Stannis

Stannis nearly slumped from the strain of the day as he entered the bedchamber lavishly furnished for the king on the Iron Throne. He hadn't thought of it as his bedchamber for years now. It was the division he changed clothes in and used as an entry room to their bedchamber, his and Sansa's. Tonight was the first night in he wasn't sure how long that he actually sat on the bed after removing all but his undertunic. An illness from Lady Olenna had caused the wedding between Shireen and Lord Willas to be postponed another three months from the time originally planned. But now the time had come and being civil to a preening Lord Tyrell and dealing with the interruptions to his routine caused by the convergence of the prominent members of House Tyrell for the wedding of Shireen and Willas was more tiring than any battle he could remember. Both Sansa and Shireen begged him to overlook the feigned politeness and condescending behavior of Lady Margaery and Ser Loras. It took great effort, but not as much effort as it took to overlook the worried and saddened expressions on the faces of Lady Tyrell and the Queen of Thorns when they watched the couple. It was obvious no one from House Tyrell, other than Lord Willas, was happy about the marriage with the possible exception of his brother, Lord Garlan. This was a time when he preferred to believe in the faith of the Seven. The thought that there were seven hells they could be damned to was satisfying to say the least.

As he sat there, Stannis remembered the night before his wedding to Sansa. Catelyn Stark drank too much wine and, forgetting herself, gave him unwanted advice about his wedding night. While it had been unwanted at the time, it was some of the best advice he had ever received. He briefly wondered if could bring himself to pass on the same advice about doing more than ones duty on their wedding night. Stannis rather suspected Willas Tyrell did not need to hear it. Lord Willas was not marrying a stranger; his daughter and he had become inseparable during the time they waited for this wedding. Stannis could not complain about his treatment of Shireen, or about how he was doing the job that had been concocted for him. It was rather amusing that Willas had made a success of a function that been created with no real expectations. He not only made himself invaluable at something no one believed would be valuable, he made Stannis and Davos appear to have a great deal of foresight for putting him in charge of this thing they called the rebuilding effort. Stannis may not enjoy his familial alliance with House Tyrell and he may be worried about how the family will regard Shireen in future, but he was not unhappy with Willas Tyrell. It would be years before he stopped watching his good-son with an eye of suspicion and it would be no different when it came time for their Catelyn to marry. For now, it appeared that Shireen had chosen well for he had to admit it was she who had made this choice.

As for choosing, Stannis had not chosen Sansa. Looking toward the small, dark corridor that led to their bedchamber where she waited for him, the thought occurred to him that she had turned out to be a gift. His gift was in pain at the moment and trying to hide it for Shireen's sake. The rumors of her sister, Arya, bedding the new maester at Winterfell had finally reached her, months after others knew of it. Worse than that, she realized it was belief in these rumors that prompted the offer of marriage from Ser Devan to her sister. Sansa had been stunned that Arya agreed to the match if she were allowed to wait until Spring, which Maester Pylos thought was another two years away. Ser Devan and House Seaworth readily agreed to her terms. It all made sense when Sansa learned the rumors, but for quite a while afterward she believed they were rumors that forced Arya into accepting – not that there was any credibility to them. Sansa viewed her younger sister as boyish and one with no interest in marriage. Count on his queen to consider marriage as the only motive a lady had for losing her maidenhead willingly.

Concerned it might be true that Arya had not been willing or that she did not resist because she had unwillingly lost her maidenhead while trying to get home when forced to run from King's Landing, Sansa sent her a raven boldly asking the veracity of the rumors. The reply she received left her in no doubt. Not only was Arya willingly bedding down with this Maester Pate, she intended to continue to do so until she left Winterfell. The humiliation Sansa felt when she was around Davos and Marya weighed down on her heavily, although no words were said. Privately, Davos told him Marya was rightfully concerned with the notion that the girl would continue her dalliance until she left Winterfell. If a betrothal did not keep her faithful, what said a marriage would? Davos insisted he looked on it as a good match and while he did not articulate it, Stannis knew Davos' concern was that the one way in which their families were to truly be joined may be far less than a joyous liaison and cause a division between them. Because it was left unsaid, he could not respond to it. They continued as if this were just another of the many events of the realm.

Meanwhile, Ser Devan Seaworth seemed to have developed some sort of relationship with his betrothed. Davos relayed that Devan sent her a raven capable of travel between Winterfell and Cape Wrath to add to the few ravens currently held at Winterfell, and that they now corresponded regularly. It seems Arya had suggested that he fortify Cape Wrath's lack of fighting men by offering to move, house, and train some of the wildings at The Gift, which currently did not have enough resources for the number of people there. Wildlings were already moving down into Winterfell, where resources were equally scarce. Ser Devan and Lady Arya worked together with Lord Clegane and the end result was that ships were sent from Cape Wrath to the port nearest Dreadfort where over 100 men and their families, all capable of both fighting and tending the land, sailed back to Cape Wrath. The latest report was that, once the majority of them recovered from seasickness and other ailments from a voyage in Winter, they were settling well. It seemed fitting that one of the newest Houses in the land was peopled with the newest settlers.

Donning a robe, Stannis made his way through the corridor, extinguishing the candles that had been lit as he passed. He found his queen sitting on the fur in front of the fire with her robe drawn tightly around her slender frame rather than in bed. He didn't look forward to sitting on the floor in this cold, but still he joined her there. Sansa moved so that she was able to lay her head on his shoulder. "Are you anxious about tomorrow?"

"Yes," he admitted. "I imagine I'm not as anxious as Shireen."

"No," she agreed with a light laugh. "Although I believe she is also very eager."

"You were not eager," Stannis observed without emotion, staring into the flames and grateful he could now look at them and enjoy them for their warmth rather than looking for signs of the future.

"I was terrified," Sansa confirmed softly. "Not only was I marrying the king, I was marrying a man I barely knew."

"You were marrying an older man you knew to be cold as the ice on The Wall." he corrected.

"I knew no such thing," she insisted, snuggling closer. Stannis didn't mind that her memory was vague on this point, preferring her romanticized version of events rather than the truth. "I knew I was marrying a great king who deserved a more capable queen," she added.

Stannis realized it was his cue and while flattery was on the other end of the spectrum of things he considered himself proficient in, he did his best. "I suspect you are even more highly regarded than Good Queen Alysanne in her time. As for what I do or do not deserve, this very night I was thinking of you as a gift."

He could tell this pleased her and it never failed to astonish him that Sansa cared so very much for his regard. It astonished him even more how much he cared for hers. One day he hoped he could say the words properly, but until then, he satisfied himself that she recognized his love for her.

"We probably should try to sleep. Tomorrow promises to be a very long day." Sansa moved away from him and gracefully stood. With less grace, but a dexterity he could be proud of for one his age, Stannis rose to join her and follow her to their bed.

Sansa got in first, pulling the bedclothes over them once he was beside her. Again, she snuggled against him. "Goodnight My Love."

"Goodnight My Queen."

The last conscious thought he had was of a scene he had witnessed the evening before as his family gathered prior to putting the children to bed for the evening and preparing to meet the rest of the visiting Tyrells for supper. It was an image of Sansa holding Catelyn and smiling down at her while Shireen patiently tried to quiet her brother as he told her he didn't like the fat man. Behind them, Lord Willas was trying not to laugh at Steffon's animated description of his father. No matter what the morrow would bring or the day after or the day after that, King Stannis drew strength in the knowledge that he did his best for his realm and for his family. He drew strength from the woman he held, his gift, as he drifted off to sleep.

Author's Notes:

- Thank you to all who have read this piece, and especially to those who posted comments and reviews! I am also very thankful to those who have read all three pieces based in this Alternate Universe.

- As I write this, I am not sure if this is the end of my writing in this AU or not. There may be one-shots of Stannis & Sansa, Shireen & Willas ,and/or a small piece of how I see the future for Devan & Arya. Let me know if you are interested in these follow-ons.