The Winter Queen

Chapter 27

Jeyne

She had only just received word from Winterfell about the wondrous miracle birth of her young cousin’s four heirs and the dream her cousin had where the Gods visited her and told her about her family’s destiny. Jeyne could not help but laugh knowing that the King was never going to get the son he desired and had killed her aunt trying to get. Father of monsters would be a far better way for him to be remembered as rather than “Viserys the Peaceful” as he so hoped for. Ha! His Hightower Puppet Masters were definitely ensuring that Peaceful would never be something anyone would use for him.

The birth of the three little princesses and the little prince could only boost the young heir to the Iron Throne’s public image as no other woman could boast of having done what she had done. If anything, it would be good for the Princess as people would see her as a divine figure which would help keep her safe. Jeyne was very glad that the Gods clearly showed that they are on Rhaenyra’s side.

Rhaenys

The past few months had been extremely hectic for the senior Princess as she prepared things for her only daughter’s wedding. Oh how she wished her husband and son were able to be there to help and to see Laena become a bride but alas, they could not as they were still fighting in the Stepstones. Rhaenys would have also liked to have some member of her own house in attendance at Laena’s wedding but Viserys was either playing the manwhore or being a drunkard, his wife was definitely not a Targaryen, Lady Dracara was just a sucking babe, Daemon was also in the Stepstones and Princess Rhaenyra was in the North with her own precious infants with her devoted husband and stepchildren.

Yes, Rhaenys had received the mindboggling news of the surreal quadruplet birth of her petite young cousin and the vision the girl had been given from the Gods themselves. After informing Laena, they knew Laena’s choice for a bridegroom was the correct one as the letter explicitly named Princess Alessa-Visenya as Rhaenyra’s heir and Laena would be able to help ensure that, one day in the future, another region of the Seven Kingdoms would be ruled by a woman.

Rhaenys and Laena both fervently thanked the Gods in Prayer for their blessings upon their young cousin, their continued blessings upon her and her family and that Laena would be blessed in her own union.

Laena

Less than a week after learning that her poor, young cousin had done a superhuman task and had been blessed by the Gods themselves, she and her mother began their journey via dragonback to Highgarden where she would soon marry Garth Tyrell and become a stepmother to his three precious little girls. The decision as to whom she would marry was a very hard one, especially since her father was not around to provide her with any guidance. However, ultimately, she chose Garth for a few reasons. One, his family was one of the richest in the Seven Kingdoms so she would never be lacking the finer things in life like she had been used to since birth. Two, House Tyrell were the overlords to House Hightower. As the second highest ranking Lady of the House, she would be able to help ensure her husband’s family stayed loyal to Princess Rhaenya and that they would squash any rebellion or upheaval from the Hightowers or Oldtown. Three, Garth was a father of three girls. Laena did not care if she birthed a dozen sons to him as she would never push for her son, or any child of hers, to inherit over Garth’s elder three daughters. One day, House Tyrell and Highgarden would fall into the hands of a woman and this would further set the precedent of absolute primogeniture throughout the land.

Upon arrival, Laena was very glad to see that her bridegroom and his family had already decided that Princess Rhaenyra was practically a Goddess and that they would do everything they could to ensure that, when her father died, she would take the Throne. Laena was also absolutely delighted by Garth’s three daughters Magelle aged 11, Margary aged 7 and Maizie aged 3 and she just knew that she was going to love being their new mother as well as providing the girls more siblings to play with. If the Gods were as kind to her as they had been to her cousin, she would hopefully be swelling with her own first child within just a few moons.

The day of Laena’s wedding arrived and she arrived at Highgarden’s Sept wearing a gown of teal and gold to honor her maiden house and her new house. When Garth placed his cloak over her shoulders, Laena was bathed in a sense of peace and she just knew she had chosen the right man to marry. Their wedding feast was very lively and was held in one of Highgarden’s many gardens that was absolutely full of flowers in full bloom. While Laena had not been particularly thrilled when the bedding was called for, she was just immensely grateful that her bedding ceremony only went so far as to undress her down to her shift and then leave her in her marital bed. The actual consummation would not be watched by anyone, though a couple witnesses would stand outside the door and the next day the sheets would be shown. This allowed her far more dignity than the Heir to the Iron Throne had received.