12

Chapter Text

Throughout the ride to Highgarden, he felt as if his family was denied justice, that he should have gone after the Kingslayer, but he had to obey his king's wishes, so he had to go back with the Tyrells while Jaime Lannister walked free. Lord Mace agreed to stay in the capital until his father regained consciousness, which happened seven days later after the attack. Jon and his sisters were overjoyed to see their father awake and up, although he had to use a cane due to his injury. After another two days, they had to leave for Reach. Jon thought about the moment before they left the city.

"Why can't you stay?" Arya asked sadly.

"I have to go back to Highgarden with lord Mace but don't worry, I will be back," Jon reassured his little sister.

"Promise?"

"I promise," Jon said and hugged Arya. After her time came to say goodbye to Sansa.

Sansa and Jon looked at each other "I'm sorry how I reacted at. First, it was stupid of me," Sansa said.

"There is nothing to be sorry about; I'm not mad at you."

Sansa smiled and hugged him. "Thank you, brother," Jon smiled too at the sound of her calling him that. After a moment, Sansa pulled away.

"You will take good care of Lady?" Sansa asked.

"I will; you have nothing to worry about; she will be safe. Maybe you could ask your father to visit, and you will get to be with her again," Jon saw Sansa smile at the thought.

"That would be nice; I would love to see Highgarden and spend more time with Margaery."

"I'm sure she will be happy to oblige," Jon said and could see his sister's eyes sparkle with excitement.

"Sansa, if you ever need help, just send a message, and I will be there for you," Jon said.

"My big brother to keep me safe," Sansa said, "I'm safe here with father and the prince, but if I ever need you, I won't hesitate to ask."

The next person he said his goodbye to was Loras. "You sure you don't want to go with us?" Jon asked.

"No, as I said, I will spend a few more weeks here, and then I will return," Loras answered.

"Fine, but take care and don't cause any scandals that might reflect poorly on us,"

Loras chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't."

Jon turned his gaze towards his sisters, who were talking with Margaery, "Keep them safe."

"I won't worry about them. They are incapable hands," Loras smiled.

"Thank you, Loras," Jon said and hugged his friend. Then he heard a sound of a cane tapping on the stone. He looked over Loras's shoulder to see his father coming to escort them. First, he went to lord Mace, Lady Alerie, Olenna, Margaery, Garlan, and then came to them.

"Ser Loras, I was informed you will be staying, is that right?" his father asked.

"It is my lord," Loras answered.

"Could you give us a moment?" father asked Loras. Loras looked at Jon and then again at lord Eddard.

"Of course, my lord," Loras said and made his way to his family.

"What is it, father?" Jon asked.

"I wanted to wish you safe travel back to Highgarden and to tell you to keep out of trouble," father said in his usual calm tone.

"Trouble, I don't know what you mean," Jon said.

"I was young once, too; I know how it is; I just want you to stay safe."

Jon sighed. "I will, father."

Lord Eddard looked at his daughters. "You made them happy; it's good for them to have a brother here. Thank you for taking a chance with Sansa; it must have not been easy."

"It was not, but she is my sister, and she came around. She is still that girl I remember from Winterfell." Jon said fondly.

"She is," father said with a small smile. "And thanks to you, Arya is more determent than ever to learn how to use a sword; she wants to be good enough to beat you."

"I will gladly anticipate the day when I will face here one on one." Both Jon and his father laughed at the thought.

"Jon, get on your horse; we are leavening!" said Garlan from his horse.

"Thank you, father, for everything. I hope we see each other again soon."

"Aye, me too," As Jon mounted his horse, he felt his father's hand on his leg. "Listen, the next time we see each other, we will talk about your mother." father said, and Jon was taken back by what he heard. They are going to talk about his mother the next time they see each other.

"Father, I..."

"I promise, now go and safe journey," father said, and Jon nodded. As he rode beside Garlan, he looked back and waved at his family and Loras, and they waved back.

"We will see each other again, soon." he thought.

It took them about three weeks to come back to Highgarden. On the first day of the journey, the wolves were kept in their cage, that night when he brought them food, he watched them eat in that cage, and he could not watch it any longer. He took the key to the cell and opened the iron door to let the two wolves out.

They slowly came out of the cage, weary of their surroundings. Yellow and red eyes stared at him; he was unsure how they would act if they would even listen to him. Jon took a step back and watched as Ghost walked towards him, stopped at his right arm, and licked his hand; soon, Lady followed. As he walked through the camp towards his tent, the wolves walked calmly beside him, attracting curious and surprised glances as they went.

"He let them out," one of the men said.

"They aren't attacking," another said.

"They are actually listening to him," the third said.

They came to Jon's tent and entered it. Jon sitting in a chair pouring himself a glass of wine; Ghost stood in front of him, observing him with those blood-red eyes while Lady immediately jumped on the bed. Jon chuckled. "You are Sansa's wolf, alright."

As he looked at the two Direwolves, he was thankful to his father for giving them to him; he never even dreamed of having a Direwolf, let alone two, one was still Sansas, but she is with him. Jon looked at the two wolves, who seemed happy to be out of that cage. He understood, no being should be kept inside a cell, let alone one like these.

He just rested his head on the back of the chair when he heard a gasp coming from the entrance; Jon quickly moved his head to see who it is, finding Margaery there.

"So, it's true, you let them out," she said as she looked at the wolves with awe, Lady and Ghost looked back at her. Lady tilted her head to the side while Ghost looked at him, asking if Margaery was allowed to come in.

Jon got up from his chair and walked to Margaery, who still watched the wolves with both awe and slight fear.

"I did; it's alright they won't bite well I think Ghost won't, but by the looks of it, I wouldn't try to get Lady off that bed," Jon said as he looked at the wolf on the bed who lowered her head on the sheet.

"They are listening?" Margaery asked, intrigued.

"Following more like, I think that they see me as the one in charge, so they keep close."

"One of the guards informed my father, and when I heard, I needed to see it for myself."

"Well, they been good; no one has been bit or eaten alive so far," Jon said with a small smirk.

Ghost gut up from the ground and walked up to Jon and Margaery, looking at Jon first and then at Margaery intensely with those red eyes. Then he moved even closer and put his head beneath Margery's hand, and she ruffled his fur.

"Someone's a cuddler," Jon said as he looked at the wolf and Margaery fondly. He was glad the wolf seemed to like her.

"What does your father say about me releasing them?" Jon asked.

"He is worried but also excited; he wants to know if you can control them," Margaery answered as she continued to pet GhostGhost.

"I think I can, and what do the others think?"

"Mother is same as father, Garlan is excited to see them out, and grandmother wants them back in the cage," Margaery said, and by the tone, Jon could tell that she was still more than angry with her grandmother; Margaery has not said a single word to Olenna since they left the capital. Due to the delay, Margaery managed to deliver some of the supplies to Flea Bottom personally and visit several orphanages in the process. The people were grateful for her help, Lord Mace agreeing to match the winnings of the tourney.

"Maybe I should get Ghost to pay your grandmother a visit later in the night; he doesn't make a single sound when walking, breathing, none whatsoever."

Margaery laughed. "As much I would like that, no, that would only do more harm than good."

"Fine, but know my offer still stands," Jon said as he put one hand around Margaery's waist and pulled her closer.

"I will remember that," Margaery said with a smile, GhostGhost moving away and joining his sister on the bed. She looked him in the eyes, brown meeting grey, and brought their lips into a deep kiss. After a long moment, they parted, searching for air. Margaery looked at the bed. "It seems the bed is already taken."

"Indeed, it is," Jon said.

"No matter Highgarden is just a few weeks away," Margaery said with an all too familiar smile on her lips.

"It's going to be good being back home," Jon said.

"Yes, it will."

As Highgarden cane into the view, he could not help but smile; he missed the sight of it and the river Mander that flows beside it. He took a deep breath, smell of roses all around, certainly a thousand times better than the smell of Kings landing. As they rode into the castle, he rode next to Garlan while Lord Mace, his wife, Margaery, and Lady Olenna were in a carriage behind them.

When they entered the keep, the first thing they saw was the group of people waiting for them, steward, soldiers, and servants with Willas in the in front, a welcoming smile on his face.

"Brother, Jon, I welcome you back," Willas said as they dismounted and walked towards him.

Garlan hugged his brother. "Thank you, Willas; it been a long journey back." The two brothers broke their embrace. "Where is Loras?"

"He stayed in the capital with lord Renly," Garlan told his brother. Willas nodded and proceeded to hug Jon next. "It's good to see you, Jon."

"You too, Willas," Jon replied. They broke the hug just in time for Willas to see Ghost and Lady entering the castle, his eyes almost going out of their sockets at the sight of them.

"Wait, are those?" Willas asked in disbelief.

"Aye, they are."

"Gods, look at the size of them," Willas said, amazed as the wolves approached them, all the servants taking several steps back as the wolves did so.

"The white one is mine; his name is Ghost, and the gray one is Lady."

"H-How did you get them?"

"My father gave them to me; all the Stark children have one."

Willas looked at him inquisitively. "But you have two?"

"No, Ghost is mine, Lady belongs to my sister Sansa."

"Then why is she with you?" Before Jon could answer, he was cut off by lady Olenna.

"Oh, enough with the wolves, the journey in that damn box was hard, and all I want is a bath and some rest. So Willas, if you would kindly."

Willis

After Willas greeted each member of his family, they decided to take it inside. "So, how was the tourney, father?" Willas asked as they took their seats around the table, the wolves laying behind Jon.

"It was splendid, utterly splendid; I enjoyed watching the competition; it was certainly different from what we usually have here."

"Different?" Willis asked. "How different?"

"Well, there were two winners in the joust," lord Mace answered.

"Two?" Willis asked. "How so?"

"Jon and Loras shared the victory," father answered.

"Loras sharing a victory, now I heard everything," Willas said with a laugh.

"It's true, he refused to fight Jon after he saved Loras from the Mountain," Garlan said.

"The Mountain, what happened?"

"The mountain lost it after Loras unseated him in a joust for the finals and tried to kill him, but Jon managed to get to him and fight off the Mountain,"

"Has Loras been hurt?" Willas asked, concerned.

"No, he is fine, thanks to Jon," said Margaery as she looked at him.

"Thank you, Jon, for watching over him," Willas said.

"It's nothing; I would never let anything happen to Loras," Jon said.

"So, what else happened at this tourney, so fat it truly was different."

"Jon won melee," Mace said proudly.

"Let me guess, Loras?"

"No Thoros of Myr," Jon said.

"The Red Priest, doesn't he wield flaming swords?"

"Aye, he does," Jon answered.

"He caught it Willas, he actually caught the flaming sword in his hand," Mace said.

Willas looked at Jon. "Let me see." Jon showed Willas his hands, both palms having recently healed scars on them. They were not bad, but they were noticeable.

"You crazy fool."

"It paid off; I won."

"There should be burns around the scars," Willas said as he continued to look at Jon's hands.

"Master Mott did a fine job on those gauntlets," Garlan said. "Jon unseated Jaime Lannister in the joust also."

"Impressive, Jon," Willas remarked.

"That's nothing compared to what Margaery has done," Willas looked at his sister. "She helped the poor of the city with my and Loras's winnings from the tourney, and Lord Mace even matched it."

"My little sister, caring as ever," Willas said with a smile.

They talked more about everything that happened to them while they were in the capital. Everything from spending time with Jon's sisters to begging him to forfeit the joust after his injury. During their talk lady, Olenna left the room.

"What happened here while we were gone?" Alerie asked.

"Nothing much, just a bunch of petitions and managing the castle nothing as exciting as your time in the capital by the sound of it."

"It sure was something, and I can wait until something like that happens again," Margaery said as she looked at Jon.

"You all aren't going to let me hear the end of this, would you?" Jon asked.

"No, what you did was brave, yes, but also incredibly dangerous both times," Lady Alerie said.

After reciting the tourney's events, the group went to their chambers to freshen up before dinner. During the dinner, it was apparent to the Tyrells that there were two large wolves in their midst, all but Margaery, who fed the one called Lady with meat from her plate. Willas was amazed by the wolves' sheer size, the white male being much larger than the gray female, and the most exciting thing about the large one was that he was an albino. He also noticed that the wolf did not make a sound when he moved, its blood-red eyes carefully watching everything around him.

Willas spoke to Margaery about the wolves before dinner, and she said that Jon had them under control and that there was nothing to worry about. The Maesters claim that Direwolves are a myth, but he always believed that there was some truth to the tales from the North and the presents of two such creatures proved that. Who knows what other species lived in the far North?

He was excited about the possibility of watching and studying the Direwolves. "Maybe the rangers from the Wall could find more and have them brought here," Willas thought. For now, he would have to settle for these two magnificent beasts.

After dinner, they all retired for the evening, his family being tired from the long road. He was on the way to his room when Margaery asked him to accompany her and Jon to her chambers.

"What is this about?" Willas asked but seeing that both his sister and Jon were here with him together and the looks on their faces, he could make an educated guess.

"You know about Jon and me," Margaery said; the way she said it, it was more like a statement than a question.

Willas nodded. "I do," Both Margaery and Jon looked at each other with concern.

"How long?" Jon asked.

Willas walked to a chair and sat down. "Since the beginning," he said with a small smile. When Margaery and Jon first fell in love, he found out soon after. "You did a good job a keeping it a secret, but I have eyes of a hawk little sister; I notice things and so those Garlan."

"We know about Garlan," Jon said, "Loras also knows."

"Loras figured it out?" Willas raised an eyebrow. "I guess I won the bet with Garlan,"

"Wait, you two had a beat over us?" Margaery asked, more annoyed than surprised.

"When Garlan first found out, he approached me to confirm his suspicions, and after that, with Loras being the last of us three, we decided to have a little water; I said that Loras wound figure it out and Garlan said that he won't."

Margaery crossed her arms. "Well, neither of you won, we told him."

"You did, shame, a thousand golden dragons, were on the line," Willas said with a smirk.

"A thousand, that could have fed the poor for weeks," Margaery said.

"Well, at least he knows now," Willas remarked.

"Aye, he those," Jon said.

"You don't have anything to worry about from me; I would never dare to something thing to hurt you two in any way," Willas said in a sincere tone. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Thank you, brother," Margaery said.

"Yes, thank you, Willas," Jon said.

Margaery

A few days had passed since they arrived back in Highgarden, and she spent as much time with Jon as she could, to make up for the time they lost while in the capital and to spite her grandmother. Margaery lay beside Jon in the bed, looking at his long face; she moved her head closer to his chest." My knight," she thought. Margaery never thought she would know real love; she was a daughter of the Warden of the South; she always knew she would have to marry a powerful lord of a prince, that was until Jon rode into the castle.

When she saw him, Margaery knew something was different about him; at first, he didn't look any different from anyone she saw before until she gazed at those eyes, eyes that glittered like the dawn.

Jon bowed. "Lord Tyrell," he said in a calm tone.

"You must be Jon Snow," her father said as he looked at the boy. "You look just like your father."

"You met my father?" Jon asked.

"Yes, we fought together during the Greyjoy rebellion," Over the years, Margaery realized her father had not been on the front lines like the king and lord Eddard but stayed behind to command the rear. She was glad for it; her father is not a warrior Jon's father or Randyll Tarly are.

"My father is grateful to you, my lord, for agreeing to foster me," Jon said, and her father's chest puffed up.

"It's nothing, now lad; I will introduce you to my family," father said as he put one hand on Jon's shoulder. "This is my lovely wife, lady Alerie Tyrell."

"My lady," Jon said with a bow.

"Jon," mother replied. Mother never called Jon a Snow or done anything to undermine him; to her, he was like any other child that came to foster with us.

"This is my eldest son Willas," father said as he pointed at her brother.

"My lord," Jon said.

"Welcome to Highgarden Jon Snow," Willas said.

"This is my second son Garlan."

"My lord," Jon said, but Garlan did not reply. He only looked at Jon with suspicion.

"This is my youngest son..."

"My name is Loras," her brother said and offered his hand to Jon. Jon looked at the hand and then to Loras hesitantly. "I won't bite."

Then Jon shook her brother's hand. "Jon, Jon Snow," Jon said with a smile.

"And this is my sweet daughter Margaery."

"My lady," Jon said. Margaery looked at the brown-haired boy; everything seemed normal except those sad purple eyes; she could see in them that he was not truly happy to be here.

"Lord Jon," she said.

"I'm not lord my lady, just a Snow," he replied.

Before she could say anything more, her father beat her to it, "Let's get you inside, the road was long, and you would probably like to rest."

In the years that followed, they became closer until neither could deny what they felt for each other anymore, true love. "If only he was a lord or a prince, then they would not have to hide," she thought. Their story remained her of prince Duncan and Jenny, a prince and a common girl who fell in love and the crown prince gave up his crown for love, maybe she could do the same.

Jon moved slightly and opened his eyes; she moved her head up to look at him. "Morning, princess," Jon said with a smile.

"Morning, my prince," she replied, the same smile on her lips.

"Sleep well?" Jon asked.

"Yes," she said, but in truth, she did not sleep much at all; the only thing she could think about for the last few weeks was what would be her grandmother's next move. Lady Olenna is not a woman who accepts defeat.

"It's almost dawn. I should be back in my room soon," Margaery said. She has been living in Highgarden her whole life, so she knew when the servants were not circulating as much threw the castle and when the guards made their routes, returning to her quarters would be an easy task.

"Stay a bit longer," Jon said as he rubbed his hand over her back; she loved when he did that; she loved his touch.

"Maybe a bit more," she said and huddled closer to him, her head still laying on his chest. All she wanted was to stay like this, in this perfect moment, to never break apart, to stay with him, but she knew that was not possible. Soon that sweet moment came to an end, and she had to return to her rooms. She put her nightgown back on and left the door but not before giving Jon one last kiss for the night.

Margaery snuck her way back to her room and laid back into her bed; she fell asleep but missed the warmth that was next to her moments ago. She dreamt about her sitting on a throne as a queen and Jon standing there beside her in shiny white armor. "My knight, my love," she said in her sleep.

When the servants finally came and woke her, she dressed up and walked to break her fast with her family. Willas and Garlan were already there, and so was mother. Margaery sat next to them and waited for a servant to bring her meal.

"Morning, little sister," Garlan said.

"Morning to you all," Margaery replied. Soon Jon and her father arrived, lord Mace being his usual jolly self. "Morning, father."

"Morning sweating," her father said and kissed her on the head. As they all ate and talked about their plans for the day, the castles Maester Lomys arrived, carrying a piece of paper in his hand.

"My lord, a raven has arrived from the capital," the Maester said.

"From Loras?" mother asked.

"No, it's from the king," they all looked at each other; what could possibly the king want now just after they left. Garlan stood up, and Lomys handed him the message, Garlan taking a moment to read it.

"What's it says?" father asked.

"King Robert is dead," Garlan answered, and shock and surprise were on everyone's faces.

"How?" asked Jon.

"It does not say, only that Joffrey is the new king and that we need to come and swear our fealty to him." Margaery looked at Garlan; she could tell there was more,

"Garlan, what are you not telling us?" Margaery asked her brother.

Garlan sighed and looked at Jon, his expression sad and heavy "Lord Eddard has been arrested for treason."

Jon jumped up from his seat, "What?"

"There must be some mistake," Margaery said. She did not know Jon's father that well, but by the time he spent with her family Margaery knew he was not a man who would betray someone, especially the king. Margaery looked at Jon with worry, an expression of utter confusion and disbelief on his face.

"My father would never do something like that; he would never go against the king."

"Something must be wrong, a mistake surely," Mace said.

"That's what says here, we are to come to the capital and swear our fealty to King Joffrey Baratheon."

"What about my sisters? What has happened to them?" Jon asked.

"Doesn't say."

"If anything has happened to them," Jon said. Margaery put one hand on Jon's shoulder.

"They are safe; this is some mistake."

"My lord, I also have a letter from Ser Loras," Lomys said and presented the note, Garlan grabbing it and reading it out loud.

"Somethings happened, coming to Highgarden with Renly."

"What's going on? What happened in the capital?" Mace asked frantically.

"We will wait for Loras and find out from him," Willas said.

"You can wait; I'm going back and getting my father out of there," Jon said, turned, and started walking away.

"Jon, you can't just do it all by yourself; we don't even know what has truly happened," Willas said.

"I don't care; my father and sister have been imprisoned for no reason; my father is not a traitor, everyone knows that."

"We do, but it would do them no good if you got yourself killed in the process of rescuing them."

"I'm getting them out of there. If my life is the price, then so be it."

Margaery was terrified now; she was worried about Sansa and little Arya's lives, but hearing Jon say his life did not mean much to him shook her to her core. No, she cannot lose him, he might think little of his own life, but she cared more than anyone could know.

"Jon, please," Margaery said in a desperate tone, and he looked back at her. "Don't do this."

"What else am I to do?"

"You wait for Loras and Renly with us; we will learn of what happened and make a plan from there," Margaery answered.

"I can't wait," Jon said, looking at her, anger and sadness in his eyes.

"Jon, I beg you to listen to me," she said, pleading.

"Margaery,"

"Listen to me!" she shouted. She looked around and saw that everyone was taken back by her reaction, even Jon.

After a long moment of just staring at each other, she heard Jon finally says: "Alright,"

"We must let cooler heads prevail, right now. We know nothing of what transpired; running into a battle blindly will only get you killed," Willas said.

"Fine, but as soon as Loras arrives, I'm going to Kings landing to save my father," Jon replied.

"Noted," said Garlan. They all looked at each other for a few more seconds before Jon turned again and walked out of the room. Margaery felt fear, confusion, sadness all at the same time. For a moment, she thought that this was her grandmother's work but shook it off when she realized that this was not how her grandmother did things; Olenna did things more subtly.

Loras

As soon all hell broke loose in the capital, he and Renly made a run for it. Loras wanted to ensure the safety of Jon's sisters, but Renly urged him on, telling him that they had no time right now, and he reluctantly agreed.

They rode for ten days until they reached Highgarden, fifty of their guards with them. During the ride, he regretted leaving Jon's family alone, breaking his promise, but he told himself that they would come back and free them.

As they rode into the castle courtyard, they were met by his family, Margaery running to him and embracing him. They broke the hug and looked at each other.

"What happened?" Margaery asked.

"King Robert is dead, killed in a hunt by boar, Joffrey rules now," Loras replied.

Jon walked up and grabbed Loras by the shoulders. "What happened to my father? Why has he been branded a traitor?"

"Lord Eddard tried to commit a coup, but he failed and is now imprisoned," Renly said as he approached them.

"Lie, why would my father betray the king?"

"Because Joffrey is not the king, he is not Roberts's son," Renly said.

"What are you talking about?" Margaery asked.

"Joffrey is not a Baratheon, he is a bastard born of incest, Robert is not his father Jaime Lannister is. "Renly said, and Loras could see the shock on his family's faces.

"The Kingslayer," Jon said.

"Aye," replied Renly.

"Is-Is my father alive?" Jon asked.

"As far as we know, yes," answered Loras.

"The Lannisters won't risk killing him; he is too valuable as a hostage," Renly added.

"My sisters?"

"Taken prisoner as well," Loras said.

"We need to do something," Jon said as he looked at all of them.

"With the children not being Robert, that means that Stannis is the next in line for the throne," Willas said.

"No," Loras said, and everyone looked at him with confusion. "We have a better king here," everyone looked to Renly.

"You want to take the throne for yourself?" asked Mace.

"Yes, Stannis might be next in line, but he would not make a good king; Robert proved that good soldiers don't always make good kings, and that is certainly true for my brother."

"And you want us to help you get the crown," Garlan said.

"Yes," Renly said firmly.

"Renly is the best option," Loras said.

"If you want the crown, so be it, I will help you as long as you help me free my family from the Lannisters," Jon said.

"I will help you; you have my word," Renly said.

"Come inside while we talk over this," Willas said.

They informed his grandmother of the situation and how he wanted them to act. During the conversation, he revealed nothing about what she thought about that, only asking for more details before asking to speak with Renly in private.

Olenna

The news she received from her grandson and lord Renly was surprising, to say the least, and she wondered how she was not the one to figure it out first. The Baratheon's always have black hair and blue eyes, while the Lannister have blonde hair and green eyes. Besides that, the children had not a single Baratheon feature; they were all Lannister. And with Renly wanting to crown himself king, an opportunity showed itself, a way to get what she wants.

If Renly wishes to be king, he will need a queen to rule by his side, and with that, she will partially solve her problem; the bastard will have to be dealt with later.

"You wanted to speak with me alone, my lady," Renly said as he looked at her.

"I did," Olenna said, readjusting herself in her chair. "With everything you told me, I'm still in doubt if my family should get involved in this."

"You know as well as I that that boy has no claim to the throne, and you know what kind of a man Stannis is; I'm the best option."

"Who is there to support your claim?" she asked.

"The entirety of the Stormlands."

"Tell me, what do we have to gain by supporting you?"

"If you declare for me I will, you will gain the favor of the true king, I already intend to make Lora's lord commander of my Kingsguard, and I'm going to need a hand, lord Mace might just feel that role."

Olenna laughed. "My son cannot run a castle, let alone be a hand to a king. If you wish our support, then I have a term of my own."

"Tell them, my lady,"

"Margaery, my granddaughter, she is to marry you and become your queen. If you agree to that, then House Tyrell and the Reach will stand behind you." Olenna looked at the would-be king, he seemed reluctant at first, but he quickly changed his tune.

"I will marry Margaery and make her my queen." Olenna smiled.

"It seems we have a deal, your grace."

With the deal struck, Olenna concentrated on the future, Margaery will be queen, and with the Stormlands and the Reach together, they could easily take the capital and defeat anything Tywin can throw at them. The Starks might even declare war on the Lannisters, which will catch the lions in a trap. With Tywin focused on the Riverlands and the Starks, taking the throne would be easy.

Later she had a word with her son, who Loras already convinced to join Renly with the same promise, Margaery as queen. With a bit of luck, the bastard will die in some fight, and if he does not, she might just arrange for it to happen, but this time she will make sure to use someone capable.