The Bastard Queen

A Ruined Dinner

AN:

Here's an idea of the dress she's wearing. And yes, a good portion of the dress ideas are coming from Reign. I'm basic, it's fine.

I must have lost track of time. A sharp knock comes from the door. Ser Barristan speaks over the diming evening sun.

"Your Grace, it is almost time for dinner. And I believe the Princess Daenerys is very excited to meet you."

"I guess that's my que." I sigh, getting up from the bed that the three of us had been lounging on.

"Please join us for breakfast tomorrow? I hear the Prince is very handsome..." Sansa pleads, guilting me with her bright blue eyes. She always had a love for tales of maidens with flowers in their hair and the knights who courted them. She dreamed much of a fancier life than that of Winterfell. I both adored and feared her view of treating everyone as innocent and wholly good.

"Who cares? You're probably not even going to meet him anyway." Arya states, getting up to retire to her own room.

I shoot the older girl a sympathetic smile, "Either way, I'll see you both tomorrow. Wish me luck?"

I bid them both a good night before following Ser Barristan down the stairs and through the castle.

It was quiet in the halls with guards standing in silence and the occasional servant scurrying around. I'm glad I had opted for a fresh pair of boots instead of the pointed heels the girls had offered me. The sound of Ser Barristan's cape and the clanging of his chainmail was noise enough.

I don't think I would ever get used to the vaulted ceilings, arched doorways, and marble pillars of the Red Keep. I felt as if I didn't belong here among knights, lords, and ladies. All prim and proper, groomed for their status.

It was hard to walk the halls and forget the truth of who I was. The three headed dragon billowed in the breeze and sneered at me from carvings in the wall. I couldn't avoid it. And with my silver hair no one would ever mistake me as anything else.

I already miss the loose fabrics of tunics and trousers, the ability to move and breathe freely. But a Princess can't look and act like a boy. I suppose I'll have to get used to this new life of dinners and corsets.

I was nervous. But not because I was meeting my real family. I was nervous because if I don't behave properly, I have no doubt the men who took part in my rearing will be punished for it. I should have been listening more when the King had been speaking about my new found responsibilities.

I remember he said he has no use for a bastard. That means he has plans for me already. I'm not sure I want to know what he'll require of me.

The dinner was held in the Queen's Ballroom inside of Maegor's Holdfast. Entering it felt like a prison; walls twelve feet thick, a dry moat littered with iron pykes. The ballroom itself was only large enough to seat a hundred. There were silver mirrors on the wall and when torches were posed next to them the light was bright enough to believe the room was on fire. In the center of this windowless hall was an oblong table with four seats, two were occupied already.

"Good, I'm glad you've found your way here. You do look grand in our colors, my dear." Rhaegar greeted me. He gestured to the seat across from him at the table.

"I'm Dany. I hope we can be friends, there needs to be more girls around here anyways." The pretty, young girl with bright purple eyes introduces from my left. She was maybe a year under myself, but had the naivety of a child. The optimism and trust of one too. I would consider her sweet and pure if under different circumstances.