Love and Control - A Game of Thrones Fan Fiction

Chapter XXI - Arienne

WOW!

Thank you so much, again!

I hope you enjoy reading it! It's been one of my favourite chapters to write, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2 months later

Wedding Day

It's safe to say that I have never been this nervous in my entire life. I feel as if a giant hole was to open up in the ground now, I would willingly jump into it. It's been two months of unnecessary pampering and prodding. Everyone I turn, there are people desperate to see me, to touch the skin of their new Queen. I've realised that it isn't unusual for a complete stranger to walk up and touch my face or hands. Joffrey says it's because they see me as holy, in higher standings with the Gods. It's like I'm a relic now, no longer a woman.

I've spent every minute I can with Joffrey, nursing him and helping him heal. He thankfully does so rather quickly, recovering from the fever that set in for a few days after the attack, and within weeks he's walking around again. However, most days I am woken up early by Madi and Dafina, both unbelievably happy at how they have climbed in the world, dressed in gowns of equal splendor to the ones I used to see Margaery wearing, and fed a banquet-like breakfast with exotic fruits, meat, bread and wine. Then if I had time I would go and visit Joffrey, but usually Cersei and her band of helpers would arrive before I could run of, and so I'd have to spend the majority of the day listening to what she told me about being a Queen, practising new dances and learning how to speak and govern Westeros. They teach me about what to expect from people and how I'll be expected to act now. It's a lot to take in, but thankfully I'm a quick learner.

Joffrey insists that he'll be fine without me, and that I need to learn these things in order to be his queen. It's a small sacrifice that will be worth it in the long run, but the hours of lessons that I've been subjected to have tired me so much that I've spent the last week resting and preparing for today.

Today is my wedding day.

Today is the day that my life will change forever. After today I can't go back, I'll be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and Joffrey will be my husband. I can't change my mind and the destiny of the children that are beginning to show around my waist. Joffrey knows that I'm pregnant now, but we've decided not to tell anyone until after the wedding. Children conceived on the wedding night are supposed to be lucky, so that's what we will tell them.

I'm dragged from bed unspeakably early by Dafina and Madi. I chose them, along with some other's at Cersei's insistence, to be my bridesmaids on this day, and they're ecstatic about this. Zalika and her family are coming from Dorne, I even gave permission for my aunt and Agathe to return to Kings Landing for the event. I want them to see that even after the years of oppression they put me through, I've risen higher than any of us could have ever anticipated. I also want to forgive them.

Cersei says that forgiveness is a virtue, it does not seem ladylike to hold grudges. She tells me that she wishes she could take this advice herself, but she has lived too long and come to hate too many people to ever think about forgiving those who have wronged her. Though she doesn't say it, I think that Cersei secretly might like me. She's told me on many occasions that I remind her of herself, I'm sharp and intelligent, and more deadly than I look. This, she says, are all admirable qualities in a strong queen.

Anyway, Dafina has already prepared a steaming bath and Madi lays out a soft white chiffon gown for me to change into after my bath. At this point, Cersei and her ladies will arrive, accompanied by the women tasked with changing me physically into a queen. I sink into the warm water and allow it to sink into my pours. I must be impecibly clean today, perfect in everyway. The whole of Westerosi society will be there. Today has been declared as a national holiday across the Seven Kingdoms; people everywhere are experiencing a rest before attending parties that are to be thrown in every large town, by order of the King to celebrate his marriage. In Kings Landing, the fountains will pour wine rather than water and decorative banners and flower arrangements will line the streets between the Red Keep and the Great Sept of Baelor, where the ceremony will take place.