I'm a lioness, I am strong.

Rhaelle thought as she watched the handmaiden brush her hair. Last night, she spent her time washing off the black dye from her tresses and she smiled as her silver ones shone like moonlight under the delicate hands of her handmaiden.

It was an act of rebellion on her part, a petty one if you ask but she wanted to do it, she wanted to let her Father see that she wasn't the person he sent to Dragonstone before, she wasn't the girl who all her life wants to please her father and get his attention. She was now a grown woman and no one has the right to meddle with her life except for herself.

However she knew that it was impossible, as the Princess of the Seven Kingdoms, she was bound for her duty to the realm. With her royal blood, she wasn't free to decide for herself and she won't be free to marry a man for love.

So, her little act of defiance won't still help her get out of the betrothal that her Father arranged for her.

Harry the Heir (she supposed she should call him, Harry the Lord now, for Uncle Jon's dead and Harry's now the Lord of the Vale) is a handsome young man. He was tall with strong built, sandy hair, blue eyes and has a smile and adorable dimples that's enough to make girls tremble.

He was kind and gallant too but she didn't like him at all. Somehow he reminds her of her Father, Uncle Renly once told her that King Robert was a gallant, kind and fun young man but the war has changed him especially when he lost his lady love. She knew that that her Father had sired bastards even before his marriage to her mother so she can't help but compare Harry to Father because of those similarities.

She was afraid, what if she will be stuck with a loveless marriage like her mother? Though Harry doesn't have a girl whom he was in love with, Rhaelle thought that she might not be able to bring herself to love this man, her heart says so. There was another, someone who already captured her heart. The funny thing is she knew that she was in love but she doesn't know who it was.

She sighed, her handmaiden was now starting to braid her hair but she put the woman to a halt by raising her hand, she wants her hair to hanging loosely. All these months in the North and she was now used to their hairstyles, she hated the Southern styles for they felt tight and heavy on her head. So she instructed the handmaiden to make two braids and tie it on the back.

As the handmaiden finished, she smiled, though her silver hair and mismatched eyes made people claim that she was Sheira Seastar reborn; she knew that right now, she was more like Daena the Defiant for her goals of showing her displeasure with her engagement by exposing the silver hair that her Father hated.

With one last look on the mirror on her vanity, she stood up from her seat and moved to the bed where the dresses her mother has ordered to be made for her name day were displayed.

She had no idea that her Father had asked Lord Stark to hold a tourney in Winterfell. The act made her happy, very happy. In her seventeen years in this world, her father only held four tourneys for her nameday while her other siblings had one for every year of their lives.

So when she learned about it, she was very elated that she wanted to kiss and hug her Father but the happiness was quickly changed to anger when two days ago, he announced her betrothal to Harry Harrdying Arryn.

She took a deep breath as she stared at the dresses in front of her; she knew that she needed to hurry. She was the most important person in the event and people are waiting for her, once she gets out of the Great Keep and made her way to the tourney grounds, the match will start.

But she wanted to take her time though; she never wanted to be bothered when she was choosing her clothes. She may like simple clothing but still she manages to make it fashionable and she wanted to be perfect for her name day.

Four dresses were presented for her; two are in Lannister crimson and gold and two in Baratheon gold and black. All were beautiful but she opt the simplest gown in Baratheon colors. The gold in it was a little dull so it won't clash with the silver on her hair.

With the help of her handmaiden, she put it on and decided to wear only her lion medallion and her onyx and gold coronet. The ring that Uncle Jaime also gave her now adorned her ring finger. She then asked the handmaiden to take out her kerchiefs from the wardrobe.

Today, Uncle Renly and Uncle Jaime are competing for the tourney and both asked for her favour, she choose a white kerchief with a roaring golden lion stitched on it for Uncle Jaime and for Uncle Renly another white fabric with a running black stag embroidered on it.

She put on her black sandals and took a deep breath before heading out of her chambers.

Instead of taking the route towards the courtyard where the people are waiting for her, she went to the direction of the kennels; she wanted to bring Snow with her. Somehow she thinks that the presence of the lion will help calm her nerves.

Snow was housed differently from the direwolves of the Stark children, Snow's cage however was a little closer to Ghost and she was surprised to see her little white lion snapping playfully at Jon's wolf. She smiled. Snow was adorable and was as gentle as Sansa's lady but can also be as wild as ferocious as Rickon's Shaggydog.

"Hey little one!" She said in a melodious voice before opening the door of Snow's cage.

The lion's ears perked up and she giggled as it ran towards her, sitting before her feet and looking up to her with its pink tongue sticking out of its small mouth.

She bent to cradle the lion in her arms. She doesn't care if her mother or father will complain about Snow's presence, she loved her little lion and it was her name day so she should be doing things her way.

As soon as the lion rested on her arms, she hurried towards the courtyard where the platforms were raised. Two of the kingsguard knights welcomed her and assisted her on her way to the royal box.

She found that the Stark family was also situated in the box alongside hers, she knew that her Father might have been the one who arranged it and she didn't mind at all and she grinned as soon as she saw the empty seat near Arya Stark. The youngest Stark girl beamed as she saw her and she hurriedly went to occupy the seat without bothering to glance at her Father.

Before propping herself on the comfortable velvet chair, she noticed the displeasure on her mother's face as her eyes went to Snow.

Remembering the incident with Ser Antlers, her mother talked to her of giving the lion away, telling her that lions are dangerous and that they'll just give her and Tommen another fawn instead. If it isn't for her Uncle Jaime, Snow would have been thrown away by now and her mother only agreed to keep it as long as it stays in the kennels and won't be sleeping in her room.

She took a deep breath and glanced at the people gathered to celebrate her name day. There were a lot of them coming from the different parts of Westeros and she wondered if Lord Stark and Lady Stark weren't burdened with the tourney and the number of visitors.

Once Uncle Jaime and Uncle Renly got their favours, the King bellowed for the tourney to start and her hand went to Snow's fur for support.

People were fussing over the mystery knight that arrived in the middle of the competition, no one knew who he was and he only introduced himself as the "Knight of the Weirwood Tree". He donned black armour and his shield was grey with a picture of a weirwood tree on it. And his head was covered with his black helm so no one could recognize or see his face.

Somehow it reminded Rhaelle of the story of the Knight of the Laughing Tree, a tale she heard from Lord Stark one time she and the Stark children listened to his childhood adventures, the Knight was present during the Tourney at Harrenhal and he unhorsed three other knights only to disappear the next morning and up until now his identity was yet to be revealed.

It was the final tilt, and she can feel the excitement through the crowd as the Knight will face Ser Loras Tyrell, who had successfully unhorsed her Uncle Jaime, Uncle Renly and even her betrothed Harry (who unfortunately was now sitting beside her, leaving her with no choice, but to interact with him and her jaw was now aching with all her forced smiles and laughs).

The trumpets sounded and Rhaelle felt her hand tightened on Snow's little body, the Knight and Ser Loras charged into each other and Rhaelle's heart thumped hardly on her chest as the first match was a draw.

The competitors went back to their places and were given a new lance each.

She should be supporting Ser Loras, he was a good friend of her Uncle Renly but she found herself praying for the Knight of the Weirwood Tree to win instead. Her Father had murmured that he wanted to unmask the knight should he win the competition to honour him with his skill. And Rhaelle was more than excited to see the face hiding behind the black helm.

The second trumpet sounded and Rhaelle covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a gasp as the Knight of Flower's lance pierced the wooden shield of the mystery knight. Fortunately, the knight shifted before the lance could even touch his body.

Again, it was a draw and Rhaelle's body trembled in anticipation. This was one of the most exciting matches that she ever saw in her entire life and the people seemed to share the same sentiment as they cheered wildly for both the knights.

Finally, the third trumpet sounded and Rhaelle's hand grasped the arm of the chair tightly and she tried not to blink her mismatched eyes as she focused on the spectacle in front of her.

It felt like forever when the two charged, and when the mystery knight's lance, penetrated Ser Loras' shield and pushed him off from his horse, Rhaelle was sure that she was not the only one who jumped from her seat.

Everyone was cheering wildly and the knight even helped Ser Loras up from the ground and the two shook clasp their hand for a handshake before the knight went to her cousin Lancel, who was holding the wreath of winter roses for the Queen of Love and Beauty.

People started whispering on their seats, eager to know who the man was while the ladies were blushing furiously and shifting in their seats, obviously hoping to be noticed and crowned as the Queen of Love and Beauty.

But the noise died when the knight stopped in front of the Royal Box.

No one moved and people stared at the Royal Family waiting for the Knight to acknowledge the most beautiful lady of the day.

Sansa and Myrcella seemed to be excited and were blushing furiously while Arya wasn't impressed but rather eyeing the knight curiously. Her Father and Lord Stark were just watching the knight; the King seemed to be restraining himself from jumping off his seat and demand the identity of the knight.

Her mother and Lady Stark, however, remained stoic, their eyes only observing everything that's happening.

Joffrey was bored and Tommen's eyes were dropping while Harry at her side seemed to be uninterested.

The knight lifted his lance and placed the wreath of roses on the tip, he slowly moved it and Rhaelle almost felt her world stop as the roses landed on her lap and circled over Snow.

She has been named as the Queen of Love and Beauty by this mysterious knight.

And she was betrothed to another.

Everyone's smiles faded, as they witness what has transpired. She too, froze in her seat not knowing what to do; she lifted her head and felt her breathing hitched as her eyes met that of the knight's.

Gray, they were familiar gray and she knew that she saw those solemn eyes before she wasn't just sure where.

The knight dashed off quickly, leaving every one of them dazed.

A/N: First of all, I want to apologize for being absent these past few months. I've been very busy with work and school. Second, this chapter is a little rush so it might not be good enough. Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoyed and I promise I will try my best to update soon! :)