Author's note:

This my first GOT fan fiction so I'm pretty terrified. The story literally appeared to me in a dream. I don't expect anyone to be nice, be honest (in a polite way though).

Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own any of the Game of Thrones characters and events.

Possible spoiler warning for season 1-7 (I'm not sure as of yet.)

I can't promise it will be 100% faithful to the canon, the timeline will be different for sure, but I'll try to capture the essence of the characters.

As soon as the car stopped in front of the large apartment building, Cersei practically jumped out. She walked up to the entrance and followed by the doorman's watchful eyes, Robert's spy no doubt, elegantly as ever, she went to the elevator.

When she was finally inside her penthouse, she kicked off her high heels and went to the kitchen.

She had a killer headache. The doctors ordered her to stay in bed for a week after her concussion, but Robert insisted that she go campaigning with him.

She opened the fridge and poured herself a glass of wine. Then another, just to help the painkillers down. She didn't even look which pills she took, she had so many kinds piled up in her kitchen drawer over the years. She wearily sunk into a chair and buried her head in her hands.

'Mother' she heard a familiar voice from upstairs. 'Is that you?'

She was about to confirm, but her son didn't wait for her answer.

'Come up here.' he demanded.

Cersei got up with a sigh and followed the voice.

A terrified man in their "dungeon room" with Clegane over him wasn't an unusual sight for her. She looked at her son expectantly, but he only gave her a satisfied smile.

'Do you recognize him?' he finally asked with a grin.

Cersei shook her head.

'Isn't he the one who took those dirty pictures of you?' the thirteen-year-old boy asked impatiently.

'I couldn't say.' his mother said carelessly.

'Well, he is.' Joffrey remarked, losing his temper.

Cersei could see his disappointment over her reaction. He clearly expected more appreciation. Nevertheless, he continued.

'Apologize.' he shouted at the man who knelt before him.

The man didn't obey, so Clegane slapped him across the face. Finally, he mumbled something.

'Not to me. To my mother. Apologize!' Joffrey yelled.

'I am sorry, Ma'am.' the man groaned.

Joffrey looked at his mother, with overflowing satisfaction, only to see the same bored expression on her face.

'Let him go.' she said firmly.

'No!' her son shouted and Cersei could have sweared that she saw tears in his eyes.

'We got the negatives. We don't need him anymore.'

'No!' Joffrey yelled again. 'He didn't pay for what he did.'

There was no escape. Cersei pulled herself a chair and sat down. Joffrey would have been ready to throw a proper tantrum if she had chosen to leave and not witness his little spectacle.

Her son acknowledged with an affirmative nod that he had his mother's full attention. He stepped closer to his prisoner and hissed into his ears.

'Confess. Go on. Tell us. Don't leave out any details. What did you see?'

'I… I…' the miserable man stuttered. Cersei almost felt sorry for him. Almost. He didn't know what was coming. As a matter of fact, Cersei wasn't sure either.

'Wrong answer.' Joffrey said, and the man's nose got acquainted with Clegane's fist. 'Let me help you begin. You broke into a private island…'

'I broke into a private island.' the man mumbled in a trembling voice. 'I saw Mrs. Baratheon with his twin brother, Jaime Lannister.'

'Captain Lannister.' Joffrey corrected him.

'Captain Lannister.' the prisoner repeated obediently. 'They were sunbathing.'

A faint smile appeared on Cersei's face as she recalled that afternoon. If only Jaime would be here now. Instead of being captive somwehere in Syria. He would be home with her where he belongs.

The sound of another punch followed by the prisoner's groaning suddenly woke Cersei from her thoughts.

'And?' Joffrey demanded. 'What else did you see?'

The man looked directly at her with pleading eyes. Cersei's heart started to beat faster, but her face didn't tell anything.

'She spilled wine on her bikini and she changed it.'

'Good. That is all he saw. He had no clue what happened before that. Or after, for that matter.' Cersei thought, relieved.

'How long did this take?' Joffrey demanded. 'Thirty seconds? A minute maybe?'

'I don't know.' said the prisoner.

Clegane hit him again. Either for his disobedience or just for the fun of it.

Cersei suppressed a yawn. She wanted nothing more than to lie down on her bed and sleep. Her head was still hurting like hell.

'What's your name?' her son asked the prisoner.

'Brandon.' he muttered.

'Tell me Brandon. Did you like my mother's tits? Did you want to fuck her?' Joffrey asked curiously.

'Joffrey!' Cersei cried out in indignation, but her son deliberately ignored her. This show wasn't for her amusement.

'There is no shame in admitting the truth, Brandon. My mother is a beautiful woman and my father payed a lot of money for those tits.' he paused for a moment, then he continued. 'Sorry, I don't hear you, Brandon. Did you like what you saw?'

Brandon nodded. 'Yes.'

Clegane punched him. The poor bastard started to understand the rules of the game. No matter what he said, he ended up with a punch in his face.

'I'm glad that you had fun, Brandon. I truly am. Do you know what my mother got from my father for your thirty seconds of pleasure?'

Cersei gasped in surprise when she finally understood what that was all about. That sweet boy she always knew Joffrey was deep down couldn't process those horrible things his father did to his mother. Maybe Tyrion was right. She should have sent Joffrey to boarding school, but after Myrcella's departure, she couldn't bear to be separated from another one of her children.

'Mother' she heard Joffrey's voice again. 'Tell our friend, Brandon, what Father did to you.'

Usually, Cersei was ashamed to admit her weakness, but now she wanted to do everything to make her son feel better.

'He broke my wrist.' she said in a calm voice, instinctively touching her plastered arm.

She couldn't even finish her sentence, but Clegane's foot was already on Brandon's wrist and Cersei soon heard the painfully familiar sound of breaking bones.

'What else did he do?' Joffrey demanded.

'He kicked me in the stomach.' Cersei couldn't help but enjoying Brandon's suffering as she continued her list. It felt like getting back to Robert. 'He kicked me in the ribs…'

Clegane, like the good dog he was, demonstrated everything Cersei had said on their prisoner.

'… he hit my head to the wall.'

Joffrey seemed rather pleased with the result. He smiled at his mother, then he turned back to Brandon with a theatrical sigh.

'I almost forgot. You see, Father has one rule. Not the face. Not her pretty face. You must understand, the future First Lady can't appear with a black eye or swollen nose in public. Lucky for you, you are no First Lady.'

He didn't have to say twice. Clegane punched the man in the face so hard, he spat out a tooth.

Cersei thought she had seen enough. She quietly got up and walked over to the stairs, then she turned back to her son one last time.

'Don't forget to clean up after you finished.'

Finally, she could have her well-deserved rest. She lay down on her bed and put on some loud music on her phone to suppress the sounds coming from the dungeon. The pills finally kicked in and she felt a bit groggy. She almost fell asleep when the music suddenly stopped because someone called her. It was the doorman.

'Good afternoon, Mrs. Baratheon. Ned Stark is here to see you.' he said without hesitation.

'Let him up.' Cersei ordered and let out a sigh.

On her way to greet her visitor, she checked in on her son.

'Ned Stark is here. Put on some music. Something loud.' she said and carefully closed the door behind her.

It would have been unfortunate if Ned had found out about their home dungeon. He would probably make a big fuss about it.

'Ned, what can I do for you?' Cersei greeted her husband's campaign manager with a polite smile and a kiss on the cheek.

'Are you alone?' he asked as he let the blond woman lead him to the balcony.

'Joffrey is in his room. He is playing video games.' Cersei said without batting an eye. 'How is Sansa? I haven't seen her around for quite some time.'

'You don't know?' Ned asked in surprise. 'I forbade her to come here.'

'It's a shame. She is a lovely girl. I got quite fond of her.' his host remarked indifferently as she breathed in the stinking breeze of the city.

'Joffrey slapped her. Or rather he ordered that bodyguard of yours to hit her.'

If Cersei was surprised, she didn't show.

'Children follow patterns as they grow up. Joffrey has learnt from Robert that women deserve no respect. They are merely there for men to fuck them and beat them. I'm sorry for your daughter.'

Her voice sounded honest. Ned looked at her injured hand with a worried expression.

Cersei followed his gaze. 'Please, Ned, like you didn't know.' she scoffed.

Her guest stepped closer to her and cleared his throat.

'These are not the only patterns I'm worried about. What about the behaviours your children pick up from you? Maybe that is why you have sent your daughter away.'

Cersei turned to him with a hint of curiosity in her eyes, while she rested her good arm on the balcony railings.

'Are you here to pose me riddles, Ned?'

'I apologize. It's just hard for me to talk about this. It's about your children.' he finally blurted out the reason for his visit. 'I know they are not Robert's.'

His friend's wife nodded in appreciation.

'How did you find out?' She didn't even try to deny it.

'I was looking at the old family photos in Robert's study. They all look so similar, the whole Baratheon family, with their dark hair. Except your children. So I took DNA samples during the Christmas party.'

Cersei let out a bitter laughter.

'I invite you to my home, I make you dinner, I call you my friend in front of others, and you repay me by stealing cups and toothbrushes from my kids… God, you really hate me.'

'It's my job to know everything that can harm Robert in this race.' her guest remarked with conviction. 'Tell me who it is.'

'Come on, Ned. Blond hair, green eyes… You must have found it out by now.' Cersei replied with a scornful smile.

Ned Stark shook his head in disbelief as he realized the meaning of her words.

'No. Your brother? Even you can't be that twisted and sick…'

Cersei didn't even have to force herself to remain calm.

'You won't go to the authorities because of the scandal it would cause. Robert would never become President.'

'No, not the authorities.' Ned agreed. 'But I have to tell him.'

'Then he will kill me. And he won't become President either.' Cersei pointed out matter-of-factly.

Ned Stark was visibly annoyed seeing her smug arrogance and he wasn't the type who could hide his feelings very well.

'You have to leave.' he hissed angrily. 'I give you a head start. One week. Take your children and leave the States of Westeros. Take as much money as you need.'

Cersei seemed to consider the offer for a minute, then she shook her head.

'You are not the first man who underestimates me. Rober may break all the bones in my hand, but my arms can still reach far.' she said in a threatening voice. 'Your predecessor, Jon Arryn was a curious man just like you. He liked to collect spoons and hairbrushes too.'

She could see Ned Stark's hands clenched in a fist as she walked past by him back to the apartment.

'Is this a threat?' he asked.

'A warning.' Cersei turned back from the door. 'You are here with a working visa. Imagine what would become of your children if their father got suddenly deported. Good day, Ned. Take care.'

Although the Ned Stark problem was successfully handled, it showed that the risks have become higher. Cersei needed to make a decision to finally put an end to her miserable marriage. Put an end to Robert, to be more precise. Fuck the presidential campaign. She was the billionaire Tywin Lannister's daughter. With his and Robert's money combined, she could do whatever she wanted.

But she wasn't quick enough.

A few days later, Ned Stark called her in panic that Robert had found out. He swore it wasn't him and Cersei inclined to believe it, but it didn't matter anymore. She had little time to prepare and if there was one thing she wasn't good at, it was improvising.