"There they come." Margaery whispered, unable to keep the hint of awe out of her voice.
Seven Targaryen dragons appeared from over the horizon, cresting the rising Sun. King Rhaegar took the center atop the mighty Aerion, largest of the reborn dragons, with fiery red scales that glistened like droplets of blood. Three dragons flew on each side of him.
Prince Aegon flew to the king's immediate right, atop Rhaellon, that beautiful golden mount that preened in the Sun. To his right came Princess Rhaenys and Prince Daemon atop their mounts as well. Prince Viserys flew on the king's left, atop the blue dragon Valithor, then came Princess Daenerys and Princess Visenya, all flying together as one.
Seven dragons for seven gods, displaying all the might and majesty of the Targaryen dynasty, stronger now than it was at any point before the dance. Seven dragons to match this one Ice Dragon they'd heard so much about.
They landed together on the beach of Dragonstone not far from where the Stark ships had made port. She turned her eyes and saw Prince Aegon dismount and greet some of the Northern Lordlings and exchange pleasantries and she had to fight to keep the grimace from showing on her face. A fool's errand.
"You should be down there with him." Her grandmother declared, her tone full of reproach. "This so-called parley will decide the future of not just Aegon's reign, but your sons after him. You need to be by his side advising him, not up here sipping tea and eating lemon cakes."
Margaery sighed, "I know that grandmother, but what am I to do? He won't listen to me anymore." She had wanted to be down there, standing proudly by her husband's side, but Aegon had made it clear she would not be welcome. Indeed, it had taken all of her charms to be invited to the parley at all. Aegon had taken the rebuke from his father hard, and she had been sidelined from his councils ever since.
Lady Olenna snorted, "Men are such great fools, even the clever ones. Suck his cock, tell him you think his plans are wonderful, tell him your sorry. You know how to play a man like Aegon."
Margaery did know how, she'd been trained in that for years since she was a small girl, but sometimes she just didn't want to. "He wants me to be meek and mild and obedient. To kiss him softly and tell him he had better judgment than I, and that I'll bow to his superior wisdom going forward." She said crossly.
This time her grandmother gave a genuine laugh, to Margaery's fury. "He wants those things because we made him want them. Don't you remember? All those ruined pox scarred women who had found the light of the seven at last and all those poor decent men Willas would show him who were cuckolded by their strong-willed wives. And we mustn't forget those warrior women with the mutilations and missing limbs." She said with a chortle.
Margaery shook her head. "I remember perfectly grandmother." She said, with some edge in her tone.
"And now you weep for the consequences?" Olenna mused. "If we hadn't, he wouldn't have married you at all. He would have fucked one of his sisters like all those silly silver-haired boys did before him. Or that Dornish whore. Or his aunt."
"I know that." Margarey hissed through clenched teeth. "It's just… It was supposed to be different with me. He always took my advice before." She turned to look up at her grandmother and sighed. "I don't want to just be a consort, there to just look pretty and pump out children. I wanted to be The Queen, to sit by his side in councils and rule the realm as his equal."
"Oh child, I want that for you as well." She reached out a hand to straighten Margaery's braid and turned her head to stare at her in the eyes. "But while you sulk over your lost privileges, we risk losing everything. Not just Aegon's ear, but perhaps the Iron Throne and Highgarden as well."
Margaery drew back staring at her grandmother with horror. What was this madness? "Certainly not. I have not heard anything of the sort."
Her grandmother looked down at her severely. "That is precisely the problem. I've withheld information from you in the hopes that you would stop pouting and recognize the axe hanging over our heads on your own, but I can now see that you were too lost in self-pity."
"What axe?" Margaery demanded. "There will be no war, and if there was, we would still not be at risk. If you mean Jon, we have nothing to fear on that front, Cersei will never allow him to be legitimized and Lyanna made a Queen. Nor will Oberyn, or Aegon or Viserys for that matter."
"All people who do not have power of their own. They can be as wroth as they please, the decision will not come down to them"
Margaery felt the wheels turning in her head. That was true, up to a point. Cersei was Queen, but Rhaegar did not always keep her council. Indeed, she was unable to keep him from housing his mistress at Harrenhal, and not even able to keep him from bringing her to court, a source of endless amusement amongst her detractors. But surely her father could make a difference.
"Lord Tywin…" she began but her grandmother cut her off.
"Lord Tywin will do what he thinks is in the interests of House Lannister. He will not bend for his daughter's pride."
"Making Lyanna Stark a Queen and her bastard a prince would hardly be in House Lannister's interests. It would push Daemon back in the line of succession and limit Cersei's influence with the King."
"The King already listens to his mistress more than Cersei, why else do you think we're having this infernal parley? But there are other considerations that can be made." Lady Olenna said, giving Margaery a pointed look.
She bit her lip and glared at her grandmother. It had been years since she was patronized to in this fashion, with information dangled in front of her and forced to put together the puzzle. Even so, she had never done poorly on these tests before, and wouldn't start now. There was really only one consideration that could perhaps move Lord Tywin, but it was almost unthinkable.
"The King will dismiss Ser Jaime from the Kingsguard?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Kingsguard served for life traditionally, but if there was one Kingsguard who could be dismissed from the white cloak it would be Ser Jaime Lannister. Kingsguard knights were meant to put aside their families when they swore their vows, but Ser Jaime wore Lannister crimson as often as the white armor of his sworn brotherhood. To make matters worse, he almost exclusively guarded his twin sister or her children and had spent most of his service at Casterly Rock; ostensibly to guard Daemon and Visenya, but more likely to learn to be his father's heir.
Lady Olenna harumphed in approval and finally decided to share the entire story. "The King has not decided as of yet, but Rhaenys is planting seeds. She spoke with Visenya who sent a raven to Lord Tywin, and they've come to an arrangement."
"Visenya despises Rhaenys" Margaery protested. "They could never come to an accord." The two had been at each other's throats from the moment they learned they would both wed Aegon, each convinced they were the more worthy queen. It was that rivalry that had helped open the door for Margaery in the first place, in addition to her family's manipulations.
Her grandmother gave her another severe look over her cup of tea, sipping it slowly until Margaery dropped her gaze, before continuing as if she was never interrupted. "Princess Rhaenys will support Ser Jaime taking off the white cloak and wedding Princess Visenya at Casterly Rock. In exchange, Lord Tywin will support Lyanna being named Princess Consort to Rhaegar and her son being legitimized. Princess Rhaenys will wed the new prince Jon Targaryen at Kingslanding."
She took another sip of her tea and turned to look at her granddaughter. "And you're right, they do both despise each other and are already plotting how they will backstab one another. But for the nonce, they despise you more, and are all too happy to make deals with each other at our expense."
Margaery felt her mind reeling. The consequences of this… She could scarce complete the thought. They would not be good for her, at the very least. All because two whores could not put aside their pride for the good of the realm. For their own blood on the Iron Throne!
"Prince Oberyn…" she began, desperately searching for someone who would aid her in putting a stop to these plots.
Her grandmother disabused her of that notion quickly enough. "Prince Oberyn is in an impossible position. He can bear no insult to his sister's memory, but her children fight amongst themselves. To make matters worse his daughters have chosen sides as well. Some favor Rhaenys and Arianne, others Aegon. He will defer to Doran, as he always does."
"Doran favors Quentyn and Aegon." Margaery pointed out.
Olenna grimaced, "Favors is the right word. He is an indolent man, stubborn but also indecisive. He doesn't take action without studying all the possible consequences. He may favor Aegon and Quentyn, but only because he believes they are likely to win and will work better together for Dorne. His whore of a daughter has ruined that by hopping into this Stark boy's bed. He may decide that Rhaenys is more likely to win now, and back her instead." She said.
Margaery was fast running out of allies. The Tyrells and Aegon alone would not be enough, she knew, and Viserys would never speak out against his brother openly, not on her behalf anyway. Were they defeated? All because some traitor's reappeared and Arianne managed to seduce the savage boy and Rhaenys suddenly remembered she had another brother.
She still remembered the bitch's insults in the garden and how she'd had thrown aside her offer of friendship. She'd had such a laugh with her cousins when the court had heard the news that Arianne hadn't returned with Princess Rhaenys and the bastard from the North but found a place in the new boy King's bed. A boy who could not be older than 15 name days.
'Perhaps she was too much of a whore even for Lord Tyrion.' She'd told her cousins, 'clearly it was not his height she objected to. We had it backwards.' She'd said, barely managing to get the words out. That she laughed about it earlier made it all the worse, she was not accustomed to underestimating her foes so grievously.
She turned her gaze back on her grandmother's searchingly, desperately hoping she had some sort of plan.
Lady Olenna sighed and took another sip of her tea. "Yes love, rest assured there are plans in motion to kill these unions in the crib. I will say little about them, except that the old fool Marwyn was right about some things. Dragons die, whether they be of ice or fire."
She reached out her hand to grasp Margaerys and looked at her intently. "Without this fabled Ice Dragon we've heard so much about they will not be able to act with such impunity, but rest assured the plotting will continue. I need you at your best, from here on out. Our golden rose has grown strong indeed, but if we let down our guard even for an instant, our enemies will come and pluck it."
Margaery nodded, suitably chastised. "I will be grandmother. I promise." Take a month off from scheming and her whole world almost collapses around her. She wondered how people did it, the ones who lived in the dark their whole lives, never knowing how many dangers lurked just around the corner.
"Good," her grandmother said nodding. "Now go and get yourself back into Aegon's good graces. Make sure that neither he nor you come under any suspicion when things happen."
Margaery nodded again and got up to leave but hesitated a moment as a last nugget of doubt coalesced in her mind. "Grandmother," she called out, when the wizened old women turned to face her, she whispered, "What if it doesn't work? What if dragons of Ice are more … resilient than dragons of fire and if he finds out…" she left the rest unsaid, what he'd done to Winterfell and the Dreadfort was on the lips of every man and women at court, to say nothing of the darker rumors.
Her grandmother gave a soft chuckle, whispering in her ear. "Rest assured dear, if the dragons are more resilient the people won't be. There are plans in place, and contingencies as well. The Stark's will not leave here half as strong as when they came." She promised and took her leave.
It was not until well past nightfall that Margaery had a chance to make up with Aegon. He'd spent most of the day surrounded by his siblings and in councils with the king preparing for the Stark boy's arrival the next day.
Then to make matters worse, he'd gone and shared wine glasses with several of his other advisors, Lord Tyrion and Prince Quentyn and Lord Renly as well, leaving Margaery to wait in his bedchamber like some kept woman. It chafed on her pride, but she endured, reading poetry and trying to think of ways to put her plans for the realm back on track.
Arianne and Rhaenys would have to be broken, she realized. Humbled such that they would never again reach out and try and grasp her crown. But how? That was the question she was grappling with when Aegon arrived, exhausted and half drunk.
He didn't see her at first, taking off his tunic and rinsing his face off with a washcloth as if in a trance. She had to call out to get his attention.
"Husband" she purred in her most seductive tones, standing up from her position on the bed and displaying her lithe form. She was dressed in only a green and gold nightgown with silk so fine it was almost see-through.
He turned to her in surprise and his eyes widened the moment they fell upon her. She saw his jaw drop and his cock begin to harden and had to suppress the urge to laugh. Men are all such great fools. Her grandmother was right.
Aegon surprised her though, turning away from her abruptly and pouring himself a glass of water to sober up. "What are you doing here Margaery?" he eventually asked. "Your chambers are down the hall."
Margaery barely kept herself from letting out a long-drawn-out sigh or a wail of fury. She'd hoped the promise of her body would be enough, that she wouldn't have to apologize and humiliate herself further. But priorities were priorities, so she did what she must.
She sauntered around the table slowly until he faced her, and forced herself not to meet his gaze, to focus down on the floor as she came towards him; Meek and mild and obedient, she remembered. She reached out with both hands and took his glass out from his hand and set it on the table, keeping one hand firmly attached with his.
Then slowly, deliberately, she fell to her knees, and kissed the dragon ring on his fingers, before gazing up at him with an expression of the utmost earnestness and contrition. "I'm here to apologize." She whispered. "I've been disobedient and ungrateful, an unworthy wife to you and unworthy Princess of Dragonstone."
She planted another kiss on his hand and reached out to run her dainty fingers along his trousers. "But if you can find in your heart to forgive me, I promise to be a more deserving wife to you. I'll never again push you against your father or be a source of chastisement for you." She promised, letting her lower lip tremble slightly to emphasize her pain and sincerity.
Aegon took the bait, pulling back his hand and running it through his fine silver hair. "Margaery… I… You are too hard on yourself." He finally said. "The fault was mine as well. I should have refused you myself, not gone to my father on your behalf."
He reached out both hands and pulled her to her feet, planting a chaste kiss on her lips. "I accept your apology and offer one of my own. It was unfair of me to keep you from my bedchamber or harden my heart against you. You said only what you thought was best for us, I should have simply had the good sense to ignore it."
A non-apology if Margaery had ever heard one, as insulting as it was degrading, but one she had no choice but to accept. The stakes were far too high to let her pride get in the way and she'd worked too long and too hard at becoming Queen to see everything fall apart now.
She beamed at him and pulled him in for a passionate kiss, that he returned eagerly. She ran her fingers through the strings of his trousers and brought them down as he tore through her meager nightgown exposing her pert breasts to the gentle breeze.
She broke the kiss and put a finger to his lips to silence his protest. "My love." She whispered, "You are so forgiving to me… so kind. Let me show you my gratitude."
She fell back to her knees and pulled down the last of his smallclothes, revealing his hardened cock below. Leaning forward she planted a kiss on the tip and cupped his balls. His reaction was instantaneous, he gave off a low groan and fell back onto the bed, moaning her name.
She gave him a small smile and went to work, running her tongue up and down his cock, laying kisses from base to tip. When he was ready, she took him into her mouth, swallowing his large, fat, cock whole, until her lips kissed the base.
Aegon brought his hands down to her head, gripping the back of her fine hair and she had to fight to just keep breathing while she struggled and nearly gagged. She kept sucking though, even as he thrust into her, she slurped and sucked as lewd as a whore on the streets of silk, until he came hard into her mouth. She swallowed every last bitter drop and snuggled into him as he sagged back into the bed, utterly spent.
He didn't have the energy left to fuck, which Margaery was grateful for. She was still as dry as a bone down there and would have been unlikely to enjoy it. Prostrating herself before him and begging his forgiveness had ruined any chance, she'd had at receiving pleasure herself. While she'd come to her marriage bed a maiden, she had already learned a great deal about both giving pleasure and receiving it.
She had no love for sucking cock, it felt degrading to her, falling to her knees before a man and letting him use her mouth as he saw fit, but she had learned how to do it well all the same. In bed she wanted to be treated like a Princess, with her every need catered to and her every desire met. Though she learned how to fuck well, she preferred to simply lie there and be pampered, until she came.
Rolling over she grimaced slightly as she saw Aegon snore. It was unlikely that sex with him would ever be like that. Still, she thought as she eyed the golden circlet of the Prince that hung over his head. It was well worth it though.
When morning came, they fucked again, and she was pleased to find herself in a better mood. He was a more skilled lover then, playing with her tits and kissing her passionately, whispering sweet nothings into her ear until she came as well, screaming out his name.
They came down to breakfast together and she caught a glimpse of the future she'd always dreamt of. Aegon fed her choice morsels of his plate and kissed her softly in between bites, while other lords and ladies paid her her due. This was what it means to be Princess of Dragonstone.
To make matters better Jon and Rhaenys had not shown up to bother her, they'd gone early down to the docks to meet with Arianne, who was set to arrive that morning. Aegon had been sour at their absence but Margaery relished in it. She would not have appreciated their snide remarks.
It was mid-morning when she found herself on the battlements, arm in arm with Aegon awaiting the so-called king's arrival. Princess Arianne had finally arrived, on the last ship to come from the north, a Skagosi warship which had caused no end of concern amongst the lords present. She stood beside Princess Rhaenys and the bastard son of the king off on their own atop a different set of battlements. Margaery wanted nothing more than to ignore their group and continue her pleasant walk, but Aegon led her right to them, leaving her no choice but to endure.
"Princess Rhaenys, Princess Arianne, don't you both look lovely this morning." She called out with a broad fake smile. Arianne was dressed as whorishly as always with a few scant pieces of purple myrish lace adorning her short body. Rhaenys was dressed more impressively in a beautiful piece that rivaled Margaery's own gown. It was black with red gemstones sewn into the lace in many overlapping dragon designs.
Rhaenys raised an eyebrow as she spoke before giving off her own fake smile. "Prince Aegon, Lady Margaery, it is good to see you both as well." She simpered and Margaery had to fight to keep the annoyance off her face at being addressed as 'Lady' and not 'Princess'.
Aegon eyed them both for a moment before nodding. "Cousin, Sister." He turned his head towards the bastard and reached out a hand, "Brother."
Margaery hid a gasp. Brother. An upjumped bastard who was plotting to steal his birthright he'd call brother. A month without her counsel and everything went to shit.
Oblivious to her inner strife the bastard looked down at Aegon's hand as if it were some queer foreign spice that he had never seen before and was not sure he would like the taste of. For a moment Margaery hoped he would turn it away and return things to their natural order, but the boy surprised her, reaching out and shaking it firmly.
Aegon pulled him in close and gave him a smile. "You left so soon after the Tourney, I hadn't a chance to congratulate you, nor to apologize. I don't know if you heard, but I said shameful things to our Father about you following your victory. Things that I regret, you lent honor to our House with your victory, and I'm glad that if I had to lose it was to you." He said, giving off every appearance of being sincere.
So that was his game, the high road. Prince Aegon the magnanimous, always willing to rise above any and all slights. It was something that Margaery had always been impressed by, but now scorned. There was a time to make friends and a time to destroy your foes. They had interfered with her royal wedding for Seven's sake. Rhaenys and Arianne and this bastard Jon had crossed a line, they needed to be brought to heel not returned to favor.
Nevertheless, she could not afford to alienate Aegon again, or draw suspicion onto herself so when the bastard struggled with words and said that there was nothing to forgive, she smiled and praised the sanctity of brotherhood and the unity of dragons.
Not all were fooled, Rhaenys's amethyst eyes had widened at Aegon's gesture but only narrowed and darkened at hers. It did not trouble her, soon Rhaenys's claws would be pulled and then Willas would have her under his thumb.
They exchanged pleasantries for the better part of an hour, as Aegon spoke with Jon about his upbringing and the want to see him in the practice yard. Margaery, Rhaenys, and Arianne mostly kept to themselves, speaking little and without much warmth.
Before long the Sun was near to its zenith and Margaery was about to call for a return indoors. It was unseemly that they had waited so long for this callow boy's arrival anyway. She would not have done so, except for Aegon insisting he be near his dragon in case the worst were to happen.
Her musings were interrupted by half a dozen roars, as the dragons on the ground caught a whiff of some scent. Each one hissed and roared against their restraints, and barely a moment passed before Aegon took off running after Rhaellon. Rhaenys joined him, her black and red dress flowing in the wind.
Neither got their dragons in the air when another roar boomed, so loud it seemed to shake the very earth. The Ice Dragon.
It came from up above the clouds gliding to the earth with both winds extended at full length, a pale blue cloud hundreds of meters in each direction. It soared over the castle without a single beat of its wings, towering as tall as the highest towers.
She heard screams and shouts of alarm, and nearly broke her composure and gave one of her own as it passed by overhead. It was so big. She'd seen the bones of Balerion a few times when Aegon had shown her, and despite what she'd heard had never considered that this dragon could be truly bigger, but it was. It was nearly as big as Dragonstone itself.
She swallowed noisily, desperately remembering her grandmother's promise. Dragon die, whether they be of Ice or of Fire. She only hoped whatever they were planning it could work on one this big.
Aegon and Rhaenys sprinted to another corner of the battlements and Margaery walked as fast as she could to join them, eager to catch a glimpse of the dragon as it came down by the docks. When she arrived, she heard men screaming and horses neighing, and struggled to comprehend what she was seeing.
It was the bastard that gave voice to what they saw, wonder and horror in his tone, "He's freezing the sea." He said.
He was right. The dragon had frozen a long path of solid ice from the beach out towards a spot in the ocean a few hundred yards away from the surface. Now the dragon was freezing that spot, making pass after pass in the sky and creating an island of ice.
"Why?" Aegon demanded, his voice hard.
Princess Arianne tossed her long black hair and ran a gleaming golden hand through the braid. "He's decided not to burden the dragonkeepers." She said with a beautiful smile directed at Margaery.
She had to fight to keep her expression neutral as she couldn't help but think. So much for that plan. Those contingencies her grandmother discussed better work, or they were in for terrible trouble.