I hope that you come back to this fic someday.

I'd imagine there was not much of a happy ending you could take this too. I do not think there was much pleasure to be had in writing the relentless misery of this plotline at this point. I can imagine why you might stop.

Thanks for writing and sharing what you did.

I like the complex "what if?" you have contrived. I think Stannis' nature would have him loyal to the King. But will he finally see the King's danger to the kingdom and decide his duty lies with his family and the larger kingdom. Will he be the Kingslayer?

I like the "decided to be happy." It seems very modern. But humans have been humans for all our history and before. I do not think we were all that different emotionally before. Culture plays a role, but human nature shapes culture. The pursuit of happiness at a personal, familial level has been a prime motivator throughout history. So the idea is not modern, even if the phrasing is.

“you were the one who encouraged him, who told not to give up”
And then the parent goes back on their word. I’m guessing Stannis didn’t take it well.
“His father’s hand was on his forehead; warm, capable, living”
He thinks of his parents everyday.
“This one is not worth all that hard work”
In my opinion this is a mistake. They were mainly concerned with how having a crippled bird would have made Stannis look to others. They probably didn’t realize until it was too late that Stannis may have genuinely cared for the animal.
“Rickard looked up in surprise”
Stannis has studied Lyanna’s family tree.
“a widower for many years standing, stuck in a dark, dank dungeon with only the good-son he never entirely trusted as company”
Welcome to Westeros, Rickard.
“Always looking for something, searching for god knows what”
This made me think of House Targaryen and of Rhaegar himself.
“There was surviving, and then there was actually living that was more than just the act of still drawing breath”
Perhaps they could found happiness and peace together, given the time and opportunity. Unfortunately, the world would not allow them to.
“Only fools pay any heed to foolish words”
If only both Robert and Stannis had taken this to heart. Perhaps they did, but went about it in the wrong ways.
“he refused to join us in our plan, to protect the entire realm from Aerys’ madness”
Because he saw them as ultimately no better than Aerys, perhaps?
“Lyanna’s voice in his head brought him back to his senses”
Does she know how much she now means to him?

And that’s it! I have reviewed every chapter of this great story. Now on to In Good Company.

“who was not wearing his customary Kingsguard garb”
I find Barristan’s role in this story to be very interesting. At what point did he change his allegiance to Rhaella, and why?
“who no one sang songs about, and very rarely lit candles for, blithely claiming another life”
I like to think that the Stranger has a similar personality to the Death of Discworld.
“don’t be naïve”
Eddard was likely trying to convince himself more than Lyanna that Barristan is trustworthy.
“rather than about the recklessness of two young lovers”
I love that Duran and Elenei’s story is used in this one to such a good effect.
“It did not strike her as odd until much later”
She suspects Stannis, and at the same time she still loves him.
“But also for herself, Lyanna Stark, his wife. Was that foolishness and naivety on her part? Was it love? Or merely marriage”
Lyanna questions everything in this story, most of all herself.
“That had been the question vexing Lyanna for a long time”
Pain was inevitable for Lyanna whether or not she had gone with Rhaegar or married Robert or Stannis. As it is, she marries Stannis, grows to love him, and that love causes her pain and anguish.
“When Ser Barristan had finished speaking”
There is a chance for her to save her father and her husband, and she is willing to risk her own life for it.

“choices were not really a choice at all. A mirage at best”
The moment I read this, I knew this chapter was going to be depressing.
“why was he such a reckless fool”
Good question.
“intent only on doing his duty and protecting his king”
Gerold can preach about duty all he wants, but I see him as a coward.
“for he stayed silent, this time”
This is the ugly reality of the Kingsguard; of what it truly is to serve a King.
“trembling with fury”
Some psychopaths are intelligent and extremely dangerous. Aerys is not one of them. Had he not been born a Targaryen, he likely would have been just another blustering and strutting noble who’d have quickly gotten himself killed.
“Not for anyone, not even his wife or her family”
Aerys was (probably) raised by his parents Jaehaerys II and Shaera Targaryen. He was forced by his father to marry his own sister Rhaella who already disliked him at that point.
“Aerys was not listening to anyone”
Aerys is already a dead man. It’s only a matter of time.
“It was wrong. It was unjust”
To me this proves that what Stannis believes in truly IS justice and lawfulness. He is more of a true knight than ANY of the Kingsguard.
“suddenly it was his father’s face he saw, not Rickard Stark’s”
He’s hallucinating. That’s not good.

“The boy cried, begged and pleaded, and finally threw a huge tantrum”
He cannot remain like this forever. Stannis IS correct in that Renly needs to learn to be disciplined.
“grown-ups have to do things we don’t want to do”
Gregory House: ‘Life is pain.’
“She didn’t know if that made things better, or worse”
Both. I say both.
“the king named Prince Doran as one of the three judges in the trial”
Uh-oh.
“the king has promised Prince Doran that Prince Aegon’s position would not be threatened”
I suspect that Doran is on neither Rhaegar’s nor Aerys’ side.
“she had not known, and still did not know”
I will continue to hope that one day this story would be resumed.

“Lyanna’s letter to Stannis arrived”
How does Stannis feel every time he receives a letter from her? What is it like for him to love someone who loves him back?
“Her tears, if she shed them, she kept to herself”
He does not want to be like Robert. Many of his actions throughout his whole life were and are to be the exact opposite of him. And yet Stannis may be realizing that in truth he and Robert are very similar.
“that they were not tears of despair and grief”
He would prefer her anger to this.
“did not see it as treason”
It’s only treason if you lose. It really IS the only rule that matters; you must win.
“I dreamt of you. And the king. Riding into a great storm”
Their worst fears are not for themselves but for each other.
“She would never forgive him”
Stannis may make the biggest choice of his life not out of duty but out of love.
“Lie for your wife’s stake”
Stannis prides himself on always being honest. But this is the world he lives in. If he wants to protect what he cares about, he must learn to lie.
“treason of the highest order”
Stannis also prides himself on upholding the law. I love this story so much. It is still one of the best writings of Stannis that I have ever seen.
His relationship with Lyanna has finally made Stannis realize; this is why even good people lie and break laws. Everybody Lies.
“I dreamt that we grew old together. And you were sad and unhappy. And full of regrets”
In Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun by DiscordantSymphony, the love that Eddard Stark and Elia Martell have for each other causes them both great joy and great pain.
“On their last night together, for who knows how long”
I wonder how stunned Rickard and/or Eddard were upon realizing that Lyanna has truly grown to love Stannis of all people.
“only of his hope that she was looking after her health, and the health of their unborn child”
He’d sacrifice Rickard to protect her. That is one thing that I am certain of.
“The thought made him shudder”
Later, Stannis proves to have more courage than all the Kingsguard when he attempted to prevent the horrific execution of Brandon Stark.

“caught those names between snatches of overheard conversations between Lord Rickard and Ned”
They need to be careful. If Lyanna can overhear them, others can too.
“You must look after yourself and the baby”
Lyanna may put her own life AND the life of her child at risk to protect Stannis. Love can make a person do crazy and stupid things.
“But of course, your husband would be more pleased with a male heir”
Stop it, Rickard. It’s not Stannis, it’s you. You want a half-Stark to be the Lord of Storm’s End.
“He is wary of spies”
Sending an incriminating letter to Lyanna may implicate her as a fellow conspirator.
“Renly had become very attached to Lord Rickard”
…the Game is the Game. It’s terrible, but Rickard is doing what he must to foster and build relations between his family and House Baratheon.
“which took up most of her morning”
Lyanna did not want to be a noble lady, and instead wanted to go horseback-riding and to be free. Marriage really has changed her.
“sitting with Maester Cressen while the smallfolks aired out their troubles and grievances”
What do the Lords and Ladies of the Stormlands think of the Lady of Storm’s End being a Northerner instead of a Stormlander?
“Or would she keep silent instead, for the sake of peace”
I suspect that Stannis would think of Rhaegar’s infatuation with Lyanna and surprise his wife by giving her his approval and blessing to take up training in swordsmanship and self-defense. Stannis’ worst fear is that Lyanna would grow unhappy as a result of being with him.
“activities that should be reserved for men”
Rickard, I think you forgot about the women of Bear Island.
“bold and fearless”
What if Lyanna had displayed no fear of Robert while opposing or disagreeing with him?
“You taught me to be fearless”
Goddammit, Rhaegar!
“set aside my fear, and how to be free”
Lyanna was so close to accepting his offer until she saw Elia Martell.
“Could a single act really have that strong a consequence”
I love this story.
“I still have my father”
Rickard is now in the dungeons of the Red Keep…
“to be tried for treason and fomenting a rebellion”
With Brandon dead and Rickard and Stannis in captivity, it falls to Eddard and Lyanna to lead the North and the Stormlands.
“whatever fragile bond we have worked so hard to create together”
I love and hate this story at the same time. That’s how good it is.

“What should the Hand build then?...Are you asking me to commit treason”
Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t.
“Rhaegar could read it clearly on his face”
Has Rhaegar ever met anyone like Stannis?
“Lyanna gave me strength, when I was at my weakest and desperate”
This to me just makes Rhaegar look like a madman.
“That is the only reason I am here”
Stannis never approved of Robert’s obsession with Lyanna, and he clearly does not approve of Rhaegar being infatuated with her.
“perhaps the only man who could have prevented matters from coming to this terrible state were he still alive”
If Tywin indeed is responsible for the deaths of Steffon and Cassana, what would Stannis do if he were to learn of it?
“all your plotting and scheming”
Stannis detests the Game, but it is a cruel and harsh reality that if you live in this world, you have little choice but to play it.
“Stannis exploded”
It is Lyanna’s misfortune that she caught the attentions of both Robert and Rhaegar.
“Lyanna had taught him that”
I love that Lyanna wonders if Stannis has affection for another woman.
“How can I have faith in anything you say or claim to believe about duty now”
In my opinion this is a very good question. Lyanna was betrothed to the Lord of Storm’s End when Rhaegar attempted to seduce and run off with her. His actions would have thrown the already unstable realm into chaos.
“Rhaegar closed his eyes, his hands tightening their grasp on the iron bar of the cell”
Rhaegar is under a tremendous amount of stress, and it probably broke him. He went about dealing with it in all the wrong ways.
“Stannis replied sharply”
I love that he lies to Rhaegar’s face here.
“There is no sin in simply wondering. As long as we do not act on it”
Sadly, according to the New Testament, if you even THINK about committing a sin, you have as good as committed it. It’s why I was drawn to Christianity; the teaching that it is impossible to be righteous or good. Unfortunately, too many people use it as a shield and prop to bolster their own images and egos. It’s how it has always been, since the first religion was created.
“How had he managed to restrain himself that time, Robert who never learned self-control in his life?”
Fear.
Stannis the Black Stag by IronT at the Archive of Our Own website. Highly recommend it.
“he was overtaken by despair”
He should have never come to King’s Landing. So many people tried to warn him against it.
“only to have him captured by the king’s men just outside the gates”
This has Varys written all over it in my opinion.

“why his continuing presence at Storm’s End would be untenable at the moment”
Is Rickard staying out of fear for Lyanna, that she might decide to travel to King’s Landing?
“I know my duty, uncle”
What do people in the Storm Lands whisper of Lady Lyanna Stark and Prince Rhaegar Targaryen? Many people witnessed the Prince crowning her Queen of Love and Beauty at Harrenhal.
“who would not have hesitated one moment to do her duty”
Lyanna may be putting Catelyn on a pedestal.
“Stannis should have married someone like Catelyn…They would have been more suited to one another”
Perhaps, or perhaps not. Lyanna clearly feels that she does not deserve to be with Stannis. Does she know that he feels the same about being an undeserving husband to her?
“he spoke of them as if he was telling her about the weather”
I love Stannis.
“If there is to be a war”
Would the Storm Lords raise their banners for Stannis, now that he has been thrown into the dungeons of the Red Keep?
“You’re just like Stannis”
Is it wrong that this made me laugh?
“You have to leave”
Lyanna does have a point. How would it look for Stannis for his goodfather to be openly plotting with his bannermen while he is away?

“still looking bored and disaffected”
Yep. That’s our Jaime. Can’t see further than the blade of his sword.
“only deciding one way or the other once victory seemed secure for one side”
(shrugs) That strategy has worked for more than a few factions in real life.
“Lyanna had told him about a woman Ned Stark had danced with at Harrenhal”
I LOVE THIS.
“currently imprisoned along with Rhaegar and Jon Connington”
In another life, Arthur Dayne (likely) accompanied and aided Rhaegar in abducting and holding Lyanna captive. His loyalty to Rhaegar led him to his doom in Canon, and the same might occur in this story.
Still, if he were to escape his cell and acquire a weapon and armor…
“pretending not to notice him at all”
Win or Die…
“But then he recalled that Lyanna had asked him”
I love this so much.
“Stannis could not see what was so special with the cat”
Never change, Stannis.
“What makes them think having me here will stay Lord Rickard’s plan?”
Stannis does not see himself as valued or loved. He told Lyanna to keep herself and their child safe.
“Our fates are bound up with his fortunes”
If Rhaegar is executed, the future prospects for Elia and her children would become bleaker.
“Rhaegar is not young and naïve”
Elia wants to forgive Rhaegar. Stannis does not.
“He did not confide in me at the time”
He really should have. Why did he not trust her?
“you must leave King’s Landing at once”
Too late…
“War is not inevitable, it can still be prevented”
Stannis is trying desperately to deny the terrible reality before him.
“that’s what he told me”
I love this. Rhaegar likely did some soul-searching after Lyanna refused to run away with him.
“too intense for such a small child”
What has Rhaenys seen and observed? Has she sensed that her parents – Elia and Rhaegar – now have a strained relationship?

“how is that any of your concern?”
He has known her to be head-strong, impetuous, wild-spirited and impulsive, and is afraid of her becoming too deeply involved in the increasingly tense and volatile political situation. However, for some reason he refuses to be honest with her, likely out of fear that telling her the full truth would only make it worse.
“his tone scornful”
…yeah, I’m gonna say that Rickard has earned himself a head-chop for that. If his wife were alive and present, I would have asked her to smack him on the back of the head.
“The one you made me wed”
Rickard wants Lyanna to be loyal to House Stark, not House Baratheon; that if she is forced to make a choice between Stannis and him, Brandon, Eddard and/or Benjen, she’d choose the latter. And she is having none of it. I’m getting Wars of the Roses-vibes now. I like it.
“My husband does not shield me, or anyone else, from the truth. That is not his way”
She has found a sense of belonging with Stannis that she lacked in Winterfell.
“suddenly gentler tone and even more tender expression”
It is a thankless task, is it not? To protect your family and to keep them safe? You tell yourself that it is necessary to hurt their feelings and to lie to them, and that once the crisis is passed they would eventually realize that all you have done has been for their sake and would thank you for it.
Alas, it does not always go that way.
Lyanna feels that she is being condescended to; that for all that her father has told her that she needs to ‘grow up’ and to start doing her duty to her family, he STILL treats her a child who should not be trusted with any great responsibility. Stannis on the other hand has over time grown to treat Lyanna with respect, dignity, consideration and even affection.
“even for him”
She is concerned and afraid for Rhaegar. The man stands on the brink of the abyss; one that his father Aerys had fallen off a long time ago.
“It is not treason if”
History is written by the winner. All you have to do to be proven to be in the right is to win. You can commit any crime or atrocity along the way, so long as you are victorious and in control of the people who’d write and talk about the conflict afterward.
“He will have no choice but to do so”
House Targaryen is finished in my opinion. The best they can hope for is to be puppets. Just like the Han Dynasty during the War of the Three Kingdoms.
“We deceived ourselves that we were in love”
Is Rhaegar deceiving himself still? Honestly, it seems to me that what Lyanna truly wants is to maintain a platonic relationship with Rhaegar – someone whom she empathizes with – while remaining loyal and faithful to Stannis who has proven to overall be a good husband to her.
“Stannis had replied”
I love this.
“his tone extremely doubtful”
He does not know Stannis. Few people truly do. He only sees the humorless, joyless man.
“why did you agree to the betrothal in the first place”
I suspect that Rickard himself doesn’t really know. Hell, he just admitted that he KNEW that Lyanna marrying Robert would have been a bad idea in the long term, even if doing so would have gained him an ally in the Stormlands.
“I’m beginning to think that I have been sorely mistaken”
I agree. Rickard misjudged Stannis, and badly at that. Stannis is more like Robert than most people realize.
“an icy coldness that can never be thawed, more dangerous than any fire in the world”
I thought of Azor Ahai and his wife Nissa Nissa.
“wasn’t even that preferable to a mad king?”
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
It is inevitable and unavoidable; the realm is falling apart. It has been ever since the Dance of the Dragons, slowly but surely.
“so they could argue, debate and ponder the problem together”
I smiled at this.
“how is it that we are now truly and completely apart?”
I love this story.

“Rhaegar Targaryen had asked him…The king had asked Stannis…The queen had warned him”
…goddamn Targaryens.
I never thought of it before; the prospect/concept of Stannis leading a rebellion against Aerys and/or Rhaegar while claiming the Iron Throne for himself.
The closest thing to that is the fanfic Wounds by The Oddfather (on the Spacebattles website), in which Robert Baratheon dies of his wounds at the Battle of the Trident and Stannis – still under siege at Storm’s End – succeeds him as King, with Lord Tywin Lannister marching to Storm’s End instead of King’s Landing to rescue him from Mace Tyrell’s forces.
“My fear and insecurity?”
He has to make a choice. But he is afraid to. He never wanted any of this (in Canon, he never wanted to be King) He just wants to live a quiet life with the woman that he loves, and to build and raise a family with her. Alas, this is Westeros.
“he had no illusion, none at all, that he was capable of saving anyone”
No one can save Stannis; not Lyanna nor Rickard nor Elia. Stannis must find the strength and courage within himself. He must make a choice, a gamble, and go for it.
“his sworn bannerman, his responsibility”
Stannis needs to start thinking in the long-term, like Rickard Stark is. He could only focus on helping Connington, but then what? If he makes the wrong choice, hundreds or thousands of Stormlanders may perish and/or suffer.
“Robert would have been more decisive, would not have spent so much time considering and reconsidering the consequences in his mind”
Robert is not the sort of person to think about the consequences of his actions.
“the anguish and despair driving all the rage and resentment”
Aerys never wanted to marry Rhaella, just like she never wanted to marry him. Yet here he is now, torturing and raping her with increasing frequency.
“living his life under the shadow of his illustrious grandfather, and now under his illustrious Hand”
I LOVE this, ariel2me; that Stannis is able to empathize with Aerys. I’ve been finding, reading and following other ASOIAF fanfics, and you are STILL the best writer of Stannis that I have ever seen.
“Never good enough in the eyes of others”
I know what this is like; to live with someone who is never, ever happy with your actions and words, whose response to you attempting to offer help or kind words is to sneer, glare, and/or demand to know why they are not receiving more.
I’m guessing that on the few occasions that Stannis has TRIED to be nice to Robert, all he received in return was scorn and mockery. Probably made or bought a gift for his older brother only for Robert to treat it with either dismissiveness or derision. There’s just no sugar-coating it; Robert was a terrible sibling to Stannis and to Renly. I’m really looking forward to reviewing In Good Company. But first I gotta get through this story.
“he would have done a better job being the Lord of Storm’s End”
Sure, Stannis would have been a bad ruler in some aspects, but at least he would actually be THERE. Robert spent most of his time away from Storm’s End, preferring instead to live in the Vale.
“He had rarely set foot in King’s Landing, had no interest in dealing with all the scheming and plotting and backstabbing”
Marcus Aurelius: ‘Do you accept this great honor that I have offered?’
Maximus: ‘With all my heart, no.’
Marcus Aurelius: ‘Maximus, that is why it must be you.’
- Gladiator (2000)

In my opinion, had Maximus survived and gone on to become Grand Protector of Rome…who’s to say he would not have become corrupted or twisted, or increasingly ruthless out of feeling that his actions are a necessary evil?

“he was a different sort of man, Stannis also knew”
Tywin fought in the War of the Ninepenny Kings, and is a man to accept ‘no’ for an answer. If he wants something, he goes for it and does not care for the consequences. In my opinion, he was competent while he had others to keep him in check, but with Aerys – a weak, insecure, egotistic and narcissistic psychopath – in charge, it was only a matter of time before everything inevitably got worse.
“looking as if he would rather be anywhere else in the world”
I thought of the scene in Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos – at the start of the Human Campaign - in which King Terenas Menethil II of Lordaeron is holding court and listening to officials discuss the orc uprising and the plague.
“Are there forces assembling in other parts of the kingdom on Rhaegar’s behalf?”
As Rhaegar has not disappeared with Lyanna nor is fighting on his father’s side, instead having been arrested on charge of treason, the Lords and Ladies of Westeros may now be scrambling. I suspect that more than a few hope to get rid of both Aerys and Rhaegar to put the child Viserys on the throne as a puppet-king.
“Why would he risk all that, unless there is a very good reason for it?”
Good question. Honestly, I think the answer might be that Rhaegar is every bit as crazy as his father.
“Wars and bloodshed and constant instability in the realm”
‘Peace is an illusion’. – Altered Carbon.
“It sounded so much like the king’s angry and hurt tone”
Lyanna has shared with him her worst fear, and implored him not to follow Aerys. Perhaps that is what caused Stannis to attempt to rescue Brandon.
“the Spider argued strenuously against it”
I thought of Dimitri in GTA IV apparently urging his partner Mikhail Faustin not to provoke Konstantin Petrovic, and the possibility that Dimitri was in fact using reverse psychology/gaslighting to manipulate Mikhail into going through with it.
“The second son”
I love this so much; Stannis being at the Red Keep and associating with the Targaryens.
“getting impatient with all the talk of cousin and blood ties”
That won’t work on Stannis considering his relationship with Robert.
“Stannis scoffed silently at Jaime Lannister”
I grinned at this. The Lannisters are the best.
“Do you know what happened to the old one?”
Stannis is now currently in the single most dangerous place in all of Westeros, more so than even the Lands of Always Winter or the Neck.
There's no running away now. He must play the Game, and Win or Die.