After around 17 chapters of hinting and betrothal, here we are finally at the wedding of Lucerys and Margaery! Despite leaning on the S4E2 episode of the show for obvious reasons, timeline wise this chapter takes place somewhere between S3E6/S3E7/S3E8. The ceremony itself is copied from the show wiki page of 'Marriage', as the actual show cropped parts of the ceremony for different weddings.
I hope you all enjoy this chapter… don't worry you'll see the aftermath of the Battle of Moat Cailin next week! A reminder that I of course do not own anything, and that all the characters we know and love belong to George R R Martin or HBO.
The skies were a deep, cloudless blue and there was plenty of laughter filling the King's Landing gardens as the Reach tradition of a formal wedding breakfast was being observed. Lucerys sat in the middle of the head table sat beside Jon and Daenerys, with Prince Oberyn and Prince Trystane sat either side of them. Despite his smile Luke felt extremely awkward with his sister at his side, but thankfully the guests were many and he could be distracted by the numerous wedding gifts that were being handed over.
Daenerys had been the first in a long line of noble guests and had gifted Luke a hand stitched wedding cloak with small, three headed dragons coloured red and gold continuously along the black material. From House Martell Luke had a fine golden brown sand steed brought up from the region and placed in the stables. House Velaryon had built a fine flagship that they had named Seadragon whilst Lord Paxter Redwyne had ordered a model of Vhaegon which Luke thoroughly enjoyed, taking the time to explain the story of how he captured the vessel and interred Euron Greyjoy's bones in the figurehead much to his guests amusement.
Black Balaq had gifted a Goldenheart bow along with a quiver full of Goldenheart arrows, along with a dagger made of pure gold for the bride. "I used your own loot from the old days." Luke's loyal commander grinned, his green and orange feathered coat looking even more resplendent than usual.
Other gifts followed from his old comrades in the Golden Company. A tapestry of the Battle of Pentos had come from Lord Goldriver whilst Lord Cole had bottled up a jar of sand. "The sand from underneath the very first footstep you took back on the beach of Dragonstone, Your Grace." Lord Will had claimed.
The gifts kept flowing as Lords and Ladies from the Crownlands and Reach filtered down to the table. Lord Tarly gifted a newly forged axe, Lady Stokeworth gifted a couple of pairs of riding boots for the bride and groom, whilst Ser Baelor Hightower gifted one of the only full copies of Dragons, Wyrms and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History that still remained in the world after the book burnings of King Baelor that the Lord Hightower of the time had kept hidden from the zealot King.
More gifts flowed of weaponry, various pieces of armour and jewellery for Margaery before Edric Dayne stood before the table. "Ned!" Luke greeted jovially.
"Your Grace." Ned bowed, holding an empty scabbard in his hands. "Being your squire, you have often charged me with maintaining and caring for Blackfyre. The original scabbard has been through much since it was reunited with your House, Your Grace. I hope you consider this one as a worthy replacement, commissioned by my Lord Father and made in Starfall."
Luke had the Valyrian Steel blade leaning against the table at his side, and he made a show of rising to his feet and unsheathing the blade. As he looked between his current scabbard and Ned's one he could see instantly how faded the black leather in the original was after years of campaigns in both Essos and now Westeros. In his left hand Luke took the gift from Ned. "Thank you, Ned." He said sincerely, looking at the golden dragon writhing down the shaft. "This is a fine gift, and one I shall take great pleasure in making you look after and keep clean." He said with a grin, causing laughs from those within earshot. He sheathed his sword inside the new gift and placing it back where Blackfyre had rested a moment earlier. He then picked up the old scabbard and held it in the air. "I understand that Chains believes he is the greatest arm wrestler inside King's Landing!" He announced to the crowd. "Whomever can best my loyal friend at the feast later this evening will win this!" He sat down to loud cheers and boasts of strength, before looking at Ned again. "Thank you." He said again. "Go and enjoy yourself today, and make sure you dance with Talisa."
Ned's face turned beet red as the 15-year-old bowed once more and scarpered away to the chuckles of the high table, and Tyrion Lannister appeared at the table. "Your Grace."
"Lord Lannister." Lucerys put on a wide smile as Podrick Payne placed a heavy book on the table.
Tyrion gestured to the tome. "The Lives of Four Kings." The dwarf explained. "Grand Maester Kaeth's history of the reigns of Daeron the Young Dragon, Baelor the Blessed, Aegon the Unworthy and Daeron the Good. A book every King should read."
Even in King's Landing, famous books such as the one in front of Luke written in the hands of the original author were extremely rare. Luke pulled it towards him and opened the first page. "It's Grand Maester Kaeth's own writing…" He said softly.
"One of only four copies remaining to us." Tyrion explained.
Luke nodded, closing the book and handing it carefully to a servant. "Take this straight to my chambers, handle it with care." He instructed, before turning back to Tyrion. "Thank you, My Lord. That is a very generous gift. Even if Kaeth decided to ignore my five times Great Grandfather, the second King Viserys." He said with a smirk.
Tyrion simply bowed, not wanting to stay in the spotlight for longer than was necessary. In the Lannister's place soon stood Lord Mace Tyrell, and a giant golden goblet was placed on the table with a rim wide enough to fit Luke's head inside it. Different coloured jewels clearly marked the differing Great Houses of the Seven Kingdom's, and it looked an extremely expensive gift to Luke's eyes.
"From House Tyrell and the people of the Reach, Your Grace." Mace began. "It is my honour to present you with this wedding cup. May you and my daughter Margaery drink deep and live long."
Look leant forwards and turned the goblet to inspect the jewels. "This is a fine goblet, Lord Tyrell. I entrust that you will join us in our cups on many occasions in the future as we toast to a fruitful union between our Houses."
Mace bowed his head. "That would be most welcome, Your Grace." The Warden of the South stated before departing.
Jon then cleared his throat. "I guess it's my turn." He said with a rare smile.
Luke leant back in his seat as Jon rounded the table to face the King, and a pair of servants joined him with a large, plush cushion each. Luke's stance shifted rigidly as he saw what was on the left. "Is that…?"
"Your Grace has long been interested in Targaryen history." Jon announced loudly so that all could hear him. "On our travels with the Golden Company we scoured Essos in between and during contracts collecting the heirlooms of your ancestors. Six of your forebears have crowns that were supposedly missing. I left King's Landing with you as a child holding the crown of King Maekar. The charred crown of Aegon Dragonbane was found in a shipwreck off the coast of Tyrosh, Jaehaerys the Conciliator's gem laden band was gifted to us by the Sealord of Braavos on completion of a contract."
"The Unworthy's monstrosity was taken from Norvos and the Conqueror's was gifted to us by our friends from Sunspear, yes." Luke finished, his eyes on the left-hand cushion. "Only King Aenys' crown was hidden from us."
Jon smirked, another rare sight and one that would have unnerved Luke had he not been fixated on the elaborate gold crown sat on the cushion. "One thing we can be grateful for during the Usurper's reign is he deemed it beneath him to destroy valuable artifacts. The Dragon Skulls survived and now rest back where they belong in your Throne Room, whilst the crown of King Aenys was left hidden in an unused chamber deep in the bowels of the Red Keep. I gift this to you, My King, to complete your collection of familial artifacts."
Luke took the crown in his hands and admired it, stroking his hands over the jade face of the Warrior, one of the Seven Gods that had been detailed on the large crown. "You have done much for me throughout the years, Lord Hand." Luke spoke emotionally. "This is among the greatest."
Luke rose to his feet and moved around the table, embracing the Stormlander fiercely before noticing the other cushion. "And what is this?"
"The crown of Queen Alysanne, Your Grace." Jon explained. "A fitting crown for your new Queen to bring a new era of stability to the Seven Kingdoms."
Luke grinned at the suggestion. "This is why you are my Hand and most faithful friend, constantly thinking of excellent ideas." He was only half putting it on for the crowd. "And I shall let the future Queen know who's idea this truly was." He grabbed his goblet and raised it in the air. "As we finish up our first meal of the day and our thoughts turn to the ceremony in a few hours, I would like to propose a toast to each and every one of you sitting here today. The past has been rife with blood, but may the union today mark the beginning of a peaceful and prosperous realm, safe in the hands of all of you, my friends."
"To the realm!" The call went up, and Luke held his glass out to Jon, who dutifully clinked glasses with the King.
"You realise the bloodshed hasn't quite stopped just yet?" Jon whispered quietly.
Luke nodded. "Let today be a day for bright futures and forgetting our worries, Jon." He replied just as quietly. "Tomorrow we can worry about the wars to come."
Because of the extravagance required of such an occasion, after the wedding breakfast had concluded Luke was required to go back up to his rooms to change into the clothes that he would perform the ceremony in. Ned Dayne was with him, tightening his golden doublet and clasping the wedding cloak from Daenerys around his neck before handing Luke Blackfyre to tie around his waist.
"There." Ned stated proudly as he stepped back. Luke moved over to the mirror to inspect himself and nodded at what he saw. "You'll break the hearts of all the maidens in attendance when you kiss your bride, Your Grace."
Breathing out in amusement, Luke shook his head. "Let us just get this over with." He stated.
Ned nodded, before heading over to the dressing table and picking up the crown of Aegon the Conqueror. "One final touch." The Dayne squire said, and Luke leant down so that the crown could be placed on his head. "You are ready, Your Grace."
"Thank you Ned." Luke said for what must have been the tenth time that day. "That's your job done for the day now. Go and get ready."
"Your Grace." Ned bowed, walking to the door.
"And wear that lilac doublet I gifted you for your last name day!" Luke called. "Talisa will love it."
Chuckling to himself as his squire left the room, Luke made sure to look at his reflection again. He looked completely different to his last wedding, and the ceremony was barely a fraction of the pomp and unnecessity that this day would bring. Sighing, he looked at the portrait of Valarra on his dresser. "Tell me I'm doing the right thing." He whispered to the deceased mother of his daughter.
His mourning was interrupted by a knock at the door. "The Princess Daenerys." Ser Barristan announced, and Luke froze for a second too long as the doors opened.
Turning, he saw Daenerys had also changed, and was now wearing a black gown with rows of tiny red rubies stitched into the bosom and skirts. She looked beautiful. "Sister." Luke greeted cordially.
Dany simply huffed and made sure the door was shut. "This, this is why I needed to see you now." She began. "This… distance between us. You ignoring me. It cannot continue."
"What do you expect from me?" Luke asked, stepping down from the step that he had been dressed on. "I'm getting married today, I cannot be distracted…"
"We were drunk." Dany whispered harshly. "We got whatever is there between us out of our system. Do you think I want to ruin all the work that has got us to this point? I don't want to make an enemy out of the Faith, nor the Tyrell's and Martells. But people are starting to notice, Luke."
He sighed, grateful for her words. "I'm sorry, truly." He insisted. "I just want today out of the way."
Dany shook her head and stepped closer so they were a foot away from one another. "I will always love you, brother. It is ok if you feel something too." She said softly. "But our feelings don't matter. What matters is our House. We've only just returned to Westeros and reclaimed our birth right, please don't think me foolish enough to want to ruin all that."
"I don't think that of you, Dany." Luke insisted. "I just didn't want to face the dilemma inside me and so I neglected you. Hearing you say these things… it's a burden lifted." He leant in and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll be better towards you from now, I swear it."
Dany nodded, a blush forming on the cheek he had kissed. "Good, now go and wed your Tyrell beauty and I shall applaud the loudest before sharing too many dances with Trystane as I make him believe I'm a little girl in love with him." She said, as if that were so easy. "Wed her, bed her, put a son in her quickly."
"You make it sound so easy." Luke rolled his eyes. Dany huffed and turned her back on him.
"This isn't easy." Dany said softly, and Luke could hear the hurt in her voice. "It is, however, necessary." It was, Luke knew. There were a hundred things that he felt like he needed to tell her but his mouth remained silent. Dany sniffed, wiping her eyes and putting a big smile on her face before turning back round to face him. "Come, you're expected in the Sept before everybody else."
Luke nodded, looking at both the portrait of Valarra and his reflection one more time before he followed Daenerys out to start the rest of his life tied to yet another woman.
While the Targaryen siblings were clearing the air, a separate part of the castle was also housing a discussion between family members, as Margaery Tyrell was having the final touches put to her hair by her handmaids Sera and Mira after the Hand of the King had arrived with a truly precious item, the crown of Queen Alysanne. She stared at herself in her mirrors and her eyes kept pushing up to the crown. She had erred with Renly, a union that was more about Loras than it had been her. On her wedding day she had smiled the smiles and played the part of a Queen, but this felt different, this felt real.
"There, My Lady." The Northerner, Mira Forrester, smiled. "You are ready."
Standing up and allowing the girls to straighten her skirts and place her Tyrell Maiden's Cloak over her shoulders, Margaery then went to a full-length mirror to inspect herself fully. Her wedding gown was a pale gold, like the rose of her Father's house. Detailing the gown were darker gold dragons and roses in intricate patterns all over. A true union of the two houses she would soon belong too. But as beautiful as the gown was, it was still the crown she stared at. It was a slim gold band, with seven jewels placed inside at equidistance. At the front was the crimson ruby of House Targaryen, and her hair had been styled as such that the emerald to the left of that ruby was also showing, but no others.
"The Lady Olenna." Ser Rolly Duckfield called from outside the door. Lucerys had assigned him to guard her for the entire day, a sign of caring Margaery liked to think given the good relationship the King had with this particular White Cloak.
The door opened and Margaery turned to her Grandmother with a beaming smile. "Grandmother!" She greeted.
"Oh my dear child." Olenna whispered. "Look at you."
Margaery could feel herself blushing. She turned to her handmaidens. "Mira, Sera, you may go and get yourselves ready."
"My Lady." They both bowed, leaving the room and the door closed behind them.
Olenna stepped closer, grabbing Margaery's hands with her own. "This is more like it. Look at you." She repeated. "Much better."
She was also thinking of the wedding with Renly, Margaery realised, and the almost Queen reacted by simply nodding. "And look at the gift from the King." She pointed up at the crown. "It belonged to Queen Alysanne."
"And now it is yours." Olenna added proudly. "Queen Margaery Tyrell."
Margaery grinned at the name. "We got here eventually."
Olenna nodded. "And now we must stay here." She said, a hint of warning in her tone. "There are whispers… the King and his sister are at odds."
That didn't surprise Margaery too much. When Daenerys had first arrived at the Red Keep the siblings had spent all of their free time together, yet ever since Lucerys had taken her to see Valaxes it was her that the King spent his time with. "Do you think she is jealous of us?"
"Jealous?" Olenna snorted. "Perhaps, but they spent enough time apart when he was fighting his wars. I know not of what ails them, but it is something to keep an eye on. Princess Daenerys is the closest thing the King's daughter has to a parent, and the young Princess will either be our biggest ally, or our most deadly foe."
Margaery nodded. "I know what I'm doing, Grandmother." She insisted. "Once we are wed the King will go off on his wars to try and bring the North and the Vale back into the fold and I shall be the greatest stepmother to Visenya. We will be wonderful friends."
"Your first job, my dear, will be to have a son." Olenna corrected. "If the King dies all that is left are women heirs, be they Targaryen or gods forbid a Baratheon. A son comes before all of those, and a son raised by us will see House Tyrell rise like never before." Olenna air kissed Margaery's cheek. "But for today that can wait. Today we celebrate and dine our new Queen."
The title once again made Margaery smile.
Despite having every comfort afforded to him as the Warden of the West and Lord of Casterly Rock, if Tyrion told anybody that he was actually happy, he would be lying to himself. The dwarf of Lannister would much rather go back to his home and sit there brooding, but instead every single day he was reminded of the deaths of his family, the lack of an effort to bother about getting Jaime released from the clutches of Robb Stark, and the awful treatment that was being given to Myrcella and Tommen.
The new King said his pretty words while convincing Tyrion to betray his Father and bend the knee, but words are wind. Tommen and Myrcella were allowed no freedom instead having guards on them at all times. It was only rarely that even Tyrion was allowed to see them, but thankfully the morning of the wedding was one of them, and immediately after the breakfast he had gone to visit. Of course the newly anointed Lannisters hadn't been allowed to attend the wedding to keep them from being remembered.
After gifting them with sweets and more books, it was an angry Tyrion who was escorted by Targaryen guards from the Red Keep to the Sept of Baelor alongside another hostage, Sansa Stark. It was awkward in the carriage with not a word spoken between them, and as they exited the carriage and began to climb the steps to the Sept, Sansa finally broke her silence. "This is cruel." She whispered, barely audible over the ringing of the bells.
"A wedding should be a joyous occasion." Tyrion's voice was laced with sarcasm.
"I'm not talking about the wedding." Sansa replied harshly. "My Father was executed here by Lannisters. I was free and then brought back here to stay a prisoner by a Lannister." She was barely containing her calm demeanour for the onlooking smallfolk.
Tyrion also felt like he wanted to scowl. "You may blame me all you like, but I was in no position to travel across the entire Seven Kingdom's with three children in tow." He whispered harshly back. "And if you think your situation is bad, think on my niece and nephew, two children you were friendly with before. One day you will leave King's Landing and return to the North. They will live and die here, with only the other as friendly company." He sighed as they made it to the top and he could see the Dragonpit in the distance, where his Father, Sister and nephew were burned alive. "We are all prisoners here, Lady Sansa, and we all have our ghosts. All we can do is make the best of the situation, and you should be glad you have a good relationship with our new Queen along with family that care for you. Some of us have nothing."
His first wedding hadn't been this dull. The High Septon was performing the full works, with every hymn in the proverbial wedding book being sung before the bride had even arrived along with as many prayers that the old man could think of seemingly. It took all of his willpower to sit there watching the High Septon in silence instead of telling him to simply hurry up.
Finally however, the Maiden Door opened to reveal Margaery and her Father. The Tyrell pair slowly walked down the steps into the central area of the Sept, fitting snugly in between the hundreds of guests crammed into the Sept as they walked over towards the stairs between the statues of the Father and the Mother, where Luke was stood. Before they rose the steps, Mace Tyrell pulled away from his daughter and bowed before Luke, allowing the bride to rise the steps herself.
Luke held a single hand out to guide Margaery up the last couple, before gracefully bringing her to a halt just before the High Septon, who then began the ceremony in earnest, looking to Luke and stating. "You may now cloak the bride and bring her under your protection." Luke waited for Margaery to turn her back to him before he gently unclasped her Tyrell cloak, handing it down to Lord Mace, before he whipped his own cloak off of his shoulders and placing it snugly around her, clasping it together with a dragon broach. Margaery then turned back to face him, her face controlled but a smile sneaking its way on it.
The High Septon then continued. "My Lords, My Ladies." He announced to the guests. "We stand here in the sight of Gods and Men to witness the union of man and wife. One flesh, one heart, one soul. Now and forever." Luke held his left hand out for Margaery to place her right hand on top of, as they both turned to face the High Septon who brought out a golden ribbon and began wrapping it around their joined hands. "Let it be known that Margaery of House Tyrell and Lucerys of House Targaryen are one heart, one flesh, one soul. Cursed be he who would seek to tear them asunder. In the sight of the Seven, I hereby seal these two souls, binding them as one for eternity." He then began to unwind the ribbon from their hands and spoke directly to them. "Your Grace, Your Grace." He bowed at the pair of them. "Please, look upon one another and say the words."
Luke turned to Margaery, who's large brown eyes seemed to stare right into his soul as he began to speak. "Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger. I am hers, and she is mine. From this day, until the end of my days." He stated confidently so everyone could hear. The final thing to do was to seal the union with a kiss, and so still staring into the Tyrell woman's eyes Luke announced. "Queen Margaery." He used her new title. "With this kiss, I pledge my love." And with that he gently cupped her cheek with his right hand and leant in, pressing a kiss upon her lips.
The applause was deafening as after a few seconds of remaining lip locked the wedded couple pulled apart, and Luke took her hand in his to show off the union to the crowd and for the first time since the ceremony started he saw the guests. He noticed Daenerys holding a clapping Visenya up, Mace Tyrell looked to be wiping tears away with his sleeve whilst applauding and Ned Dayne was whispering with Talisa Maegyr whilst the pair were applauding.
Leading his bride, Luke began descending the stairs to walk through the crowd before they started ascending again to leave the through the main doors. As soon as the light hit them the sound of thunderous applause and cheers hit them, and Luke looked down at thousands upon thousands of people lined up simply to see their new King and Queen.
"Wave at them." Margaery whispered quickly, her hand already up. Luke joined in the action too, and they waved at their subjects whilst descending the stairs, only stopping once they had arrived at their carriage. Luke made sure to help his wife up into the vehicle before giving the smallfolk one final wave as he entered himself.
Once the guests had returned to the Red Keep they were escorted through to the Throne Room. Once everybody had been seated Luke and Margaery were allowed to enter. A dais had been set up just in front of the Iron Throne with the middle two seats empty and Luke escorted his new wife up towards it, helping her into her seat gently before pushing it in. Luke then stood behind his seat in between her and Mace Tyrell and looked over to his right, past Margaery to where Dany, Visenya and Jon Connington were sat. To his left beyond Lord Mace was Olenna Tyrell.
The room was silent, and so Luke began a speech. "My Lords and Ladies, welcome. Both the Queen and I are delighted that everybody has gathered to celebrate such a monumental day and we both insist that you eat, drink, and laugh until you simply cannot!" A cheer went up as Luke called to the bard that had travelled from Oldtown. "Orland! A Rose of Gold to start us off please!"
Orland bowed and began playing the song written about Margaery, and very quickly the conversations began picking up as the first course of seven was laid out in front of them. Luke made sure to feed his wife the first bite, and then settled down into the feast.
Once the third course had been set out, Margaery leaned into Luke wrapping her arm around his. "Perhaps we should tell everyone now." She whispered into him, and Luke could see that she was just starting to feel the Arbor Red that she was drinking.
Smiling, he nodded and started banging his fork on his glass to gain attention. "My Lords, My Ladies, the Queen would like to say a few words."
Applause struck up again as Luke helped Margaery to her feet. "We are so fortunate to enjoy this marvellous food and drink. Not all among us are so lucky. To thank the gods for bringing the recent wars to a just end, King Lucerys has decreed that the leftovers from our feast be given to the poorest in his city."
More applause followed, and Luke noticed Jon Connington's frown out of the corner of his eye, knowing of course that fighting may yet still follow. Ignoring that and not wanting to even think of the Baratheon's on this day of all days, Luke simply smiled and helped Margaery sit back down before continuing the speech. "Now continue the festivities and remember if you beat Chains you can win Blackfyre's old scabbard!" He held his drink out to the muscular elephant handler and gaoler. Sitting back down he clinked glasses with Margaery. "A lovely sentiment, My Queen."
"It's important to remember all of those we rule, not just those fortunate enough to be here." She stated, and Luke couldn't agree more.
The feast continued merrily from then as the music and wine flowed almost as easily as the food. Luke got up himself to walk around and speak to as many people as he could, even losing an arm wrestle to the still undefeated Chains. He returned to the dais just in time for the final course of Pigeon Pie, and just as he was preparing to stand up to cut the outlandishly sized pie, Varys moved over to whisper in his ear.
"Your Grace, news from the North." The eunuch whispered.
"Not now." Luke whispered back harshly, thankful that Margaery was pretending not to listen as she spoke with Daenerys.
Varys however insisted. "Your Grace… Robb Stark and Stannis Baratheon have fought… Robb Stark was victorious though came out of the battle wounded. Stannis Baratheon however is dead."
Luke sat there in a state of shock before bursting out into loud laughter and gaining the attention of everybody in the room. "Varys, my fine man." Luke rose to his feet and planted a kiss on his bald head before grabbing his wine and Blackfyre in both of his hands. "My Lords, My Ladies. Before I cut the pigeon pie with my new Queen, I would like to propose a toast." He held his glass up in the air. "Stannis Baratheon is dead! The House of the Usurper has ended, killed in the North! A toast to Robb Stark, to whom I will reward should he bend the knee to me in the coming weeks."
It was a nervous toast, with many not wishing to toast a supposed traitor, but Luke took note that Sansa Stark and her jumpy friend were two of the louder ones. Draining his cup Luke placed it on the table and held his hand out for Margaery, the pair rounding the table towards the triple decked Pigeon Pie. Luke unsheathed Blackfyre and held it balancing in both hands for Margaery to carefully kiss the blade, blessing it. Luke then gripped it firmly and swung it up then down, cutting into the dessert to the sound of yet more applause.
As the desert was then cut up and handed out to every guest by the servants, Luke made his way over to the Stark girl, who was nervous as she made room for him at the bench. "Your Grace." She bowed her head.
"I was not jesting." He said. "I know it's been tough on you remaining here while I've seemingly not even been fighting with your brother, but once things have settled down after the wedding I mean to make peace with your brother."
Sansa for a while didn't know what to say. "Thank you, Your Grace."
"But if he refuses, then he becomes a traitor to me instead of only to the past regime." Luke added cautiously. "And then you will be the Lady of Winterfell as the eldest surviving trueborn child of your Father." He noticed Sansa gulp. "With any luck it won't come to that, I just want you to think on that."
"Of course, Your Grace." Sansa nodded. "Thank you."
Luke rose to his feet again. "Enjoy the pie." He added finally, walking away back to the table only to be stopped by Jon at the edge.
"What was that?" Jon asked.
"A bit of hope, followed by a warning." Luke explained. "I'm not so naïve to think Robb Stark is now my vassal after his victory over my enemy, and with her other brothers dead, she could be my Lady of Winterfell." He then shrugged. "Maybe it's time to start planning for that before I meet with Stark, to warn him of other plans."
Jon nodded. "I'll start thinking of a loyal match for her. Perhaps Harry Strickland."
Luke snorted in amusement. "Someone with a bit more strength, Jon, if they are to rule the North." Luke laughed, patting his friend and mentor on the back before taking his seat again and allowing Margaery to feed him some pigeon pie.
The feast had started in the afternoon sunlight, but as the remnants of the pigeon pie were cleaned away Luke noticed that the braziers had been lit and the moonlight was streaming into the room from the stained window behind the Iron Throne. Luke knew that Daenerys and Visenya had left already to take the young Targaryen to bed, and of his remaining guests he could see that some of them were passing out from the intake of wine and food, with Ser Baelor Hightower snoring into the crumbs of his pigeon pie. Chuckling, he turned to Margaery. "Are you ready for what comes next?" He asked.
Margaery smiled, and so Luke looked to Oberyn at the closest table to the dais and simply nodded. The Dornish Prince smirked at the King and rose to his feet before standing on the table and tapping his own glass with cutlery to gather attention. "We have had the wedding!" He called. "We have had the wine! Now there is only one thing left to do." He turned and gestured his hand at the newly wedded couple. "We must bed them!"
A roar of approval went up as Luke helped Margaery to her feet again, walking around the table to the onrush of guests both male and female rushing towards them. Laughing, he felt feminine hands pull him towards the doors and before he had even made it out of the Throne Room his doublet was off, the rest of his clothes soon to follow.
A large room close to the Throne Room had been set aside for the wedding night purely so that the large number of wedding guests wouldn't have free roam of the castle during the bedding ceremony, but the closeness didn't deter those guests from completely disrobing both Luke and Margaery by the time they had been thrown through the door. Once all the guests had been ejected and the door shut, Luke was quick to lock and bar the door in case an extra lecherous guest decided they wanted more of a show.
He then moved to grab some more wine, only noticing that the completely naked Margaery was already doing so. The simple shape of her was enough to stir him, let alone the confidence she was showing. "Most brides are supposedly shy after the bedding ceremony." Luke noted with a smirk.
Margaery looked over her shoulder at him. "I thought you knew by now, Your Grace, I am not most women." She returned to the pouring before turning around, two glasses of Arbor red in hand and Luke was simply bewitched in her body, watching as her breasts rise and fell with each breath. "Do you like what you see?" Margaery asked.
Luke smirked. "My Lady, you know I like what I see."
Looking down at his crotch, Margaery smirked back. "I suppose I do." She handed him a glass of wine and clinked her glass to his. "To our union."
"May this marriage be the start of a new era." Luke added, before they both took a sip. He looked up at her eyes then. "If you do not wish to…"
Margaery's spare hand came up to stop him talking. "Hush, My King." She whispered. "Your gallantry is soothing I must admit, but I am prepared for what we are to do." She moved her hand then, dragging it down his cheek and neck, along his shoulder and down his arm, entwining her fingers with his own as she brushed her hand against his growing member. "And I see you desire me so do not be shy or gallant, just have me."
He needed no other invitation, dropping his glass of wine unceremoniously on the floor as he pressed his lips to her own. She tasted a lot more of wine than she had done hours ago in the Sept but Luke didn't care. He heard her own glass drop as her arms came snaking around his neck, and Luke allowed his to slide down her side to her hips, before dropping them further to give himself enough grip to hoist her up, wrapping her legs around his waist.
"Your Grace." Margaery moaned against his lips as they continued their passionate embrace.
"Luke." He breathed into her. "When we're alone, I'm Luke." He carried her over to the bed then and threw her down, causing Margaery to moan in delight. Taking a moment to admire the Tyrell sprawled out over the bed, Luke grinned once more and dived on top of her.
Admittedly quite a few of the gifts are repurposed from the Purple Wedding but given the similarities I felt that would always be the case. There are some new ones however, such as the new Blackfyre scabbard, the two crowns, the importance to Luke doesn't seem to have been mentioned in a while, and an actual ship from the Targaryen's biggest allies as well as the Redwyne model that the books had.
I created the locations of the crowns, but some at least are founded in lore. Rhaenyra sold King Jaehaerys' to a Braavosi ship for passage as she was fleeing King's Landing. And I've added a little bit of a retcon as I didn't realise earlier that King Aegon III's crown likely would have been at Summerhall with Egg, so the charring is from that. I also couldn't see a reason where Maekar's crown was sold to Essos, so that can be the one that started the obsession as a gift from Rhaegar.
Tyrion isn't really meant to be sympathetic here, he's just trying to project his own situation because he feels like Sansa being upset to be a hostage is laughable given that she's actually liked at court and in the process of negotiations to leave.
As mentioned before the wedding ceremony has been copied from the Game of Thrones wiki given that of the 5 Faith of the Seven weddings shown in the show, none of them had the full ceremony. I also had the feast inside the Throne Room and based that on the two trailers for House of the Dragon, where a very important wedding feast will be held in the Throne Room (I won't spoil who for those that don't know).
And finally I couldn't really find out about if King's and Queen's held the bedding ceremony but given that Lords Paramount have been shown to do so (I'm looking at you Edmure) I felt like I could include it here. Margaery is a confident nude as well as shown in Season 2, so I thought that dynamic to get Luke's blood going and to completely forget about his worries with Daenerys was necessary.
Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.
Next Time: The Blackfish arrives at Moat Cailin with terms and a gift, whilst Luke receives multiple pieces of bad news…
Reviews:
aegon Targarye17: Thank you!
Anaconda: The Cannibal makes sense. It's definitely Dragonstone and not the Dragonpit because of the natural cavern which narrows some down. Thank you for the comment about the chapter. Luke wasn't in it because there was no need for him there, but here is a purely King's Landing chapter.
Tony McNucklz: I don't think that they can keep a moral high ground after burning a child to death because of who his Father was… that wasn't the case. The whole idea of the marriage was to lock in Storm's End and make Stannis desperate enough to go North and marry quickly, whilst Jon is always going to be unhappy about it and want to distance himself from Shireen. Luke wants Shireen to be the last named member of House Baratheon so any negotiation that includes Alys' potential son being Lord of Storm's End will end badly for Robb. As for the pace… In the time it took for a few thousand men to travel the safe paths of the Neck, Robb went down to Riverrun for a funeral and back. I'd say Stannis did go out like a boss. He killed two Northern Lords and had beaten Robb Stark before an unnatural element finished him. As for bending to the North… he won't cower down in front of Robb Stark but he also knows that the potential fight isn't worth it. Robb will have his aims, Luke will have his.
C.E.W: I stated in the last chapter about the trailer! I'm super excited, the Dance is one of my favourite eras of the lore and to expand the 4 chapters or so in Fire and Blood will be brilliant. I trust Ryan Condal to faithfully adapt it and everything I've seen so far looks great. As for the Conquest story, I didn't plan on any OC's that was just going to be a retelling, but I doubt I'll ever actually get around to that one because of that fact.
SpartanWolfj6: Robb got lucky there… will he keep that luck through the whole story though?
Zhorvak: The worst for Robb is yet to come…