A Lioness Still Has Claws | Female Tywin Lannister | ASOIAF/GOT

The Hand's Move

278AC 

The betrothal of Doran Martell - whose first wife, some foreign-born woman, had died birthing a stillborn daughter two years prior - to the young Catelyn Tully was announced that year. It was a surprising match, even to Tya, whom her old friend Princess Loreza had written to of the betrothal beforehand. Dorne and the Riverlands were far from each other, although importantly did flank the Reach to the north and south. 

Not to mention that whilst Lady Catelyn was a maid of four-and-ten, Prince Doran was a man of thirty. Hoster Tully's ambitions seemed to overpower any desire to see his daughter wed someone her own age, although he had wished to marry her to Brandon Stark, before Lord Rickard agreed to the betrothal with Rohanne. No doubt he would be trying to throw his younger daughter at the Tyrell heir before long, even though the boy was five years old and the other Tully girl was twelve.

It seemed that all the Lords Paramount were, consciously or unconsciously, arranging marriages between them for the first time in generations. Tya did not pay the matter excessive attention, however; she was busy plotting herself.

She had started thinking up her plans long before the death of Steffon Baratheon - long before Duskendale, or even the tourney at Lannisport - although the Lord of Storm's End untimely demise did require her to accelerate them slightly, with a letter of her own to Princess Loreza.

Since the princess' visit to the Red Keep during the early years of Aerys' reign, Tya had kept up a steady correspondence with Loreza ever since, and was always glad of her company whenever the older woman was in King's Landing. The last time she had seen her friend was shortly after Tyrion's birth five years ago. At the time, Tya had not yet returned to her duties as Hand, still being unable to stand for very long, and it was over lunch in the Tower of the Hand that Loreza had proposed a betrothal, between Cersei and her son Oberyn.

She had cordially refused, of course, given her plans for Cersei at the time - which, if she was honest, she had not yet given up on and her eldest daughter remained unbetrothed - and there were no hard feelings, although perhaps that was due to her hinting to Loreza of her possible plans for the future.

Since the Baratheons had been unable to find a bride for Rhaegar, she knew that Aerys was considering other options. He had not discussed the matter with Tya at all, which for once she was grateful for, as she could deny any accusations of plotting. 

Pycelle still told her everything, of course. The most likely candidate was currently Princess Elia of Dorne for her traces of Targaryen blood, although the king had not yet made his mind up. He was reluctant to marry his son to a Dornishwoman out of pure snobbishness, and the fact that Elia was known to have been sicky in her youth. Although she did have the most recent Targaryen ancestor and was as close to a Valyrian bride as he was like to get in Westeros.

That was enough for Tya.

She felt no guilt in writing about the matter to Princess Loreza, taking care to include the king's more unsavoury insults against her friend's daughter, and Dorne as a whole. Tya was under no doubt that her friend would see this letter for what it was - a ploy against Aerys and a chance for Tya's own daughter to be queen - but she did not intend to hide that, for once being extremely candid. 

It was certainly her taking advantage of Loreza's desire for her only daughter to be happy. Though extremely capable, her friend was not all that ambitious when it came to matters outside of Dorne, and Tya doubted the woman would care that Elia would miss out on a chance to be queen, unless that was what the girl herself wanted.

She also mentioned in her letter that Lord Arryn's nephew was currently on a visit to court and was as yet unmarried. The old lord himself was unlikely to have any children himself at this point, making young Elbert the heir to the Vale. He was a handsome and courteous man of four-and-twenty, all who met him agreed, fairly quiet but personable and clearly intelligent.