LADY ALYSANNE TARGARYEN
- Prince Daemon and Lady Rhea Royce had a lacklustre marriage, only one time was the marriage consummated before he fled from Runestone but once was enough for the birth of a daughter.
Prince Daemon never claimed the daughte...
As the carriage rounded the rocks of the path to Runestone, I looked up to the castle. The castle itself was not one which was great or magnificent but it was home. It sat on the northern shore of the Peninsula not far from Gulltown. It was an ancient seat Runestone, one which used to be sat by the Bronze Kings from the older House Royce. The castle was grey and mossy, slightly bleak. If I was being honest I could see why Daemon found the place so bland after growing up in the Red Keep, but he did not know Runestone the way I did. When my mother passed this castle and its lands were to go to me however, as I was taken as ward by the Queen I would not be here to manage them thus the lands passed to my dear cousin Lord William Royce, he was a bronze boy also. A boy of seven and ten. He was a rugged boy of the Vale, the true blood of the previous Bronze Kings and he held Runestone better than I imagined I ever would have.
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Lord William and I got along well, he was a dear friend and cousin to me, one which I loved deeply. As I continued to look out the carriage window I saw him stood at the entrance way waiting for me in his bronze tunic and brown fur cloak. His hair was the same brunette as my own and his eyes were ones so dark you could mistake them as black. He has stubble and a moustache, his hair was shaved at the sides. Everything about him was harsh and rugged except his love for his family. When he saw the royal carriage his face lit up with a toothy grin, my own face wore the same one. I was home.
Lord William Royce
Lady Alysanne stepped from the royal carriage looking a bronze as ever. The smallfolk of Runestone took to calling her 'The Bronze Beauty' which was a much more flattering nickname than my aunt Rhea had been given. She wore the bronze and browns she always did when she returned from the Red Keep to her true home. Her dress was a simple one of brown silk with long balloon sleeves. Her jewellery however was Targaryen gold. The chain dragon head belt around her waist was one I could tell had been expensive, although knowing the love the Queen Alicent had for her I imagine it was given to her free of charge. Her hair was simplistic also, just a tight braided low bun with some golden rune pins stuck throughout it to keep it in place, she had a few front pieces out framing her face also. Even I knew that she had not got the beauty of the Vale but rather of old Valyria.
I held my arms out to my little cousin as she ran towards me before jumping into them. I squeezed her tightly and spun her round before I placed her down on the ground in front of me.
'Welcome home, Lady Alysanne' I bowed my head to her for my lands were rightfully hers, and when she came back that was how acted. When she came to Runestone we all followed her, I was merely her regent while she was away in Kings Landing.
Lady Alysanne
Holding my hands behind my back, I walked through the halls and corridors of my home. The feeling of being home was bittersweet for being here without my mother never felt right and now there was the added factor of missing Aegon. I had been travelling here for two days and that was already long enough, but I still had another two weeks to go without him. My eyes trailed the Royce banners which hung proudly from the ceilings. When I turned the corner I reached the room I had been coming for; my mothers. I pushed the heavy bronze door which was decorated with runes open. Sorrow bled through my bones as agony hit the void in my heart. The room was same as it was the day she was murdered, that was how I instructed it be left. The bed was one which was lived in, her weapons and armour was scattered around the room. It was my tradition that every first night I came home I would spend my first night asleep in here with the spirit of her and then I would not return back to this room for the remainder of my stay. The pain of it was too much. One day my mother would be avenged for the words of my house were 'we remember' and I would never forgive or forget the brutal end Daemon gave to her.
Tomorrow would start the three day hunt which we always went on, and that would on bring more pain in the memories of her for that was our favourite thing to do together.
-
Morning had broke and the hunt had begun. My horse was one of white, a beautiful animal. I rode alongside William on his deep brown horse. I loved horse riding however, since flying on the back of Sunfyre I realise now that it is no comparison to being a dragon rider. My bow and arrow were strapped to the saddle on my horse for it was the weapon I knew best. That was something Rhea made sure of, we spent hours teaching me how to shoot an arrow and I had become great at it. I often trained in the training yard of the Red Keep at night when it was quiet and no one was watching for Alicent would likely not take kind to me taking up the 'manly' art of archery.
As we rode on I grew to remember how uncomfortable armour was. I wore the famous bronze, the same style armour my mother used to wear on these hunts while my hair was braided down my back keeping it from being swept into my face by the winds. The scenery around was beautiful, the grassy hills of the Vale and it wildlife was something I missed while in the big city. The fresh air as well, oh that fresh air filled with no pollution or smell of shit. Gazing around in complacency, William broke our silence.
'I will race you too the woods, cousin' He gave a grin of mischief and he did not have to ask me twice. I have a gentle kick to the side of my horse which sent us off galloping quickly. I laughed as I heard the complaints of William behind but I was winning and that was all that mattered. We were galloping so quickly, I missed this. I missed racing on horse back as we went into the woods looking for deers to hunt. As I came into the woods my horse jumped over the fallen logs on the pathway. I looked behind to see where William was, he was close but I had won. He shook his head with a grin and I slowed my horse letting him catch up beside me.
'I forgot how well you rode, anne' My heart warmed at his nickname for me, it was what all my Royce family called me, it was what my mother had called me. It was a name so personal to me.
We continued to trot side by side with one another until I halted for there in the fresh mud was a hoof print. When William saw me stopped he did also questioning what I had seen, I nodded my head down to the ground where the hoof was. It was small, perhaps from a small deer or a large boar, until we found it I could not be sure but we were close by. We dismounted from our horses with eagerness, tying them up to a tree close by. I grabbed my bow as he grabbed his own and we set off beginning to follow the trails left behind by the prey we hunted.
Hours went by as we searched and searched, the sun was now just beginning to set while we traipsed through the thick woods. Just when I believed that all hope was lost through the thick greenery I saw an antler belonging to a deer. I grabbed William's arm to stop him from making anymore noise. I brought my brown gloved finger to my lips telling him to shush and nodded my head to the deer a couple metres in front of us. Slowly, we crept forward being as quiet as possible to get a better look at the animal. When we did I saw it was a young adult deer with light brown fur.
'This one is yours, anne' William whispered to me. I had found the animal therefore it was mine to bring down. This was the hardest part of hunting, I never liked having to look at an animal in the eye and take the life from it but my mother always said that it was part of life and that I had to be strong when doing it.
I took an arrow from behind my back and readied it in my bow. My breaths were deep as I aimed it at the skull of the deer. The only thing that ever helped me to loosed the arrow was thoughts of my father for that angered me, if I just pictured his smug wrinkled face on the deer I could do it. So that was what I did. My aim was perfect and the arrow went straight through the skull of the animal. It did not squeal but rather just fell to the floor.
'excellent shot, cousin' William said as he patted me on the back before we travelled to where the deer lay and began preparations to bring it back to our tents set up on the edges of the forrest.
We continued to hunt for another two days, in that time I managed to slay a boar and a couple of rabbits while William took the pride in slaying a deer as big of the three day excursion, it was only slightly bigger than my own however yet he still boasted like the teenage boy he was.
