Born on the nightfall of a tragedy, raised with the weight of power and expectations over her shoulders, Elaenora Arryn knew her fate could not be written by the Seven, but only by herself.
Carrying the blood of both the murderer and the murdered i...
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« Choose the lesser evil so a greater evil may be averted »
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25th day of the first moon of 121 AC
To Princess Helaena Targaryen,
Dear friend of mine, this is the second letter I am sending you asking about Aemond. Perhaps the ravens lost my last message which is why I have not received an answer from you, however, I am still most worried for your brother. T'is been a year since the last time I saw you two and I have not once been granted a single response from him. I cannot understand why, have I done or said anything that annoyed him? If so, please, let him know I am deeply sorry for it. He is one of the people I care about the most in the world and I cannot fathom the idea of life without his friendship and company.
Furthermore, I wanted to ask you about the date of your wedding. I would love to be there with you and it would be a perfect occasion to revisit King's Landing. I know that, even if that marriage is far from what you wanted, you will be the most beautiful bride to ever live in Westeros and I want to be there to witness it. Please, send me a reply. It could also be the ideal moment to finally fly on Grey Ghost's back now that my father has built me a gorgeous saddle.
While I have grown accustomed to Edrya and its people in the last year, I still feel a sense of emptiness inside of me. I am grateful for my mother and her family but your absence and Aemond's is still a heavy weight on my shoulders.
Loving you dearly,
Nora.
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The streets of Thysalen were crowded by peasants and silver merchants visiting the local market. Children played around, old women gossiped together in each corner, and seamen loaded ships with metal mined from the deep and rich grounds near Silvervale. Elaenora marched through the streets at a brisk pace, her breath quickening and her heart pounding. She could feel the eyes of certain commoners upon her as she walked. Many tried to find her resemblance to her mother and many others debated whether Edrya's heiress would eventually choose the island, following her family's tradition, or whether the Arryn blood was so strong that Elaenora would instead prefer the Vale and a marriage to a lord of note.
She despised being reminded of that upcoming choice but she loathed even more hearing them discuss the news about Rhaenyra's recent pregnancy, announced just a moon ago. The idea of her cousin carrying the child of her sister's murderer made Nora so sick to her stomach that, when she found out about it, she stopped eating for two entire days and asked everyone around her not to even whisper the Princess' name in her presence.
