"I am a woman, I can wear no armour but a smile and I have no weapon but my words." Aliena, the king's beloved niece, bought everything she has with lies and smiles. Sandor loathes the young woman for her duplicity. Aliena loathes the man for his harshness. And yet, they feel inexplicably drawn to each other...

They say friendship is the seed from which love grows. But Lydia learned that love was a capricious, varied, untamed thing, and that what is wanted isn't always what is needed. SS/OC, fair amount of SB/OC at beginning. This will be a LONG story. Covers end of Marauder Era through end of Book Era, no gaps or time jumps longer than a few weeks.