A/N: This is more or less a set-up chapter, working with Margaery's time in the North, advancing some plot, and of course, setting up The Northern Tour...though, smaller than expected, because Ned Stark's already done some of the work for them! My updates after this will probably be a little less frequent, but I'm hoping that I can get a weekly chapter in, since I really do enjoy writing this! I hope you enjoy the chapter, and as usual, let me know what you think!
MARGAERY VII
Two months into living into the North had truly convinced me that Northern culture was different from Southern culture. There were a lot of things that definitely struck me as unique about the North, as opposed to the South, and I spent a lot of time really getting to know the land I was due to rule alongside Robb in the future.
First, Northern culture was definitely more cooperative than competitive. Don't get me wrong, Northern intrigues still existed, just like in canon, but in the North, with winter as harsh as it was, all hands on deck were needed to survive, and people up North needed to abide by a more "familial" kind of culture. Many stories about the North would reference one family member dying for the sake of the whole unit, and Northern customs, such as the custom where if a family ran low on food, and could not provide for the elderly, the elderly were encouraged to "go hunting", and saw it as an honor to sacrifice themselves to maintain the whole unit.
That was part and parcel as to why guest right was so important in the North, and why Robb's death in canon was such a betrayal to the Northmen. Oh, sure, guest right WAS important in the South, and nobody wants to break guest right, for fear of their name being cursed forever, but in the North, guest right is absolutely sacred, and breaking it was anathema to any Northerner, more so then it was to a Southerner. Northerners broke bread and salt and faced the harsh winters together, and that notion seemed to carry itself into our personal lives.
Second, Northern culture had a very personal feel to it. Worshipping the Old Gods was personal - when you were in the presence of the Godswood, you were partaking in the act of worship, rather than the very complex rituals the Faith required you go through to actively worship. Personal action for the sake of others were worth more than anything else - for instance, the reason why the man "passing the sentence" would swing the sword is because it was a personal form of recognition of justice. Lying was unacceptable in the North, unless it was for the sake of those you needed to protect, and most importantly, The North Remembers.
Any sort of grudge that a Northerner invoked on you would be remembered, and the North would exact their price in the future. If you betrayed a Northerner and kept them or their house alive, it was pretty much guaranteed that they would exact their revenge on you after licking their wounds, such as in canon, with the many plots to oust House Bolton after the Red Wedding. In the South? Well, there would be grudges, but only based on personal advantage, which meant that, for instance, if House Baratheon had married into House Tyrell, House Tyrell's grudge would have disappeared, or been "resolved" in the face of the advantage both houses could get, or when it was untenable for both parties. That was why Southerners participated in political intrigue all the time - it was guaranteed to disappear in a generation or two if there was advantage to be found in dissolving the grudge if both parties stood to tangibly benefit from it.
All of my time in Winterfell so far was spent doing a couple of things: inhaling the library stock of knowledge about the North to catch myself up (Robb japed that he may need to ask the servants to send food to the library if I kept myself there any longer), spending time with Lady Catelyn learning about her duties and watching her run the household (much like an intern in my last life), and spending time with the other Stark siblings through whatever mandatory lessons we had, such as embroidery or learning with the Maester.
As an extension of my time down South, Lady Catelyn allowed me to sit in on her "political intrigue" lessons with Robb and Sansa, and was given the same puzzles that Robb and Sansa were expected to resolve. Along the way, when Lady Catelyn wasn't available, this turned into instances where I got to teach my husband-to-be and Sansa more about Southern politics and help them with their futures.
Discreetly.
"Robb, Sansa, what House has the greatest influence over Westeros at this point in time? I don't mean financially, I mean in terms of influences over the decisions of the other houses in Westeros, and the future of Westeros at this point in time."
Robb and Sansa scrunched their noses in a manner that absolutely showed their sibling resemblance. After a moment, Robb responded, but Sansa looked deep in thought still.
"House Baratheon? They control King's Landing and rule the Seven Kingdoms, so they must be the most influential house." Robb responded. That was my handsome husband-to-be, intelligent, but far too literal, and unaware of the intrigues hidden underneath.
"Wrong." I replied, smiling at him. "Sansa?"
"Erm- House Lannister? King Robert married Queen Cersei, and she is of House Lannister, so mayhaps they have the most influence, because they can influence the King?" Sansa explained her reasoning, hesitantly.
"Wrong." I declared, to the shocked looks on both of their faces. "Let me explain myself then."
I pulled over a piece of paper that handily had a mockup of the Seven Kingdoms to gesture at while I explained.
"Let's see, where do I begin..." I muttered to myself. "...ah, there we go!"
"To start off this explanation, at the end of Robert's Rebellion, four Great Houses would create an alliance that would topple House Targaryen and the Mad King. Robb, which houses were those?"
"Houses Stark, Tully, Baratheon, and-"
Robb paused, thinking.
"-and House Arryn!" Robb finished, confidently.
"Good work, Robb!" I rewarded my betrothed with a kiss on his cheek. He blushed, causing Sansa to giggle, before I moved back to my side of the table to continue my explanation.
"Robb is correct. Those four Great Houses would eventually topple the Mad King, and would be joined by House Lannister at the conclusion of Robert's Rebellion. Sansa, which arrangements were used to ensure these alliances were made?"
"Mother was originally betrothed to Uncle Brandon, but married Father instead; Aunt Lysa would marry Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King; and King Robert was married to Cersei Lannister after Aunt Lyanna's death." Sansa primly answered. "Jon Arryn also fostered Father and King Robert, and they became the best of friends in the Vale."
"Very good, Sansa!" I exclaimed, beaming at her. Sansa had a truly unique gift for memorizing heraldry and the dynamics between the different Houses, something which confused her brother when he stared at her hastily-done sums. She wasn't perfect, but I could see hints of the Sansa that she would grow into, and the impressive brain and knowledge that would serve her well down South.
"Now, a few Houses wrongly sided with the Mad King during Robert's Rebellion, which were House Tyrell and House Martell. House Greyjoy stayed neutral during Robert's Rebellion, only to rebel nine years later. Now, has anything changed in that point of time?"
Sansa took the time to think for a moment, before her eyes widened and she began to speak.
"Well, of course, you and Robb were betrothed, Margaery, tying House Stark to House Tyrell-," Sansa said
Robb's eyes gleamed. He was starting to catch on.
"-and House Tyrell bound itself to House Martell through Willas's marriage with Lady Arianne!" Robb finished excitedly.
I gestured at the piece of paper, writing down the houses in alliance.
"Marriage bonds in alliance are always stronger than alliances through fostering, as Lady Catelyn explained to us in the last session. If this holds true, which Houses are more closely tied?" I asked.
"Well, Mother. Father, Jon Arryn, and Aunt Lysa would tie House Stark, Tully, and Arryn together, alongside the eventual marriage between you and I, Margaery, that would add House Tyrell, and by extension, House Martell, to the list, with Willas's marriage to Lady Arianne," Robb recited.
Sansa's eyes narrowed, staring very intently at the map and list of houses. She knew that there was something she was missing in this equation, but she wasn't sure what. Eventually, Sansa's eyes widened in realization and her face made an "O" as she connected the dots.
"Oh! King Robert is only tied to Queen Cersei in marriage, which means that they're alone unless they can unite their children with children from any of the other Great Houses! So House Baratheon must formally ally itself with House Stark, in order to tie themselves to the alliance, and ally themselves with the most Great Houses possible; otherwise, they are alone!" Sansa proclaimed.
"That is why House Stark, despite not even engaging with the King's Court, in King's Landing, is the most influential House politically in the Seven Kingdoms." I noted. "Say House Greyjoy, for some unfathomable reason, decided to invade the North. House Stark could call on their banners, but also call upon the forces of the Riverlands, Reach, Vale, and possibly even Dorne to absolutely annihilate House Greyjoy. What does that tell you about marriage alliances, and political power in the South?"
"Marriages matter a lot?" Robb japed. I laughed openly at that, but nodded my head in assent.
"Yes, my love, marriages DO matter a lot," I started, looking at Robb fondly. My face then grew serious, and I continued. "BUT- it also means that any marriages formally tie you to that House, for good or for ill, and that it is important to make sure that your House is making the correct marriage for stability. Not only that, it makes it doubly important to be informed of the comings and goings of the House you are married into, because if you marry incorrectly, and the House you are married to is allied to some undesirable House, then you go down with the House, or if a scandal occurs within a House, it may be better to marry into a safer House instead," I elaborated.
"Which means that if I am to be Queen, I would want to make sure that the marriage between myself and Prince Joffrey is the right choice, because if I don't, I could make life difficult for Father, Mother, Robb, and you." Sansa noted. "I doubt that is the case though, the Seven Kingdoms are stable, and I will be presiding over the Seven Kingdoms as Princess- no, Queen Sansa Stark of House Baratheon!"
Robb rolled his eyes. When Sansa got into her ramblings about being Queen, nothing could stop her.
"Sansa, listen carefully-" I stated, making her pause from her burgeoning monologue about Queenship. "Before your marriage, you are not tied to your betrothed's House, so be very careful. Southern intrigue is very real, and some Southern houses are not as honorable or kind as the songs make them out to be. It is better to be prepared for the possibility of not being married, than to lose yourself in the fantasy. You can do as many things as you would like as Queen, but you must be married into the House and as Queen first, otherwise, you could damage yourself and your own House into the process." I cautioned her, thinking about her fate in the Series. "I would certainly rather not hear any stories about my good-sister being poorly treated in King's Landing from Winterfell, and Robb is sure to agree, lest we rise our banners to protect you."
Robb nodded. Sansa paused, looking kind of sheepish, before standing up from the table and hugging me.
"Thank you, sister, I will do my best to be careful." Sansa whispered into my ear, before perking up again.
"Now, let us go to the kitchens and see if there are any lemon cakes or cheese cakes we can request! I am tired of studying." Sansa exclaimed cheerily, dragging Robb to stand up from the table. Robb grinned and held my hand, sending butterflies shooting down my spine, as we allowed Sansa to escort us down to the kitchens for a well-deserved break.
Of course, my arrival in the North also meant that I had time to begin developing and honing a skill I knew would be absolutely essential to my survival in the Series, something my husband-to-be would most certainly approve of. Lady Catelyn was a little more hesitant, speaking to me very frankly from a Southern lady to another, but I reminded her that ladies weren't always guaranteed to be safe, and it was better for us ladies to be prepared, than caught unawares, as I referenced Lady Lyanna or many other Southern ladies I had heard of during the years that needed to know how to defend themselves.
Lady Catelyn then arranged for some very basic lessons with the masters-at-arms using daggers that could be concealable for myself, Sansa, and a very eager Arya. Rodrik Cassel looked very taken aback at Lady Catelyn's request, but as master-of-arms at Winterfell, he did has he was requested. Sansa, Arya, and I learned all the basic dagger holds, and the anatomy of the human body, such as where the artery was, and were very carefully supervised under Lady Catelyn as to what we were to learn, and how to conceal these daggers into our sleeves in case.
These lessons were stressed to only be a "last-minute" protection, and the note that we probably wouldn't need to use any of these with our household guard, but I honed those skills in private as well, to make sure I wasn't defenceless. There would be plenty of situations in the War of the Five Kings which would require me to protect myself, and so I used that knowledge to motivate me to sneak out to the targets and spend long nights practicing my throws.
Eventually, after a long trial and effort, I learned how to throw my knives into a target where I wanted them to land. Even if they were paltry and inefficient throws, perhaps the daggers would save my life one day, or provided a critical moment of respite so that another person could interfere to actually save my life. I'm pretty sure Arya caught me practicing at one point, but she said nothing to my face that indicated that she knew.
The routine of Winterfell roughly continued in the same manner, and I really got the time to bond with my family-to-be that I was really grateful about betrothing myself to Robb and joining the Starks. Robb and I stole quite a few quiet moments, and between him either napping in my lap as I read something in the library, or him, stealing me away to the Godswood where we could share a few kisses, our relationship developed in a very stable manner. Everything was roughly the same, until one morning, perhaps a moonturn after my four-and-tenth nameday, life changed rapidly.
Today was not a good day, and this morning was not a good morning. I woke up, and suddenly I felt as though I was dying. By the Seven, I needed some sleep, but I couldn't, because my body felt like it was burning.
"Marge?" Robb's voice called out, hesitantly. "Are you awake? You missed us breaking our fast, and I brought you some food."
I groaned, still in pain. Robb muttered something, and opened the door. He brought down the food, and was about to lay it on my bedside table, before paling.
"My love? There's blood everywhere!" Robb exclaimed, panicking, as he held my hand.
Oh shit. I guess that explains it. Now that I looked closer, my sheets were bloody, and my nightdress was definitely completely ruined. If there was any way for me to have my first moonblood, why, oh why, was it from my betrothed finding out as I lay bedside?
"Call for Lady Catelyn, please," I said, my voice muffled under the covers as I proceeded to just want to die both out of embarrassment and out of pain, but some of it must have gone through, because he quickly kissed my forehead, squeezed my hand, before running out of the room, yelling: "MOTHER!"
I drifted in and out of sleep, and when I awoke, there was Lady Catelyn, holding a cup of warm honey tea, as she ordered for a bath to be drawn. I walked very unsteadily to the bath, my body aching, and as I laid in the bath with my head against the edge of the tub, I sighed in relief as the pain lessened.
"I suppose this means I have flowered, then?" I asked quietly. "I am sorry for the inconvenience, Lady Catelyn."
"Oh sweetling, you could not control when these things occur, and it is always my pleasure to help," Lady Catelyn answered soothingly. "Yes, you have flowered, but you need not worry overmuch. All your lessons have been cancelled for the day, and you will rest."
Lady Catelyn then briefly explained whatever else I needed to know about that period of time that wasn't already covered by the Maester or Mother. I nodded through the explanation, and when the bath finished, I was helped up, and we moved to the bed, with the sheets replaced. I grasped at the cup of tea as if it were my lifeline.
"Will Robb and I marry, then?" I asked Lady Catelyn curiously.
"Four-and-ten is young for a bride, but is this what you want?" Lady Catelyn asked, in return. "I flowered at roughly the same age, but only married after my maturity. There is no need to rush if you do not want to, we are in a peaceful time and Ned and I understand."
"I want to marry Robb." I said, in an-almost whisper. "I know I am a bit young, but I love your son, Lady Catelyn, and I want to be married to him as soon as possible, if that is alright with you and Lord Eddard?"
Lady Catelyn went through a range of emotions. Confusion, sadness, and relief warred on her face before it settled to a calm disposition, and she nodded quietly, smoothing her hand over my still-damp forehead.
"You let me take care of that, then. You just rest and relax, daughter. I will make the arrangements."
I spent the week going through my first moonblood before learning with Robb that our wedding would be announced midway through next year, around my five-and-tenth nameday. I would have roughly a year before I became the consort to the Heir of Winterfell, a future Lady of Winterfell in my own right, and perhaps nine to ten moonturns before Jon Arryn passed away, and the rest of our lives began.
Knowing that my wedding would be so soon, and knowing that I would need a lot more knowledge about the North in order to flourish here, inspired me to learn more. I raised up my concerns with Robb, and Lady Catelyn, drawing upon her experience as a Southern Lady transitioning up North. According to Lord Eddard, Robb was also due for some more practical experience, and so we were able to be given the allowance of time to take a brief trip to Deepwood Motte and Bear Island to explore the North in greater detail, before coming back to Winterfell.
Afterwards, as noted by Lady Catelyn, as part of Lord Eddard's work to soothe Northern lords, when we arrived back, Winterfell would also foster lordlings and ladies, such as Domeric Bolton, Gawen Glover, Harrion Karstark, and Alys Karstark, as part of the pre-wedding celebrations. I imagine that another reason was to pacify the Northern lords by giving them the chance to make their own betrothals, and give that generation some time with their future lord and their future lady.
So, about a little more than a moonturn after my moonblood, Robb and I, as well as some guards, and Jory Cassel, as a chaperone and guard, accompanied Robb and I on our horses as we began to ride to our first stop: the Deepwood Motte, and seat of House Glover.
