Chapter 12: And The Winner is

Royal Ballroom, Red Keep, King's Landing

5th Moon, 259 AC

The Royal Ballroom was buzzing with activity as Nobles from across the realm sat at their tables, enjoying their meals, and chatting with each other. The dance floor was soon to be opened, and that would be my battlefield for the night. Because I have to entertain a lateral horde of ladies who feel that they have a chance with me, and as the customs dictate, I can't announce my soon-to-be wife, without seeming to interact with most eligible ladies, as that would be insulting.

The meal soon came to an end, and the servants did their job of cleaning the tables and preparing the dancing floor.

The music started announcing the start of the dance, and I was quick to turn to Mother for a dance. "My Queen, would you honor me with a dance?" I said it with a smile on my face. Mother took my outstretched hand with a smile of her own and said while standing up, "The honor is mine, my dear Prince", and onto the dancing floor we went.

While I was dancing with Mother, I could see many Ladies looking at me with hungry eyes, which would put the fear of God in a lesser man, but I was anything but that.

"So, my charming Prince, would you tell your old mother who will be the lucky Lady that I will have as my good daughter", I fake gasped at my mother's words and said, "You are anything but old, my dear Queen, there is no woman in the Realm that would claim to be fairer", Mother's face showed her amusement as she replied, "Flattering won't get you anyway with me, dear Aerys. Now would you indulge me, or would I have to wait alongside the rest of the realm to know? And from your father's content smile, I can tell he already knows", I made a mischievous smile and looked straight into her amethyst eyes and said, "But you already know, don't you, Mother? I can't imagine you didn't get all the hints I dropped in our conversations"

Mother's face lit up in recognition as she put the dots together, which then morphed into a knowing smile as she said, "Which one of the sisters did you choose?", I replied with my knowing smile, "Why of course, the elder one". Mother showed a contemplative look that soon morphed into a content smile as she said, "I won't take much of your time, dear, you need to go and entertain the many ladies waiting for you". She said the last part with a hint of mischief, as she withdrew, leaving me with a horde of hungry wolves looking for prey.

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As I turned and started facing my most feared foes, I was thankful for my prior insight to prepare for this battle, where I made sure to enchant the musical instruments of the singing band, when I met them previously, under the pretense of helping the royal steward with his final inspection.

My enchantment focused on making any Lady, but the ones most intent on becoming my wife, more hesitant to seek me out for a dance. This kept more than half of the ladies from bothering me as I made my way through the dancing floor, getting rid of the most annoying of the other half, by having the shortest possible dance that courtesy would allow.

I was particularly annoyed by the Freys, as the disgusting Lord Frey brought with him five of his daughters, two of whom are 10 and 11 years old, something that made me realize how I underestimated the shamelessness of the old bastard, but I made sure to take a note of this and put him on my list of those I will deal with very thoroughly in the upcoming days.

The Freys aside, there were a lot of young girls amongst the gathered ladies, a lot of which had been kept from approaching me by the enchantment, but some were persistent, speaking volumes of the deep desire of many Lords to see their blood on the Throne.

The fact that my sister was just as young as many of them when we were forced to wed by Father, really put things into perspective and created a picture of what I am going to deal with in the future. Not that I will ever marry any daughter that I would have at such a young age; for me, I think the youngest age appropriate for marriage should be 14 to 15, putting in mind the fact that people here mature earlier than back on Earth, because of the harsher circumstances.

Putting aside those distracting thoughts, I found myself heading toward Lady Branda Stark, the one I was going to take for a wife. I approached with a genuine smile on my face, as I outstretched my hand toward her and said in a soothing voice, "Would you do me the honor of a dance, My Lady", She responded with a smile of her own, as she took my hand after curtsying and said, "The honor would be mine, Your Grace".

Soon we were dancing and having an amicable talk, "How had King's Landing been treating you, my Lady", Branda showed a disgusted look before she schooled her face and replied, "Beside the smell of shit, and the Sothron backstabbing and face platitude, I think I am fairing well so far", I showed amusement at her statement, and said, "Believe me when I say, you can't get used to that smell, because if you do, you will lose a part of you, and that part may be human dignity", my jest appeared to make Branda amused, as she gave a small laugh at that and said, "And I believe you didn't get used to it, Your Grace", to which I laughed myself and I replied to that with, "What can I say, My Lady, I have a sensitive nose" and we both laughed at that. After more talking and jesting, I had to change my dancing partner.

An exhausting amount of dance partners later, the feast was coming to an end, and it was time to make an announcement, so I stood up from my chair and gestured to Ser Barristan to silence the crowd, which he did by ordering the royal guards to hit the floor with their spears.

After I got everyone's attention, I cleared my throat and said, "My Lords, and Ladies, after the delightful dance and chat I had with the ladies of the realm, I am happy to announce that I decided whom I would choose for a wife", There was a hush over the crowd, filled with anticipation for my choice. I put a smile on my face as I said, "Lady Branda Stark, is the chosen one".