The King

Chapter Twenty-Five

The gates of Winterfell opened to let Harry Stark enter after his visit to Highgarden. During his absence, rumors had spread about why he had gone to Highgarden, and now they were being confirmed. Beside Harry's black horse was a beautiful girl on a stunning white horse, contrasting sharply with Harry. She was so beautiful that people immediately recognized her as his betrothed. It was no secret that Harry Stark was engaged by royal decree to Margaery Tyrell. Not everyone was pleased with this arrangement, as some believed that someone like Harry should have a Northern wife. Southern women were not well-liked in these parts since Northern women were not as ladylike as their Southern counterparts. For example, Lady Mormont was only addressed as "a Lady" out of courtesy; she could command entire armies and fight to the death against anyone. The Mormont women epitomized what Northern women represented, starkly different from Southern women.

Margaery had a tough road ahead. Only three women had ever been accepted by the Northerners, both by the heads of each Northern house and by the populace. The first was Ashara Stark, Harry's mother and the second-in-command of the North, acting as the political shield of the North. She was always by her son's side whenever he was in Winterfell. The second was Elia Martell, who had impressive charisma and was the former princess of the Targaryens. She had always been fascinated by the North, and everyone knew she would have loved to be a Northerner. She wasn't a warrior but enjoyed helping politically. The third was Catelyn GreyStark, wife of Eddard GreyStark, who was the first to see through her father's plans for the North and positioned herself to counteract his ambitions.

The small caravan arrived at the center of Winterfell, where the Stark castle was located. All the lords were waiting for their lord, and when he dismounted, they all knelt in respect. Margaery saw something she hadn't expected: Harry sighed in annoyance. Everyone knew he hated this show of respect, but they did it nonetheless as a sign of their regard for him. They considered him a king. Artemisia and Mya just watched their brother, with Mya barely stifling a laugh at Harry's expression. The lords stood up and shifted their gaze to Margaery, who was beside Harry observing everything. They knew who she was, and some made less than subtle faces, which Margaery noticed but was prepared for, so she remained firm and observant.

Ashara made her entrance along with Benjamin BlackStark and Eddard GreyStark. They were the only ones not waiting with the other lords because Ashara had to leave her daughter in her room, which was always a challenging task. Ben and Ned were practically her bodyguards whenever Harry wasn't around, ensuring her safety even though the security was already high.

-"Welcome home."- Ashara said as she went to hug her son and daughters. First was her biological son and then her adoptive daughters. She had always wanted more children but couldn't have them, which made her very attached to Lyanna, who was almost four years old and growing up fast. -"And you must be Margaery Tyrell. It's a pleasure to meet my son's future wife."- Ashara said, bowing slightly out of respect to Margaery, practically the second-in-command of the North. -"My apologies, but we can speak more calmly later."-

-"I heard about how well you handled things with Roose Bolton."- Harry said, stepping forward and looking at each lord, who was fully exposed by Harry's words. -"Uncle Ben, you couldn't wait for me to see it?"- What seemed like it would be a reprimand turned out to be a light-hearted comment. Harry wanted to see the humor in the situation. -"But now it's time to focus on our future projects."-

With that, Harry headed to the meeting room, and everyone followed. It wasn't yet time to focus on Roose Bolton's execution; that would happen sooner or later now that Harry was back. When they arrived at the meeting room, Margaery was surprised. The room was large, with a map of Westeros in the center, made of different materials, with each kingdom having its own color. Each seat had the emblem of the house it belonged to, and Margaery didn't realize her seat was already there, to the left of Harry, while his mother sat on his right. Everyone took their respective seats, including the captains. Artemisia was surprised to see her own captain's chair, granted by Ashara at Barbossa's request. Mya was also a captain in the Persian army, so she had no issues.