Hey guys! So I just have a few things to say before you read this. The first things is IMPORTANT because it concerns my langage. I'm French Canadian and English isn't my first langage. I'm getting better and better at it but I still need to work on a lot of things on the writing side (mostly grammar). I tried to use engines to correct, but you know they are not always fully correct. So anyway, there will probably be a lot of mistakes and I am so sorry but it's by writing in english now that I'm gonna get better at it and that one day... I won't do any mistakes at all !

Second this is less important but just know that for now it's a one-shot, but it wont stay that way for long. I plan to make them meet a few times around this village Stannis lives in and slowly make their relationship grow by those little encounters! So it's obviously in a moderne alternate-universe and Melisandre won't have the means to do any harm to Stannis or Shireen or anyone, I will try to make it funny and cute to make us forget the terrible last episodes of the tv show!

Have fun reading it and don't be shy to post reviews even if it's to critique it, because critiques are going to help me :)!

The fullness of life is in the hazards of life

The bookstore

When Stannis Baratheon opened the entrance door of the bookstore on this sunny Monday morning, a loud bell rang through the whole place. Always one to hate having all the attention on him, he quickly retreated in the first alley he found. This bookstore was called Crossroads and it was the first time he actually dared enter it. Always one to borrow books and never spend money when free options were available, he finally decided to go in this little but popular bookstore for his daughter's upcoming birthday. Now at the dawn of her 14th year of life, she was a bookworm and proud to be one. For her birthday, she had made a list of books she wanted and asked him to choose one in the list, that she didn't care which one it was because she all wanted to read those books. That's how he ended up here, a few days before her birthday, almost running into an alley of the book shop so he didn't have to feel the eyes of every customer around the door.

Looking up from the ground, Stannis realized that he fled the entrance to end up in the "Religion" section. Letting a growl pass through the barrier of his lips, he walked to the end of the alley all the way to the wall and looked on his left and then on his right to see if there were signs of which alley contained what kind of books. He knew that many of the books Shireen – his daughter – wanted were in the section "Young Adult". From the looks of it, he would have to go in the center alley again to find this section. It's with a loud and resigned sigh that he made his way back to the principal alley. He tried to look as normal as possible, not wanting to draw unrequited attention on his person. But it was already too late because as soon as he put one foot out a man came up to him, almost running to him.

"Can I help you, sir? Are you looking for something in particular?" The man asked him in an annoying voice.

"No, thank you." Stannis replied with his habitual cold voice, refusing to think that he couldn't find by himself the section he was looking for. He was a grown man, for God's sake.

Walking quickly to go as far as he could from the man working in the bookstore, he looked up to see that on this side of the alleys… there were the damn signs he was looking for. Philosophy, Science, Classics, Travel, Art, etc… He walked past many sections before finally finding the "Young Adult" he was looking for. One look informed him that a woman was also in this section. He had two choices. He could go back and go into any other section close to this one until the lady in question was done or he could go in and finally act like a normal social being and not like the socially awkward man in his forties he was. Taking a quick breath in, he opted for the second solution, fearing that if he went back on his path, the damn man would come to help him again.

Turning the corner leading to the Young Adult section, Stannis extricated from his pocket the little handwritten list Shireen made for him, knowing quite well that he wouldn't remember one damn title from her fantasy books. She liked those stories with wizards and dragons in it. Stories full of lies, fairy tales and myths. He never understood why his daughter was so eager to put all those impossible stories in her head but he promised her to buy a book from the list and not a classic or a crime novel, books he actually liked. Why couldn't she read Les Misérables or To Kill a Mockingbird? Davos had answered him that it was because she was only fourteen years old and that he should be patient before trying to feed her all those stories for adults. He had dismissed his answer with one of his hand movements, but he hadn't forgotten it. Davos was a friend that he met a long time ago, before Shireen was even born. He was the only friend he had left, the only one who didn't cut any contact because of his cold personality or because of his daughter's skin disease and even if Stannis would never say it out loud… he was grateful for Davos's presence in his and Shireen's lives. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the woman who was still standing in the same alley as him; he had almost forgotten her.

"So are you in here to revisit your youth or for a gift?" She asked him with an amused tone.

He turned around quickly, meeting her eyes in the same movement. She was dressed all in red, a dark red that was fitting her well. It was a long dress, nothing too sexual but enough to reveal her appealing curves. Her hair was also reflecting some red shades, but was mostly dark. Her face seemed as amused as her voice tone. He frowned at her words, finding that she was only a bit younger than him and that she had nothing to do in this alley either. But maybe she was in this section for a gift too. Clearing his throat, Stannis looked away from her to look at the books in front of him.

"I'm here for a gift, even if I don't know why it's any of your business." He answered.

She hadn't done anything to him and besides the amused tone, she even talked kindly to him. There was no reason for Stannis to be so cold, but he couldn't help it. Expecting her to turn around or even to insult him; he began reading the titles on the sides of the books as well as the writer's names. He was surprised enough by the words that came out of her mouth to turn around to face her again.

"I see. I'm actually here because I like "young adult" fiction. Most of the times, those books are full of murders, blood and violence. Sometimes even filled with sexual activities. I don't really see why it's called "young adult" fiction, because fully grown adults can find their happiness too in those books." She informed him.

Normally he would have find her really annoying and impolite to talk to him about herself without him asking about it, but this time… he strangely found himself to be intrigued and curious about this woman. There was something about her that was… different. She didn't look as stupid as the other woman he met before in his life, she didn't look like any woman he had ever met in fact. And in this small village he was living in, he would clearly remember her if they had met before. Lowering his eyes on Shireen's list, he let a few words came out of his mouth without even controlling it.

"I think a woman your age should read classics, they are way more intelligent than those stories filled with dragons, teenage love and wizards."

Refusing to look at her again, his eyes fixed on the little piece of paper he was holding in his hands, Stannis never noticed the woman getting closer and looking over his shoulder. Not one getting scared easily, he only looked quickly at her with his face frowned. He was about to ask what the hell she thought she was doing when she spoke again.

"I know most of those books on your list, they are pretty good books. If you don't know what to choose I would recommend The Maze Runner, it's an excellent book. It's even a movie now." She told him with a way more serious tone than before.

"I already know which one I want to buy, thank you." He answered with a cold but uncertain voice, making a few steps away from her, going further into the alley. The truth was, he had no idea what he was looking for and he couldn't help for taking a mental note of the name she told him. Looking at him with a smile, she nodded briefly. He was surprised that she was still in a good mood and not insulted at all by his attitude. Most of the time, women were withdrawing quickly when they discovered how bitter and cold he was.

Looking at the books again, he felt the young lady brush against him while she was going to the other end of the alley. He barely restrained a shiver from travelling to his spine all the way to his toes. How on earth did this woman made him feel that way? What was so special about her, for God's sake? Even the mother of his daughter never had this effect on him. He had only married her because she was the only option he had and that his family couldn't accept a man without wife and children in their family, they still had and "old-school" way of thinking. He had inherited of that "old-school" way of thinking and he had never look at younger women nor at any other women before and now this stranger was making him shiver like a teenager. He looked at her while she was picking up a small pile of books she had left on a shelf. Too absorbed in his contemplation, he only saw that she was facing him again when their eyes met and it was too late for him to pretend that he wasn't looking at her. She winked at him and then turned around to leave at her end of the alley. Just when she was about to disappeared into the next alley, she looked at him over her shoulder.

"My name is Melisandre, by the way. I hope you'll find everything that you are looking for."

And on those intriguing words, she left. Fixing the corner and the wall at the end of the alley, Stannis contemplated the void for a few minutes before coming back to earth and slapping himself mentally for letting her distract him and have such a weird effect on his person. When he turned determinedly to look again at the books, his eyes met the green side of a book on which was written The Maze Runner – James Dashner. Cursing this Melisandre onto the ten next generations, he gripped the book and made his way back to the annoying men at the cash register.