50 The Queen; and the most powerful woman in Westeros

King's Landing, Crownlands, Third Moon of 279 AC

Dacey POV

Dacey Dovahkiin, like all northerners, hated the south, or better, the southerners. These people had no honor and would lie to anyone's face if said lie would make them get something in return; it didn't matter how many lives their lie could destroy. In The North, people were more trustworthy; a northerner alone in the south was dangerous, and a northerner woman alone in the south was suicide. So when the King commanded her husband to follow him, she felt uneasy; the only good thing was that he left Benjen with her. Dacey was certain that if something went wrong, it probably would go wrong for the King and the rest of his lickspittles rather than her husband, but with her child on her belly, she wasn't keen on seeing things go wrong.

" My lady Dovahkiin?" a voice broke Dacey's thoughts; she turned her head and saw a small woman looking at her, granted, most women looked small compared to her; Dacey was 6 ft tall after all.

" Aye?" Dacey said, " is there something you need?"

" Yes, my lady. The Queen has invited you to a small gathering of ladies in the gardens. If you wish, My Lady, I was told to show you the way." The small woman said, to which Dacey slowly nodded; her husband would eventually find her, he always did; the man seemed to have a map on his head showing where everyone was

" Aye…" Dacey said with the enthusiasm of a very dead man. " Just you wait, Ragnar… making me have to meet with these southerners puppet dolls," Dacey muttered; she turned to Benjen, who had become one of her guards; the lad had a playful smile on his face, certainly finding this whole situation amusing.

" You and Ragnar will face my vengeance, fate will make it so. Lord Stark." Dacey said with fake seriousness, which made Benjen laugh " Show us the way then," She said to the small woman.

The Red Keep's garden was beautiful, to say the least; Dacey could only imagine how it would look in the summer. The day, which was cold during the morning, was a little better when Dacey got to the gardens. A simple long-sleeved dress would suffice, which was what all ladies wore; some wore heavier clothes, like Elia Martell, the Dornish princess. Once Dacey saw those Ladies sitting in the garden, drinking tea and gossiping, she was tempted to call Snowstorm and get the fuck out of there; unfortunately, she had her duties, being the lady of such a strong and wealthy House such as House Dovahkiin had its price. Dacey was guided to the Queen, who sat a the center of the gathering, surrounded by other ladies. Queen Rhaella was a beautiful woman; her purple eyes on her pale skin were like amethysts on snow; Ragnar once told her that the eyes on her face were like sapphires on marble; at the time, she didn't think much of it but now seeing the Queen she couldn't help but smile at her husband words.

" Maybe my vengeance can wait until I kiss him senseless," Dacey muttered quietly.

As she approached the Queen, she offered a small courtesy and a gentle smile.

" My Queen. It's a pleasure meeting Your Grace personally. My Lord husband talked a lot about Your Grace." Dacey said, which was true. Ragnar talked a lot about the king and queen, on the first moons of their marriage, probably because of Prince Rhaegar's talks with him.

" Lady Dovahkiin, do feel welcome to this small gathering. Sit with us, would you?" The Queen said with a smile on her face. "Believe me when I say I've wanted to meet someone from your house for a long time. Rhaegar speaks highly about your husband, land, and city." the queen continued " It seems Rhaegar friendship with your husband is bigger than I thought; he usually doesn't talk about family with many people, and as I never met Lord Dovahkiin, I can only assume he knows about me through Rhaegar." The Queen said, the smile never leaving her face.

"Aye… it would seem so. My Lord husband and Prince Rhaegar talked a lot on our wedding day." Dacey answered the Queen, their small conversation making many ladies openly gape at them. Ragnar Dovahkiin was a legend that could not be denied; all knew he was the greatest warrior in the seven kingdoms, everyone knew about his rescue of the king in Duskendale, and of course, everyone knew he was the only man in the World who knew how to forge Valyrian Steel. But that was men's business; most ladies didn't understand why a prince of the realm would attend a small lord's wedding.

" Why would Prince Rhaegar attend your wedding?" a confused voice asked before the Queen could say anything to Dacey, the voice belonging to one Cersei Lannister.

" Hush now, Cersei. Rhaegar's motives are his own… but it makes a lot of sense. Lord Dovahkiin is a powerful man with a powerful fleet. His city is the fourth biggest city in Westeros and, according to Rhaegar himself, the most beautiful. Lady Dovahkiin, allow me to introduce you to these ladies here." The Queen said; she then proceeded to introduce the ladies, the only important ones being Elia Martell, Cersei Lannister, Denyse Hightower, and Mina Tyrell

" Do tell me, Lady Dovahkiin, is it true that Winterhold, your city, smells like lilac and gooseberries?" The Queen asked as a servant poured tea for her.

" Aye; Your Grace, that is true. My husband projected the sewage of Winterhold before he projected the city, something we are all grateful for. Unfortunately, my Lord husband never told me why Winterhold smells like lilac and gooseberries. But it's pleasant." Dacey answered.

" Is it true that Lord Dovahkiin is taller than Ser Duncan the Tall?" asked Mina Tyrell after Queen nodded.

" They say Duncan was an inch shy of seven feet tall; my lord husband is 7'2 ft," Dacey answered

" It's fortunate that you found a tall husband for you as you are as tall a man." Cersei Lannister said with a fake smile. " Is that a mace on your hips?" she asked with counterfeit surprise in her voice.

" My Lord husband is fortunate to have found a woman tall enough for him to kiss without getting back pain. His words, not mine's." Dacey replied calmly, " And you are wrong; my weapon is a Morningstar; you should try and learn about some weapons. It might one day save your life." Dacey said.

" How barbaric… why would I need to learn that? My house has guards to protect me at all times," Cersei said, smirking.

" The guards didn't protect House Casterly's daughters when Lann the clever stole the Rock… they might not protect you when another clever man tries to steal it from House Lannister," Dacey said as she tipped her tea calmly; she could see Cersei seething, which brought enormous satisfaction to her.

" That is true; in Dorne, women fight just like men, killing just like men. Tell me; Lady Dovahkiin is it true that your House owes a gold mine as big as Casterly Rock?" Elia Martell asked to the shock of Cersei

" That is not true, the mountains where our mine is is bigger than Casterly Rock, but the Gold mines are not… Casterly Rock is one unique mountain, and its mine is one of a kind. I didn't know our gold mine was common knowledge. We did report it to House Stark and the King, as the law demands it." Dacey said, Cersei's smug face when Dacey mentioned Casterly Rock was funny, a spoiled child through and through

" No secret ever remains secret in Kingslanding. How is it that gold veins remained undiscovered for 8 thousand years, and your husband is lucky enough to find them on his first year as Lord of Skagos?" The Queen asked; to which Dacey smiled brightly

" My husband, like Casterly Rock, is one of a kind. When my husband got to Skagos, it was a land of poor, desperate, and abandoned people; in five years, he managed to transform the land. The Skagossi are now proud people. We provide food for almost half of the north by ourselves; we sell the food at reasonable prices, which means the other lords don't have to spend all their gold on extremely overcharged food, which in turn means the Lords have more gold to invest in their land. My Lord husband is respected in the North because of that… there's also the fact that we protect the north against pirates from the east. All that in five years, because of one man." Dacey said, and Mina Tyrell frowned

" So it's because of your House that The North only bought half of the usual amount of grains from Reach?" Mina Tyrell said quickly.

" Aye…" Dacey said; she wanted to say more but chose not to.

" The North remembers. House Stark remembers." Benjen said, much to Dacey's surprise.

" And who are you, boy? Servants should not talk in the presence of their betters," Cersei hissed, to which Benjen laughed.

" The day those of the line of Lann, the clever becomes the betters to those of the line of Bran the builder would be the day the oceans would go dry, and the sun goes cold and not before," Benjen said coldly.

" I beg your pardon, My ladies, it was my mistake not introducing you to Lord Benjen Stark, House Dovahkiin's foster son," Dacey said calmly; The Queen only smiled and greeted Benjen, Cersei, who was taken aback by Benjen's words, seemed to compose herself.

" Careful, Lord Stark, or the rains might weep over Winterfell's halls," Cersei said through greeted teeth, and Benjen laughed out loud

" The rains could try, but the rains, like all of your ancestors, would be stopped, crushed, and destroyed at the neck, and when it's all over, they would call us Thirsty wolves. Did you know The Neck saw more Andal blood than the Targaryen burned them? Perhaps the rains should try come north… its waters could get our soil as wet with water as it was red with your ancestor's blood." Benjen said, and it was at that moment Dacey realized how much influence her husband had over Benjen; everything he said was something Ragnar told him. The boy would be Theon the Hungry wolf come again.

" Benjen, that's enough. Ragnar gave you a task; how can you do said task if you are fighting with a Lady? You must pay attention to your surroundings," Dacey said; her voice showed she was as proud of him as she could be.

" Do be quiet, Cersei; it's not every day a Stark comes down the neck. How is fostering under a man like Lord Dovahkiin? Rhaegar told me you were better than Arthur was at his age, something Arthur himself said; Rhaegar said Lord Dovahkiin could make a beggar become a knight in less than six moons." The Queen asked after chastising the Lannister girl.

" Lord Dovahkiin is every bit the legend he is rumored to be, even more. Everything I know he taught me. About the North, about how to fight, how to wage war against honorable opponents, about how to wage war on clever, or as many prefer, dishonorable opponents, about how to make a port city profitable… which taxes should be lowered or raised as time goes by, which goods to forbid." Benjen said, with a slight smile on his face.

" So the Dragon in the north is as legendary as they say. It's good. What about his Ice Dragon?" The Queen asked, which made all the ladies look at the Queen as if she was hallucinating.

" Lord Dovahkiin doesn't have an Ice Dragon," Benjen answered.

" I have." Dacey said, " it was his wedding gift for me, to forever protect the North and me." Dacey continued, "if your grace wishes to see her. Just look at the sea behind you." And look they all did, and all saw a giant white dragon flying over the sea, dive in, and fly up again with water falling from its mouth.

" It's beautiful." The queen said as she watched the dragon flying far away.

" Aye… she is," Dacey said calmly with a smile on her face; she did fail to notice the frown on Cersei's face; Benjen Stark didn't

" Rains on Winterfell or Ice in a rock… I'm pretty sure only one is possible." Benjen said quietly.

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A/N: One more chapter, next chapter will be more about Ragnar and his political views on some things.

Thank you for your support! See you soon