Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and elements from A Song of Ice and Fire belong to George R.R. Martin. No copyright infringement is intended.
Crying had worked on Father when he'd last been home; he'd relented and allowed her to ride her pony beside him and Jaime as he toured Lannisport. But when Cersei cried now, Mother only shook her head.
"Tears are a woman's weapon, Cersei," said Lady Joanna. "You are a little lioness."
A lioness wouldn't have to cry; a lioness could do anything she wanted and if anyone tried to stop her, she'd eat them. Cersei couldn't eat anyone and she couldn't beat them either, and she'd never be able to if they didn't teach her like they were teaching her twin. The master at arms had laughed and patted her on the head when she'd gone to the yard, and then he'd taken away the wooden sword Jaime had lent her. Her uncle Gerion had laughed at her too. So Cersei had gone to her mother. Lady Joanna ruled Casterly Rock while Lord Tywin was away ruling the realm. Her mother would make them teach her how to fight.
But she hadn't. She'd said, "Swords are not for girls. Jaime has his role to play, and you have yours." So Cersei had cried.
She stopped crying now. "How do I be a lioness if I can't fight?"
Lady Joanna smiled. "I am a lioness too," she reminded her daughter. "I'll teach you." She wiped away Cersei's tears with her fingers. "The first lesson is never let them see you cry. It's all right to cry when you're alone, but never in front of others. Men think crying means women are weak. We know it's not, but most men are foolish."
"I won't let them see me cry."
"Good girl. I have to attend to our bannermen and our smallfolk. Do you want to come watch me?"
Cersei nodded. When they reached the hall, Mother had a serving man put a stool on the dais beside the huge golden chair that had been Lann the Clever's throne. Cersei sat there and watched as her lady mother handled the day's petitioners.
There was a knight who wanted compensation from his liege lord for his daughter's broken betrothal after her fiancé found out the lord had taken certain liberties with her. The lord called the knight's daughter names and refused to pay him. Lady Joanna ordered the lord to pay, but a much lesser amount than the knight wanted, and she told the knight he should send his daughter to a motherhouse.
Next were a pair of their own household knights who wanted permission to duel to the death for the love of the steward's daughter. Lady Joanna laughed at them and called them fools and ordered them gone from her sight.
Then it was just smallfolk. This part was boring. Cersei found herself daydreaming about Prince Rhaegar. She'd never seen the prince, but everyone said he was the handsomest boy in the Seven Kingdoms and Father had promised that he would marry her.
She was startled out of her dream when a fat merchant began to sob loudly. He was on his knees, begging Lady Joanna. He couldn't repay his loan so he was going to be thrown in the dungeons. He was begging for his family to be imprisoned with him. Cersei didn't understand that. Why would he want that? She was certain Lord Tywin would never want her locked up in any dark, dirty dungeon.
She asked Mother about it later.
"Without him his wife and children will have to fend for themselves," Lady Joanna explained. "He doesn't have any brothers to look after his family. It is unfortunate, but if we start housing everyone with a sad tale, we'll be overrun with beggars."
They went back to Mother's bower and ate cakes and Mother told her some more about being a lioness. "Four-legged lionesses roar loudly, but we must roar quietly. Don't scream or shout in anger; men will only jest about moon's blood. Speak softly and sharply," she said. She demonstrated, "Like this."
Cersei was impressed. Lady Joanna had sounded nearly as frightening as Lord Tywin. She sipped her milk. "I will, Mother. But what do I do if I need to hurt someone? What if not crying and speaking sharply doesn't work?"
"Your lion will fight for you." Mother smiled.
That was true. Jaime was learning how to fight and he would do whatever she told him to. She didn't really have to learn how to use a sword herself, though it might have been fun beating the boys as Jaime got to do.
"But you mustn't worry about that. You're perfectly safe. No one would dare harm a daughter of Tywin Lannister's."
Cersei knew that. She slipped the last bit of cake into her mouth and patted the crumbs away. It was nice having Mother all to herself all morning.
"Cersei," Mother said, "The septa tells me you're unkind to the other girls."
"They're only knights' daughters. And I don't like it when they talk back; they're supposed to do what I say. When I play with Jaime, he does what I want."
"Even lionesses can't always have everything their way, Cersei."
But everyone did everything Lord Tywin told them. Cersei was about to point this out, but her mother spoke again.
"It's good that you and Jaime are close, but you should play with the girls too. Jaime is a boy, and girls are different. When you grow a little older, there'll be things Jaime won't understand. Some things only other girls will understand."
Cersei couldn't imagine that happening. Jaime was exactly like her, except for what was between their legs – something that puzzled them both enough that their favorite game was touching each other there and describing how it felt.
"I know you don't understand now, but you will eventually. So promise me you'll give the girls a chance."
Cersei supposed Melara and Jeyne weren't quite as annoying as the others; she could play with them when Jaime was busy in the training yard with the other boys. And if she said yes, Mother might let her sit beside her in the audience chamber again tomorrow. That was much more interesting than the history lesson with the maester she'd missed today.
"All right, I'll play with them," Cersei said.
Lady Joanna rose from her seat and smiled at Cersei. She kissed her forehead. "I have to examine the accounts now. You go become friends with the girls."
Cersei skipped her way out of her lady mother's bower, humming to herself contentedly. If the girls didn't play what she wanted, she could pinch them and threaten them with more pinches if they told the septa again.