THE UNSUNG ROSE *

the reach was green  &  warm,  the beauty of the emerald coastline unable to be denied.   but for as lovely a sight as it was,  asha could find little comfort in it.   an alliance such as theirs was unsteady at best  –  the men of the reach were the greenest of all the greenlanders,  her father had always said,  disdain in his tone.   but after the loss at the kingsmoot,  asha had precious few allies left to her,  &  the reach was both wealthy  &  powerful.   &  if euron would seek to make house tyrell his enemy,  then perhaps asha could turn them into friends to help her to stand against him.   regardless of the long history of tension  &  distrust between their families,  asha knew that neither of them could stand against him alone.

the banners strike the sky  –  golden roses embroidered against silk as green as the field they stand in.   they have brought a fully armed company to greet them,  mounted knights clad in plate with swords lashed closely at their hip.   not the greeting party of friends,  but she doesn’t hold it against them.   this tenuous friendship is still new to both of them,  &  her own men are armed as well,  if less armored than the reachmen.   besides,  the kraken banner had seldom been a welcome sight upon their coastline over the course of its history.     ❝  ser tyrell,  ❞   she offers in response to his greeting.   the captain gives a respectful nod,  but her eyes do not leave his face.   garlan is the picture of courtesy,  titles remembered  &  exchanged despite the tension between their parties,  but trust has yet to be built between them.    ❝  i thank you for the welcome into your lands.  ❞

𝐅𝐎𝐑  𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒  𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐇  𝐀  𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 of ironborn and their ships in these lands was a sign of war, even before the dragons sought to unite them all under one crown and one ruler. But wars always tend to make a path for weird alliances. The rose had pledged itself to the stag, then to the lions — now it sought an alliance with the daughter of a man who crowned himself king against her own uncle. Foes could always turn into allies, when both sides shared a common enemy. But as the Greyjoy approached him, a few of her men following closely, he gave order to his men to remain behind and guard those ships and those who remained behind. Trust was something to gain and until she was with his brother, discussing every detail, those plans of mutual help remained words written in black ink on paper.

“Not as familiar as you are, I am sure,” she said, ever gracious, a small smile settling on her face as she lifted her violet eyes to his face. Reaching for her wine she took a soft sip. The wine was better in Westeros than it had been in Meereen. It was kind of him to entertain her. Most of her time in High Garden had been spent in the company of Lady Olenna, or Willas. She had arrived on the shores of Westeros with thousands of troops, warriors famed for their fierceness, and more importantly still, three dragons. Now the bargaining began. What was it the Dragon Queen could give the people of the Reach. Margaery and Loras, if it was in her power to give them back to their family she would. “That is the part of the history I do know,” she said, “House Gardner stood with House Lannister, they had five times the men than King Aegon did. But Aegon had his dragon, and his sisters. The Field of Fire, it was the only time all three dragons were in the same battle.” Daenerys may not be an expert on the Reach, but her brother had instructed her on the history of their house. The history of Targaryen Kings and Queens who had come before them had been her bedtime stories. 

“I also know that House Tyrell supported my father during the Rebellion. Your family has always been very loyal to mine, that’s the history I know,” she said. Dany’s violet eyes took in his face, they didn’t miss the worry in his eyes, or that his smile was hollow. “I will repay that loyalty as best I can. I know your sister is Tommen’s Queen, but I am not Tywin Lannister. I will not have what happened to my good sister happen to her,” or to the young Tommen. She wasn’t Tywin Lannister. She wasn’t Robert Baratheon. She wasn’t her father. Innocents would not be butchered in her name. 

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐑𝐒 were those who allowed for house Tyrell to become what it was now and ever since the Tyrells shared a closed history with the then ruling house, right until to their fall. They rewarded, on their path of conquest, but they punished as well. The very history of the Reach was a prime example of both situations. His fears and worries must have been clear to read on his face, though, for the young queen anticipated his following question, reassuring him before he could even say those words. Some of the tension in his body disappeared, a weight lifted from his heart — Margaery could come home, not harmed. Words weren’t actions ; but all the same, he preferred to believe those words would become truth, once the Targaryen sat on the throne. He preferred to trust his brother’s judgment of the girl who crossed the Narrow Sea with three dragons at her back and the desire of reclaiming the throne her ancestors built.

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐒𝐔𝐍  𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇  𝐈𝐍  𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐒𝐊𝐘 ; perhaps it was a sign. A winter sun nonetheless, nowhere near as warming as it had been not that long ago, but still a sign. Even the gods came to celebrate the fact that justice won. She looked somewhat gaunt, her skin paler than it had been upon his departure, before she was unfairly caged. But at least she was free again ; and soon enough he was holding her in his arms, tight against his chest, fingers running through locks of brown curls. They had hugged when he left for home as well, leaving with a clearer mind and knowledge that things were finally in their favour — she was to be the queen, she was loved by the smallfolk. Oh, how foolish of him to not consider the nature of the king’s mother. Their father too, he who wanted it all from the beginning, he who dragged his entire family in a war they could and should have avoided. Never to take any side in it.

𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍  𝐊𝐑𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐍  𝐎𝐍  𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊  𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒 ; the knight’s lips are pressed in a thin line, brows furrowed, body tense. A lady, a captain, a foe. This is what he would believe the woman to be on a normal situation. Ally would never be a word the Tyrell would put close to any ironborn — the daughter of the self-proclaimed king Balon included. Asha Greyjoy came all the way to the Reach on stolen ships to offer an alliance against her uncle ; if he didn’t know Willas better the second born would have assumed it was some humourless joke. But those words were written in black ink in a letter his brother showed him and it wasn’t long that the first longships started to appear on the horizon.