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.”
I’m made up of black coffee, untamed hair, and poorly suppressed anger.
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…?”
Relena’s eyebrows narrowed slightly and there was a hint of a frown upon her forehead when she saw Viserys’ grin, for she herself saw no reason for a reaction like this. It wasn’t as if he needed permission to spend time with his pet or as if she was stupid enough to insult that thing while begin this close to her. Gods would she be happy once that giant lizard was out of King’s Landing again.
“And your apology is accepted, though I would appreciate it if next time there is an issue we could just talk like adult right away.” For she had certainly better things to do than walking through the castle grounds, trying to find someone who, in her opinion, acted like a little child. The young queen’s had already reached for the fabric of her skirt, her gaze lowered slight as she did this, when Viserys’ words reached her ears.
Eyes wandering off to the side, she barely knew any valyrian, after all her father was not very fond of anything that had to do with the Targaryens, therefore her education on that matter lacked quite a bit, and she couldn’t seem to recall any combination of words like these in any of the books she had read. Therefore, after a moment Relena gave up, trying to find out what he had meant, at least for now and turned around to leave the Dragon’s Pit in order to return to the Red Keep.
Some time had passed and Viserys had settled into court life and Daenerys frequented court less and less as she spent time with Eddard Stark’s bastard more and more. He hadn’t really noticed the cold snow slowly come down upon the country but after a few weeks of steadily wearing more layers he realized the snow wasn’t going anywhere. Snow piled up day after day and Viserys glared out at the snow from the window in his chambers and sighed.
It was his name day and it was supposed to be a good day. not dreary and snowflakes falling down. How long had he been here for? He knew it was more than two months but had it been nearly six already? It had to be if it was his nameday. He walked out of his chamber not expcecting to see Daenerys with a massive fur in her hands and Viserys stared until she handed it to him. “Happy nameday brother” Viserys smiled, thanking Daenerys for the gift. A heavy furred cloak from the North.
It would be put to good use if this cold weather didn’t lighten up soon so the warm cloak was much needed right now. Viserys eventually found himself visiting his dragon, if only briefly to see that the snow hadn’t been bugging him, much of it was water due to the dragon melting what was bothering him. He pulled the cloak closer to him as he said goodbye to the winged beast and made his way back into the keep, not seeing Relena in her usual places and he wondered if she was doing court business or was out with Eddard or her mother and he decided he’d go back to his chambers to put away his new fur before he overheard Tommen wanting to go build a snowman and Joffrey scoffed at the childish idea and Viserys decided he himself had never built a snowman before and he might as well use his new fur no to mention the look on the younger royal son’s face pained Viserys and so he took the blonde boy outside in the courtyard and began to build a snowman, figuring he was spending his time well enough because he didn’t have any duties to attend to.
Suddenly he felt a snowball hit his face and Viserys looked up to see Joffrey hurling the ‘weapons’ at not only him but Tomemen and Viserys glared up at the prince. Trying his best not to snarl and snap if only for Relana’s sake if she should hear about this. So, Viserys hurled his own snowballs at the prince and Tommen joined in to and suddenly it was an all out war as the half built snowman was left to exist without a head.
Viserys’s eyebrows raised quickly as he made a face as he’d forgotten about Ned Stark’s bastard child but noticed how Relena had dropped her arms, or as he thought of it as, her dropping her guard and he watched as her finger pointed towards his dragon wondering what vile thing she was going to speak about Rhaellion.
If he were a dog his ears would have visually perked at the mention of friend. Not beast. Not even dragon. He tried not to let his grin be shown at both her words and the idea of spending much needed time with his dragon but he failed and the grin spread across his face.
“In that case, I will see you later than. I, again, apologise for my behavior and-” His attention drifted as the dragon poked his head out, wondering why Viserys had become so excited and he quickly turned back to Relena to speak
“- Kirimvose ,
Avy jorrāelant, Relena.“He lingered a second longer before he tried his best to not run over to his dragon who upon seeing Viserys come towards him, easily met him halfway in a few steps and as Viserys reached up to stroke the dragons snout he turned back as he realized what he’d said and violet eyes scanned back for Relena, wondering if she had caught his words. They had come so easily, so freely he didn’t even think about it…Why was it so easy for him to say that to her, he knew he held affection for her but the way it’d rolled off his tongue had caught him off guard.
Relena didn’t even believe his suggestion to be worth an answer, she simply raised an eyebrow. After all she was wearing a long gown, riding was already hard enough, but sitting upon a giant lizard seemed like an even worse idea. Therefore, the young queen just kept staring at Viserys, waiting for him to finally come down from that thing. She could not help but sigh and roll with her eyes upon hearing his rant. This was far beyond ridiculous, she had asked him to stay within the boundaries of his role at court and not pretend to be a woman.
“You don’t understand it, do you?”, Relena questioned, a fury within her eyes, the words leaving her lips with any hint of calmness as she shouted them. “I am surrounded by a world of men, created by men, for men, who seek to tear my down because I am a woman and there is nothing worse for them than bowing to a woman they cannot control.” Did Viserys truly believe that he was the only man she had to fear? Ever since Lord Stark had read out her father’s will she had to be afraid at ever turn she took, while never being allowed to show the slightest hint of nervousness or anxiety. “You have no idea how it feels, being expected to save a country daintily.”
Her father’s body hadn’t even been cold when the first people spoke up against a woman ruling Seven Kingdoms, even worse members of her family were quick to follow, with every step she took she had to prove herself to those that would use the smallest of matters to prove that a woman was unworthy of the tiltle of a ruler, every breath she took was battle.
Relena’s eyes widened, and she took a step forward, when she saw Viserys fall down his dragon. This was the exact reason why she would never climb up one of these things. She left out a soft sigh of relief when his was back on his feet, for she was certain that he had not planned this, no matter how serene he tried to seem. “And can’t you see how dangerous this if for me?”, the raven haired woman asked. “This game is much worse for women than for men. At every turn I take I could be looking at my demise. The moment my father’s will become public I have been pushed by all sides to marry, to find a man to rule for me, to return to being a piece in someone else’s game. If they see that there is a man that can take care of the real in my stead, they will do what they can to reduce my role until it is gone completely. If my firstborn child is a boy, I will have to fear for my life even more because there are people out there who would rather bow to an infant boy than an adult woman, if my second or third born child is a boy and my first a girl, I will have to fear for their lives as well, because they would be in line before a male heir, shall I go on?”, the queen asked, her voice slightly raised as she spoke.
“Tell me.”, Relena said, taking a small step towards Viserys. “When you were king in Yunkai, did you have to worry about this kind of things? Because I have been, ever since the moment I found out what my father had planned for me, without ever telling me! So besides taking care of all the duties a king has to care about, besides all the things a king has to worry about, I have those things too and even more!”, while she spoke, her words turned more and more into a hiss. “I was thrust upon a throne I never wanted and now I have to somehow try and keep it, while every breath I take is a reason for almost every single man in this country to attack me one way or another, because neither my father nor my mother ever considered that they should raise the actual heir to the throne properly.
Because I am paying for their sins there is not a single person in this world I can fully trust, there hasn’t been in years and now there is no turning back from that now. I can try to give you mind kindness and my hospitality, my friendship, perhaps even my love but there will never be a single man that I can trust.
I am sorry, this is probably not the kind of marriage or life you wanted but believe me, I feel the same.“
“You’re right. I don’t understand how you feel and your position as Queen, as a woman in power. But I understand looking behind you fearing the worst from people. It’s not the same, obviously.” He stated as he tried to keep his voice level and easy. “I do see that Relena. Don’t think i’ve forgotten the attempted coupe.” He replied back as he stood in place as she stepped closer to him and the realization of his situation in Yunkai compared to hers seeped in. “No…I mean, I had slavers to worry about and almost civil war in Yunkai.” His voice slowly faded as she kept speaking and he was enraptured with her words, hearing about how she felt towards her parents and situation.
Viserys wasn’t quite sure what to say to her now as his eyes wondered from her face to his own feet and back. Silence came between them and he gave a heavy sigh. “I don’t want you to force any feelings of love towards me, Relena. I’ve never expected a well rounded marriage like Eddard and his wife seem to have. My own parents did a shit job at that and I being of a noble and royal…ex-royal house I expected arrangements and it to be loveless.” Viserys’s shoulders rolled as he looked back to see where his Dragon had gone and gave a small frown that the beast had decided to leave. “Joffrey is not the actual heir. You are. Robert wanted you, for good reason and damned the people’s thoughts. If he were still alive but unable to be King, do you think he would let people speak and think of you the way others are?” He asked.
Viserys stepped closer to her, one small step not quite sure what to do or say now. He wanted to comfort her, tell her he understood completely but he knew he could never ever understand her plight as a woman and now as Queen. But he understood her fear of trust. He understood her concerns. His hands started to reach out to hug her, to offer something to her but they dropped to his sides as he reminded himself how she felt about such things and he came to her side. “I know you can’t trust me, we’ve both got trust issues. But we do have time to work on it. All of it. A long winter.” He gave a soft half hearted chuckle hoping to make her smile, even a bit. “I’m sorry, Relena. Uh, would you like me to accompany you anywhere? It is starting to get a bit cold out” He asked, ready for her rejection.
Goldnwulf 