Relena’s eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing her uncle speak of political matters with Viserys. They weren’t even married and people were already turning towards him instead of her?
She had expected something like this from men like Lord Baelish or Maester Pycelle, but not from her own family, especially not Stannis.
Slowly the young queen began to tense up within her chairs, while she listened to Stannis, until Viserys finally spoke. For a brief moment her dark eyebrows rose in surprise, before she turned her head towards the silver haired man, slightly turning her back towards the Baratheon Lord. “I was thinking of honey cake.”, she suggested on the matter of wedding cake, leaning back into her chair again.
“Though mother did suggest pigeon pie.” It wasn’t the first thing her mother had suggested, her initially idea was dragon pie but that was certainly not something the young stag was going to mention in front of Viserys, even less so when her eldest uncle was right there with them, for he would probably agree with the former queen for the first time in his life.
“Relena, you’ve heard of the news from Lord Eddard’s son, Jon correct?” Viserys asked noticing how the dark haired woman only commented on cakes and pies than anything else and decided it was good enough time than any to bring up the subject he’d heard from Daenerys. “I wish to go with Dany to see these creatures for myself. If dragons can come back than…well, I don’t want to take any risks and not have any of us prepared for these….creatures.” He stated, Eddard nodding in agreement. “Yes, Jon was very adamant in these creatures being real and a real threat. People need to see to believe.” Eddard spoke to Relena, his eyes glanced over to Stannis trying to gauge how he’d react to the tales of the White Walkers and what his feelings on the matter were.
“You’ll be rid of me and Rahellion for a while. Not too long hopefully.” Viserys told Relena with a small smile, hearing Stannis grunt in disapproval to the words. which made Viserys lose his smile and turn it into a frown and he wondered how Shireen was ever happy if happy at all. The poor child having to be around such sullen and bitter parents who rarely saw one another. Viserys knew his own parents weren’t the happiest and his father was worse off then Stannis…But at least he had his mother and brother and his wife. They had been pleasant. But Shireen had no one, not really.
“Dany wishes to leave in the next few days to the North so with your permission, Your Grace. I’d like to go with her.”
“I am certain most of them are praying for a short winter every day.”, the raven haired woman mumbled quietly. Of course the common folk craved the summer to return, after all, no matter how well the great castles are stocked, there was always the fear that it would not be enough and those that had worked for the harvest were usually the ones that suffered first, but during a long summer there was usually more than enough food for everyone. If were just for the farmers and the low-born, Relena would have join them in their prayers, but she could not help think of something else when people spoke of the end of winter.
And apparently the queen was not the only one that didn’t think of the farmers when it came to the return of summer, because Lady Sansa seemed to think of the exact same matter. Just a moment later the young woman began speaking about the impending wedding that could soon happen when the snow melted and how excited she was, for she had seen many weddings, but never a royal one and if she hadn’t known any better Relena would have claimed that the red haired Stark was the bride to be, since she seemed far more excited than the Baratheon woman. Soon Relena found herself listening to the oldest daughter of her Hand, talking about fabrics for wedding gowns and embroidery patterns. As the girl kept on talking, the young stag did her best to keep a sigh from leaving her lips and leaned back in her chair, a golden goblet, filled with wine in her hand, suddenly understanding why she had seen her mother in the exact same position so often.
Relena’s thoughts trailed off as soon as Sansa began talking about sewing patterns, she was in fact paying so little attention that she had not noticed that the young lady had already stopped talking to her and long started bickering with her sister about something she hadn’t heard. It wasn’t until the queen noticed Viserys waving towards her cousin that her mind returned to the dinner and her guests.
He barley noticed the talk of wedding dresses that Sansa kept droning on about to Relena. That was, until, Sansa decided to take Viserys’s lack of people to talk to and continued the wedding talk. Which left Viserys like a fearful deer, wide eyed and on edge. Talk of food and drink occurred and he just danced around the subject giving half answers and suggested ideas to the girl. The dragon spoke to the young girl’s father, hoping he’d have more insight on what a royal wedding would be like. Arya seemed content enough to just stab her food and make small talk with whomever would talk with her.
The night dragged on for what seemed an eternity and Stannis cleared his throat, questioning Viserys on some political topics and the like, which he abstained from knowing full well it was not his place to discuss what Stannis was trying to get him to do. Viserys was unsure as to why but figured he was gauging Viserys and his role and just how far he could push the dragon. “These would all be questions you should ask your queen, Lord Baratheon. I haven’t the faintest of clues. Now, Lady Sansa….You suggested Lemon Cake for the wedding cake? Wouldn’t that be too much…lemon?” He asked, wrinkling his nose up at the idea as Sansa gave a small laugh, watching Arya join in clearly not liking the idea of that much lemon cake.
“I am fine.”, Relena insisted once more. She felt a bit tipsy, something she wouldn’t admit out loud, especially considering that the young queen felt more than capable to walk down the stairs on her own. She had done it several times already and a bit of wine couldn’t make it that much harder in her opinion. Her mother and uncle were constantly drinking, far more than she had this evening, and they moved around freely in the Red Keep, without and issues or ever falling down the stairs, therefore she simply concluded that she would be perfectly able to do the same. “I don’t need your help.”
The girl was persistant, he gave her that much. But Aegon was just as much and she’d learn that well enough one way or another. “I don’t want to have to use my strength against you. But the minute you start to fall or stumble…” He warned as he backed off a bit, keeping a close eye on the woman. He shook his head as he thought of her mother and uncle and decided while the Targayrens were famed for having madness skip a generation or so, Lannisters drank too much every generation, sometimes two in one. “If you insist” He shrugged, deciding to go on ahead of her down the stairs.
Relena could not wait for this dinner to be over, she was almost certain that one would be able to cut the tension in the room with a blade. For most of the meal the young queen remained silent, mostly just nodding politely at what other people had to say to her, for she herself was uncertain what she was ought to say to begin a conversation with the people that were surrounding her. Stannis had never been the most talkative, his wife wasn’t too fond of her and Lady Shireen, the only person she had anything in common with, was busy talking to the youngest Stark daughter.
When there was mention of the winter ending soon, Relena’s head lifted quickly, turning towards the silver haired man that had spoke. “That would be the first time Maester Pycelle was right with something.”, she mumbled, before Lord Stark could say anything, as she led the golden goblet towards her lips once more. The queen wasn’t too fond of the idea of winter ending soon, on the one hand a short winter meant that the country could go back to normal soon and the stocks would easily last that long, which was certainly positive but on the other hand she had said that they would marry once summer returned.
“And the last summer was quite long, reason enough to expect that winter will last longer than just one more month.”, Relena pointed out, while her goblet found its way back onto the table. “… though I am sure farmers would be quite pleased if that was the truth, which would be a delight.”, she added quickly, not wanting to sound too negative.
“It would be, yes. Which is why I am still skeptical but, the idea is nice” He told Relena before a frown passed over his face. He knew she didn’t want winter to end, if she could have her way he figured she would just have an eternal winter but it couldn’t last forever. “Very true but for the farmers and other common folk whose lively hood depends on these things that summer provides…”
He trailed off not wanting to really cause any kind of debate, especially now with Stannis here. Stannis, Viserys had noted seemed to make him more on edge than Cersei did and he held on to Relena’s words and his older more blind thinking to get him through Stannis’s glower. He was a dragon. He wouldn’t be put in his place by an old Stag nor cower in fear from one. If Stannis was iron breaking before ever thinking about bending. Viserys decided he would be diamond. Unbreakable.
Luckily for Viserys, Eddard took his attempt at trying to talk to Stannis and Arya and Sansa had taken this distraction as a way to bicker, Arya starting it almost as soon as Eddard addressed Stannis, leaving Shireen free and one hand slyly gestured Relena to her cousin, knowing they hadn’t gotten much chance to speak together. Viserys though gave the Stark girls a thoughtful look and shook his head, half wondering if he’d had more of a normal childhood if he’d have had that with either of his own siblings or his neice and nephews. As the cooks brought out the last meal, dessert, the Stark girls seemed to quiet down and Viserys slowly took a bite of his cake. Savoring the sweet taste, leaving any political talk to Relena if it needed to occur.
Green eyes narrowed slightly, while Relena looked at her fiancé. “Good, because a brave man would be capable to make his peace with my mother, because you cannot possibly expect me to become your wife while you are still having a feud with a member of my family.”, she pointed out.
“I am sure you would expect the same if I were to hide each time your sister crosses my path.”
Relena had to spot short of letting her head fall into her hand, when Viserys suggested they all could dine together with her family at some point. Stannis clearly disliked her siblings and mother, the young queen wasn’t quite sure why, but Lord Stark seemed to have noticed it was well, sometimes she even wondered if her Hand knew what had caused his hostility towards them, but the raven haired woman had never dared asking, for she dreaded what the answer might be.
As she watched the Targaryen man try to talk to her family members, Relena reached for her goblet. She wasn’t usually one to drink, but at the moment it felt as if wine was the only thing that could make this dinner at least a bit bearable. “Renly has told me that there are quite a few interesting books in the library of Storm’s End, perhaps you should visit it some time when you get the chance.”, the queen was addressing the Lady Shireen, but she could not help but glance at the Lord Baratheon, hoping that the prospect of finally receiving his families ancestral home would light up a bit.
Stannis did not seem pleased that he had to sit and dine with the Targayren whelp but it had to be done and he was less than pleased at the idea of dinning with the rest of his niece’s family and maintained his stern composition. “Yes, I think that would be a lovely idea.” He stated as he took his eyes from Viserys to Relena. “Storm’s End will be a lovely place, Shireen.” He added as he stabbed his food before eating it. His wife sipped on her drink in front of her and least Shireen seemed happy enough, giggling at Arya Stark’s antics that were borderline about to get her in trouble.
Viserys ate, enjoying the small amounts of silence when they came and spoke as casually as one could with Lord Stark and Sansa, who seemed to be less than thrilled to be here and he couldn’t blame her, no one really seemed thrilled to be here but some of them were making it better than others.
The silver haired dragon eyed Relena as he too drank from his goblet, trying to block out everything the Lady Baratheon was saying as it seemed to be more just nonsense. But the fact Stannis seemed welcomed to the idea of Storm’s End so it seemed like Viserys and Daenerys would get their family’s lands back. Daenerys could be Lady of Storm’s End. The thought made Viserys want to smile but as his eyes caught Stannis’s eyes the happiness died all too quickly. “I heard the maestesr say that they believe the winter will end in a month.” He mentioned. “They say the signs are all there from years past when there has been a short winter. What do you think, Lord Stark? Will we have a short or a long winter?”
Relena’s shoulders dropped slightly while one of her dark eyebrows rose. “Why couldn’t you tell me that before I agreed to marrying you? I would have just send her into battle and won the war with ease.”, she complained, the hint of a smirk tugging on the corner of her lips. “But you do realize that you will have to make your peace with my mother before we get married, right?” After all they would spend the rest of their lives under one roof and the young queen certainly didn’t want to find her husband hiding in corridors just, so he could avoid Cersei. “I always thought you dragons were brave.”
The dark haired woman let out a sigh. “At least one of us is.”, she said with a roll of her eyes. “No, feel free to return to my brothers. I am sure Joffrey is eagerly waiting for you.”, while she spoke Relena was already walking down the hall into the direction of the Hand’s tower.
For quite some time Relena was just staring at the door, unwilling to walk out of it. This dinner would be even less amusing than any she had had with her family lately, but there was no way around it. Her hands went over her dress once, to straighten the fabric, before one of her ladies finally opened the door. While the queen stepped outside one of her hands was still adjusting the seam of her sleeve. “It is always hard to believe anything a person said after they had to take a short break, especially if it is a compliment.”, Relena pointed out, glancing up from her arm while she spoke, before reaching for Viserys’.
“My Lords, my Ladies.”, the queen said, walking towards the head of the table, before sitting down. “My mother and my siblings excuse themselves, they are used to dinning earlier.” A lie, of course, but with her uncle and her fiancé at the table, Relena had believed there were enough chances for trouble, without adding Joffrey and her mother to the mixture. “I hope we will have more opportunities to together during your stay, don’t you agree, Viserys?”, she asked, her turning away from her uncle’s family to turn towards the Targaryen.
Viserys shuddered at the idea of Cersei on the battlefield. It would have been a terrifying thought and one he was glad he’d never experience. At her next set of words, he straightened he’s back and held his head a bit higher. “I’m brave. I’mjust a bit wary of her now that the battlefeild hand rules have changed is all” He told her with confidence. War was easier than these months of courting had been.
He cleared his throat before replying to Relena, having watched how easily she making this all seem and that’s when he remembered it was just simple conversation. It wouldn’t be hard. “Yes,” He began. “I do hope that is the case, perhaps even with your mother and siblings” He told Relena, knowing exactly where and why she had spoken about her family as she had. “How was your journey Lord Stannis?” He asked the older stag who didn’t seem impressed by the pleasantries one bit.
Viserys had no idea what to say to the wife who was staring at the young couple every now and than. So, it seemed he had to change tactics. “Lady Shireen, Relena tells me you are also an avid reader. Our library is quite expansive. I’m sure you will find it to your liking.” he mentioned to the young girl, a smile crept to his lips before his violet eyes caught her mother’s as she glared at Viserys and he looked at her for a brief moment before focusing on his food and wondered if she thought Relena would receive the same or similar ‘curse’ she had.
“She is an odd woman.”, Relena mumbled under her breath. She would have understood why her aunt was mad at Robert for what he had done during their wedding, but to think he caused a curse with his tasteless behaviour, that just sounded ridiculous.
The raven haired woman let out a heavy sigh, when Viserys reminded her of Arya, perfectly recalling how she had been staring at Tyrion and how she kept calling him ‘the imp’ even when she was in polite society. Perhaps she should have given this talk to her instead of the Targaryen. Hopefully there was still enough time to find the youngest Stark daughter before she ran into Shireen, for she truly didn’t need another thing to worry about.
Relena was about to walk out of the corridor as well, noticing just in time that Viserys took a step back. “What was that about?”, she questioned, stretching her neck a bit to look out into the hall in an attempt to see what he had seen, just to watch red fabric walk past them. “Was that my mother?”, the young stag asked, slightly offended. “You realize that she is a person, not some monster, right?”, as she spoke, Relena’s eyes narrowed slightly, her arms crossing in front of her chest. She knew that her mother could be a bit unfriendly when it comes to the Targaryen man, but she was just trying to protect her child, something any mother would have tried to do.
“Yes it was” He confirmed as he trailed after Relena, huffing slightly. “A person yes, but a scary and intimidating one who would sink her claws into me had she seen us alone together like that…” He pointed out his own arms crossed over his chest. “I don’t think I will ever get over the fear I have of her.“ He admitted to his fiance as he unclasped his fur cloak and folded it over his arms feeling a bit too over heated now that he was inside and not out playing in the snow.
“I look forward to having dinner with your family.” Viserys added on, unsure of if Relana needed him for anything else. “Shall I see you then or…have you other needs for me?” He asked, shifting a bit as he stood from one leg to the other.
He was attended to by his manservant, his clothing and hair done perfectly and he waited near Relena’s room, the guards eyeing him suspiciously the whole time, which he couldn’t blame them for. But he waited and waited for what felt like an eternity until he heard the door open and his eyes looked up to see Relena dressed in her finest attire and he gave a warm smile.
“You look…wonderful. Shall we?” He asked as he offered her his arm as they walked to the dinning area. His eyes spotted Stannis and his wife, his eyes danced to Eddard and his girls, Arya, he noticed looked very uncomfortable and Sansa kept trying to slyly tell Arya to stop kicking her legs under the table. When he saw Shireen, he understood why Relena had said what she had about the young Lady. “Good evening Lords and Ladies” Viserys greeted everyone warmly as he took his place at the table, offering each girl a smile trying to maintain the whole ‘don’t stare but don’t not acknowledge’ Shireen’s greyscale.
“Please Viserys, I am being serious, my uncle he is… he bends as easily as iron.”, Relena declared, her eyes pleading, recalling how her father had once said that Stannis would rather break than bend. “But he is family and I need him on my side, especially if I make him Lord Storms End, he will be acting lord of the Stormlands in my stead, I don’t need another family member opposing my reign.”, the young queen kept insisted. This dinner was important and within one evening the negotiations of weeks could be ruined.
For a brief moment the young stag looked around, her eyes turning to the left and the right, before her hand reached for the fabric, which was covering Viserys’ arm, pulling him into a smaller, darker corridor. “I don’t want to bad mouth my own family.”, Relena felt the need to point this out, as her teeth sunk into her lower lip, before the inevitable ‘but’ left her lips. “… but his wife is… quite strange, she believes my father cursed her marriage bed because he… let’s just say she thinks she is to blame for the lack of a male heir…”, the dark haired woman explained slowly, trying to find the right words while she spoke.
“And the Lady Shireen, she is a darling child and wise beyond her years…”, Relena explained, a sad smile upon her lips. “…but when she was still baby she got infected with Greyscale, she is cured but you can still see it on her face. Please, for the love the gods, do not say anything about it, don’t stare at the infected sink either, but you cannot act like you are purposefully ignoring it… just… just treat her like any other child, just pretend like Myrcella is sitting with us.”
“Of course not. You need as many people on your side then against” He stated, before he looked at her as she reached for him and leading him to a dark corridor. The small space made the distance between them even smaller and Viserys could feel his heart pounding as he listened to her speak. “Odd belief but hers to have nonetheless…” He mumbled.
“Don’t most people blame the woman if they don’t have a male? Even though it takes two to make a babe.” His features softened at the mention of Shireen and he gave her a comforting stroke on her cheek as he cupped it. “Of course. Shireen no matter her condition is a person, I don’t treat Tyrion any differently. I honestly don’t understand those that do. I’m sure she is as lovely as Myrcella.” He told Relana as he dropped his hand. “My father may have had prejudices but I don’t hold his views. I can’t after where I’ve been and seen.” He informed the young Queen.
“This will be an interesting dinner no doubt. But I’m confident there will be minimal problems with Lord Stark and his daughters. Well, Arya may be the interesting factor.” He pointed out knowing how the Stark girl liked to be ‘wild’ Viserys about to head out from the corridor and ducked back in as Cersei could be seen, luckily having not seen the silver hair poke out but she was getting closer and Viserys found his body trying to make sure they were farther into the corridor and he swore he had nearly caused Relena to stumble, possibly as she tried to follow him out. “Sorry” He whispered as he tried to avoid any physical contact between their bodies as he recovered from the panic at seeing Cersei walk towards them.
Once they were back inside, Relena was about to open her mouth but before a single sound could escape her lips, she already heard Viserys’ voice. She stopped walking, her head turning towards the man, listening to him explaining and excusing his behaviour, before she was even able to accuse him of anything. She tilted her head slightly upon realizing that plotting with the Targaryen would probably never be a good idea, for it seemed like he would confess far to easily, something that visibly amused the queen, for a smirk seemed to pull on the corner of her lips.
Once the silver haired man seemed to be done talking there was a long moment of silence between them, for she wondered what else he might be willing to confess to, if only she gave him the time, before Relena finally spoke herself. “I just wanted to inform you that we are not going to eat supper with my family today.”, she told him, the words slowly leaving her lips. “We are going to dine with my uncle, his wife and his daughter and Lord Stark and his daughters.”, the young woman added. “Stannis already dislikes you and he and my father never had a loving relationship, so he isn’t too fond of me either, so please be at your best behaviour, especially because he still owns the castle you want at the moment.”, the raven haired girl reminded him.
“And while we dine, you should not confess to inappropriate behaviour when no one has accused of it.”, she pointed out, a hint of amusement lingering in her voice. “…or perhaps you should not say anything else considering the amount that just left your mouth.”
Viserys was surprised to say the least that his concerns weren’t of any Relena shared, so as she stopped, he did as well. “Oh” he uttered, not entrierly unhappy about the turn of events. He’d hardly spoken with Stannis and his family but he knew of his dislike for him and the house he came from so it could only be just as bearable as dinner with Relena’s mother right?
“Out of the smoke and into the fire.” He replied with a shake of his head, the only good part about this dinner was Lord Stark and his family and not to mention Stannis wouldn’t be just not fond of him but of Relena as well as it meant he wouldn’t be alone. “Of course. Best behavior is something I can easily do when it comes to dinner with family.”
He snorted at the idea of him not being ill-mannered at any dinner he may have been among the Dothraki and not fully brought up in court but it didn’t mean he lacked any social skill or manners. “Speak only when spoken to right?” He asked Relena with a playful tone. “It seems there is something more you want to speak to me about….do tell.” He leaned in a bit as he spoke and than slowly leaning away “I promise I won’t blather it about to anyone.”
Relena was walking though the halls of the Red Keep, accompanied by one of her least favourite uncles, Stannis. Had the Lord of Dragonstone not finally agreed to meet with her to talk about his property she would have despised the sudden arrival of winter, but at least something kept him in the capital long enough to talk, for everyone knew that the eldest stag wasn’t too fond of most that recited within the red stone walls. They were just walking by a window, when the young queen heard strange sounds coming from the royal gardens. She took a quick glance outside, finding her fiancé play with the two princes’, while it was quite adorable in her opinion, she was certain that Stannis, who was already disapproving of the idea of having a Targaryen king again, wouldn’t take his future king acting like a child too kindly, something even she would have to admit when looking from his point of few. Therefore, the raven haired woman quickly stepped in front of the window, trying to hide what was happening down there, while trying to think of a way to politely send him back to his chambers, where he wouldn’t be able to see them.
Once her uncle was out of sight, Relena went back to her own chambers, quickly putting on her fur cloak and a pair of gloves, before making her way towards the gardens. The young woman had just arrived at the scene of the spectacle, when she opened her mouth, to make her presence known, when suddenly a snowball hit her in the face. She had no idea where exactly it had come from, or who had thrown at, the only thing she knew was that one of her ladies, who were standing behind her, was currently doing her best not laugh. Relena took a deep breath and removed the snow, which had stuck to her head, as good as she could, before clearing her throat to get the men’s attention.
“As much as I hate to spoil the fun.”, the raven haired girl said, chunks of snow still falling down her hair and cloak. “But I would like to have a word with my fiancé.”, she explained to her brothers, before her eyes fell upon Viserys. As soon as these words were uttered, the queen turned around, to walk back to the castle, hoping he would follow. She was not too fond of the cold, after all, she, like most people in the Red Keep, were born during the long summer, therefore snow was far from being something she was used to and even further away from something enjoyable, for when she was a child, her septa was always quick to usher her away from any cold.
The snowball war had happened so fast and ended so quickly but he had no idea which of their snowballs hit the Queen but he tried to not laugh as he saw her face as the snow fell from her fine features and by the tone in his voice sent a chill down his spine and he suddenly felt like a boy again, in trouble for something by his mother.
Viserys looked over at the boys, surprised to see what he could only assume was a smile on Joffrey’s face and he almost didn’t follow Relena as he stared at the Eldest Prince before his face twisted into a more common frown that Viserys was used to seeing. He caught up to Relena as she went inside the keep and he wasn’t quite sure what it had to be about but he could only guess it was about his behaviour as ‘king’ and playing in the snow. “Tommen was wanting to enjoy the snow and at first Joffrey was not willing to and the look on your brothers face…It reminded me of when I would not allow Daenerys a simple childish pleasure…” He tried to explain, unsure of what to say.
“Is something else wrong?” he asked, worried something else was troubling Relena and not just his actions. “Something about the council or family? Is Dany okay? Are you alright?” He mind was going all over the place before it settled again back on the first idea and most certainly the right answer. “Or you’re upset with me because I’m acting childish and I shouldn’t do so and act more like an adult…?”
Goldnwulf 