The Unyielding Stag (Game of Thrones AU/Invincible)
Chapter 18: Margaery Tyrell

A/N: Margaery POV~

-x-X-x-

It was rather unusual for a Queen to travel to war with her King. But then, it was equally unusual for a King to be without his throne as well. And Margaery Tyrell refused to be sidelined any longer.

For years now, Margaery had gotten older and older, well past the normal age for a maiden of her lineage and pedigree to be married off. To be fair, it wasn't like she was chomping at the bit to be wed to just anyone or anything like that. No, she'd always been fully on board with her father's plan to try to have her marry the Crown Prince.

But Joffrey Baratheon was dead now, as were his father and younger brother to boot. In the wake of such tragedies… opportunity had presented itself. And House Tyrell had not gotten to where it was today by refusing to seize such opportunities.

Now here they were, moving up the Roseroad having just passed over the Mander River and through the town of Bitterbridge. They'd be within sight of the Kingswood soon enough, where the Stormlands Armies would meet up with them before they moved on towards King's Landing.

Looking out the window of her carriage as they travel down the road, Margaery finds mounted knights and soldiers on foot in both directions, as far as her eyes can see. The men of the Reach, answering her father's call to war.

Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, of course. That was part of how she'd convinced her father that she should be allowed to come along. They were moving fast… extremely fast. And between the Reach and the Stormlands, they had a combined force that would have beggared most other kingdoms.

The Reach was Westeros' breadbasket, a fertile and heavily populated land with both food and men aplenty. Meanwhile, the Stormlands were said to produce some of the finest knights in the entirety of the Seven Kingdoms.

Together, they were unstoppable. And if their enemies knew what was good for them, they would realize that swiftly enough once they all arrived at King's Landing. Or so Margaery hoped. She had to admit, she was still a little nervous about all of this. Oh, it was far too late to back out now… but when she sees her brother nearby on his horse, she can't help but call out to him.

"Loras!"

The Knight of Flowers, now promoted to Lord Commander of the Rainbow Guard, Renly's version of the Kingsguard, looks over with a smile spreading across his comely face. Maneuvering his horse over to the side of her trundling carriage, he gives her a nod.

"Sister. How are you? Is the road treating you well?"

There's some concern in his voice at the end there. Margaery titters and shakes her head.

"The road is treating me just fine, brother. I'm in a comfortable cushioned carriage, after all. If I couldn't handle this much, then I had no right persuading father to let me come along in the first place."

Loras just smirks at that.

"Let you? You're the Queen now, Margaery. Our Lord Father doesn't let you do anything anymore. Only our King can tell you no at this point. But then to be fair… our father didn't really have the ability to say no to you before all of this either, now did he?"

Margaery smirks right back, sharing a moment of amused appreciation for how easy their father was to bend to their will. Then, she bites her lower lip and gives Loras her most plaintive look.

"Brother… do you think you could ride with me for a time and keep me company in my carriage?"

The long suffering look that Loras gives her makes it obvious he knows exactly what she's doing. And yet, despite that… he breaks all the same. Margaery doesn't just have their father wrapped around her finger, after all.

With a weary sigh, Loras looks around for a moment before calling over a nearby squire to take his horse for him. After dismounting and handing over the reins, he climbs up into Margaery's carriage, armor and sword and all. There's just enough room for the two of them thanks to all of that, but also thanks to Loras' slight figure and the fact that his armor is less bulky than most. It's made to look pretty after all… just as pretty as he is.

Once they're both fully ensconced in her carriage and the carriage itself is moving down the road again, Loras sits back and raises an eyebrow at her.

"Alright sister, what did you want to ask?"

Margaery playfully pouts a little bit, folding her hands in her lap and acting every bit the prim and proper lady for a moment.

"Do I have to have something I want to ask, dear brother? Can't I just want your company for a time?"

But Loras isn't having it. He simply raises an eyebrow silently, making his intentions to wait her out abundantly clear. Finally, Margaery lets out a huff and rolls her eyes.

"Fine. I wanted to talk to you about Renly's plans. We're moving rather fast, aren't we? He's rushing to reach King's Landing before anyone else."

Loras hesitates but ultimately nods.

"It's the only way we're going to win the Iron Throne without bloodshed. Our King clearly sees the path to victory. We're on it right now."

Margaery resists the urge to roll her eyes at Loras' instinctive ass kissing.

"It's just us, Loras. I'm Renly's wife and Queen. And you… you are his closest friend and Lord Commander to his Kingsguard. You don't have to be so formal about things. Tell me though… what will we do if the rest of Westeros unites against us? What is the plan if we can't take the city in time, or even if we take the city and then they come to take it back?"

Again, her brother hesitates. Margaery doesn't take it personally though. She loves her brother and she knows he loves her back, but Renly and Loras… well, they're a bit more than 'close friends', as she well knows. But she's not the enemy here.

In fact, in the same way that Loras is Renly's sword and shield against physical threats, Margaery is their shield against other types of threats. By marrying Renly and eventually producing an heir for him, there will be nobody who will be able to call their King a sword swallower any longer. Not if they know what's good for them anyways.

Finally, Loras just sighs.

"Sure, Renly's claim to the Iron Throne might be tenuous at best on paper, but when he shows up at the city gates with all the men of the Stormlands and the Reach at his back… well, that will change things dramatically."

Margaery nods to show she's following along.

"The Crownlands simply don't have enough people to field a force capable of repelling us. And the Vale, the Riverlands, and the North are all a bit too far away to get to King's Landing in time to make a difference."

That all lined up with what Margaery knew as well. However, there was one fly in the ointment she couldn't stop thinking about.

"But what about House Lannister? The Westerlands are the same distance from King's Landing as us. While we have a head start, the city could hold out long enough for them to arrive. And then from there, they would just have to hold out until the others arrived. And the last I heard, Lord Tywin has sworn for Renly's nephew, no?"

Far from looking worried or concerned, Loras' smile just grows as he nods.

"He did, yes. However… the Old Lion is a smart man. Think about it Margaery. Sure he could call his levies, rally his men, and march on King's Landing. He could set himself up as a bulwark between us and the city and force us into costly battles to boot. We'd win those battles of course; we would still outnumber the combined forces of the Westerlands and the Crownlands by almost twice their number… but it would be a lot of dead men on both sides."

Margaery narrows her eyes, noticing how Loras is… well, not all that upset by the idea. Seeing the look on his sister's face, the Knight of Flowers laughs.

"It won't happen, Margaery. Remember what I said at the beginning? Tywin Lannister is a smart man. More than that, he's a selfish man to boot. Yes, he swore allegiance to Axel via Raven, just like the rest. And yes, he's uniquely positioned to help out the enemy. But in doing so, all he would do is harm his own lands. The Lannister Armies would be bled dry just to weaken us so that the Vale, Riverlands, and North could sweep in after the fact to clean us up. And Lord Tywin would never stand for something like that."

… Huh. Her brother had a point, didn't he? Tywin Lannister had not gotten his House to the prominence it was today by being reckless or foolhardy with the lives of his knights and smallfolk. He had a reputation as a strategic and cunning lord and while he COULD rush in and save the day for their enemies… it could cost him everything in the process. So why would he? Well, Margaery could think of two reasons…

"What about Cersei Lannister and Myrcella Baratheon? Won't Tywin have to act for their sake?"

But again, Loras just shakes his head and grins.

"Renly has made sure that the Old Lion won't be feeling that desperate. He sent the one letter detailing Jon Arryn's lies and Axel Stone's illegitimacy to everyone, including Casterly Rock. But he sent a second, more personal letter to Tywin Lannister. One that made it clear that if Tywin dragged his heels, Renly would make sure no harm came to Queen Cersei or Princess Myrcella in the taking of the city."

Looking quite pleased with his lover's cunning, Loras leans back again and shrugs.

"After all, Myrcella is Renly's precious niece and Cersei Lannister has nothing to do with Jon Arryn and Axel Stone's plot to usurp the Iron Throne. Why would he be any threat to them? All the Lannister Lord has to do is slow down a little bit, pretend like he's going as fast as he can… and let us finish what we have to do before he ever reaches King's Landing."

Narrowing her eyes, Margaery tilts her head to the side, giving her brother a pointed look.

"And will he?"

Rolling his own eyes back at her, Loras huffs.

"Our scouts say that's exactly what he's doing. The Lannister Armies haven't even left the Westerlands yet. Sure, they didn't have as much warning as we did, but they could have moved faster if the Old Lion really wanted them to. He's dragging his feet, sister. Once we arrive at King's Landing and that poor bastard that Jon Arryn has stuck on the Iron Throne sees how large our armies are, he'll surrender."

Pausing, Loras grimaces.

"… Hopefully he'll do so without us having to kill any of the Crownlands men in the process, given that they're just doing what they're told to do. But if blood must be shed… let it be our enemies, not our own."

Yes, that much Margaery could agree with. She was confident in her brother's skills, but she would still rather he not have to fight if it wasn't necessary. Especially since up until this point, pretty much all of Loras' battles had been in tourneys. He'd never been in a real war, but of course Margaery wasn't going to bring that up. Loras still had his pride as a knight, after all.

"Thank you for speaking with me brother. You've done a lot to settle my worries."

Loras graces her with a broad smile, reaching out and placing a hand over hers for a moment.

"Of course sister, anytime."

They stop the carriage again soon after and let Loras off so he can retrieve his horse and they can continue on their way. As Margaery is left alone with her own thoughts once more, she can't help but purse her lips together.

It's a good plan, she thinks. Probably the best plan they have at this point. Even with all their strength, the Reach and the Stormlands alone cannot hope to stand against four other Kingdoms united. But if they reach King's Landing early enough and can starve the city out, then they can claim the Iron Throne without having to fight anyone.

And as her grandmother always liked to say, if you could take possession of something, you've already won half the battle.

All the same, Margaery does find herself with some regrets. For one, as eager as she was to be acknowledged as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms by the whole of Westeros… she was well aware that Renly would never truly be able to perform with her in bed. They would make sure he had an heir eventually of course, but it was rather telling of the state of things that they hadn't even consummated their marriage yet.

She'd been promised that she could take a lover of her own once Renly's position as King was truly secure, but Margaery didn't really care too much about that. Oh, she would certainly take her new husband up on that offer eventually because she wasn't about to let him and Loras have ALL the fun… but it definitely wasn't at the forefront of her mind.

Still, even now a part of her can't help but wish they didn't have to crush young Axel Stone like this. She's heard rumors that Jon Arryn's puppet king is quite handsome and looks a lot like his father before the years started to add up. Privately, in the sanctity of her own mind, Margaery thinks to herself that it might have been nice if she could have married Axel instead.

… But life is not a fairy tale, obviously. And she would do her duty, both to House Tyrell… and to the Seven Kingdoms.

-x-X-x-

A/N: More of the enemy's plan is laid out now. But can it really work out like they hope for?

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