Maven internalized Elara’s opinions of the many High House families in his court because of her constant whispering to him about what’s important and what isn’t. If Elara thought House Blonos were a useless bunch, so did Maven, etc.

This led to Maven ending up quite picky about which noble lady he should take as a bride, which was something he and Cal were both told to consider at the ripe age of 16;

But unlike Cal, who I hc was essentially set to be married to Evangeline since they were kids, Maven had his pick of the litter;

Well, sort of. He was free to choose between the ladies his mother approved of. And there weren’t many, I’m assuming

By the time Queenstrial rolled around, Maven already had a girl in mind. Someone Elara approved of. Ergo, he lied to Mare’s face during the banquet when she asked him if he’d chosen someone prior to being forcibly engaged to her;

I hc this because none of the royal family had any way of guessing that Mare would fall into the arena when she did. And the prince’s selections would’ve been made that same night. Elara realsitically would expect Maven to have chosen a bride for himself way before then;

I hc that the girl Maven initially chose was, of course, not a love match at all. It was purely a transactional decision. In my head, he was meant to choose Heron Welle because of a few rumors that Governor Welle had connections to the Lakelands that he was keeping hidden from the royal family;

Elara’s plan was, instead of putting Governor Welle on trial for treason, Elara and Maven would essentially leverage Heron as Maven’s wife into doing their bidding. Heron would be forced to divulge any and all intel her family gets from their connections to the Lakelands to Maven and Elara. Either that, or it’s her father’s head on a platter;

The fandom likes to hc that neither Elara nor Maven cared about the war. I beg to differ. If they didn’t care, they wouldn’t be so desperate to cling onto their status. Elara and Maven care so much about leverage and control over their own power. As queen, Elara would like to know about the enemy nation’s secrets and be able to plan accordingly—she can do just that through House Welle (this is partially canon, as House Welle canonically has connections to the Lakelands as seen in King’s Cage)

I expound more on this decision in my fic. My post would be too long if I shared all the nitty gritty

Iris, on the other hand, I headcanon her to have been engaged to a distant cousin of hers since she was about 10 years old;

I hc this because Orrec and Cenra are both from House Cygnet, just distant relatives. Iris is an incest baby 😮‍💨

I’m guessing it’s tradition in the Lakelands, to keep the bloodlines pure. Something about godliness and water purity. I’ve expounded more about my idea in my fic, forgive me if it’s vague here;

But anyway, this rule extended even towards the spare children, like Iris

And for quite some time, Iris didn’t actually mind that she was essentially engaged to her cousin. It was tradition, after all. Her parents were relatives. And who was she to refuse the word of her gods?

Iris spent her entire teenage life knowing that she and her older sister would marry their cousins. But that didn’t mean that the Cygnet sisters were good friends or even fully acquainted with their future grooms—whose families, I imagine, governed other provinces of the Lakelands and live far away from the capital city;

Iris would mostly get to see her betrothed/cousin during larger court functions or holiday feasts. Say a couple hello’s and exchange a few words. But never get to spend time together extensively

Iris settled into the idea that she’d simply follow in her father’s footsteps—marry, serve in the war, start a family. Most importantly, live in service of her sister, Tiora

Of course, Iris had a little spark of ambition inside her. A part of her that wanted to believe she was meant for more—more than just a quiet marriage to a distant cousin, more than just being another royal soldier in the war

But upon hearing that her betrothal to her cousin would be dissolved in favor of her marrying the new King Maven of Norta, Iris knew she’d fallen into a nightmare

And it was hell for Maven too, let’s not get it twisted! I hc that Maven was genuinely floored when he realized that Iris’s presence during the negotiation in the Choke wasn’t for military purposes;

I believe Maven was sincerely surprised when Orrec told him to dissolve his betrothal to Evangeline and propose to Iris right then and there. Unlike Iris, who had some time to process what her father wanted of her

This is partly why I hc Maven to have been so hasty in his wedding preparations with Iris, because he had no idea that the peace treaty with the Lakelands included a marriage clause.

This is because Maven relied on the intel that both Cygnet princesses were spoken for, to their cousins, no less. Which he laughed about in private because he’s a bully;

And because Maven thought House Cygnet wouldn’t try to get between the betrothal of House Calore and House Samos. It’s why he was so lax at first

Guys I love it when Maven gets bitten in the ass by his own stupidity

Now onto some of the real unserious hc’s I have of maveiris as husband and wife

Maven threw a lot of parties during the two-month period where he and Iris were engaged. Because it was a betrothal to the princess of the Lakelands, he thought it would make sense for a lot of the parties to have various water features like fountains and pools and whatnot. He thought it was timely and symbolic. Like a dork. He never drew close enough to fall in, of course. And he was wary every time;

As a joke, Iris once suggested that she host a party with more fire features, since King Maven has been so generous with the water-themed galas. Maven, not getting her jest, immediately told her that such a party would result in chaos. When Iris clarified that she was kidding, Maven simply turned away from her. Because he’s a bully

But there were many joint parties hosted by them as a couple, especially once they got married and Iris was given even more control over the functions of the Nortan court

Maven always controlled the guest list. If it was Iris’s turn to select the guests, no it wasnt and Maven has the final word anyway. This resulted in Iris expecting a few friendly faces to turn up during functions and, once the party was drawing to a close, realizing that Maven tampered with her guest list.

Iris always controlled the menu. If it was Maven’s turn to select the food, Iris would take the list from him and edit to her liking. And unless Iris thought the dishes Maven pencilled in were good to serve, she erased them from their list. This resulted in Maven looking at Iris scornfully when she removed the stuffed tomatoes from the appetizer list. He wanted to eat those :(

Both Maven and Iris trashed Niro Eskariol’s party invite on separate occasions. Both Maven and Iris pretended to not have a clue regarding his absence. They would never admit to each other that they both find Niro creepy

Maven lowkey cares about what Iris wears, especially during their public appearances. Too bad Iris doesn’t give a rat’s ass about what Maven thinks

He’s tried to subtly alter Iris’s wardrobe many times to no avail. Iris still turned up dressed in simpler outfits, even during public appearances. She was a huge contrast against the only other queen Maven ever knew, his own fashionably flamboyant mother. This rattled Maven more than he’d like to admit, because he thought it also affected his image as king. Who was he? A king who couldn’t control his queen?

Iris thinks Maven looks better when he isn’t all dressed up in needless layers. She thinks the cape swallows him whole. Maven thinks the cape makes him look manly

But, out of respect and also pure fear, both Maven and Iris kept their wedding rings on until the moment Iris betrays him in War Storm