Ronnet Connington SI

-Chapter 25-

-POV Margaery-

"They don't even hide it," said Alynne with a look of disgust etched on her face.

"Were they loud?" I asked, sipping a glass of milk, only to find Alynne's face marked with a stunned expression at my question.

"Loud?! The queen screamed all night. If I hadn't seen her enter Ronnet's room with my own eyes, I would never have believed a woman of her status could be so depraved," she said.

"Do you think they'll get married?"

"Married?! Hahaha!" Lady Connington laughed, not very refined, but I found her frankness refreshing.

"Ronnet won't marry the queen. He loves women too much for that, and the queen is too fickle for my brother," said Alynne Connington.

"I agree with you, but I think he's already found his wife," said Raymund.

"Who?" asked Alynne, surprised.

"Myrcella Baratheon," replied the younger brother of the new Supreme Lord of the Stormlands.

"Myrcella Baratheon?!" said Alynne, surprised before realizing something.

"That's why he brought her here," she said, looking at her brother.

"Hmm, he told me he discussed this union with Cersei. Apparently, they fought, and it ended in what seems to have been wild sex," said Raymund.

"Your brother is a really complex person; in some ways, I don't really understand him," said Loras.

Garlan nodded and added to his brother's statement, "One moment he's calm, the next he's terrifying, and now he acts as if the war is over."

"Because it is over," said a voice that sent a chill down all our spines.

I unconsciously straightened up as I saw Ronnet enter with Cersei in his arms. She was visibly exhausted from the exercises he had imposed on her last night and this morning as well.

If half of the sexual adventures Alynne told me about her brother are true, then I really pity her for taking on such a heavy task alone.

'She truly gives her body and soul to ensure her son's reign,' I thought, masking the disdain I felt for her.

He sat at the head of the table with the queen on his lap and said, "We have finished discussing the terms of our alliance. The Connington-Tyrell-Lannister alliance will do everything to ensure lasting peace in this kingdom."

"Tyrell?!" I said, confused, as I had not yet approved such an alliance, nor had any member of our family.

"Don't worry, I gave my body and soul to convince the queen that making your father the Master of Laws was the best idea ever. Paxter Redwyne will sit as the Master of Ships, Kevan Lannister as the Master of War, and I will sit as the Lord Protector," he said, announcing the new appointments to the King's Small Council.

"And... what about the royal marriages?" I asked.

The queen, who had risen to sit to the right of the master of the house, said in a bitter tone, "You will be Joffrey's queen. We will agree on a price in the form of grain and livestock. Ronnet will marry Myrcella; she will become the Lady of the Stormlands and bring the necessary stability as a Baratheon in the Stormlands."

'Baratheon,' I thought with disdain, realizing she had finally managed to gain not only the support of the Stormlands but also the legitimization of her children, as the only one who could prove her incestuous relationship with her brother was Ronnet Connington's bastard.

Ronnet finished his plate in a few seconds and then said:

"With this alliance, we control five of the nine kingdoms that make up Westeros. The Tyrells control the Reach, the Lannisters the Westerlands, King Joffrey Baratheon the Crownlands, Petyr Baelish will marry Lady Lysa Arryn to stabilize the Vale, while I will control the Stormlands."

"The Greyjoys and Martells will side with us if we prove the rest of the kingdom is united, which leaves only the Starks. I have Lady Catelyn Tully and her youngest daughter Arya Stark, whom I will return to Robb Stark if he bends the knee, but the youngest, Sansa, will have to marry my brother and stay in the south no matter what," I said, looking at Raymund, who seemed surprised by this news, finally understanding why I had refused all marriage and engagement offers for him following my victory.

'Clever of him, he secures both an alliance with the North and the South while keeping the Stormlands. I wonder, with more thought, if his allegiance to Renly and the latter's death were part of his plans,' I thought, shaking my head and laughing inwardly at my ridiculous thoughts.

'He couldn't have known Renly would be killed by a shadow summoned by magic... could he?'