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Howland was surprised when he heard news that the Starks would come to the wedding, as the house to which the Reeds were sworn in they always received a raven with an invitation, yet it had been more than a century since the last time a Stark had stepped on Greywater Watch.
The boat arrived at dusk. When the boat was close enough Howland saw that the news were false, after all there was only one person with the surname Stark on the boat. But at least it was the only Stark he really wanted it to be from the moment he heard the news.
He left the side of his parents and the other nobles to go to the water's edge and offer his hand for her to leave the boat, he had not agreed to do this but he was sure that his parents would not disapprove after all he was being a good host. The smile on his face could also perhaps be mistaken for that of a good host, though in reality it was more the smile of someone who is genuinely happy to see a specific person in front of him again. And Lyanna's smile was the same.
"Welcome to the Greywater Watch Lady Lyanna," he said.
"It's good to be here" Lyanna said.
"Allow me to introduce you to my father and mother. Milady, these are Lord and Lady Reed "
"Nice to meet you"
"It's our pleasure to have a Stark here, especially you. Our Howland has told us a lot about you since Harrenhal "Lord Reed said.
Their eyes met for a moment, and Howland tried to pass with that look that yes he had talked about her, but not about things that should not be public, things that only he and Prince Rhaegar knew. She seemed to understand.
"All an exaggeration, I assure you"
"Milady would like something to eat now, or maybe go to your room?"
"Actually, first of all, I would like to go in your godswood, thank the gods for the safe journey before it gets dark. Howland can show me where it is, right? "
"Of course, Howland accompany Miss Stark"
Lyanna had three traveling companions, all of them servants of the Stark house, two were assigned to take the luggage to the castle, another to serve as guard to Howland and Lyanna in the woods, but when they reached the entrance Lyanna said to guard she and Howland would go on alone from now on, he seemed to hesitate for a moment, but did not argue.
They walked together thinking it should have felt strange, they'd only known each other for a week and then spent more months apart, but somehow didn’t feel it.
"So I'll meet your betrothed at dinner?" Lyanna asked.
"I'm afraid not, she lives on another island, she'll be arriving with her family in the morning"
"Pity, I wanted to talk to her, see what she looks like"
"You can talk to her tomorrow"
"Yes, but she will already be your wife when I do this, not your bride"
"She's still going to be the same person"
"Maybe not, others keep saying that marriage changes you, maybe it's not just foolish talk in that case ... are you getting married here?" She asked as they reached the front of the Heart Tree sitting on the rocks below and pointing to Howland sit next to her.
"Yes, obviously"
"Not obviously, I grew up thinking that I was going to marry in front of a Heart Tree but it's a wedding in front of a Septuagint of Seven that awaits me"
"Maybe you could have both, they have Godswoods in the south too"
"One marriage with Robert Baratheon is bad enough, I don't need a second"
He laughed.
"So at what time will the ceremony be?" She asked.
"In the morning ... a part of me still can not believe that tomorrow I will be a married man"
She looked at him looking melancholic for a moment, then she smiled and said :
"You could run away easy if you wanted to. It would not be at all difficult for a man to do so"
"And where would I go?"
"I don't know, you could cross the sea and go to Esos, or see everything beyond the wall. You could have adventures and live a life that they will write songs about. Could be fun "
"Maybe, but I don’t want to run away. I like this place, these people, my bride. I can't say I love her yet but I like her a lot, I'm sure that love will eventually come "
"That's nice. I doubt that I will feel this way on the eve of my nuptials with Robert Baratheon "
"Who knows, a lot can happen in a few months"
"I'm well aware of that. I was surprised when I heard from your engagement, you did not mention anything about being promised when we were in Harrenhal "
"Because I wasn't at the time... my father had me at the age that most men have grandchildren, shortly after I came back from Harrenhal he got sick, and he said that one of his regrets was not to have seen me married, he got better but who knows next time, he is old and weak and he wants to see me married before he dies. It seems selfish not to give him something so small "
"A marriage is never a small thing Howland... Prince Rhaegar has sent me letters"
"What ? Does your father know that? "
"No, Rhaegar sends them through the Connington household, I told my father that I made friends with one of Lord Jon's cousins when we were in Harrenhal, he did not question that. For a while I was sure he was going to open one of the letters and find out but he never did and now I'm sure he will never, the conversations and feelings of girls have very little interest for Lord Rickard "
"I worry about your involvement with the prince"
"There is no involvement, we just talk"
"He crowned you queen of love and beauty instead of his own wife"
"He wanted to honor me, and you know why"
"He could find a way to do this that would not end up with his wife humiliated in front of everyone"
"Maybe his methods were bad, but his intentions were pure. That counts for something right? "
"I'm not sure. What does the prince say in his letters? "
"Not much, he usually focuses more on me, he asks me what I like to do and my thoughts about things, it's so different from Robert's letters, he always talks about everything he does, who he won in such and such tournament , I wouldn't even answer his letters if my father did not force me to"
"Did you tell your father that you feel that way?"
"Yes, and he does not care. His ambitions for connections to the south are his priority, not my heart "
"I'm sorry, this is not fair, I wish I could do something"
"You're listening and you're not saying I'm a foolish little girl for not wanting to marry the splendid Robert Baratheon, that's more than most would do"
"It doesn't feel like it's enough"
"Then you could take me away from here and save me from a very boring life as Lady Baratheon, we would cross the sea, I would be a swordswoman and you my loyal squire. We would see every city there is to see and we would be ridiculously happy together "
"Would you ask me that?"
"Not if you're happy with your life, you are happy right Howland?"
"Yes, I am, but-"
"So like I said there's nothing to ask, my dad always says I'm a very selfish girl and he isn't wrong, but I'm not selfish at that point"
"Okay, just so you know if you asked me I'd say yes, not without hesitation, but for you I would go"
"It's very easy to say this when you know you don't have to prove it. But thank you, I'll probably spend my years as Lady Baratheon imagining the adventures that a Lyanna even more selfish than me would have with you "
"I'll imagine it too"
They stood for a minute in silence, just enjoying each other's company and imagining a life that would never be.
"I think we should go back, it's going to be dark soon," Lyanna said.
"Alright" Howland said standing up.
"You will not tell anyone about Rhaegar's letters, right?"
"Your secret is safe with me. Along with all the others "
"Good. And you’re not you going to tell anyone I tried to steal from your betrothed on the eve of your wedding? "Lyanna said and laughed.
"That one is safe, too" Howland said and laughed, but inside he had an uncomfortable realization that if Lyanna had actually tried, she would have been successful.