Author's note: So this was an idea that I got while I was away on vacation. I wrote the prologue while away, and decided to upload it.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Game of thrones. I own Johanna.
Prologue.
Johanna
Johanna Baratheon was a Princess and she understood her place. She loved her family and she understood her role as the eldest daughter of a King. She would one day be set to marry a noble Lord who her father saw fit, but she hoped her mother would spare her such horrors. She prayed each night to the Seven for her mother to keep her home, sheltered in the walls of the Red Keep. But she knew her father would never allow that, he would force her from the castle if it killed him.
"You will bring a great union to the realm." Is what he would tell her as he skirted the subject of her betrothal. Johanna had been told of her betrothal at the tender age of six, and ever since she could only wonder who her father had picked for her. It had been decided upon at her birth, and even at sixteen her mother still fought the subject.
Despite knowing she was promised to another Jolana still found love in the arms of someone else. She had spent years hoping, and dreaming that she would love someone known to her. She did not wish to marry a stranger, and now that she had found love she did not wish to lose it.
When Johanna felt helpless, when she felt that her love would only end in sadness she would seek comfort in other things. She enjoyed her lessons, and she loved learning her needlework. Her Septa told her she got better with each passing day, which always managed to bring a smile to her face. She would walk the gardens with her twin brother, Joffrey. She found most of her comfort in him. He took care of her, sheltered her from the horrors that took place outside the walls of the Red Keep. He had always been her protector.
Though Johanna felt most of her comfort in her twin, she still enjoyed the company of her younger siblings. Myrcella and Tommen were adorable children who looked up to her. She found the company of children splendid, they had such imaginations and wild fantasies. Her mother always told her she would one day make a great mother, and Johanna only hoped it could be true. She longed to be half the mother her own was or the woman she was named for.
Johanna's name was taken from that of her mother's mother, Joanna Lannister. As Johanna grew she was slowly growing into the woman she was named for. Long Golden hair that fell in soft waves, and beautiful green eyes. She had the face of her mother, and her grandmother with beauty to match them both. Though Johanna believed her mother to be the most beautiful woman in all the Seven Kingdoms, her brother had disagreed.
Joffrey was always by her side, or more that Johanna was always by his side. They would walk in the gardens, share all their meals together and only when she had to leave for lessons were they separated. Their mother would joke that they would be together from womb to tomb but Johanna knew it would not be true. One day her father's plan would come into action and Johanna would be sent away from her home. She would soon be far from Jof, far from the only man she would ever love.
Johanna knew the love she felt for her twin was forbidden by the Seven, forbidden by everyone, but she did not care. She loved Joffrey and he loved her, but he bid her to keep it a secret. She did for their sake, she knew no one would understand. Her family would shun them both and others would look upon them as if they were inhuman. Every gentle touch, every kiss they shared was a secret and Johanna had grown to hate it. Love was something beautiful, it should have been shared with the world. She knew that one day it would end, and she would be forced to marry the man she was promised to. She would never love any man her father forced upon her, Jof was the only man Johanna would love.
Her father was not a cruel man, but he knew nothing of his children. He never took the time to know them, or learn what they wanted. He cared only for drinking, and sleeping with women who were not his wife. Johanna knew of her father's promiscuity, but there was nothing she could do to stop him. She was just a young girl, and although she was his daughter, his anger would not be lost on her. He failed as a King, as a husband and as a father.
Whenever Johanna felt abandoned by her father she would seek the comfort of a father somewhere else. Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, was always kind to her and quick to give her kind advice but he was not blood. Her Uncle Jaime was the closest thing she had to a real father figure. He was stern with her, cared for her and loved her. He was her mother's twin, and their bond close. He would agree with most everything her mother said for her to do, guiding her to a sheltered life. When she could not find her Uncle Jaime she sought out her Uncle Tyrion. Though her mother did not care for her dwarf uncle, Johanna did. The man always made her laugh and smile
Johanna had a family, a great family, and she had a home neither of which she was willing to sacrifice for some great union. She did not believe any marriage her father could plan would bring her anything but bitter feelings. Despite her feelings Johanna had a duty to her family and to the crown, she could not let them down.