Hello. I give you a new chapter of my story. It's kind of a filler before things began to move faster. Some reviews stated that Rhaegar's plan is impossible to implement. Well, I don't belive in impossible- it all depends on the circumstances. You should also know that those propositions are end-goals; and yes, I am fully aware that they are radical and game changing, and you will see how this stituation will be developing.

Anyway, there's a new chapter so enjoy!

Chapter 7

Couple weeks passed since the end of the great feast but negotiations between the King and the lords continued. In the beginning Robb was slightly offended that the other lords didn't take him seriously but his father always respected his opinion. In time, however, the other participants of negotiations acknowledged that the heir of Winterfell had a clear head and a sharp mind- and that his reasoning was as good as his wielding sword skills. Robb pretended to be indifferent but he secretly enjoyed the fact that he earned the other lords' respect.

The truth was, though, that while Robb was content with a newfound respect, he was also worried about how the negotiations would come out. In the table, besides him and his father, sat also Mace Tyrell and his oldest son Willas (but Robb heard that every word uttered in that place was reported to Olenna Tyrell, who actually runned Highgarden); Ethan Hightower- the Master of Coins; John Royce- lord Paramount of Vale and simultaneously the Hand of the King; Kevan Lannister- a brother of Tywin Lannister and his close confidant; Renly Baratheon- the last living member of that family and lord Paramount of Stormlands; Oberyn Martell alias Red Viper- he consulted his every step with his older brother, and Melwys Darry, lord Paramount of Riverlands. There wasn't anyone from the Iron Islands as they was always ignoring what was happening in the capitol. "Stupid move" Robb thought when his mind wandered to the Greyjoys. The king was sometimes absent during those meetings and the Young Wolf thought that he was probably annoyed because of the lack of progress. Most of the lords (with the exception of John Royce and Ethan Hightower and partially lord Darry) were definitely against the king's ideas and Robb was not surprised because he shared most of their concerns. How the lords could manage their lands when they would have to constantly be careful not to raise suspicions of the royal money supervisors? How anyone could just give up strategic lands inside their countries? The army... in that case Robb wasn't sure what to think- he eventually came to the conclusion that if the royal levy won't be very big he wouldn't staunchly refuse that idea. And the Gift- that land was always troublesome but he thought that it would be better for it to go back under the rule of the North if it couldn't belong to the Night's Watch. In the end he really didn't care what could happened to the Ironmen; their brutal and primitive culture of raping and pillaging made the Young Wolf lost any respect left towards that kingdom long time ago. Those were his personal thoughts about state matters but he didn't wanted to reveal them to anyone beside his father.

After those few weeks it was obvious that they reached a stalemate situation. The lords didn't want to agree to the Kings plans and Rhaegar didn't have the resources to force actions. More importantly, he didn't want to do behave that way because he was aware that could lead to the end of his reign. After such a tyrannical move everyone would start to consider the King a madman, just like his father. Rhaegar was also aware that even if it was in the past, many still remember the War of the Usurper and who was behind it. Every rash move could trigger a disaster and many still secretly distrusted him, even those who supported the Targaryens in the war against Robert Baratheon.

The King, however, decided not to give up. He stalled the talks, hoping to find a way to soften his vassals' positions. Finally, he came to the conclusion that he must show his goodwill for lords in the first place, let them know that he did not intend to be a tyrant, and that they could trust him. And, frankly speaking, he had quite a good idea how to do that.

Robb was pleased with his presence in King's Landing. After the initial shock, he adapted to local conditions just enough to exist without constant sweating. He was happy that his father treated him as an adult, capable of making his own decisions. He was happy that after the first meeting the other lords started to respect him as well. Lessons which the heir of Winterfell took from maester Luwin and his father started to pay off.

That newfound respect was also connected with more responsibility and that started to take a toll on him. Robb saw with his own eyes that a lord's work wasn't only to bring justice to smallfolk and ease the tensions between vassals and governing of the lands which were directly controlled by the Starks in his case. For the first time he was fully aware that the negotiations with the King and other powerful vassals were a part of a lord's duties as well. He was afraid that when the King wouldn't back down it could create a new war. Those ideas were something new in Westeros and the moment they were to be implemented would mark the beginning of a new era, with much weaker lords and far more powerful King. Robb was really confused and he sometimes didn't know what to think.

That was why he often went to the royal gardens where the weirwood tree was planted. Even without a carved face on that tree, the place was still an oasis of tranquility so he liked to go there to think. He was so caught up with his thoughts that he didn't realise that he was being watched.

Daenerys was sitting in her room with her friends. She huffed, clearly annoyed, and tried to attack a fly which dared to fly close to her. Her efforts of killing the insect weren't successful so she gasped loudly with anger, and her gaze drifted to her friends.

All of them desperately tried to avoid her eyes and Dany wasn't really surprised. For quite some time she acted nervous and annoying and practically everything could throw her off-balance. Her friends knew why and they were understanding so, from time to time, the silver-haired girl would start to feel terrible but, in the end, she would be absorbed by dark thoughts again.

The time was ticking, the lords still debated, and the Targaryen girl still didn't make any progress with her relationship with the Stark heir. Even when she forced all of her friends to help her, he seemed to be out of her reach. Robb Stark wasn't attending any significant social meetings- he wasn't invited due to his family being in disgrace. He seemed not to be bothered by that at all, like he didn't care. Instead, he was locked with Rhaegar and the other lords who discussed something. After a careful observation, Dany came to the conclusion that she could talk to him only when he was in the royal gardens. Unfortunately, being there he had such a grim look on his face that she didn't dare to talk to him.

Dany knew that she was trapped in a situation with no solution. She began to ponder- but that time it lead her to be contemplative, not angry.

-By the way, I am curious what is he still doing in the royal gardens- she wondered at loud, speaking so calmly that the friends who held their breath could finally relax.

-You know, I don't know too much about that but I think it has something to do with his faith- Anna Frey responded quietly. She was one of many Freys- they didn't side with rebels so they also weren't in disgrace. The girl came to King's Landing quite recently and quickly adapted to the new surroundings. At first, Daenerys was vary to talk to her (she was afraid that she would eventually bring up one of her many brothers topic and the Targaryen girl wasn't sure is she was ready to talk about him) but she liked the new girl enough to trust her.

-And how do you know that?- Tyene Sand asked.

-I know this because Twins, my home, lies close to the border of North. My father ordered us all to learn some basic information on their culture and faith. You know, it's always good to know what are your neighbours like. Besides, my father wouldn't miss an occasion for a good marriage, even with a Northerner. But you should know about their customs also, don't you?- Anna finished, curious. The only response she got was an embarrased look on the other girls' faces.

Eventually, Margaery was the first to speak:

-You know, we learn the basics but I never give this region much thought. I mean, you know, they were rebels, they are still in disgrace. We would be very unlucky to live in this region. Besides, my father would never allow us to marry Northerners- all of us, my brothers and me too- she finished with a condescending tone but hesitated when she saw the look on Daenerys' face- but it doesn't mean that the whole country and its inhabitants are worthless- she finished quickly, desperately trying to avoid being a target of a new wave of Dany's rage.

-Margaery is right- Dany replied- we don't know too much about the North, we don't think that much about this region. Me included... until recently- she paused and then said to Anna- please continue, I want to know what you have to say.

Anna turned to her friends, clearly surprised by the lack of their knowledge, and said:

-Okay, I think I can tell you something. Firstly, the Starks are an old and proud family, they are probably the oldest of all great houses in Westeros.

-We are not THAT stupid- Dany replied impatiently- but please go on.

The young Frey girl chuckled, then she continued:

-Starks are Northerners and they don't believe in the Seven Gods. They have their own, ancient religion. You know, their faith is devoided of rituals and official prayers- instead, they pray to their own Old Gods in a sacred place known as a goodswood- she finished, quite unable to believe that they didn't know those basics.

-And what does this have to do with the palace garden?- Lily Rowan asked.

-Well, it's important because godswoods, and heart-tree inside of them, once existed throughout the entire Westeros. When the Andals came with their Faith of the Seven, old godswoods were often transformed into gardens, and heart-trees were often destroyed.

-So you are saying is that Northerners believe that the palace garden is a sacred place?- Sarella Sand asked incredulously.

-I think so- Anna replied, and turned to Dany- but you shouldn't be worried about this; godswood is considered to be a sacred place, but it doesn't mean that you must be silent. You can talk to him if you want to. After all, since we all discovered that he won't show up in other places, it's your only shot. You can pretend that you just stumbled upon him by accident.

-Thanks for advice and your knowledge. You were really helpful- Daenerys exclaimed and hugged the Frey girl.

After the exchange Dany cheered up and so she stopped bringing everyone around down. Soon enough they chatted about occasional gossip but soon it was ended, because the girls noticed that Margaery suddenly became sad. Arianne asked:

-Margie, what's going on? Why are you so sad?

In response, the Tyrell girl tried to smile but failed; she gave up and whispered:

- Why should I be so happy? Aegon is angry, I don't know why, did I do something bad? I tried to be nice to him, to get to know him and to show that I am a good person but he shuts me out. I'm nor ugly, neither stupid... I just don't understand his behaviour. He acts like he doesn't care at all...

Rhaenys and Daenerys exchanged looks- they didn't need to say anything to understand each other. Margaery and Aegon were formally engaged and there was a big feast to celebrate that event. Dany remembered that because she hoped that Robb Stark would show up to the feast, but he didn't. Since the betrothal, the silver-haired girl heard the rumors that the heir of the Iron Throne wasn't very happy about such development of events and he did not even try to hide it. Dany thought it was unwise, to anger such powerful family like the Tyrells but Aegon, apparently, thought otherwise. Daenerys realised that it was a really serious situation when gossips about this reached her ears.

-Dany and I will help you; we will talk to Aegon, there's a big chance that he will listen to us- Rhaenys spoke suddenly, which surprised Dany a great deal and she sent her niece a questioning look. Rhaenys merely shrugged it off so Dany only nodded- she decided it would be better if she just trusted Aegon's sister.

-You really think you could do something?- Margaery asked hopefully. Both Rhaenys and Daenerys nodded so the Tyrell girl smiled at them and said:

- If you convince him I will be very, very thankful to the both of you. I tried everything... almost everything- she added after a while- and nothing I did affected him. I don't want my marriage to be miserable so... please help me if you can- she pleaded.

Rhaenys and Arianne rushed towards her to encourage her not to give up. The other girls joined in a chorus of good advice and only Daenerys drifted off. That declaration meant that she would have to have an unpleasant conversation with Aegon. She suspected that he could be really disappointed, maybe even resentful towards her. However, the silver-haired girl knew that she would have to speak to him anyway, so she decided the sooner, the better. Also, Aegon could be a threat to her potential relationship with Robb if he wouldn't be stopped. He could spread rumours that she was Aegon's lover and it all would be over, the heir of Winterfell probably wouldn't even look at her, not to mention speak. So yes, for both Aegon's, and her sake, Daenerys decided that she would soon have to do that.