Chapitre 49: Chapter 49
Ser Davos was a very kind man. Joanna helped Shireen out of the small boat. Lady sat by the edge of the dock. "Your lord father is desperate to see you." The man said as they made their way to a small wheelhouse. Shireen did not know how to ride horses properly. Joanna wanted to reach King's Landing as soon as possible. The week they had travelled seemed like months.
She wanted to see father, her siblings. She longed to hug father and Tommen. Shireen looked beautiful with her blue dress. She grew close to the little girl. They were each other's friends. Joanna distracted her when she had nightmares or missed her mother and father. The little girl did not miss Selyse as much as she missed Stannis. The late woman did not care for her. Shireen missed her father because as aloof as Lord Baratheon was he visited her every day and they talked or she sang to him. "Father loves when I sing to him." She said whenever they heard birds chirp in the gardens inside Dragonstone. "He always says I remind him of little birds."
The little girl was asleep on her lap. She was apprehensive to meet her father once more. "I want him to like me. Father doesn't like a lot of things." She said as they prepared to make the journey from the Blackwater to the Red Keep.
"He loves you. He will love to see you again." Joanna coaxed her into wearing the blue dress and combing her hair into a single plait.
Ser Davos rode ahead and assured them they would reach the Red Keep in a few minutes. Joanna peeked outside the curtains and saw many armed men and people being herded into small keeps. There were many children just wandering. At least the armed men seemed to be helping the children into tents and small keeps.
The journey to the Keep was delayed due to the many men and women in the streets of King's Landing. Joanna woke Shireen just before they reached the doors. "Wake up, we're almost there."
Shireen rubbed her eyes and nodded. The small girl straightened up. "Lady Joanna. We are here." Joanna stepped out of the wheelhouse and helped Shireen out of it.
Joanna walked with Shireen. She expected to see at least one of her brothers before she entered the Red Keep again but she was mistaken. It was early in the morning; maybe they didn't expect them until later in the afternoon.
Ser Davos led the way to one of the small chambers where the royal family took their meals. She saw father first. Joanna ran to him. She smiled and hugged him.
"Kitten." He laughed and kissed her forehead.
"We didn't expect you until the morrow." Father smiled. He looked older and his beard was bushier than ever.
"I still have a few contacts. We arrived a few hours ago my lord." Ser Davos explained.
"Well done Davos." She heard lord Baratheon say. She turned and curtsied. He sported a bear as well but it suited him. She blushed a little and smiled when he bid her good morning. He held Shireen on his arms. The girl was ecstatic to see her father and clung to him. It seemed lord Baratheon couldn't or wouldn't put her down yet.
"Lady Joanna, I am glad you are well. Eddard I trust your plans are still in play."
Father nodded, "Yes, we march in the morrow." Joanna wanted to ask a hundred and one questions but remained quiet. The Baratheons left.
"Your siblings are still asleep. It will be best if you rest as well Kitten." Father took her hand and led her to her quarters. "You best sleep Kitten. I will come back for you and Arya. We'll have lunch and I will explain everything. I can tell those green eyes are full of questions." Father smiled and kissed her on the forehead once more.
She entered the quarters with Lady by her side. Nymeria was on the other bed. The wolves jumped and played with each other. Arya sat up and smiled. Arya ran and hugged her.
Joanna hugged her tight. Arya hugged her back. "We're going back North." Arya replied and then told her all about the marriages and alliances. Joanna listened carefully. She looked at her little sister.
"What about your wedding?" Joanna asked curiously.
"That is happening once we spend sometime in Winterfell. Gendry is going with us. His uncle agreed to let him go with us North with me until we married here in Baelor's Sept. Stannis will act as Lord Regent until Gendry is crowned prince just before we marry." Arya repeated with a slight bite in her voice.
"You should be happy." Joanna said as they rested side by side.
"I am. I don't want to be queen Joanna." Arya said despondently.
"You would rule Westeros alongside Gendry." Joanna appealed to her.
"I wish Gendry wasn't King. I wish he was just a lord or even better I wish he was never legitimized." Arya said.
Joanna shook her head, "Don't be stupid Arya." She almost laughed.
"If he were still a bastard he wouldn't be a prince. We would travel across the Seven Kingdoms and seek adventures." Arya said with bright eyes.
"You are insane." Joanna laughed. Arya laughed too.
"You would have made a wonderful queen." Arya looked at her with contrite eyes. Joanna shrugged; she didn't like Gendry and he would be king. She had her sights on a particular lord.
"I could stay with you if you wanted to." Joanna replied with a small smile. Arya nodded. "Yes, you love court." Arya held her hand.
Joanna nodded. They slept until the maidens hurried them to dress and go to lunch with their family.
Joanna wore one of her simple dresses while Arya fought but eventually wore a dress as well. "Come on, I'll braid your hair." Joanna did so.
"No flowers in my hair." Arya said seriously.
"Fine, but I do want flowers in my hair." Joanna teased her and Arya dutifully helped her comb her golden hair into a southern hairdo. "You look a lot like mother." Arya smiled.
Joanna held her hand; "I'll race you to the chambers." She knew it wasn't proper but Arya wouldn't have more opportunities to run and be Arya once she became queen.
Her little sister's eyes shone with mirth. "You wouldn't."
Joanna smirked and ran out of the door. It wasn't as easy as when they were girls. The dresses were longer, more difficult to maneuver but Joanna ran for the first time in years. Arya kept up with her but Joanna was taller and faster it seemed. They laughed and were out of breath by the time they reached the chambers.
Their brothers appeared out of nowhere or maybe Joanna and Arya burst into the long corridor. Tommen hugged her and kissed her cheek and then Robb laughed and spun her. She kissed his cheek and then Jon was there. She hadn't seen Jon in almost two years. He looked incredibly older and had a scar close to his eye. He gingerly approached her and kissed her forehead. Joanna didn't know why the sight of Jon brought tears to his eyes. She hugged him and he hugged her. "I missed you terribly." She said with a shaky voice.
"We're going home." He said with a hollow tone.
Joanna hugged him more and then smiled to Tommen. "You're going to marry Cassana." She giggled and he grinned, a big goofy grin.
"Yes, we'll marry in the Goodswoods in Winterfell." Her brother explained excitedly. Arya rolled her eyes when the princesses came into the room as well. Joanna greeted them with subdued courtesy. She did not know how to properly interact with these young women. Lyanna and Cassana were the closest to her while Alayne had always been more aloof in her company.
They sat down and waited for Gendry, Lord Baratheon and father. According to Tommen those two were always in meetings and Gendry sat through them. The prince needed all the help he could have. Jon and Robb discussed matters privately, as always her older brother secluded themselves to a corner. Joanna learned that Lyanna was to stay in court and marry Quentyn Martell as soon as him and his party arrived to the city. Alayne would be married to Matthos Seaworth and then leave for Dragonstone. Marya Seaworth was a helpful and kind woman. She would be a wonderful mistress for Dragonstone as would be Alayne she was sure.
Shireen ran to her. "You're going North. I wish I could go with you too but father said my place is here with him" Joanna smiled.
"Yes, I wish you could go with me but I will be back for Arya and Gendry's wedding." Shireen nodded.
"Hello Shireen." Arya hugged the girl.
"I'm so happy to see you. Joanna and I were very scared when we couldn't find you." Shireen told Arya all about what happened during her absence. Joanna was not scared. She actually helped her sister out of Dragonstone. Arya convinced her that if she didn't help she would find a way to escape the castle and leave on her own.
"Let me introduce you to my brothers." Joanna smiled when she curtsied to Tommen, Robb and Jon.
The princesses greeted their cousin. Alayne asked her about Dragonstone and Shireen excitedly spoke about her home. Little by little Shireen overcame some of her natural shyness.
Jon ordered the maids to serve lunch. "Father and Stannis will not agree on anything until late evening. It is best if we lunch now." Lyanna nodded and blushed when Jon glanced at her. Joanna smiled into her napkin.
They ate two courses when Gendry, father and lord Baratheon joined them. It seemed the men could not stop discussing the city and its affairs. Joanna listened to them speak. Arya listened too.
It was not proper to leave the table before either Stannis Baratheon or father left. The two men spoke between bites of their meal.
"Doran Martell sends his men and son. They will arrive in a fortnight. Your father in law marches North with a quarter of his men while the rest wait in the Eyrie until your son weds the Tyrell girl." Lord Baratheon explained.
"Very well then. Robb and Tommen will marry in the North and then go to the Eyrie and the Riverlands respectively." Father intoned with authority.
"I will have the Tyrell girl march with you then. Gendry will give her to your son. Mace Tyrell and his family will remain in Highgarden." The man said with some bite.
Joanna continued to listen. "What about Storm's End? Who will stay in charge of your ancestral home?" Father asked with curiosity.
Lord Baratheon gulped some wine and answered. "My uncle, ser Lomas Estermont. He will be in charge of my home until I have a son or Shireen marries." Stannis said carefully.
Joanna looked at lord Baratheon and not for the first time wondered what it would be like to be his wife. She blushed and drank some of her ale. Those thoughts were not for a lady. She was not a silly girl anymore. She once wished to be queen and marry a handsome prince but Gendry was too different. He was too much like Arya, not sensitive or anything like the songs she liked so much. Stannis Baratheon was not a man for singing or had any remote inclinations for romance but he was kind. She saw him with Shireen when he thought no one watched them. The young girl also spoke highly of her father. She watched him. He was old, older than she ever thought a husband for her could be but he was handsome. He had beautiful blue eyes and he was strong. She wondered what it would feel like if she kissed him. Joanna looked at his hard mouth. She'd never been kissed. She looked up to his nose and eyes. He was looking at her too. Joanna panicked and wanted to look away but she didn't. She smiled at him and kept his gaze. Those blue eyes became darker than they already were. She felt goose bumps break on her skin. Joanna didn't look away. People around her spoke about different things. It felt as if Stannis Baratheon looked upon her for hours but it couldn't have been. Father spoke to him and he diverted his gaze and answered father's question.
The rest of the lunch was normal. Father stood up first. Robb, Jon and Tommen followed him. Lord Baratheon left the room with Gendry. They were to visit Flea Bottom and make sure the men had the city secured. Arya ran away with Shireen. "I'll show you my new quarters and the gardens." Shireen said; her sister went with her.
Joanna remained in the room. She addressed the princesses, "How about we prepare for Cassana's journey." It was frivolous and completely superficial but if Arya's tales were true which she had no doubt they were the princesses witnessed as their mother took her life. They needed a distraction. Joanna needed a distraction as well.
She spent the day choosing dresses and doing needlepoint. Cassana cried once because a golden dress reminded her of her mother. Alayne consoled her and told her how happy she would be in the Riverlands with Tommen.
Lyanna nodded and continued searching for dresses. "I am happy uncle Stannis decided to let me marry Quentyn. He's written me letters for years now. I care for him deeply." Joanna pretended to care and listened to her stories.
Alayne smiled, "I will be going to Dragonstone with Matthos. He will inherit it. Uncle wanted to me to marry one of your cousins but I convinced him to let me go to Dragonstone."
Joanna was confused. "Have you met Matthos?"
"Yes, once. He is handsome." Alayne replied.
Joanna nodded, "He is a very good man. He will be very lucky to have you as his wife." it took her almost two hours but soon Lyanna, Cassana and even Alayne talked to her and they regained the lost complicity they had before Catelyn Tully ordered her father arrested.
The princesses told her about the queen's diminished health and the times they thought Lord Baratheon or her Lannister family would harm them. "Mother was convinced uncle Stannis would harm us. She feared for our lives and those horrible lies about father not being our father. She feared we would be killed or worse." Lyanna excused the late queen.
"But uncle Stannis didn't. He listened to us. He is not as unreasonable as before. He let Lyanna stay in court and didn't have a problem when I told your him I didn't want to marry your brother." Alayne hugged Cassana. "He let Cassana marry him." Cassana smiled and hugged her older sister.
They chatted until dinnertime at which Shireen and Arya joined them. Young Shireen conversed with Alayne the most out of her three cousins. Joanna pulled Arya aside to tell her about what the princesses said.
"It is true. I don't like Stannis very much but he protected them. Gendry believes they are his sisters. I don't know if Stannis believes that as well but he is determined to arrange good marriages for them." Arya said while they ate some fruit.
"You believe they are bastards." Joanna stated.
Arya glanced at the princesses furtively, "Yes, otherwise Catelyn wouldn't have ordered father executed. Father knew about their birth and confronted her. I think he came to an agreement with Stannis because there hasn't been any more words about their parentage." Arya ate a grape and spat the seeds into a plate. The men did not join them for dinner. Joanna was about to agree with her sister when Shireen walked to her.
"Would you want to walk in the gardens with me Joanna?" Shireen and her always walked to the beach or the gardens in Dragonstone.
"Yes, Arya, come with us." She stood up.
"No. I have to pack the last of my dresses." It was a lie. Joanna made sure to tell the handmaidens to pack everything before they lunched. She didn't press Arya. She would probably spend some time with Gendry. Joanna asked the princesses but they shook their heads gently.
Shireen and her walked and admired the new blooms in the gardens. "Gendry is going with you and Arya. I don't want to stay back but father said I couldn't go."
Joanna would miss the girl. She was a good companion. "You have to take care of your father. He needs you know. You have to make sure he eats and is clean. It is your duty now since the Stranger took your Lady mother. You will take care of him until he weds again."
The girl frowned, "I don't want him to marry."
"Well, he will have to eventually." Joanna stated. The girl shook her head. "Maybe but not yet, besides he is far too busy advising Gendry. Father says we will stay in King's Landing helping Gendry and Arya until they are good rulers. We'll go to Storm's End after a few years he said or when I marry some or other lord. I will not marry, who would want me?" Shireen said a little sadly.
"Anyone who is smart and worthy enough of you. You are a wonderful girl; smart, brave, kind, and with a gentle heart. You sing beautifully, your hair is shiny and your eyes. You have such beautiful blue eyes. Anyone would be a fool to not love you. Whichever lord your father chooses will be extremely lucky. You will not lack suitors Shireen." The young girl smiled and hugged her. Joanna hugged her as well.
They rested on a bench. "What about you? Will your father make a match for you soon?"
"I expect so. I haven't asked him yet. I don't know. I will ask him to let me stay with Arya." Joanna said secretively.
"That would be wonderful. You could help me with father." Shireen giggled. Joanna smiled.
The laughed and held hands; "come on. I'll show you a new game." Shireen stood up and spun around with her.
They spun in circles until they were both flushed and dizzy. They laughed and rested on the grass. Lord Baratheon found them like that, looking at clouds and giggling.
"Your brother is looking for you and your sister." She heard his voice and sat up quickly. She blushed; her hair flew to her face. Joanna tried to push her golden hair away from her face. Shireen stood up quickly and hugged him.
"Father." She said happily and smiled.
Lord Baratheon offered her a discrete smile. "Were you having fun Shireen?"
"Yes." Shireen looked up. The girl stood by his side. The man offered Joanna a hand. She blushed and took it. She was surprised with the ease in which he pulled her up.
Joanna was almost as tall as he was. Tommen and her were the tallest of the Stark children. Jon and Robb were almost as tall as they were but a few hairs shorter.
Stannis was definitely taller than any of them. "Thank you my lord." She held his gaze. He frowned and looked away. "Your eldest brother is looking for you." He said with a harsh tone. She was surprised by his tone but kept a polite disposition. Shireen hugged her goodbye. She walked back to the Red Keep; she was a little confused by the man's attitude. Joanna thought he might like her.
Lady Joanna met with Jon and Robb. "Lord Baratheon said you were looking for me."
"We were looking for you and Arya." Jon said pointedly.
"Where is Arya?" Robb asked.
"With Gendry I suppose." Joanna shrugged.
Robb shook his head and Jon frowned. "Don't be ridiculous Jon. We travelled together and more than once shared a bed. He is a perfect gentleman."
"Because you were there." Robb said under his breath. Fortunately Jon didn't hear him. Jon was very protective of her and Arya.
They talked about the war. Jon asked a lot of question about the journey to Dragonstone and her stay in the castle.
Robb explained how father and Tommen arrived to camp and all the details about grandfather and uncle Jaime.
"Is he well?" Joanna asked when he learned about uncle Jaime's hand.
"He is well. He's travelled to the Iron Islands with some of Stannis's men and a big woman. She is not easy on the eyes but by the gods is she magnificent with a sword." Robb commented.
Joanna frowned, "That is not very nice."
Jon smiled, "Always with a kind word. Beautiful you are little sister." He kissed her cheek and left.
Robb stayed back. "What is it with him?" She asked with a smile.
"He fell in love." Robb explained about a wildling woman named Ygrette. Joanna shook her head.
"Poor Jon." She said sadly. "Are you happy Robb?"
Robb smiled sideways. "I am to rule the Eyrie, not bad for a second son."
Joanna hugged him. "We will be fine."
He hugged her back. "We will be. I will find you a knight of the Vale if you want. They are brave and handsome just like in the songs you like so much."
She rested on his chest. "I don't want songs anymore. Thank you for the offer brother but I don't want to marry yet."
Robb laughed, "I don't believe it." He teased with a smirk. Joanna pinched his arm.
She walked to her quarters. It was darker now. She was distracted when she turned to a corridor and collided with something solid. It was Gendry who came from her quarters.
"I'm sorry Joanna." His hair was a mess and his clothing was in disarray.
"Go. Robb and Jon must have followed me." She said with apprehension. The prince's eyes rounded and he ran to the other direction. It would take him twice as long to reach his quarters.
Joanna smirked, served him well. She wasn't as naïve as everyone thought her and was well aware Gendry and her little sister did things that they were not supposed to be doing. She ran to her rooms and found Arya flushed and in her small clothes.
"I saw him leave our quarters. I know this is not the first time. I will not say anything. I need you to help me." Joanna smiled.
Arya frowned. "With what?"
Joanna smiled, "I want Stannis Baratheon. I want to marry him."
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
MissRias
MissRias Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
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