Benjen, who was waiting in the hallway, was stunned when he saw Rhea come out of the room dressed in a beautiful green gown, which complemented her blonde hair and lilac eyes.
She was also wearing a pair of earrings which went together with her dress, and her hair was beautifully braided with a few brooches adorning it.
At first, he had been a little hesitant when Aro came in the evening with a few maids and gifts that the Regent Lady of Dragonport sent them, but now, seeing his wife look breathtakingly beautiful, he could not help his smile.
"You are beautiful, My Lady."
"And you are look handsome, My Lord," She smiled back at him and then glanced at his dress, back and silver, which was also a gift and had the sigil of House Stark on the left side of the chest.
The maids behind her, who had given her a moment, suddenly came out carrying her overcoat, which too bore the Stark sigil and also the sigil of House Marbrand.
Since she was an acknowledged daughter of Damon Marbrand, even if she was a Bastard, she could wear the sigil of her father's Family. Her father had allowed her this right after he blessed her union with Benjen. He had done it so that she would not be a victim of prejudice from her husband's family, and though it had earned her the ire of her Sister-in-Law, she was still very grateful for her father's thoughtfulness.
"They got the sigils right. And very quickly. It's almost as if these dresses had long been prepared for us," Benjen mused and watched a maid curtsey to him.
"No, My Lord. These dresses were ordered the day before yesterday. They were finished this afternoon," She informed them.
"So fast? And how did you get the sizes right?" Rhea asked in surprise.
"The dressmakers practice Mystical Arts, My Lady."
Her words caused both of them to tense up, but smiles returned to their faces when two maids brought their kids out of the second room.
Both of them looked adorably beautiful, and Alysanne gasped when she saw her mother.
"Mother, you are beautiful!" She said, making the Lady laugh.
"Thank you, My Sweet Child."
Since they were getting late, the four quickly went downstairs and outside the Inn, where a carriage was waiting for them.
Ser Heward bowed to them and opened the door, and after all of them entered it, he climbed up his horse and followed them with the rest of the Household Guards and the Yellow Soldiers of Dragonport to the Pyramid of Pride.
The carriage was allowed right through the massive gate of the Pyramid, and when they entered it and saw a long and wide path, with torches on the tall walls on the sides illuminating the way, they were mesmerised at the sight.
Even Alysanne, who had been inside the Sky Pyramid, was shocked at how majestic this place was compared to the other.
Their carriage stopped at a large round platform, which had a stream flowing around it, and in front of them were stairs that led up to the tall door, which had two Harpy statues on either side of it.
There were already a few carriages on the platform, and when they climbed up the stairs and passed through the door, they entered a hall where the Tyrell and Redwyne Household Guards were sitting at tables, eating and drinking, being served by male and female servants of the Pyramid.
The Golden Guards at the door asked the Stark Household Guards to take their seats at the table prepared for them, and two female servants then led Benjen, Rhea, Alysanne, and Arlan to the upstairs Hall on the right.
When the great door was opened by the Golden Guards, they saw a massive and lavishly decorated dining hall. And at the far end of it, over a hundred paces away, on top of an elevated platform, was a long dining table made of gold and wood.
The Tyrells and the Redwynes, who were sitting at it, stopped chatting and looked their way, and Benjen calmly led his family forward.
"Ser Benjen The Lone Wolf!" A bright and tall young man, well-built, smiled at him and stepped forward.
"Ser Garlan The Gallant," smiled the Stark as they did a forearm handshake, and the Young Man then respectfully bowed in courtesy to his wife.
"My Lady."
"Ser Garlan."
It took several minutes to finish the greetings between them, and when Benjen finally greeted Janna Fossoway, whom Jon Arryn and Robert Baratheon had planned for him to wed to tie the Tyrells to the Crown, there was a hint of awkwardness between them.
In the end, the woman had gone and married Jon Fossoway, a Knight from the House Fossoway of New Barrel. A match that was lesser than what her family had desired for her.
Some said that it was out of love, and some said that she had been forced to wed him to keep the rumours about her away. They said that she liked young, comly boys and loved taking more than one to bed at the same time.
But Bejen would rather not speculate about a lady whom he was meeting for the first time in his life. People said a lot of things, and a lot of times, there was barely any truth to the rumours.
Mina Tyrell, wife of the Lord of House Redwyne, was an amiable lady. She greeted Rhea with a warm hug and engaged her in a very pleasant chat.
Alysanne found a companion to talk to in Desmera Redwyne, Mina's daughter, who was eleven namedays old. She was a beautiful child with delicate features. She had dark orange hair and blue eyes, but she had a lot of freckles on her face, something that the Redwynes were famous for. Many would have considered them stains on her beauty, but Benjen and his wife thought otherwise.
They found them cute and unique.
However, the Stark could not say the same for her twin older brothers, who were quite the restless young lads, and their squared jaws and fair faces, which were covered in freckles, made them appear a little plain-looking.
They had clearly taken after their father, but their sister had thankfully inherited her mother's beauty.
Benjen engaged in a chat with Garlan, going through some famous events in the Seven Kingdoms since the Greyjoy Rebellion.
Little Arlan, who was the only one at the table who had been served a treat, perk of being the youngest, was happily enjoying it in silence, obediently sitting next to his mother.
"You rode a Hippogriff?!" Desmera suddenly exclaimed after what Alysanne revealed to her, and the two now had the attention of everyone at the table.
"Yes, Prince Rhaemon took me on a ride the day before yesterday." She calmly repeated what she had told her earlier.
Mina then gently asked her a few questions, which did not make the little girl feel uneasy, and soon, the Tyrells and Redwyne learned what had happened.
Horras and Hobber then started pestering Alysanne with silly questions, which made her furrow her brows, but thankfully, the Golden Door on the left of the platform opened, and two Golden Guards stepped in.
Followed by them, two young boys, one, who had a head full of dark brown hair, and the other, who had black hair but with streaks of platinum blonde, descended from the stairs behind the door and appeared in their sight.
Even though they were just boys, the older being twelve namedays old and the younger being ten namedays old, they were beautiful and tall for their age. And adorned in their gorgeous red and black suits, which had Hippogriffs, Griffins, Dragons, and so many different beasts etched on them in gold and silver, there was an air of nobility about them, which made Horras and Hobber feel very insecure.
"Good evening, Esteemed Guests. My name is Aelyx Nefaeryon, and I am happy to have you join me and my family for dinner tonight. This is my little brother, Rhaemon Zaelystar."
"Good evening." Rhaemon brightly smiled and nodded to all of them and then grinned at Alysanne, who rolled her eyes and blushed a little.
Whilst everyone stood up to greet the two Princes, the Silver Gate on the right opened, and the attendants started bringing in the food and setting it on the table.
Desmera Redwyne, the moment she looked into Aegon's violet eyes, fell in love with him, and she did not even realise that she was openly staring at him, unable to take her eyes off him.
By the time the table was set and everyone was ready to take their seats again, the two Golden Guards started tapping the heels of their spears on the floor.
Everyone turned to look at the wide stairs behind the Golden Door and soon saw a young lady clad in a red and black gambeson, the style of which they had never seen before. It had shoulder, arm, neck and chest armour plates, all beautifully lined, and then there was the expertly designed battle skirt, which was attached to the gambeson with a golden belt.
On her chest was the face of a dragon, menacing and majestic, and on her head was a black thorny tiara, which had pigeon-blood rubies inside it.
The Princess was wearing a sword on her waist. A bastard sword with a beautiful black and red sheath, golden guard and a golden draconic pommel.
As she walked inside the hall, Garlan and Benjen noticed how calculated her steps were.
The servants all deeply bowed to her before they stepped back.
And the guests, who were surprised by her style and beauty, which inspired awe in their hearts, fell into a trance.
"Your Grace." Aegon greeted his older sister first and bowed to her, and Rhaemon followed his lead.
The guests also chose to address her in the same way, and Rhaenys nodded to them and then smiled.
"Please, take your seats," she requested, and everyone respectfully sat down at the table.
The Princess then took off her sword, placed it against the table, and smiled at her guests.
"My name is Rhae Ostaryen. I am the younger sister of the Lord of Dragonport, and in the absence of my Older Brother and my Sisters-in-Law, I am the Regent of this City." She calmly introduced herself. "Thank you for joining me and my little brothers for a meal tonight. I am sure you are curious about us just as much as we are about your lives in Westeros, so let's have a chat over the meal and get to know each other."
They all smiled at her and nodded their heads and then watched her signal to the maids, who soon brought two different styles of wine decanters with corks on them.
"And since we have the Redwynes here, famous for their wine, Tyrells, and Starks, two Great Houses of Westeros, I would also like to have your opinion on these two wines. Please give an honest evaluation of them. We want to know if Westeros has better wines than ours." She said, providing them a little understanding about the purpose behind the invitations to the meal.
Once she took her chair, a maid came over and started plating the meal for her.
Aegon and Rhaemon did not take anyone's help, and when Rhaenys smiled at the guests, they, too, started plating food for themselves.
For a short while, everyone silently tasted the food, which was extremely delicious, and once their mood became jovial, they started chatting.
Garlan was the first one to break the silence.
"Your Grace, forgive my curiosity, but you have a beautiful sword. Does it belong to you, or is it your Brother's sword?" He politely asked.
"It's mine, Ser Garlan. It was bestowed on me by Brother on my last nameday. I named it Blood Queen."
"Interesting name. Has your Blood Queen tasted blood yet?"
"It has cut clean some heads so far."
Her words caused Horas, Hobber, Desmera, and Alysanne to freeze, and even the older ladies at the table tensed up.
"Their crimes?" The Young Knight curiously asked.
"Rape, Murder, Treason, and two were spies from Meereen."
"They were asking to die," he nodded his head in understanding.
"My Sister's sword is not just for executions, Ser. She is a Knight, brilliant with the sword, trained by the finest two Swordsmen in the world," Rhaemon proudly informed him.
Other than Alysanne and Benjen, who already knew that Rhae was a Knight, everyone else was quite surprised at the revelation.
"A Female Knight?" Leonette Fossoway, who was dainty and bright-eyed, expressed her shock.
"Yes," Aegon nodded to her. "We are Valyrians, and our religion does not prevent women from receiving knighthood."
"You follow the Old Gods of Valyria?" Asked Benjen.
"Yes," answered the Prince and then smiled. "I am curious, Ser. As far as I am aware, few people in the North follow the Faith of the Seven, and the Starks follow the Old Gods. How did you end up becoming a Knight?"
Benjen sighed at his words, and his wife covered her mouth as she giggled.
"King Robert was in a great mood after we suppressed the Greyjoy's Rebellion. He wanted to Knight people, regardless of their Faith. Ser Benjen's contributions during the War stood above the rest, and he was among the three people from the North who were Knighted by the King. The other two were Ser Jorah Mormont and Ser Heward, who I believe is now Ser Benjen's Household Guard Captain," Garlan informed them, and the Stark nodded his head to his words.
"That's how it happened. Then again, our Old Gods do not prevent us from calling ourselves Knights. It's just the ceremony we have issues with since it involves the New Gods."
"Understandable," Aegon nodded his head.
"Jorah Mormont?" Rhae curiously looked at the two Knights. "The now exiled Knight?" She smiled when they nodded. "He is a Sellsword now, and the woman he ruined himself for, his wife, Lynesse Hightower, entered the bed of a Merchant Prince of Lys in his absence. I believe his name is Tregar Ormollen. He has declared her his Chief Concubine. She lives with him at his manse and acts as his wife."
Everyone at the table was shocked by what she had just revealed to them.
"Earlier this year, when Jorah Mormont returned to Lys, Tregar threatened him to leave Lynesse, or he would be enslaved for his debts, which he couldn't pay. He gave away his wife, kept his freedom, and left the city in shame," She shook her head and giggled in amusement. "A few sailors even sing the song of his shame and cowardice."
"That's... unfortunate. He's quite a fighter and brave on the field..." Garlan did not know what exactly to say, but Janna and Mina burst into giggles.
"A man who can not keep his wife with him is not man enough. Serves him right."
"A poor Lord who wanted to keep a wife half his age, a girl who had been raised like a Princess. What did he expect? He was a fool from the start." Mina shook her head in disappointment. "I was truly shocked that Lord Hightower even agreed to the match. It was as if he was punishing his daughter for a crime. He did not even give her any dowry."
"It tastes amazing!" Leonette suddenly exclaimed, intentionally changing the subject, and when the people looked at her, they found her pouring herself some more wine from the green decanters.
"Does it taste better than every other wine you have ever had?" Rhaenys asked with a smile and watched the girl nod her head.
"Yes." She was way too honest.
Soon, positive evaluations of other guests came as well. And all of them were amazed by how delicious this wine was.
Mina even agreed that it was better than the Arbor Golds of Redwyne, which were considered the finest in Westeros.
"It's called the Passion Spring. It will be put on sale by the end of the next moon." The Princess revealed to them.
"I much prefer the red one. It's strong, dry, crisp... A man's wine," said Garlan, and Benjen agreed with his evaluation.
"I, too, prefer this one."
"Red Dragon," Rhaenys smiled. "It will be going on sale together with the Passion Spring. Be careful with it. Another cup, and you won't be able to stand straight." She advised the Tyrell Knight, who nodded to her and did not test his limits.
The chat continued, and it was quite a pleasant affair, but then Rhaenys asked about how Garlan's older brother was doing, and he sighed in sadness.
"He's crippled now. Crushed leg. Needs to wear a brace and carries a cane to walk. However, his mind remains strong. And even with one leg, he's as dangerous as ever. No one reads people better than Willas."
"Is that so?" The Princess smiled. "I wonder if your House would be interested in letting our Special Healers look at him."
"Special Healers?" Mina raised her brow.
"They heal using spells and magic. I don't guarantee that your brother will be able to run or fight like before, but he may be able to walk without a leg bracer or a cane if the Healers can heal him. If not, they will, at least, make the pain easier on him and will also make sure no hidden dangers arise from his crippled leg."
All of them frowned at her words, and Garlan told her that he would convey her words to his father and Grandmother.
Spells and magic were hated by the Order of the Maesters and the Faith of the Seven. Even if their family agreed to let the Special Healers check and treat Willas, they would have to keep it under wraps.
"What price would the Tyrells have to pay you if your Healers do help Willas?" Mina seriously asked.
She was, after all, the daughter of Olenna Tyrell, and she could sense that the Princess wanted them to owe her.
"We shall discuss it after the Healers do their work. The extent of their success will determine the price, but rest assured, it will not be anything excessive," She assured her, and the Lady nodded her head.