On the road to Riverrun, 303 AC
The journey back is just as exhausting as the first one. The men just want to get back home, and Stannis sees his army slowly dislocating: he leaves a weeping Robb in Winterfell, and going south, he also loses the men from the Vale of Arryn. He hopes he will never have to ask for their help again, and though thank them for their support. He is close now, so close from his family. His leg still hurts, and the maesters said it will go on hurting for the rest of his life. But he does not mind: all his thoughts are focused on his family, waiting for him in Riverrun.
When he can see the familiar towers, his heart jumps in his chest. He has never seen so much snow in the Riverlands but he guesses it is because of the Others. It will soon melt, he thinks as the galop of his horse makes snow splashing everywhere around him. He spurs his horse and soon, the whole army follows him. Edmure reaches for him, happy to join his homeland. The closest he gets to the castle, the hardest his heart hammers in his chest. And, suddenly, he sees them: Aylis, Shireen, Aistan, the twins. He sees Aylis sliding a bundle in Shireen's arms and running towards him. As soon as he can, he gets off his horse, stifling a yell as his leg hit hardly the ground. But he does not care about the pain. He manages to run too, run towards his wife, his life, his love. Their bodies crash violently against each other and their mouths immediately unite, in a passionate and long kiss. Stannis wraps his arms around Aylis and smiles down at her, stroking her face, her hair, as if he wanted to be sure it was her.
"You're back" she whispers.
"I promised" Stannis smiles and kisses her again. He looks up hearing a horse and notices Edmure has joined them:
"And am I not allowed such a warm welcome?" He says faking being upset. Aylis giggles and embraces her brother:
"I am so happy you are all safe"
Stannis loses his smile:
"Unfortunately, we are not all safe. We have lost many men..."
Aylis strokes his cheek comforting:
"I guess, but... it was for the greater good"
Stannis looks at him:
"Do you think it will comfort their wives and children?"
"N-no..." She stuttered embarrassed. It was as if he had preferred dying instead of them, but they knew the risks when they followed him up North. They fought for him, for Westeros, and for their own families. Edmure notices the awkwardness, and heads to the castle:
"Let's go back home. The men need to rest"
Stannis nods, and gets back on his horse, lifting Aylis up on it.
"I have to tell you something" he confesses as he pushes his horse to the castle.
"What is it?" She wraps her arms around his neck and lays soft kisses on his cheek.
"Lady Melisandre... She... has a child... my child..."
Aylis lips seem to freeze against his skin and she moves away to stare at him:
"How?..."
"The shadow she promised me never was born. She could not walk past the Wall. She delivered in Castle Black, while we were fighting the army of the Dead. She said the baby was born when the last Other was killed, and that, as there were no more threat, no more need for a killing shadow, it just turned out to be a normal baby..." he nibbles his lip embarrassed.
Aylis stays silent for a moment and suddenly asks:
"What is it?"
"A girl" Stannis nods.
"Good... and what do you plan about them?" She asks again.
Stannis frowns:
"I plan to legitimise her first. Then... she will live in King's Landing with her mother"
Aylis makes a face but does not say anything, simply nodding, not willing to make a fuss while he has just come back from the war.
For the first time in many weeks, men have a proper feast: the Riverrun have given many men to Stannis, and the laughs and the cheers ring out in the Great Room. Stannis has met his new child, and has decided to call her Celony. Aylis has seen Melisandre, but they haven't talked, and the red priestess has soon left for her room. While he is not very fond of feasts, he stays very late in the night this time, Aylis refusing to leave his side. She is so happy to have him back, her husband, her king. Since he has hugged her, desire has made her feel uncomfortable a great number of times, and she is impatient to be in bed with him. When Edmure has fallen asleep, the men still up, as well as Brynden, who has been the castillan of Riverrun while he was away, take him to bed, and Stannis and Aylis find themselves alone, on their chairs. Stannis drinks up his water and turns to Aylis. She stands up, but he grabs her hand and holds her back. She gives him a confused look, and he just slides his chair away from the table, patting slightly his thighs.
"Here...?" Aylis smirks.
As an answer, Stannis moves his hand under her dress, rolling the fabric up. She closes his eyes, enjoying it even if his hands are cold as ice. Stannis himself closes his eyes feeling how warm she is, and how hot she gets as his hand moves upper. They both gasp when his finger brushes her slit: she is so wet, and burning, he just wants to bury himself deep in her and die there. She moans his name as his finger slowly makes its way inside. Stannis pulls her closer from his chair, and, his free hand shaking with lust, he pulls her dress down to bare her breasts. Aylis' hand runs from his neck to his crotch as his tongue and lips brutalise her chest, his finger moving in and out. She leans on his head, laying kisses on his hair and tugging on his breeches. Stannis quickly moves his finger out, sucks it greedily, and slides his breeches down, revealing his hard shaft. Aylis stares at it a few seconds, and, in a swift movement, sits on his lap, impales herself on it. She cries out, not having know this for so long, and holds onto him, burying her face in his neck. Her knees on the wood of the chair, she moves her hips up and down, fast, and Stannis snogs her playfully, sucking on her tongue and her lower lip. He palms her naked breasts, bending over to taste her hard nipples. Aylis trembles ans cries out in ecstasy, overexcited. Stannis grand her thighs, stands up and pins her on the table in front of them. Tears shine in the queen's eyes, as the tongue of her husband mistreating her nipples, his cock throbbing hard and deep in her, his thumb making her clitoris rolling, all this send her already close to the edge. She cries his name out, ecstatic, as a violent climax overwhelms her. Stannis lifts her up again and she rests limp against him, while he manages to reach their bedroom, the bedroom where, so long ago, they have shared their first night together. He slams the door behind them, pins her against the door, and thrusts again, harder and faster than the first time, his breath shortened, sweat running down his spine and his skull. Aylis leans her head back, offering her neck, her whole body to his lips, so he can do with her as he pleases. He uses fingers, teeth, tongue, everything he has to pleasure her and, as she comes a second time, he has to bite her shoulder hard not to come too. But he wants to make this night unforgettable for her, and he wants to slide out, but a single contraction of her inner walls makes him come deep, and very much in her. Disappointed in himself, he groans frustrated, pulls out and kneels in front of her, grabs her dress and tears it in several shreds, making his queen cry out in surprise. She is naked underneath, and he pushes her on the bed, on which she falls with a new cry. A cry that turns into a whimper as Stannis turns her around, on all four, and buries his face between her legs to lick her dripping pussy. She moans her name, arching her back in an awfully inconvenient way, grabbing the sheets and clenching them with her fists. She starts moving her hips, swaying them, but an authoritative slap on her butt makes her stay still, after a new cry. Her king needs to be in control now, and, in the same time, to totally lose control. Aylis, her eyes closed, and opening only to roll over, leaves his tongue exploring each inch of her intimacy. Her lips are painfully dry as she can't close her mouth, too busy moaning and gasping. Suddenly, he closes his lips on her clit, bites it slightly, then keeps it in there and brutalise it with the tip of her tongue. Aylis tries to move away, way too sensitive in this area after the shag they just had, but Stannis holds her still, and her body trembles violently. "I... I... Gods, my King" she cries out and that just turns Stannis even more on, speeding up brutally. She comes so hard she escapes his embrace, and collapses on the sheets, her pussy pulsating painfully, her throat letting out deep moans. She has no time to recover: her husband has already gotten into her again, and is pinning her down with his hands, his cock rubbing and hitting her deepest point. She has no energy to protest, or resist, or even move. She just moans, louder with each thrust, her hard clit rubbed against the sheets with Stannis movements, getting both painful and ecstatic. Soon, pain disappears, and she tries to lean on her elbows but Stannis grabs the back of her neck and pins her down, unleashing himself. He moans too, deeper than her though, but expressing pleasure in the most extreme way. He feels his own climax building up again, and he makes sure she comes too. Her body gets hard under his, like petrified, and he closes his eyes, releasing his semen so hard and so deep in her it is painful, and his loud whimper is mixed with pain and ecstasy. Out of breath, he falls on her body, his head leaning on her burning back. He bites her skin as he releases the last drops of his cum, and totally lay on her, exhausted, drained, but happy. Aylis falls asleep almost immediately after she came, and Stannis has just time to roll off her before drifting off too.
The rest of the army leaves Riverrun a few days later: the Riverlands men stay home, and soon, the Reach, the Westerlands, and the Stormlands do the same. When they reach King's Landing, they more look like a squad than like an army. They walk in the capital, triumphant, acclaimed by its people, and Stannis genuinely enjoys this. He waves and smiles at his people, knowing that he can now totally focus on them, on his family, and on his realm.