MARGAERY
She was sitting by her vanity, brushing her hair. She must have been sitting there for an hour while staring at her reflection in the looking glass.
Her thick brown locks were starting to look like they had before her imprisonment, but they had lost some of their luster and she was still looking rather skinny from her time in the dungeons underneath the Great sept of Baelor. She was also rather pale and the rosy look that had always adorned her cheeks was gone.
Was that the reason her now husband didn't like her?
Every time Aegon looked at her, she could see the anger in his eyes. It was like she was taking something from him, but she didn't know how to fix it.
With all her other husbands, she had time to prepare and get to know them. She had known Renly for a long time through Loras, and it did help that she and Renly were good friends, even though he wasn't attracted to her at all.
She had known what Joffrey had been, but she had managed to study him, and he was easy enough to fool into being infatuated with her like most other men.
Tommen had been an eight-year old child and didn't really require a lot of work for her to win over, all she needed to do, was to spend some time with him, and listening to him talk about his cats for a while.
But she had no time to study Aegon or try to win him over, even if she had all the time in the world, she doubted that it would be enough. He seemed determined to hate her.
On the way here the commander that had escorted them to Storm´s End, had described Aegon as a kind and a generous soul, but she had yet to see that side of him.
He hadn't been kind nor generous on their wedding night, he hadn't been cruel or needlessly causing her pain like Joffrey would have, but Aegon had come to her bed drunk and angry, and commanded her to lay there silent with her legs spread while he took her.
It hadn't been that painful, and he had been quick about it, but that didn't mean that Margaery liked the way he treated her like a broodmare and not at all like a living breathing person that had feelings.
No, she didn't like it at all, in fact the very thought of having to go through it again made her want to vomit and she felt humiliated by the way he treated her.
As she brushed her hair, she kept her tears at bay with force of will alone, she was the queen of the seven kingdoms, and she would not cry.
All her life, Margaery had been told that one day she would be Queen, but not once in her life, had she thought that her husband would treat her this way. She had never expected that her husband would use her like this and then just stumble drunkenly away whilst muttering to himself how he had better lays with the maids.
She kept on unconsciously brushing her hair as she thought about her less than ideal circumstances, she wished that she had followed her instincts and rode on to Highgarden, but if she had done that, how would she have gotten this opportunity to get her revenge on Cersei?
She wouldn't have, that was for sure. Aegon was the only other candidate for the throne and nothing would hurt Cersei as much as taking the throne away from her.
She heard a rapid knock on the door, and as she turned her head to call for whoever it was to come in, the door was opened. She almost started to reprimand whoever it was that was entering for coming without her leave, but she quickly decided not to, as it turned out that it was her father.
Her father closed the door behind him and gave her a nervous smile. "How are you my girl?" Margaery wanted to shoot him an annoyed look, but she restrained herself, as the man was still her father.
"I am fine father." She placed the brush back on the vanity and turned back to look at her father so they could talk. It was then she noticed that he was unusually pale, and his fat fingers were grabbing his belt to keep them from shaking. "Father what is it?"
"Nothing, nothing my girl." He gave her another nervous smile and his double chin quivered. "Nothing for you to worry about." She didn't buy her father´s reassurances. She had never seen her father this afraid before in her life, not even when his mother decided to take him to task.
"Father please, tell me what is wrong." She begged him, she had to know what had terrified her father so.
The lord of Highgarden glanced at the door, like he was assuring himself that it was really closed, before he looked at her again. "My girl, there has been an issue, but nothing serious I am sure."
"Father please tell me." Margaery stood up from her chair and clenched her tiny fists, couldn't he see that she needed to know?
"Fine, fine, fine my girl, I will tell you." Her father relented and gestured for her to sit down by her vanity again. "There had been a slight issue with the lords of the Crownlands and the Narrow sea, they haven't arrived here even though the arrival of the King had been made known to them."
Margaery frowned at that, that was strange. The lords of the Crownlands and the Narrow sea would be the first in line to declare for the son of Rhaegar Targaryen, so why hadn't they arrived to swear their oaths yet? But that wasn't enough for her father to start being afraid.
"Father what is really going on?" She made her voice soft as she begged her father to tell her what had scared him so.
"Well, there seems to be another Targaryen claimant to the Iron Throne, but it is nothing for you to worry about." The warden of the south reached out and petted her brown curls, and she had to resist the urge to slap his hand away and demand answers.
"Is Daenerys Targaryen on her way here?" She asked her father with wide eyes; Daenerys Targaryen was rumored to be the most beautiful woman alive and she was said to have three dragons. Margaery didn't really believe the last part, as the dragons had been dead for hundred and fifty years and weren't likely to come back anytime soon, but she was also rumored to have the ten thousand Unsullied in her service. The Unsullied were rumored to be the best infantry soldiers in the known world.
Margaery had no interest in some foreigner coming here to trying to usurp her place as the Queen of the seven kingdoms after everything that she had suffered.
But lord Mace Tyrell just shook his head. "Oh, no my girl, nothing like that. But it seems like prince Rhaegar had another son, this one by Lyanna Stark, and now he is also claiming the Iron Throne."
Margaery just stared at her father as he told her this, and she couldn't help but to notice even though her father was afraid, he was remarkably calm about this news.
Marge closed her eyes and rubbed her temples; this couldn't be happening. Ever since she was a little girl, she had her life planed out, and it always ended with her being the Queen of the seven kingdoms.
She would not be denied by some bastard trying to rise above his station. "Who is this bastard? And where did he come from?" It seemed like such a short time ago, when the Targaryen line was all but gone, but now there were Targaryen princes and Targaryen bastards just popping up, left and right.
And where could this bastard have been hiding all this time? Robert Baratheon would never have let him live if he had known about him, even if his name wasn't a trueborn Targaryen.
She could see her father start to shift nervously on his feet as he gave a nervous laugh. "He isn't a bastard but a trueborn son of Rhaegar and Lyanna Stark." Margaery could feel her insides freeze at his words, this couldn't be happening, this wasn't true. "But don't worry my girl, he is still King Aegon´s younger brother, and therefore he cannot inherit before him, even if he has four dragons."
She stared at her father in shock, what had he just said? He couldn't have said that the boy was a trueborn son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark with four dragons. That was impossible.
"Father, all the dragons are dead." She tried to explain slowly so that he could understand.
But her father just shook his head. "No, the King´s war council have assured me that it is the truth, but don't you worry my girl, you just focus on giving the King a son." The lord of Highgarden gave another nervous laugh and petted her head again, before he left the room.
But Margaery just sat there frozen in place at the news her father had brought her. Her father seemed convinced that dragons were back in the world and in the hands of her husband´s brother, who seemed to believe that the Iron Throne was his.
She could feel fear in her veins, and she was sure that she heard a voice echo in her head that sounded suspiciously like her grandmother. "You should have gone home silly girl."
SANSA
She opened her eyes as she heard the rustle of the leaf's about her head. She was sitting by the Weirwood tree, in front of the dark pool in the Godswood of Winterfell with Ice resting at her feet, and she could hear the four smaller of Jon´s dragons shriek in the air above the Godswood. She had been coming here to pray ever since Jon had left with his larger dragons and the army of the north and the knights of the Vale.
Every day she came here to pray, for Jon´s safety and the safety of their little family. But that wasn't the only thing she prayed for. No, she had started to pray that she was carrying Jon´s child in her belly.
Before Jon had left Winterfell, they had used every chance they had alone to try and make a child, she so wanted to give Jon a child that they could call their own.
She remembered as a girl, that both her septa and her mother had always described the act of making a child a duty that a woman had to bare for the sake of their husband, and while she had been married to Ramsay, their words had rung true.
But now, married to Jon, making a child was not a duty, but a toe-curling pleasure. Sansa could feel a blush coming on as she thought about their time spent together, trying to make a child, and she had to cross her legs to try and stop the tingling between them.
In the few short days that they had spent together as man and wife, had been the happiest she had ever been, she was even happier than before the time when Robert Baratheon had come to Winterfell.
"Sansa." A small voice brought her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see her wild little brother looking at her with his large blue eyes. He was still sad that Jon had to go, but Rickon seemed to understand why Jon had to go, even if he didn't like it.
But the young lord of Winterfell had come to the room that Jon and Sansa shared every night to seek comfort from the nightmares, and Sansa had to admit that she felt better with him there, after Jon had left, Rickon was not the only night time visitor that Sansa had started to receive, Shireen had also started to arrive at her room, as she was worried about the last member of her family.
Even the four dragons that Jon had hatched had started to spend their nights, in front of the fire in her room as well, and Sansa had to admit that she felt a little safer in a room full of dragons and a direwolf.
"Have you heard anything from Jon?" Rickon asked her as he sat beside her by the Weirwood tree.
Sansa shook her head. "No, sweetling I haven't gotten a letter yet, but he will write to us when he was taken Barrowton." They had heard from Jon last when he had been in Torren´s square, Jon had wanted to make sure that there were no Ironborn left in the north, and there had been rumors that there had been a couple of raiders holding the castle, but as soon as people had started to talk about the larger dragons, it seemed that all Ironborn had left the north for good.
"Oh." Was the only thing he said as he stared at the pool in front of him. Sansa placed her arm around Rickon.
"Hey, remember your promise." Rickon looked at Sansa and gave her a slight smile. Jon had made the young boy promise to be brave and defend her, something that made Sansa roll her eyes at him as Jon had grinned playfully at her.
"Your grace, my lord." Both Sansa and Rickon looked to the opening of the Godswood to see Ser Brienne and Podrick hurry over to them. They were both sweaty from training most likely, and their cheeks were red from the cold. "It´s your brother Bran, he has arrived."
Sansa felt a smile break out on her face as she jumped up and dragged Rickon with her to see their brother. They had been anxiously waiting for Bran, ever since they heard that he was on his way home from Castle Black.
She had been so happy to hear that her little brother who had loved climbing was alive and on his way home, but she was sad that not only did he miss her wedding to Jon, but that Jon had to leave before he could see Bran.
Even if Sansa knew that time was of the essence, she still would have liked him to be there for their wedding.
They rushed after Ser Brienne and Podrick as the knight and her squire lead them to the courtyard of the castle. In the middle of the yard, Sansa could spot a cart that had been drawn by a bay garron and escorted by a dozen fur clad men and women. But it wasn't that what drew her eye.
No, it was the tall young man sitting in the cart and looking at her and Rickon with a large smile on his face. He had long red hair and the Tully blue eyes were just like she remembered, but they were somehow much older than any eyes she had ever seen, like Bran had seen too much for someone so young.
Sansa could also see a young slim looking girl, clad in furs of the Freefolk like Bran, and his direwolf, Summer. The dark grey direwolf looked like he had seen better days, one of his ears was mostly missing and there were large scars in his flanks that looked like they would never again grow fur.
The relief that washed over her, seeing her beloved little brother was almost overwhelming, she let out a laughing sob and ran to him before he could say anything. Sansa wrapped her arms around him in a bone crushing hug as she both laughed and cried with happiness into his shoulder.
Not even a second after she had wrapped her arms around him, Rickon came crashing into them as he laughed with joy at seeing his big brother.
Rickon had been angry at Bran for leaving him behind, but the anger he felt at him was overshadowed by how much the youngest Stark missed him.
"Hi." Bran whispered in her ear. Sansa didn't know how long they stood there, just hugging each other before they had to let Bran go. As both Sansa and Rickon let Bran go, the youngest Stark bounced off to the young girl standing a little of to the side and hugged her around the middle with a grin.
It didn't take Sansa much time to realize that this was Meera Reed, the daughter of lord Howland Reed. Rickon had told her about how young Meera and her brother Jojen had had found them as they were fleeing from Theon Greyjoy, but it seemed that lord Reed had been right to think that his son was dead.
Sansa approached the girl. "Lady Meera, I am so sorry for your loss." Sansa knew how hard it was to lose a sibling, but it must have been even harder for Meera, as she must have seen it happen as they had been traveling together.
The girl smiled at Sansa and there was a sadness in her eyes that Sansa had seen often in the looking glass. "Thank you, your grace. I appreciate that." Meera curtsied with more grace than most of the ladies of the court could boast of, even in her furs.
It still felt strange to Sansa to be referred to as a Queen, but that had brought another thought to mind that hadn't occurred to her before, how had Bran and Meera known that she and Jon were getting married?
They had gotten married as soon as Ramsay had been killed and the lords had arrived at Winterfell, and it wasn't enough time for the news to travel of their marriage yet, so how had Bran known?
So much had been happening around the time when they had gotten the letter from Castle Black, that it hadn't been a priority with Littlefinger just having been put to the sword and having to plan their wedding, and the arrival of the lords and Jon having to leave Winterfell to go south so soon after they gotten married, so she hadn't really put a lot of thought into it, but now the more she thought about it, it didn't make sense.
Sansa shook her head of the thought, she would ask Bran how he knew when he had some time to eat and rest, they must have been hungry from the journey.
She glanced back at Bran, who was watching her with a knowing look and a small smile. Sansa asked two guards to help Bran to his room, which she had made ready for him.
Lady Meera asked if she could see her father, and Sansa called one of the servants to lead her to her father´s chamber in the guest wing of the castle.
Both Sansa and Rickon waited until Bran had been able to bath and change his clothing before they entered his room to talk to him.
They found him sitting in bed with furs laid over his lap and waiting for them with a happy smile. Sansa turned to find a servant so that she could ask for food, but Bran interrupted her.
"Don't worry Sansa, I already asked to have sent some food to my chamber." She stared at her brother for a moment with wide eyes, but Bran just smiled and patted the bed beside him to indicate that she should sit there beside him.
Rickon ran from her side and climbed into bed with a grin, and Sansa decided to follow and sat down. "How are you?" She asked her little brother with concern in her voice.
"I am fine Sansa; don't you worry about me." Bran laced his fingers together in his lap. "I believe congratulations are in order though." He said still smiling at her.
"Thank you," She knew that he was talking about her marriage to Jon, but she had to know. "But how did you know? Around the time when you wrote your letter, only the people here in Winterfell knew about the betrothal, and they had just found out."
"Was it the greendreams that Jojen told you about?" Rickon asked with curiosity in his voice as he stared at his big brother with his big blue eyes.
Greendreams? What was that? She looked at Bran who nodded at Rickon. "Yes, it is I suppose, but a little different from yours I imagine." Rickon had these greendreams? Wait, was that what the dreams Rickon was having when he had dreamt of their father, mother and brother dying?
Bran took one of her hands in his and he then launched into explaining who he had known she had Jon had decided to marry, and the dreams Rickon was having. At the end of Bran´s tale her head was spinning with all this new impossible information. But then again, her husband had stepped out of his own funeral pyre with four dragons and she and her siblings and her husband apparently could enter the mind of animals and control them.
"But you will be the lord of Winterfell now, right?" Rickon asked his brother and Sansa could see that Rickon was half hoping that Bran would say yes.
"I am afraid not, Winterfell is yours Rickon. I am the three eyed raven now, and the three eyed raven doesn't rule anything, he just watches." Bran said as he gently ruffled Rickon´s red hair. "You will be a much better lord than I ever could be."
Bran had told them in the letter he had sent them, that he wouldn't be taking up the mantle of the lord of Winterfell, in favor of Rickon, and to Sansa he seemed determined to follow through with his decision.
Rickon sighed and crossed his arms. "Fine." Sansa reached over and pulled her little brother into her lap, making him giggle.
Then there was a knock on the door, and Bran called for the person to come in. Maester Wolkan entered the chamber. "Your grace, there was a letter from White Harbor for you."
Sansa took it and read it over, as she finished reading, she started to feel a little nervous, but also a little curious. It seemed that the next two weeks would be busy for them.
She placed the letter in a pocket of her dress and hugged Rickon close to her chest. "Well lord Stark, it seems that we are about to entertain a princess and a representative of the Iron bank." Rickon sent her an inquisitive look, but Bran smiled knowingly at her.
She had a feeling that the knowing looks would grow old really fast.
DAENERYS
She stood on the balcony of her large chamber and out into the bay that had formerly been called Slavers bay and she felt a hot breeze gently caress her face.
But after she and Drogon had burned the fleet of the slavers to the bottom of the sea, she had decided to rename the bay, the bay of Drogon, after her dearest child.
Even all the way here, she thought that she could hear the groaning of wood as the ships broke apart in the water, and smoke was still rising high in the air. Drogon was still flying above the city, roaring as he went, warning the people of Meereen not to cross him.
She felt pride rise in her chest as she looked at him, flying there overhead in sky above the city that she had conquered, like her forefather Aegon the dragon had done three centuries ago.
Dany had never felt so powerful as when she had flown on the back of her dragon, setting fire to the slaver´s fleet. More than two thirds of the fleet had sunk to the bottom of the bay, or were in the process of sinking, and she had to admit that she enjoyed the sight of her great victory.
Some of the ships and the soldiers farthest out in the bay had managed to escape, but they were only few. That had been deliberate on Dany´s part, she wanted them to go out in the world and tell people of what happened when they crossed the Dragon Queen.
She would have preferred to have captured more ships, but Drogon had been so angry at the slave masters betrayal that he had been worth on her behalf and attacked the ships without any mercy.
Dany felt a sting at her temple, which caused her to wince. She walked back inside her chamber and took a glass that had been filled with a delicious red wine, and she took a large swing of the drink, in hopes it would help lessen the pain she was feeling.
Dany didn't dare to ask anyone of her advisers for anything that could possibly help with the pain, she didn't want to show any weakness around them. She didn't trust the imp of Lannister, and she didn't like the looks that her lord commander of the queen´s guard was always sending her.
Every time that Ser Barristan looked at her, he looked so sad and remorseful and she couldn't stand it. Why on earth was he so sad? She had just come back and saved them all from certain death.
But it was Tyrion Lannister that worried her more than the old knight did. She didn't like how he always seemed to be waiting for her to make some sort of mistake, well he would have to wait a long time for she wasn't about to make any mistakes anytime soon.
She knew that he would betray her as soon as he got the chance, but for now he was useful to her, so she would let him stay and serve her.
Dany heard the sound of slippers on the floor and she could see Missandei walk over to her with a lovely lavender color dress that was made of the finest silk and Myrish lace.
Her dear friend helped her dress and style her hair in the Dothraki style with silver bells to signify her victory over the fleet of the slave masters, and the fact she now had forty thousand Dothraki riders in her army, ready to help her take her birthright back, but first things first.
"Have they all assembled in the council chamber?" Dany asked the former slave as she looked at herself in the large looking glass. Dany looked at her now short silver hair, it only reached just below her earlobes after Missandei had cut all the burned ends off, as most of her hair had burned when she had first mounted Drogon in the fighting pits.
She couldn't help but to feel annoyed at seeing it so short again, she had just won a great victory and it should have been longer, but short hair for a short while, was a sacrifice that she was willing to make for this victory that she had won.
It didn't matter that she had short hair, she was still the most beautiful woman in the world, and the mother of dragons.
"Yes, Khalessi they have all arrived." Daenerys smiled, that was good, she needed to talk to them about her plans, but she felt a stab of pain in her temple again and she tried to hide it the best she could.
These headaches were getting annoying, she had only recently started to have them, and she had no idea why she was getting them.
After Missandei had helped her dress and put on her golden bracelets and a necklace that had a roaring dragon on it and a sweet-smelling perfume, her friend brought her golden and silver crown that had the three heads of Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion on it made in onyx, jade and ivory.
Dany looked at her image in the looking glass and she smiled at what she saw, she was the very image of a Targaryen Queen and a conqueror.
They headed out the door and they were met with the sight of Ser Barristan as he guarded her room, he nodded silently at her.
Dany walked on ahead with her Lord Commander of the queen´s guard and her adviser following her to the council chamber. The walk wasn't a long and they entered the room and all of her advisers were assembled there.
The Imp was dressed in his costumery red and gold jerkin and black trousers and he was looking particularly ugly this day with his large scar that had taken his nose of his face.
Greyworm was there as well dressed in his usual Unsullied regalia, and Daario was there as well with his blue forked beard and cheap leathers.
They all stood up and greeted her as she glided into the room and took the seat at the head of the table. As she walked, she could feel Daario´s eyes on her and she knew that he was looking at her with lust in his eyes, and she couldn't help but to feel powerful.
When she had taken her seat, she noticed that Tyrion had glanced at her with lust in his eyes as well, but he lacked the wonder and devotion in his eyes and that irritated her more that she could say.
"Well then let´s start." She said as her advisers sat down. The imp started to give a long report on the finances of the city and Dany could feel the irritation mount in her gut.
She glanced at Daario, who rolled his eyes and reached for the pitcher of wine and poured himself a cup. When he saw her looking at him, he winked at her playfully.
Dany felt that the small man was speaking for eternity, and only to herself she could admit that she understood nothing of what the man was saying. But she would never her advisers that, they could never see her as weak.
When there was a lull in his report, Dany took the change to speak. "Thank you, lord Tyrion. I am sure that you will do what is needed for my city."
Dany felt anger boil in her gut as she could see anger flash in the small man´s eyes, how dare he have the gall to be angry at her?
For a moment she wanted to punish him, but she decided against that, she had more important things to talk about that the Imp.
"Have there been any news of Rhaegal and Viserion?" Dany asked her council, and when they all started to look sheepish, she felt the anger rumble in her belly again.
She took a deep breath to calm herself down, and she could smell the ash and smoke from the bay through the open window.
"Your grace," She looked at Daario who addressed her, and there was a hungry glint in his eyes. "I urge you to take your armies to Westeros now, you have a dragon and the largest army in the known world." Dany had to admit that this was an attractive option.
"And how will her grace transport forty thousand Dothraki, eight thousand Unsullied, two thousand second sons and their horses?" Tyrion asked and leaned back in his chair.
An ugly frown appeared on Daario´s face. "The Queen has acquired ships after the battle, I am sure that they can be used."
Dany glanced at Tyrion Lannister; did he think that the ships that they had gotten from the slavers were enough for them to transport the army?
The look the small man sent Daario told her otherwise. "We only have one fourth of the ships of the slave masters and that is not nearly enough. Not to mention we would need supplies to feed fifty thousand men and thousands of horses, on the long voyage to Westeros." Dany could feel her heart drop to her stomach.
Daario opened his mouth to reply but Dany stopped him. "Enough, lord Tyrion is right." It killed her to say this, but she knew that she couldn't leave the bay of Drogon, not until Rhaegal and Viserion returned to her.
She couldn't just leave when they might return at any moment, and at any rate, she had unfinished business here.
Dany looked over the council as they stared at her. "I will not leave the bay of Drogon until Rhaegal and Viserion return to me, as I am sure that they will soon." Tyrion and Ser Barristan were looking happy with her decision, but she could see the disappointed look on Daario.
"We have unfinished business here in the bay of Drogon." At Dany´s statement everyone looked at one another with bewilderment. "The slave masters of Astapor and Yunkai have attacked us and I will not let that go unpunished."
She paused for a moment for effect before she continued. "Make preparations for us to march to Astapor and Yunkai, we will attack as soon as possible."