Heir Apparent

3

Her father was her favourite of her parents, Alayne thought once again, as the King called their train to stop, so that she could ride into Winterfell on her horse next to him.

As he opened the carriage door for her she beamed brightly, and her Mother and Joffrey stared daggers at her and Robert. Tommen hopped off of her lap and she gave his a quick kiss to the cheek, before he settled into Cersei's arms.

Their mother still loved them, no matter how angry she got, she still loved all of her children.

Alayne jumped out of the carriage into her father's waiting arms and she buried her head into his heaving chest. Large arms wrapped around her small frame and lifted her off of the ground.

His laughter at her joy to be out of the confines of the carriage was apparent and even Lancel, her most serious cousin, gave her a bright grin as she giggled, swinging onto her horse.

"It is not ladylike for her to sit like that," Myrcella commented as she took Alayne's previous seat and looked out of the still open door.

"Well my Aly doesn't need lady like for everyone to adore her, right Aly?" her father defended her choices as always. He continued, "Joffrey, I'm sure it would be good for my heir to ride up to the front with me too..." he trailed off hopeful, but before Joffrey could even open his mouth, their mother spoke up.

"No Robert. You must already take one child away from me, why do you try to take another?"

Her father slammed the door and climbed onto his own horse slowly, his weight combined with gravity pulling him more towards the ground than letting him be on his horse.

They both rode to the front of the presession, with Lancel and Renly behind them. She felt the wind biting her face and the cold went to her bones, but she found that it made her feel alive.

Robert noticed the change in his daughter, making her more lively, and he smiled to himself. She reminded him more and more of his Lyanna each day. He still loved her with a passion, but the different love for his eldest could rival it with just as much passion. It was infact the only love that he could think would rival his for the lost beauty of Lyanna.

"Aly, how was the carriage?" Renly called foreward and Alayne snorted.

"The best time of life other than when my maids put my hair up so tight it felt like it was being yanked out of my head and gave me a head ache, other than that fine." She answered sarcastically. Their pointless banter between them continued back and forth, but Robert tuned out of it.

He was getting more and more restless, and wanted to erge his horse foreward to see Eddard and Lyanna's tomb, but knew he had to reign it in. He could not leave everybody else behind. After a while, Alayne and Renly ran out of things to say to each other so lapst into silence.

Alayne felt fear tugging at her insides and she felt slightly like she was going to throw up, but she was stern to herself, and thought that she was being completely irrational, there was no need for such dramatics. She was a Princess, and used to these situations of travelling to another lord's castle with her family.

She had never been nervous before, and now was not the time to start. Her long grey dress and white fur edged coat kept most of the cold out now that she was used to it, but she hed to keep tossing her head to get the curls out of her face. She felt the chain of the locket with a likeness of Robb around her neck, and thought of his auburn curls and ice blue eyes.

Soon they were riding through the town that surrounded Winterfell, and many came out to stare at the rare sight before them. She smiled at a young girl with a baby strapped to her, and she smiled back.

She giggled at all the young children running out of houses and gave them all smiles. She blew a few kisses to them and they reached up and pretended to catch them, as if they were real tangible things.

"They love you." her father said to her, as they went towards the lowering gate of Winterfell castle. She only smiled in reply and took a deep breath. She saw a young girl being stopped by who she thought was Lord Eddard, and saw his take a helmet off of her head.

Alayne smiled to herself about this, and urged her horse gently foreward to enter the courtyard, where the entire household of the Starks, and the Starks themselves stood waiting for them to arrive.

She felt eyes linger on her as she dismounted her horse with the help of Lancel and they shared a knowing glance before she linked arms wtih her father and they went to stand infront of the Starks. She smiled warmly at them all, and winked at Arya, who grinned back.

Lancel had gone to her Mother's carriage, and she seperated her arm from her Father's grip to make room for the volumous skirts of Queen Cersei Lannister. Her Father shot her a look which was pleading, but she made a tiny shake of her head and then looked straight forward, into the icey blue eyes of Robb Stark.

•

[a/n : and so it begins...]

sneak peak: