King's Landing, 281 AC
She loved her quarters in the Maidenvault, she had a magnificent view to the Blackwater Bay and the Queen's garden were not too far. Queen Rhaella was the first to welcome her there. She was magnificient, like mother like son, she thought dryly. Targaryen were annoying, with their unnerving beauty, they made everything seems so natural. However the Queen wore a high-necked and long-sleeved dress. Lyanna wondered why she needed it, it was so hot in King's Landing.
"Your majesty" She hoped her curtsy was fine.
"Rise, daughter, welcome to King's Landing, I hope all was well during your travel."
The Queen smiled but it did not reach her eyes. She looked magnificent but the woman before has lost all her fire, and as if her high spirit was long gone. If her husband was the Mad King, she would have felt the same too. What if her marriage ends up like theirs? What if the Crown Prince loses his mind one day too? A tiny voice freaks out inside of her head.
"It was, your majesty, thank you."
"Come then, we will take some time alone to eat and discuss. Your ladies in waiting will unpack. Alenna, show them the way."
The Queen lead her alone to the balcony garden where a table full of delicious wonders waited for them.
They began to eat in silence, Lyanna not daring to say anything.
"I have been waiting for a long time to meet you. " The Queen said quietly. Lyanna didn't know how to respond to that so she nodded.
"Things have been tough lately, I apologize for the behavior of the King this morning."
"It was an honor meeting the royal family, your majesty."
The Queen gave her a pained smile: "Keep telling sweet lies like that dear and maybe you will survive long enough in this Court." Lyanna's face turned red and she stammered an apology.
"Do not fret, Lady Stark, I mean no harm. There are only two things I will need you to do. The first is to support my son, whatever it takes. In order to do that, you need to learn to play the game. Do not trust anyone, beside Rhaegar, me and your brothers. Power is a vile illness that plague this Court. The second most important thing is to protect and guide your children."
"Of course, my Queen, I cannot thank you enough for those advices."
"Well, if this matter is settled, let's talk about the wedding. "
The rest of the day was painfully long. She understood little about what was going on. The flowers were already chosen, the courses too, the bards and fools were ready. All was left was the dress. Patience was never one of her qualities. Every time the seamstresses tugged at her dress, she wanted to snap and bark at the women. Father made it clear earlier that she was no longer a child so she had to "behave and endure". The Southerners had already a bad image of the North, it was unnecessary to prove them they were right in calling them salvage and wildings. His tone was final: "For once, you will do as you told, I expect you to be intelligent enough to set aside your childish behavior and act like the princess that you will be. I will not tolerate that you shame our House, our ancestors and people." She was not one to listen and obey dutifully but she understood the situation.
The following morning, the Prince came to give her a tour of the Red Keep. The first half hour was awkward. They only spoke about the scenery, the history of the Red Keep. She listened half heartily until he asked her about Winterfell. There was a genuine interest on his part about the North. As he said, the many books he read about it do not do justice to the land of winter. So she told him stories about the Great Keep, the fairs, the cold winds in the Goodswood, the Wall that she saw once during a trip for Brandon's sixteenth nameday.
She knew what the Prince was trying to do: gaining her trust, getting to know her. Part of her appreciated the effort, the other part didn't know how to react to this. Her expectation of their union was very low when she left Winterfell. She came to the painful conclusion that her life was over, she was condemned to be silent and obedient, to bed her husband and to birth royal heirs every few years, to run the Red Keep and its hundreds of servants and then to watch her fire dying slowly within the years.
"Lady Stark, is something wrong? Are you unwell? " His voice startled her
"What?"
"You are crying." He stated
" I am sorry, you Grace, I..I don't know what came over me. I am deeply sorry, I do not want you to think I am a foolish weeping maiden. I am much tougher than this. I just… I.." she couldn't find a good reason to excuse her behavior. She could pretend to be homesick, or deeply moved by his royal presence. She scoffed, even in hears, it sounded so fake.
"My great-great uncle Aemon, a wise man, told me once that honesty is the balm to cure many misunderstanding." They came to an halt before the Traitor's Walk. The corridor has seen many heads on pike, criminal and traitors, innocent or guilty people, she can't tell, the King's justice has been more than arbitrary those last years. She heard how he accused the Queen of infidelity and burnt the family of his mistress after the death of one of the Princes. Yes, a mad King, he was.
"Truth hurts sometimes." She replied, her eyes meeting his, she held his gaze.
"Yes but we cannot burden ourselves with lies. There will be a time when the lies will become too much to bear and it will consume us. I do not wish that for us. I want our marriage to be at least built with honesty and respect. And I cannot give you that if you do not tell me what you think." He said quietly.
"So you want the truth then, I will tell you: I do not feel at ease here, it's like everyone is waiting for me to make the wrong step. And you confuse me because you are a far better man than what I thought you will be and it scares a part of me. It will be so easy to fall for you and by doing so, I feel like I am betraying all my last resolves in Winterfell about not getting attached to anything here in the South. And more than anything, I do not wish to be hurt in case you deceive me. Are you trying to woo me, for what purpose? You tell me sweet words and I believe in your sincerity. But what will happen in two, ten or fifteen years? Deep in my soul, I know that I will not tolerate to see my husband searching for comfort and pleasure in another woman's skirts. Deep in my soul, I know that by marrying you I am signing the death of Lyanna Stark. Because I will have to give up my freedom and then to change in someone that could be worth of the title of Princess of the Seven Kingdoms. I love Winterfell, I hate being a Lady and I am a poor seamstress. I love riding, because on top of the horses when the winds blow on my face and I lost counts of the miles, I never felt more happy or free. I wanted to play with swords and travel beyond the Wall or to the free cities, to see the Titan of Braavos, the Temple of Trios in Tyrosh, to meet Dothrakis. But alas, those are foolish dreams, unrealizable adventures. I know my duty and my fate and that saddens me my Prince. We are all bound by duty, in a way or another."
Her tears were flowing when she finished her long tirade. She felt foolish and brave at the same time, then confused by her own outburst.
"I cannot promise you freedom but I will do my best to ease the pain of the transition for you. Changes will be made. I meant to do it long ago but well it does no good to speak of roads not taken. We will have to unite our forces to survive in King's Landing. However I am glad that you will be the only one to share my life Lyanna Stark."
King's Landing was awful, the stench and the temperature were unbearable. The Great Sept of Baelor was decorated with paintings of the Seven Pointed Star. The imposing seven statues of the Crone, the Warrior, the Smith, the Maiden, the Father, the Stranger and the Mother took Lyanna's breath away.
Everyone stood in the great hall and all eyes were on her and Father who had to give her away. She took a deep breath and started to descend the stairs, hoping to not fall. The septs' bells reached her ears and her heart hammered in her chest.
Rhaegar Targaryen finally turned his eyes on her and she blushed, rather embarrassed by all the attention given to her. He didn't smile, nor said anything, he slightly bowed to her father when he gave her hand and turned to the High-Septon.
The ceremony began and Lyanna grew nervous. She resisted the urge to shift in her place.
"You may now cloak the bride and bring her under your protection."
Rhaegar took off her grey cloak and draped the black one with the red three-headed dragons around her shoulders. It was at this moment that she realized what was really happening. She was no longer Lyanna of House Stark, sole daughter of Rickard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. She became Lyanna of House Stark and House Targaryen, Princess of Dragonstone, next Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. She wanted to cry because it sounded so wrong, so unreal. She wanted to escape and go back to Winterfell where she found peace and freedom. She unlikely will never see again the snow in the Broken tower, nor race Benjen in the Great Keep, and then pray in the ancient Godswood. Gone were the stories of Old Nan and the chestnut soup during the winter. She was a Princess now, in King's Landing, a lone wolf in a dragon den. Her father and brothers will leave soon. When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.
The High Septon joined their hands with a ribbon: "In the sight of the Seven, I hereby seal these two souls, binding them as one, for eternity. Look upon one another and say the words. "
She met Rhaegar's dark lilac eyes and said with as much confidence as she could gather:
"Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger, I am his and he is mine from this day until the end of my days." The sound of their voices mingling together, promising eternity to each other in unison made her shiver.
"With this kiss, I pledge my love" said Rhaegar, then he leaned to place a least than chaste kiss on her lips. She didn't resist, and parted her lips, curious to see what it felt like to be kissed by the famous Crown Prince. The audience chuckled, the High Septon coughed and she hid her face in her hand, absolutely mortified.
"Let the show begin" Her husband whispered to her only. They marched toward the entrance of the Great Sept, followed by the claps of the guests.
At the highest march outside the Sept, they stopped to salute the massive folk gathered to see the royal wedding.
" The Crown Prince, Rhaegar of House Targaryen, First of his name, Prince of Dragonstone, and Lyanna of House Stark and Targaryen, Princess of Dragonstone."
The crowd cheered loudly, the bells rang and two dozen doves were released at once. What a show, she thought, amazed by the energy around them.
The royal carriage took them back to the Red Keep, and as they passed, they waved to the smallfolk's of King's Landing and tossed some coins.
"They adore you, my Prince" she stated.
" They will love you too, if you play the game right."
"Will you teach me?"
He smirked, his purple eyes shining for the first time today.
" I thought you would never ask."
Chapter End Notes
Let the game of thrones begin !
Happy new year to you all !
I will post a link for images next time. It will be inspired by Reign (CW) and Merlin (BBC One).
I don't watch the shows (sometimes Merlin but not Reign ) but I found the costumes very interesting.