Winter's Knowledge

Chapter 8 Daily Lessons

Now that Hermione had her new wand, she needed to get back to her chambers and get ready for the day. It was going to be the first day of Lyanna's lessons as a lady, and Rowena and Hermione had to make Lyanna understand that she couldn't train with a sword unless she put effort into becoming a lady. It was the same way with Hermione when she was little; it would be that way with Lyanna as well.

As soon as Hermione was ready, She tucked her wand into the pocket of her dress, then she and Namir left her chambers and headed to the great hall to break her fast with the family. The first thing that Hermione did was go to the kitchen to get something for Namir to eat, she knew her Shadow Cat would go hunting later, but Namir liked to have a little something with Hermione in the morning.

Hermione arrived in the kitchen and greeted the staff. They all smiled at their lady, and the cook gave Hermione a slab of raw meat on a platter for Namir. Hermione thanked the cook and left the kitchen. She placed the raw meat under the table next to her chair and sat down to wait for the others. By the time her father showed up, Namir had finished his breakfast.

“Good morning, Daughter.”

“Good morning, Father.”

Namir came out from under the table and greeted Jon. Jon smiled at the Shadow Cat and scratched his ear, “And good morning to you as well, Namir.” The Shadow cat rumbled deep in his chest and head-butted Jon in the stomach; the cat then left and went back to lie down next to Hermione. A little while later, the rest of the family, including Robert, Ned, Lyanna, and Lord Rickard, showed up for breakfast.

Once everyone had arrived, the servants began to bring out breakfast. As they ate, Jon began to explain to the boys what their duties were for the day, “Lord Arryn, when you have time, I would like to speak with you,” Lord Rickard said.

“Of course, Lord Rickard, we can talk after breakfast in my solar.”

Rickard agreed and resumed eating, “Lads, since Lord Rickard and I have things to discuss, you will have your lessons with Maester. Coleman. Hermione, Lady Lyanna, you will be joining them, and then you will begin your lessons with Septa Minella and Lady Rowena.” Fredrik had private lessons with Maester Coleman later, and Hadrian was still too little.

The children nodded and resumed eating. Lyanna looked at Lady Rowena and Lord Jon, “When do I begin my sword lessons?”

“You will not begin those lessons for at least a moon,” Jon explained.

“What?!”

Lord Rickard gave his daughter a sharp look, “My apologies, Lord Arryn, I assumed that I would begin right away.”

“Your sword training is a privilege, not a right, Lady Lyanna. If you do well in all of your studies, then you can begin. It was the same with my daughter. And you will do the same.”

Lyanna scowled, “Yes, My Lord.”

Everyone finished their breakfast and set out to do their chores. Hermione, Robert, Ned, and Lyanna made their way to the library to begin their lessons. Since two of Lord Arryn's wards were from the North, Jon had Maester Coleman include courses about the North in their studies. Maester Coleman knew a great deal about the North and was happy to include it.

Lyanna was surprised that Lord Arryn would include lessons about the North for Ned and now for her. She thought that they would only learn about the South and its history. As their courses continued, Lyanna found that she was enjoying them more than when Maester Walys gave them to her. When their studies were completed, Hermione and Lyanna left to go to their studies with Septa Minella and Lady Rowena.

Lyanna wasn't looking forward to those lessons; she didn't want to b a lady, she wanted to be a knight, but Lyanna knew that if she wanted to learn to fight, she had to cooperate. Hermione and Lyanna walked in silence, with Hermione looking at Lyanna out of the corner of her eye, “Lyanna, I know how you feel.”

“How can you know how I feel? You want to be a lady.” Lyanna spat.

Hermione laughed, “I didn't always want to be a lady; when I was younger, I used to play knights with my cousin Elbert. I didn't want to learn to become a lady either. I wanted to be a knight of the Vale. Then I learned that there are some things that women cannot do. But as I told my father, just because a woman can't learn to use a sword doesn't mean she can't die upon one. And that's when he decided to let me learn to sword fight. He didn't want me to be helpless. And he also wanted to see if I was right.”

“Right about what?”

“Anything a boy could do, I can do better,” Hermione said with a sly grin.

Lyanna stared at her for a moment, and then she giggled. Maybe she could be friends with Hermione after all. The girls went to their dance class first. Lyanna groaned at seeing other women sitting in the room with instruments. Lady Rowena smiled and stood up when the girls walked into the room, “Good morning, girls. Today we shall start with your dance lessons.” At Rowena's signal, the other women began to play.

Hermione started to dance with her septa while Lyanna stood there awkwardly. Rowena smiled at Lyanna and walked towards her, “I don't know don't like dancing,” Lyanna said.

“Do you know how?”

“No.”

Rowena smiled, “I'll show you.”

Rowena took Lyanna by the hand and slowly started showing her the steps; she let Lyanna look at her feet for a while then eventually told Lyanna to look at her. As they danced, the music started to change tempo, and Rowena started flinging Lyanna around, making the young girl laugh. Lyanna was having so much fun that she overlooked that while Rowena was playing with her by spinning her around, she was teaching her the dance steps. When the music ended, the girls collapsed in the chairs, exhausted.

Lyanna smiled at Rowena when she offered her some lemon water. The girl drank it down quickly and asked if they could continue. Rowena smiled, and they continued with their dance lessons. After that, Hermione and Lyanna followed Rowena around the keep learning how she ran it. They learned to oversee the buying of supplies, making sure there were enough food stores to last them through to the winter, after which the food would be transferred down to the Moon Gate, where they would spend the winter. The girls helped Rowena with her accounts and Rowena's budget to run the household. Overall, Lyanna found it all very interesting.

When it was time for lunch, Rowena showed Lyanna how to serve tea to guests and how to eat like a lady. She showed Lyanna the intricate art of women's speech, where sometimes women said one thing but meant something entirely different. It was not something that Lyanna liked since she was a direct person, but Lyanna understood it was the game that women played. After that, they had their needlepoint lessons. Rowena let Lyanna work on whatever she liked and showed her how to do her stitching correctly and efficiently.

Eventually, during Lyanna's lessons, Hermione was excused so that she could train with the boys. Lyanna looked on as Hermione hurried to change into her breeches and tunic, Namir following behind her. Rowena put her hand on Lyanna's shoulder, “Do not worry, little wolf. You'll see that a moon's time will pass quickly, and soon, you'll be able to join them as well. But you must remember to put as much energy in your studies as you would your sword training, it's only fair.”

Lyanna looked up at Rowena and nodded, “Alright, Lady Rowena, I will. What other lessons do we have today?”

Rowena smiled and led Lyanna to her music lessons.