The sun was standing in its zenith, right above Willas, shining its light on his face as he was relaxing in its warmth. The chair he was sitting in was comfortable to say the least, he had fallen completely down in it, no longer sitting straight but instead being almost asleep. The music could be heard in the background as he was relaxing, some of the most beautiful music that he had heard in a long time, the singer was younger than him, or so Willas thought, he had a beautiful voice. The song and music they performed was the same as his mother once had sung for him while he was younger, it gave him an inner peace and reminded him of fond memories of her.
It was roughly 10 years ago that they had been together as a family, sure an occasion popped up once in a while but not truly as a family. Willas was sitting in a garden reading his books, his father had given him several scrolls to read, to memorize the houses and formulate a response to the houses. Of course what Willas wrote would never be sent to them but it was a welcome lesson none the less, it thought him to formulate himself from an early age. Olenna was busy sitting with the Septa, learning how to sew, teaching her how to act as a proper Lady. She became so furious when Harlan ran over and knocked over the table, making all her work fall down, mother was mad at him for the next two days but eventually they made up. Garth was too busy to notice, he was too busy with his training, Willas never understood that he cared so much about his appearance. Willas had always told himself that the wielding of swords was not the only thing to ruling, but perhaps he simply told himself to reassure that he wasn’t worse than his brother, Willas never really having had the best competence when it came to fighting.
Willas slowly opened his eyes as he saw the gardens inside Highgarden, the trees with peaches and fireplums filled the garden. The golden flowers, the red roses, the smell of the garden was worth the pass time alone. Harlan was off to the side, practicing his archery while aiming at some of the peaches hanging off a tree by the wall. Looking at him then it was good that he was practicing, he sorely needed it when he was that much off his target. Willas made a slight chuckle at his brother’s efforts making Harlan turn around and nodding towards him “Think you can do better?” Willas only laughed at the remark while looking at him with a wide grin “No, of course not brother, no one can best you at archery”
Harlan turned around once again to take another shot as Tytos entered the gardens with his ledger in his arms, it was a rather large list, Willas could see it was folded from he sat. Willas smiled at him as he neared the two brothers “So Tytos, what can I do for you today?”
Tytos smiled “My Lord, I am here to bring up the topic of your future and your prospect” Great, it was going to be that conversation. Willas went over to the table and picked up a knife before walking over to a tree, he felt on the different fruits, measuring them, feeling if they were ripe, wanting to get the perfect peach to endure this coming conversation. As Willas kept searching then Tytos spoke up “It is important that you are married soon, to further the Tyrell line and secure yourself. Not to mention that the alliance could be most useful in the future.” Willas had finally found his peach and plucked it, he moved over towards the wall, cutting a piece off the peach and began eating it, the coldness of the knife hitting his lower lip. The juice was very sweet and the taste brought him back from his otherwise dozy state.
Willas looked out over the wall, feeling the breeze rushing in over Highgarden. “Wasn’t the marriage between my sister and Lord Lannister’s son meant to secure an alliance that would prove to be, well make sure that we didn’t need any other allies outside the Reach.” Willas had been overjoyed when his sister had gotten married, the feel of relief that he himself needed not to be married was one that he treasured, and it had seemed that it was true at least as long as Garth had been alive. But now Willas had to be married and he knew that he could do little to object, no matter how terrified he was of the prospect.
Tytos smiled “It did, but more friends can never hurt a man” he was right and Willas hated him for it, Willas never quite knew why it was that he dreaded it so much. It might simply be because he was utterly incompetent when speaking with a girl that he would like something with, perhaps it was simply because of his brothers teasing whenever he messed up in front of them, like the feast three years back. It all annoyed him greatly, he could speak perfectly to Lords, their wives, their daughters as long as the Lords where there. As long as there wasn’t anything special about then it was fine, but the moment he was alone with their daughter he became so shy, so afraid to speak in case he would mess it up that it was just, it was just so bad. Both of his brothers had carried themselves with much more ease, so much that it at times made him mad as he watched them move around the younger ladies at the Tyrell feasts. At this point anything would be an improvement, a mistress, a lover, a rumour, anything could be useful just to prove that he didn’t fancy his own sex, which could turn out to be quite the scandal.
Willas sighed as he ate another piece of the peach “Fine, give me the candidates” Might as well get on with it.
“Well there is of course the sisters of Lord Greyjoy who..” Willas stopped him “I am not going to marry an Ironborn, there is no way to make that happen if the gods appeared before me” It was simply not going to happen, no matter what argument was put before, no matter by whom, it was not an option.
“Then there is the Lady Redwyne and Lady Oakheart, both of them could be honorable wives to you” Willas thought about it for a moment.
“They are part of the better families within the Reach, indeed, both could be worthwhile brides and it would also strengthen our ties. But who else is there?” Willas asked in hopes that they could move on from the subjects with speedily haste.
“There is also Lady Lysa Hightower, only 14 namedays but if you don’t mind waiting a bit, it could be a worthwhile match. There is also Lady Melessa Tarly, the youngest child of Lord Randyll Tarly” A match with either could prove to be vital should complications arise. “Outside of the Reach there are also a number of candidates, Lannister is of course not one due to the current marriage already established” Harlan walked over next to them with a grin on his face “A shame, I always wondered if their carpets matched the drapes”
Tytos sighed before moving on “Then there is Lady Aemma Arryn, the sister to Lord Arryn. A match with the Vale could prove beneficial to us, the Lord Arryn is currently tied up in the Vale dealing with a local revolt of some sort, something with some mountain tribes, he also has strong ties with Riverrun. The Lady herself is spoken of as a great beauty, but also very pious.”
Well Lord Arryn does seem well connected, Willas thought to himself before Harlan placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him a bit “Well brother, that might just be the woman for you, a very pious one who you can’t possible bore, you never know, she might even be like Baelor and consider everything sinful and if that is the case then at least you won’t lose touch with your beloved hand” Harlan laughed “You know, Willas, for being the most eligible bachelor in the Seven Kingdoms, you are having an awful lot of trouble with this. You could ask about any Lord and he would be willing to give his daughter to you, to secure an alliance with house Tyrell and the might of the Reach”
Willas turned to him, his brother started to get on his nerves “Go back to your practice, and if I wanted just anyone, I would accept the offer from one of your whores.” making Harlan laugh as he left them again.
Tytos looked at Harlan with annoyance before he continued down the list “Then there are the Tullys’ of Riverrun, Lord Tully has three daughters. One is married to Lord Arryn but the two younger ones should be available, Lady Elinor and Kaithryn.”
Willas raised his hand to stop him “I read Garths letter regarding Lord Tully and the reputation of Lady Elinor. Garth wrote that Lord Tully is ill tempered, ill toned and of poor patience, saying that for such a man it is not surprise if for the rumours about Lady Elinor to be true, that she dresses improperly and hold what could be considered orgies, he also wrote that it would be no surprise should the younger daughter be the same” Willas didn’t care much for them, the report that Garth had written was enough. While the wife of Lord Arryn by all accounts seems like a proper wife, the accounts of her younger sister was less than spotless, such a thing could be a black spot on any marriage to the family, and any marriage to her in person, something that Willas had no desire in.
Tytos frowned “I have different reports of the youngest sister, she is more like her mother and older sister, Liana, than her older brother and middle sister” Willas thought about it, while it would certainly be an improvement for the Tullys’, the reputation of Elinor and the reports of Harrion being similar was not a good sign for any member coming from such a family.
Tytos continued “Then there is Lady Lyanna Stark, the youngest daughter of Lord Brandon Stark. She is said to be a remarkable woman” As Tytos spoke a servant came up to the two of them, much to the relief of Willas, hopefully being able to make Tytos quiet about the damned marriages. The servant passed a letter to Tytos as Willas took the last piece of the peach. Tytos looked at it for a moment before speaking up “It’s a letter from Kings Landing, from King Aegon IV” Tytos looked at for a brief moment more before breaking the seal and reading the context “You have been appointed Master of Coin, my Lord”
Willas looked over at him before taking the letter out of his hand, reading the letters carefully. Lannister, Tyrell, Darklyn, Frey, Greyjoy. Willas read them over and over and couldn’t make sense of what the King was doing, surely he couldn’t be serious, and he removed both Baratheon and Tully. If Garth had been true in his report then Tully would already be in a fury, and no doubt that Baratheon would be much similar, they are great warriors and care deeply about their honour, no doubt that being passed over by the Greyjoys could only cause issue. That was the biggest concern, the Greyjoys, the King had appointed them Master of Ships, giving the Lord Greyjoy power over the royal fleet could not happen, this could not be allowed. They have raided Lys and burned it to the ground, to give such a fleet to the Greyjoys could not only spell political disaster between the Great houses here in the Kingdoms, but also with any standing which we had left in Essos. If they gained power of the Royal Fleet then no doubt they could start raiding Westeros as well, something which cannot be allowed, the King cannot be allowed to go through with this.
Willas stood there wondering about his own position as Master of Coin, it was a position that he was not very pleased with to say the least. He had no real desire to go to the capital to solve the financial issues of the King, it was not his desire or trade to sit as a common bookkeeper. Lord Lannister had been Master of Coin during the previous King and they had done a remarkable job, but the Lannisters always had a skill of pulling gold of dirt, so it was no great surprise. Sure we have wealth, we have armies and we have natural resources, something which the Lannisters lacks if we look away from the gold mines, but still, how as he meant to turn finances around, sure the Reach could gain wealth from such a position, but that would also be stealing from the King. It annoyed Willas that the King would summon him to be a common bookkeeper, instead of Lord Paramount of the Reach, but he would go to Kings Landing, if for nothing else than keeping the peace between the King and his vassals, to make sure that the Reach wasn’t open to Ironborn raids.
Willas sighed “Tytos, send word to the King that I am om my way to the Capital, if nothing else then I will try to make sure that peace is kept between Storms End, Riverrun and the Iron Throne.” Willas shook his head “Appoint Greyjoy is foolish. Announce that my brother Harlan will oversee the Reach while I am gone.”
((Willas is presented with possible candidates for marriage, he also receives the message that he is Master of Coin, as well as his remarks on the new council, Harlan Tyrell is regent of the Reach while Willas is away))
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