PYROPHILIA ▸ Aegon the Conqueror

chapter iii.

LYARRA HAD FELT whole again, now that her father was home. Winterfell started getting back to the safe place she had considered it to be and not even King Aegon's presence could change that. However, it wasn't the same for her brother.

Elric had been cold to their father, making his statement clear of how he loathed his choice. And Aegon living among them, treating the people as his own and living under their roof had not made it any easier to him.

Rickard was the happiest of all and her mother's eyes were glowing once again. Benjen was just glad, but he had grown distant to most of them for the last days, something that Lyarra failed to understand.

"Should I leave the dress on your bed, Princess?" Her handmaiden, Jayna, asked. Lyarra just nodded, not bothering to correct the girl. Habits were hard to break.

Jayna laid the gown carefully on the bed and then stood to see Lyarra's expression. It was truly beautiful, a deep sapphire colour with large sleeves and sublte white fur across the neckline. The sewers had really outdone themselves, extravagance that seemed misplace in times of War.

"Should I make your hair, my lady?" Jayna asked. Lyarra shook her head.

"I think I can manage for today." Jayna bowed her head and excused herself with no complaint.

Lyarra had been holding a lot of pressure inside of her, for the sake of their family. She wished not to appear disturbed in front of her father or her brothers. She must be their strength and as long as she played her part correctly, perhaps she would even come to believe, that all was well. She had found trouble relaxing now that Aegon and his sisters were in their own home and not a thousand miles away, people who took what they wanted with fire and blood. Lyarra was willing to accept neither in her home.

She managed to only make two small braids that met in the back of her head, leaving most of her hair down. She had regretted sending Jayna away, but she could not care less right now. Tonight was a special night and everything should go calmly and she had to ensure it. Her mother had once told her it was a man's duty to form an alliance and a woman's to keep. She had told her a man's word was worth a galleon of coins but a woman's skills were invaluable when used correctly.

She quickly dressed herself and threw a cloak on, before walking out of the room. The feast would not start for a couple of hours but she felt as if the walls were already beginning to suffocate her.

When she stepped out of the tower, she felt like a new person. The air was cold and refreshing. This is how every new era should begin, she thought to herself.

She decided to take a walk through the Godswood, a place which she always considered a shelter. She had grown to enjoy the company of her own self in those months of solitude in Winterfell. Her mother, Benjen and Elric might have been holding their breaths but that never meant the people did the same. Worries and prayers were never silenced during the War and despite the fact she recognized it was her duty to listen, there were times when the noise would just be too much.