Today was the day.
Iona Stark would become Iona Baratheon, or rather, Iona Lannister.
When she woke in the morning, she made no move to get up straight away. She laid there, her arms resting on her stomach. Behind her head, her hair was splayed out. Thinking about it, she was dreading having her hair tugged by a brush and pulled in every which way to make it suitable for the eyes of twisted society, she would no longer belong to herself (or rather more, her family) but instead she would belong to the Heir of the Seven Kingdoms. It was such an unfortunate thing.

It was not all negative, however. For example, when the King died (which would hopefully be soon), she would become Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Of course, Joffrey would be the one in power, but he was her puppet.
What a glorious Queen she would be. She closed her eyes and sighed in content.
Iona did harbour some feelings for Joffrey, but they were nothing of to much worth. She supposed that she would grow to love him as much as he claimed to love her. A small part of her did want to, but for the most part, she told herself that sentiment was non-existent, and love was made up for manipulation.

Rane fussed over her dress, which was draped over a chair, whilst she contemplated everything.
Eventually, she threw the covers back and turned to place her feet on the floor.
"My Lady, we must dress you. I did as you asked and woke you up only an hour before."
Unusually, they were to be wed mid-morning, rather than mid afternoon, as most couples did. They wanted the ceremony to happen early, and then have the rest of the day to do as they usually would before coming together again for the consummation.

Her dress was new, but was not especially glamorous, as to to not draw attention to herself.
The dress was off the shoulder, with a scoop neck, made of the finest, emerald green fabric. The sleeves were similar to those commonly worn by Cersei... royal sleeves.
It was a small hint to the activities that would take place today; Iona was becoming a part of the royal family.

She allowed Rane to remove her small clothes and perfume her skin before pulling the dress over her head.
Rane tied her corset so that breasts were nicely emphasised, without becoming scandalous.
She then proceeded to braid and twist her hair into intricate patterns upon her head.
"May I ask how you are feeling, my lady?"
"Nervous, I suppose. What if something goes wrong?"
"Nothing would, my lady."
"I know I wanted this to be secret, but when we are in the Sept, will you begin to tell other servants, and as many people as you can? I want to surprise Prince Joffrey."
"Of course, my lady. I will do my very best."

Walking into the sept, she took a moment to look around. At the other end, she could see Joffrey, standing with the High Septon, and his father. Closeby stood Sansa, Renly and Cersei. She had decided to come then, in the end. She supposed that the love for her son outweighed the contempt Cersei held for her.
She, rather embarrassingly, jumped slightly when from her right, her father said her name gently.
"Father,"
"I could not let my eldest daughter walk alone. I am sorry, Iona."
She smiled, "Thank you, father."
He offered her his arm and she took it.
Together, they walked down the aisle.
She struggled to stay composed for several reasons. Mostly, because watching Cersei try to hide her sour look was hilarious. Though, it was also due to the fact that she was actually coming to terms with what was happening. She was marrying Joffrey Lannister. She did want to become Queen, hence why she was so desperate to marry him, but she had actually developed a certain regard for him. She had never had any regard or anyone other than her family, and it did frighten her.
As she tackled the steps, she looked up to see Joffrey smirking at her. Surprisingly, that reinstated her confidence.

"With this kiss, I pledge my love." Joffrey declared, most embarrassingly. Behind her, she heard her sister cry out in adoration. The King and Sansa were probably the only ones who cared about this. Perhaps Renly showed a little interest, but Cersei and Ned despised the idea. They had simply obliged for the sake of their children.
For the sake of the others, when the pulled away from each other, Iona grinned.
Joffrey linked arms with her and walked back towards the door. Iona tried to walk as slowly as she could, hoping that what she had planned had come together. Seconds could make a big difference.
The loyalty of the people had been underestimated. Everything she had done to ensure they were well loved had worked.
When they opened the doors, there at the bottom of the steps, crowds of people had gathered.
The look of surprise and delight on Joffrey's face had made the day.
"Hooray for the Prince! Hooray for Iona Baratheon!" The crowds cheered, many with congratulations and other blessings.
Next to her, Joffrey laughed.
She held onto his arm and held him close.
"Surprise, my love."
Joffrey looked from the crowd to his wife.
"You arranged this?"
"For you," She lied, filling her voice full of love,
He laughed again and kissed her for all of the crowds to see. All of them cheered and cried out for the future King and Queen, and the happiness of them both.

Cersei had protested against it, but with a bit of persuasion, and settling on having four Kings Guards escort them, the newly wedded couple walked through the crowds who parted quickly, so that they could greet and thank as many people as they could.
Still, Joffrey was hesitant to do such things, but when Iona had lead, and he had seen how much the people loved it, he had soon followed.
Iona held his hand, leading him through. When they were almost clear of the people, she turned back and stopped to whisper in his ear.
"The people love their future King."

By not having an official afternoon celebration, they were not obligated to follow through with the bedding ceremony. Iona was thankful for this at least. She wouldn't have been able to cope with men groping at her like a whore.
Instead, all that happened was that Joffrey was escorted to her chamber in a robe, whilst she lay on her bed in her small clothes.
Though they were both virgins, Iona had knowledge.
Her knowledge most definitely showcased itself that night.