It looked like some kind of massive renaissance fair. According to command staff and members of the construction, the area was being set aside for the so-called wedding between the captain and the former queen. Bayani had seen the woman before, moving through the Plataea and then through New Currahee with her spartan escort. He envied the captain a little; the purple eyes were exotic and the white hair didn't do much to make her seem older or less beautiful. Being married to a woman that looked like that was a dream come true.

Even with the technical head of the UNSC getting hitched, he knew that there wouldn't be many UNSC personnel attending the event. Showing up and taking part in the festivities meant having to deal with medieval nobles, and while that sounded fun on the surface, members of the crew who had to do it frequently complained about any number of things.

From what he could gather, less than a fifty or so crewmen were going to be in attendance, and most of them were spartans who had spent time embedded with the natives either with important VIPs, or in the war protecting UNSC interests. Bayani was one of only a dozen or so non-spartan crew that would be attending.

The reason for his attendance however was coming up the road. She wore plain clothes, though well made, and when she picked him up out of the crowd by the gate her mouth opened into a wide, toothy smile, white and shiny thanks to toothpaste and a trip to the dental suite.

"Lord Bayani." She curtsied slightly while giggling.

"Just Bayani, Maegelle" He tried to correct her. Technically since he was a part of the 'House of Terra' as the UNSC was called on this planet, he technically counted as a noble, but that really only applied to anyone who wasn't part of the crew. Granted, Maegelle wasn't a crewman and so had been fed that information, so he wasn't really mad that the sometimes called him milord.

"Is this the pavilion for the Lord and the Queen's wedding?" She asked excitedly, quickly scanning the area where tabled were being set up, cloth and banners hung to demarcate seating, paths set up to allow for easy movement.

"Yep, this is it, but I'm telling you, it'll look a lot better in a few days."

"In a few days they say that the ships from Dorne, the Reach and the Stormlands will arrive." Maegelle nearly squealed. "Amazing. The King and Queen will be here, and we'll be sitting here, close enough to see them."

Bayani smiled at Maegelle's glee. The Plataea had been stranded on the planet, which the egg heads were still arguing about the name of, for nearly five years. Of course, in the last four months the captain and command staff had informed everyone of the fact that they'd be stuck for the foreseeable future, but that hadn't started the fraternising with the locals. Soldiers by nature were curious and hungry, so when Onyx; the local settlement to match New Currahee, had sprung up, the crew had been more than happy to start subtly exploring. It was no coincidence that one of the first businesses outside the walls that had sprung up was a brothel. UNSC soldiers were almost like royalty, always with local currency to spend and willing to try a whole host of things.

Not that Maegelle was a prostitute. She was the daughter of a cobbler. Old for an unwed woman in this society, and it sickened Bayani at the time to learn that twenty-two was considered old. She'd been endlessly curious when she had caught him heading towards the brothel. Bombarding him with questions, a lot of them about the schools where she apparently attended some of the classes to take some of the burden of feeding her off of her family. Maegelle had three older brothers and two older sisters, all of whom were married and four of whom had children of their own. With the size of Onyx and its continued growth, there was always work for a family of cobblers, making and repairing shoes, but not enough to support the whole family without some of them breaking off into different trades.

Maegelle had hoped that what she could learn in the schoolhouses could give her a better value in the marriage market, something that he had been more than a little offput by. Instead, she had found a hunger for knowledge that had her returning at every opportunity to participate in classes. She tore through the material at a frightening rate according to her tutors, and then when what she could learn in her classes wasn't enough, had apparently started approaching random UNSC personnel with the hopes of learning more.

He hadn't known what had made him stop when she approached him. Maybe it was the earnest desire for learning, maybe it was the excited way she moved her hands when she asked about planetary orbits and her rudimentary understanding of gravity. Bayani could admit at least a little of it had been the fact that even after a life in the Middle Ages, she was still drop dead gorgeous. Maybe it hadn't been any one of them so much as a combination.

Whatever the case, he had paused his visit to the Setting Sigh; a tacky name for a brothel but who was he to judge, and gone with her to a restaurant in New Currahee. Crossing over from the local town into the UNSC section had come with some red tape, but it had been worth it then, and every time since, to see her face light up in awe at the constructions.

Some of his fellow navy crew had heckled him over taking an interest in her. Bayani was after all an enlisted crewman on a 26th century warship, and she was a medieval peasant girl who had only recently learned how to read. In the beginning he'd gotten a few remarks, but over time, with the increase in the number of his fellow crewmen who were finding their own partners, either amongst natives or the rest of the crew, it died down.

Now he was firmly in the middle of an honest relationship with Maegelle, though she called it courting, and it had been going decently well. Her family hadn't put up a single complaint. As far as they knew, their daughter could end up marrying into nobility, and Bayani's own quarters, now significantly bigger since leaving active service, were more than enough to house them both. They'd been living together almost a week now, and so far, they'd run into only a few problems. Mostly they were culture clashes between modern UNSC ideas and her own Westerosi standards, but thankfully they'd managed to work through those aspects of their new relationship.

Bayani realised he'd gotten lost in thought as Maegelle nudged his shoulder, looking over inquisitively.

"What is on your mind love?" She asked, grasping his hand, and threading her fingers with his.

"Nothing. Just thinking about how long we're been doing this?" He shook his head

"Courting?"

"Yeah. It's been good, hasn't it?"

Maegelle's face, which had grown concerned, broke into a smile.

"It has. I am so glad to have met you that day. I can't imagine how things might have been different. Everything you've shown me, all the things I've learned, It's amazing."

"That's good, but I meant less on the learning side and more on our 'courting'."

The word still sounded weird to him even as he said it.

"Our courting?" She asked. "Of course I'm happy with it. You're a good man Bayani. You're kind, and gentle and handsome, and you don't care that I love my classes so much. I couldn't ask for a better man to take my hand."

He relaxed slightly as she spoke.

"That's good. I guess I'm just a little nervous. There's a lot of differences between how we do things in the UNSC and how your people do things here. Sometimes it's a little difficult figuring out how that mixed. You know what I mean?"

"I do. The classes showed me how much more your people know than we do. It's no wonder you think so differently than we do. I'm sure even the maesters would be shocked with how much knowledge you give out freely."

She leaned into him and pecked Bayani quickly.

"But I'm glad I got the chance to explore all of this, and more than that, I am glad to explore it with you, Bayani."

As he returned her kiss with one of his own, she indulged him briefly before pulling him along through the area being set up for the wedding. Throughout the day the two explored many of the entertainments and stalls that were being made up to cater to the lordly parties that would be arriving soon. Maegelle nearly swooned when she saw the native Queen Rhaella observing the area with her spartan guard detail. Bayani saluted briefly when the captain arrived a few minutes later, discussing with his bride-to-be about several things to do with the ceremony.

The most interesting thing had been the request by several members of the spartan corps, headed by Joeseph; the representative for the spartans amongst the pre-colonial command staff.

Apparently, there was some kind of hymn that the IIIs wanted to perform after the ceremony, which surprised Bayani. He had only been stationed on the Plataea for a few weeks before they'd come to Westeros, and in that time, he'd learned that the Spartans were a close-knit group.

He'd heard rumours about the 'graduation ceremony' that the spartans had, but the Hymn had always been near mythical in how little of it was known to the crew at large. Apparently, it was something carried over from the ODSTs who had helped train the first company, and every new class was taught it before they underwent their augmentations.

The fact that they were willing to perform it at the captain's wedding was a big deal, and the captain made no small show of appreciation, as did the native queen. Heading home with Maegelle that night, Bayani wondered how many of his fellow crewmembers would be interested in attending this ren faire if he let it slip that little bit of info.

Rhaella woke up one week before her wedding in much the same way she woke up every morning. The sun shone through the curtains of her room, set by a timer to separate, and let in the morning light. Rising from her bed, she only briefly tensed, half dreading that Aerys or one of his kingsguard might enter to confront her.

Some days the fear was more fleeting than others, but today it seemed that her nerves regarding her upcoming nuptials had caused her traumas to rear their ugly heads more severely today. Rubbing her arms, Rhaella took deep breaths, trying to recall all that Dr. Mitsushima had told her. She reminded herself that Aerys was gone, that she was safe in her room. Glancing over, she saw the deadbolt on her door, as well as the other manual locks that she had asked to have installed. The ability to bar her room was one that she had requested of Lord Kurt, who had been more than happy to grant it. It made her feel safer, to know that she got to choose who entered her rooms and when.

Throwing off her blanket, Rhaella luxuriated in the soft downy mattress and its comfort. That bit of lounging over, she rose and made her way over to the crib kept just beside her bed. Daenerys slept soundly inside, wrapped in blankets, and looking content. The former queen smiled seeing her daughter's face. She was healthy and hale and unburdened sickness or flaw. After so many miscarriages and stillbirths, of children who died mere moons into their lives, seeing her child with full, rounded cheeks and a healthy rosy tone to her skin was a joy she could not find it in herself to let go of.

More than that, Rhaella was glad that her daughter had started sleeping with more regularity. It was one of the only times she had missed her maids and wetnurses, who had taken over for her during the raising of Rhaegar and Viserys. Daenerys had no such caretakers for Rhaella to hand her off to, and so the former queen had been blessed as it was, with the experience of trying to get her newborn daughter to sleep.

Through the first few months, her young child had been restless, awaking at all times of the day and night. She screamed for milk, cried for attention, and wailed to be changed and burped. Rhaella had long ago been told that strong children had healthy cries and large lungs, and if that was true Daenerys was sure to grow into a girl of truly terrifying might. She seemed utterly unhappy unless she was receiving attention of some kind whether it was from her mother or any of her other caretakers when Rhaella was busy.

Even Lord Kurt had once been drafted to watch over her daughter when Jane, utterly overwhelmed with the task of caring for a babe, had handed Daenerys over to her captain. Rhaella had tried very hard to crush the slight wave of jealousy when she had come to her soon to be husband's office to find Daenerys happily sleeping, fastened to Lord Kurt's chest while he dutifully filled out discharge forms for his house's crew.

Since then, she had learned that her daughter absolutely loved being in the air. She rarely slept without first being held aloft and comforted. It had been that revelation that had finally gotten her daughter to sleep fully through nights not even a week ago.

Thankfully, it seemed that her daughter would stay asleep for at least a little while longer. Unlatching her door, Rhaella stepped out into the small corridor that led to her living room. Her current quarters were nowhere near as large as those she had had in the Red Keep. However, these rooms made up for the lack of space by having all of the luxuries that the UNSC called normal. At the end of the corridor was the living room; a large area with a balcony, kitchen, and studies for both herself and Viserys. Not that her son used his own study for work. Instead, it had become what Jane had called a studio.

Viserys had discovered quite an artistic streak since they'd been demoted from royalty. At times it reminded Rhaella of Rhaegar. However, unlike her first son, who had excelled at music, her second son had found his talent with more visual arts. He painted with a deft hand, spending hours sketching. One day, Viserys had spent the entire day on their balcony, drawing the view at every hour until he had depicted the sky from dawn until dusk with an accuracy that had almost astounded his mother.

This morning though, it seemed that he had chosen not to rise with the sun, as he had started to do to capture the colours of the sunrise. Sighing and taking in the silence of her home, Rhaella made her way into the kitchen. Pulling open the door of the refrigerator, another marvel that she had gotten shocking used to in the moons since she began to call New Currahee home, she poured herself a glass of chilled orange juice. Grabbing two pieces of bread from its container, she placed them in the toaster, gathering butter and other spreads and arranging them as she waited for her breakfast to finish.

Looking out at the quickly changing countryside from the vantage of her balcony, Rhaella could see the structures built to hold the visiting nobility who had come to attend her wedding. There were nine such structures, meant to cater to the nine distinct pieces of the Seven Kingdoms. She picked out the building built to accommodate the Dornish without much difficulty. In the morning light it shimmered with all the glass, allowing the sun in but also making it a glimmering beacon to anyone who cared to look.

Rhaella knew that within those glass walls, Elia waited for her. Just yesterday a servant had conveyed her good-daughter's desire to speak with her, something that she had every intention of fulfilling. She and Elia had been exchanging letters the last few moons, but it would be good to see her in person, perhaps learn more about how her grandchildren were faring than she might from parchment.

The newly toasted bread popped up from the machine, something that Rhaella still didn't fully understand, but didn't question. Taking a knife, she slathered butter and jam on the bread in equal measure before biting happily into the flavourful meal. Reclining on the plush couch, Rhaella relished in a touch of unladylike behaviour and rested her feet on the table, stretching out her legs.

When she had still been queen, residing in the Red Keep and burdened with all that being Aerys' queen entailed, Rhaella would never have thought she could shirk the responsibilities of being a high lady and act as she had been. Over the last four moons however, in addition to aiding her in overcoming all of her first husband's abuses, Dr. Mitsushima had been encouraging her to find what things brought her joy. What it ended up being was irrelevant, only that she enjoyed it independent of anyone else. She hadn't had as many chances as her healer had recommended, given that she was still taking care of a newborn and a young son, but one thing that she had found was that she enjoyed the relaxation of lazing about, completely free of expectations and the propriety of nobility. She didn't know who amongst the UNSC had invented sweatpants, but they had become one of her new favourite things, alongside indoor plumbing, and the refrigerator.

Whatever peace she had acquired in solitude was lost however, when Rhaella heard the door to Viserys' rooms open. Her son wandered into the living room and then the kitchen, hair still damp from his morning shower.

"Good morning Viserys." She greeted her son, sitting up properly.

"Morning mother." Viserys yawned, gathering his own preferred breakfast, and readying himself for the day.

The young former prince had adapted well to their change in circumstance. Truthfully, she did not think that he fully understood what had been taken from him, only really seeing what had been gained instead. Viserys no longer had servants to cater to his every whim as he had had in Kings Landing, but had gained instead luxury beyond what he would have had, even as a prince of the realm. He learned at the schools of the Plataea's maesters, and as such gained an education that the greatest of lords and kings would envy. His exposure to other children had even tampered down some of the ill habits he had gained from watching his father.

Rhaella could still remember the day she had been called to the schoolhouse and told that Viserys had nearly broken another child's arm after a confrontation. Her son had at first been defiant, touting their status as some form of excuse, and for a moment she had feared the look of haughty bluster.

That fear had been quickly addressed when the teacher had actively punished Viserys, and when her son had invoked her and Lord Kurt's names in an attempt to escape punishment, the teacher had merely fixed him with an unimpressed look and proceeded to speak with her about how to curb such behaviour. It had been two months since then, and with both her disapproval, alongside Jane's stern scolding, Viserys had begun to change. Jane's intervention at her request had been the first time in a while that she had gone to her old friend with a request, and it seemed that Viserys' previous infatuation with her had made him more receptive to their attempts to correct his future actions.

"I will be having lunch today with Elia. I have asked that Daenerys' caretaker extend her time to watch over her. Will you be alright being alone for some of the day after your lessons?"

"Yes mother." He huffed. "Today we are supposed to be reviewing our numbers, and some of us were promised the chance to use wood in our artistic classes."

He puffed his chest up proudly.

"Jane says that I have a natural talent for wood-work. She said she might let me use her wood burning set over the week's end."

The look of pride on her son's face brought a smile to Rhaella's own. Jane's proficiency with wood-work had been born during her time in King's Landing, and it seemed that she had continued the hobby even when she no longer needed it to assimilate amongst her former ladies in waiting. She and Viserys had come to use it as a means to bond, which Rhaella was deeply happy with.

"Well, I hope you enjoy you lessons today. Pease make sure to be home in time for dinner though. We will have a preparatory meal with Lord Kurt in advance of the wedding."

Viserys nodded enthusiastically. Though he and Lord Kurt were not close, her son showed due respect to his soon to be step-father. More than that, Viserys had been looking forwards to the chance to try the lavish wedding foods that would be served that night for weeks.

"Of course, mother. Have a good day with Lady Elia. I love you."

"I love you as well my son."

Finishing his meal with a few large bites, Viserys was out of their door, on his way to his morning lessons. Rhaella waited patiently, knowing that Viserys might return in case he had forgotten something, but it seemed not to be.

The rest of the morning, to her relief, was a normal one. Daenerys woke without much trouble, and only cried a few times, each with purpose as opposed to cries for attention or from boredom.

By the time the middle of the day arrived, Rhaella was up and about, having left her home with her daughter laid down in a pram. Another of the things she had come to enjoy were her daily walks through New Currahee. The coming of spring had warmed the island significantly, and though there was still the chill of the ocean breeze coming from the coast, some thicker clothing and extra blankets for her daughter made sure they were both quite comfortable.

In King's Landing, walking such as she was would have been impossible. In the Red Keep she would have to be accompanied by guards and ladies constantly, to keep her well in sight. Trying anything outside the keep would have made it even more chaotic, with guards brought in and stewards added to plan out their route to prevent attacks or other problems. More than the solitude of her outings, Rhaella found that what she truly enjoyed about such walks was that she could decide when and where to go, without needed to consult anyone or be surrounded by courtiers, caretakers, and spies.

Returning as the clock struck just past noon, Rhaella handed Daenerys over to her caretakers, who wished her a good day as the former queen made her way to the residences of the Dornish nobility. As she arrived, she was escorted by the Dornish guards to the Martell residences on the top story of the building.

"Queen Rhaella." Prince Doran greeted her at the elevator.

The prince was surrounded as he greeted her, and both he and his guards looked dressed to venture out of their residence.

"Prince Doran." She returned the greeting pleasantly. "You know you do not need to refer to me as queen any longer."

"And yet I still will, as will many of the realms." Doran nodded. "My sister awaits you. I hope you and she can have a good day with the wedding coming so soon."

"I as well Prince Doran."

The Prince of Dorne and his entourage took her place in the elevator, leaving Rhaella to find her good-daughters rooms. Sitting at one of the tables brought out onto a balcony, Elia Martell basked in the growing warmth of spring. Perhaps it was the letters, but Rhaella almost felt lost as she regarded her son's widow. Elia had always looked off in the colours of their house. She seemed restrained by the blacks and reds that she would often wear around the Red Keep.

Now Elia was dressed in loose oranges, yellows, and more vibrant reds than the bloodier colouring her house seemed to favour. Or perhaps it was only that she was finally away from the teeming cesspool of betrayal and madness that was King's Landing under Aerys. Rhaella would not have been surprised to fine it was the later.

"Rhaella." Elia rose jubilantly from her seat, keeping a brisk pace and taking her by the hand.

The two sat on one of the couches that were spread around the living quarters of Elia's rooms. Much like her own chambers in New Currahee they contained they own attacked bedrooms and bathing areas. The two of them laughed heartily about how much Elia had missed the easy sewage of the Plataea.

It was perhaps more amusing than it should have been for the two, just how many of Dorne's nobles had chattered about the water in their accommodations. The two women were already used to the seemingly magical convenience of many of House Terra's inventions, but it seemed that many of her countrymen, and likely lords and ladies from across the Seven Kingdoms, would be discussing how they might gain those secrets if nothing else.

Ashara joined them soon after. The lady of Starfall had spent her day out and about; exploring with her brothers and sister. Elia wondered whether her friend might have seen Eddard Stark, or any of the Starks who would be attending the celebration, but it seemed that it was not to be. It was only the first true day that the Dornish had been settled though, so she knew there was plenty of time yet for her to speak with her son's father.

It was a comfortable afternoon for her. The food was well prepared and flavourful, with complements to the cooks who seemed to be more than happy to experiment with the new equipment in their lodgings. The conversations flittered between a multitude of topics, and only rarely intersected with her upcoming marriage. She learned much about how her two grandchildren were faring; happy and healthy according to Elia. They even spoke at length about what deals might be made between Houses Martell and Terra with the new peace going strong and the wedding about to end.

By the time Rhaella returned to her home, changing her clothes and checking Viserys and Daenerys on their own dress, she felt lighter than she had the day before, and more than ready to engage in the rehearsal meal that Lord Kurt had arranged for them before the wedding itself. It was slightly late, according to him, but better to find out what foods they liked now so that they would be served what they enjoyed at the wedding itself.

This was originally going to be a little longer, and cover the dinner itself, but I just couldn't get it right and so I cut it off a little early. Next chapter should be the wedding itself, so look forwards to that, and I hope to get it done by end of June.

I mentioned in the chapter that the spartans have a hymm they will perform for the wedding, just wanted to ask the readers if I should put it in or not. Let me know. Short author's note this time, but I don't have much to say and I'm really tired right not. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.