"We need to talk," Robert told you as he stormed into the library, where you were sat reading through a book of stories. You quickly looked up when you heard your brother making his loud and abrupt entrance into the otherwise silent room.
"What can I help you with, Robert?" you asked, patting the seat beside you, welcoming him to join you as you went back to flipping between pages. He huffed as he slumped into the obviously too small chair, which creaked and strained beneath his weight.
"There is a rumour from King's Landing," he started and you quickly perked up, closing the book in your hands and turning to face him. "One that involves you," he added causing you to release a deep sigh.
"What are people saying?" you asked, picking at the corner of your thumb nail and biting at your lip.
"That Prince Rhaegar is very taken with you, despite being a married man," he grumbled out and you let out a small chuckle. "This isn't funny, Y/N, this could mean real trouble for us," he scolded you and you rolled your eyes.
"Lighten up. Rhaegar is no more taken with me than you are with the maids you bed from the town," you teased, watching as he turned red.
"Ladies shouldn't talk of such things, it's unseemly," he uttered, causing you to let out a light chuckle.
"I'm sure Rhaegar wouldn't mind," you smirked causing his glare to land on you again.
"Y/N, you need to stop joking about these things. We'll be leaving for the tourney in three days and you act as though this won't be an issue," he growled at you, causing the smile to fall from your face. Robert had never been angry at you before. Annoyed: maybe. Peeved: Definitely. But he was never truly angry; you were his baby sister, always to be cherished and loved, he saved his anger for your brothers.
"It will all blow over. It was harmless flirting, you can't tell me you've never flirted with someone," you told him softly and he gave you a short nod. "Good," you spoke again as you began to reopen the book to a random page, "Now, if there is nothing else, please leave me to my reading. I'll be away from my books for quite some time and I'm certain to miss them," you finished, focusing your eyes on where your finger danced across the page, underlining a random line.
"Fine," he grunted, getting back to his feet and towering over the small table you leant against. "But no more flirting, it's not safe," he added, watching as you looked up at him with a small smile.
"No more flirting. I think I've got it now," you murmured before returning back to your book as he stomped out of the room, the wooden door drifting shut behind him as he clattered down the echoing hallways and back to his chambers.
You were not sure whether you would be able to keep your promise to Robert. Of course it was wrong of you to flirt with a married man, but Rhaegar was the sweetest person you'd ever met. He went above and beyond to make sure you were comfortable the last time you had visited the capital and had kept you company when the other men folk went hunting. He had spent hours attempting to teach you to play varying musical instruments only to give up when it was clear your voice was the only thing you had any musical control over. If you had been friendly with Elia you would likely have stayed well clear of her husband, but she had no interest in you, and you no interest in her. It was uncertain whether you could bring yourself to avoid the charm that seemed to drip from his tongue around you.
When you were younger you had been told you would likely be wed to the prince, if the King were to permit it, though now you were sure every eligible maiden in Westeros had heard the same thing. You were sure of one thing, Rhaegar would never have recognised your younger self. You were an awkward girl, all long limbs and clumsiness; you would fall over thin air, though you were sure it wasn't possible. You were uninterested in the boys and the rough jostling that they seemed to endure daily to impress a future wife. Books were much more exciting to you and you would spend hours sitting alone and enjoying the stories each would tell, though this was unlikely to find you a husband, as your Father had told you many a time. It wasn't uncommon for people to forget about the little Baratheon girl, often hidden away in the library. Despite your lack of interest in most boy, there was one that always seemed to catch your eye. He had silver hair, like the boys in your stories. The stories seemed to adore the Targaryens and their dragons, following them closely. You were sure it was this that had drawn you to him, but you were you and there was no way you could speak with him, though your brothers often did.
When you would dine in the great hall you would sit squashed between your two oldest brothers, and squashed was an understatement. Robert had always been large as a child, but as he started to become a man he about doubled in size, and though you were tall it was nothing compared to him. He took up the space of two average men, and Stannis wasn't much smaller, so you would be crushed between them, struggling to move just enough to bring your fork to your mouth without your elbows being jostled. As you grew older you started to recognise their weak spots, if your extended your elbows outwards there was no way they could crush you, for fear of your boney arms digging into their sides. You were sure it didn't really hurt them but they acted as if you were the strongest person they had ever met, pretending that your arms would leave bruises on their skin.
If it wasn't for you, you were sure your family would have fallen apart. Robert and Stannis fought all the time, and Renly was such a pacifist that he would just watch on in discomfort, leaving you to defuse the situations. You could remember them arguing over a wooden training sword; Stannis claimed that Robert had broken it on purpose, but Robert had claimed it to have been an accident. It was a shouting match in the courtyard, almost a fist fight, but once you made your entrance they fell quiet, all smiles and happiness. You had that effect on a lot of people, a calming effect that had saved your brothers from trouble more times than you could count. No one wanted to disappoint Little Lady Y/N Baratheon, no matter how awkward and clumsy she may have been.
It wasn't until you were a full woman that men began to ask for your hand. Your long, skinny, child-like body became that of a Lady, your curves coming to fruition and leaving you ultimately beautiful in the eyes of most men. But no man was good enough for Robert Baratheon's little sister; she was to have someone worthy of her, and only when he decided the time was right, and without your father there to make the decision for you, the offers became overwhelming. If it were up to Robert and Stannis you would be a mess of wrinkles and grey hair by the time you were married. You were uncertain whether Renly truly cared about your marriage prospects, he never seemed to ask you about them as everyone else did.
The last time you went to King's Landing was the first time since you had flowered, and you grew tired of fighting off pitiful Lords who wanted to marry you to themselves, or their sons, or their brothers, or their nephews. For once you were made thankful about sitting between your brothers; it certainly hid your from view in the crowded rooms. And once you had finished eating you would sneak off to your chambers and hide away with a book. It had all been working perfectly until the Starks arrived. You loved Lyanna like a sister but she was so full of energy and enjoyed following the boys around, leaving you back in the eyes of every suitor in the capital. Lyanna, of course, was to marry Robert and would not be troubled by any any man who wanted to keep all ten fingers attached to his hands. You, however, were followed around by an ever changing selection of suitors, all looking like lost puppies as they trailed after you begging for your affection.
But, of course, the one man you wanted to chase after you was already married. Your sweet Rhaegar had been wed to Elia Martell just shy of a year before and though he would spend time with you when you were in the capital, it was certain that it would never come to anything.
*Time Skip*
"I don't know why I bother coming to King's Landing with you," you muttered, shifting slightly atop your mare in order to sit more comfortably. There was no need for a carriage on your journey, it would only be yourself and one ladies maid riding in it and you always forgot just how sore riding could make you. "The whole ordeal is tedious," you added, causing Robert to scoff beside you.
"You're coming because you need to take a husband, and the capital is the best place to meet eligible Lords," he told you with a bright smile, chuckling as you glared back at him. Marriage would always be a touchy subject between the two of you. Robert was set on you marrying one of his friends, to keep you safe, but you were much more set on marrying a man that you may actually love. Plus, you knew how Robert behaved outside of your home, taking whores every other night, and you were not keen on being wed to a man with the same lifestyle.
"He's right, Y/N," Stannis added causing you to let out a deep sigh whilst he continued. "If you don't marry soon people will begin to think there is something wrong with you," he finished causing you to snort with laughter.
"Maybe there is something wrong with me," you teased pulling at your dark hair so that it all fell over one shoulder. "I just want to go home and read," you told them causing both to groan.
"You and your books," Robert huffed, finally pushing his helmet's visor up to reveal his face. "If I didn't know any better I'd think you wanted to marry your damned books," he scowled at you, causing you to lift an eyebrow at him, challenging him to test you.
"Leave her be, Robert; she'll come around eventually, we just need to find the right Lord," Stannis told him, before kicking his heels into his horse and jolting forward, leaving the two of you in an uneasy silence.
"Why must the two of you be so pig-headed?" you growled, shifting once more on the back of your horse, your legs aching as you did so.
"We want what's best for you, however much you may think we don't," he told you, his chest sinking as he sighed deeply. "We think the best thing for you will be to marry a wealthy man and have his children. I'm sorry if that's not what you had planned for yourself, but it's what'll happen," he added, copying your other brother and urging his horse to go faster, leaving you alone, trailing behind them.
*Time Skip*
"Lord Stark, it's good to see you again," you started, coming to embrace Eddard in a tight hug. If there were one man, other than Rhaegar, that you would consider marrying in this wretched city it would be Eddard; he was a sweet man, much unlike the other boys that lingered around you. But it would never happen, Eddard's sister would marry Robert and there would be no need for a marriage between your houses after that.
"You know I hate being called that, Y/N," he muttered in your ear before releasing you from his hug. He had always been Robert's best friend and the two of you had known each other for years.
You gave him a large toothy grin and a shrug. "I forgot," you teased, before taking a seat beside Stannis at the dining table, aware of the eyes that were fixed on your from the moment you had entered. You had hoped that being surrounded by some of the most powerful men in Westeros would keep the other men away but it only seemed to draw more attention to you, causing you to huddle closer to your brother, unbothered by the cold feel of his armour.
"What's the matter with you?" Stannis asked you, pushing you along the bench a little so that he could have some room to move.
"Everyone is looking at me," you muttered, allowing your hair to fall over your face, hiding you from view.
"Of course they are. Robert told me of the rumours," he added, allowing you to shuffle closer to him again. As you did so you heard someone clear their throat behind you, silencing the conversation.
"Lady Y/N, I want to welcome you into King's Landing on my father's behalf," the man said, and you quickly turned to find Rhaegar standing over you.
"Oh, thank you, Your Grace, that's very kind of you," you smiled at him, though it wavered a little when you felt everyones eyes focused on you.
"Let me or Elia know if there is anything you need, and feel free to use the library at your own will," he added and you gave a small nod, trying not to look into his eyes.
"Your family are very welcoming, Your Grace. My brothers and I are very thankful," you told him and he nodded with a gorgeous smile before turning to leave, heading back to his table. Why did he have to do that? Why did he have to be so perfect and so obvious in public? Especially after the rumours that had been spreading about you. "What is wrong with him, coming over here after everything that's being said?" you growled quietly to Stannis who simply chuckled.
"He was thinking that he is a prince, and you are a pretty girl, and he can do whatever he wants in his own court," he murmured with a chuckle and you huffed out a deep breath.
"He doesn't seem to realise that it does more damage to me than to himself," you sighed, picking up your fork and taking one small bite of your food before grimacing and throwing the fork back down on to the table and getting to your feet to leave. You were already out of your seat by the time Stannis grabbed your wrist with a puzzled expression. "I'm not hungry; I'm going back to my chambers," you told him and he released you with a small nod, before turning back to his own food.
*Time Skip*
"How dare you?" you hissed quietly at Rhaegar, his face falling as you glared at him in the otherwise empty library. "Do you realise how immoral I look spending time with a married man. A future king no less?" you added and he let out a light chuckle.
"No one cares that we spend time together," he told you, picking up a book from one of the many shelves and examining the front cover as you seethed silently.
"Tell that to the men and women of your court who stare at me as if i'm some sort of monster that's just finished growing a second head," you ranted at him, slamming your book shut. "Or to my Brothers who think I'm some harlot rather than their little sister," you added, tears brimming in your eyes as you slumped down in your seat, your hands fisting in your hair as you began to sob.
"You've done nothing wrong," Rhaegar muttered, dropping the book he was holding onto the table and coming to kneel in front of you. "We have done nothing wrong, and if me leaving you lonely is what it takes to make you happy I will," he added, his hand coming to wipe the tears from your face, you quickly slapped his hand away with your own.
"I think that would be best," you answered him, getting to your feet and gathering up your books, placing them on their respective shelves before heading to the door.
"I'm sorry, Y/N," he hummed out before you got out of the room, causing you to hesitate at the sadness in his voice for a moment. You let out a breath you had been holding before pushing yourself to leave the room, breaking your own heart as you went.
On this trip to the capital you would find your future husband, to prove to the people of King's Landing that you weren't trying to ruin the marriage of their future King.
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