Written In Starlight - Arthur Dayne

CHAPTER EIGHT

Dearest Ned, 

     I am unsure when this letter will reach you as delivery on the road is notoriously unreliable. I have little trust for the Maester's apprentice who handles the birds. Ravens come and go, and yet I do not know when or if they will ever reach their destination. Still, I pray this will find you healthy and hale and at home for the first time in many moons. 

     There is something humorous in your journey ending only for mine to begin; it seems we are cursed to never be near each other, forced only to communicate through the quill and ink. While I do enjoy our back and forth, nothing comes near to a troll in the Godswood with my dearest friend. I realize now that it may be some time before we are able to meet in person unless you plan to make a trip south or my sojourn with Princess Elia ends sourly. 

     With trepidatious excitement, I look toward my arrival in King's Landing, though I would never admit my fear to anyone but you, my closest confidant. Perhaps it is the unknown which keeps me anxiously awaiting the sight of the grand stone edifice or that which is known, the madness of our King and the cesspit that is the Red Keep. Is it foolish to be filled with both fear and elation at the prospect? Gossip reaches the North slowly and seldomly in one piece, but still, I am able to piece some of it together. I have only heard pleasant whispers about the Princess, though I may be biased as we share Dornish blood. But I can't find it in myself to think little of someone who reached so far outside their realm to find women to inhabit her court. Part of me thinks it was little more than a ploy to appease the Northern Lords, but why would she pick me of all people? 

     There are many more noble ladies to choose from, all of higher status than me; even Lyanna would have been a politically wiser choice. Although she is young, the thought of wild Lynna amongst the prim and proper ladies of the South makes me smile with riotous humor. I love Lyanna dearly and hold her as a sister of my heart, but we both know she has little patience for court and southern attitudes. It is not an insult to her, only an observation that she is a direwolf through and through. 

     Perhaps that is why Princess Elia picked me. I am not truly Northern, not in the way most ladies are. 

     I am just as Allyrion as I am Fernwood, and I am proud of my blood. It is that heritage that might have drawn the Princess to me. Although I do not, and may never truly know what it is that made me a viable option, I will be forever grateful for her decision. 

     My father often says that my mother's blood runs strong in me, and it makes me horribly ambitious. A trait I know makes you and your Northern sensibilities balk in protest, do not deny it, sweet Eddard. It only makes me more right. 

     As long as I have memory, I have understood the need to rise imbued in my spirit, not just as a Lady of a noble house, but as a woman in our world. There is no need to fear, friend, I have no interest in a crown or a crown prince, but I am of the belief that the North's isolation does little to aid us. 

     Yes, our independence is important, but we must not let out pride be that which cuts us at our knees, robbing us of opportunity. If we are not careful and proactive, we will hang ourselves. Though we may not be in complete agreement, our hearts both hold our people first, as well as the fate of the North.

     I realize that my opinion matters very little, and I only say this to you because I know you will humor me and my many ideas, as outlandish as they may seem. Thank you for that, old friend; it means more to me than you know. 

     But for all our fears, neither of us will play much of a role in the future of our vast land. Our brothers will rule and carry on the names we were blessed with, they are the future of our home, and that is a fact we must accept. Thankfully, we were born with duty in our blood, as is the way of the North. We are second sons and daughters, set to inherit nothing but the will to do whatever pleases us.