Carliene Stark

Chapter 50

Kevan

"A letter from King's Landing m'Lord" The servant boy bowed and handed me the unopened roll of parchment. The seal showed a raised hand in red wax. Brother, I thought.

"Good news I hope" Ser Broom offered as I read over the few lines. 

"The mountain was victorious, my nephew is sentenced to die" I informed him dryly. 

The knight was quiet, surely not wanting to say the wrong thing on such a delicate matter. "Are those good news?" he pushed curiously. 

I gave him an annoyed frown. "Of course they are, a murderer has been convicted, we should be joyful"

Still it was a strange affair, but there was no point in pondering over a trial by combat. The gods had made their wishes fairly clear.

I quickly went over the rest of the letter as we descended a flight of stairs. Tywin commented on the good news of the Stark girl being with child, he did not. however, share my thoughts on the matter who the father was though. Demanding I make sure or else the child be taken from her at birth and replaced by a true heir.

He assured me that he was sending Jamie back to the Rock to take his place as Warden of the West and at his wife's side. Furthermore, the alliance between Lannister and Tyrell would live on through the kings wedding to Margery Tyrell and the wedding to be in a fortnight.

As soon as my son takes his rightful place on the rock, I wish to receive you in the capital. The small council shows so many open seats, ones I plan to fill with men I trust.

I rolled the letter back up. I would have to leave home again. King's Landing would be a good place for Janei and Martyn though. And I was sure even Dorna would find a liking. It was better than the battlefields that is for sure. 

Ser Broom glanced at me expectantly. I was not going to inform him on these developments though, in case plans or arrangements changed. And they could change so quickly. A couple of fortnights ago I had been certain that the heir to the Rock would be Tyrion, wether Tywin liked it or not. It was the law of succession and Jamie was sworn to the king's watch.

And now Jamie was the heir and Tyrion would be dead soon. Tywin always gets what he wants. Dorna had said that to me once, when we were both still young and unmarried.

"Still no further accounts of the pox?" I demanded as I placed the letter in-between the pages of the ledger I was holding. 

"No My Lord" Ser Broom confirmed. "Trade is flowing, more and more ships are said to dare land in the harbours every day"

I nodded in contempt. We had managed to avoid a tragedy for sure. "Good, the sooner the city watch is out of the castle the better"

Ser Broom chuckled. "I feel captain Vylarr quite enjoys it here" he pointed out. "I'm sure he would love the chance to become a member of your guard"

"People like him should be kept away from larger power, or they may grow too ambitious" I muttered.

As we walked along we met the Stark girl, led by on of my wife's handmaidens.

"Good morning Lady Carliene" I greeted. 

She looked less wild since the last time we had spoken. She looked tired as she nodded with a polite bow.
I could tell she was trying to hide under a loose dress and her folded hands, but the small bulge was still unmistakable. I got a sour taste in my mouth at the thought that I would probably still have to confront her about it to ease my brother's conscience.

And to spare her a lot of pain. 

"I believe I've hadn't had the chance to congratulate you. We were all rather surprised to hear of your.. condition" I struggled to find the proper word. 

Her face paled a bit. "Thank you"
I studied her expression, trying to read into any hint of guilt or shame that might point to her being unfaithful to my nephew.

She just looked embarrassed and scarred, for a moment just like a little girl who had been taken from her family to a strange place full of strange people. It reminded me of Dorna when I had first met her, though she had never been as pretty as the Stark girl.

"We hope to see you at the festival" I stated, as to net let the silence fall on us like a suffocating blanket. 

She nodded, her eyes wandering between Ser Broom and I. "Yes I was very happy to hear that the sickness has been managed" there was more strength in her voice this time and she actually sounded genuine.

I nodded before stepping past them to continue to my study. There were more important things to take care of. 

"Lovely day to you Ladies" Ser Broom said behind me before following.

Carliene

I sat on the cushioned bench in Lady Dorna's chambers. Between cloths and silk, which looked like they had traveled around half the world.
Janei was standing stiffly on a little stool as the dressmaker was taking her measurements. While Dorna was inspecting the quality and pattern of each fabric enthusiastically.
I put another grape into my mouth as I studied the scene, feeling the satisfying crunch between my teeth and the sourly-sweet taste explode in my mouth. I don't think I had ever tasted anything as good.
An array of fresh fruits had been placed on one of the tables, once again showing of the luxury these highborns lived in. In the north we would never have such a vast variety, mostly because most of the fruits would rot before they arrived at Winterfell.

Now that the harbours were reopened the royals wouldn't have to pass on anything. I found myself wondering what ever happened with the food that was left uneaten, as I stared at the colourful array. I had managed to pick out most of the grapes, but what happens to the oranges, lemons, melons and fruits I did not even know the name of?

In Winterfell the table-scraps had always been fed to the hounds, but I wasn't even sure if they had hounds in the castle. If they did they surely wouldn't eat fruits. Was it given to chicken, or the poor?

"Feel this Lady Carliene"

I was ripped from my thoughts by Lady Dorna holding s sample cloth before me.

"Isn't it the softest material you have ever felt?" she pushed as I brushed a flat hand over it.

I nodded. It's also red.

"I think you'd simply look lively in it" she beamed.

I found myself once again wondering why she was suddenly so nice to me. Had her husband told her to be. Was it because I was pregnant?

"It looks very expensive" I stated carefully, not directly wanting to tell her that it was the colour bothering me. The Lannister colour. 

The woman laughed. "Oh silly that makes no matter" she straightened up to place the fabric back between the rest. "You are part of the wealthiest house in Westeros now" she added as if that was a good thing. 

It made me angry. Really angry. It sounded like she was implying that we never had nice things in the north. I swallowed my discontent though and only stuffed another grape into my mouth.
Feeding the monster growing inside me. I felt almost sorry for it.

What good could come out of a conception of hate?