Chapter 8
It's been a week since Pycelle and Bealish were executed. Father allowed me to swing the sword and I could tell Lord Stark was particularly pleased with my decision. Hopefully it earned me some brownie points. All of Baelish's assets and properties were given to the crown. The three brothels he owned are now owned by the crown even though I said having a total of 5 brothels in one city was ridiculous, Father disagreed of course. Though soon he won't have a say. After liquidating all his assets we have enough money to pay half of the crown's debt to the iron bank. The unnamed keep of House Baelish is currently under the crown's ownership as well. Maybe I can give it to Jon or Gendry.
Uncle Tyrion has been busy at work this week trying to fix the mess that Baelish left us in. I have to admit he does make a good Master of Coin. I am currently waiting for him in my office so I can discuss a trip I want him to make for me.
"You will be happy to know that I have just met with Ros who will be running Baelish's brothels and she said business has picked up since Baelish lost his head," Tyrion says smirking as he pours wine.
"Well, then she will be the most disappointed when I take the crown. As I have a plan for those brothels that does not include prostitutes," I deadpan. His face instantly changes to horror.
"WHAT?!" he yells, grabbing his chest and hyperventilating.
"You are so dramatic. King's Landing only needs one brothel," I say rolling my eyes.
"Next you will outlaw prostitution," he says, wiping tears from his eyes.
"That is actually a good idea,Uncle," I say contemplating if I really should do that.
"NO! PLEASE MERCY!" He yells falling to the ground and weeping.
"Fine, Fine you may keep your prostitutes," I say absolutely done with this conversation.
"I truly do not understand your hatred of brothels," he states confusingly.
"Of course you don't. Anyway I have asked you here because I have a job for you. I need you to make a trip to the Iron Bank in Bravoss. Use the money we got from Baelish to pay off the debt. Let me know how much more you need before you leave. I will send you with two Kingsguards. I want you home in time for the trial. Also I need you to visit the Twins on your way home," I explain.
"The Twins? What do you want with Walder Frey?" He asks, confused.
"I want him to join the Lannister's if there is to be a war," I say simply.
"You want him to join my Father just to turn around and betray him?" he asks, putting the pieces together.
"Yes, that's exactly what I want. Knowing him he will want to pass off more of his spawn. Make sure he understands I will marry No One except Sansa Stark. Sansa will accept another handmaid however. You can take a son or grandson for a squire, I suppose another can squire for Tommen," I speak though I am deep in thought. Could I marry Greyjoy to a Frey?
"I am not a knight, I do not need a squire," he replies.
"He will not care, he just has too many kids and nowhere for them to go. Since Theon Greyjoy is a Ward of House Stark it would be up to Lord Stark to arrange a marriage for him, yes?" I ask.
"He is only a ward for House Stark because your Father commanded it. So technically Lord Stark or the King can arrange a marriage for him," he explains.
"Alright so if Lord Walder insists on a marriage tell him that Theon Greyjoy will marry one of his daughters or granddaughters but he will get to choose whom it is," I say after contemplation. "You know Uncle, you could always offer yourself up for marriage," I taunt.
"If you command me to marry for an alliance I will happily agree but never to a Frey," he says seriously.
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"Lord Stark, I was wondering if I could speak with you for a minute?" I ask while walking into the Hand's office.
"Of course," he says, putting down the parchment he was reading.
"I know we left Winterfell very quickly but I had invited Theon Greyjoy to come to the Capital with us so I could try to bring the Iron Islands into the fold. I was just wondering if you could send for him," I explained.
"Of course. Are you trying to make alliances in preparation for the war?" He asks.
"Yes, actually. Unfortunately my siblings are too young for many of the High Lord's children. I was contemplating using Greyjoy to make a marriage alliance," I say hoping for his opinion.
"Yes, that would be smart. My son Robb also needs to marry soon. My wife has put it off long enough," he responds.
"Sansa and I were going over handmaidens for her, Margaery Tyrell is 16. I'm told she is beautiful and smart, however she has ambitions on becoming Queen. Maybe an alliance with House Tyrell will be good for both the crown and the North, afterall Winter is Coming," I say with a knowing smile.
"Yes, they are the second richest family in Westeros. I was also wondering if you were going to make any changes on the council?" he asks.
"Yes, I want to add a few positions. I plan to keep Varys as my master of whispers, everyone else is replaceable," I say with a shrug.
"What of your Uncles?" he asks with confusion.
"Oh, well I wanted it to be a surprise when I announced it in court but I plan to make Uncle Stannis Hand of the King. I think Uncle Tyrion has done a very good job as master of coin but I plan to make a new position for him. Uncle Renly has no business being on the council, I plan to talk with him soon. He is Master of Law but he allows the gold cloaks free reign of the city and I'm not even sure he actually knows our laws. Not to mention Storm's End has been run by a Penrose for decades when the rightful Lord was given Dragonstone instead! Honestly Father has left me with such a mess to clean up! The Seven Kingdoms better be glad I'm not more like my Mother," I vent while pacing back and forth.
"Well, Stannis will be a good Hand. He is strict and serious but honorable, I hold a lot of respect for him. I thought when you made Tyrion Master of Coin it was a mistake but he has proven himself and it has only been a week. I am afraid Renly basically raised himself after the ship crash and Robert just let him do whatever he wants but if you try to take Storm's End from him, he will show the fury the Baratheon's are so known for," he explains in a calm voice. Honestly if Ned didn't hate it so much here I would keep him around, he is amazing in every way. After saying my goodbyes I leave and start heading back to my office. As soon as I get there Gendry and Jon walk in.
"Why the long face, brother?" Gendry asks as he and Jon sit at the table.
"Uncle Renly," I groaned.
"Oh I have heard rumors about him. Hopefully they are not truthful," Jon says with a grossed out look on his face.
"Oh, They are true. I caught Him and Loras Tyrell hiding in the back corner of the gardens just the other day," Gendry says, shaking his head.
"Is the practice common in the South? In the North I have never heard of men with other men," Jon asks with confusion on his beautiful face. Oh, if only I was a girl in this life.
"It's more common than most would like you to believe. Have either of you ever been interested in a man?" I ask curiously. Gendry just shakes his head with a shrug, Jon just gives me a disgusted look. "Do not look at me like that! It was a question, I believe everyone should be able to love who they want. You do not always get to choose who you love, sometimes it just happens. If I was not in love with your sister, I would spend a month in Dorne," I explain with a smile.
"Dorne?" Jon asks.
"Oh yes. I'm sure you have heard of the Red Viper, Oberyn Martell. I have met him only once and very briefly a few years ago and he was the most attractive man I've laid eyes on," I say daydreaming. Why did I have to be Joffrey?
The two look at each other before they start laughing. I will soon join them. Moments like this are why I'm grateful for being given another chance. There wasn't much laughter in my old life and even with wars and white walkers and dragons, I still have moments of pure happiness. It's because of this I won't let anyone mess up what I've managed to build here so far.
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"You wanted to see me, Nephew?" Renly says walking into my chambers.
"Yes, come I have Lunch out for us," I say sitting at the table sipping wine.
We sit and eat for a few moments before I sit back and just look at him. Renly is a very pretty man. If he was born a girl all seven kingdoms would want him.
"Uncle, I want you to know that even though we do not have a close relationship, I do love you," I started wanting to ease into this.
"As I love you, Nephew. Is something the matter?" he asks, setting his fork down.
"Well, I have yet to hear from Tywin and Uncle Tyrion is convinced he would rather go to war and agree to the deal. If we are facing a war I just want to be prepared for it. Which means as my Master of Law I need you to step up. You have allowed the gold cloaks to do whatever they want in my city. Crime is higher than ever and should we go to war it will only get worse," I tried to calmly explain to him.
"My brother does not seem to have a problem with how I run things," he says, shrugging off my concerns.
"You are right but I am telling you this right now. I will not be the kind of king my Father is. Either you do your job correctly and to the best of your abilities or I find someone who will. Not only that but Storm's End OUR families ancient castle has been run by a Penrose since Grandfather and Grandmother died. Now I know you were far too young and it was my Father's responsibility but my Father named YOU Lord of Storm's End. He choose you over your OLDER brother Stannis and instead of proving that you can be just as good a lord or even a better lord than him, you choose to let other people do everything for you," I tell him. I figured ripping off the bandaid would be best. Maybe I can get him on the right track. By the time I'm done, his fists are clenched and he has tears forming in his eyes.
"Is that truly how you see me?" he asks quietly.
"I'm not the only one who sees you this way Uncle, but ONLY you can change how people see you. You're a good fighter, one of the most charming men in the seven kingdoms. I'm going to be honest, my plan when I took the crown was to remove you completely from the capital. I thought you would only hinder my rule but you are my Uncle, I don't want to do that. However, I am willing to do whatever is best for all the seven kingdoms I will rule," I say as seriously as I can.
"You will be a great King, Joffrey," he says with a small smile wiping the tears from his eyes.
"How about instead of being my Master of Law, I make you the Crown's Ambassador. I wanted to create the position to create unity between the Kingdoms. Basically if I wanted to make an alliance, treaty, or deal and I could not go myself I would send you to negotiate on my behalf. I believe that position would be better suited for your skills," I think up. I want to put Tyrion in this position but no matter his skills with talking, if we were to go to war with the Lannister's then my allies won't trust another Lannister.
"I think I would like that," he says with a smile.
"Now onto the next business. I am aware of your preference for men, I'm not judging I promise. I've had some sinful thoughts about a few high born Lord's myself. My only concern is you having an heir and a wife. Due to the war I've been trying to make alliance's and everyone seems to only trust marriage alliances nowadays," I say with a sigh.
"I never would have thought that you would prefer men!" he exclaims with disbelief.
"That's all you got out of that? And I do NOT prefer men. I'm in love with Sansa Stark but if Sansa were to one day allow me to invite say... oh....Oberyn Martell to our bed one day I would not object," I shrug before gulping down wine. I did not think this conversation would turn out this way.
"I will never be able to look at you the same ever again," he says laughing.
"As I was saying, I'm trying to make marriage alliances. Particularly with House Martell, Arianne Martell is the eldest child of Prince Doran and due to Dorne's customs she will be the next to rule. Now from what I heard she is a lot like her Uncle Oberyn and prefers both men and women. I truly believe that she is the only wife you will be happy with, the only one you can hope to produce a child with. If you were to marry her I'm sure Doran will want you to take the Martell name as your eldest child will rule Dorne someday. As we do not want Dorne to gain even more land Storm's End would go back to Stannis, who has plenty of children. The Baratheon name will not go instinct anytime soon but as of right now there are only 5 trueborn Martells. Oberyn will not be having any trueborn child anytime soon and Doran does not plan on having more children or he would have remarried. If you would rather stay here, I'm willing to offer the Martell's a seat on the council so you may continue living in King's Landing," I say, going back to business.
"I was hoping to never marry, Nephew. I'm in love with Loras Tyrell," he says softly with his head down.
"Sometimes we do not get a choice on who we love. Arianne may be the only woman in the seven kingdoms who would actually allow you to have a paramour. If Loras proves himself I would be more than glad to offer him a spot in my King's guard so that you can keep him close and not have to worry about him leaving to marry a high born girl," I try to comfort him by taking his hand. I truly wish I could just allow them to marry. It isn't fair. However as soon as I allow that, the crown would be ripped from me and who knows what would happen then.
"I'll marry her," he says with a sigh.
"Good, my coronation is in 3 weeks, the trials in 4, and a week after is my betrothal feast. The day after Sansa and I will be heading to dorne. I want you to accompany us," I said.
"Very well, nephew," he says standing up to leave.
A/N:
I know that I said we were following the show and the show did not have Arianne and Quetyn Martell but I need them so...
Also I know Renly is now on board but I was thinking if Tywin promised somehow that Margaery would be queen then Lady Olenna might just back him in the war. Thoughts?