I'm so sorry it took me so long to update, here's finally the next chapter.

Part 10

"My dear niece," Renly said, giving his brother's daughter a polite smile. He felt slightly better after taking a bath and changing his clothes, but the journey had still been way too long and uncomfortable for his liking. Not to mention he disliked pretty much everything in the north. The cold, the wilderness, meeting his brother…

Well, a duty was a duty. Hopefully Robert would remember his efforts. Stannis most certainly wasn't pleased to see Renly. As usual, Stannis kept his face stony, but the cold anger in his eyes was easy to see. Sometimes Renly had wondered if Stannis even knew how to smile. At least his daughter did. Fortunately for her, it seemed that she hadn't inherited her father's dour and gloomy nature. In fact, she seemed like a sweet girl. Perhaps her face wasn't flawless, but Renly didn't find her unpleasant to look at.

"I am honored to meet you, uncle," she said and curtsied.

Renly smiled and kissed her hand.

"The honor is all mine. The king also sends his regards and his apologies for not being here himself. He would have enjoyed seeing his beloved niece getting married."

Stannis' eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything, he had barely even greeted Renly.

"And how is your leg?" Renly continued. "Ser Jaime told me that you fell off your horse."

A faint flush was rising in the girl's cheeks. If Renly wasn't mistaken, she was embarrassed. Stannis on the other hand crossed his arms; Renly suspected that he didn't appreciate Jaime Lannister assisting his daughter.

"Yes, I did. Thankfully nothing was broken."

Renly smiled.

"I am more than happy to hear that. Your father won't have to carry you down the aisle then."

"Thankfully not."

Renly glanced at Ned Stark who was standing next to Stannis. They were in Lord Stark's study; Renly had wanted to meet his niece before the dinner.

"Is your son somewhere near?" Renly asked. "I would like to meet him as well."

"Yes, of course," Lord Stark replied and left the room.

Renly was just about to continue the conversation with his niece when Stannis finally spoke.

"How is Robert?" he inquired coolly.

"The king is well," Renly replied.

"How nice. And you, brother? Still doing his bidding I see."

Renly smiled.

"As we all. He is our king."

"That he is."

It was clear that Stannis wasn't planning to forget this. Renly wasn't a father himself, but some part of him could understand Stannis' bitterness. This was the life of his only child. Hopefully Robert hadn't gone too far this time. Humiliating his own brother like this…

"Lord Renly," Lord Stark's voice said.

Renly turned to the door and saw the young man he had seen in the courtyard earlier.

"My son, Lord Jon," Lord Stark introduced him. The young man bowed.

"My lord."

"Pleasure to meet you," Renly replied, observing the young man. He was indeed a very pleasant to look at. Renly himself had always preferred the company of his own gender, but he did understand enough about the attraction between men and women to see that Shireen wasn't the kind of woman most men were attracted to. Perhaps Robert had been at least partly right when he had said that both Shireen and Lord Jon would benefit for this marriage. That was of course if the boy would treat her well.

"Shireen," the boy said. "How is your ankle?"

She smiled at him.

"Better, thank you."

"Are you sure that you should stand? Would you like to sit down?"

The boy walked over to her, completely forgetting Renly. Normally he would have been insulted, but now he just looked at his niece and her betrothed. The boy cared about her; there was no doubt about that. Renly glanced at Stannis who was also looking at the young couple. Perhaps this wasn't the man Stannis would have chosen for his daughter, but Robert could have made a worse decision.

Then there was of course the wedding gift. Even Renly didn't know what it was and Robert had told him not to give it before the wedding. Hopefully it wasn't something that would cause more bad blood. Knowing Robert, it could be anything.

When Jon had seen some other man holding Shireen, he had felt something very unpleasant. Some part of him had wanted to attack that man, especially when he had heard who the man was. Jaime Lannister, "the handsomest man in all seven kingdoms". More like the most arrogant man in all seven kingdoms. Yet almost all the women in the dining hall, including Sansa, kept glancing at him.

Jon had to admit that he was starting to understand Theon's annoyance. What was so special about this man? Nothing. There was absolutely nothing special about Jaime Lannister. The man who had touched Shireen. Examined her ankle. Carried her to Winterfell. Jon didn't like Jaime Lannister at all. He just couldn't understand why he was feeling like this.

Why did he feel the urge to lift Shireen up and carry her out of here? He had never felt like this before and it was confusing. Shireen was sitting next to him at the table, she was talking with Arya. Thankfully she wasn't one of the women who stared at Jaime Lannister. He had greeted her and smiled arrogantly when she and Jon had arrived at the dining hall. Jon had wanted to wipe that smile off his face and he had wrapped his arm around Shireen's waist a little tighter than before.

Jealousy. He hadn't really felt it before. He remembered his father telling how much he had hated it when other men had stared at Catelyn. He had forbid the bedding on their wedding night; he had said that many men would have lost their fingers or even hands otherwise. Jon couldn't have really imagined his father being possessive, but he was starting to understand him a little better now.

There would most certainly be no bedding on Jon and Shireen's wedding night, just the thought made Jon furious. Their wedding night… Once again Jon felt the nasty insecurity. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Shireen, at least any more than he had to. What he really wanted was to somehow make it pleasant for her. The problem was the he didn't know how.

He needed some advice, but he most certainly wasn't going to ask his father. That would have been too embarrassing. Once again he considered asking Ros few questions, but the last thing he wanted was anyone to see him going to a brothel. Who could he ask then? Bitterly he glanced at Jaime Lannister. He had probably bedded hundreds of women. The handsomest man in seven kingdoms…. Some people just had an easy life. Jon couldn't deny that some part of him envied Jaime Lannister.