Sorry for technical errors last chapter as well, for early readers. I don't know what happened, the thing totally went whack. It was fine when I uploaded the document. Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own GOT or song of ice and fire
Margaery took about three seconds before she realized what she was doing.
She was kissing Robb Stark. She was kissing Robb Stark!
His lips were soft and gentle, his curly hair velvet in her fingers, and his warm hand on her knee. Everything felt soft and careful and sweet, like honeyed milk or sweet water from that spring in her home, where she pretended and played with her brothers. Her hand buried deeper in his hair and she pressed closer, the taste of something sweet and heady taking over her instincts.
Robb had no qualms, his hand moving from her face to fist into her hair, but still gentle as she pressed herself closer still, almost sitting on top of him. Dear gods, had she always wanted this?
Now, yes she did. She wanted Robb Stark, to be his lady and bear his children and stay with him so he could kiss her like this every day. To have someone loyal and loving and sweet and gentle. Someone she could truly love without even trying to.
Slowly, and only because of the lack of air making her dizzy, did she reluctantly pull away, chest heaving and face still inches from Robb's. His eyes watched her, gauging her reaction, as if expecting her to jump up and away from him. Instead, she pressed her lips to his again for a moment, not even long enough to reveal in the fact again. She smiled, breathing heavy and asked "Is this sufficient for the mighty Lord Stark to prove that I am not a blushing maid at her first wedding?"
Robb smiled back at her, a smile of pure joy and Margaery just wanted to kiss him again, but she pulled back and smoothed her hair again, her fine braid having come undone.
Robb sat up as well, still smiling like a boy after his first kiss. Well, it had been his first kiss with her, but Margaery needed to concentrate.
"Robb, I know I can convince the Targaryens. I am eligible, and I am the daughter of the Warden of the South. The Targaryens have no reason to trust you and all the reason to trust each other. It would be beneficial to both sides to take my plan and put it to action." She said.
She wouldn't dare breathe a word about the small part of her heart that skipped a beat every time she looked at Robb Stark, where she was happy and felt safe around him and wanted to wed him and stay with him for the rest of her life. To have a real, actual love that was pure and not some flowery, unreachable thing that was portrayed in songs. She wanted this.
Instead, she smiled and tried to not giggle and swoon like a maiden after her first kiss.
"Don't tell me that such a match would be unwelcomed by yourself, Lord Stark?" she asked, sitting just an inch closer and looking up at Robb with the best doe eyes she could summon on the spot.
Robb smiled and said "I don't think you could find a single part of my heart that would not be happy to see you remain in Winterfell."
Margaery smiled and tried to ignore the fluttering in her heart. Now was not the time for another kiss and soulful exchange. They still had two dragons to face, and a dragon's fury was unmatched the world throughout.
"Now we must face the dragon's maw." She said, standing and smoothing her skirts and attempted to fix her slightly mussed up hair.
Robb nodded and stood as well, and she realized how excellent an alliance this would be. A Stark's logic, steel and battle sense with a Tyrell's men, alliances and coffers. They could conquer Westeros if they ever so wished.
But first, she had to secure this alliance, and one- rather, two- obstacles still stood in her path.
"I believe a discussion with the queen is in order."
Margaery couldn't dispel her nerves as she sat waiting in the Queen's temporary solar, and she toyed with her fingers impatiently as she waited. Robb was with his sisters, or maybe in his solar, somewhere far from the Targaryens quarters to not provoke them before she had outlined her plan.
The door opened with a slight creak, shaking her of her thoughts and Margaery sat straighter. Daenerys, wrapped tightly in heaps of furs and silks, strode in her solar and seated herself as close to the hearth as possible without setting any of her clothing on fire. Aegon strode in behind her in a black and red cloak, reminding her nervously of Drogon looming from the howling winter storm.
Aegon gave her a smile, one that reminded her of the kind her grandmother gave those that annoyed her and the one she saw Joffrey give to Sansa whenever he even remembered that she was in his presence. The similarity between the two startled her and she suppressed the urge to shiver.
"Lady Tyrell." Daenerys said without preamble "What brings you to my solar?"
Margaery felt her courage tremble, like a door under a battering ram. This was the moment, the one that she had envisioned when she had first concocted her plan to help the Starks and free herself from the stifling capitol. Now the moment was upon her and she called upon every skill her grandmother had ever taught her about politics.
"I know of your plan to betroth yourself or a close ally of yours to Lord Stark." She started slowly, carefully. She had to choose her words well or it would spell disaster for Robb and herself and the rest of the Starks. She took a breath and said "And I have come with a counter offer."
Daenerys frowned, lines furrowed across her brow. Aegon's face was emotionless as a stone wall, and Margaery took that as a signal to continue.
"If you would wed Robb, he would become king. He could usurp your rule, create chaos, damage what order and peace you have created since landing in Westeros. Would you place that power in his hands, that power over the realm?" she asked. Her points were valid ones, if Robb was like a Lannister and craved only for power and status.
Daenerys said nothing, her face having gone from confused and irritated to emotionless like a politician in seconds. Aegon remained blank-faced, and Margaery feared his reaction away from Daenerys.
Continuing with her plan;
"You could never trust him, would always have to look over your shoulder. The Starks had supporters during the War of Kings, and you are unfamiliar to the people Your Grace. Anarchy would erupt, damaging your new reign as Queen."
Daenerys tugged at her cloak, shedding her furs under the heat of the fire.
"You say that I leave Lord Stark here, in a place with his supporters and to stew in his bitterness until another war breaks out?" Daenerys said. Aegon nodded with her words, and something in his expressive violet eyes made her feel cold fingers down her spine.
"No, I believe there is a second option." She said, and her heart was pounding under her furs, thudding violently against the inside of her chest.
"I believe you should place a spy here, to report if there is any preparation for war or treasonous actions after you return back to King's Landing, and I would volunteer myself to stay behind."
Aegon's face was an unbroken mask of calm, but she could see emotions she couldn't identify rolling under the surface, barely kept in check.
"You do not find my nephew worthy enough to be your husband Lady Tyrell?" Daenerys asked with faked concern, but her eyes were cold with hate and burning with anger. This was not going well at all. She would never be allowed to stay behind.
Margaery swallowed and said "No, Your Grace. I am barely worthy of Lord Aegon. I find his eyes straying to another woman though, Your Grace, and I think that if we would wed, it would not be for the better interest of either party."
Daenerys sat stiff as a wooden board and Aegon's hands curled into fists.
"My lord," she addressed Aegon for the first time "I know you fancy Her Grace, and I know your attentions are returned in kind. If you must give everything to your new reign and your reign Daenerys, at least allow yourself to have a king whose intentions you do not question constantly. Someone who you can take pleasure in being with."
She wondered if this plea could possibly work. Maybe, but now standing before the Dragons, she doubted they would listen to a word she said.
"My lord, Your Grace. I would stay behind and spy on the north from the inside. I would know the moment they start to have treasonous thoughts, and that could prevent another war of Kings breaking out and your throne falling through the cracks. I would know their numbers, their supplies, their alliances they don't make public. And I would send it all to you. I would be a Spider squirreled away in the north."
Daenerys gave a small smile and said "And if this…plan of yours was to work, how could you convince Lord Stark to let you stay north? How would you become privy to those details that I doubt even the young Stark ladies know?"
Margaery took a long slow breath, as if it pained her to say these words. Inside, her heart fluttered wildly and she felt a warm blush rising up her neck, wrapped in a scarf and hidden from eyes.
"I would become Lord Stark's wife."
Daenerys had a mocking smile and Aegon actually snorted.
"You would have ordered him to wed another to force him to come south. You can order him to marry myself to keep me in the north." She said, feeling her hope crumbling around her. It wouldn't work, her desperate plea would not work.
Daenerys sighed and said "We do have a need for certain, watchful people in the north. I myself believe that if you were to marry Lord Stark, you would also have a position of power here yourself. And the information you could acquire would be very helpful if another war would happen."
Margaery felt her head nod along with the queen, silently agreeing to her words.
"As well, Lord Tyrell can learn that he cannot fool a dragon by thinking that offering it a rose will make past grievances disappear like smoke in the air." Daenerys looked to Aegon, and back to Margaery.
"We would discuss this privately between the two of us. Await us in the dining hall until then."
Margaery nodded and stood, curtsying to the queen and Lord Aegon.
"Thank you Your Grace, my lord." She said before hurrying out of the stifling room and away from their eyes that followed her even now.
Outside the solar, she took a breath and felt her hands shaking. She had spoken with Cersei Lannister and though the woman was power hungry and near evil throughout, Daenerys had a certain fire the Lioness of the Rock lacked. A mad fire not unlike other Targaryens, she did not doubt.
Drawing her senses together, she walked toward the small dining hall that was the Targaryens own and empty of another person.
Sitting in her usual seat, she pulled at the rings around her fingers and sighed. Now she had nothing to do but wait.
It was not even a minute later when she heard boots clicking on the stone floor and she stood and smoothed her gown.
Aegon strode inside and grabbed her wrist in a tight grip. Tugging her out of the dining hall, Margaery felt fear sparking in her heart and she tried to pull herself from Aegon's hand. His grip tightened like a vice and she suppressed a flinch of pain.
"Lord Aegon." She said with as much command in her voice as she could summon "Unhand me."
Aegon looked back at her and the look in his eyes was enough to stop her heart cold.
"Do you command your precious dog to unhand you whenever he touches you with his paws?" he asked in a hiss, pushing her into an empty room and shutting the door behind him.
"I have seen you with him. You don't plan on spying on the north for us. You wish to escape your betrothal to me! You were given to me, my lady rose, and I do not like when others deem themselves worthy enough to steal what is mine."
Margaery pushed herself against the wall and said "Lord Aegon, I am not yours. I am a person and I am also a lady, and I am not yours to command."
Aegon barked a hoarse laugh and said "I have seen Essos my lady, and women here are nothing but slaves to the men. They command you and take your maidenhood and toss you aside as if nothing. You say Westeros does not have slaves. Look around you, my lady flower. You are a slave. And escaping slaves in Essos, were punished."
He loomed closer, and Margaery felt the sparks of fear turn into a bonfire, and she barely suppressed the urge to turn and flee from Aegon.
"You are not going to escape, my lady. You will come back to the south and you will be a puppet, smiling for the people and putting on a show. You will smile and laugh and sing the words that you were taught."
The words, echoes of what she heard Sansa suffered in King's Landing, reminded her sharply of Joffrey and she wondered, disjointedly, if allowing the Targaryens to reclaim their throne was a wise idea.
Aegon pressed his hands into her shoulders, pinning her to the wall behind her.
"Aegon, what are you doing?" she demanded, not allowing any of the fear pounding through her body to release itself in her voice or words.
Aegon smiled and said "Slaves in Essos learn what disobedience can cost them. I think your lesson is long overdue."
His grip on her shoulder tightened painfully and he drew back a fist.
"No!" she said, pushing back on Aegon's hand holding her to the stone. But Aegon was a man trained for battle, and she was a woman who spent her days sewing. She had no strength that could possibly throw off his hands.
His fist collided with her side and she felt the air forced from her lungs. She gasped for breath and Aegon's hand flew across her face, making her head collide with the stone at her temple.
She knew Joffrey had beaten Sansa, had made her feel small and weak and hopeless. She never thought the Targaryens were capable of the same cruelty.
"Aegon stop!" she tried again, but Aegon was beyond reason.
His fist rose for another strike, when a hand grabbed Aegon's wrist and pulled him back, away from her. Her legs, weak and shaking, didn't hold her weight and she slid down to the floor.
Dear gods, Aegon was a monster.
And…..that's where I end it today. Who saved Margaery from Aegon? I bet you won't even need a guess to figure that one out.
Alright, to explain Aegon's behaviour.
This might seem a drastic reaction, but Aegon grew up where slaves were beaten for the slightest disobedience. This might reflect in how he treats women and this is all he probably knows. In his mind, Margaery doesn't see him worth marrying and that his enemy would make a better husband then him. Also, he would also feel like she was betraying him and Targaryens do not like traitors. Exhibit A: Robb. Exhibit B: the Lannisters. But if you have a problem with how I made Aegon react, just remember; this is my fan fiction and I write it the way I choose.