14. The Iron Throne.

The last time Stannis had tried to invade King's Landing, he had done it by sea and it ended up being a total disaster. But things had changed now. To begin with, it was a different King, and unlike his brother, Tommen seemed to be a sweet and reasonable boy. Last time the city had been saved by Tyrion's plan and Tywin's forces. Now Tyrion was in prison accused of murdering Joffrey and Tywin's army was trapped inside the city gates with no hopes of reinforcements from outside. King's Landing was under siege and the Lannisters had very few allies in the Seven Kingdoms who were actually able or willing to send aid.

The first few days, people in the city rallied behind their King. By the fifth day, hunger and desperation had began to take their toll and that was when the riots started. By the tenth day the situation was unsustainable. Standing by the walls, King Tommen could see how far Stannis's army stretched. Plus he had heard stories about these strange beings from beyond the Wall that were fighting alongside Stannis. He knew that if they stormed the city it would be a massacre. Stannis had sent a messenger promising pardon if they handed him the throne, to which Tywin, the Hand of the King, had adamantly refused. When a second message had come bringing out the fact that Tommen, not being the true born son of Robert Baratheon, was not the rightful heir, Tywin's outrage had reached its limit. He had sent the messenger back with a promise of slow and painful death to anyone who dared enter the city. But Tommen didn't think that way. He had an utter dislike for bloodshed and suffering. He had no ambitions to be King, but he did care for his people. There was only one course of action, only one thing that could save his city.

He decided against sending an envoy and approached Stannis himself. He was ready to abdicate if Stannis promised not to harm anyone. He would hand over the City and the Throne. In return he only asked his family and his people were not harmed. The city had suffered too much in a span of just a few years. Most people still remembered the sacking of King's Landing by Lannister forces almost twenty years ago. They might have rejoiced in ridding themselves of the Mad King, but they had not appreciated the sacking that came after. War after war and siege after siege, the people still survived. Stannis's first siege and the Battle of Blackwater Bay had taken its toll on the city and its inhabitants. The people still resented the Lannisters for the injustices they had suffered under Joffrey and the struggles they had to endure during the War of the Five Kings. While most people had an utter disrespect for the Lannisters, especially after the rumours of the faulty royal lineage started growing in popularity, many people had found in Tommen and Margaery a royal couple they could finally believe in and trust. It would not be an easy task for Stannis to gain their respect now.

So it was that just a few weeks later, Stannis found himself sitting on the Iron Throne, crowned King Stannis Baratheon, First of his Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm. He loved the name and the power that came with that name. Lady Melisandre was sitting to his right, and Catelyn, his Queen, to his left. He also kept some of Tommen's men whom he trusted. His Small Council was made up of Oberyn Martell, who had been named Hand of the King, Mace Tyrell representing the South, Brynden Tully standing in for the Riverlands and the Vale, for the north Wilsworth Karstark, nephew to Rickard Karstark, who had joined Stannis in Winterfell and helped him in his campaign at the Twins, Riverrun and all the way to the Iron Throne, and last but not least, Tyrion Lannister, who had been freed and acquitted of Joffrey's murder due to lack of evidence.

In spite of having been enemies before, Catelyn had convinced Stannis of Tyrion's value as an advisor. She had talked to him after he had been released from prison. They had talked about everything that had happened between the two families. She had thanked him for returning Ned's bones to her and for taking care of Sansa and he had assured her he had nothing to do with the attack on her family. She also apologized for having kidnapped him in the first place, admitting she had been misled and that her actions had been rash. Over the years they had gained a mutual respect for one another, recognizing each other's strengths and assets.

The Realm seemed to be in order now. The Lannisters had been banished to Casterly Rock. Tywin had been stripped of his title, everything having fallen on Tommen, who had been named Lord of Casterly Rock together with his wife Margaery Tyrell. The Tyrells were the ruling family in Highgarden, the Martells in Dorne, Lord Edmure Tully and his wife Roslin Frey ruled the Riverlands from their House in Riverrun, Lady Lysa Arryn was guarding the Vale from the Eyrie, and Catelyn, though she was Queen and staying in King's Landing along with her husband, was still Lady of Winterfell, Warden of the North. It was decreed her daughter Sansa Stark would be acting Lady of Winterfell in her stead. The Greyjoys in the Iron Islands had been sent an ultimatum to stop and desist on their intentions to have their own Kingdom or face dire consequences. Having heard of what Stannis's whitewalkers had done at the Dreadfort and the Twins, they decided to bend the knee, not desiring to become a ghost family like the Freys and Boltons.

Stannis no longer saw the need for such a big army inside the city walls, so he let the men go back to their lands. He only kept a small contingent from each region for the City Watch. There was still the matter of the army of white walkers. Most people were terrified by the creatures and didn't want anything to do with them. They did not feel safe having them in the city. Heeding his Council and his wife's advise, Stannis had decided to get rid of them. But Lady Melisandre convinced him otherwise. It's leverage, she had said. As long as they kept the whitewalkers, nobody would dare rise against him. Melisandre made sure they were kept hidden and under her control in a secluded area just outside the city walls.

"My Lord" Catelyn approached Stannis. "It seems everything is falling into place. You have your Kingdom, your Throne, and your Power. You are surrounded by good advisors and the people respect you."

"Yes?" he said tentatively.

"I helped you get your Throne, you helped me get my family. Our agreement has served its purposes. You have no more need of me."

"You are the Queen."

"I would like to be given permission to go back to my House. You do not need me as Queen. I am sure your real wife, Lady Selyse, would love to join you here along with your daughter."

"I cannot just annul a marriage and disannul another one. That's just madness!" exclaimed an outraged Stannis

"You are King, my Lord, of course you can. I respect you as my King, but I really have no desire to stay here. I want to go back to the family you helped me reclaim." And then she grabbed his hand and looked him in the eye. "Stannis, you and I are not married. Consummating the marriage just once does not really make us a married couple. You do not love me, and I do not love you. I know you must miss your wife. And I'm sure you must miss your daughter, just as much as I miss mine. Please."

"Alright. You will be permitted to go back to your House in Winterfell, where you will be Lady of Winterfell and Warden of the North bending the knee to your King."

"I will, my Lord. Thank you."

"It was a pleasure, Lady Catelyn. You have kept your end of the bargain, I have kept mine. Hopefully we'll see each other again. You are welcome in the city whenever you wish to visit."

"Likewise, my Lord" and as she turned to leave, she addressed him again. "Stannis, there is one more thing I would like to ask of you. Consider this a special favour for a friend."

"What would that be?"

"I would like for you to send a letter to Castle Black granting Jon Snow special permission to leave the Night Watch if he so desires."

"Your husband's bastard?" he asked confused.

"Yes. Please?" and she gave no further explanation.

"Granted."

"Thank you" she said and smiled at him gratefully.

Having retaken her old name, Catelyn Stark left King's Landing the following day. Lady Selyse arrived from Dragonstone and took her place as Queen together with her daughter, Princess Shireen.

TBC

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Just one more chapter to go ... Please let me know what you think of the story so far.

Thanks for reading.