Chapter 39

Harry Potter + A song of Ice and Fire Crossover

Chapter 39

Lily should have known that her troubles weren't over the moment dinner was concluded that night.

Prince Doran had waited until the children had been dismissed from the table, Elia returning from putting the girls to bed and then had requested that all members of his family, including herself, meet him in his private study.

An uneasy feeling roiled in her stomach like sour milk as she walked the warm golden hallways of Sunspear by Elia's side.

"What do you suppose he wishes to talk about?" she whispered to Elia. "And what could I possibly have to do with it?"

Elia sighed and shook her head. "My brother is a perpetual schemer and I can never remember a time when he was not sitting in his chair and wondering about all matters of the world and politics. The ravens have not ceased to fly since we fled from the capital and he will have had a great deal of correspondence to write. The survivals of myself and the girls…changes things."

Lily bristled at the implication that the lives of her dear friend and children were any other than good tidings, but she didn't have time to refute the claim before they arrived at the door to the Prince of Dorne's study.

A servant showed them in and led them to an opulent cushioned settee set with silk cushions. It sat just opposite a large cedar desk with a highbacked chair where Doran currently sat waiting for them.

Elia received a smile and Lily a nod, but otherwise nothing else was said as they waited for the arrival of Prince Oberyn.

Jaime had insisted that he stay by Visenya and Rhaenys room to keep watch and Lily smiled at the thought.

The knight had become something of a friend after the ordeal they had spent together and she hoped those circumstances would remain unchanged despite what happened in the future.

The sun was just beginning to set beyond the open balcony of Doran's study, rays of golden light cresting over the ocean and a warm breeze was blowing into the room that took the heat off of the chamber.

Lily closed her eyes for a moment, taking it and wondering whether she could simply stay here in Dorne for the rest of her life.

When the realm had nearly torn itself apart by civil war, the southern tip of the country remained a sort of utopia that those stalwarts could run to for safety.

Lily loved it here.

Her peace was interrupted a moment later by the sound of the door being opened and Prince Oberyn's obnoxious voice penetrating the quiet. "Come now brother, what is the meaning of the meeting this time?"

Doran waited until his brother had seated himself in the plush chair next to the settee before he spoke, tenting his fingers in front of him.

"In the last few days, I have received a letter from Lord Jon Arryn, who I am to understand is to be the new Hand of the King. He wishes to sue for peace now that the rebellion has triumphed."

"And what does that mean precisely?" Oberyn asked in a voice that was all silky venom. "Is he demanding our sister and nieces be handed over to his rabble?"

Doran raised a hand, waiting for silence and eventually Oberyn fell quiet, looking stonily at his brother. "The letter has expressed a desire to see all of Westeros united under one banner now that Robert Baratheon has received the crown. There is a wish for all skirmishes to be ended so that the reign of our new king can be celebrated."

He paused to look around at them all before continuing. "And of course, you have all heard of Lyanna Stark's disgrace at this point, rendering her an entirely…unsuitable queen."

Even though she had known of all of this before, Lily was hard pressed to keep from wincing. She did not envy Robert's position as king now and indeed she felt somewhat sorry for him.

Lily remembered their conversation in Harrenhal what seemed like a lifetime ago, his defeated he had seemed as seeing his betrothed accept the affections of another man.

She didn't know how she felt about Robert despite having known him from something of a distance for the last few years. He and Elbert and Ned were something of an established unit and the war had been waged as much for the deaths of everyone they had lost as for the return of Lyanna Stark.

She wondered how a crown would suit him and if indeed he would be a better king than Aerys. The bar was set so low at this point that he surely must be.

"Celebrated," Oberyn snorted into his wine glass. "Does he think that the wresting of our nieces throne from them should be a cause for joy?"

"Mayhap it will be," Doran said, fixing his brother with an intense look before turning once more to his sister and Lily. "Because it presents us with a unique opportunity."

Lily's eyes narrowed at the Prince. "And what opportunity is that my lord?"

"Baratheon seeks a queen," Doran said, "and Lannister has offered his daughter as a potential bride. But the ramifications of having a lion queen are such that I do not wish to entertain them."

Lily grimaced and was suddenly grateful that Jaime wasn't present for this discussion. Though she liked him, she had met his sister once and found her to be an utterly disagreeable creature. The idea of her as queen wasn't a pleasant one.

"And you of course wish to circumvent them from here," she heard herself saying and Doran's sharp eyes landed on her fixedly. "As it stands Lady Lillian, I believe that we have an even stronger candidate for Westeros next queen. And that would be you."

The silence that followed this statement was so acute that one could hear the calls of the distant sea birds far off in the distance and the pounding of the waves on the shore, even the trickle of the water into the fountains far below them.

There was a ringing in Lily's ears as she took in Doran's words. A part of her wanted to laugh hysterically and dismiss him for a madman. He didn't seem insane however and she was terrified that he was serious.

"Of course," Elia said softly beside and Lily whirled to face her friend so fast that her neck twinged uncomfortably. "You cannot be serious."

"Lily don't you see?" the princess said reaching out to take her hands. "There is no one else that makes sense to be queen. I cannot for I represent the old regime and the realm will always be divided. I do not want my daughters to be raised in an environment that hates them and where they will always be watched."

Lily opened her mouth to protest that she would never allow such a thing to happen but Elia wasn't finished.

"And secondly, I have no desire to return to the capital. Cersei Lannister is equally an unattractive candidate for it gives the Lannisters a great deal of influence and I suspect that my family will not stand for a queen from them given how they conducted themselves during the rebellion."

She paused here for breath again, but raced on a second later as Lily was gathering her thoughts for a rebuttal. "Your father fought for Robert's side, so he would have no reason to doubt you and the resources the Tully's offered were nearly as great as those of the Starks."

"You are forgetting one simple thing," Lily said through gritted teeth. "That I am loyal to you and how will it be overlooked that I helped the wife of Rhaegar Targaryen and his heirs escape from the capital when the goal was to tear down the previous regime."

"It will say that you have compassion," her friend continued softly. "We often learn much about ourselves during moments of pressure and you have acquitted yourself most admirably in that objective, you and Jaime both."

She risked a glance upward at her brothers. "Will you excuse us?"

Lily barely heard Doran's answer before Elia was hauling her up and ushering her out the door of the study.

She didn't say a thing until they were once more firmly ensconced in the Water Gardens, sitting on one of the benches before a large fountain.

Normally Lily found the sound of the water soothing but now it only served to make the thoughts rattling around in her brain seem even louder.

"Lily?"

She didn't answer, in fact Lily didn't think that she could.

"Lily would you please look at me?"

Somehow she finally did so.

Elia's eyes were soft as they looked at her in the light of the dying sun and Lily felt a lump form in her throat.

Her friend took one of her hands and squeezed it firmly. "Is the idea of being queen such an ill thing."

Lily blinked several times at her before speaking hoarsely. "That is not even remotely the point."

"Alright, is it the idea of marrying Baratheon then?"

No, that wasn't exactly the problem either. Lily knew Robert well enough and he seemed fine. She certainly did feel some sorrow for him in knowing that he had lost his friends and betrothed on account of the actions of two extremely selfish people.

"No," she said quietly.

"I can understand that the suggestions of my brother seem sudden and perhaps borderline cruel," Elia said slowly. "But I know Doran well and I don't think he would propose this solution if he didn't think it was the best one."

"It also happens to be politically advantageous for everyone involved," Lily muttered back and Elia sighed. "Yes, there is that too. But I want you think about something else as well. Not only would it be politically advantageous for many of Westeros territories for you to be queen, the realm itself only stands to benefit if you are wed to Robert."

Lily snorted in a rather unladylike manner. "How so?"

"Lily let us not fool ourselves into thinking that Cersei Lannister would make a fit queen for the realm. She does not possess, the strength or intelligence necessary to be a queen. She will sit next to Baratheon, bare his children and terrorize servants. That is all she is good for."

Lily blinked at the less than stellar review of the Lannister girl's character before letting out a sigh.

Elia didn't let her speak. "But you, my dear friend are a pillar of strength. When I thought I couldn't conceive again, you made it possible. You protected me from Aerys, you protected me from assassins, you protected me from all manner of harm. You love my daughters nearly as much as I do which is why I made you Visenya's godmother. There is no one more deserving of that title than you."

She paused here and looked out at the horizon, a haunted look on her face, before continuing. "And then you saved me from the Lannisters, you and Jaime both put your lives and reputations at risk to help me, despite the fact that you had opportunity to save yourselves and it would have been expedient to let me and the girls die."

Lily felt sick with horror and at the look on her face, Elia moved to soothe her. "I know you would not have even if you had no magic, but the truth remains. You are someone who will stand in the face of adversity for those who cannot. You do not do what is expedient or pragmatic, you do what is right. And yes you have the tools to accomplish that but you follow through on the promises you make. If you had not been in the capital that day, the lives of myself and my daughters would have ended.

"Not only do you possess the ability to prevail where others cannot, but you possess the compassion to notice the suffering of others and to see them through in their trials. Lily."

The red head blinked and turned to her friend, surprised to see the fire blazing in her eyes as she squeezed her hands.

"There is no one more deserving of being queen than you. And beyond that, no one else should be queen but you. You possess the ability to create change my friend and you possess the strength to see it through. Westeros need compassion, something you can unswervingly provide. You would make a far better queen than any other noble woman in this country because you understand that value. And I think the realm would be better because of it."

Lily sat there in silence, overwhelmed by the strength of her friends regard and trying valiantly not to shed tears from the emotions that it caused.

She had to swallow hard a few times before she could talk and Elia thankfully waited in silence until she had regained control of herself.

"You realize that Doran's motives go beyond simply not wanting Cersei Lannister to be queen and seeing me as a viable alternative," she said in a hoarse voice. "If I do this, he will want one of the girl to be queen after me if it means marrying one of them to my first born son."

Lily didn't have much of a head for politics, but even she could see that a position of power was what Doran was gunning for.

"I know," Elia said softly. "Would you believe me if I said that I did not put such an idea in his head?"

"Of course I would."

The idea wasn't completely unappealing. The thought of Lily having another child with someone she only barely knew was making her head hurt but having one of the girls for a daughter in law would be a more attractive option than any child of hers being married to a stranger.

"I am not asking you to respond affirmatively," Elia said softly. "But take some time to consider the idea. My brother is planning a response to Lord Arryn's letter soon and he will need to know your decision by then. All I ask is that you think about it and honestly consider what could be gained from you being queen. But whatever you choose my friend, I will support you. I always will."

And then she rose from the bench, and left Lily alone in the silence.

WWW

I would like to make everyone aware of the following facts. At this point in time, Robert has not fathered a child during the Battle of the Bells. That might be a slight spoiler for future chapters, but I am not going to make him a thoroughly unattractive option by making him a cheater while he was hurrying to rescue Lyanna. So the only child he has fathered so far at this point is Mya Stone which happened before he was betrothed to Lyanna. Just a brief FYI.

Also, I have been receiving some comments from my followers wondering where some of previous stories have gone, Book of the Stranger, Wild Flower, Lion of the Vale, Angel, etc. Here's the thing with me, if I lose interest in a story, I'll leave an author's note and then take it down because I really don't like the discontinued story staring me in the face when I come on my stories page here. But I recognize that there are a lot of people who still like the stories and who will still come back to read them even if they are not finished. So in the near future, I will be re-uploading all of those stories, (at least the ones that I can find) back onto this website so you guys can continue enjoying them. And who knows, maybe seeing them will inspire me to finish them once and for all.