WILOW-Ch.385: Revenge and the Crown
POV of Margaery Tyrell
Margaery sat beside the cold, dead body of her husband and then looked at the grief-filled look on Loras' face.
She considered how ironic it was that the death of her husband caused her brother more grief than her.
But then again, their marriage had been nothing but a sham from the start. Renly had only loved Loras, and Loras had only loved Renly.
The only things that saddened her were that she would no longer be able to wear the crown and that her brother had been inconsolable since King Renly's death.
The fact that Loras had been beside him when Renly was killed and had been able to do nothing made it even worse.
And wasn't that a whole different can of worms on its own?
Renly Baratheon was killed by a shadow that looked like his brother. The thought alone gave her nightmares.
It was no secret that King Stannis did not like her family.
What if he sent a shadow assassin after her and her family the next time?
She supposed that this was why half the lords from Stormlands joined Stannis. Fear could be a useful tool sometimes.
The other half simply called King Stannis a Kinslayer and a monster, then returned home.
After the stunt that King Stannis pulled, she very much doubted that he would be able to hold onto the Seven Kingdoms even if he killed Joffrey Waters and took the Iron Throne.
She was brought out of her thoughts by a commotion outside the tent.
Not a moment later, a large eagle flew inside and landed on the table beside her.
She stared at it in shock, and the eagle stared back at her with some sort of intelligence.
Then the moment broke as two guards frantically entered the tent, and their eyes immediately went to the eagle.
"Lady Margaery! Step away from the bird!!" one of them said and moved toward the eagle with a spear in hand.
She came out of her shock and stepped in between the eagle and the man.
"Wait! Don't harm the eagle." She said.
She had no idea why she was protecting the eagle in the first place. But she did it, nonetheless.
"But Lady Margaery…"
"It might harm…"
"Get out." The voice was soft, yet everyone could hear it.
She turned and saw her brother look at the two guards who had disturbed his mourning with a look that promised death.
The first guard started to speak, but the second, older one quickly shut him up and dragged him outside the tent.
Once they were gone, Loras glanced at her before he went back to staring at the dead body of their former king.
She felt sad for Loras, but there was nothing she could do for him now.
She turned to look at the eagle and suddenly noticed it pointing one of its feet toward her.
She looked at the foot and noticed a large, rolled letter tied to it. How had she missed it the first time?
She cautiously moved forward, and when she was sure that the eagle wasn't going to claw her eyes out, she quickly removed the letter from its legs.
Once that was done, the eagle flapped its wings and left the tent.
There was silence once again, and she looked at the rolled-up letter.
It had a Heart Tree seal on it.
Her heart skipped a beat as she realized who this letter belonged to.
A boy… no, a young man who has become a legend of his own during this war.
Lord Domeric Bolton.
She carefully opened the letter and read its contents.
By the time she finished, she was stunned in silence.
Rhaegar Targaryen. Lyanna Stark. Marriage. Boy. Taken by Lord Stark. Hiding him from King Robert. Jon Snow. Aegon Targaryen.
New order. King in the North. Kings. Queens. Empire. Emperor.
It was like a fairy tale that had come true.
And if her grandmother had not beaten foolishness out of her at a young age, then she would have almost swooned.
As it was, she quickly started thinking about the benefits of this arrangement.
Even if the Lords of Stormlands had left them, the army of the Reach still amounted to over 70,000 men.
The combined army of Vale, North, and Riverland must have a similar number. Plus, they would also have Lord Bolton on their side.
Hungry Beast. Bloody Beast. Chosen One. Blessed One. The Army Breaker.
If they joined forces, then no one else would be able to challenge them.
She was not sure if all the Northerners or all the Lords of the Vale would support a Targaryen, a new order, or an emperor. But if Lord Stark and Lord Bolton make this claim, then all the other Northern Lords would follow.
The Riverlands would surely support those who saved them from the Lannisters, and even if only a few of the Vale Lords supported the alliance, that would be more than enough.
She went to her brother and shook his shoulder. "Loras. Loras."
He stared away from King Renly's corpse and stared at her in annoyance.
"Read this. It is important." She said with a serious expression.
Loras nodded and took the letter from her.
After he had gone through the whole letter, he put it down and thought about it for a while.
Then his eyes suddenly sharpened, and she could see the determination in his eyes.
"I want to be the one to kill Stannis. To avenge Renly." He said.
She nodded, "He is still organizing his army. If we left now, then we might be able to reach King's Landing before him." She said.
"No." Loras shook his head, "If we take King's Landing, then nothing stops Stannis from just running away. No. We'll wait for him to breach the walls before we attack him from behind and cut off any escape routes."
She wanted to say that it sounded like a stupid idea, and that taking King's Landing before Stannis would be safer, but she knew he wouldn't change his mind on this matter.
He loved Renly too much and wanted revenge for that. "We'll get that revenge for you, Loras." She said.
"And I'll fulfill your wish to become the queen. I don't care about Lord Bolton's ambition or his imperial plans. He can have what he wants. But Stannis's head will be mine, and the queen's crown will be yours." He said, and she hugged him.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.386: Shocking News
Ch.387: King of the North
Ch.388: Lord Bolton's Claim