Cersei walked over to her father and stood waiting. He had tried to interfere in her life when she had first married Robert. The sad man had thought he could rule her life once she was wed to a powerful man. He had been wrong. He had not understood her connection she felt with Robert. They had both been so lost, so hungry to prove themselves. When she had said goodbye to her father and her home she had felt liberated. It had been part of why she had agreed to marry him. Then she got to know the man. She had fallen for him, utterly and truly.

When she decided to take him after the war she knew of his ways, they were no secret. He drank too much, whored too much and fought too much. Her handmaid had asked her why she had chosen him out of the whole wide world to marry. Cersei had smiled and said because she liked a challenge. After the one incident of catching him with the serving wench, she let him know he would never have her with that behavior. After they married, he told her of his blind love for Lyanna Stark. He admitted he had been a fool, thinking he loved the girl. She told him she might not love him completely yet but they were on the path to it.

"I know I warned you before Robert, but if your cock ever enters another I will take a knife and remove it, have cook make it into a dish and feed it to the whore it was in before I kill her myself." His eyes grew large and he had set his wine down. After that conversation, he never drank into excess so he would never allow his base natures to surface.

When Gendry was born, Robert reformed even more. Once Robert held his infant son in his arms and looked onto the blue eyes that were so like his he vowed he would make the Stormlands something his son would be proud to inherit someday. He took a role in managing his lands, helping his people and being a father. Steffen was what they named the boy, but around his fourth name day, while in a village close to Storm's End he decided to change his name. The boy had been as stubborn as his father and refused to answer any attempt to call him by his given name. Gendry had become his name and that was what he was called, unless he did something foolish enough to cause his mother to become angry.

With Joffrey and Myrcella, she and Robert had even more to be pleased with and with each child their love grew. Robert did not mind that the two had more Lannister look to them.

"Our first born took all the Baratheon looks when he was born and left nothing for the other two." He had joked with Renly when the boy had asked him about Joff and Myrcella.

She had once had dreams of being a queen, once thought the only man who would love her completely was her twin. Now she was a woman with real love and something better than a crown. She was happy and secure. Waiting for her father to speak with her she tried to remember those feelings. Feelings of being a woman in her own right. Now twenty years after leaving her father's house he decided to treat her as if she was still a child. She would not allow him to treat her that way.

"What is it father?" Cersei demanded.

"That is not the way I raised you to talk to your father." Tywin said coldly to her.

She laughed and looked at her father. He had gone completely bald in the years since she left him. His once young face was lined with wrinkles. He looked old. Older than he was. She wondered if he was dying. She suspected her brothers were the true cause to his haggard appearance.

"I am no longer a child father. You have no right to speak to me as one." She said.

"You will always be a child to me." He said sadly. "Cersei I am an old man now. I am tired. I see you and your sons and it makes me feel my age."

This confession was not what she had been expecting. Her father was the Lion of the West. He could not feel old. She told him so. He gave a hallows laugh and looked her in the eyes.

"We are equals now daughter. I have a request of you. I do not expect an immediate answer. What I wish to ask is not something just from you, but from your husband as well." He went and sat on the steps of the dais. "I wish to disinherit your brothers. Neither one has measured up to the responsibility they were born to. I see your sons and the way you raised them. I want to name Joffrey as my heir. Have him inherit when I die."

Cersei was shocked into utter stillness. Tywin wanted her son, her Joffrey to be his heir. After everything Tywin had done to get Jamie out of his vows, to get him back to him, Tywin was going to cut him out. Cersei felt her anger swell with in her chest.

Her bond with her brother was still strong, even after all their years apart. She was not going to stand for this.

"Jamie is the rightful heir to the Rock. You cannot take that away from him." She said angrily.

"What has he done to prove himself to me or his people in the past twenty years? Where was he when we needed him? He was not there. And Tyrion is hardly better. He is no better. Only doing what ever he can for himself. No, with either of them in power the West will fall. Your son is strong, smart, every inch a high lord. I only ask you to consider my request. Nothing more." Tywin said to her.

"How can you ask me to do this to my brothers? You taught us the importance of family but now you shatter that idea. Why are you turning your back on my brothers, your true born sons?" She said with cold anger.

"Because they turned their backs on me." Tywin said with deep anger in his voice. "One son is twisted and deformed and the other runs from his responsibility. Why would I want them to take my place when I am gone? How can I think of doing that?"

"They are your sons." She hissed. "They are Lannister's. You cannot throw them aside!"

"I can do whatever I want. If I wish to disinherit them for your son, I will do it. And there is nothing you can say. I will bring this to the king. Then there will be nothing you could do." He stood and walked away a few steps. Then he turned back to her. "I will not go to the king until you speak with your husband. But think long and hard daughter. You have taught your son, raised him to govern and rule. Jamie left his home, no one would follow Tyrion. Who will rule when I am gone?"

She watched her father walk deep into the halls of the castle and disappear. She stood there alone in the vast room rethinking all the things her father had said. Joffrey the heir to the Rock, Jamie cut out of his birthright, and Tyrion. What would become of him? She knew she had to talk to Robert. She would tell him and hear his thoughts before she went to her father with her answer. She prayed that no matter what they decided it would be the right choice.

She knew her love would be with their host, so she went in search of a servant, but instead of asking where Robert was she asked to be lead to the lady of the house. She was told that the Lady was with in her chambers and was shown the way.

As she walked to Catelyn's chambers she remembered of the first time they had met. It had been right after Cat's mother had died in childbirth. Cersei had walked into the Steps and saw a young Catelyn crying before the mother.

"Why do you cry?" Cersei asked.

"My mother is gone." Cat had said.

"My mother died in childbirth as well. Did the babe survive?" Cersei asked.

"No, they both died." Catelyn took a linen handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped her eyes.

"You are lucky then." Cersei said with a knowledge behind her words.

"How can I be lucky?" Catelyn had asked.

"You do not have a living reminder of your mother's killer with you always. My brother Tyrion killed my mother. I will never forgive him that." Cersei had said.

"But it was not his fault." Catelyn had said fiercely. "The septon said that this was the price that might be paid when a woman brings a child into this world. That all woman know the cost. That if the child lives it is the last gift the woman gives to this world and we must treasure the gift of life, even if the cost was death. Your brother did not take your mother from you. You must not think that way."

The child Cersei had shook her head at that. It was not what her father had said. She told the other girl so. But the young Cat had shook her head.

"You must love the boy, no matter what he looks like or what your father says. He is the last gift your mother gave to this world. If you love him you will never lose her."

Cersei was profoundly changed after that day. She had been given a life changing way of thinking and had gained a friend. She reflected on this history between the two women and thought of how this advice had changed her.

The servant knocked on the door and she was let in. Edmure was standing in front of the empty hearth while the lady was allowing one of her handmaidens arrange her long red hair in a southern arraignment.

"She is mad Cat; I tell you our sister is not the same." Edmure ranted.

"Brother I have noticed this myself. Ah, Lady Baratheon. This might not be the best time to discuss this." She shot a look at her brother. "Unless you have input on our discussion." Cat looked at her and Edmure spun around to see whom his sister was speaking to.

Cersei stood silent, thinking over what her host and fellow guest had been speaking of. There had been rumors of the Lady Lysa's madness over the years. She remembered how heart sick her Robert had been at the news of his surrogate father's death. He swore that Jon would not have died a natural death.

"We have heard rumors of some discontent between the late hand and his lady wife in the Stormlands. We have not left our lands, much as the ways you Starks have stayed in the North. But the rumors did reach us." She said slowly. "Robert swore that there would have been no way that Jon could have died of natural causes."

"See Cat! Her insanity has even made its way into the Stormlands. And her comments, her threats, we cannot take them as mere jests. We must speak with the King as soon as possible!" Edmure said. His face showed fear all over it.

"I will speak to Ned about what he thinks we should do. I do not want to damn our own sister. Her son is still very green and I do not want to deprive the child of his only parent he has left." Cat said slowly.

"But he is not safe with her. We must take him away from her. She had grossly neglected his education. Robin is to be the Warden of the West. How can we trust that great responsibility on the Boy's shoulders when he has no concept in how to govern?" Edmure said to his sister. "I suggest we take him and foster him with me when we depart from Winterfell."

"Lord Tully, I would disagree with you on one point of that statement." Cersei spoke softly.

"Please Lady if you think you have a better plan tell us. I fear if we do not take action soon we will be sorry." Edmure said.

"I suggest we take the boy with us on our return." She said. "You are a capable lord and very wise, but you have no idea how to raise a child. I have four under my roof. Robert is the boy's namesake. I think Jon would have wished his son to either be fostered with my Robert or your sisters Ned." Cersei nodded to the lady.

"I agree Cersei. If we did not have this child on the way, I would keep Robin with us when you all leave. I agree Lysa is not herself. But I cannot take on another child when I have one on the way. Lady Baratheon makes a good argument. When we speak to Ned and the King, we can air all our worries. But we cannot go forward with any serious actions regarding Jon's death without proof. We must discover this before we take true action." Cat said when her maid was finished with her hair.

"But Cat," Edmure started to say.

"We do not have time for this tonight!" His sister snapped. "Now I beg you to leave so I can finish dressing." She dismissed her brother. He opened his mouth to speak but nodded and turned on his heels and left the room.

Catelyn sat back and took a deep breath, rubbing small circles on her expanding abdomen. Cersei felt an over whelming tug in her own womb. She had three children from her body, but four children in her heart. Yet watching her friend, she felt that tug.

"Would it be mad of me to say I am a tad bit jealous of you?" Cersei spoke into the silence.

Catelyn laughed and labored to a stand. Her hands were on the small of her back as she walked across the room to where her dress of the evening had been set out for her. She was level with Cersei when she turned to her and smiled.

"I would say you were mad. Did you see how long it took me to walk just a few steps? And I am only five months along! What will become of me when I reach full growth for this child?" Catelyn smiled, patting her belly.

"I still felt the tug with in my womb." Cersei smiled.

"I do not think this is what you came to me for." Catelyn said.

"You are right." Cersei admitted, taking the chair her friend had just left. "I just spoke with my father."

"And what did the old Lion Lord want?" Catelyn asked.

In their youth, the two girls had been thrust together when their fathers had been at the Mad Kings court for an entire season. They had grown close and had remained close in the ensuing years. When they had each married and become pregnant, they had written so many letters the ravens were always flying above their castles. Cersei had never had a sister and that is how she thought of sweet Catelyn. Their bond was as strong as ever.

"He threatened to disinherit my brothers in favor of my Joffrey." Cersei said softly.

Catelyn was taken aback at this news. Catelyn knew of her dear friends past feelings for her brother and she suspected that Cersei was the reason for Jamie's lack of roots. But to hear the Lord Tywin was willing to pass over his children for one of the Baratheon's was a shock.

"Have you told Robert?" She asked.

"I could not bring myself to burden him with this news before the feast. He is on thin ice with the king as it is. We need Robert on his peak right now. I could not bring this to him." Cersei admitted.

"You did well my friend." Cat said to her sister of her heart.

"I do not know what to do Cat." Cersei admitted.

"What if you accepted his offer?" Cat said slowly. Cersei's golden head shot up from its downcast position to look at her. Catelyn hurried on. "Think of the possibility. With two of your children in prime positions in the realm, the king will have to tread lightly with Robert. I saw the way Rhaegar regarded your husband. He has not forgiven the man for his past actions. If Joffrey was heir to the Castely Rock, he will have to consider what is best for his kingdom over his personal grievances. I know the King has leveed his taxes on your family hardest of all. Robert is not pleased with this, or that is what Ned has told me."

Cersei had not considered this. She had not been blind to the king's reaction to her husband, or queens as well. Both woman had been icy to her family's entrance into the castle. She had not dreamed after all these years would still be so blindingly hot. And Catelyn spoke true. Both the Baratheon and Lannister's had been taxed heavily once the war was over to help get the realm back from ruins after the war. She had hoped that her husbands devotion to her would be proof enough for the king of his change from the boy he had been twenty years ago.

"I am not sure if this would make Rhaegar forgive Robert. If anything this move would make him fear us even more." Cersei said.

"You have to keep an opened mind." Catelyn was saying as she motioned to her maid to assist her in changing. Cersei knew this was her cue to leave. She too had to change for the feast.

"I will talk to Robert tonight. I would not ask but would you not tell Ned of this development until I speak to my husband?" Cersei asked.

"Only if you do not tell Robert of my conversation with my brother regarding my sister." Catelyn said with a smile.

"Of course. I will not bring it up with Robert unless he speaks with Ned. I know that they will ask each other council and they will bring the matters to us in time." She smiled at her friend.

"We must prepare for the feast. I fear this will be a long night." Catelyn said.

Cersei made her way to the door and was about to exit the chamber when Catelyn spoke from behind her.

"Did you notice the way your eldest son and brother looked at my youngest daughter?"

Cersei paused. She had seen the way Gendry had reacted to her friend's daughter. She had felt a moment of pleasure, thinking that with these two they could unite the Stark and Baratheon families once and for all. But she also had noticed her brother's attention for the girl. She had thought that if there was a woman in the world that could match her brother it would be the young wolf girl. She had felt conflicted. Both her son and beloved brother wanted the Stark girl. She was honestly at a loss of who should have her.

"I did notice their attention to Arya. Truthfully I do not know what to think." She told Catelyn.

"Robert did not put your son up to wishing for our daughter? Because my daughter and your son hold an uncanny look of two people from the past. And things did not end well for the woman, or so it will seem."

Cersei had noted the tension between the queens. She had smiled at the notion. She was pleased in the outcome of the war twenty years ago. If Robert had won, Lyanna she would never had met the love of her life. But it made her sad for the woman who the war had been fought for. Lyanna had not archived her happy ending like she had thought.

"We do not know what happens behind the closed doors of the royal family." Cerise said slowly.

"We do not." Cat replied.

"We did not put the boy up to this. We always told him to follow his heart." Cersei told her friend.

"As we have done with our children. Only time will tell, wont it?" Catelyn raised her brow.

"For what it is worth I hope our children develop feelings for each other." Cersei smiled at her friend. "With them we might be family in truth, not just in our hearts." She walked out of the room with that to dress for the evening.

Xxxxxxxx

Rhaegar always felt as if he was an indulgent husband. He had followed behind his second wife as she pointed out all the places she had loved in her childhood home. Elia walked beside them without saying a word. He knew that once he got to his chamber his first wife would have a long list of complaints regarding Lyanna.

"And this is where I would sit for hours reading." Lyanna said as they paused by a bay window.

"Not that this isn't all fascinating Lyanna, but we do have a feast to get ready for." Elia said to Lyanna.

Lyanna's smile fell from her face. Rhaegar knew that Lyanna had wanted to show him around the place she had grown up. Elia has done the same thing when she had taken him to Sun Spear when they had first married. Rhaegar thought his first wife was doing Lyanna an injustice, but he did not say so. He wanted to have words with his first wife when they went onto their room. It was Elia's week so they would be together.

"Right. Let us get into our chambers and change for the feast. How silly of me to dally." Lyanna said. She quickened her pace and led them to their rooms without another word. Rhaegar wished that she would tell them more stories of her childhood. He knew much of his wife's earlier years, but he had loved putting sights to the stories.

They reached the bedchamber and Lyanna opened the door to the Queen's chamber while Elia opened the door to the Kings. Rhaegar stood in between his wives. He had to follow Elia, since it was his room she entered. He could not just leave Lyanna alone, so he walked over to her and kissed her cheek.

"My Winter Rose, why so sad?" He asked.

"I may be in my childhood home with my entire family, but I feel so alone." Her voice was soft and he had to lean in close to hear her. His heart ached at her words so he gathered her into his arms and held her close.

"Do not think that way my love. I am always with you." He kissed her head. Her face turned up to his and he was shocked she had tears in her eyes. In their twenty years together, he had only seen tears in her eyes three times.

"We both know that is not true." She said to his chest.

"Lyanna we all agreed to this. There was no other way." He told her again.

"I know my love. I just do not understand why she is so condescending to me. When we visited her family she acted no different from the way I have today." Lyanna's voice was back to the strong woman that Rhaegar was used to.

"I too have noticed her censure of you, and I will be speaking with her about it." Rhaegar told her.

"No, you must not. I will handle her in my own way." She smiled softly, but Rhaegar knew that look.

"Lyanna please do not make this more difficult." Rhaegar pleaded.

"Beloved, would I do anything like that? I was only going to talk with her." Lyanna said with a shrug.

Rhaegar shook his head but smiled at her. He could not fault her with try to fight her own battles. Her tenacity was one of the reasons he loved her so. However, it was also something he feared.

"Do be careful. I would hate to have to pick a side." Rhaegar said with a smile.

Lyanna just looked at him and wanted to shout that he not picking between his wives was the root of it all. However, Lyanna was not the impulsive child she had been the last time she was in Winterfell. She held her tongue and gave him a sad smile. She wanted to beg him to stay with her, to go into her room and hold her, to make love to her. She had not lied when she had told him she felt alone.

She had felt empty when she saw her brother with his family. The worst sting had been when Robert Baratheon and his family had entered. She choked back a sob at the memory of the naked love between Robert and his lady wife. She had once dreamed of having her husband look at her like that. Rhaegar had looked at her that way in the early days. Now however he looked guilty when he gave her a loving look, unless they were alone.

"Don't worry beloved I will do nothing to make you pick between Elia and myself." She told him softly. Right now, she wanted time away from him before she said something that hurt them both. He knew Elia would have harsh words for their shared husband.

Rhaegar left Lyanna when she entered the room. He gathered himself for the tirade Elia was going to give him. His first wife had changed the most in the last twenty years. She had never been carefree as Lyanna had, but she had never been harsh. She was now cold. Cold to Lyanna, cold to the children, cold when she was in court. She showed him warmth, but not the kind he wished for. He took a moment before entering his chamber.

When he did, she was not in the sitting room. He walked into the bedchamber and into the dressing room where her trunks had been placed and unpacked. The servants did not know that in a weeks' time the queen in this room would be vacating for the other.

"I think you can keep on your pants but you must change your doublet. I have one for you." She waved to the bed and he noticed a blood red doublet with the three-headed dragon embroidered on its back in red and smaller dragons done in gold on his breast. It would be fitting for the feast tonight. "You must also wear the crown." Her voice called.

He hated wearing the actual crown that signified his reign over his kingdom. But he saw her wisdom in this action. He sighed wearily but did not argue, he just started to change for the feast.

"What did Lyanna want? To whine about my unfair treatment of her?" Elia asked when she walked into the room in nothing but her shift holding her dress away from her body. Rhaegar's mouth went dry. Even after all their years together, she still made his pulse quicken. But he knew this was her intention so he turned his back on her.

"No, she did not mention that. But I have noticed your behavior." Rhaegar said, unbuttoning his jacket.

"My behavior? I have been nothing but proper and courteous to everyone." Elia said in a clipped tone.

"You have been harsh to Lyanna." Rhaegar took his coat off with a harsh tug.

"She has been acting like a child." Elia snapped. "She has been mooning around the castle. Filling the children's heads with stories. I could not sit by and allow a queen to act that way in front of so many dignified members of the ruling class."

"Elia this is the first time Lyanna has seen her family in twenty years." Rhaegar snapped. "If you remember you act foolish when you visit your families' seat."

"That is different. We never have the same pressures upon us when we visit our family in Sun Spear." Elia retorted.

"Lyanna knows the pressures we are under. We have to find a queen for our eldest son amongst the young women of the realm. And address the continuation of the taxation we placed upon everyone twenty years past. We are stable now and the rest of the realm will want that extra money to go into their coffers instead of ours." Rhaegar said wearily.

"That is exactly why I have reminded her of her duty. The other families all have motives we do not know. We need to be on guard. This is the first gathering of us all under one roof since the war. She is not doing her duty. She probably want's one of her brothers daughters to wed Aegon. Letting Jon go off with that girl, what were you thinking allowing him to do that?" Elia asked.

"I was thinking the two are cousins and they need to get to know each other." Rhaegar told her blandly.

"Jon looked half in love with the creature. She looks like Lyanna from years past. And the Baratheon's entrance was not as I planned. I had intended to be in the yard and put the man in his place before he faced you. Robert acted as if he had won the war." Elia was pacing the room now. She was nervous. Rhaegar had called her out and she felt as if she was wrongly being accused of deeds she had not committed.

"In a way he did." Rhaegar said as he sat to remove his boots. "He won the love of a woman, has fine children and is loved by the people of his lands. I on the other hand have to deal with ill-tempered women and children who think they are to grown for their father. The only thing I have is the love of an entire kingdom." His boot plunked to the floor and he looked up at his wife.

"You doubt my love of you? Of Lyanna's? She and I might have our differences, but we both love you." Elia walked over to him and touched his bowed head. "If we did not love you do you think either of us would be with you now?"

Rhaegar had grown weary of his wives battles over the years. He wanted them to be together again, as one family not two. The children tried. Rhaenys and Aegon loved Lyanna as if they were her children. Jon tried to love Elias, but his first wife's cold demeanor halted his attempts. Rhaegar tried to be affectionate with all his children equally. However, at times he found he loved one child more than the others and he suspected Elia felt this and he was saddened it could not be the children from her his deepest feelings found deepest love for.

Jon was the one, he felt, who would be the son who would lead when the long winter fell upon them all. He would unite more than the realm, but those from beyond the wall as well. He suspected Lyanna's stories had gone to his head, but he knew that was not true. He had scoured their realms history and knew the tales of the North were true. The dead would rise and the long winter would come again. He felt in his bones that the white raven would arrive and announce the end of summer any day now. He just hoped that he could strongly unite his people before that day came. Aegon was a summer child. Jon was the son of Winter Kings. When the night was at its longest, he would be the light in the night.

"Elia I tire from your games." He stood and walked away from the bed.

"I do not play games!" She snapped harshly at him. "I do the best for the kingdom."

"You do what is best for you. We both know that. I have seen the way the children prefer her to you. The way petitioners ask for Lyanna when they come before us." Rhaegar finally said what he had wanted to say for many years now. "The only thing you have is me."

"That's right. I only have you. The man I love." She sneered as she pulled her dress on. "Excuse me. I have to find my maid to tie the laces." She stalked out of the room.

Rhaegar watched her stalk out of the room. He knew he should go after her but he needed to gather his wits about him. He still had a realm to govern. His sons needed to find brides still. He had tired lords to contend with, and if Tywin Lannister had been any indication from the peoples, unhappiness from the price he placed on them after the war the others would be unpleased with him as well. He thrust his arms onto his doublet and left the room. He walked past Lyanna's room and made his way to his mother's chambers.

He entered the room without knocking. His mother was sitting by a fire in her bathing robe while a maid arranged her hair. She smiled warmly at him. His mother always gave him good council. Gods knew he needed some now.

"Mother." He sat down in a chair. He relaxed for the first time since they had started their journey.

"My dear son. What brings you here?" She asked as the maid placed a slim diadem on her head. Her hair arranged and her crown upon her brow her brow she waved the maid away.

"They are tearing me apart." He told her.

Rhaella looked at her son's face. She smiled at him, and she felt the lines next to her eyes show in stark relief to her otherwise still perfect complexion. He was still young, smart full of ideals, but also as thick as block of wood. His years were starting to show in the lines around his eyes, just as her had when she had been his age. His were worry lines caused from the tribulation the women he loved caused him. He was a splendid king, far better then her husband. Not one night went by that she missed the mad man she had been forced to wed. She only missed the son who was taken from her, but she pushed that thought aside.

"My darling boy. What has Elia done now?" She asked.

"How do you always know?" He asked.

"I am your mother. I know what is going on in your life." She answered with a smile as she stood and walked into her dressing room. She pulled on the lavender dress that matched her eyes. She laced the corset as tight as she could herself. She had no need to call her maid back in the room. She was old, past her prime. She left it loose and comfortable so she would be able to concentrate on the events around her, not the discomfort in her body.

She walked over to the chair across from her son and waited. This was their way. Since he had been a child, he had come to her for her opinion on things. The only thing he had never come to her with was Lyanna when he first fell for the girl. If he had, things might have happened differently.

As they sat, she inspected a fur-lined cloak that had been gifted to her by their hosts. It was the best craftsmanship she had ever seen. She decided she would ask Lady Stark who had made it and if they were available to come along south with them and work on her wardrobe.

"Mother when did Elia become so cold to everyone?" Rhaegar finally asked.

"That is easy to pinpoint. It was when Rhaenys started calling Lyanna mommy and the other queen was sought after more in court to preside over disputes for the common people. About eighteen years ago I think." Rhaella told him.

"That long ago? Does she hate Lyanna in truth? They were once so close. It was for them I took a second wife." Rhaegar stood and started to pace the room.

Rhaella let a chuckle escape her lips and he stopped to look at her.

"You wed Lyanna because you could, and you loved her. I sometimes think if we would not have forced you to marry when you had, Lyanna would have been your only queen now. But as that did not happen we will never know, like with so many things."

"Mother this is not helping me. How do I fix this? I cannot let Elia continue to chip away at all that Lyanna is for some vendetta over popularity. Nevertheless, I do not want to choose sides. They are both my wives and they need to feel like I love them." Rhaegar whined like a boy. He had never been a whiney child but there had been times when he had complained the way he was now.

"You are a great king. Wise, just, ruthless when the time calls for it, but when it comes to the queens you are as soft as a limp cock." She said to him and his mouth opened in shock. She had never spoken to him that way before. "You have to choose sides. Tell Elia she needs to grow up. Stop acting the cold bitch and tell Lyanna to come back alive again. They both gave up much to be with you, yet you do not make things easier on them." Rhaella said to her son.

"How can I make things easier on them? I already divide my time between them. I kill myself to make them happy when I am with them. How do you suggest I make it easier?" He demanded.

"For starters get rid of this damn once a week nonsense. Remind them they choose this life, even before you had. Make them spend a week together. Have nothing to do with either in private until they work things out. Then go back to the way it was. I know they never loved you at the same time but you all used to live as one family, not two. You have Lyanna and the children in one and Elia in the other. End this." Rhaella said.

"But Elia will see this as picking sides! I will not hurt her again!" Rhaegar said fiercely.

"How did you hurt her?" Rhaella asked, but she had her suspicions what the queen told her son.

"I hurt her by falling in love with Lyanna, by loving her more, by loving Jon more than my children from her." Rhaegar said sadly.

"That my son is complete shit, and we all know it. Next time she says that remind her who started the war, who took Lyanna away from her family. It was not you it was Elia. And if she has the nerve to throw you falling in love with Lyanna in your face you can be honest. Whatever your heart thinks tell her so, even if it is cruel. You have to get your house in order. This is not the time or place for the women to be at war. It is bad enough in Kings Landing. I am just sick of having the decor of the castle changed each week when the Head Queen is in your bed." Rhaella said. She was growing frustrated with them all the more she spoke to Rhaegar. She used the name Elia had discreetly asked the servants to call her when the king was not around. Just another way Elia broke Lyanna down.

"Mother I cannot humiliate them that way." Rhaegar said shocked by his usually calm mother's outburst.

She stood from her seat, pulling on her queenly mantel around her. She found that her son sometimes forgot she was once The Queen of The Seven Kingdoms. She gave him a hard look, her face no longer the loving mother, but a woman who had seen and done more than he could imagine.

"You must." She said in her queen voice that no man had ever been able to argue against. "If you don't put the woman in your life in place the other lords will see this as your weakness. Do you think Tywin Lannister is blind? Do you think that everyone has forgotten the madness your father had? This could be the cause the other lords need to accomplish their goal in replacing our family on the Iron Throne. You must think of this in those terms. You are not picking a side; you have no side except for the realm. You are the king Rhaegar. And it is time you reminded your Queens of this fact." Rhaella snapped at him.

Rhaegar stood there in her rooms with his mouth opened in shock. He had never thought of how his personal life would influence the rest of the kingdom. He had thought his marriages had tied the realm together. Now he was seeing his mother was right. The lions waited in the long grass, the roses were climbing the tower walls, the stags were in the forest coming closer. The wolves stayed back, but only because they knew of the darkness that was close to coming for them all. He had to act as a king and not a lovesick boy.

"Mother, I."

"Do not say anything to me son. Tonight will not be the time to sort this out, but it must be soon. Tomorrow perhaps? The Stark heir mentioned that there was to be a hunt in the afternoon. Speak with your queens then." She walked over to him and kissed his brow the way she had done when he was a boy. "Get your house in order. Once that is finished, we must find the future king a bride. I will have my comments on the young ladies for you on the morrow once I have seen more of their characters tonight at the feast."

"Elia thinks Jon is half in love with young Arya." Rhaegar told her. Rhaella laughed and shook her head.

"No the boy isn't in love with her, not that way. If anything, I would say those two are the same coin, just different sides of it. They should be allowed to grow close. We will need these Northern when the long winter returns to us." She smiled at him.

"You heed Lyanna's tales as well?" He asked.

"No I remember history. I am a scholar. It is what we do. Now away with you. The king cannot be late to his own feast." She said to him.

He offered her his arm. "Would you permit me the honor of escorting you to the Great Hall?"

"That would be kind King Rhaegar. But who will escort your wives?" She placed her arm on her son's and they left her rooms.

"Jon will take his mother, I suspect Elia will enter with Oberyn. It is better this way. Too many men over look you. This way you will not be forgotten." Rhaegar told her as they walked in the deserted hall.

"Have no fear my son. I may seem as tame as a kitten, but I am a dragon to my old bones." She said with an edge in her voice.

Xxxxxxxx

She felt as if she had been preparing for this feast her entire life. Her brothers may have learned sword, shield, and lance, but she had learned her combat as well. Smiles, kind words and subtle touches could turn a lost opportunity into just the one she had been waiting for.

"Do you think he will be wearing red?" Margaery asked her grandmother again.

"Yes girl. He is the crowned prince. His house colors are blood red and ash black. Now we had this dress made up months ago when we had intended you to go to court, but this works better for us." Lady Olenna told her yet again.

She looked at her reflection in the mirroring last time. Her long locks had been neatly arranged in loops that left her face bare yet gave the illusion that it was down and free. Her dress was made from the Targaryen colors of sand silk. She was glad the halls of Winterfell were not as cold as they had feared. They had one of the maids quickly fashion selves so her arms would not be so exposed, but the back of her dress was nonexistent. Another reason they had done her hair they way they had. Her breasts were clothes in black and stood out as the focal point of her gown. Her neckline was practically to her throat, yet in certain light, you could see past the material to her naked flesh.

"My dear gal you look the part of a queen tonight. If only we had a crown to place on your head." Olenna told her once she had turned away from the mirror. "We just need to apply your eye paints to make your lovely eyes even more fetching."

The waiting maid rushed over and Margery sat on a stool and allowed the servant to attend her. She was personally not interested in the art of applying paints to ones face, but her grandmother had said the prince would want someone startling and they should use all the tricks they had. The application was over in an instant but now Margaery had to sit still with her eyes closed while it dried.

"Now sweet child remember you must capture the heir's attention. The other would work as well but we need Aegon if we will see you on the throne." The old woman said while Margaery was stuck on her stool.

"I know grandmother. I will do my part. But you will have to watch Willis. He had seemed too interested in that Iron Born girl. I do not want him entangled with the likes of them. We should give the Stark girl to Willis." Margaery said with a sisterly concern in her voice, just the way her grandmother had taught her.

"I will watch him at the feast. He seems to get along well with the bookish Stark boy. We will keep the two of them around one another. I hope we can wed the Baratheon chit to him." Lady Olenna remarked as she looked over her granddaughter once more. "I think it is time we leave our chambers and have your brothers escort us to the feast."

Margaery stood and looked once more at her reflection. On impulse, she plucked a red rose from one of the flower arrangements in the room and tucked it in her hair. They were roses after all, despite the color being wrong. The two ladies made their way to the door and stepped out of their room. Loras was standing there with Renly leaning into him. They were whispering and smiling at one another. Their affair was one of the worst kept secrets of the kingdom, but they tried to be discrete in the presence of Lady Olenna.

"Grandmother, sister you look lovely as ever." Loras said sliding out from under Renly's arm.

"Margaery you look mouthwatering. If I were a different man I would be tempted to act like one of those Wildlings and carry you away." Renly said straightening and smiling a lazy grin.

"Renly we have a bigger plans for our sweet rose here then the likes of you. Now will you be the gentlemen you pretend to be and escort us to the feast." Olenna barked. She held out her arm for the rouge to take.

"As the lady demands." Renly took her arms and they walked to the mouth of the hallway. Loras and Margaery walked to their elder brother's room and entered. As they expected he was not dressed but was reading.

"Willas we have to leave for the feast now. Grandmother is on her way there with Renly. Come we must at least change your jacket." Margaery said as she hurried into the room, took the book from his hands, and placed it on the table.

"Do not loose my page." He demanded.

"Just hurry Willas. We need to get going." Margaery scolded as she got him to his feet and Loras came from the wardrobe with a jacket in his hands. The two worked quickly to change their brother. The three had done this dance many times over the years.

"Willas is that ink stains on your sleeve?" Loras demanded. He shook his head. "No time to change. Just do not pull on your cuffs like you do when you get nervous."

"I know what not to do Loras." Willas said. "This is not my first feast."

"But it is with all the families of the Seven Kingdoms present. You are the heir of Highgarden. Now let us catch up with grandmother." Loras told him.

The three walked out as fast as they could to catch up with the formidable queen of thrones. Willis was shuffling along while his sister tried to fix his hair as they walked. Margaery loved her brother but he was utterly hopeless in social situations.

"What are we going to do with you Willas?" She asked them when they were almost insight of the hall.

"Leave me to the books I love and do all other boring things like this yourself." Willas said, pushing her hand away from his shirt collar.

"That would be ideal, but I am not the heir." Margaery snapped. She ushered her brothers to a man dressed in the Stark colors. Margaery breathed a sigh of relief that the royal family was not yet in the room. She smiled as they were shown their places. The high table had been arranged with a long table on the dais. She briefly noted that it was nowhere near long enough for the entire group of visitors.

"You will be sitting at the lower high table." The man told the three of them as they walked to their grandmother. "The Lady Olenna will be at the high table with the Lord Stark, the king and the rest of the high lords. If you would like to see where you will sit I will escort you." The servant said warmly.

"That would be lovely." She smiled warmly to the man. It never hurt to be kind to servants. Margaery knew they always had the best gossip.

She looked at the table set directly under the dais. It mirrored the high table. Except where the high table had fifteen places, the lower table had twenty-three. She hoped that the prince would be placed at this lower high table. Her seat was fourth from the center seat on the left. It was not the most ideal place, but one she could live with. Loras would be four places from her, set on a corner of the horseshoe bend. She smirked that Renly would be placed on the other end of the table, so, would Willas. Once they were shown their places, she went to see how her eldest brother was fairing with their grandmother.

"Willis what have you been doing this whole time?" Olenna demanded. "You look as if you just dressed, and not washed the road from your body at all."

"I was distracted grandmother." He said sheepishly.

"We found him reading grandmother. Loras and I tried to make him presentable." Margery said as she came close to the pair.

"Willas you are the heir to Highgarden. You were indulged at our home, but there are people here who will judge us all based on how you look. Do you want to disgrace us all?" Olenna demanded.

"No grandmother. I was not thinking. I will do better in the future." Willas said meekly.

"Good lad. Ah look. There are the Lannister's. I would rather eat boiled eels than talk to that man and his imp son. Margery take me to my place. I know we are not permitted to sit until the king arrives, but I am old, they will forgive me." She slipped her withered arm into her young granddaughters and they walked up the dais to where Olenna would sit for the night. "Now girl the prince we want will be at the center of your table. You might not be able to talk with him at the feast, but once the dancing begins grab him and don't let him out of your sight."

They reached the older woman's seat and Margery smiled. She knew how to capture his attention while they supped. She wondered who would be on her right. If it was a man, she could flirt and flaunt.

"I have a plan grandmother. You will be able to see me the whole time." She pointed out where she was sitting, directly under her grandmother's watchful eye.

"Good. Now we must wait. Not to long now I think. I hope they have a good table tonight. I'm sick to death of road food." Olenna said with a sniff.

Tywin and his imp son Tyrion came to their end of the table and smiled at the pair of them. Margaery was struck at how two men could look so different yet be related.

"Lady Olenna, lady Margaery, greetings." Tyrion said as he drew close to them.

"Lannister and Lord Tywin." Olenna said in greeting.

"It would appear lady Margaery we will have the pleasure of sitting on this end of the lower high table. Such a strange name for where we are placed. I wonder why they did not just call it the children's table and have done with the farce." Tyrion said with a wicked twinkle in his eye.

"Will you hold your tongue?" Tywin demanded, standing behind his chair on the dais.

"Sorry father. I forgot myself." Tyrion said with false apology.

"Off with you now gal. Others are entering the room. Go mingle with the others until the royal family enters." Olenna said to Margaery.

Margaery curtsied to her grandmother and nodded her head to the two Lannister's. She turned to see who had entered the hall. Her eyes found that the Stark youths had entered and Margaery felt a pang of trepidation. Sansa and Arya were both stunning in their Northern dresses. They had traded in their welcome clothing for gowns of beautiful silks that shined in the light of the candles that blazed around the room. Sansa's dress was blue with a silver design of waves that gave the illusion to waves on the high sea. Her red hair was left down yet pulled back from her face. Margaery told herself she was the prettier of the two.

Her sight went to the other Stark girl. Her dress looked lovingly crafted. The dress was black as night, with the same silver thread as Sansa's woven into the cloth, making it shine. Her bust was encased in the fabric, yet she could see red under the bodice. Then her eyes traveled down to the flair of the dress and she saw that it was no dress, but a long jacket. Her legs were tightly encased in grey men's pants, with dark grey leather boots at her knees. Her hair was in a long braid thrown carelessly over her left shoulder. Her grey eyes were subtly painted with black, just as Margaery's had been. Margaery cursed silently. This northern girl was dressed in the same colors as her. And her strange costume would draw all eyes to this Stark girl, not to Margaery.

"Well isn't that a strange thing for a girl to wear to a royal feast?" A voice asked her.

Margery looked down to Tyrion Lannister where he stood sipping wine.

"I did not think we were permitted to consume anything until the king arrived." She said, effectively changing the subject.

The half man looked at his cup in surprise. "How did this get in my hand? Some passing servant gave it to me. What ever will I do?"

"Perhaps you would be so kind as to have a servant hand you two more cups?" Arianne asked gliding over to them. She held out her hands to Margaery in greeting and the two embraced. "We are to be dinner companions my friend."

"We are, how wonderful. You must tell me more about your family." Margaery said.

"They are Dornish, what else would you like to know?" Tyrion asked and to Margaery's shock, he had two full cups of wine for the two girls. "Do not looked so amazed Lady Margaery. One of the first things I do in any place I visit is make friends with the man who holds the wine."

Tyrion lifted his own glass to the man who had shown her to her seat. She inclined her head in thanks and sipped.

"Where is that uncle of yours Princess Arianne? I have a joke I would like to share with him." Tyrion asked.

"He is with my aunt, the Queen. They should be arriving shortly." Arianne said dismissively.

"How interesting." Tyrion left the girls and walked over to his brother.

"That man is off putting." Margaery said once they were alone.

"He does that on purpose. He does what a beautiful woman can do. He blinds people with his appearance so you do not realize what you say to him." Theon Greyjoy said from behind them.

Neither girl had realized he had been so close to them. Arianne recovered from the shock first.

"My lord Theon, you startled us."

"I apologize ladies. It would appear I will be dining with you this evening." He indicated the seat to the left of Margaery's. "I hope we will be able to share lively conversation."

"I am sure we will, my Lord." Margaery bestowed a warm smile upon him. He may not be her chosen target, but he would pass the time.

He opened his mouth to reply when the Baratheon family entered the room. Margaery watched the way the lord and lady entered. They were a striking couple. Robert was still tall and commanding, if slightly round from age. Cersei held herself like a queen. Her emerald dress was breathtaking. It showed her still slender shape despite bringing three children into the world. The velvet underdress had a sheer cloth over it with dancing stags covering the cloth. Margaery once again felt insecure in regards to her own dress.

"Why do they all have to have worn such splendidly crafted clothing?" Arianne said, looking at the Baratheon girls as they spoke with the female Starks.

"Because this is the only opportunity they will ever have to show themselves off." Margaery said more sharply then she intended.

"You are stunning my friend. That dress will catch as more eyes tonight then any of the others." Arianne told her.

"Your dress is beautiful as well." Margery said, looking her friend up and down.

Arianne wore a dress that looked like a setting sun. Golden yellow at the top and a red so dark it was almost black at the bottom with every shade between. Her bust was accented with an ornate gold belt with a shining sun tooled on the piece.

"When the dancing starts everyone will forget those creatures." Arianne was looking at the Stark heir as she spoke.

Lady Lysa entered with her son and an old man on her arm. The woman was in a dress meant for a girl not a woman of her age. It was no secret that Lysa Arryen had changed since her husband's death, but this show of frivolity was too much for Arianne. She giggled behind her hand and Margaery joined in. During their laughter, Edmure Tully entered and took his nephew, showing him his place at the lower table.

"That is everyone but the hosts and the royal family." Margery said taking a quick count of those assembled.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the doors behind the dais opened and lord and Lady Stark entered the room. Everyone stopped their discussions and waited for the royal family to enter. The Stark children made their way to their parents who would formally announce the start of the feast after offering welcome once the King entered.

Prince Aegon escorted Princess Rhaella and Princess Daenerys on his arm. They were variations of their house colors. Margaery smiled at her grandmother at the woman's cunning in matching her dress to the prince so well. His clothing was cut in the Dornish fission, not those of the capital. Rhaenys wore the typical princess dress, nothing breathtaking about it. Dany wore a dress similar to Arya's. Margaery wondered where the two had found their clothing. They walked to the opposite side of the Starks waiting for the rest of their family.

Prince Jon entered with his mother Queen Lyanna. Both were in house Stark colors. Jon wore the white and grey of his mother's former house while the queen's gown reminded Margaery of armor. Her top looked like a breastplate of white cloth and her skirt was silver cloth linked to appear to be mail. It was an awe-inspiring gown to be sure. She looked like a warrior queen with her silver crown on her head.

"She did not enter with the king." Margaery whispered to Arianne.

"Neither will my aunt." Arianne whispered back.

Margaery looked to her grandmother who looked to be calculating something in the wickedly clever mind she possessed.

Queen Elia entered on her brother's arm. Both wore house Martell colors. They made a stringing pair, in their flaming garb. The queen's dress was a capitol creation, but still stunning. She looked every inch of the benevolent queen with her golden crown atop her head.

The assembled nobles watched as the King walked to the room with his mother the dowager Queen. If the two queens that proceeded her had looked their part this night the dowager queen looked even more so. Her gown was sweeping to the floor in a lavender silver color that made her kind eyes standout in her face. Margaery often forgot that the Kings mother still lives, but seeing the woman now she realized this woman was the most formidable of the three queens in the realm.

King Rhaegar wore his dragon crown and stood tall above them all. They all bowed to the king and he inclined his head to the room.

"My King, we offer you welcome to our hall." Ned said to his lord.

"My thanks Lord Stark for the hospitality. If it would please you I call the start to the feast." The king said with a smile playing over his mouth.

At the kings words the rest of the guests took their seats. Margaery smiled as she sat, knowing tonight would alter the lives of many.

A/N: I know, it just stopped. But I was told that I should split this chapter in half so we didn't have a MONSTER of a chapter like the last one. Coming up, lots of food, conversations that mean nothing and everything, dancing of sorts and much more. Send me a review about what you thought of this chapter. Thanks for reading!