A/N- This is a long one, so settle in! Also, thank you all for your support; one year down, and many more yet to come.
Snivelling. You could never stand the snivelling of weak men. At the moment they seemed to surround you, shrouding you in their 'kindness' and 'caring' but all the while grovelling at your feet. Of course, you would be thankful to the men and their wives who housed you and fed your men, but you would be driven half-mad by the snivelling. A majority of these men would bend the knee to whoever reached them first, not truly caring for your own claim to the iron throne, or anyone else for that matter. There were many who questioned your own claim, you were a woman, the first draw back for many, and you were thought to be long dead. The daughter of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell who was taken to safety by a chamber maid at your Mother's request, shortly before she was killed in her own bed chambers, along with your siblings. Seeing as no one had known of your existence until recent years your claim was weaker than those of the others, and you were well aware that the grovelling in your presence was to make up for what was said before they met you. There was no questioning, upon meeting you, that you had Targaryen blood; you had silver hair that ran down to your waist, violet coloured eyes, and you walked as though you owned the world already. It was this that seemed to draw men to your cause.
"Your Grace, Would you like to sit?" The old man asked, gesturing at the table in the centre of the room. You gave a short nod, taking a few long strides and sliding into one of the wooden chairs. "We have a proposition for you, Your Grace, from Stannis Baratheon," he added. You leant forward in your chair, resting your elbows on the table in front of you and raising an eyebrow at the old man.
"And what has the false King proposed?" you asked, you voice sickly sweet as you dug one of your nails into the wood of the table, dragging it along the grain but keeping your eyes locked to his.
The man shifted on the spot a little, before coming to sit across from you. "He wonders if you should meet, Your Grace, and consider an alliance, to aid you both," he told you, his hands resting in his lap uneasily.
You let out a snort of laughter as you considered what he had said. "An alliance?" you chuckled. "I'm assuming he means to marry me, then?" you pushed and the man shrunk away from you a little as you smiled at him. You were not known to be a smiling person, it was an action that suggested weakness and was saved only for your closest advisors.
"I am not sure, Your Grace, he was not so specific in his writing," he told you, shifting uncomfortably as you continued to smile at him.
"Tell me, Lord Flint, do you know many men who would propose an alliance without expecting a bride in return?" you asked him, sitting back to watch him squirm in his chair.
"No, Your Grace. I hadn't thought of it," he began, speaking until you held up a hand to silence him.
"That seems to be a common problem of your's, Lord Flint," you told him, the smile falling from your face as you raised your eyebrows, as if asking him to finish his sentence. You sighed as he remained in a stunned silence, "Leave me, I need to consider this proposition," you added, waving him away as he bowed and scurried from the room. You rose from your seat once you were alone, pacing around the room with the thought of marriage in your head. You knew you couldn't take the Seven Kingdoms with your own army, they were not yet strong enough, but marrying 'the prince that was promised' would lose you total rule, having to sit beside him as his queen rather than ruling it yourself, and you were hesitant to rule beside the man whose family betrayed your own. Maybe meeting with him wouldn't be all so bad, you could give him your conditions and hear out his before making a decision.
*Time Skip*
"Lord Stannis," you greeted with a small smile, giving him a barely visible nod as he stood before you, taking in your appearance, the silver hair that hung over your shoulders catching his eyes for a moment before he locked his eyes on your violet ones.
"I prefer to be referred to as 'Your Grace' now, My Lady," he told you, causing your smile to grow into a smirk as you stared him down.
"As do I. I was not raised as a Lady, I've never been a fan of the title," you murmured, causing him to chuckle as he took the seat opposite you. "Now, if you would be so kind as to tell me why you are here," you continued, waving away the maid who came to fill your wine cup. You would have to be at your best, able to make a decision in a split second, and alcohol would not help your, already nervous, mind.
"Of course," he began, taking a breath before he continued, "You see, Y/N, I am well aware that you do not have enough men to take and hold King's Landing, and that you are not in contact with your Aunt across the Narrow sea," he told you and you let out a light chuckle as you took in his words. He had done his research into you. "I would propose that we work together to secure the Seven Kingdoms," he finished and you you gave him a short nod.
"And what would I gain from this proposition?" you asked, causing his face to scrunch in confusion, his forehead wrinkling a little more than it had before.
"You would be The Queen," he uttered, confusion clear in his voice, and you chuckled.
"You and I both know that the title doesn't mean a thing when there is a King involved," you told him. Stannis' eyes remained closed for a second longer than normal when he blinked, a barely noticeable movement if you weren't looking for it.
"You are an extremely smart woman, Y/N," he murmured, opening his eyes and giving you a small smile.
"Did you expect a fool? That is very short-minded of you," you teased, brushing your hair back and out of your face and he chuckled.
"I have to be honest with you, I'm somewhat happy that you aren't a fool, I don't think I could marry a stupid woman," he told you and a you raised an eyebrow at him.
"I haven't agreed to marry you yet; I want to be the sole leader of the Seven Kingdom's and that won't happen with you at my side," you spoke softly and he let out a deep sigh.
"I didn't want to have to do this," he murmured under his breath and within seconds your armed guards had him surrounded, you saw the panic in his eyes as they locked with yours, his fingers digging in to the wooden arms of his chair.
"Stop," you spoke, your voice echoing around the otherwise empty room. "Hear him out before you put a sword through the man," you added and he nodded in thanks. "Continue," you finished, folding your hands in your lap.
"As I was saying, I didn't want to do this, but if you marry me, I will declare you the true Queen of the Seven Kingdoms when we take King's Landing," he told you softly and a small smile played on your lips as you saw his eyes meet yours.
"And what do you get from out little arrangement?" you asked, your eyebrow raised as you got to your feet, causing your guards to all take a step back from the table.
"You mean other than having a monarch who doesn't want me dead?" he joked and you smiled as he continued. "I would be your Hand, and I would have a beautiful woman by my side as my wife," he told you and his face softened as you grinned down at him.
"It sounds like a deal," you started, reaching out to shake his hand as he rose to his feet. "I would like the whole thing in a written contract. We can't be too careful with Westeros in the state it is in," you added before moving to look at Lord Flint, where he hovered by the doorway. "Would you find Lord Stannis and his men some appropriate accommodation and food? We can't have my future army going hungry," you told him before moving for the door.
"Your Grace," Stannis spoke up with a grin on his face. "When will I see you again?" he asked as you kept your back to him, a smile dancing on your lips.
"I assume our next meeting will be when you have my contract ready," you teased, before pushing on the wood of the door and making your way from the room with your men trailing behind you. You couldn't help but think of Stannis that night. He was quite a lot older than yourself but that was very common for women of your birth, you were simply happy he had aged relatively well. He had wrinkles that lined his face but they seemed to make him more handsome rather than less. He had a sprinkling of grey hairs throughout the dark ones but they seemed to show maturity rather than old age. You quite liked him. He was a charming man.
*Time Skip*
There was knock on your door whilst you were eating your breakfast the next morning. You nodded at your maid who rushed to the door and pried it open. "It's Lord Stannis, Your Grace," she told you and you looked up with a soft smile on your face.
"Let him in," you called, moving your tray from your lap and settling it on the floor in front of you. You grinned up at Stannis as he held out a scroll to you. "Well, you have been busy," you laughed, taking it and undoing the seal to reveal the terms of your marriage.
"They should be up to your standards, Your Grace," he teased and you let out a small chuckle as you continued to read. As you did so you were unaware of his eyes watching you, the way you bit your lip as you concentrated, your violet eyes roaming over his words as you took it all in.
"I have ink here if you want to sign," you told him as you rerolled it and he gave you a short nod. "When will we be wed?" you continued as you rose from your chair and moved over the the desk on the other side of the room.
"As soon as possible, we will need to begin moving before they are aware of us having met," he murmured as he took the quill from your hand, scrawling his signature onto the paper before handing it back to you.
"Would it not be best to find more allies before we begin our attacks?" you asked as you hesitated, you hand hovering above the paper as you spoke.
"And who would we ask? Many Northern Lords are Robb Stark's, and he;s unlikely to be a fan of the woman whose Grandfather murdered his own," he started, pausing for a second. "And any further south and the threat becomes the Lannisters," he added and you nodded, beginning to sign your name below his.
"I will need to have a gown made," you told him softly, placing the quill down with shaking hands. You had not thought of what a marriage would mean until now, you would be joined to this man you barely new for life, his enemies were your enemies and your's were his, between you there were very few people who would support you.
"There will be no time, Your Grace," he murmured, his hand coming to rest above yours over the quill, stopping your shaking.
"Lucy, will you inform Lord Flint that we shall be wed tonight, and then hurry back, I'll need to bathe," you murmured and she nodded before rushing off and into the many halls of the castle. "You ought to go and ready yourself, My Lord," you told him and he smiled, turning to take a few steps away before hesitating at the door.
"You know, I am to be you husband, I feel it would be best if we were on first name basis," he spoke up, a smirk on his lips as he watch you blush.
"Of course, Stannis," you answered with the softest of smiles.
"I'll see you tonight, Y/N," he spoke, before leaving you to return to his own chambers.
*Time Skip*
The bath water was hot, you knew it was, but it didn't seem to have any effect on your skin. You watched as you lifted your hand, the water cascading off of your fingers as you wiggled them in the cool northern air. "What are we doing with your hair, Your Grace?" Lucy asked as she set out your dresses on the bed, allowing you to see them all from your spot in the centre of the room. You remained silent, still staring at the water, dripping slowly now from your damp skin, completely unaware of the maid questioning you. "Your Grace?" she asked, taking a few step towards you until you hummed in response.
"What did you say?" you mumbled, turning your head to finally look at her.
"What will we do with your hair?" she asked you sweetly and you gave her a soft smile.
"I think that your decision would be best, Lucy, my opinions on beauty aren't the most well informed," you answered with a chuckle, watching as she gave a few quick nods and ran off to the other side of the room to find your comb and some hair pins. "What are you thinking?" you asked her quickly sitting up to watch as she counted out the pins, one by one.
"I think we should do something more southern, My Lady," she told you quickly, looking up at you with a wide grin before continuing to talk. "Maybe if we pull some back so that he can see your face at the alter?" he asked and you nodded before laying back in the tub and allowing the water to rush over your body as you shut your eyes tightly.
You let out a heavy sigh as you reopened your eyes, staring up at the ceiling. "I will be married within a few hours and then we will be travelling for a long time, Lucy," you murmured to the girl, causing her to pause in her actions.
"Are you worried, Your Grace?" she asked, coming to kneel beside you, causing you to sit up to look at her.
"Not about the wedding, I would have done that anyway, but... What if i'm a bad Queen? They've never had a woman sitting on the Iron Throne," you rambled and she gave you a soft smile.
"You'll be a good ruler, Your Grace. We all believe in you," she told you, allowing you to take her hand as you smiled back at her.
"Thank you, Lucy," you murmured before pulling away, you let out a light chuckle. "If I stay in this water any longer I will be more wrinkly that old Lady Flint," you joked and the girl laughed as she ran to grab your robe from the chair on the other side of the tub. "You must not tell anyone I made that joke, it was very unladylike," you added causing her to laugh again.
"My lips are sealed, Your Grace," she told you before ushering you to the bed to choose a gown.
*Time Skip*
You could see Stannis standing at the end of the aisle, smiling at you, and for one of the first times in your life you wished for a man you had never known, your father. It felt strange to have Lord Flint walking you, through a selection of people you barely knew, to stand beside your soon to be husband, and it was anything but ideal but it would have to do. You wished for your Mother too, for the loving woman you had heard so much about during your childhood to come and hold you and tell you that everything would be okay. But they were gone, and nothing would be okay until you took back the Iron Throne. You pasted a smile onto your face as you finally reached Stannis.
"You look beautiful," he whispered to you as he took your hand, nodding at Lord Flint to go and find his seat.
You gave him a small smile, feeling his hand squeeze yours lightly, checking whether you were alright. "Thank you," you whispered back before turning to face the officiator with a real smile.
The ceremony seemed to rush by and soon you were walking back to your chambers, arm in arm with your husband. "If you prefer I could stay in my own chambers," he murmured as you hesitated outside of your door, you shook your head at him.
"These are your chambers, you're my husband," you told him before reaching up to lightly kiss him. "Just be aware that I wake early; Lucy will be here before dawn to help me dress," you added before pulling away and pushing the door open to let him in.
"I'm quite an early waker myself," he responded, watching as you walked over to the bed, standing at the foot and just looking at it for a moment.
"Do you have a side you prefer?" you muttered, before turning back to him, "I usually just sleep in the middle, but if you like a certain side," you trailed off causing him to chuckle as he walked over to you, kissing the top of your head.
"It doesn't matter," he told you, through his laugh causing you to let out a sigh of relief as you rested your forehead against his chest.
"I've never done this before; I'm not one of those Ladies who was trained for this, I was taught to rule. To care for the people as a whole, not a singular person," you muttered against him and he ran his fingers over your back in silence for a second before speaking.
"You're doing fine, just don't worry yourself about it," he breathed, allowing his arms to encompass your body as he held you closer. "I know you feel all this pressure to be perfect, but you don't have to with me," he added and you nodded against his chest causing him to snort in laughter.
"Do you miss your family?" you asked suddenly and he froze against you.
"I do, yes," he answered you softly. "Do you miss your family?" he responded and you shrugged as the two of you separated to dress for bed.
"You can't miss something you've never known," you muttered as you turned away from him. "Could you undo me please?" you added quickly and you felt him come up behind you, his cold hands brushing against your warm skin as he did as you had asked. You were caught off guard when you felt his lips on your shoulder, and then against your spine and his hands rested on your hips and your dress pooled around your ankles.
"Gods, you're stunning," he spoke, his words hidden under a deep sigh that escaped him as you turned to face him, your hands landing against his chest.
"Take off your clothes," you ordered before pressing a hurried kiss against his lips and moving back to the bed to watch your husband ready himself for you. You could feel yourself smirking as you watched him, and you silently thanked the Gods that your mother wasn't there to see you.
*Time Skip*
You woke the next morning in Stannis' arms, resting against his chest as if he were your own personal pillow. You could get used to waking like this. It was still dark outside and you were well aware that you had slept far less than usual. You had stayed up half of the night just making love and talking about anything and everything you could. You quickly shimmied out of your husband's arms, watching as he readjusted and got comfortable again, you knew you had to get up and dress for the day but in that moment you wanted nothing more than to climb back into bed and just be held for a few more hours.
You threw on your robe, before telling a guard to fetch Lucy for you and whilst you waited you sat and watched Stannis, he still had a serious face, even when he was sleeping. You chuckled a little as he stirred, rolling over onto his stomach and burying his face into the pillow, continuing to sleep. "Early riser my arse," you muttered to yourself, only to be interrupted by a light knock on the door. "Enter," you called out quietly, watching as Lucy made her way inside.
"Good morning, Your Grace," she grinned, before making her way to your closet, "How are you this morning?" she added causing you to chuckle again.
"I am a very happy woman," you joked causing Lucy to faux-gasp at your unladylike conversation.
"Your Grace, you mustn't say such things," she teased causing you to laugh with her. You were both silenced when you heard Stannis groan from the bed.
"Good morning," you spoke softly, quickly making your way across the room to press a kiss to his shoulder. He caught you off guard when he rolled over onto his back, taking you with him and pressing multiple kisses all over your face. "Stannis," you yelped attempting to get free, "Lucy is here to dress me," you scolded and he quickly released you.
"I'm sorry Lucy, I wasn't aware that we had company," he spoke softly, his cheeks red with blush as he sat up in bed, drawing the covers closely around himself.
"It's not a problem, Your Grace," she told him, averting her eyes and continuing with her jobs. You chuckled as she scuttled around, gathering up what you would need for the day and pulling across the partition so that you could dress in private. "Which would you prefer, Your Grace?" Lucy continued, holding up two dresses for you to look at.
"The red one," you told her, untangling yourself from Stannis to go and change. "What are we doing today?" you called out once you had stepped behind the partition, dropping your robe to begin getting dressed.
"We should begin planning our next move," he told you, sitting up as you poked your head around the corner with a small frown.
"Can't we at least have one day before we start war planning?" you asked before disappearing once again.
Stannis let out a deep sigh, wiping his hand over his face before climbing from the bed. "We need the element of surprise, once they find out of our marriage we will lose that," he huffed, yanking his trousers over his legs and tying them.
"One day wont do any harm," you called back and you heard his hand crash into the sideboard, silencing you.
"For fuck sake," he growled out, causing you to grip Lucy's hand. "Why can't you just listen to me?" he continued and suddenly your spine straightened as you dropped your maids hand.
Stannis watched as you strode from behind the partition, walking straight up to him and poking a finger into his chest. "I am your Wife and your Queen, you will learn to hold your tongue or you will lose it," you hissed back at him and his face turned a deep shade of red. "Are we clear?" you finished and he nodded at you before moving away to collect his shirt from the floor. It was then that you realised how you looked, your hair tousled around your shoulders, your face angry and red, your dress half off of your body as you glared at him. Your shoulders dropped as you stood in the centre of the room, watching as Stannis busied himself around you. "I'm sorry," you muttered, taking a small step back as his eyes finally met yours.
"Don't apologise, Your Grace," he told you with a small nod, his face solemn as he watched you sink back into yourself, your shoulders falling and your hands clutching in front of your stomach. "I'm being serious, Y/N, don't apologise for being a leader; I was pushing you and you stopped me," he added, his voice softer as he came over to you, pressing a light kiss to your lips as his hand cupped your cheek.
"I will meet you at breakfast, I still have to finish dressing," you told him as you pulled away, your fingers lingering against the light stubble that littered his chin.
"I look forward to it," he told you softly, before pressing another kiss to your lips and disappearing from the room.
*Time Skip*
You gripped Stannis' hand as you sat around the large map of Westeros, deciding where you could launch an attack that wouldn't see you all slaughtered. "I think we need more men," you muttered softly, letting out a breath you had been holding in since you had taken your seat. "I know we need to move quickly, but we just don't have the forces," you added, giving his palm a squeeze as you spoke.
"We could go to Robb Stark," Stannis told the room quietly, watching as you shook your head.
You tapped a finger against the table as you spoke. "You said it yourself, he would never give me the men; my grandfather butchered his, my father did terrible things to his aunt," you spoke, removing your hand from the table to chew on one of your nails.
"You were a child, he would understand that you had nothing to do with it," Stannis whispered, placing his hand over your joined ones.
"If it were the other way I wouldn't want him for an ally. There must be someone else," you huffed, turning back to the map and glancing across it.
"The boy owns the North," he told you softly, his hand releasing your's to settle on your knee. "The Lannister's own the South," he added and you gave a short nod before speaking.
"Then we'll have to take the East and the West, won't we?" you uttered, a small smirk appearing on your face. You watched as his lips turned upwards into a smile. "The Throne will belong to House Targaryen again, we just need to get to my Aunt before we can begin to conquer," you added before getting to your feet. "Find out where she is, we may be in for a lot of travelling, so rest up," you told them before taking a few short strides out of the war room.
*Time Skip*
You had travelled miles to end up in Yunkai, sitting across from your aunt. She seemed surprised when she saw you for herself, she had heard rumours of a girl impersonating her family but as soon as she set eyes on you she knew your claim to be true. "Why have you brought one of the men, who's family slaughtered ours, to me?" she asked, sipping lightly from the cup she was clutching in her grasp.
"Stannis and I have made an alliance, we both want Joffrey Baratheon off of the throne and Stannis is willing to put me in his place," you told her, causing her to let out a light chuckle.
"And you think you can trust this man?" she continued. "What is there to stop him from turning on us as his family did?" she spoke, her eyes never leaving your husband, where he sat beside you, keeping quiet as you had suggested.
"Stannis is my husband, Daenerys. He won't betray us," you uttered softly, watching as her eyes widened and she turned her stare to you.
"Are you insane? He's a Baratheon," she growled and you shook your head lightly.
"He is not THE Baratheon; he was following his brother's orders, he had no other choice," you spat at her, suddenly getting to your feet, Stannis following closely behind you.
Daenerys copied your action, standing facing you as you glared at her. "Our family deserve the Iron Throne, it is ours by right," she hissed at you.
You were both surprised when Stannis finally spoke. "That's why we wrote up a contract agreeing that I would put Y/N on the Throne, I don't want it for myself but I can't let the Lannister bastard have it," he spoke calmly, not wanting to anger the Dragon Queen.
"I see," Daenerys whispered, pausing for a moment before retaking her seat. "I assume that you'll want a position on the small council?" she added to Stannis who nodded lightly.
"He'll be the Hand of the Queen," you told her, pulling Stannis back into his seat as you took your own.
"And you will be the Queen? What do you know of ruling?" she asked. "I've built my own following, why should I just give them to you?" she added.
"I was raised to do this; I've been taught to rule from a young age," you started. "And I want you at my side, in King's Landing and on the small council; I will need you, as you have said, you are already a Queen to these people," you told her, causing her to smile.
"You'll have my support, but I will be your Hand. Stannis will be your Master of Coin, we'll need his help in the Capital," she told you and you turn to face your husband who simply nodded in agreement, not questioning her choice.
"Shall we drink to our agreement?" you asked, lifting your cup from the table and holding it up to Daenerys.
"To our Queen, Y/N Targaryen, the first of her name," Stannis Spoke, lifting his cup along with your aunt before taking a sip.
"Long may she rule," Daenerys added with a smile.
"And may we rid the world of the snivelling lords who want to keep it from us," you finished, squeezing Stannis' hand lightly before drinking.
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