Chapter 12

Harry Potter + A song of Ice and Fire Crossover

Chapter 12

"When did this happen?" Lysa hissed later that evening as she and Lily were following their father and Ed down the hall towards the throne room where the feast was to be held.

Lily shrugged. "No more than an hour ago. And why are you so surprised?"

Lysa looked as if she wanted to roll her eyes but somehow managed to restrain herself at the last minute. "Because at the very least this is terribly unorthodox of you. You hate the very idea of court politics and I think you and I would both agree that you're far from a lady. So why on earth did Princess Elia, the future queen I might add, pick you to be one of her companions here at court? It doesn't make any sense."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure if I should be offended by that."

This time Lysa did roll her eyes. "You know what I mean. Sometimes I think you'd rather be a knight than a lady. And yet you get to be one at court. Do you know how many other girls here would kill for a position like this?"

"No and I don't care to know," Lily replied tersely. "I spoke to Princess Elia because I felt sorry for her. She seemed so alone and she's about to be married off to a man that she doesn't know. She needs some support around her and if I can be the one to give it well….then that's what I'll do."

Lysa just stared at her for a moment. "You always were the mother of the rest of us, you know that don't you? And now you're going to be doing that for someone who's at least nine years older than you. How old is the Martell princess anyway?"

"I believe she's three and twenty," Lily said absently. "And I will not be mothering her. She needs a friend."

"Didn't she bring a retinue from Dorne?"

"Just one other girl I think," the younger red head replied. "I believe her name was Ashara Dayne. I'll probably meet her tonight."

"Gods this is insane," Lysa muttered. "Have you told father yet?"

"No," Lily snapped turning to her older sister. "And you can't tell him. I'll tell him before the week is out. I don't want him to hear it from anyone else but me."

"Well then if I were you, I would tell him even sooner than that. People are going to be talking especially all the ladies. And the last think you want is to become court gossip."

Lily was the one to roll her eyes this time. "Please I think all of the ladies will be too busy gossiping about Rhaegar Targaryen to pay any attention to me."

A dreamy look crossed Lysa's face. "He certainly is beautiful isn't he?"

The younger red head shrugged. "I suppose."

She had gone in with the Arryn retinue to be introduced to the king and his family and had glimpsed the three Targaryens standing atop the dais. The king was sitting on his throne, a truly ugly chair with a black iron crown atop his head. Privately Lily had thought the piece looked more like some sort of torture device than accoutrement but that was something she would never say.

His purple eyes were bloodshot and seemed out of focus, always darting around to rest on something or anything that moved. His clothes had hung limply on his frame as if he suffered from malnutrition and his skin was pale and waxy like papyrus. His features which might have once been attractive were thin and narrow allowing Lily see many of the veins in his face also causing her to shudder. He appeared to be a wraith barely clinging to life.

Lily knew she would never with a Dementor on anyone but this made seemed to have had the soul sucked out of him by an unspeakable monster leaving only a grey husk behind.

It was both unnerving and downright eerie.

Next to him had been Queen Rhaella, a truly stunning woman even though there were thin lines creasing her forehead and a smile that didn't reach all the way to her eyes. There was years of sorrow in those purple irises and Lily had immediately felt sorry for her.

She was certain behind those eyes hid years of hurt and silent misery being yoked to this man. Incest was bad enough but when it translated into some of the whispers she had heard noised around the Riverlands well….it threw into sharp relief how different things were here.

There had been incest to be sure in magical England, but not to the degree of marrying brother to sister. Sirius had once told her that his parents were cousins themselves and she had promptly been disgusted.

To think of brother marrying sister here made her feel downright ill.

And then standing to the king's right had been his eldest son and heir Rhaegar Targaryen.

One look at his face and Lily could understand why every woman in the keep had their eyes glued to him. He was truly exquisite in form and features with hair as silvery as some of the pillars on the walls and skin the color of marble but with striking violet eyes and well built solid features, it wasn't hard to imagine him without those clothes either.

It was a thought that had caused Lily privately to cringe.

But then she had looked at him, really looked at him and discovered something she wasn't certain she liked.

There was an air of….complacency about him….almost as if he were present but his mind was far away somewhere that no one else could reach.

Those eyes were almost empty and emotionless making him appear no more than a beautiful statue carved out of marble, something to be admired but not loved.

And that was when Lily truly did shudder.

"You suppose?" Lysa asked incredulously. "Rhaegar Targaryen is the most beautiful man in the Seven Kingdoms and you are downplaying that?"

"Lysa when have I ever been impressed by a pretty face?" Lily demanded in hushed tones.

"Point taken," the other girl said. "But even I didn't think you would be immune to someone like that."

"Well that was your first mistake," Lily replied as they arrived at the door of the chambers to the throne room.

At that moment her father who had been striding along ahead of them with Ed on his right and Cat on his left turned to the other two girls.

"Now then," he said. "I expect you to conduct yourselves with all of the respect and dignity befitting a child of House Tully. There are many people beyond these doors and opinions that matter. Do your best to impress. Do I make myself clear?"

He eyed Lily and Lysa a bit longer than the other two as he said these words and the younger red head stifled the urge to roll her eyes.

She suddenly wished she had opted to stay in her chambers looking after Axel for the evening. Petyr had already left for the feast with his father no more than an hour earlier so there would be no support from him either.

No matter, she had obligations beyond her father now.

"Yes father," they all chorused and the auburn haired man nodded. "Good."

And with that the doors were opened for them and the small party of trout from House Tully trooped into a packed throne room.

Ω

I once thought that Hogwarts was the most regal castle I had ever seen, Lily thought as she walked into the throne room. But now I do believe I stand corrected.

It was a large throne room and had galleries on the left side of the room in which one could watch court proceedings. There were six large pillars in the room as well, three on each side and they were surrounded in their lower half by steel grates that contained firewood to be lit when it was cold. The pillars went up at least fifty feet and the ceiling of the throne room was lofty like that of a church in the way it came up in a triangle formation.

Even though she had seen it already, with the sun going down the high window with its seven pointed star shaded a black sky with diamond like stars beyond.

The heady smell of incense filled the room and Lily could see candles drowning in their own wax.

The low rumble of many voices talking flooded the chamber and the red head was confronted with a vast amount of people all dressed to the nines in their house colors.

She allowed herself a brief moment to close her eyes and take a deep breath. Just picture it as if it were the Yule Ball at Hogwarts. Everyone is doing their best to impress everyone else and it will be no different here. Just keep your head down, don't be too reclusive, maybe talk to Elbert if the situation presents itself. Stay a respectable amount of time and then maybe it will be acceptable to go to bed. I didn't really want to come to this stupid feast anyway.

She gave herself a once over as she stopped beside one of the outer braziers of the throne room. At least I look nice…I think.

Instead of wearing her house colors of blue and red, Lily had opted for a green silk dress to stave off the heat from the capital. The Riverlands had always been blessedly cool with their forests and fresh running water so she was unused to the near oppressive heat of the capital. The dress was sleeveless and embroidered at the shoulders. It covered her upper back but left the small of it open to give some relief from the heat. It brushed the floor but didn't impair her forward motions and other than some lace embroidered around the shoulders and collar it had no other adornments.

It was simple, but simple was what Lily liked.

Her hair had been piled haphazardly on her head so it was half up and half down with her long red curls hanging down her back. There was a silver pin of a trout attached to the largest cluster of curls so there was her house pride.

Every other member of her family had opted to wear blue however so her ever green choice made her stick out like a sore thumb.

"Children, wait here," Hoster Tully said somewhat abruptly. "I see someone I wish to speak to."

Without another word he left them standing by the brazier and strode off into the crowd. Lily had to stand on her tip toes to see the object of interest to him and then rolled her eyes when she saw that it was Lord Arryn.

An uneasy feeling filled her then. I hope I didn't lay on the possibility of a union between the East and the Riverlands too thick. I am only fourteen after all.

Liar, said a dark little voice in the back of her mind. You're actually in your thirties between two lives but no one can ever find that out can they?

The red head grimaced and looked about for a distraction.

Surprisingly enough she found it a few seconds later.

Standing a few feet from the royal dais at the front of the throne room was Princess Elia herself. Beside her was Prince Rhaegar dressed in deep red fringed with black. There was a thin silver circlet resting upon his brow and even from this distance he looked quite striking.

But there was something about him that just….didn't appeal to Lily at all, a coldness perhaps that she didn't like.

She could almost see a likeness between him and Lucius Malfoy who had graduated when she was only in her third year of school. He had been a cold imperious bastard however who had had far too many ties to the dark arts for her liking. She had breathed a collective sigh of relief when he had left Hogwarts for good.

Next to his cold silver moonlike persona, Princess Elia was like a warm sun. It was rather ironic that that was her house symbol.

She was dressed in a deep burnt orange dress that brought out the golden tones in her olive toned skin. Her long black hair hung in ringlets down her back and like Rhaegar she bore a circlet on her forehead but this one carried several small stones that looked like ambers and was gold. Her dress was also sleeveless and had a plunging neckline in the southern style. She wore no jewelry but on her upper left arm there was circled a golden armband.

Her hands were folded in front of her and she was looking about the room as if searching for someone. Her and the prince seemed to be completely unaware of each other as their eyes were glued to different parts of the room.

Standing next to Elia was a woman that Lily looked vaguely familiar. She had long dark hair and was wearing a deep purple dress that was sleeveless and off the shoulder. It was cinched at the waist and fell past her feet to the floor. She had fair skin and eyes so blue they were almost purple.

For a moment Lily wondered if this was the queen Rhaella and then nixed the thought as this woman appeared to be much younger.

She was standing closer to Elia than a normal acquaintance would have allowed to Lily concluded quickly that the two must know each other.

Ah, this must be Ashara Dayne.

A moment later, Prince Rhaegar seemed to have spotted whoever he was looking for as he said something briefly to the princess before starting off across the room.

Elia's eyes followed him for a moment before the dark haired woman leaned over and whispered something in her ear that caused the brunette to smile slightly.

It was just then that her eyes latched hold of Lily's from across the room and the smile grew. She raised her hand and beckoned slightly and the red head oddly enough felt a sense of relief.

Without a word to her siblings, she raised the hem of her dress and started away from the brazier.

"Lily! Where are you going?" Catelyn hissed from behind her. "Father said to stay here."

"There's someone I need to see," Lily replied from over her shoulder. "I shouldn't be long."

"Who?" her older sister demanded but the other red head never responded as she had now moved completely away.

It was a longer walk than she thought getting across the room and she had to deviate around dancing patrons and old men talking politics but finally she made it to the dais before stopping in front of the Dornish princess and sweeping into a deep curtsy. "Your grace."

"Hello Lily," Elia said with a smile once the younger girl had straightened up. "I thought I saw you across the room. I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine who's come with me from Dorne. She'll be staying in the capital with me like you. This is Ashara Dayne."

The red head and the brunette glanced at each other as if sizing the other up before smiling and nodding. The Dayne girl was very beautiful and Lily wondered if it was due to the fact that her brother served on the Kingsguard that she was here.

House Dayne was one of the oldest houses in Dorne and a sworn banner of House Martell so it wasn't altogether unusual that she was here.

She was bound to attract a lot of attention here with her looks though.

"You're Lord Tully's youngest daughter?" the brunette asked and Lily nodded. "I am so he doesn't pay as much attention to what I do."

"Its kind of nice being the youngest," Ashara agreed. "Although I don't have any sisters to distract my father so he wants to marry me off as soon as possible. I think that's why my father sent me here."

"We'll find a good match for you," Elia said with warmth in her tone. "There's bound to be plenty of nobles here in the next few weeks who would give their eye teeth for any bit of favor from the crown."

Her tone had hardened slightly towards the end of her speech causing Lily to raise an eyebrow.

Ashara seemed to sense her change in mood too for she spoke up a second later. "Well no rush on that. I'm not even eight and ten yet. How old are you Lilian?"

"It's Lily," the red head said. "I really don't like Lilian, it's an old name and not even a family one so I don't know why my father gave it to me. And there's no rush for me either. I'll be five and ten soon."

"You're so young," Ashara said with surprise. "Is your father alright with you staying what could possibly be years in the capital at this age?"

I'm older than you could possibly imagine, Lily thought with a touch of cynicism but she didn't show it. Ashara's question had been asked out of innocence so it would be answered in the same manner as well.

"To tell you the truth," she said and then paused. "I haven't actually told him about your proposal your grace."

"No?" Elia asked raising an eyebrow. "Ought you not to soon? The wedding is the end of this week."

"I will," Lily promised. "I can't see how he would have a problem with it however. My father is the sort of man who looks for any advantage he can."

Elia sighed. "Most nobles are like that unfortunately. Even if the lot hadn't been invited most would have shown up anyway. They're like wolves circling a dying animal. They smell the blood."

Lily and Ashara exchanged a speculative look. It was no secret that the Targaryens had been on the decline and had been for decades. But the fire at Summerhall had thrown into sharp relief just how weak the dragons had become. The birth of only one other boy besides the crown prince was even more reminder that they had to marry and expand as soon as possible.

Fairly soon it would be expected that Elia bear as many children as possible to bolster the bloodline.

Just thinking about that made Lily cringe.

"Well what are Ashara and I here for?" she asked. "We prevent them from getting to you don't we?"

"That's right," the brunette said having caught on quickly. "Lily and I will be here to make sure you only hear what's necessary and ignore what's not useful. It's why you chose us isn't it?"

Their banter seemed to work, prompting a small smile out of the Dornish princess. "That's true and you're already very good at it."

Lily shrugged and smiled. "I have two older sister and two younger brothers. Distractions are things I think I am experienced at."

Ashara chuckled and then looked about the room. "Where is your family Lily? I've already met Elia's brother and seen the prince's family."

Lily glanced over to the pillar surrounded by a burning brazier across the room where her siblings were still waiting. Only difference was that this time, Lysa, Cat and Ed were all staring at her.

To make matters worse, Petyr just stepped out from behind Cat and was now looking at her with the most confused look she had ever seen on his face.

It took some effort to refrain from cringing.

This was going to take a lot of explaining.

"Wasn't your sister supposed to be marrying Brandon Stark within a year or two?" Ashara asked with interest.

"She is," Lily said and barely stifled the urge to roll her eyes. "In fact I believe he's here now. It's honestly a miracle that she and my father aren't with him."

"Is your other sister promised to anyone yet?" Elia asked and Lily shook her head.

She knew that Jaime Lannister was the ultimate prize for Lysa but she wasn't going to say anything about that until it was official. After all, he was the heir to the west and she was certain that there were going to be plenty of eligible females eyeing him in the near future.

"My father has some ideas but nothing established yet," she replied evasively. "He's been a bit preoccupied lately."

"So has everyone it seems," Elia muttered.

She said this as she glanced across the room towards a silvery blonde head of hair which was in conversation with a bald man wearing rather garish robes that reminded Lily eerily of Professor Dumbledore.

"Who is that man?" she asked.

"That would be Lord Varys," Ashara replied. "He is the Master of Whispers on the Small Council. If there is ever to be a piece of gossip in this city that involves the royal family, he will know about it."

Lily's eyes narrowed as she took him in. A man like that had few allegiances. He would bear watching while she was here.

Elia sighed. "Speaking of gossip, I think that's quite enough for one evening."

"I agree," Ashara replied. "We still need to plan your wedding after all."

"You mean it isn't done yet?" Lily asked feeling shocked. "It's the end of this week after all isn't it?"

Ashara and Elia chuckled as if they had a secret. "A jest Lily. Everything was finished weeks ago. The king saw to it that preparations were completed well in advance of this week."

The blonde girl looked as if she wished to roll her eyes but at the same time managed to control herself.

Lily cast a wary eye at the skinny wraith sitting atop the throne with bloodshot purple eyes. He almost didn't look human and for a moment Lily was reminded of the snake like qualities of Voldemort himself.

She hated that his face was the last one she had seen before she spoke to Death itself.

For a moment she wondered if it was possible that she hadn't been the only one reincarnated and then brushed the thought off as ridiculous. If Voldemort had been reincarnated in this life surely he would have used his magic and power as king to do far greater and terrible things than Aerys had done.

No, she was certain that Aerys was nothing more than a Muggle. Even still however…a Muggle could be dangerous.

And speaking of danger, Lily didn't see him until he was standing a few feet away but see him she did….although not before he saw her.

"Look alive," Ashara muttered. "It seems we have caught the attention of Lord Tully."

Sure enough, the lord paramount of the Riverlands, had stopped to speak to a noble standing several feet away but during the course of that conversation, his eyes had glanced up and caught sight of the future queen. They had brightened slightly but when he saw Lily standing with them, his blue eyes had narrowed.

A moment later, he extricated himself from the conversation he was in and began to make his way towards them.

Act natural.

"Your grace," he said formally stopping in front of Elia and bowing.

"Lord Tully," the brunette replied serenely. "We were just talking about you."

Lily gave her new friend a serious case of the cut eye which Elia ignored in favor of a sweet smile at the older red head.

"You were your grace," Hoster said with some confusion.

"Indeed," Elia replied. "Lilian speaks very highly of you. "Her words of praise lend her credit and has done much to convince me to keep her at court as one of my ladies."

Eloquence thy name is Elia Martell.

Lily had never seen her father shocked before but judging from the way his eyes opened and closed and his hands twisted together, he was indeed flummoxed.

"You…You have your grace?" he said.

"Indeed," the Martell girl returned. "She is a special person Lady Lilian and I would have her here to serve me. The time here will afford her many opportunities I am sure."

"Of….Of course," the lord replied. He turned and fixed Lily with a severe look that clearly said they would talk later before bowing to Elia again. "House Tully is honored by your display of favor your grace. I have no doubt that Lilian will be happy to serve."

"Of that I have do doubt," Elia said sounding almost smug and Lily dug her finger nails into her palms hard enough to draw blood. Merlin but she hated the subtle game of politics. Sev was far better at such intricacies.

The memory of the dark haired Slytherin caused a stab of pain to be felt in her chest and she angrily pushed it away.

Now was not the time.

Elia in the mean time had used Lily's inner turmoil to introduce Ashara to Hoster and the two were exchanging polite pleasantries.

The red head took the time to glance back at the pillar and then saw that all of her siblings plus Petyr were standing in a semi circle all staring at them.

She sighed briefly and closed her eyes for a moment. No doubt she wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight with all the explaining she was going to have to do.

Ah well.

Ω

"So let me get this straight," Petyr said later. "You're going to be spending the next few months possibly years in the capital serving Princess Elia and possibly the rest of the Targaryens?"

It was a few hours later and Lily had been avoiding the rest of her siblings. She had thought she had gotten lucky and all had gone to bed but as it turned out she had once more underestimated Petyr. He had been lurking in the hallway waiting to snag her as she left.

There were times when Lily did wish she were more like a Slytherin. If she were, she might have anticipated his lying in wait for her and disillusioned herself so she could walk to her room in peace.

But then that might have been the cowardly thing to do and if there was one thing Lilian Tully wasn't it was a coward.

"Just Princess Elia," she sighed as they paused by the moonlight garden. "And why is this so hard to believe?"

"Because its so unlike you," Petyr said running a hand through his hair. "You're not a lady. Not really?"

"Is that so?" Lily asked placing her hands on her hips. "Well then tell me Petyr, what am I?"

Too late Baelish realized his blunder and he swallowed hard. "I didn't mean to say that you don't have all the qualities of a lady. I merely meant that its not something you've ever aspired to be."

"Really?" Lily asked raising an eyebrow. "Let me ask you this then. What is the definition of a lady?"

The question appeared to stump Petyr for he blinked at her. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me. How would you define a lady if I'm so obviously not one?"

The red head had rarely seen her friend speechless throughout their friendship but now was quite obviously one of those times.

"Well since you can't seem to speak for the moment allow me to provide you with an explanation," she fairly snapped. "A lady is not the clothes she wears, or the manners she possesses, or how educated she is, or her family name. Those are simply adjectives ascribed to being a lady, a mere idea, nothing more. A lady is someone who is compassionate, kind, selfless, empathetic, resourceful, strong, courageous and intelligent. A lady is not someone who spends her time embroidering cloth or playing instruments or learning to dance and smile prettily. A lady is about who you are, not what you do. And in that regard I think I'm more of a lady than everyone else in this city."

There was a long silence following this speech in which Petyr did little else but blink. Lily sighed.

"Look. You may not like this and that's okay. You may not even understand it and that's okay too. But I'm doing what I think is right. And this way, the longer I spend in the capital I'll fly beneath my father's marriage plans. In fact, this way I might get to choose someone that I actually like. I don't really want to marry, but I also recognize that that mindset is not practical in the world we live in. Here at least I may have some choice."

A shadow passed over Petyr's face then but Lily wasn't sure if it was from the moon or some indefinable emotion. "Is that truly how you feel?"

Lily nodded. "It is."

"Very well then," she said somewhat stiffly. "But who's going to explain to Axel that you're not coming home?"

Lily grimaced at the thought of her baby brother. "I'll tell him."

"Good," Petyr said. "Because I don't want to answer his questions about why his favorite sister decided to stay in the capital instead of in the Riverlands."

And then he turned and marched off without another word leaving a flabbergasted Lily behind.

What in Merlin's name was that all about?

Irritated with her friend for being irrationally annoyed, Lily decided she wasn't ready for bed yet and decided to continue making her way through the gardens. She hadn't seen all of them yet and if this was going to be her home for the next little while it might help if she was familiar with it.

Not far away from the moonlight garden with its iridescent white blooms, was the godswood. Even though Lily had already seen it, its size was much bigger than that of the one at Riverrun and she paused to admire it again.

She had no sooner stopped when the sound of footsteps sounded coming down the path toward her and she blinked in alarm.

By all rights she should be in bed this might very well have been Hoster coming to look for. Deciding that she had had enough of confrontations for one night, Lily scurried beneath the trees and pressed her back against one of the thick dark woods hoping whoever it was would pass by and be on their way.

But as it turned out, the footsteps morphed into a voice and then voices of two people Lily had never heard before.

"I don't want to marry the Tully girl father."

"Lower your voice, I do not wish for the entire keep to hear the source of your complaining."

At the word Tully Lily's ears perked up and she turned around and muttered the disillusionment charm so she could get a better look at who was speaking without them seeing her.

At what she saw was very interesting.

Coming slowly down the path towards her was a tall blonde man in deep red colors wearing a bronze pin which was attached to the breast pocket of his tunic. His fair hair was neatly combed to one side and he was quite tall. His hands were folded behind his back and he had a rather severe face.

Tywin Lannister.

Walking along beside him was clearly his son as he looked far too much like the Hand of the King for there to not be some familial relations.

Jaime Lannister himself was quite good looking but there was something about the way he carried himself that Lily wasn't sure that she liked. He walked almost like a cat that had just been fed. His handsome face had the look of one who was entitled and expected to be treated like others knew it too.

"Surely there's someone else," the younger Lannister was saying as they walked slowly by. "Anyone else."

"Do not pretend that you have looked into potential brides for yourself," Tywin Lannister said in acerbic tones. "You who spend all your time with a sword in your hand and care nothing for our name or legacy. You will marry who I tell you do. The Tully girl is as good as any other and there are no others. Your sister has been denied the right of queen and so she will do her duty as will you and marry as well as she can. We have been scorned by the king but we will do out utmost to remind the rest of the realm that Lannisters bow to no one."

Who better for you to marry than my sister? Lily thought tersely as she watched the pair of them continue down the garden path. Just who do you think you are? Ah yes, a Lannister who is every bit as entitled as the Malfoys. If I thought Aerys was like Voldemort than it wouldn't surprise me if Tywin Lannister is Lucius Malfoy. I suppose his son is what Lucius' might have grown up to be. I suppose he'll have gone to school with Harry.

A stab of pain caused her to suck in a breath and she hissed it out through her teeth. Enough.

She released the spell on herself and closed her eyes for a second. So Jaime Lannister didn't want to marry her sister did he?

The red head sighed and emerged from the trees and looked down the path where the two Lannisters had gone. Irritation coiled and snapped within her like a whip. Lysa might not have been the most outgoing person or the most intelligent but she was still her sister and family was part of their house words.

You'll treat her right Lannister, she thought through gritted teeth. Or I'm coming after you.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't hear the sounds of someone behind her until a hand landed on her shoulder.

Lily sucked in a breath and whirled around already mentally preparing herself to see her father's face.

But again, she was surprised.

Standing before her in the moonlight at least a head taller than she, was a dark haired young man with piercing grey eyes. He was quite attractive and dressed in muted dark grey colors.

For a moment Lily fumbled trying to remember his name and then caught sight of the grey pin of the wolf's head on his doublet and snorted.

A Stark.

For his part the young man had been wearing a smirk but when he saw her face he blinked and frowned. "My apologies. I thought that – "

"I don't really care what you thought," Lily all but snapped. She had observed Brandon Stark from across the room and noticed that he had carefully kept a distance between himself and her sister and family. "What a surprise to see you finally conversing with us. We Tullys don't all look alike do we? For instance, I am the only one of my siblings that has green eyes. But you wouldn't know that because it would seem you've spent all evening avoiding every Tully in King's Landing Brandon Stark."

The heir to Winterfell blinked and then took a step back. "How did you – "

"Oh don't be an idiot," Lily said rolling her eyes. "I pay enough attention which is something you clearly don't do. I knew who you were even though you decided that getting to know my sister wasn't worthy of your time. How dare you?"

This conversation clearly was not going the way that Stark hoped for he took a step back. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me," Lily said feeling her irritation spike. First Jaime Lannister didn't want anything to do with Lysa and now this Stark, the Starks who were supposed to be honorable to a fault, was writing off Cat before he even got to know her. "How dare you think yourself above a marriage to my sister? I haven't been in the capital for very long but this place is full of upstarts and arrogant bastards. But I didn't think a Stark would be one of them. It's a miracle Eddard isn't anything like you."

He continued to gape at her and Lily took the opportunity to keep going. A small part of her told her she was going a bit irrational having never spoken to Brandon Stark before but tact wasn't something she was known for and defending those she loved was.

She had had a brief conversation earlier with Cat before the feast where she had closely questioned her sister about what she thought of Brandon Stark.

And there she had learned the truth.

Though Cat was pleased she was going to be the Lady of the North one day, she possessed a measured degree of sadness for how Brandon Stark seemed less than interested in her and whenever the four of them had met, he hadn't so much as said a word to her.

She had even confessed to Lily that she wanted a marriage like their parents had had, a loving committed one where she wouldn't have to worry if her husband was going to stray.

And Lily had learned from Elbert whilst in the Vale that Brandon Stark had made it a habit to frequent the northern brothels.

She hadn't said a word of this to Cat knowing it would only upset her but the thought of her lovely sometimes too uptight sister being married to a man who spent time with whores made her sick to her stomach.

Well she was going to set him straight now.

Taking a step forward, uncaring that she was a head shorter then him, Lily jabbed a finger into his chest. "If I hear if you treating my sister poorly, you'll be hearing from me. You Starks claim to have honor but I have yet to see or hear about any of it from you. Watch yourself, because I certainly will be."

Then feeling as if she had made her point and completely nonchalant about the fact that she had all but threatened an heir of a great house, Lily whirled around and stamped off leaving a gaping Brandon Stark in her wake who was wondering whether or not his sister had somehow made her way to the capital and had grown red hair.

He had never expected a daughter of a southern lord to be so…fiery. But then all the girls he had met down here were soft, pliable and far too eager to please, Catelyn Tully among them.

She was pretty enough in her own right but she was, well…boring. There was nothing about her that would keep his attention for long and no matter how his father had pressed him, Brandon couldn't picture himself marrying her.

What he wanted was a girl with fire, someone with life who wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty, to tell it like it was.

And maybe he had just found her.

Ω

"Well done Lilian," Hoster said the following morning when the Tully family met for breakfast in his rooms. "I expected for all of you children to ingratiate yourself at court and you have done beyond that."

Ed looked confused. "What are you talking about father?"

Hoster gave his heir a wry look. "Your sister has been invited to remain in the capital as one of the companions of Princess Elia Martell. The role was offered to her yesterday."

Catelyn who had been delicately sipping on a glass of well watered wine choked and had to be patted on the back by Lysa. "Was this what happened last night?" she sputtered.

"Aye," Hoster said casting an approving eye on Lily that internally made her want to cringe. "I have to admit I had my doubts about allowing you to go to the Vale but it seems you learned something of value there that has been put into practice here. Well done daughter."

Lily said nothing and simply nibbled on the piece of bread on her plate in front of her. Accepting her father's praise felt strange, especially when she had so often not received it.

Cat was still staring at her as if she didn't know who she was and Petyr had a dark look on his face.

He hadn't spoken to her since last night but Lily was still irritated with him too so she decided she wasn't going to talk to him until he opened his mouth first.

Ed in the meantime was making no effort to keep his mouth closed. "Lily's going to be living in the capital?"

Lysa rolled her eyes. "Well it would be hard to be one of the companions of Princess Elia if she went back to Riverrun Ed."

Brynden Tully snorted into his goblet of wine. He had been one of the last to learn of the new developments and hadn't said anything about it other than to fix Lily with a long and pointed look that clearly said they would talk later.

Cat had opened her mouth several times since the announcement had been made but every time she closed it as if thinking better of what she was going to say.

Finally, Lily herself decided to speak up. "Yes Ed I am going to be here for the next little while. I don't know how long but it will be until either Cat or Lysa's wedding or maybe until my own. I don't know, and does it really matter? All the wedding festivities will be over in a few weeks anyway and then you will all be going home. Can we please all keep our heads?"

There was a long moment of silence as each and every one of her siblings plus Petyr and with the exception of Axel who was too busy playing with his porridge, looked at each other before giving tentative nods.

Petyr left a moment later muttering something about meeting his father and Lily followed his path out the door with a sigh.

She didn't understand why he was so irritated when he heard the news. After all it wasn't like they were all going to be at Riverrun forever, he would marry in a few years and so would she, not that she was looking forward to it.

As she turned back around in her chair, she noted that Lysa's eyes had followed Petyr out as well and her own narrowed.

So far she was certain that her best friend and her sister hadn't talked about anything regarding what Lysa had told her before they had left for the Vale and she was wondering when the other shoe was going to drop.

However, maybe spending the next little while in the capital was a good thing. It would give Lysa and Petyr an opportunity to spend some time together. And if Lysa was still paying attention to Petyr than that meant that she was as eager to marry Jaime Lannister as he was to marry her.

Lily wholeheartedly supported the idea of her best friend and her sister. They had grown up together after all and there was the possibility for real love to sprout between them.

She hoped.

All of a sudden there was a knock on the door and Hoster's head jerked towards it. "Come!"

A moment later the door opened to reveal a servant dressed in demure colors and carrying a letter in front of him. "Your pardon Lord Tully but I come with a message for Lady Lilian from Princess Elia."

All muttered conversation about the breakfast table went silent then as five sets of eyes swung back and forth between Lily and the servant.

Hoster nodded at Lily who rose from her chair to receive it and peruse its contents quickly.

It seemed that the princess had a desire to visit the markets that day and she wished for Lily to come with her.

"What does it say?" Cat demanded and Hoster gave her a brief glare.

"I have been invited for a day of shopping with Princess Elia and Lady Ashara Dayne in King's Landing today," Lily said, eyes scanning the letter.

"Good," Hoster said after a moment's silence and clapped his hands together. "Go and ready yourself then. It would not be a good idea to keep the future queen waiting."

And just like that, Lily realized she had stepped into a new world.

Ω

Well, it seems Lily has met a lot of new people in this story. Next chapter is the wedding, revelation of her magic to Brynden and then her time in the capital truly begins. We're getting into AU territory now, so stay tuned.