Elana Frey

Elana Frey was the Lady of the Crossing, and the second daughter of Lord Symond Frey and Lady Cassana Vance. She was first married Preston Vance following her tenure as Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Visaera Targaryen, and he fathered her eldest child, Cassana Vance, current Heir of Harrenhal. Shortly after Preston's death, Elana wed Syro Silvertongue of her own volition and he fathered her other three children, including her heir, Symond Frey. Elana died on the 5th Day of the 8th Moon 438 AC.

Appearance and Character
Elana has mousy brown hair and brown, doe-like eyes. Her brows are thin and straight. She has prominent and rosy cheekbones. As a girl, Elana's style was notably modest, a reflection of her inner qualities: meek and reserved. Her time in King's Landing gave her an appreciation of fashion, and as a result, she dresses in relative luxury following her return to the Riverlands. Childbearing and failure thereof has left its mark on Elana's body and mind. Slenderness has left her figure, leaving wider hips, marred skin, and a rounded stomach in its stead. Elana refuses a wetnurse, therefore the toll of nursing falls upon her body, leaving her chest swollen.

The trials and tribulations of the past decade have left Elana's mind equally worn as her body. However, despair has never dulled her wit. If there was ever a fruitful love in Elana's life, it would be her love of peace.

And pieces of gold.

Like her late sister, Elana holds a keen interest in numbers, perhaps the best vocation for a family of tollkeepers. She has found many hours of refuge in her study, and has likely read more than both of her sisters combined.

History
In 392 AC, Elana's lord father Symond, the pregnant Lady Cassana, and their three children visited Riverrun in the midst of the Great Famine. They came with considerable rations, and some would say it was the only food they had left. Elana was born during their stay at Riverrun. Lady Cassana's health worsened and she was advised to carry no more children, as she'd already produced an heir. Lady Cassana did not heed the warnings of maesters, however, and soon fell pregnant with her sixth child. Further weakened by the famine and a particularly terrible pregnancy, Cassana barely survived long enough to birth a living child. Elana's baby sister, Visaera, was placed in her mother's arms and, perhaps distracted by the chaos, none removed her older sister Jeyne from the room as her mother bled to death. Memories of a gaunt woman with ginger curls and tears down her cheeks would haunt Jeyne's dreams for many years. However, the devastation of her mother's death never inspired ill will towards her baby sister. Jeyne's uncle, Whalon, used Lord Symond's grief to his advantage; as his broken brother wept at night, Whalon made moves to cement his own reign. Whalon, though ruthless, was effective in recovering Frey lands from the famine. Thankfully, they barely had a reputation to keep intact. Uncle Whalon produced more than a sizable harvest- he sired a number of bastards. Symond was too buried in melancholy to reprimand his brother for his shameful actions, for a time. Jeyne left to serve Princess Visaera Targaryen in 398 AC.

News of her father Symond's death in 400 AC summoned Jeyne back to the Twins, at first to attend his burial. In truth, her grief ended any interest in continuing down the path of a lady-in-waiting, though she continued to regard Princess Visaera highly. She wrote to her regularly. With winter coming, Jeyne helped and- when the boy favored playing- lead her House's underlings in preparing while her uncle Whalon took hold of the daily activities of the Crossing. Symond never invited his younger brother back to the Twins, but he was a touch too dead to stop him, and none of his children saw their uncle for what he was. Jeyne resumed her role as a motherly figure to her siblings, though her youngest sister Visaera was sent to serve Lady Bethany Blackwood in Rivverrun in 400 AC. Whalon refused both Jeyne and Elana the opportunity to leave, and refused any would-be suitors.

In 401 AC, on the cusp of winter, Lord Donnel anticipated his upcoming name day. Their Uncle Whalon refused the boy's request for a tourney in celebration, perhaps wisely so. Nevertheless, young Lord Donnel grew increasingly sick of his uncle's presence and that of his bastards. He became the subject of much debate on Donnel's small council, which had come to include Jeyne. To make things more embarrassing, Whalon sat on the council as well. On Lord Donnel's name day, Jeyne presented him with the best gift of all: a chance to free himself of a Lord's responsibilities for a day, and play as he wished. Jeyne took over in his stead. While Jeyne sat before the table made of a dark, heavy wood in one of the stone rooms constructed by her late father, she heard it; a thick, sickening thump.

Lord Donnel Frey lay bloodied and broken on the bank of the Trident.

Jeyne rushed out of the keep as quick as she could, ignoring her cramping stomach and breathlessness and screaming like a madwoman. Pushing away any who stood in her way, with Maester Bertram and Septa Lenore rushing behind and her uncle nowhere to be found, Jeyne was determined to save her baby brother. Or, as she later resolved, save him from dying alone. When they came upon him, Jeyne collapsed at her baby brother's side and held him against her chest. Ignoring even the cries of young Elana, Jeyne sobbed and clutched her brother's broken body.

It was resolved that Lord Donnel had fallen while climbing a high tower.

Time had come to pass. Whalon propositioned Jeyne again in 401 AC, though his was more of an ultimatum: she would be his bride, or he'd find another and she and her sister would be sent to a brothel, or the Ironborn. If Jeyne hadn't loathed him before, she did now, albeit in silence. She agreed to his proposal.

Whalon died the night of their wedding in late 401 AC, under suspicious circumstances. Jeyne became Lady of the Crossing thereafter, and named Elana her heir in 403 AC, until the time came that she would have children of her own.

Tourney of Harrenhal
Elana attended the Tourney of Harrenhal in 407 AC with her sisters. By its conclusion, she would be oblivious as to the whereabouts of either. Though clearly distressed by this, she followed through with her sister's wish to serve Queen Visaera Targaryen, as she had done as a young girl. She departed the Riverlands for the first time in her life.

King's Landing
She arrived at the court of King's Landing sometime in 407 AC, a shy girl rife with melancholy. Her Uncle was the only one she felt she could confide in, and naturally feelings for him began to bud. Though the two shared a kiss, there was a falling out immediately after, and Elana has never been able to replicate that moment- yet. She befriended a Septa by the name of Joy, whom she hesitantly accepted as a companion, though she finds the woman annoying at times. She had a brief exchange with Berena Tully, whose brother Landon Tully she believed responsible for the death of her sister. Shortly after, Berena would die at the hands of Rhaegal following a disastrous attempt at taming the beast. Elana yearned to return home throughout her stay, though over time she learned to enjoy herself. She learned that she would be wed to her cousin, Preston Vance, a prospect she felt neutral towards at best, but his good looks and chivalry warmed her to the idea. She also learned that her baby sister, Visaera, still lived. It was a moment of unspeakable relief and love. Yet, when she returned to the Crossing following the conclusion of the Mummer's War, her sister was nowhere to be found. Her sister's self-exile confused her, and to this day Elana yearns for reunion.

409 AC-418 AC
Elana's fate was sealed in late 410 AC, when she was finally wed to her betrothed, Preston Vance. Incompatibilities soon made themselves abundantly clear, much to the despair of a young and romantically charged Elana. When they shared the bed, Elana could only imagine what was going on in Preston's head, though she smiled to know she thought of his father. She distracted herself by focusing on the upkeep of the Crossing, which she rarely elected to leave. Her extensive work paid off, compounded with her keen albeit self-serving interest in aiding the poor, and the Frey lands neared prosperity once more. She seemed content to live life carrying her love on her shoulders, until late 414 AC.

Then, she learned the most marvelous news of her life: she was with child. Before it drew breath, she had marvelous dreams for her child. It would be the first thing that was hers, totally hers, and her only connection of the flesh that wasn't hundreds of thousands of miles away. She was easily the happiest she'd been since the Tourney of Harrenhal, perhaps even happier. She would often mutter sweet wishes to the child within, whom she believed would fix her. Her dreams turned to ashes when her son, Petyr, born in 8th Moon of 415 AC, was born sickly. He lingered for a few days before perishing. Elana always viewed herself as fractured, but following Petyr's death, she felt utterly broken. She was inconsolable. She carried the scars of childbearing yet had no child to show for it, and a broken heart with no love in return for her trouble. Wine proved a great tool for coping, and fermented grapes seemed to go to bed with Elana more often than her husband.

When she learned she was with child in 417 AC, she showed barely a portion of the excitement she felt towards her first pregnancy. Her daughter, Cassana Vance, was born in the 2nd Moon of 418 AC. Cassana was small, but alive. All of the love she lacked since learning of the pregnancy came crashing down, and as a result, Elana is over-protective of her daughter's wellness, to say the least. She refuses a wetnurse and often has the babe to her chest.

Though she hadn't seen her sister in the flesh in over a decade, the two wrote frequently.

Family/NPCs

 * Symond Frey (†)
 * Cassana Vance (†)
 * Jeyne Frey (†)
 * Forrest Frey (†)
 * Donnel Frey (†)
 * Elana Frey
 * Petyr Vance (†)
 * Cassana Vance
 * Visaera Blackwood
 * m. Ambrose Blackwood
 * Bowen Blackwood (†)
 * Imogen Blackwood
 * Benjen Blackwood


 * Minisa Erenford, 18, lady-in-waiting at the Crossing
 * Sallei Haigh, 16, lady-in-waiting at the Crossing
 * Jeyne Charlton, 11, lady-in-waiting at the Crossing
 * Maester Waltyr, 31
 * Septa Joy
 * Orian, 20, court bard at the Crossing
 * Meera, 28, companion