After mourning the death of his beloved Aemma, King Viserys I of House Targaryen had to choose a new bride.
The choices of brides were not scarce, but only three had decided to meet with the King himself. Lady Laena of House Velaryon, Lady Alicent of House Hightower, and Lady Lya of House Stark.
All three Lady's were maidens, young, beautiful, and had been groomed for such duties.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The Lady Lya of House Stark was a young girl of no older than twenty years old. Her hair was a dark red with loose curls, she kept her hair braided up like in the southern fashion. Unlike her siblings her eyes were dark brown, instead of a light blue. She dressed formally in her house colors, though the gown was light and airy to help her get used to the heat at King's Landing. She had only arrived at the capital mere moments ago, and the welcoming was immaculate. Lya had never been to court with her father until now, and it exceeded all of her expectations. Everything around her seemed to be perfect, but it could never top the beauty that was Winterfell.
The Red Keep was gorgeous, it was just like her father had described it. She knew her purpose for being here, and was not going to let it cloud the sight before her. It wasn't that she did not want to marry the King. In fact, she hoped he would choose her. Lya was finally torn away from the sight of the castle, and followed beside her father. The architecture inside of the Red Keep was more beautiful than the outer architecture. She did not know such things could be possible. Lavish but simple decor was everywhere, she wished she had the time to take in the sight of every little detail, but the King was waiting for her in the gardens for their planned meeting.
The gardens of the Keep was breathtaking. Lya almost forgot her reason of visiting as the different species of plants took her by surprise. Though, she quickly reminded herself to regain her composure that the King himself would not take kindly to a woman that seemed so childish. As she walked further into the gardens with her father, she finally took sight of the King and he was more handsome than she imagined. Yes, he was older than her by many years, but he seemed to be kind and wise. She could tell by thr look in his eyes and the way he held himself seemingly looking off into the distance until he heard their arrival. When King Viserys turned towards Lya, she could not help but smile softly as she bowed to him respectfully as her parents had taught her. Though, as she did she missed the genuine smile the King returned to her.
King Viserys was dressed in the colors of his house. A pure black outer-layer with a red dragon on his chest, a beautiful necklace of gold and red, and finally he had a dagger on his side. It was Aegon the Conqueror's dagger. Lya could only take in the intricate details of the older man's clothing as she walked towards him without the guidance of her father. She was nervous, the feeling was not foreign to her but she knew this was the most nervous she had been in her entire life. When she finally stood in front of the King she spoke, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace." Her words kind, soft, but without a hint of nervousness inside of them, she was surprised she was able to hide it. In return Viserys bowed his head before he even spoke.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Stark," Viserys words were calculated and rehersed. His eyes held a kindness to them, but deeper inside of them there was a darkness. A darkness that only came from mourning and loss. His lips twitched into a smile but only for a mere moment as he held his arm out to Lya so he could guide her through the gardens.
Lya took his arm with hers, the touch was soft but firm as Viserys started to walk. She walked beside him, there was a few seconds of silence that passed over the two of them. It was a comfortable silence, but Lya did not want to waste her time with the King. "My father intends to gift you a direwolf if we marry. I told him it was silly to gift a wolf to a man with an army of dragons," her voice finally broke the silence, after she spoke she laughed softly as she looked over at the King who was looking at her intently every moment or so as they walked. It surprised her when he chuckled heartily to what she said, she didn't expect him to be so...genuine of heart.
King Viserys took a moment to reply to Lya. He wouldn't say he was smitten with the girl already, but he felt something between them he had not felt during the visits that Alicent had with him nor the walk he and Laena shared. He cursed himself for already beginning to pick her as his bride over the others, but he thought that maybe he deserved this. "I do hope it is a pup. I cannot recall if I have ever seen a live direwolf, Lady Stark," he continued the conversation with a jest of his own and he hoped she found it amusing. The pain he felt was still lingering in his heart and mind, but the Lady beside him seemingly numbed it. He hated the hopeless romantic that he was.
Lya couldn't help but let out a giggle that made her body shake some. When she stopped giggling, she looked at the King. "Of course it would be a pup, Your Grace. I was not able to bring my own pup to this visit, and I wish I had. They are fascinating creatures, just like dragons are, Your Grace," she spoke more than she realized and hoped he would not take offense to it. Usually it was the man who did all of the talking during a courting session, but instead it was her. Which was odd as she rarely enjoyed speaking to men other than those in her family. There was something about the King that made her comfortable and calm. She smiled once again as she glanced at him.
The King smiled at her giggling and he couldn't help but keep the smile on his face even after she stopped speaking. When the smile left his face, he realized that this was the most he had smiled since the death of his beloved. At that realization, he knew that he would be choosing the Lady Lya of House Stark as his new Queen. He had no remorse or regrets for deciding this quickly. "What is the name of your direwolf, Lady Stark? I have always been fascinated with the naming of companions. Every dragon has a name, so I don't see why a wolf would not have one, unless you have not decided on a name," Viserys was always a curious man who searched for new information at any given time.
King Viserys had not been prepared for the fact that he would be this intrigued by someone other than his beloved. He welcomed the new sensation as he missed it dearly. He thought she was beautiful, but what he was more interested in was her intelligence and innocence. He enjoyed it, as it was like breath of fresh air.
"Her name is Kiyiya. It means 'howling wolf', Your Grace," Lady Lya did not hesitate to answer Viserys questions. She welcomed the curiosity that came with the older man. It was a breath of fresh air, as no other man seemed interested in what she had to say. Yet, the King walked beside her with a genuine smile and genuine interest in everything she had to say. It was something that made her heart flutter within the confines of her chest and made her cheeks flush a pale red. At this moment she knew that she was smitten with the King. That he was the man that she dreamed would come to her rescue.
