Thank you to everyone who has favourited or is following the story.


Marriage of convenience

"Read," Daenerys says handing him a piece of parchment, then, she crosses her arms.

Theon's eyes run through the message.

"Should I congratulate you?" he asks glancing at Daenerys, but she does not reply.

He looks down at the parchment again. It is a marriage proposal, straight from the capital with a royal seal.

"You've come to rule over the Seven Kingdoms. If you accept this, you don't have to fight for it, instead, you can walk into the Red Keep even tomorrow."

"I want to be queen. It's not enough if they allow me to be the king's wife," she declares in a disdainful tone. "Especially a Baratheon king's. Or a Lannister. It's all the same."

Theon keeps silent. He is studying the message, more thoroughly this time.

"I would have never believed they could see me anything else but an enemy," Daenerys continues, almost in astonishment. "I saw them as such. Although, they have other opponents, while I have dragons… They fear me, as they should. But this attempt proves they don't still fear me enough." She turns to Theon resentfully. "Do you have nothing to add?"

"I'm just thinking… It writes the King on the Iron Throne." Daenerys only frowns, so he makes it clear, "Not King Joffrey."

She sits down next to him.

"Does it matter?"

"I don't know. But Lord Stannis always said amongst lords and ladies, especially in King's Landing, that all word choices matter." Theon shrugs. "He hates it."

"The cities of the Slavers Bay were very similar."

"Were?"

She smiles. "I prefer straightness. My army helped them to learn it."

In Theon's experience, she prefers the games quite a bit but apparently just when she can play them with others.

"I have one more letter," she says, somehow uncertain. "It also arrived today."

This one is longer and more usual. And it bothers Daenerys very much.

The writer tries to sound like a gentle, old lady, moreover, a gentle, old grandmother lamenting over long lost, better days and the eternal friendship between two great houses, expressing – so, so carefully – her wish to see Daenerys find the home that meant to be hers in her ancestors' lands. It could be harmless. It could be touching. Unless what Theon said just now was true. If the writer was not the Queen of Thorns.

"What is its real meaning?" Probably she also assumes, but she must hear it.

"Highgarden swore to Renly. Lady Margaery is his wife…"

Daenerys nods impatiently. She knows that, of course.

"Lady Olenna, however, has grandsons as well. The oldest, heir to the Reach is still unwedded."

She stands up and starts pacing.

"Would she be willing to favor him over Lady Margaery?"

Theon lifts up the letter.

"She would take into consideration, it seems."

Her lips tighten. "She would, maybe, but I won't."

"They have the largest army and the most powerful fleet," Theon notes.

"And they have a king." Daenerys shakes her head. "I won't let anyone force me to marry, no matter what I could gain with it. I didn't do in Meereen either."

"And was that proven a good choice?" The words slip out of his mouth before Theon can stop them.

Rage flashes in Daenerys' eyes. She does not like to talk about Meereen, and Theon does not push it, rather waits for her to calm down.

"What will you do then?"

"Oh, a question," she mocks. "Usually, you don't ask about what I want to do but try to tell me what I should."

"I try to give you advices, Your Grace, not commands. That, I would never dare to."

"Then, castellan, you're wiser than most of the people I've known." Though, the taunting edge does not fade away from her voice completely. "Maybe it's time to listen to you…" She clenches her jaw, and it seems she made a decision. "I want to speak to my cousin, Stannis."