A Shadow and a Wolf

Margaery II

Two weeks! Margaery couldn't believe it. Two weeks had passed since her last conversation with Sansa, a very short conversation when she told Sansa about her family's death. The preparations for the royal wedding began to exhaust her beyond measure. She was very eager to celebrate her fantastic wedding and to become the queen, but did it have to take so much time of her days? She should have tried to be there for Sansa. She needed a friend more than ever. She also needed Margaery's advice more than ever. Margaery remembered the way she reacted to her mother's and brother's deaths. That was still heartbreaking for the Tyrell girl two weeks later.

At least she managed to have some time with her today. She would break her fast with Sansa. She had sent her a word about it yesterday. That was the best moment she could find with her overloaded schedule. Mira was braiding her hair. Margaery had dismissed Sera and the others, wishing to be alone with her friend. Mira hid her emotions very well, but Margaery could feel her distress. Her brother Rodrik and her father were at the Twins when the Red Wedding happened and didn't survive. The rest of her family was still alive at Ironrath, for now. However, Mira told her there could be problems with another house, the Whitehills, sworn bannermen of the Boltons and inveterate enemies of her family. Margaery hoped nothing would happen to Mira's family. She would pray for her this morning. There wasn't much more she could do.

When Mira was done with her hair, Margaery was ready to visit Sansa. Mira stood close to the window, silent and discreet more than she usually was. She mourned her losses without sharing her burden with anyone else.

"You can take the day for yourself if you want, Mira." Margaery could at least grant her this.

"Thank you, my lady. But I don't think it would help me in any way. It would be better if I stayed occupied." Mira knew obviously her mistress wanted to be kind to her, but she would do her duty nonetheless. She was a true northerner. No wonder her family had followed the Starks for so long.

"Very well. Clean the room and then go find Sera and the others to help them." Mira nodded and quietly started her tasks. Margaery left her and walked in the direction where Sansa's quarters were. She left the Maidenvault where her family and their retinue resided. As she approached her friend's apartments and turned a corner, she bumped into a very short person. It was Lord Tyrion.

"Sorry, Lady Margaery. I didn't see you coming. My wife is waiting for you. Try to give her some good time. I don't seem to be the one for that recently." He walked away, holding a very large book under his arm. Margaery knew her grandmother was giving him a few headaches with her marriage to Joffrey. To be Master of Coin seemed to be involving a lot of work and very few recognition.

Margaery looked at the little man as he walked away, trying to assess him. She didn't know much about Lord Tyrion. And these last times she didn't really have the time to get more information on him. She knew he was a renowned whoremonger and drunkard. People called him the Imp. She heard he would always bet large sums of money when his brother jousted. Rumors were telling he was the ugliest man in the Seven Kingdoms, even a monster. Some even pretended he was missing a nose.

When she looked at him, she couldn't really see a monster. If there was a monster she saw ever since she came into King's Landing, it was her betrothed. But it was a monster she could control, so she wasn't really afraid. He wasn't ugly either. Of course, his size didn't work out in his favor very well, but if he had been taller, no one would really find him repulsive. As for the missing nose, it was only a scar that spread from a corner of his head to another. Her brother Loras had told her that he saw him during the Battle of Blackwater, laying on the ground, his head covered by blood. That proved he had courage at least. And if the stories of what he said to the king publicly were true, he also seemed to have a sharp tongue and some sort of bravery. And from what Sansa told her up to now, he never mistreated her. All things considered, he seemed to be quite a good man. If he was the king, it wouldn't bother Margaery very much to marry him. Especially if he was as experienced as it was said.