it, Cat..” She shook her head, “I am so sorry, sweetling.. I am so sorry for your loss.. It is a feeling I know too well and would do anything in this world to spare you from.”

She slipped to the floor to kneel before her sister, taking her hands and looking up to her, her face so close their foreheads were almost touching, “Come, we must get you down from here and to your chambers.. The winds grow stronger and the air colder. I promise I shall not leave you, Cat..”

lovelyladylysa:

robb gave lysa a side glance before eddie came back over with his toy cars, asking to play with him. unable to say no, robb took one of the cars and played the simple game that eddie loved to play – running the cars into each other. it brought amusement to his son and he wasn’t going to tell him to stop. there was no harm in the game. “it’s different, lysa.” robb replied after a moment. “i have eddie, jeyne and i are married now. it’s not like i can just jump back in. i have my own family to take care of now.” nor would his pride allow his parents to help in more ways than they were now. surely lysa could understand pride.

he immediately regretted the words that came from his mouth, robb watching lysa as she all but spat at him. “keeping him in school might help him too.” robb countered knowing that robb would much rather be busy, forgetting about what happened. it would be easier, he knew that much. but he didn’t know if lysa would ever think about that, distracting robert would be much better than letting him dwell on the fact.

the little ridicules from his aunt were getting on his nerves. it wasn’t like she knew them any better. she stayed away from them. he never saw her, she didn’t know their family and yet she was talking as if she did. robb had to keep his thoughts in check, making sure he didn’t over say something or push too far. no, he needed to make sure he kept everything civil. it seemed eddie sensed his tension, or maybe it was the fact that he had stopped playing, for he felt a small hand tapping him on the leg. but lysa’s words caused him to pause for a moment, looking at eddie and then looking back up at lysa understanding what she meant. “right…”

“no? he just turned three not long ago. he still has a few years until he can go. plus, it’s not like we can afford any of the schools we went to.” robb shrugged as if it didn’t bother him because it didn’t. he just wanted eddie to receive a good education.

Lysa did not miss the look Robb gave her, “If that’s how you want to play it.. Just so long as you don’t forget that you have family around you who want to help. Your mother for one would be devastated to know that you felt you couldn’t go to her.. And your father.. well.. I’m sure he wants to know you’re okay as well.” Though the man was not likely to show it. How her sister had come to love a man as cold hearted and grim as Ned Stark she would never understand.

She shook her head and frowned, “I pray you never go through with Eddie what I have with Robert.. If you had you might understand better the agony of watching a child so ill and not being able to do anything to help.. If I can help him now then I will do everything in my power to do so.” She sighed, “I am sorry I snapped.. It is just I worry about him so..” She looked at him with curiosity then, “Just as I’m sure your mother does with Rickon.. He used to be such a happy and robust little boy.. But now it’s almost as though he’s afraid of his own shadow.” She thought that perhaps it was no bad thing. He had always been so dreadfully cruel to her sweet Robert.. And the lies he had told about her darling Petyr.

She gave him a tense smile, “Poor Cat.. But at the very least she has the support of her family around her,” A family who she doubted knew the truth at all. A family she suspected her sister was still lying to.

“Education is not the place to be making cut backs.. It’s important for him to have his name down at the right schools. It’s not only his education at stake here but his future reputation too. I will give you the money myself if need be..” She gave her nephew what could almost be described as a kind smile, “Our children’s futures are everything.. They come before all.. Even pride, Robb.”

lovelyladylysa: 

The boy was well past nursing age, Genevieve knew, grown past the time to suck at his Mother’s breast, but the noise had plagued her in the night, and it had been almost nightmarish, almost grotesque. The Mother seemed to take pleasure in it, as if the dependency fed her too, Genevieve had never known it, but knew better than to say, knew better than to comment on it, to mention it. 

Genevieve broke her fast with only bread and soft butter; the bread had staled a little with their travel but was still good to taste, and the chewing allowed her to keep her silence longer, to avoid conversation, avoid awkward questions. But still she flinched, despite her best efforts, despite her control, when Lysa reached across, reached over and patted her hand. 

“The Eyrie?” She was not certain she wanted the Eyrie, so high, so without escape, another prison, like the capital, only different walls. different people. “You are very kind, generous, to offer that, to offer me help….but would your son not be safer if we went separately? If I did not follow? So the Lannisters…that they will not think you helped me?”

Lysa laughed a loud and shrill laugh when Genevieve flinched at her touch, the fear she saw there only making her more determined and she gripped the woman’s hand, “Dear Genevieve you need not be afraid here.. There is no touch that shall hurt you. My household know that you are now my.. special friend.. and not one of them would dare lay a hand on you.. And you trust me, I know this to be true, yes?”

She laughed again but this time a quieter sound, “Of course the Eyrie.. Where else should we go? No one can reach us there.. No one can touch us.” She smiled, an air of confidence about her that seemed to be growing the closer they got to the Vale. “The Lannisters will already know that I have helped you.. The queen is not a stupid woman.. The only course of action now is for us all to remain together.. And only think of the freedoms you might one day experience.. When all this tension is done with..” She gasped and stood, pulling Genevieve to her feet, “You are not an old woman.. I might find a suitable match for you that you shall once again enjoy a family of your own!”

lovelyladylysa:

“A limp is better than not walking at all,” Kate said, as she picked at her fingers and bit her lip, worry lined in every small action she made. “Just as long as he’s okay…that’s all I care about” It had been all Catelyn had cared about too; not a single scar or wound could have turned her from Ned, so long as he was alive. At least most of the history books got that right; they were often described as a dedicated couple, and historians theorised their loving sentiments based on documents and writings and scraps of history they had found. Micha had found a historical romance novel based on them and had a made a mockery of it not two days past; Kate still hadn’t even glanced at the first page. 

“I keep thinking if I hadn’t delayed him, if we hadn’t been talking so long, if Ellie hadn’t been distracting us…then he wouldn’t have been a few minutes late…and he might have been caught in the heart of the blast…” Killed. Dead. All for a few minutes. “Or if we had delayed him longer, he might not have been there at all….” 

“Much better,” Lizzie agreed and placed an arm around Kate’s shoulders, trying to offer her a little comfort, “We’ll get him fixed up and patched up and he can limp out of here with you and Ellie and the two of you can get on with your lives and try..” She shook her head and sighed a bit, “Try to put as much of this behind you as you can.” She rubbed her not-sister’s shoulder gently, “I know it’s never going to go away completely.. Not until this mess is all somehow sorted out.. But you are strong together and you will get through this for yourselves and that beautiful little girl.”

She shook her head, frowning and holding Kate a little closer, “No, sweetheart, you mustn’t think like that at all.. Perhaps you were supposed to delay him just enough to prevent things from being any worse.. But you cannot blame yourself for him being hurt. None of this was your fault,” She kissed the top of her head, “You’re not to blame and you can’t stress yourself by thinking that way in your condition.. I know it’s hard, but Ned is going to be okay and we need you to be okay as well.”