.Each of the families in Westeros come from a country that suits their region in the Seven Kingdoms. The Martells are from Persia, the Tyrells are from England but have Irish roots, the Starks come from Norway, the Lannisters and Baratheons are American, and the Greyjoys are Greek, as are the Targaryens.


Phineas helps Margaery, Caroline, and Helen into their carriage before climbing up himself, and the coachman drives off to the church. As soon as they step out of the carriage, Phillip and Anne come to greet them. Their children, Annette and Edward, are beside them. Well, little Annette is. Edward, just a babe, is in Anne's arm, and Margaery coos over it, telling Anne how beautiful her son is.

''When he's old enough, he'll look like his father.'' Phineas says, and Phillip smiles proudly. Margaery spots her grandmama just then, and heads over to greet her, and they hug.

''So, tell me, my dear granddaughter, how is your new husband treating you?'' Olenna Tyrell questions, eyes alight with a smile.

''Oh, he's very kind to me, grandmama. Much nicer then Joffrey.'' Margaery says truthfully, and her grandmama answers ''It was good, then, that I betrothed you to him. He's a fine man, obviously, much better then that mean-spirited bastard Joffrey Baratheon.''

''Yes, he is, grandmama.''

''And how did he treat you on your wedding night, may I ask?'' Margaery blushes at that, and says that her husband was good and gentle to her. Olenna Tyrell nods, and whispers, ''How often have you slept with him?''

Margaery blushes harder, cheeks turning a dark shade of pink. ''Once. After the marriage night, that is.''

''Well, if you intend to give your husband a son, you'll have to try harder.''

''We've only been married a week.'' Margaery says, before bidding her grandmother good-day and returning to her husband's side, as they step into the church. They sit next to Phillip and Anne and their children in the pew, and Margaery's lawn and eyelet lace-trimmed skirts brush against Phineas's trousers as she sits. Phineas turns slightly at the brush of contact, and his eyes meet his wife's own brown ones. He smiles at her, and turns to listen to the priest reciting the sermon. After a few days of seeing Margaery's face beside him in the bed, it has grown easier to imagine what their children will look like.

Brown-haired, most likely, and brown eyed as well. Of course, her mother Alerie Tyrell is a blonde, so there is a chance that their children could have blonde hair.

Caroline and Helen sit like proper young ladies during the sermon, and they rise with friends and family to sing hymns. After the church service is over, they step outside, and their father invites Philip and Anne to dinner. Phillip nods, saying he would be delighted, and then their stepmother's eyes light up and she hurries over to a red-haired young woman about her age, and pulls her over to meet her stepdaughters.

''Caroline, Helen, this is Sansa Lannister. Sansa, my stepdaughters, Caroline and Helen.'' Caroline and Helen curtsey, and Sansa smiles, her smile not unlike their new mother's.

''There's no need for formality. I'm delighted to meet you.'' she says.

''We're delighted to meet you too.'' Caroline replies.

''When I lived in King's Landing,'' Sansa continues, ''I had no friends at all. My sister Arya's been away at boarding school in hopes of being a proper lady, as she's quite the opposite. Margaery was my first friend there. Of course, now that I'm married to Tyrion, and the lady of the Lannister's estate Casterly Rock, it's easier to make friends. I suppose it's because I don't have Cersei Baratheon looking over my shoulder the entire time.'' she says in a friendly manner, one Caroline can tell is not faked.

''Where are you from?'' Helen asks, a bit more bolder then Caroline.

''I'm from Norway. I was born there in my family's estate of Winterfell.'' Sansa answers.

''Oh, so the Starks are Norwegian?'' Helen asks curiously. She has never met someone from Norway.

Sansa nods. ''Yes, they are. The Lannisters, I believe, hail from the New World, although I would imagine they have English roots. And your stepmother's family, the Tyrells, are from England, but they have Irish roots and a summer home there.'' she answers, and Phineas comes to tell his daughters that it's time to go.

''Good day, Lady Lannister.'' he tells Sansa, and kisses her hand.

Sansa nods, and greets him, and introduces them all, except Margaery, to her husband Tyrion, a witty dwarf of a man who comes to his wife's knees. Then Sansa asks Margaery hopefully, ''You will be coming to the ball?''

''Yes, of course my husband and I will. And Caroline will, too. My husband says it's time for her to make her society debut.'' Margaery assures her. ''Not even Cersei Baratheon could stop me from coming.'' They embrace, and bid each other good day.

XxX

''You have some very nice friends.'' Phineas tells Margaery, and she smiles as they climb in the carriage.

''I cannot wait to see the ball!'' Caroline exclaims in joy, and her stepmother promises her she will look like Cinderella; every man will notice her.

The carriage drives back to the house, and the family climbs out of it, and the girls hurry inside to dress for dinner. Caroline is first to reach her room, and Helen follows.

''Philip and Anne are wonderful!" Helen exclaims. ''I'm so glad we're having them over for dinner.'' Caroline smiles, and reaches inside the wardrobe and selects a white muslin gown with insertion at the hem over a blue silk skirt and tight-fitted sleeves that sit low on the shoulders for her sister. Then she selects an apple-green silk dress with darker green velvet bows at the neckline and a full flounced skirt edged in darker green ribbon for herself.

''Yes, and their children are lovely.'' she then remarks. ''Annette's going to be as beautiful as her mother someday.''

Caroline and Helen help each other dress once more, lacing up the backs of their gowns, and fixing their hair nicely. The white muslin over blue silk sets off Helen's blond hair and contrasts with her brown eyes, while Caroline's apple-green silk dinner-dress suits her brown hair and blue eyes beautifully.

Phillip and Anne arrive right on time, and with little Annette, dressed in a charming lilac dress with a white sash tied into a white bow on back, her dark hair wavy. Helen is right; Annette does look like her mother. Anne herself wears a gown of emerald-green taffeta with a v-shaped neckline edged in ruching, hair swept up.

''Look at Caroline and Helen, Pt! Your girls shall be lovely young ladies soon, if they are not already.'' Phillip exclaims, hugging Caroline and Helen.

Their father replies, ''Well, Caroline's old enough to be introduced into society, so she will be at the Lannister ball that we've been invited to.''

''Congratulations, Caroline!'' Phillip says, and Caroline smiles in delight. Finally, Margaery comes down, wearing a blue satin with short sleeves of puffed lace and a low square neck, her hazel-brown hair drawn back in soft curls. It is understated, yet lovely.

Helen exclaims,''Stepmama!''and Margaery is taken aback by the unfamiliar greeting, but she smiles, understanding that Helen, a girl of three and ten, cannot call her mama, so stepmama will have to do.

''Hello, Helen, Caroline, husband.'' she greets, adding a friendly nod to Phillip, Anne, and Annette and Edward. She is not yet ready to call her husband by his name in public. Phineas smiles at her, and they heads into the dining room, where they can take their seats, except for Caroline and Helen, who have done the cooking before getting dressed. Caroline hurries into the kitchen, and carries the plates of food out and sets them on the table, and Helen comes out after her.

''Caroline, Helen, everything looks so good!" Anne exclaims, and they smiles proudly. They glance at their father, and he gestures for them to sit down. The food is served, and Phillip tells them all about Andrew's latest adventure, which involves banging on the piano in the middle of the night and waking them all up by singing along with it wordlessly.

Margaery laughs, a charming sound, and tells Phillip that that is the funniest thing she has ever heard.

Phineas nods in agreement, and Edward cries in protest. ''Now, Eddie, don't cry.'' Phillip lightly scolds the baby. Edward cries again, as if to say, ''Father, my name is Edward!''

''I cannot wait for him to say his first words.'' says Anne, gazing down on her baby with a face full of love. ''Maybe it'll be circus.'' Phineas teases, and Phillip playfully slaps him on the shoulder. ''Pt!''

''Oh, father.'' Helen laughs, biting into a piece of chicken. ''Do shut up and eat your food.''

''Helen is right, father.'' Caroline agrees. ''You've been talking with Phillip and Anne so much, that you've barely touched your food.''

Phineas apologizes, ''I'm sorry, daughters'', glancing down at his untouched plate, and helps himself to some mashed potatoes.

''You're both such wonderful cooks.'' Margaery says to Caroline and Helen, and they thank her. ''You must teach me how to cook. I'm from a wealthy family, so I'm afraid I never learned.'' She adds afterward.

Caroline smiles, and says she will teach her. After the dinner finishes, and the dishes have been cleared away, they all go into the parlor, where Caroline and Helen sit down at the piano and play a duet. ''How beautiful.'' Margaery tells her stepdaughters when they have finished, and Phineas claps. When Phillip and Anne decide to leave, Phineas and Margaery bid them good-bye at the door, and then, after bidding Caroline and Helen good-night, they retire to their bedroom.

XxX

''They are very nice.'' Margaery says, and Phineas comes and unlaces her dress, like he used to do with Charity. ''Oh, thank you, husband.''

''Margaery,'' Phineas says, the name foreign on his tongue, ''Please call me Phineas.'' Margaery stares at him for a moment, and finally nods.

''Very well, Phineas.'' his name sounds rather nice when she speaks it, he thinks. And he's reminded of Charity saying it, years ago.

He swallows, and says, ''Do you have any family besides your parents and grandmother?''

Margaery instantly thinks of her brothers, and says, ''There are my brothers. Loras, the only one who came with us to New York, and the other two, Garlan, who's married to Lady Leonette and stayed behind to take care of Highgarden and Willas, who's crippled from a fall from his horse.''

''Oh, I'm sorry.''

''Well, you needn't be. Willas is recovering.'' Margaery assures him. Phineas nods in relief. That is good to know. Margaery starts to take off her petticoat, while Phineas deftly undoes her garters and pulls down her linen stockings while she's at it, and it earns him an almost reproachful look from his wife. Margaery looks like Caroline and Helen when she is mad, and it's quite amusing.

''What, surely a husband is allowed to take off his wife's stockings?'' he asks in mirth, and Margaery, still with that reproachful look on her face, simply answers, ''Not while she's removing her petticoat!''

Phineas laughs at that, and scoops her up in his arms despite her protests, and places her on the bed, she clad still in her chemise and drawers. He tugs his vest off, and his trousers, and climbs on top of her, while she pushes him away, in spite of herself.

''Stop that!'' she exclaims, but he only laughs. Margaery pushes and teases, while Phineas laughs and attempts to kiss her, until Caroline yells, not in a very ladylike way, from the room she shares with Helen, ''Father, Stepmama, do quiet down! How do you expect me and Helen to sleep?''

Phineas and Margaery stop at that, and Phineas remarks, ''Never, never did I ever wake up my daughters or prevent them from sleeping when I was married to their mother.'' That only causes them to laugh more, until finally they settle down. Phineas holds Margaery close to his chest, and kisses the top of her head, bidding her good-night, and she wishes him good-night as well.

The ball is on Wednesday, and Margaery takes Caroline to the dressmaker's so they can have their ballgowns ready in time, while Helen helps her father out at the circus.

Margaery wears a deep blue-green linen with teal stripes and pagoda sleeves, while Caroline wears a frock of cinnamon-colored muslin with a tight bodice and lace bonnet, with a pale blue shawl patterned in lilac flowers draped around her shoulders.

The dressmaker is a kind, middle-aged woman who's very efficient, named Ninetta Pansy, which Caroline thinks is a charming name.

''So, you fine young ladies are going to a ball? How wonderful.'' her accent is that of a Danish; at least Caroline thinks she's Danish.

''Yes.'' Margaery replies. ''And we're looking to have new ball-gowns made. Can you help us, Ma'am?''

''I'd be delighted!'' Ms Pansy exclaims. She bustles around, calls for her assistants, and begins holding up some lovely silks and taffetas and satins. ''Go ahead. See which ones you like.'' she says, after the two girls are measured.

And that's what Margaery and Caroline do, holding up fabrics and envisioning their gowns. Margaery is particularly drawn to an apple-green watered silk, which she thinks would look pretty with layered white and green silk flounces cascading down the skirt, and her mother gave her an emerald-encrusted hair comb as a wedding-present. That would go very nicely with it.

Caroline is rather undecisive, and Margaery notes, seems to be torn between a primrose-colored silk and a delicate pale blue mousseline de soie, both of which would look well on her. Finally she turns to Margaery and asks, ''Which one?"

''The mousseline de soie is very delicate and light, and the primrose silk suits your eyes. I say-the mousseline.'' Margaery tells Caroline, delighted she can help her, and Caroline nods in agreement, holding up the light blue mousseline de soie against her lithe young body. ''We've made our choices, Ms Pansy.'' Margaery calls out, and pays the dressmaker. ''We'd like the ball-gowns to be finished early Wednesday morning.'' she adds before they leave.

''Thank you, stepmama.'' Caroline tells Margaery after they leave, and holds up the lace parasol she had brought with her, for the sun has grown quite warm. ''Tell me'', she says after a while, ''How did you meet your friend Sansa?''

''It was when she was engaged to Joffrey Baratheon. My parents, grandmama, my brother Loras and I went to Casterly Rock for a visit, and we became friends. There was talk of me marrying Joffrey for a time after Sansa married his uncle Tyrion, but grandmama found out that your father was 'looking for a wife' as she put it, and had us betrothed.'' Margaery explains.

''Did you ever meet Sansa's family?'' Caroline asks curiously.

Margaery nods. ''I met her parents, Eddard and Catelyn Stark. Very nice, honest people. She has one sister, Arya, which she mentioned yesterday at church, and four brothers.''

Caroline gasps and exclaims, ''Good gracious! Four brothers?''

Margaery shrugs elegantly. ''I myself have three brothers. Hers are Robb, Jon, Bran, and Rickon. I met them all at Sansa's wedding. Then they returned to Winterfell, their family estate in Norway.''

''Tell me, what were they like?''

''Well, Robb's a nice fellow, engaged to Sansa's niece Myrcella, Joffrey's sister. Now, Jon, he's a very solitary person. Like a wolf. He's engaged to my friend Daenerys Targaryen, and Bran and Rickon are merely children.'' Margaery replies to Caroline's curious inquiries.

''How interesting!'' says Caroline. She wonders what it would be like to have brothers. She wishes she knew, as she only has Helen for a sibling. Of course, Philip Carlyle is like an older brother and an uncle both to her and Helen, but he is not related to them by blood.

But,oh, how she wishes she had a brother!


Sorry this took so long to post. I made this chapter rather long.