The Wolf Princess

Chapter 4 | Flashbacks and farewells

It had been three days since Lilia had arrived at the Eyrie. During those three days, she had been spied on by Lysa's men, though her aunt thought she didn't know, Lilia was perfectly aware that along with her men were Lord Varys's little birds and that they would go back to King's Landing singing songs about Lilia Stark's remaining in the Eyrie.

She knew what that meant. The Iron Throne would ask Lysa Arryn for her niece's head and either the woman would gladly deliver it or she would rise up against them. Lysa was half-wit and, therefore, unpredictable. Lilia couldn't be sure that her aunt would refuse. The one thing she knew was that she had to play her cards well if she wanted to keep her head on her shoulders and stay as far from the Lannisters as possible.

Every single night, she would read her cousin different stories. She had read him the stories about Duncan, the Tall and his squire, Egg. It was crazy to think that a Targaryen Prince would just walk around like that and end up being King after all the chaos the country had been under.

But it wasn't night, in fact, it was the early morning and she had been summoned by her aunt to the Great Hall. Lilia had been escorted by Ser Willem everywhere she went... even when playing with Sweet Robin, whose mother wasn't fond of his relationship with the Stark girl.

When she arrived at the Great Hall, Lysa stood on her feet as distant as she could be. Although her body stood there, her mind was elsewhere. She held an opened letter in her hands and she seemed stroke about it.

"My Lady Aunt", Lilia bowed respectfully, pronouncing herself. Lysa took a few seconds before meeting her blue, tumultuous eyes to her niece's figure. The girl who wore blue as she showed gratitude over House Arryn.

She walked over to her niece. She was so beautiful, so young and yet so full of scars. Lysa could see right through the girl's farçade. She knew she was too broken to remain the innocent girl Catelyn had talked about. She had seen too much, she had felt too much and she had learnt too much.

Lysa delivered the letter to her niece, who read every single word carefully. It was not a letter from King's Landing, it was a letter from Edmure Tully. Lilia grew sadder as she read the words. Her grandfather was dying.

She had never met that man but her mother spoke very highly of him. His people loved him, his family loved him, he was friends with everybody. Not long after the Rebellion came to an end, Hoster had become ill and slowly, the years would make his condition worse.

Lilia's thoughts were instantly directed to her mother, who loved her own father dearly. Lilia had lost her own father, she knew what it felt like... like a piece of her died with him. Lord Hoster dying was certainly going to be especially hard on Catelyn Stark.

"I'm very sorry to hear such heartbreaking news", Lilia said sincerely as she looked at her feet apologetically. "We shall pray for his soul. May the Stranger make it painless and quick"

"Your mother and your brother are heading to Riverrun", Lysa commented, making Lilia's heart hurt even more. Knowing that her family was so close, yet so far... not being able to see them was as good as torture. "If you left right now, you would be able to meet them there in time"

"Unfortunately...", Lysa's hands took her nieces as she interrupted her.

"The Knights of the Vale are to leave for patrol, you have a horse waiting for you so you can ride to Riverrun and meet with them", Lysa's voice came as a whisper which made Lilia wonder if she was sleepwalking and that the words of kindness her aunt had spoken to her were nothing but stupid dreams. "You don't have much time, I'm giving you the chance to run for your life. Go or meet the axe!"

"Thank you, I'm forever in your debt. I would like you to tell Robin that he is a sweet boy and that I shall miss him greatly" Lilia asked genuinely. She had grown fond of the boy, though he was difficult to deal with. In an act of impulse, she wrapped her arms around her aunt's neck, embracing her. Though she wasn't the person she had hoped for, she was family and Lilia needed family. "I shall not forget"