The Dragon and the Hawke 37
Where Stannis ended up wanting the breach was a small chamber that looked to have once been a bedroom, but had been picked clean by two successive teams of vindictive raiders. Stannis, Melisandre, and Davos stood on the side of the room closest to the exit as they watched the sorceress stick a clean white sheet to the wall, then step back and close her eyes. They watch with mixed degrees of scepticism and interest as the white sheet is split in half by a line of green, and then a brightly lit antechamber is revealed on the other side of the sheet.
Stannis blinks, and steps away from the wall. He walks over to the sheet and tries to rest his hand on it. He jumps back when his hand goes through, and feels warm on the other side. He turns to Marian and demands, "What is this?"
"I told you," Marian rolls her eyes, "An interdimensional portal."
"And it leads to Meereen?" Stannis takes a few more steps back
"Yeah," Marian nods, then steps through the sheet, "I've gotta go grab Daenerys, I'll be right back."
Stannis stands still as a statue for a few seconds, staring at the doorway in another continent that Marian had just gone through, and turns his head slightly, "Davos."
"M'lord?" The Onion Knight steps to his side
"I owe you an apology."
Davos shakes his head, "No, M'lord. I wouldn't have believed me either, truth be told."
"Still, you have never wavered into fantasy before," Stannis tells him, then he takes a breath and turns to his own sorceress, "What do you make of the mage?"
"She is powerful," Melisandre tells him, staring at the Meereen antechamber in awe from her position near the entrance, "More powerful than I, or any practitioner that I have ever encountered."
"How much more powerful?" Stannis asks, his voice a deceptive calm
"Impossibly so," Melisandre tells him, a terrible curiosity drawing her towards the sheet, she waves her hand through the sheet, and into the room beyond a few times, "So powerful, I would take Davos's word even so far as to believe a divine influence."
"You feel that she is this Storm God, as well?" Stannis asks, his voice now colder than ice. His fears of a second divine quest seemed to be coming into reality.
"There is only one God, your grace," Melisandre tells him, turning back to him, "But I have never run into one so powerful before, I do not know what to think."
"Awe! You guys are talking about me!" Marian smiles as she re-enters the room, accompanied by a dark skinned woman of Summer Island descent, and Barristan fucking Selmy.
"Barristan," Stannis nods in respect to the man. Who returns the gesture.
They had both served Robert for years, and for years they had been two of the three reasonable voices on the Small Council. It was unfortunate that he and Jon Aryn couldn't add Barristan to their investigation, but the Kingsguard was loyal beyond a fault, so they couldn't risk him going to the King when they only had suspicions. If they had added him, perhaps he would have been on the Winterfell side of the sheet.
"King Stannis Baratheon," the Summer Islander, "May I present, Empress Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen."
"Empress?" Stannis raises an eyebrow, impressed.
Dany smiles and nods her head, then she frowns, "I feel that negotiations would be smoother if we were both comfortable, don't you?"
Stannis furrows his brow, his time in King's Landing had long turned him jaded, and he always searched for tricks when talking to those in power other than himself. After a second of contemplation, he nods, "That would be preferable."
Marian grabs a chair from the antechamber, pulls off the sheet, and drags it through the sheet. She sets it in front of him as Dany sits in a copy of the same chair in the antechamber. Stannis sits as well, and after the pair stare at each other without speaking for a while, Dany tells him, "I do not think either of us want a war."
"No," Stannis agrees, wondering where she intends to lead their talks
"I do not think either of us care for the Lannisters," She continues
"You seem to favor the Imp," Stannis notes, trying to see if she would bite
Bite she did, when she narrows her eyes and tells him, "Tyrion is a valued member of my court, and for all of his father's sins, he has made none."
"But the rest of them you could do without?" the King asks
"The rest I could do away with," the Empress changes the wording
"From half the world away?" Stannis challenges
He realizes how silly his question is when the Empress blinks at him and waves a hand around herself. He just nods, and Dany has the grace not to point out his miscalculation.
Pressing past the monarch's embarrassment, Dany asks, "So, King Stannis, your knight Davos was courteous enough to ask for this meeting, what is it you wish to discuss?"
"How to maintain the peace we both seek," Stannis tells her
Dany nods, "A terrifying conundrum, when we both know that one wrong sentence could plunge us into war."
The assumption that Stannis would be the loser of that war was unsaid, but everyone could hear it. As it stood, Stannis didn't doubt that the Targaryen would win, but he would never let that on, "So, to maintain the peace, we should ally our Houses."
Dany nods, having expected as much, "And who do you suggest I wed?"
Stannis can tell, just from her tone, that she does not enjoy the prospect of marrying for politics. From her posture, he can tell that she hates the idea of yet another somebody touching her without consent. From her eyes, she promises death to those who would cross her.
It is a simple matter for Stannis to shake his head, "We do not need to have a marriage to bond our houses."
Dany raises her eyebrows, "Truly, and what do you suggest?"
"My daughter, Shireen, is to be Queen after I pass," Stannis tells the Empress, "I do not enjoy the idea of her, and my House, losing the throne to the next bidder by way of marriage. I ask that you foster her."
"You want me to foster your daughter," Dany blinks, clearly shocked.
She is not the only one, as both Davos and Melisandre's eyes widen in shock. They even go so far as to lock eyes, and share a look before mutually deciding to hold their tongues in front of Daenerys Targaryen and talk to Stannis about his decision after everything had settled.
Stannis nods, but before he can speak, Marian claps her hands, "Awe! That's great! You're gonna love her, Dany! She's the sweetest little girl you'll ever meet!"
Stannis's advisors stare in near slack jawed incomprehension as the most powerful magic caster they had ever encountered acts like a young lass who found a cute kitten. Stannis, though annoyed by the apparent lack of respect for royalty, appreciates the good word the mage is giving for his daughter.
Dany and the Summer Islander share looks, a sort of indulgent exasperation, before the Targaryen turns to Stannis, "Very well, I will foster your daughter."
"I only ask that you leave this portal open so that we may speak with her often," Stannis requests.
"Of course," Dany nods, "I had been hoping that same thing so we could coordinate with the Night's Watch for when the Long Night comes."
"The Long Night?" Stannis asks, and watches from the corner of his eye as Melisandre stiffens in shock.
"A story I must leave in Marian's hands, your grace," Dany tells him apologetically, "I must return to my people, Marian dragged me from the set time in which I answer petitioners."
Stannis nods in understanding, and rises when she leaves the room. He then turns his attention to Marian, when sits down. His eyes widen when she pulls the Summer Islander down with her, but he quickly recovers and waits.
"Alright," Marian stares off into space as she starts her story, "It all starts when Tyrion's wife Sansa hears her half brother Jon Snow's name…"