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( LANGUAGE OF THORNS )

O N E | FEAST WITH A LION

Many days and nights had passed since the roses arrived in Kings Landing. Here she was, now sat in her new bedchamber while her hair was being redesigned. Her golden nightgown dropped to the floor as she watched her reflection in the mirror in front of her. Her handmaid worked through her brown locks ever so carefully, wondering what the princess was thinking about.

She dreamt about Highgarden every now and then, dreamt about wandering through the lonely halls in the middle of the night, just to get an inch of freedom. Her father was always persistent, always making sure that she was inside in the daytime to learn about ruling in the proper way. She knew that it would have been all for nothing, because she knew that she would never be Wardeness of the South, and she didn't mind it.

Her siblings knew about her late night strolls, and sometimes one of them or all of them would be waiting for her in the gardens where they'd spend hours catching up, considering they did not see Margaret a lot during the day. They had done it for many many nights, and somehow managed not to be caught.

Her fingers grazed over the rose stamp before her eyes drifted away from her reflection and towards the letter in her hand. She had written to Willas, just like she had promised. He had gotten back to her in no time, and to her delight he informed her that he and Garlan had received an invitation to the Queen's wedding. It was a short and brief letter, but it would keep her satisfied until they arrived.

"Has anyone asked for any meetings today?" the rose spoke suddenly, making the young handmaiden look up. The handmaiden thought for a moment, before shaking her head and continuing to braid the girls hair.

"No, my lady. You only have the feast tonight, with the Queen Regent and The King" the girl answered.

"God I'm tired of this stupid City" she complained, her handmaiden staying quiet "Perhaps I shall speak with the Stark girl today. I wonder if she's enjoying her time in Kings Landing now that she won't be marrying that monster who sits on the throne"

"My Lady you shouldn't say these things" Fiyona suddenly said, eyes wide. The rose glanced at her handmaiden through the mirror, eyebrows raised in question as the girl behind her swallowed nervously "I only mean that if the wrong people hear you.. they would have your head for speaking against the King"

"Like they took Ned Starks head you mean?" she questioned before standing up, her hair falling from the girls hands. The handmaiden looked up at the rose before looking down at the floor, afraid that she might have said the wrong thing to her lady "They can certainly try. Besides, the wrong people aren't going to hear me. As far as I can see Fiyona, you and I are the only ones in this room... and you know, that I trust you with my life"

The two glanced up at each other, and to the girls shock, the rose grabbed her hands delicately. Her skin was cold but the rose felt gratitude towards the handmaiden for looking out for her for so long. Margaret was a highborn, and Fiyona was nothing but a lowborn handmaiden who had a name that wouldn't exist if she were to die.

She was the last of the Felsteads, it wasn't a common or popular name. In fact, no one knew it.

The Felsteads were a small family who lived in the Reach amongst the Tyrells, luckily for Fiyona her father had been close with the Warden of the South himself. Her father had died in battle, and her mother had died in childbirth due to her going into labour too soon after she grieved the death of her husband. She had never met either of her parents, but it was soon the Tyrells who took her in and promised that they would take care of her.

On Margarets five-and-ten name day, Fiyona knelt to the Tyrells in gratitude, telling them that she would always be loyal to them no matter what. They had taken her in when they did not have to, any other highborn family would look at the girl in disgust hearing about how she's a lowborn, but they did not. She was named Margarets handmaiden, and it had been the same for many years.

But after all the years spent together, the handmaiden would still be hesitant towards the rose. Afraid that she would say the wrong things so the princess would then punish her but the rose knew that she could never harm the handmaiden, she knew that she could never bring herself to do it.

"My Lady we must get you dressed. The day is still young and there are so many parts of Kings Landing that you still haven't experienced" The girl said to the rose before they dropped hands.

Margaret nodded, looking at her dress in the corner of her room before it was picked up by her handmaiden. Her nightgown was dropped without any hesitation, leaving her completely exposed before Fiyona helped her into it.

"Yes.. a City that I have come to hate in the days that I have been here" Fiyona was now tying her the back of her dress as the rose stared dead ahead. Moments passed and Fiyona finally tied the last string on her lady's dress before grabbing a hair pin and sticking her braids together on the top of her head.

"We shall explore as much as you like My Lady... then we must come back to your bedchambers and prepare you for the feast as soon as possible. We must not make the King and The Queen Regent wait" Fiyona told her, stepping backwards as she finished her work. The rose nodded her head, before she made her way towards the wooden door of her chambers.

"Yes, I suppose we shouldn't"

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"Not a fan of travelling on boats?" violet eyes scanned the doors to her chambers, a knight stood in her vision as she quickly composed herself. Her bare feet barely touched the floor as she moved her legs off of her bed and smiled delicately.

"I prefer horses, if I'm honest" her response made the knight chuckle slightly, making his way into the bedchamber before looking around.

"I thought dragons would have been more your thing" he told her. The smile stayed on her face as she glanced down at her lap "I hope I haven't disturbed you princess"

"No you haven't, don't worry about it" she replied, standing up as the knight looked at her again.

"I wouldn't have come if it wasn't urgent. Your sister sent me, she said she wanted to speak with you" he told her, making her nod her head. Her small feet padded over to the corner of the room, sliding into her small sandals before she followed him out of the room and towards the outside.

Her eyes squinted at the sun, the knight in front of her shielding her from it slightly with his broad shoulders. She looked around the ship, holding her small hand over her mouth as the smell of vomit and salt water reached her nostrils. She held back her gag, thinking about how unladylike it would be for her to vomit over her knight.

They climbed the stairs, the knight smiling at her gently before a pair of familiar warm hands were squishing her cheeks. She stared into her sisters violet eyes as they held a different level of concern, her face trying to read how she felt.

"You're still unwell?" her sister questioned. Celestria pulled away, the fingertips becoming too agitating on her skin before she smiled as best as she could.

"It's the seas sister, you know they are not kind to me" she told her, the girl across from her nodding her head "I'll be fine when we reach land. Rest is all I need, that is all"

"You'll get it soon, I just wanted to make sure you were okay" Dany told her, not removing her eyes from her sister "You can't blame me for being worried"

"It would have been easier for me to stay in bed. Why couldn't you have just come to see me yourself instead of making me come out here?" she questioned, her voice still quiet. She watched Dany look at her, before her eyes drifted behind her.

If was now Celestria's time to look behind her, and she realised what she was being told. The sight of Dothrakis lying on the floor of the ship, vomit beside them while they groaned. Dany's people came first, it was always the issues for Dany. She took care of them before she took care of herself.

Dany faced a dilemma. She wasn't sure whether she should stay by her sisters side and make sure that her sister was well while they travelled on the seas, a sickness she knew was common. Or stay with her people that had never sailed across the sea before, and were doing it just for her.

"I promise you this will all be worth it sister" Dany told her as Celestria looked back at her. She managed another smile, before she nodded her head, understanding where her sister was coming from.

The sound of a shrill noise made the two Targaryens look over the side of the boat. Three dragons flew in their sight, Dany smiling almost instantly. She couldn't help but feel an uproar of happiness whenever she saw her children.

"Khaleesi.. your dragons are growing fast" Ser Jorah Mormont stated, the conversation changing direction. Dany approached Drogon who was waiting for her on the bannister. She stroked the top of his head, as he flapped his wings.

The dragons were in fact growing. Dany could not hold them on her shoulders like she used to, or huddle them all together in her arms in a embrace. But she would not complain about that, because she needed them to be big if she was going to take back what was once hers.

"Not fast enough.. I can't wait that long. I need an army" She groaned as Drogon flew away to join his brothers.

She turned to face her Knight and her sister once again, Celestria had now moved to stand beside Jorah as her typical valyrian hair flew around as the wind hit her roughly. Celestria was a tiny thing compared to her sister, and Dany was surprised that the wind hadn't lifted her off the ground with how small she was. She just about reached Ser Jorah's shoulder, and without a doubt she could be pointed out as the youngest Targaryen.

"How long is it until we reach Astapor?" The youngest questioned, looking up at the Knight beside her. She held onto the railing in front of her as Jorah's eyes met her own.

"We should be there by nightfall, princess" he told her before moving his gaze back to her sister "They say that the Unsullied are the greatest soldiers in the world, Khaleesi" Ser Jorah said as Dany rolled her eyes. The Khaleesi looked at him before glaring, her violet eyes shining in the hot sun.

"The greatest slave-soldiers in the world. The distinction means a good deal to some people" She replied back to him, looking back over at her Dothraki while Jorah continued to look at his Queen.

Celestria knew her sister — and she knew how much she hated any type of slavery. The two Targaryens would be known to be the first people to ever cross the Dothraki over the narrow seas, although Celestria had no part in it. All of the credit should go and will go to Dany, and of course it would when she's named Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

"Do those people have any better ideas about how to put you on the Iron Throne?" he asked, making Celestria look the opposite way to the two. She felt awkward whenever Ser Jorah and her sister would have these little bickering's. She never got involved, after all she knew nothing about politics or how to be a Queen, she simply left that stuff to her sister.

"It's too beautiful a day to argue" Dany then finally said as they all looked back over at the Dothraki.

Celestria cringed slightly, watching some of them throw up again and again while their women were left to clean it all up. The smell reached her nostrils again and she stepped backwards before she herself threw up. Dany felt sympathy, these were now her people. They chose to follow her after her husband Khal Drogo was now gone.

"You're right.. another day in the high seas" Jorah said, watching over the army.

Dany pulled a crestfallen face whilst her sister looked away, her sandals now becoming her main focus. The Dragon Queen shook her head at Jorah's comment before gripping the bannister tightly.

"Don't mock them.. they're the first Dothraki who have ever been on a ship" Dany replied, pursing her lips. Her violet eyes scanned each and every one of them, their faces were weak and they looked like they had not eaten for days "They followed me across the poison water. If they'll do it, others will and a true Khalasar"

Dany was right. The Dothraki were feared men, now that they followed her they would do anything for her. She was now their Queen, and everyone must follow their Queen. People would soon hear about the Dragon Queen who rode her dragon into battle, followed by the Dothraki. If her plan was to work, she would then have Unsullied to join that army.

"The Dothraki follow strength above all, Khaleesi. You'll have a true Khalasar when you prove yourself strong, and not before" Ser Jorah was right, but Celestria would hate to admit it.

She felt that no matter what she had to agree with her sister, and when the moment came where she would have to disagree, it would be the day that she herself showed strength.

"How do you think you're going to get the Unsullied, Dany?" Celestria questioned, the two looking over at her "Do you have a plan? The Good Masters are not just going to hand them over to you"

"You doubt me, sister" Dany replied, looking back over at the Dothraki with a determined face "I always have a plan, and maybe I'm willing to risk some things if it means that I get an army to help me take back what was once ours"

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The room was dim inside as the three roses stood together. Loras against the table and Margaery by his side while the eldest rose in the room was across the table from them.

The two youngest looked over at their sister, dressed more elegant than ever. She had heard about how Margaery had spent the day out in the streets of Kings Landing, and how she visited the children who had no parents to comfort them.

"You've ruined your dress then, I suppose?" The eldest then spoke, looking over at Margaery. The youngest rose shrugged her shoulders, placing her hand onto Loras' shoulder before she looked down at the table in front of her.

"It doesn't matter... I have others" she replied, a small smile on her face "The children were sweet and kind, and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to spend some time with them. The common people aren't as bad as you think, sister" she finished as Margaret looked over to her. The shawl on her own shoulders was pulled up by her as the room suddenly got colder, and she guessed that the King was close by.

"You're a good liar" she said back "You need to be better though. Take some tips from Grandmother, the woman practically scares everyone she looks at" the three roses all smiled together. It was the truth, Lady Olenna from Highgarden was an intimidating woman. Margaret could understand why her handmaiden was so terrified of her.

"Did Willas write back to you?" Loras questioned, looking over at his older sister. Margaret nodded her head, moving closer to the table.

"He and Garlan received their invitation. They'll arrive the day before the wedding, gives us chance to help them get familiar with Kings Landing.. well, what we know of it so far. They'll probably be stuck in the gardens like grandmother and I" Margaret told them as Margaery chuckled.

Her siblings were not given chance to respond as the doors of the room opened, causing the three roses in the room to look over. Just as told, the King walked inside with the lioness close behind him. She looked as beautiful as ever of course, her golden locks dropping down her shoulders and past her breasts, Margaret wondered how such a beauty could give birth to such a monster. The three roses bowed to the King as he made his way further into the room.

"Please sit sit.. I apologise, My Lady" The King said as he took his place in his chair. The eldest rose in the room looked over at the lioness who came to stand beside her, the two looking at each other and smiling bitterly in greeting "At what point does it become treason to waste the King's time? That's a lovely gown My Lady" he complimented her as Margaery blushed.

"Yes it suits you perfectly. I imagine you might be rather cold" The lioness spoke, grabbing a goblet full of wine. Margaret had heard from a lot of people that the lioness liked to drink, quite a lot in fact. She heard how she drank herself gone while waiting for the battle of the blackwater to be over. But the rose couldn't blame her, after all if Stannis had won there would be no telling of what he and his men would do to the women in the City.

"The climate is a bit more forgiving back in Highgarden, Your Grace" Margaery replied as Margaret and Loras watched carefully.

"Shall I have them bring you a shawl, My Lady?" The King asked as everyone looked over at him "Your sister seems to have one so it is unfair that you yourself don't have one. You are to be my Queen very soon. I don't want you to be mistreated"

"My sister and brother have blood that runs quite warm, Your Grace" the eldest rose in the room spoke with a grin on her face "They got lucky... I did not, however. I sometimes find myself cold in the warmest of places" The stag who ruled smiled awkwardly at the eldest rose in the room, before looking back over at her sister.

Oh how beautiful she was. Joffrey could not wait until the day where she would be his Queen, and him, her King. He couldn't wait for the day that she would bear his children. He waited patiently, but it could not come quick enough. His wedding was a while away from now, but that was good news for the roses because it meant that they had more time to work on their plan.

"Isn't the Queen's gown magnificent sister?" Margaery then spoke, looking over at the lioness who was now sitting down, still with the goblet in her hand. Margaret smiled at her sister, stealing a glance at the Queen Regent "The fabric, the embroidery, the metalwork... I've never seen anything like it"

The three roses then took their place at the table. Margaery and Loras beside each other while Margaret was on the opposite side, sitting where she was once stood. They focussed on the Queen as she began to speak about her dress.

"You might find a bit of armour quite useful once you become Queen, perhaps before" The lioness was referring to the metal breastplate that suited her body perfectly, and Margaret moved forward to take a sip of her wine "Joffrey tells me that you stopped your carriage at Flea Bottom on your way back from the Sept this morning"

"Yes.." Margaery smiled, pulling herself closer to the table "I paid a visit to an Orphanage the High Septon told me about" Joffrey smiled at her as the servants around the table walked round and began filling their cups up with more wine. Margaret smiled at the young girl who refilled her cup before turning her attention back to the conversation.

"Margaery does a great deal of work with the poor back in Highgarden" Loras suddenly spoke, smiling over at the lioness who smiled back at him gently. Margaret carried on drinking her wine, before placing it back onto the table, the red substance staining her lips.

"The lowest among us are no different from the highest if you give them a chance and approach them with an open heart" Margaery replied, looking at both the stag and the lioness.

The eldest lion in the room then looked over at the other rose, wondering why she was being so quiet. Cersei had come to the conclusion that seemed like a boring individual, and in the little time that she had known the eldest rose, she knew that she didn't belong on this table.

"How about you, Lady Margaret?" Cersei questioned, everyone's attention suddenly on her "I expect you too did some work with the poor. It can't have been just Lady Margaery"

"Unfortunately I did not get the opportunity" Margaert answered, a small smile on her face as she stared at the lioness "I wasn't as fortunate as Margaery. I spent most of my time in Highgarden with my father, inside the castle walls. I mainly advised him when he needed it, and he always used to tell me that it would be good practice for when one day I would watch over Highgarden myself. However, most of the time that I wasn't with my father, I'd spend a lot of time in my bedchamber, which had it's own little library and I would read every book again and again until I knew every word of it"

"But you have an elder brother, do you not?" Cersei questioned as Margaret raised her eyebrows "And he would be the next one in line after your father passes... but if anything was to happen to him you still have two brothers that would come before you"

"My father likes to plan ahead.. he's an over thinker you see" the rose told the woman as she sipped from her wine "My brothers, they already have enough knowledge as it is about ruling.. well, mainly Willas, but father fears that the most unfortunate of events will happen. That is if all three of my brothers die, leaving me to rule. He wanted me to be prepared" the lion could only stare, before her head nodded. Margaret watched her, her eyes showing millions of thoughts before she turned her gaze to Margaery.

"An open heart is what you'll get in Flea Bottom if you're not careful, my dear" The lioness told the Queen to be, making Margaery stare back at her "Not long ago we were attacked by a mob there. We had a full complement of guards that didn't stop them"

"That must have been awful" Margaery said, watching as the lioness looked down at the goblet as if the memories haunted her as she slept every night.

"Yes it was" The way she spoke was different from the way that she acted in this situation. She held her voice together well, very strong but her face was saying otherwise. It takes a lot for something to scare a lion, and the rose couldn't imagine how scary this had been for the lioness herself to be terrified and haunted "The king barely escaped with his life"

"My mother has always had a penchant for drama" The stag in the room suddenly spoke, making all the eyes in the room turn towards him "Facts become less and less important to her as she grows older. Our lives were never truly in danger"

The eldest rose felt like scoffing. Calling him a liar and slapping him across the face to knock some sense into him, she was sure that the lioness felt the same. She knew what people were capable of when they were hungry, starving in fact. This was all created by the war that Joffrey had started by taking Ned Stark's head. She was not a fan of Cersei, but she pitied her for having such a hateful child.

"You're right, of course" The lioness said, her face void of emotion and the rose could tell that it was taking a lot of strength to hold herself anger back "You're your fathers son, we can't all have a king's bravery" the roses looked at each other awkwardly, wondering what to do in that situation before the eldest rose in the room cleared her throat and sat up right on her chair.

"I understand that the horror you must have gone through has certainly made it difficult for you to rest now. Hunger does in fact turn people into beasts" Margaret said, looking over at the lioness and smiling "I am glad that House Tyrell has been able to help you in this situation, Your Grace. Our father tells me that there are 100 wagons arriving daily from the Reach. I've heard that it's wheat, barley and apples - a lot of good things can happen with all these supplies"

"Of course, it is our duty to assist the capital in time of need" Margaery then said, looking over at her sister. Loras sat silently while the lioness continued to stare at them, and Joffrey was still admiring his Queen-to-be.

"As Ser Loras said... Lady Margaery has done this sort of charitable work before" Joffrey said, staring at Margaery as the two began admiring each other this time "I'm sure she knows what she is doing" He finished, as Margaret took another drink of her wine.

"I'm sure she does" The last words spoke from the lioness that night as they all began feasting on the food that was prepared for them.

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