Interlude: Part 5: The Reach Remembers

A/N Sorry for the delay guys. I ended up rewriting this chapter several times since I kept thinking it was missing something. So, unfortunately, I couldn't post it on the date of the 1 year anniversary like I planned but to make it up to you guys, this one just broke my personal record as the longest chapter so far so I hope you like it.

Also, as you can probably surmise from the title, it is an Interlude chapter that will focus on Margaery's perspective from her rescue in King's Landing due to the effects of Jon's wish, both direct and indirect, to her arrival at White Harbor and reunion with Olenna right before she introduces herself to Jon.

Also, please be aware that Margaery will be a bit of an unreliable narrator in this one because she doesn't actually know yet that Jon has powers and he used them to enforce the cover story he told her grandmother of the Faceless Men owing him a favor. So, for the things that seem non-canon compliant, know that there is an explanation you can read between the lines for now but regardless, they will be explained in full once Margaery learns the truth.

Until then, enjoy. And thanks again for all the support for my story this past year. Very much appreciated and it made the ride much more enjoyable for me!

A couple of hours earlier...

White Harbor: The North

Margaery Tyrell was sitting in a chair of her cabin, deep in thought while the ship around her tilted ever so slightly to the side as they traveled over the water.

She knew that they would dock in White Harbor in a matter of minutes. In fact, she was certain that if she stepped outside her room and into the deck, she would be able to see the only city in the region from there. As she had never traveled this far North, she would have normally been curious enough to do just that at the first opportunity but her somber mood held her back.

She sighed, feeling certain that brooding wasn't a good look on her but unable to help it.

"It's all gone so wrong," She muttered, feeling tired as her she continued with her self-reflection. "It's all gone so terribly wrong yet again."

She had wanted to be queen for as long as she could remember. And her family wanted it badly as well, which is why they had been training her in anticipation of arranging a match that could facilitate that for most of her life. But her first two marriages that had a chance of helping her rise to that level ended in disaster, first to Renly Baratheon and then to King Joffrey. Both were murdered before she could consummate her marriage, which was a big enough mark of shame and gossip among the people on its own but they were only made worse by the fact the former died a traitor that wasn't interested in the female form and the latter was a violent little shit that will go down in history as one of the worst monarchs who ever sat on the Iron Throne.

None of that was a good reflection on herself and on House Tyrell. And to make matters worse, she knew that their reputation suffered further after she had to marry Tommen within the fortnight to preserve her union to the crown, baring their ambition for all to see and justifying the talk of many when referring to their House as up-jumped stewards.

She rubbed her forehead, her thoughts darkening even more as she contemplated the actions of the last few months that had led her to this boat, forcing her to flee for her life.

The threat Faith Militant...Her young husband being unprepared to handle the situation...her imprisonment behind bars and then behind a gilded cage...and of course, Cersei's fiery spite.

She shuddered, thinking back to the day they were rescued and escorted to the fast Braavosi ship that had been waiting for them.

To the day the last, weakened remnant of her faith in the Seven turned to ash along with the Sept of Baelor.

She could still remember the heat buffeting her face even from that distance, as bloody panic echoed across the city. In one move, Cersei Lannister had managed to massacre all of her biggest enemies in the city and surely demoralized the rest when her wildfire caches incinerated the major sacred site, completely unopposed by the Seven or any of their agents.

It was a sobering thought...

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. "Can I come in?"

Margaery took a moment to compose herself before answering. "Of course, Loras."

Making his way inside, her brother looked at her with a distant look of his own. "We have just docked at the port. Father is sending word ahead to New Castle so that grandmother knows we have arrived."

Margaery sighed, feeling torn. She had certainly missed her grandmother, especially as things kept deteriorating in King' Landing before their escape. On the other hand, she was a bit nervous about the details behind the new plans she must have surely started cooking up in her absence.

But if she had to guess, they probably involve the new King in the North that hired her rescuers...

Her thoughts slowed down when she noticed that Loras choose that moment to sit down in a chair across from her.

Her brother, thinner after his imprisonment by the Faith Militant, had barely spoken to her since the Faceless Men busted them out of their respective prisons but he had been brooding even more than she. As such, Margaery felt certain that darkened thoughts had been keeping him company as well.

Eventually, their heavy silence was broken when he sighed. "Where do we go from here, sister?"

She grimaced. "I don't know yet. Focus on surviving against our enemies, for now, I guess. I am sure grandmother will have some ideas but to be perfectly honest and I can't believe I am saying this...I am starting to feel cursed Loras. All my marriages have ended in horrific ways and none have lasted long. I don't know if I want to marry again so soon, even if it could give me a crown."

For a long time, a declaration that Margaery Tyrell was tempted to turn down the possibility of queenship would have shocked Loras, she was sure. Now, however, he just nodded slowly, his eyes sympathetic.

"Things have been going from bad to worse for us since this damn war started, hasn't it?" He muttered. "I guess it is true what they say: overreaching ambition courts disaster."

The Rose of Highgarden thought of the saying and shrugged in agreement. "Then maybe we should slow down this time."

"Cersei might not let us," He noted. "It's only a matter of time before word reaches her that we did not burn with the rest of her enemies in the Sept of Baelor."

Margaery interlocked her fingers almost without thinking about it. "Well, then I guess it's a good thing we are in the one kingdom that has never been conquered by Southern land armies."

Then she glanced at the cabin one more time and stood up before reaching her pouch. "We better get going. I am sure grandmother is anxious to see us and I would like to say goodbye to our last surviving rescuer before we leave the ship.

After the exiled queen made her way to the deck, she took a moment to take in the city from her position, finding the neatly organized city a lot less messy than King's Landing at first glance pleasing enough to the eyes. She particularly liked the merman statues she was watching. But then she turned around and went to look for the Faceless Man that stayed in the ship to guard them and eventually found him just exiting the captain's cabin.

She still wasn't quite sure what to make of him. From what little she had heard of the elite assassins, she wasn't that surprised to learn that they were way better at masking their emotions than the slippery players of King's Landing but something still struck her as a bit unnatural about her rescuer. The man was too dispassionate about everything, his voice never wavering from the same tone of voice and his expression wasn't far behind on that front. It made her wonder if he even had blood pumping in his veins or if something had happened to his heart during their secretive training.

Margaery waved at him to get his attention and the skilled agent moved towards her, his expression a deadset mask of neutrality. She shook her head slightly before nodding towards him as a sign of respect.

"I just wanted to thank you one last time before we go our separate ways," The Rose of Highgarden said. "We would surely be dead if it wasn't for you and your fellow Faceless Men."

"No thanks are necessary," He replied. "We were just repaying an old debt to the now King in the North and the Trident. If you want to thank anyone, thank him."

"Oh, I will," Margaery assured him, "but all the same, I would be remised if I didn't express my gratitude for your efforts, especially if you remain convinced that the three Faceless Men that took our place in the Sept of Baelor were definitely unable to escape," She added.

The elderly-looking man, be it by nature or as many suspected, a deceptive magical art, didn't look affected by the memory of what had happened to his fellows. "No, they wouldn't have survived a fire that would spread so rapidly," He repeated. "Not with their roles in the mission requiring them to change their appearances to resemble yours so that they could distract the Faith Militant in the Sept of Baelor while we escaped. But do not trouble yourself with that. Our order must pay its debts; the Many-Faced-God deems it so. Their actions ensured we could."

The highborn lady didn't particularly like his savior's lack of visible grief, remorse, or even pity regarding his allies' deaths, especially because she didn't enjoy the thought of people burning to ash for her sake but she supposed she could respect their commitment to duty.

Then she thought back to their actions the last time they met and mildly shuddered, remembering the spell they had used while touching them so that their faces would temporarily change, all the while warning them that soon, the effects of their magic would make them fall asleep for days, which meant they needed to reach the ship as soon as they could; with the Faceless Man before her as their escort. Shortly after they did, they saw the destruction of the Sept of Baelor from the dock and the grim implications that crossed her mind made her get tired even more quickly. Before long, she had lost track of time and by the time she had woken up, they were just a few hours away from White Harbor, her body having rested from the toll of the spell that the other magical assassins had cast.

That line of thought, in turn, made her wonder about their so-called Many-Faced God.

"Clearly there is something real behind their religion if it does grant them magical powers," Margaery thought with a frown as the realization came to mind. "So, perhaps it was just the Seven that we got wrong?"

The possibility was mildly comforting but it still made her turn her head away to look at the bay in order to hide her grimace. She had never been particularly devoted when it came to her faith but it was still a big part of her culture and upbringing. She didn't want to believe it was all a long-forgotten lie. Of course, she had reason to grew to despise the more fanatic members of her religion since the Faith Militant rose to power in King's Landing even if she knew they were technically enforcing much of the dogma of the Seven-Pointed-Star but that only made it ultimately worse in her eyes.

After all, that didn't save any of them from Cersei's **** while she dared destroy one of the two most important septs in the world...

The Rose of Highgarden sighed. She didn't like the feelings she was confronting due to her new crisis of faith.

"Hopefully, I will be able to find something more real I can believe in one day," She thought to herself.

She was snapped out of her increasingly depressing thoughts when she noticed a man had approached her father at the dock and begun talking to him.

The deposed queen suspected it was a servant from New Castle and if so, that probably meant it was time for her to go.

So, she turned back to the Faceless Man, whose expression remained impassive during her introspection.

"Well, thank you again for your invaluable service," Margaery said with a nod. "Even if you don't want it, know that you have the gratitude of House Tyrell."

"Valar dohaeris, Lady Margaery," He responded, his voice sounding monotone. "Take care."

And with that, he went to talk with some of the other Braavosi in the crew. She watched him go for a few moments before shaking her head and started walking towards dry land.

Half an hour later, they had arrived at New Castle, the seat of House Manderly. Some of the members of the keep's household watched them curiously as they advanced but no one seemed to look at them with hostility. Margaery decided to take that as a good sign of her grandmother's negotiation skills, considering that she imagined quite a few Northerners must have a grudge against the Tyrells due to their former alliance with the Lannisters.

"Or maybe she just no one wants to be on the receiving end of her verbal slashes," She thought, slightly amused at the idea.

Eventually, they found the matriarch of her House sitting at a desk in one of the castle's many rooms, just as she was adding a wax seal with their sigil to what was clearly a letter. She looked up when she saw them enter the room and grinned widely for once.

"Oh, I am so glad to see you all here, safely away from that shitpile of a city," Olenna declared as she stood up. "Come closer, my dear."

Smiling sadly but relieved to see her again, Margaery stepped forward and embraced her grandmother; finding some much-needed comfort in her arms.

Eventually, they broke away and Olenna moved towards Loras, caressing his cheek while staring at his melancholic face.

"My boy," She said slowly, her tone getting more emotional, "I am so sorry you suffered at the hands of those zealots and made to feel less than a man. But never forget, we will always love you, and if that High Sparrow, his precious Seven or any other god has a problem with that, to hell with them."

Margaery couldn't help but chock up a bit at that, especially after her brother started tearing up before hugging her as well. "I missed you, grandmother."

She held him tightly for a long time, allowing her recently tortured grandson to let it all out. In due time, he took a deep breath and made way for his father.

"I see you have been busy, gaining new allies here in the North," Mace said with a nod. "Thank you for that. They arrived just in time."

"Well, someone needed to do something to get you out of that nest of vipers," Olenna replied. "But what do you mean by just in time?"

The other Tyrells glanced at each other for a moment and realized she probably hadn't heard yet. Margaery cleared her throat.

"Well...there is no easy way to say this so I am just going to get on with it," She muttered. "Cersei used wildfire to destroy the Sept of Baelor and kill all of her enemies that had gathered for her public trial in the process. If it wasn't for those Faceless Men taking our place in the building to buy us time to escape, we would have all burn with them."

The Rose of Highgarden could count with one hand the number of times she had seen her grandmother at a loss for words while her eyes were wide in shock but she just added a new one to the list at that very moment. Eventually, she shook her head as if to clear it, her expression a mix of dismay and outrage.

"The last time I spoke with Cersei, I told her that she had lost and that it was the one piece of joy I could find in all this misery," She admitted. "When she insisted that she was going to protect what was hers I mocked her, saying that she had enemies all over the city and asking how exactly did she intend to kill them all by herself. I...I had no idea she actually had a plan for that."

Then her jaw clenched. "And she intended to slaughter you all as well? Oh, that vile woman is truly the worst person I have ever met."

"No argument there," Margaery said in agreement, her own tone angry.

There was a moment of silence as they thought on their hated enemy until Olenna let out a deep breath. "Trust me, we will have retribution. And I believe the new King of the North and the Trident will be able to help us with that. But first, we have much to discuss and no time to waste. Jon Stark should be returning to White Harbor on his dragon soon."

"Wait, what?!" The Rose of Highgarden said with a gasp. "He has a dragon?"

Her grandmother chuckled. "That he does, which is all the more reason for us to secure a formal alliance with him. And it also helps that he seems to have a sensible head on his shoulders as well, unlike most of the previous kings I have met."

And so, Olenna started telling them everything she had learned about recent events in the North.

A few minutes later, Margaery Tyrell took a moment of silence to organize her thoughts after all the news that her grandmother had mentioned briefly. Before long, she shook her head as if to clear it.

"So, let me see if I understood all of that," She said, her tone feeling like a mix of surprise and awe. "First of all, Jon Snow was legitimized as the heir of Robb Stark but the Red Wedding delayed those revelations. But according to what you have heard from what your spies in the Riverlands had heard from his explanations to the Lords there, a Red Priestess managed to use her powers to bring him back from the dead, and that in turn gave him a valid reason to conclude his oaths to the Night Watch?"

"A rare talent even among those priests, from what little I have heard, " Olenna remarked. "But they all seem convinced of that and apparently, he has some scars over his chest and heart that denote big wounds that wouldn't have been survivable without magic or perhaps even divine interference. Regardless, it seems he has managed to defy **** even if he had some help so that is most impressive."

The Rose of Highgarden didn't disagree with that although she couldn't help but remember the Red Priestess she had met during the last meeting between Stannis and Renly. Perhaps the claim from Brianne of Tarth that she had used some form of shadow magic to **** her first husband had more merit to it than she had previously thought...

Finding her voice again, she went on. "Then, he managed to capitalize on the respect he had started earning from the willing tribes from beyond the Wall and managed to get them to follow him in his quest to reclaim the North from those Bolton traitors and even managed to recruit some of the last remaining giants to his side?"

"Indeed," Her grandmother replied. "I understand that it also around the time he managed to bond with that Ice Dragon but I am not entirely sure of the succession of events yet since I hadn't been able to talk that much with him yet and I am basing some of my information on reports from our loyalists but yes, he has managed to increase his army with giants and men from beyond the Wall. I understand they prefer to be called the Free Folk though, so maybe we should throw away the word wildling from our minds. We should avoid diplomatic blunders if at all possible."

Margaery immediately made a mental note to repeat the words Free Folk until she memorized it and it came to her tongue faster than the apparently insulative term she was now aware of. Then she interlocked her fingers.

"And he managed to use his dragon to break the long Siege of Ironrath?" The former queen asked, her thoughts drifting to Mira Forrester with a slight wince, remembering that she had been **** to marry an ambitious merchant to save her skin after Margaery had dismissed her from her services and by extension, her protection.

She swallowed, feeling remorse threatening to punch her throat as she remembered the look of hurt on Mira's face, all because she did some questionable actions to aid her family that reflected poorly on her image while her position as queen was not yet secured.

"And given what **** me to flee to this city, it appears that was for nothing," She realized, depressive thoughts kept bubbling to the surface of her mind despite her training at keeping her facial expressions neutral when it was important.

Olenna seemed to have noticed if her raised eyebrow was any indication, but said nothing on the matter so Margaery took a deep breath and continued.

"Then, he quickly flew south and manage to rescue his Tully allies by breaking the Siege of Riverrun?" She asked.

"Yes, and it seems it was there that the Blackfish informed Jon that he was no longer a Snow," Olenna said in clarification. "After that, spend the next few days flying around the Riverland and giving the Lannister soldiers very, very strong incentives to flee the Riverlands while they still could, thereby managing to rally the rest of the Riverlords, except for those Frey weasels, to his cause.

Margaery couldn't help but smile at that. It seems like this new King had already severely weakened the army of her biggest enemy. She would have to thank him for that later.

"Then he arrived at White Harbor where Wyman Manderly bend the knee to him and they started making plans to finish off the Boltons?"

"Quite right, and that's where I come in as well," Her grandmother noted. "As we meet and we made some deals."

Right...

"What were does deals again?" She asked, trying to mask the hesitation she was feeling with a knowing look.

"For now, just a non-aggression pact with the Reach if the Iron Throne decides to attack his domains and some large shipments of grain and other crops to be delivered to White Harbor in exchange for using the elite Faceless Men that owed him a favor to rescue you all," The Tyrell Matriarch assured her. "We hadn't had the chance to discuss potential marriage alliances...yet."

And there it was. Confirmation her grandmother had come with another plan to try to make her queen.

For once, she wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or relieved at the prospect.

On the outside, she sighed. "I don't think this Jon Stark might find it amusing that I am technically still married to a king that belongs to a House that has earned his ire and enmity."

"Probably not," Olenna admitted. "And with Cersei getting rid of most of his enemies in one blow, he is probably not going to get caught in a future conflict between the Lannisters and the Faith Militant as I suspected. But I am telling you, I have a really good feeling about this new King for once. And while he is not the King of the Seven Kingdoms, the Vale Lords already chose to disobey orders from the Iron Throne and have come to his aid in the Riverland and the North, which means they have probably decided to bend the knee to him as well. If we can secure a marriage alliance with him that would add the Reach to his domains that would be well over half of Westeros under his command, which should be enough for us to protect ourselves and defeat our strongest remaining enemies. I believe it's in our best interest to try."

Margaery couldn't disagree with that logic but like she told Loras she was starting to feel cursed when it came to marriage prospects. Hopefully, it was just her somber mood talking inside her head.

"Where is he now?" She ended up asking.

"On his way to White Harbor, I believe," Her grandmother said. "He decided to briefly travel to Braavos once he got word that his little sister, Arya Stark, had fled the War of the Five Kings and sought shelter in Essos. He wanted to pick her up while he still could.

"Huh," The Rose of Highgarden hummed at that, thinking. "Have you had word from Sansa?"

"Last I heard, she is representing House Stark on Ironrath, which is where the growing army that she had gathered alongside her brother have camped, in preparation for the inevitable battle with the Bolton host," The Matriarch responded.

Margaery tilted her head a slight smile crossing her lips. Despite everything, it will be good to see her friend again. She had missed her company.

Suddenly, there was a knock on their door and Olenna gave her permission to come in. Inside entered a servant girl who wasted no time informing them that their king was spotted in the sky bay and should be landing in the city very soon. Olenna thanked her for the information and turned to look at her family.

"It seems we have a new king to greet. Let's go everyone, and remember, first impressions are EVERYTHING," She stressed.

Margaery followed her grandmother to the hallway in silence trying to contain a sigh. She didn't really know who to pray to anymore but all the same, she tried, all the same, hoping someone benevolent would take notice.

"If any deity out there is listening...then, I am sorry if the selfishness of my ambitions were the reasons my previous marriages were doomed," She said, unable to stop herself from feeling guilty. "But now, it seems I need to become queen for my own protection and that of my family. It's not just for the sake of prestige. So...please, help me and give me a sign that we have not been forsaken by the gods for our sins."

By the time she was done praying, she had reached the entrance of the courtyard and that's when her jaw dropped, as she saw the magnificence of a dragon for the first time. The sight of the huge, powerfully built beast made it easier for her to imagine how it managed to break the sieges of Ironrath and Riverrun. And just above it at the front of the saddle, was its King of a rider.

It's very handsome King of a rider...

It wasn't until a few seconds later that she realized she had stopped breathing. Before long, her smile started growing.

"Grandmother was right, first impressions are everything," She thought to herself as her mood improved.

Then, she looked up to the heavens for a moment and couldn't help but shed a tear. "Thank you for the sign," She whispered.

And with that, she watched Olenna approach the new King in the North and the Trident and waited to introduce herself.

A/N: Well, Margaery seemed to have asked for a divine sign and she got one but she doesn't know yet just how right she was. Ironic XD

Hope you enjoy the way I wrote her reactions to everything that had happened to her recently. At first, I hesitated to write her in this somewhat depressed mood but it seemed to me it would have been illogical for recent events not to have taken a toll on Margaery's mental health, especially when taking some time for introspection. Plus, it serves as character development. But don't worry, she won't be broody all the time. That look is much better on Jon XD

Thanks for reading everyone. And like always, please review.