A/N: Margaery's introduction to Winterfell comes with some important conversations, a little world-building, some naivety about Westeros, and of course, some Robbaery cuteness. Right now, we are roughly at the beginning of 297 AC, which means there is about a year until Robert comes to Winterfell, and 1-3 chapters until we end up smack dab in the canon plotline.

I'm really glad you all are enjoying it, and I will try to reply as best as I can without spoiling the plot. I hope you all enjoy!


MARGAERY VI

Traveling across Westeros sucked. Like, absolutely, positively sucked. Coming from a modern world, I was not used to long travel that lasted for months, and unlike the trip to Sunspear, which involved some time on a ship, we had to traverse pretty much the entire Roseroad and the entire Kingsroad in order to get to Winterfell. Because of the nature of the betrothal and subsequent fostering, it was necessary for an entourage to accompany me as I traveled to my betrothed's homeland.

I usually had either a choice between riding on a horse (which, I could do, but it would, of course, tire me out), or sit in a wheelhouse with Mother and Grandmother, most of the time involving Grandmother sniping at something or another. The roads were also bumpy and there would be moments where the entire convoy was stopped because one of the wheels broke, or something like that.

We stopped in King's Landing after about a fortnight, and I had some time to reunite with Loras, and meet Renly for the first time, while we were in King's Landing. My brother looked supremely awkward during the visit around Renly, even though he was normally warm and friendly.

Renly and Loras were….close. They were very unsubtle about their romance to anyone with a functioning gaydar, like I did. Don't get me wrong, it was adorable to watch them lean into one another and give each other longing stares when they thought nobody else was looking, but man, they were very clearly gay for one another in the "soulmates" way. It was a little creepy, considering that my brother was four-and-ten, and Renly was nine-and-ten, kind of like those high school senior and high school freshman romances, but I couldn't exactly judge, seeing as I was about to marry Robb Stark.

Poor Loras tried to do everything he could to play off his "friendship" with Renly as a deep admiration around Mother, Grandmother, and I, but I'm pretty sure Grandmother noticed, at least. Of course, Loras could also never hide anything from me, so the night before we left King's Landing and began our travel up the Kingsroad, I flagged him for a private conversation.


"Loras, as your sweet sister, I just wanted to ask if everything was alright with you and Lord Renly. I've noticed something about the two of you-" I began.

Loras's face colored rapidly, his eyes darting between the door and me, as if he was trying to calculate how quickly he could escape the conversation. Loras stammered something unintelligible, and tried to leave, but I grabbed his arm and fixed him a Look.

"Dear brother, you will sit on this bed with me and we will talk about this, because I am your sweet, sweet sister, and you wouldn't want me to cry before I leave you for Winterfell forever, would you?" I practically sing-songed. Loras sighed very deeply, and complied with my directions. It was time to give Loras a coming-out talk, and support him, even if we were in a medieval era where gay marriage wasn't possible.

"Alright, Loras. I'm going to first start off this conversation by saying that no matter who you are, who you love, or what you do, I will always love you, and I am having this conversation in order to best support you in any way that I can." I started. One of the perks of being reborn from a modern era was simply more comfort with these sort of difficult conversations. Loras looked at me quietly before squeezing my hand, letting me continue.

"Okay, in order to make this conversation less awkward for the both of us, I will start by asking a few questions, and you will either nod or shake your head." I stated. Loras nodded quietly.

"First, are Lord Renly and you together? Does he, ah, warm your bed at night?" I asked.

Nod.

"Second, did Lord Renly coerce you in any way to share his bed?

Shake.

"Did you consent-" I emphasized the word consent here, for obvious reasons,"-to this relationship?"

Loras's cheeks flushed very red, and he looked away, embarrassed, before nodding.

"Third, do you love Lord Renly?"

Nod.

"Finally, does Lord Renly treat you the way you deserve to be treated?"

Fierce nodding.

I smiled. "Good, good. Now, I definitely don't have to be the person to tell you that sword-swallowing is okay, but that in Southern houses, like ours, you usually keep it under wraps. It's not as though Lords need to bed their Lady Wives often if they do not want to, if only for producing heirs-"

At that, he rolled his eyes

"-but either way, you and Lord Renly can both have this. Be honest to Talla. If you and Talla are able to produce an heir..."

Loras's face widened in horror. Well, I fucked up. Time to fix this, before he really thinks I'm not actually on Team Loras after all.

"...you don't have to, Loras, you know that," I backpedaled hurriedly, "-but Talla does also deserve her fair shot as well, and if necessary, we can annul the betrothal or find some other way to please Lord Tarly if it is that serious of an issue." I finished.

Loras sighed.

"Sweet sister, I know what my duty is, and I will do my duty if needed. Renly will most likely stay at Storm's End or Kings's Landing, and I will stay with him there. Talla will understand, she will spend most of her time on your sororities anyways." Loras replied quietly.

He continued. "I have not talked to Talla, and I'm unsure how to tell her-"

And with that, tears dripped out of his eyes.

"-that I am a sword swallower."

I grabbed my older brother in a hug, and held him fiercely, letting him cry quietly on my shoulder. Even if I had to help Loras flee the Seven Kingdoms to live a good and happy life, I would do it, if only to ensure my brother's happiness until his dying day.

"There is nothing wrong with you, Loras. You know that, right?" I whispered softly. "It is not as though you could control who the Seven chose for you to love, and if any man or woman says difference, I will defend you until my dying breath."

His breathing stopped for a second, as he hiccuped softly.

"I know that it is a bit strange for me to say such things, but you could not control your love for men no more than I could. Know that I will always support you in these things, and that you will always have a place with me, no matter what happens or what the world thinks of you." I continued, firmly. "If Renly ever mistreats you, you know full well you can make your way up North and recover by having another man warm your bed for the rest of our days. Robb will understand, or at least, I will persuade him to, and we can live out the rest of our days in Winterfell together."

Loras's tears dried up as my explanation continued, and when I finished my explanation, he squeezed me tightly, enough that I could smell the scent of the sweet flowery perfume he preferred. He released me, letting out a shaky laugh, his eyes filled with wonder and affection for me, and our foreheads touched gently; the same way that we used to do when we shared a secret together.

"Oh Margaery. I love you. You know that, right?" Loras murmured softly, brimming with affection.

"Of course I do, I love you too!" I replied, happily. "Now, if I'm not your favorite sibling after all of this-"

We broke out into hearty laughter, the "laugh-your-guts-out" kind of laugh, before curling up in my bed as we had as kids. Mother and Grandmother would not find it very unusual, and Loras could leave after I fell asleep anyways.

"Now, Loras," I said conspiratorially. "Did I get to tell you about Willas and Arianne's latest visit?"


Travel on the Kingsroad was harsher than travel on the Roseroad, and of course, the amount of taverns we stopped at to rest were frankly ridiculous. The further North we went, the colder it got, which is when I had to start changing into my Northern-style dresses, with heavy fabric. With most of my time in the wheelhouse, especially in the colder weather, I had a lot of time to think about the changes that were made that I knew of.

One, with the Willas-Arianne marriage, it was almost certain that Viserys would lose a head in the near future in order to place Daenerys on the Throne. Poor Viserys - he just wasn't needed for any Iron Throne restoration plots when his sister was readily available for the plots. I'm betting that Quentyn and Prince Oberyn were looking for Viserys and Daenerys, but from what I knew, they were on the streets, so this will either be very successful, or yield them nothing. They would also have to be very careful to avoid detection and reporting from King Robert's assassins, or else risk disturbing the peace.

Once again, I marveled at my Father's ability to play the Game of Thrones. Even if Father was supposedly an oaff, as I was 95% sure that his reputation as an oaf was simply propaganda disseminated to other houses by Grandmother to allow them to underestimate my father and make his presence more palatable in the Game, Father's occasional sparks of genius demonstrated to me why ruling the Reach required thorough knowledge of inter-house politics and strategy. Father had always been more of an internal-politics kind of lord, but in this instance, Father really had made a brilliant move by suggesting that marriage. Willas and Arianne were both certainly happy, but time would tell whether this peace would last.

Two, Tywin Lannister was completely locked by the alliances, which was a good thing for the inevitable War of the Five Kings. I knew that Tywin Lannister would not rest until House Lannister was the most powerful of all of the houses, and with these set of alliances, I knew Sansa and Joffrey were pretty much inevitably going to be betrothed, though I wonder what other moves he would make to keep himself protected, though we were at a time of peace right now. The Great Lion of the Rock was not a quiet player of the Game, this, I knew, and his silence as House Tyrell made far-reaching moves was something that would not last.

Third, and most importantly, Robb. I had exchanged many letters with him, got to know him well, and he requested a betrothal with me, himself, somehow managing to cobble together the betrothal I had needed all along! I spent a lot of time thinking about my future husband's character, or what his family was like (because I definitely knew that my influence through those letters had changed something in Stark family dynamics), and what I would need to do to integrate into the North. I had succeeded in the first stage of the equation, and I was excited to be betrothed to a man that I knew I could trust and love, but there were too many issues that could come up while I was in Winterfell.

What if Robb didn't like the person I was? What if Lady Catelyn thought I was a manipulative shrew? What would happen as we approached the beginning of the Series? It wasn't exactly rational, but still, I worried.

Eventually, the flatlands of Riverlands transformed into the swamps of Moat Cailin and the colder land of the North, and our entourage made our way towards Winterfell. Mother and Grandmother complained a bit about the snow, and how cold it was, but the closer and closer I got to what would be my new home, the more excited I was about the prospect of living up North. Travel from King's Landing took about a moon, as per canon, and before I knew it, I was staring at the walls of Winterfell.


When my eyes first truly landed upon Winterfell, I felt as though I was in a dream. Thick, stone gates filled my vision, and summer snow, dotting atop its tallest towers, and a wide area that truly boggled the mind. Winterfell was larger than Highgarden, even if it was smaller than the Red Keep, the size of Winterfell itself made it almost look intimidating. The beautiful white stone and flowers of Highgarden were replaced by a beast of a keep that conveyed a sense of majesty in a way that seemed to reinforce the indomitability and timelessness of House Stark's ruling seat. This was a castle truly fit for a Winter King and his Winter Queen, and the thought of ruling over the keep filled me with a sense of excitement.

In my past life, I had studied abroad in Northern Europe, and went to university up in the Northern U.S., where there had been a lot of snow. Winters were harsh there, and six months out of the year, the sun set very early at night and snow would cover the ground. Winter seemed brutal where I was, but my only thought seeing Winterfell was that it would be even worse here. Had I visited Russia in my past life, this would be it - the cold tower, with the even colder men, and the frozen Ice King and Ice Queen with dominion over all of the people. The outside of the keep was intimidating, but as the gate opened, I could only be reminded of the medieval castles I have seen in the past. If anything, Winterfell reminded me almost of Dragon Age: Inquisition's Skyhold, if it were in an even more intimidating environment and even moreso surrounded by winter.

These thoughts and emotions at the sight of Winterfell filled me as we rode through the Keep, passing smallfolk and highborn alike, wanting a chance to look at the Tyrell contingent. It would be mayhaps a minute or two until I would meet my betrothed and his family for the first time.

The wheelhouse dragged on, making a stop at the courtyard. As I approached the courtyard, I saw guardsmen lying about, and a few interesting people.

First, a dark haired man with a long face, bearded, and ruggedly handsome; that had to be Lord Stark, and a beautiful red-haired woman, Lady Catelyn, holding a newborn. But once I looked at the handsome teenager with auburn hair next to them, my eyes were drawn immediately to the beautifully symmetrical face and blue eyes that made up what I knew to be my Robb's face. His eyes conveyed nervousness and excitement as he stared at the wheelhouse, and I don't think he noticed me looking through the window in his nervousness.

Next to him was what I assumed to be the rest of his family - a black haired teenager with a pretty face and a brooding expression (Jon Snow), a beautiful, red haired preteen who seemed to be growing into her growth spurt (which had to be Sansa), a little dark-haired slip of a girl with a curious expression (Arya), and a small boy with auburn hair, excitedly pointing at the various knights (Bran).

I grabbed the hem of my sleeves self-consciously, as I prepared myself for the meeting. It was happening for real. Mother looked at me fidgeting, reassuringly holding my hand, and I squeezed her hand. She smiled at me and purposely stared out of the wheelhouse, winking, and a rosy blush painted my cheeks.

The wheelhouse rolled, and came to a gentle stop at the courtyard. Arryk and Erryk (affectionately known as Left and Right), moved from their positions in front of the wheelhouse to open the doors.

I heard Grandmother mutter to Mother, "Well, best get on with it, then," as she grabbed Left's hand, stepping out, helped by Left. Right handed my grandmother her the cane she normally used, and his steadying weight helped her put her feet on the ground, crunching lightly on the summer snow blanketing the ground.

My cheeks turned redder in possibly both nervousness and or stage fright at the thought of meeting my future good-family. I knew it wasn't rational, given how nice I knew they were from the series, but my nervousness flared up and showed on my cheeks. Mother smiled reassuringly at me as she gracefully exited the wheelhouse, approaching Lady Stark, and I grabbed the train of my poofy wool dress as I followed my mother, stepping into the cold.

Robb looked as though he had been struck mute and dumb when he stared at me appreciatively. His face was somehow even more attractive than it was in the show, to my shock, causing me to freeze up and blush at the attentions of my handsome betrothed. I supposed something in my genetics worked as well, given my betrothed's quickly reddening face.

A dreamy smile fell on his face as he made eye contact with me, and I looked down self-consciously. Damn my inability to hold eye contact; it was a trait that I had shared with my past life. Jon whispered something to Sansa and she giggled as the two of us stared at each other like deer in headlights. God, this meeting was awkward. Did I braid my hair correctly this morning?

"Lady Tyrell, welcome to Winterfell." Lord Stark greeted solemnly, ignoring the two awkward teenagers with long ease of practice. Eddard Stark was handsome for a man of his age, with dark hair, dark eyes, and a solemn look fit for any proper Northern Lord. He wasn't classically handsome in the way of Southerners, but if you were into men with beards, he would certainly be a contender.

"We thank you for your hospitality, Lord Stark," Mother replied graciously. "I am pleased to introduce you to my good-mother, the Lady Olenna Tyrell-"

At that, Grandmother looked neutrally at the crowd, obviously scanning for something "...and my lovely daughter, the Lady Margaery Tyrell," she finished.

I curtsied in the same way as I was taught, and looked awkwardly at the boy I wanted to hug. Should I go for it? Do I wait until we're alone? What was the protocol, again? We stood in a painfully awkward silence as I was unsure how I was supposed to react.

Lady Catelyn interjected, smiling. "Allow me to introduce you to my children," she offered. "To my left, my son, Robb.."

I'm pretty sure he was spaced out because he kept smiling that damnable smile that made my heart flutter a bit. Focus, you. You are Margaery Tyrell, and you do not stop for any man, I chastised myself.

"...and my newborn son, Rickon Stark." Lady Catelyn finished. Evidently I had spaced out through the introductions. At least I knew their names already.

We stood there for a moment, still staring at one another, until Grandmother could bear it no longer and affixed a glare at me.

"Go on then, little rose, go greet your betrothed, or have I been raising a mute?" Grandmother snapped, and started walking to Lord Stark. Damn it, Grandmother.

I walked quietly to Robb, and planned to curtsy in front of my betrothed, as proper, but Robb suddenly swept me into a hug the moment we were close enough. He was a head taller than me, at this point, and at almost four-and-ten, his arms felt strong and firm, clearly from time in the tiltyard. I hugged him back fiercely, as best as I could, my mind famillarizing myself with the new presence and relaxing instantly.

"Hi." he whispered softly, kissing my forehead. This was not a stranger, this was Robb - the same Robb I had written to so affectionately; the same Robb who was kind, and good, and honorable; and the same Robb I had fallen for, somewhat, in writing my letters. I buried my face into his chest as we embraced for I don't know how long, my response to him unintelligible. Seven, if this could go on forever, I wouldn't mind at all.

I heard a "WHAP!" of Grandmother's cane, taking it as a signal that we needed to separate, and so I reluctantly let my new betrothed go. I once again stared deeply into his eyes, with him in mine, before realizing I had to make a move on, so I looked down at the ground, my face flaming until I stood next to Jon.

"Be welcome, good-sister," Jon teased me merrily, as I curtsied to him, my face red in embarrassment. Jon looked happy, included with his siblings and family in such an important introduction. Was Jon actually Lord Stark's bastard in this world, or the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, as in show canon? Though Jon looked similar to Lord Stark, if I seriously looked, I could see differences in their looks that did not correspond, such as Jon's shade of hair, a lighter black, or Jon's dark eyes, reminiscent of his 'father' that looked greyish with Jon's dark hair, but with a distinct indigo look in the light as I looked more closely. His looks were especially Stark-like, but they definitely differed in a way that made him prettier, but only if you knew what to look for. I could understand why so many descriptions in the books noted how pretty he was; had I been any other woman, and not betrothed to his brother, I would probably have blushed at his attentions as well.

Sansa giggled. Sansa was beautiful; all red hair and blue eyes and a frame that suggested that she would grow into her height and be a very commanding presence one day. Paired with her perfectly ladylike courtesies, which, I had to admit, was even better than a lot of the ladies I knew in the Reach, and I could see why she would be known as one of the most beautiful women in Westeros, one day. As I moved towards her, I was surprised to see that we were near the same height, despite our age difference. Sansa smiled at me, and in a moment of quiet communication, we both leaned in to kiss each other's cheeks, as sisters usually do in the South.

"I have heard so much about you, Lady Margaery! Welcome to Winterfell!" Sansa chirped happily.

"So this is the Lady Margaery Robb has been talking about," Arya stated bluntly. "I hope you like snow - it gets too cold for a lot of people."

I smiled. It was just like dealing with Grandmother.

"So this is the Lady Arya Robb has been talking about," I parroted, in the same tone she used with me. "The next Queen Visenya, I hear!"

Arya grinned savagely, a look that should not be on any girl of seven. Even as an innocent child, there was a wildness to Arya, a sort of feeling of independence to her that made her seem as though she was untamable, and would get anything she wanted to, if she set her mind to it. If this was the sort of impression that Lyanna Stark exuded, I could see why so many men were lost after her. She'd fit in damn well with the Boltons.

"You're not as stupid as Sansa-"

Arya, really!" Sansa complained.

"-so I guess you're okay." Arya declared. Test passed, I suppose.

Bran took that opportunity to run up to me. He looked like every wide-eyed, cherubic kid did, with the same auburn hair that Robb had and similar blue eyes, mixing with the facial features common in House Stark.

"Do you know a lot of knights?" Bran asked, excitedly. "I do!" I responded happily. "Mayhaps I will be able to introduce you to some more, like my brothers."

Finally, there was Lady Catelyn, who looked fondly at the antics of her five children. Lady Catelyn certainly was beautiful, her smile and cheerful countenance only enhancing her own look. I could see pretty quickly why Lady Catelyn had men like Petyr Baelish so ensnared, and even now, she was still one of the most beautiful women in the Seven Kingdoms. I approached her and baby Rickon, and my goodness, that was an adorable baby. I curtsied to her, as she began to speak.

"Be welcome, Lady Margaery. I am pleased to welcome you to Winterfell," Lady Catelyn said, smiling pleasantly. Baby Rickon reached out his arm at me, babbling, and I cooed a little over him.

"You must have had a long trip through the Kingsroad," Lord Stark began. "Jory, please escort the Tyrell household to their quarters. We will feast in the great hall tonight to celebrate the arrival of my son's betrothed.

"I am sure that my son and Lady Margaery would like some time alone, as well. Septa Mordane, please follow Robb and Margery as an escort to the Godswood." Lady Stark added.

Mother winked at me as she went to talk to Lady Catelyn, and Robb needed no further encouragement as he grabbed my hand and he guided me towards the Godswood.


The Godswood of Winterfell was very peaceful. It was much larger than Highgarden's Three Singers, the three Godswood trees in the garden, and it was a perfect place to quietly pray or have a conversation, though I will admit that I felt like I was being watched by a presence as we sat on a bench near the Heart Tree. Septa Mordane was behind us, far away from our line of sight, so it made it easy for me to pretend as if Robb and I were the only two occupants of the Godswood.

"Hi," Robb repeated quietly, looking at me, as he opened up his arms that I happily snuggled into.

"Sorry if our meeting was awkward," I said, somewhat bashfully. "I wasn't sure how to react when I first met you in person, even if you are my betrothed. Winterfell is so gorgeous though."

Robb laughed, and hugged me a bit tighter.

"It may not compare to Highgarden, but it is my home, and soon, your home as well," Robb affirmed.

"That, it will be," I agreed happily. "Did I get to tell you that I had an awkward conversation with Loras in King's Landing?"

Robb shook his head, mock-exasperatedly, as I giggled.

"You did say that you were going to tell me everything when you arrived, my love," Robb commented, good-naturedly, "..and it appears that it hasn't happened yet."

"There's so much I have to tell you about, Robb," I stated. "Of course, starting with the fact that meeting you in person has been better than anything I have ever dreamed of, but I'm sure you already know that…"

"I don't know, my lady, you looked down at the ground quite a bit with your pretty pink cheeks," Robb japed, causing both of us to laugh. The metaphorical 'ice' in the form of our awkwardness broken between us, we continued to talk about travel and other little things.

Talking with Robb was fascinating. One of my favorite things about Robb was that he was the type of person who meant what he said and said what he meant. He was very grounded, and very determined at his age, even if he japed a bit, and I marveled at how easy it was to talk to him and honestly receive an answer which showed that he had been thinking about something I had said and mulling it over in his mind.

Another of my favorite things about Robb was that he was practical and knew exactly what was needed in what situations. He was the kind of person that you could go to in a time of trouble (as I suspected Sansa or his other siblings did), and he would cover for you, and resolve the problem practically and easily. This contrasted well with my "head-in-the-clouds" mentality.

The other big thing about Robb? He was a total Gryffindor. He was honorable, and clearly cared a lot for others, but he was the type of person to think in absolutes, either good or bad, and had the type of naivety of someone who had never played the Game of Thrones. He didn't exactly struggle politically, but he thought the best of different players, and could not comprehend why they were driven the way that they were. As a total Slytherin, it was good to see his philosophies balanced with mine.

Don't get me wrong, that wasn't a bad thing, for someone that he trusted and cared for, but at the same time, I could see where I could help him, and where he could help me. Robb oozed trustworthiness and stability, and he was optimistic to a fault. I would round him out with some cunning, perspective, and future planning, to make sure that we kept both of our heads, and we would be equals, I swore it.

"...and that was how Sansa and I would have handled the Dance of Dragons." Robb explained. We had spent hours catching one another up on our lives, and I had pulled Robb into a discussion of the political problems his Lady Mother taught him. Septa Mordane approached us, looking pretty cold, tired, and angry. Whoops.

"Lady Margaery, Robb, supper time is soon," Septa Mordane scolded. "Lady Margaery, you had best go to your room to change into more comfortable clothes for supper. I will show you to your room."

Robb grinned.

"See you at supper, my lady," he declared kissing me on the forehead before he left. I followed Septa Mordane, and that was that.