Dark Sister

-Reunion-

-Reunion-

278 AC
King's Landing

It had been two years since Valyria had last seen Jaime and Cersei. The three made a pact and continually wrote to one another, it was through these exchanges that Valyria learned of Cersei's impending arrival to the capital. This was exciting news for Valyria, life at court was dull for someone with her interests and she yearned to have someone to confide in after all that had happened with her father:

A year after the tourney for Viserys, Lord Denys Darklyn had refused to pay his taxes in favor of a new charter for his port town. After being refused by the Hand, Lord Darklyn invited the King himself, when Valyria's father arrived, he was imprisoned for nearly half a year. Eventually, Ser Barristan single-handedly saved Aerys and Lord Tywin put the town to the sword. The imprisonment had further caused the King's mental state to decrease, he became paranoid and saw assassins everywhere. Furthermore, the King started to become paranoid about his own children, no longer trusting Rhaegar and Valyria.

The King had sent his cousin, Lord Steffon Baratheon to Essos to find a "suitable Valyrian bride" for Rhaegar. The Lord of Storm's End came back empty-handed, that was how Valyria found herself standing at the gates of the Red Keep waiting for Cersei and Lord Tywin to arrive.

Valyria was the only person waiting there for the Hand of the King and his daughter; she found a bench to sit on as she waited. The clicks of hooves alerted the Princess to their arrival. Several Lannister guards rode in first followed by Lord Tywin, and behind him, a small wheelhouse, trailed by two more guards rolled in. Valyria practically jumped up when Lord Tywin dismounted his steed. "Lord Tywin!" Valyria said happily, giving a small bow. "Ah, Princess Valyria. To what do I owe the pleasure of a royal welcome?" He said.

Tywin had grown rather fond of the young Princess, when she was seven he had caught her listening in on a Small Council meeting, they were debating over a trade dispute in Oldtown, they uhad been discussing the matter for nearly two weeks. When he found her listening in by the door, she asked him why the two sides were fighting and then suggested how to fix the problem. When Tywin proposed the idea the next day, the council agreed upon it. From that day on Valyria always had a special place in the Lannister Patriarch's heart.

"I heard Cersei was coming to Kings Landing with you, my Lord Hand." She said eagerly looking around for the Lannister girl, Lord Tywin chuckled at her excitement. Just then, the wheelhouse opened and out stepped Cersei with the help of a guard. "Cersei!" The Princess yelled, tackling the young lady into a hug. When she finally pulled back, Cersei placed her hands on the younger girl's shoulders. "Wow Valyria, you've grown a lot," Cersei said surprised, as she took in the Targaryen girl's appearance. Indeed she had grown, her hair was similar in length as their last meeting, but Valyria had grown about four inches taller. "Well, it has been two years since we last saw each other," Valyria said, smiling. She grabbed Cersei's hand, "Come, I have so much to show you."

Valyria showed Cersei all around the Red Keep, despite having visited before, Cersei had forgotten what the castle looked like. They ate lunch in the gardens, and Valyria showed off some of the secret passages she and Rhaegar had found, as well as her room. As they continued their explorations, Valyria told the histories and stories about the rooms and places they visited about the Keep, before finally stopping at the Tower of the Hand and showing Cersei her room.

Valyria had learned later that Cersei was there to show herself off to the King and the Court in hopes of her being betrothed to Rhaegar or Viserys. Despite this objective, the girls had a routine down for every day. Valyria would have her sword lessons in the morning with either Ser Arthur, Ser Barristan, Prince Lewyn, or Rhaegar, for about two hours; then she would go to her lessons with Grand Maester Pycelle, then attend her lessons with her Septa, or more accurately escape them; meet Cersei around noon in the gardens for lunch; go to the afternoon Court sessions; near dusk, Valyria would leave to find Rhaegar and spar or explore with him; then head to either her room or Cersei's for dinner, where they would discuss what they did when they weren't with each other. On certain days Valyria would spend the whole day with Rhaegar, with the two either: exploring, going down into the streets of Kings Landing, or sparring.

It was during these times that Valyria enjoyed the most during her childhood.