I was reading Slim Aarons and I got to thinking,
I thought.
Maybe I'd get less stressed if I was tested less like,
All of these debutantes.
Smiling for miles in pink dresses and high heels and white yachts
-Lana Del Rey, "hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have, but i have it"
Dany could hear the conversations happening in the other room and dreaded what awaited her there. She looked in the mirror again, hoping that she could find another thing to fix so she could delay her departure from the safe space. She went to tuck her hair behind her ear and noticed the shining rock decorating her finger.
The ladies would all be asking about it. Especially if they noticed that it was different than the one she'd been wearing. None of the ladies at court made an effort to get too close to Dany, keeping a safe distance from the foreigner in their midst, but they still saw things and whispered. If anyone asked, Dany would say it was being resized. That would slake their thirst for new rumors but it would start fresh ones too. Anything to keep them entertained she supposed.
In the mirror, she could see the ivory dress bag containing her wedding gown. The whole thing had arrived from White Harbor with the designer that morning for a fitting. The wedding planner reached out to as many Westerosi designers as she could and they raced to send in their portfolios. After looking through them all, Dany selected a northern designer named Jeyne Poole who worked for a well-known fashion house in Norvos. Her submission was an unused design for an upcoming bridal collection.
Dany cast it aside at first, claiming it wasn't her style, but when she looked at the sketch again she saw potential. She and Jeyne worked together to achieve what Dany now considered her dream dress. If she was only going to be married once she at least wanted the dress to be perfect.
Hanging next to the monstrous bag were two dress options for the engagement party. One of ivory tulle and the other of champagne chiffon. They were both modest lengths and clearly meant to invoke the word 'bride' without being too obvious. She chose the champagne dress as it was darker and featured a thick sash of lavender silk around the waist, then she swept her hair into a simple yet elegant knot at the nape of her neck.
Styling her hair on the go was a trick from princess training she found increasingly useful. All of her appointments were scheduled one after the other, she barely had time to breathe between them let alone manage the various costume changes. Dany preferred it that way. If she kept herself distracted she wouldn't think about anything else but the task at hand.
She slid the last pin into place and glanced at the tiara sitting in its case, surrounded by red velvet. A simple band with a fringe of raised silver points glittering with little sparkling piece wasn't hers, it was on loan from the Queen's personal collection. Catelyn wore it to her engagement celebration and wedding and claimed she would be honored if Dany wore it too.
With a gentle hand, she grazed her fingertips over the uneven points before lifting the tiara from its cushioned nest. The fringe sparkled in the moody lighting of the room and Dany realized it was meant to represent icicles. Without any blue-tinted stones, it looked more like dozens of little swords. It gave Dany a fierce look once placed atop her head and she was grateful for it. She needed strength now more than ever.
"Dany?"
Jon stood in the doorway, dressed in the semi-formal attire required of the official engagement party. She noticed his eyes flicker to the large dress bag.
"Is this the dress?"
"Yes," she answered before turning back to adjust the tiara.
She watched, partly in horror, as Jon reached for the bag.
"You can't look at it!" she whirled around and intercepted him.
"I didn't know you were superstitious."
"I'm not. I'd just rather not tempt fate."And risk fucking things up more than i already have.
"Okay, I won't look at it. Are you ready to go? I don't think our guests will appreciate it much if the couple of the hour is late."
She adjusted the high neck of her dress and fought the familiar urge to run. She promised herself no more running.
Accepting Jon's arm, he escorted her to the neighboring room. They paused outside the heavy door as their names were announced. She tried not to tighten her grip on his arm when it hit her that there were no rules regarding PDA this time. And people were expecting the young love-birds to act like they actually liked each other. And while they had come to an understanding between each other, Dany wouldn't label them as friends.
The ring caught her eye again. A small smile escaping her at the reminder of the unnecessary proposal. It was such a sweet thought, no ulterior motive and he didn't make a big deal out of it. She doubted her deserving of a ring with so much sentimental value but she saw at once why Jon picked it. It was geometric and different, simple yet powerful.
Dany swallowed her stubbornness, it was time for her to step up to the plate. She slid her hand to plant it with Jon's. She didn't intertwine their fingers. There was no need to, it wasn't that kind of gesture. There were no words between them, only smiles as the doors opened and the attendants politely applauded.
For an event on a joyous occasion, there was a bit of somberness to it. There were no real decorations but a banquet table of finger foods and several members of the waitstaff meandering around with trays of champagne. Dany wanted to grab one but she and Jon were ushered to the head of the room before she had a chance.
They would accept congratulations from a long line of courtiers, organized by precedent. There were the dukes of large swatches of land and the lords of castles and strongholds. Down to the smaller, ceremonial titles of Baronet and Earl and the knighted citizen who happened to be at court that day. Someone was announcing their official titles and names but Dany was already on autopilot. Sentiments like 'thank you' and 'we're so glad you could be here' slipped past her lips with unconscious ease, her mind barely registering the actual words anyone was saying.
There was an art to it, she supposed, being able to shake hands and smile and be grateful while her mind was somewhere else. She'd employed the same trick half a million times at the required state functions and once or twice at college parties.
As the Duke and Duchess they were addressing took their leave, Jon's posture grew tense. It was enough to make Dany shift back to manual.
"His Grace, Roose Bolton, Duke of The Weeping Water and Lord of the Dreadfort."
A man with eyes as cold and unforgiving as winter itself stood before them. The pink shield-shaped pin on his lapel glinted, showing off the red blood drops and the shape of man without skin. His gaze chilled Dany's blood and she stepped closer to Jon.
"Your Highnesses, my congratulations on such an advantageous engagement."
Despite the room buzzing with the sounds of smaller conversations, it seemed eerily quiet as Bolton spoke. His voice soft and lacking the boisterous quality the other courtiers possessed. It made his compliment sound more like a nasty piece of gossip he shouldn't be spreading.
"And my best wishes on a long and happy marriage."
From the tone of his voice, Dany knew he was praying for exactly the opposite. She reinforced her smile and wrapped her hand around Jon's arm in what she hoped was perceived as a loving, possessive manner.
"Thank you for your kind words, your Grace, we are wishing for much the same."
She looked up at Jon in affirmation. Breaking out of the odd state, he grinned at Dany with much the same false pretense as her hand on his arm. The Duke's face remained in its unimpressed scowl as he left them to face the next people in line.
Dany had half the heart to ask if they could take a break but the assembly of attendants was so long there was no time. She took a deep breath and tried to shake it off. It was no different than the few occasions she'd had the displeasure of dealing with Cersei Lannister, whose mannerisms were as fake as her waistline. At least Dany wouldn't have to deal with that woman on a regular basis anymore.
Once they'd made it through the long and impressive list of courtiers, she and Jon split up to meander through the room and socialize on a more personal level. Dany was about to raid the food table when she was tapped on the shoulder. Expecting it to be Catelyn about to scold her manners, she was surprised to find a lady of the court she hadn't yet been introduced to.
She was taller than Dany even though she wasn't in heels and wearing a simple wrap dress of forest green. The lady looked like she was meant to be gliding down the runway at a couture show instead of couped up at court.
"Your Highness, I wanted to compliment you on the engagement and your beautiful dress."
"Oh, thank you."
Dany was a little put-off. None of the court ladies made an effort to befriend her and she wasn't sure if the lady's intention was good. Dany smiled anyway, if they kept talking she would figure it out.
"Princess Sansa was telling me about your charity in Essos and I got curious."
"It's not my charity really, it's a non-profit that was willing to let me work with them."
"And what do you do there?"
"Mostly photo ops but I love interacting with the children and I help make the food for the shelters. It drives my family insane because we're not supposed to champion causes that concern real people."
"That's pointless. How are you supposed to help the people of your country if you're not allowed to?"
"Exactly! Gods, I'm so glad there are more people with common sense here."
"I'm Dacey Mormont." she extended her long arm out to Dany.
"Nice to meet you, Dacey."
"I'd love to introduce you to some of the other ladies. They'll be nicer if I'm with you," she promised.
Dany agreed and allowed herself to be led to a group of other ladies. She noticed Wynafryd Manderly among them. After she was introduced to the ladies, one of them blurted, "Can we see it?"
She knew what they meant but was still taken aback.
"Of course," she stuttered out, offering her hand.
They gathered around and gaped at the stone, whispering about how it was Princess Lyanna's and how pretty it was. Dany detected a little jealousy but that was to be expected. Any of them would kill to be a princess. Hell, they would commit war crimes to be queen and all Dany had to do was be born with the right name.
The ladies did seem too bothered by it though. They asked her questions about where she'd traveled and what schooling in Essos was like. They were vastly more interested in Dany, for when she tried to change the subject to one of them, it somehow came right back to her.
Dany felt bad that she'd assumed the Northern court was anything like the one she hailed from. These women were genuine as far as she could tell, asking her about her opinions on fashion and even current events.
As Dacey was telling Dany about Bear Island, she looked past Dany's shoulder and smiled.
"Your Highness, I apologize for stealing your fiancée but she's been so busy planning that damn wedding, me and the ladies haven't had a chance to talk to her."
"Don't worry about it," Jon shrugged.
Dacey started talking to him about something but Dany was distracted by the feeling of a pair of eyes on her. It was Roose Bolton.
"What is his problem?" Dany blurted and immediately regretted it.
Dacey pursed her lips, "I'll let you handle that one, Your Highness."
As Dany's new friend slipped away, Jon followed her gaze.
"Bolton's had a stick up his ass since I can't remember when. I don't think I have to explain why he's not pleased about this whole ordeal."
"He's more than welcome to join the club," Dany muttered and took a sip of her champagne.
Jon scoffed, "I hope you're watching how much of that you drink."
"I am. Why?"
"Something tells me you would be sharing some strong words with His Grace if you were drunk enough."
She hummed in agreement, "More than words. First, it was the condescending attitude and now he can't keep his eyes to himself."
"He's just playing mind games, trying to get under your skin. Ignore it."
Dany nodded and took another sip of champagne, finding comfort in the way the fizz felt on her tongue. She looked at the other members of the court and noticed they all had sigil pins somewhere on their person.
"What is Duke Bolton's sigil?"
"What?"
"His sigil pin had a man without skin, is that a metaphor?"
"Quite the opposite," Jon began, "A long time ago, when the Boltons styled themselves the Red Kings, they practiced flaying. They used the skins as decoration in the Dreadfort and some accounts say they wore them as cloaks, but they don't like to talk about that part. It's illegal now, of course, but they're still mad about it."
"They were kings once. Any man that had to give up that kind of power would carry a grudge so strong it became generational."
Jon chuckled, "I suppose your right."
The herald banged his staff and the volume in the room dropped, everyone turning to see who was late to the party. Dany couldn't believe someone missed it but she was still unfamiliar with all the titleholders at court.
"Her Majesty, Queen Elia of House Martell. Accompanied by Her Royal Highness, Crowned Princess Rhaenys II and His Highness, Grand Prince Aegon III of House Targaryen. And Miss Missandei of Naath."
Dany's heart swelled and she had to hand her glass to Jon so she wouldn't drop it as the doors opened. She pushed through the crowd, forgetting that she was supposed to keep her princess composure. Dany felt a tear slip down her cheek as she threw her arms around her best friend.
"I thought you weren't coming until the day of the wedding," she gushed to Missy's shoulder.
"I wasn't supposed to but Galazza's cashing in a favor you owe her." Missy patted the press badge on the neckline of her dress.
Dany knew all too well what that meant so she promised Missandei they would talk later as she gave Elia a quick squeeze.
"Aunt Dany, you look so pretty!" Rhaenys gaped from beside Elia.
"Do I?" Dany carefully dabbed at her eyes to make sure they were dry.
"You always do," agreed Aegon.
"Even when I look like this?"
Dany stuck her tongue out and crossed her eyes, her nephew bursting into giggles. Jon came up beside her and she quickly returned her face back to normal.
"Rhae, Aegon, I want to introduce you to Jon. He's going to be your, uh, uncle,"
For some reason, the phrase felt strange leaving her mouth. Bringing him into the family meant adding another title to his already long list. Prince, future king, son, brother, soon-to-be husband, and uncle, and somewhere down the line a father.
Gods, she hadn't even thought about kids. She knew they were necessary and expected for the heir to a throne but hopefully it was far down the line for them. Dany didn't even know if she was completely ready for kids. She wanted them of course, she'd known since a newborn Rhaenys was placed into her arms.
She remembered her sister-in-law's nervousness about all the pressure to start having kids. Elia was twenty-two when she and Rhaegar were married and twenty-four when she had Rhaenys. So Dany wasn't too far behind in the heir-making game but she couldn't believe she would have to join it soon.
Rhaenys and Aegon were wary of Jon, Sansa was the only Stark they formally met and even then they were reserved, but once he got down on their level the two were as talkative as ever. If Jon and Dany had the same luck as Rhaegar and Elia, maybe kids wouldn't be a challenge. She needed to take her mind off its current course so she turned her attention to Missy and Galazza's favor.
"She heard you're not letting the press cover the Northern wedding so, in exchange for saving your ass a few weeks ago, she wants the rights to document the whole thing. It's going to be the first story in her new publication The Green Grace. She's branching out."
"We already made a statement about barring the press from the ceremony. If I let Galazza in, I'll have to let everyone in. And you know I don't want that."
"Galazza figured you'd say that and that's why she sent me. We figured it would be easier if it was somebody already invited to the wedding."
"You majored in Public Relations, why does she have you playing field journalist?"
"It's just this one assignment. And all she needs are my notes and some photos so she can hand them off to her real writers. Although, she would love it if you would let a couple, more qualified, people in."
Dany sighed, "I'll talk to everyone tomorrow and see what I can do."
