A/N: Welcome to my first fanfic! When I originally read and watched the show, one character stood out to me - the sweet, Rose Queen, Margaery Tyrell, with her fascinating outlook and family disposition, and her cunning which would eventually get her killed in the original series. Margaery is in a pretty interesting position - probably the most qualified queen for the Iron Throne, but without an actual king to support her, and at the relative mercy of her family...so how would an SI that gets thrown into the world of Westeros handle the situation, knowing about all of the horrors, via either dragonflame or ice soldiers, and keep her family alive, in the position of a medieval woman? Let me know what you think!

MARGAERY I

"-though House Tyrell supported the Targaryens in the past, all that's left of them after the Usurper destroyed them are a little boy and girl on the other side of the Narrow Sea. Your oaf of a father-Margaery…Margaery, are you listening to me?"

"Yes, grandmother, I'm listening," I replied automatically, though truthfully, my mind was far from the subject at hand.

Living the past five years or so in another body and life was intimidating, but even more so the fact that I am now Margaery Tyrell, the so-called "Rose of Highgarden". Yes, you've read correctly, the Rose of Highgarden no longer exists, in a manner of speaking, but rather, replaced, by a reincarnation of a relatively average person. I could attempt to recount my past life for perspective, but truth be told, I hardly remember that life, other than a myriad of faces, events, and of course...the Series.

Ah yes, A Song of Ice And Fire. Or, I suppose, you could also refer to the TV Series, Game of Thrones. Maybe you were lucky enough to read GRRM's original outline of the series. Either way, all three of those have intersected into my life and filled me with nightmares of the future, where I either get burnt to a crisp or...well, the books weren't exactly clear on the fate of Her last I checked, and I don't think the outline featured Her or House Tyrell either. Either way, I'm stuck with foreknowledge of events which end terribly for everyone in House Tyrell, with Bronn of all people ending up with Highgarden. The idea of my (new?) homeland controlled by a sellsword crook filled me with dread, especially combined with the thought of all of House Tyrell dying.

Now, you're probably thinking to yourselves: "A self-insert in a series where foreknowledge gives you an upper hand? Especially in the family of a Lord Paramount? Psh, that's too OP, just tech-uplift, gain the right alliances, and use your superior knowledge on military tactics to win the Game of Thrones easily!" I suppose that's true to an extent, but there were two things preventing me from doing so.

First, the sexism within the world that I lived in. In the modern era, men and women were considered as equals in terms of decision-making, and both men and women had autonomy over themselves and their decisions. Unfortunately, I had been reincarnated into the body of a woman; more specifically, the daughter of a Lord Paramount in the South. In this life, at least, I was removed entirely of my bodily autonomy or any form of choice in the decisions made about me, as daughters of Lord Paramounts became bargaining chips for alliances. If Mace Tyrell wanted me to be married to Joffrey, or worse, Ramsay, there was nothing I could do about it, save for smiling and praying that I could either manipulate them, hoping that they were particularly just people, or even poisoning them and hoping I wouldn't be implicated. Lysa Arryn was demonized as an insane woman by most fans of the Series, but after being reincarnated in her position, I can understand her position in life a lot more now, married to a man her grandfather's age because of a youthful error, and forced to endure it. It didn't matter how kind Jon Arryn was, I would be terrified of living through a loveless marriage with an old man as well.

This, I suppose, extended to my father, Mace's, ambitions, as well. Father is a fairly accommodating man, but if he was convinced that joining House Lannister and Queenship was the best option, it really didn't matter what I could do other than accept it. In the series, She was saved through a combination of her own skills and grandmother's (otherwise known as Olenna Tyrell nee Redwyne, Queen of Thorns and all around general badass) intervention, but I wasn't exactly Her, so it would be a definite miracle if I managed to pull it off.

Second, was my lack of knowledge of modern society. Most people I remember reading about who had been inserted into characters had some level of knowledge on uplift technology (like gunpowder, or industrial-era machinery, or such), and had exploited that knowledge to become dangerous players in the game. Unfortunately for me, history was my worst subject, and so all of that potential knowledge was gone. The only things I really knew that could be applied to this world was the creation of the printing press, some bits of modern medicine (such as Pasteurization), and maybe some tidbits of agricultural knowledge that MIGHT help in gardening, rounded out with my modern perspective, which meant no absurdly overpowered armies stomping through Westeros. Besides, with dragons as a possibility, the armies of regions like the Reach means nothing, as dragon-fire would just mow down armies with impunity.

Foreknowledge did help resolve some of those issues, and I would know how to deal with certain issues in a way She didn't, like avoiding Cersei's games (alongside an extended stay in a Lannister-controlled King's Landing), having some level of defense against dragons or immediately bending the knee to House Targaryen, and having time to prepare to handle my ambitious father, so that I can get the best result possible. Either way, I'd have to make the right combination of moves to ensure that House Tyrell ended up as well as possible, especially if the War of the Five Kings and the Second Long Night were inevitable outcomes.

"-Margaery! Gods, girl, if you're going to be spacing out like that, at least conceal it first!" my grandmother chided.

"Ah- I...sorry, grandmother", I stammered, as my thoughts grounded to a halt. Grandmother looked at my guilty expression, and recognition flashed in her eyes.

"Well? You have something to ask me, don't you? Spit it out, little Rose," the Queen of Thorns stated bluntly.

"I-...do you think House Baratheon is stable? Compared to House Targaryen, I mean?" I asked, nervously.

The Queen of Thorns inclined her head in thought, quietly considering the best way to answer the question.

"Ah, yes…little rose, I'd say that the Stags are fairly stable. No madness from them yet, I suppose, so they'll probably be able to do what needs to be done. But to answer your true question, though…"

I paused in shock, as my grandmother stared at me in an evaluative manner. A second passed, maybe two, and the emotions on her face changed as she looked on in a glimmer of...approval? Pride? She disguised it quickly, though, and began to speak.

"Neither are particularly good options, I'll give you that. Tywin Lannister will eat the stags alive, and no true dragon currently exists to challenge the sheep. The best of a bad option, however, is better than none at all."

I nodded quietly, absorbing the information, as my suspicions were confirmed. It was clear that there was more that I needed to consider if I wanted to survive the hellscape of Westeros, but I had an inkling of a plan in place.

Olenna Tyrell smiled. "Smart rose. You'll need to learn to hide your reactions more quickly though. Go on, Margaery, Loras was making a racket earlier about playing with you."