A/N This is my first story; it's a one shot set some time between the Rebellion and the books. Just a fair warning in advance, but I've never claimed to be a literary genius so don't go too hard on me. ;)
I'm surrounded by idiots. Everywhere I look I can see fools walking about, everyone I have the misfortune of meeting does nothing to disprove that fact, every time I wake up in the morning I can not help but acknowledge that fact. Around every corner there are idiots lurking about, trying to latch on to me and use me for their own selfish means. I see naive idiots who think life is nothing more than a song, and they the leading lady. Every now and again I happen to find a chivalrous idiot that acts as though trivial things such as honor matter. They are at the very least refreshing compared to the power hungry idiots that are far more common.
Kings Landing truly is the pit of snakes that cynics make it out to be. Or mayhaps I'm just far more cynical than I once was before I came here? More times than I wish to admit I think to myself that it isn't all that I dreamed it would be.
Ever since I was a little girl this was all I ever wanted to be, Queen Cersei of the Seven Kingdoms, loved and respected but most importantly feared by all. From before I can even remember my father had it in my head that I would be Rhaegar's Queen. At first my mother told me that I should temper my expectations, but after a while of my father telling me of Rhaegar and I with such certainty I soon fell into the same deluded world of fantasy that I was destined to be Queen. I fancied myself in love with the man before I ever even met him as foolish as that may sound thinking back on it. But what was to be expected? I was a girl of no more than eleven name days who was all but brainwashed into thinking I would be married to him. Of course being the child that I was, I would distract myself from reality with daydreams of my gallant husband with long flowing hair and the most beautiful voice in the Seven Kingdoms.
In hindsight of course, it's easy to tell that I wasn't indeed in love with the man. If anything I was simply in love with the concept of him. That is something I don't think anyone could fault a girl of my age for. Who wouldn't of been in my position? Any highborn girl worth her own name would have been equally seduced by the thought of being the most powerful woman in Westeros. Yes, I all but had Rhaegar on a pedestal in my mind matched only by the gods. He could do no wrong in my eyes and I was most certainly not the only one who shared that opinion. Sadly he turned out to be just as much of a fool as the rest of them.
I still remember the Tourney of Harrenhal as though it was Yesterday; after all it truly marked the time when the blissful ignorance of childhood made way for real life to come crashing down on the lot of us. There was a noticeable contrast in the mood of the evening before Rhaegar won and that of the one the night immediately following The Crown Prince crowning Little Lyanna Stark his Queen of Love and Beauty. The former was a loud and cheerful feast highlighted by the handsome and charismatic Brandon Stark chatting up just about any girl that would listen with the famed beauty Ashara Dayne deciding to dance with none other than Brandon's far more plain younger brother Eddard, Rhaegar himself making the rounds with several important lords with his ever faithful shadow Jon Connington beside him, and much to my own amusement, Jamie looking all but completely lost in his new white cape and the weight of responsibility it brought with it.
The latter of the two was so silent it was as though there was no feast at all. The only lord not caught up in the awkward silence of the evening was the King himself who clearly found the entire situation all too funny as his unnerving cackle could be heard by all occupants of the hall.
A few months after the Tourney the dreaded night finally came when Rhaegar abducted Lyanna and started Robert's Rebellion. I always disliked the name "Robert's Rebellion" it seemed like complete arrogance on Robert's part to all but name the war after himself despite the fact that the war was truly more about the Starks than it ever was him. He claimed he had no control over what the Maesters and commoners deemed the war that ended the once strong Targaryen dynasty, but I knew better than that. If he had a problem with the name all he would of had to do was let it be known and that would of been the end of it. After all, the history books are written by the victors. But alas, Robert showed that he was just as much of a fool as the rest of them and only cared about his own glory.
The day that word of Lyanna's death reached the capital was both the worst and best day of my life depending on how I looked at it. It was the best because I finally was able to accomplish her lifelong dream of being Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. It was my worst because in order to do so she would have to marry the vile man that was Robert Baratheon. Truthfully I didn't believe that he was all that bad when I first met him, he played his part to perfection and on the outside seemed like quite the charmer. However my feelings of him changed for the worse very quickly when he came to our wedding bed drunk as an old sailor and whispering a name of a dead woman. It was that very night that I lost all hope of a pleasant future with my husband.
He rarely frequents my bed nowadays, instead choosing to simply warm his with whores. Not that I mind, I have Jamie to keep me warm at night. Though I must admit I don't truly love him, not like he does me. But I lead him on anyways, as fucked up as it may seem I think I do it because he reminds me of before. Before I knew how the world worked. Back when nothing mattered. Back before my mind was poisoned with thoughts of being Queen. Back when I was one of those idiots that I find myself despising to this day.
Well that's it. I'm really interested to see what people have to say about this. I'd really like if you review if you have a comment about my writing style and how I can improve it. Like I said I'm really a novice at it and would be extremely grateful for advice of any kind.