Only A Northern Song ~ Game of Thrones / Willas Tyrell ~

Chapter Ninety One: Liege Lord

Rest would have been ideal after his conversation with his mother, but there was one thing Willas had discovered about being Warden of the South and Hand of the Queen: rest was difficult to come by.

It would take Daenerys' party at least two days to catch up to them in Highgarden, so while they waited Willas decided the best way to spend the time would be to set his affairs in order with his bannermen and ensure they were all on his side. He asked Leonette to show Daenerys around the keep - only if she was feeling up to it, which she was - while Loras accompanied him to the hall to deal with the men. Except, before he even made it to the hall, his mother requested him once more, and so he found himself trekking to the office he had inherited from his father, wondering just what was so important that it could not wait a few hours.

"I did not want to ambush him when he first arrived," he heard his mother's voice from the ajar door. "It did not seem right to tell him then, especially not with him asking about his father and brother, but it is only right he sees you now. You're more important than his bannermen, after all. You are practically family, the pair of you."

"Who's practically family?" Willas asked with a tired sigh as he entered the study, seeing his mother seated in the chair that should be his, a woman sat opposite him.

Upon him entering, his mother rose to stand immediately, beckoning him in with a smile. It had only been a few hours since he saw her in his solar, but she looked completely different, as if having him home and talking through their troubles had lifted a weight off her. He couldn't help but smile back at her, but his smile quickly faded the moment their guest stood and turned to face him.

"Good gods," he exclaimed in a whisper, the words escaping before he could stop them.

How could he not curse like that though, when the woman stood in front of him he hadn't seen since his wife removed her from their service in Riverrun? He would never forget Talisa of Volantis, her face engrained in his mind since she was a crucial part in one of the most important nights of his life, but he had assumed that she would be nothing more than a memory. Assumption was wrong, however, because there she stood, looking just as awkward as he felt, offering him a nervous smile.

It was her, he'd recognise her anywhere, but she looked vastly different in the months that had passed. Almost a whole year had gone by, yet he hadn't expected her to look so worn in that time, her olive skin much paler, her face thinner, her eyes marked with dark shadows of exhaustion. He noticed how much skinnier she looked even though she had always been slender, and how the mere act of standing seemed to wear her out to the point that she seemed to be trembling. It was clear as day to him that she was not a well woman. Of course, it did not help that all her strength was focused on the little child she was holding despite their best attempts at fidgeting.

Willas had tried not to look too surprised at her appearance, but trying not to be surprised when he looked at the babe she held was far trickier, especially when he noticed that while the child was her image in terms of colouring, they sported a pair of Tully blue eyes and auburn hair. If it was clear that she was not as healthy as she once was, then it was just as obvious who's child she held.

"His name is Robbert," she told him when she noticed him staring and knew the cogs of his mind were whirring.

He knew what she wanted to say next, the words she didn't need to speak: "Named after his father".

"Good gods," Willas whispered again.

"Perhaps you should sit down," his mother advised, but he had already sunk into the seat opposite the one Talisa was stood in front of, one hand running through his hair while the other pinched the bridge of his nose.