High as Honor, Low As Betrayal (Torin/Lannisters)

[Torin Lannister]

She was being terribly polite which was all well and good but Torin knew very well she was no dainty maiden. She was Lena Arryn, the famed warrior maiden of the Vale. Brienne of Tarth could eat her heart out. Perhaps with less people around, such as the Lannister guards that were watching the Vale Lords that had ridden with Lena eat, wondering to themselves if things would go south and they were needed to skewer them swiftly.

"Come, let us walk." he started, rising from his seat and offering his arm to the Lady. "It is very warm today, let us talk this conversation to the gardens. We can have food and wine sent ahead of us and take a slow, long path. I imagine you would like to see some of the Rock." He would also be quite interested to get Lena on her own for a while, for more private talk. If she was to be his wife he'd like to know the woman proper.

[Lena Arryn]

She smile faintly as he spoke. "That would be lovely Ser... Torin." It wold take some time to get used to calling him by his first name.
Pursing her lips together Lena stood, not waiting on Torin to make the initiative first step to the door. She was nervous and she wasn't entirely sure what to do next. The truth was she'd rather have liked to go to her rooms and cry into her pillow, gorge her self with food and wine and then sleep until it were time to return to the Vale. But as her septa was so fond of saying, fat sobbing women didn't win husbands.
Lena wondered why that hadn't encouraged her to eat more as a young girl.

Once she'd stood she straightened her skirts and waited for Torin to show her the way. A guard walked towards her as if to follow and Lena lifted a hand, her eyes hardened for a moment notifying him she could handle her self.

[Torin Lannister]

She did not take the offered arm, that was less then polite. He'd keep that in mind. But regardless the Ser Knight made his way after Lady Lena Arryn. She waved off one of her guards and Torin exchanged a quick glance with the head of the Lannister guard presence in the room. They'd watch very carefully. Hopefully Lena wouldn't return to find the men who had rode with her all dead, but that was dependent on their ability to behave like good little guests.

Eventually Lena and Torin had left the small feasting room and were walking the corridors, while a Greyjoy or Stark might not enjoy them they were probably to the liking to most others. Fine craft and considered aesthetically pleasing in most regards. "Do you know the story of Casterly Rock? No army has ever been able to take it. The founding father of the Lannisters, Lann the Clever tricked its original owners out of it. It was later on we added military might to our means." The massive gold supplies of their lands had helped that.

[Lena Arryn]

As she walked beside Torin Lena listened to the story of Torin's ancestor. She didn't want to seem uninterested but his claim that no one could take the Rock made her nearly smirk. He couldn't really think to try and impress her with that when she came from the Eryie?
It made her smile to her self, which probably led the staff that watched them walk through the corridors think their master was being charming.

"Military might among other things are what make the Lannister family so great." She said. "How long ago was it that the might matched the clever minds of the Lannister family?" Lena asked thoughtfully. She didn't mean to praise him, only just to make conversation.

[Torin Lannister]

"I like to think the military might still doesn't match the clever minds." The family went far when clever minds were at the reins. Clever and strong. His grandfather for instance had been weak. His father was strong. His grandfather nearly ruined the House and his father had restored it to true greatness. Now Jaime lead the Kingsguard, Cersei controlled her son, the King while Tywin, Torin and Kevan lead the armies, covering themselves in glory.

They reached the gardens eventually, servant girls had run ahead and were laying out a long white sheet they could sit upon and fruit and wine was left waiting. The servants took a moment to press out the final creases and then made haste to be gone. The Lion Son ushered for Lena to seat down then did the same himself, before taking up a pair of goblets. "Do you care for more wine?"

[Lena Arryn]

When the arrived Lena took seat on the ground assisted by Torin, she nearly chased away his help but didn't want to seem rude.
When he in turn sat and asked about the wine Lena nodded politely. "Thank you Torin, wine would be enjoyable."
The sun was shining delightfully warming her shoulders and dark hair, her father would have enjoyed this place much as he enjoyed Kings Landing- as she had enjoyed kings landing for what short time she'd been there.
It made her sick to think of that long ride home to the Vale with only but her small guard. The guard that now were her loyal knights, Knights who served under very loyal lords.

Taking the offered goblet Lena took a sip enjoying the taste savored over her tongue. "Is this from a local vineyard?" She asked making polite conversation.

[Torin Lannister]

"It is not, it is from The Reach, drink more and see if you can taste the fruits." With good wine one could always taste what it had been grown around, the fruit and tree's. It was even used to create a precise flavour, choosing carefully what environment to grow the grapes in.

Ser Torin sipped himself before taking up a plum and biting in. It was very soft and very juicy. Highgarden produced such fine wine and fruits. If he was given free chance to ransack a land it would The Reach. Such fine food and wine. If he had been born a lesser man he would have moved there long ago.

[Lena Arryn]

Lena smiled softly and took another sip at his command. It was a good sweet wine, the taste of figs and honey were hinted at in the robust after taste. She set her cup down and reached for a bit of cheese. The entire spread looked wonderful, the type of thing only Lannister money could buy.

Brushing some of her long hair behind one ear as she placed the small slice of cheese on her tongue Lena closed her eyes for a moment remembering the taste of delicate foods like this in her childhood. It made her sad for the death of her father not one year before, and here she was in Casterly Rock with a Lannister selling his memories for the protection of his beloved Vale.
It made her want to cry, but she kept her face soft, stoic not letting her emotions spill onto the surface.

[Torin Lannister]

After Lena brushed some of her hair behind her ear, Ser Torin reached out to gently caress that same piece of hair. His large, strong fingers taking feel of the finely groomed black. "You are...very beautiful Lady Lena. I cannot think of a Lady so well trained in swordplay and also so very pretty." Most other women who could fight were horrendous to look at. Using steel to make themselves valuable because the Gods had not blessed them with good looks so they could be married off.

"The Lords will cry with envy from the Wall to Sunspear if I claim you as my own." His hand continued to stroke her hair, then shifted slightly so he could rub the back of his fingers against the softness of her cheek. His free hand brought his wine up again and he drank deep, biting his lip as the goblet came away before smiling broadly and showing off his very white teeth. "Very beautiful." His hand came away so he could admire the fine details of her face.

[Lena Arryn]

When he began to touch her Lena shivered and moved away from him gently. "Thank you Ser Lannister..." She said stiffly, her shoulder's finding a hard set as she looked at him with her blue eyes taking in his features.

The lady Lena despite being around men most of her life had never been touched in such a way before. Most of the men feared the retribution of pursuing Lady Arryn from Jon their Lord and master, others saw her as a fighting man and never spoke of anything more.
It was true Lena had heard tales from other men of conquests in the bed room from her male friends, but she was not entirely sure what her role was to play in it.

[Torin Lannister]

"Is there something wrong? You wish to be my wife but recoil from my hand?" and she had called him 'Ser Lannister' again, which was terribly formal. His eyes watched her now, she was no Arianne Martell. She still had her virtue unless she was very good at keeping secrets, but that did not explain why she was so.....shy.

"You need to relax, drink more wine. We are in the gardens, the sun is shining and if I take your hand in marriage you'll have an army that will join the Lords loyal to you and put you in power. You will provide stability and peace for your Realm. Who could ask for more from a leader?" Not to mention a woman, who expected them to do anything great? A woman was to marry and have kids, support her husband be he a blacksmith or a Lord. But Lena was on the verge of saving the Realm from a spoiled brat who still put mother's tit in mouth. Leader's made hard decisions and they did things for the good of the realm. It was not always pretty, but it was there burden.

[Lena Arryn]

Her brow furrowed as he spoke and she felt her teeth rake against her bottom lip as she unconsciously bit at the corner. Suddenly she was nervous again, was he making advances? She wasn't sure.
But she did as he said, she took up her cup and took a long sip of the wine.

"My apologies Ser- Torin... I did not mean to offend, I was merely put off for a moment, you see I've not played the part of a women when supping with Lords in quite a long time."
It was true, she was used to discussing plans and hearing out pleas to build on land or discuss matters of business she was not used to looking pretty and being touched as a woman would.

[Torin Lannister]

"Would you be more comfortable discussing other matters? Like how we will take the Vale? Do you have loyal men on the Bloody Gate to open our way or shall we need catapults to force the way open? Shall we be stopped as we approach the Eyerie or will Lysa hold until we have audience to explain?" He sipped at his wine again, she was a curious creature. If he had come at her with sword drawn she may have stood valiantly to clash steel, but approach with gentle touch and she became delicate like a flower. Most amusing.

[Lena Arryn]

When he spoke of battle Lena's demeanor made the slow shift, she was still wary of his advances but she was always more comfortable speaking of battle than of bed.

"Aye, I do have men who stand with me at the gate, our march shall meet little resistance when the lesser lords see who marches against them." That was in part due to the fact that Lena would be at their head, and in part due to the fact that a Lannister Army marched behind her.
"Lysa will stand firm in the Eyrie, she'll have to be dragged from the high seat kicking and screaming. That is my only worry."

Lena took another long sip of the wine and continued. "Lysa keeps her most loyal knights protecting the Eyrie, and that will be where battle will be fought if she does not cower." In truth Lena felt that it would be unfair, after one or two battle along the way the majority of the lords would turn to favor Lena and the small force Lysa kept at the Eyrie would be over powered in a matter of hours.

[Torin Lannister]

That was more like it, she was talking now. One might even say she was relaxing. "Do not be concerned with Lysa, her loyalists might call you a usurper but if they had any backbone they'd support Jon Arryn's first child in leading the Vale. Young Robert is a usurper. The boy can barely dress himself from what I hear." Torin may not have had little spies like the Eunoch Master of Secrets but he heard things none the less.

"Lysa is a fool and Robert all the more. They have nothing but a defendable position and I expect they will allow us to walk in to explain what we are doing. What Knights that do not bend the knee to a rightful leader will be put to sword and any Lords who refuse you will be offered the Black or I'll behead them. The Lords and Knights that show you loyalty can be rewarded with position made vacant by those who took the black or were executed. The Vale will be much more powerful because of it and then you shall protect it, with your loving Husband as Warden of the East keeping the lands outside the Bloody Gate safe." That sounded all very good in Torin's head. He was doing Lena quite the boon indeed, removing the dredge from her lands and replacing it with stalwart companions and Lords. Push aside the weak so the mighty can shine all the brighter.