A/N: Finally, we get a scene of Jerome Flynn and Lena Headey together in episode 1 of season 3! :D Beware, this chapter is sexy :p
Reviews are very much appreciated.
Chapter Four: Love and Consequence
The Tyrell women had called upon Cersei the very next morning to discuss important matters. They decided to hold the meeting in one of the large balconies of the castle again.
There was abundance of food and wine, the kind of excessive sustenance that these women provide Cersei especially when they want to negotiate something with her. She had now learned to adjust with the machinations of the Tyrells, both admiring and loathing their collective wits. The table was comfortable enough although the three women decided to huddle together on one side while Cersei was on the other It gave her a chance to observe all three in this position so she didn't mind. Cersei tried to anticipate what they were going to say and do next, and she had the slightest of ideas what this was all about and which moves they're going to go for. It did not uplift her confidence, however.
Lady Olenna's only telling clue of age is her white hair but it shone like a thousand diamonds in sunlight. Her face did not have even the harshest lines of wrinkles. She was petite as ever and she sat on a high chair like a very exquisite doll. Her daughter Lady Alerie, quiet as a shadow, was fair and comely but she did not have the same radiance as her own daughter Margaery who has blossomed in every way since she arrived here. Her lavish blue gown flowed around her like petals and her brown hair fell across her arms and chest like fountains of rich chocolate. She smiled at Cersei the whole time.
The older woman that Cersei is now was nothing but a fading version of what Lannisters should be. She felt bloated in a maroon dress that was overused a million times.
Margaery spoke first. "Cersei," she began, waiting for any indication if the drop of formality will bother her. Seeing that it didn't, the young girl went on. "We are a family, are we not?" She offered to pour her a cup of wine and Cersei allowed her.
"What my sweetling means to say," Lady Olenna, the grandmother, spoke up, "is that we want what's best for you and your children."
"And by children, do you also mean Myrcella?" Cersei weighed her next words carefully. "My daughter left King's Landing weeks before the Battle in Blackwater and she has remained a Dornish ward since then." Not just a ward. Doran Martell had betrothed her to his youngest son. It was something Cersei thought she wanted, thanks to that imp's scheme, but now she was not really sure how to feel about that entire arrangement.
"We will deal with the Martells," Lady Olenna looked slightly displeased. She took a slice of bread and spread butter on it. "I know you miss your girl. I would not part with my daughter and granddaughter here for anything else in the world."
Cersei raised an eyebrow. "Do you mean to promise to get her home?"
"It won't do," Lady Olenna answered truthfully. "She is to marry that Dornish prince anyway. Oh, can you imagine? Why, the Martells will have claim to both Casterly Rock and Red Keep! And we can't have any of that. We shant!" she points the knife up.
"Unless," Cersei knew where this conversation is going, "your granddaughter and my son Tommen marry first. If they marry as soon as possible, the throne is secured."
"We are doing what's best for all of us," Lady Alerie finally said something. She placed a hand on her daughter Margaery's and sighed. She spoke again. "However, Myrcella is the next in line after Joffrey. Even if both your children marry at the same time, the throne is hers by succession, is it not?"
"But the Martells are still in Dorne and you at Red Keep," Cersei remarked.
"The rest of us are still at Highgarden, as well as your son." Lady Alerie added, her voice so soft it sounded like a soothing melody.
Cersei said nothing. She has been dreaming less about her children lately.
"We shall bring Tommen to King's Landing and make the preparations for the wedding vows and feast on the morrow. It will take the boy a month and a half to get here."
"On horseback or ship?" Cersei asked, containing the sudden joy sweeping all over her. "Both are not safe. Stannis' fleets are at sea and the Dornish armies are at land."
Lady Olenna only laughed. "Both trips will do."
"That would be impossible," Cersei felt dread stab her in the chest.
Margaery took her hand from across the table and gave it a squeeze. "You must put your faith in us. If it's your son's safety that you are concerned with—"
"Of course it's my son's safety than concerns me," she spat out and withdrew her hand. Cersei can't hide her displeasure. "How can you assure me that my boy will not suffer in the hands of pirates or Dornish archers? You might as well sign his death right here."
The three women were silent for a while. Lady Alerie looked at her in sympathy as one mother to another while Margaery can't even meet her gaze.
Lady Olenna spoke up. She was hardened like no other, not even Cersei herself. "The ship leaves on the morrow. The day after that, a league of horses will do the same."
She was at lost for a moment. "I don't see where this is going."
"You won't let me finish! Ay, you are not as bright as you may seem at times, love!" Lady Olenna chuckled. She took a cup of wine and drank it for a while. And then she went on. "We will deploy both trips and send messages through Varys' little birds. Stannis and his men will receive news that the boy is on ship from Shield Islands. They will think that the boy will be taken first to Casterly Rock. Meanwhile Doran and his men will believe him to be traveling the Kingsroad to reach here. Either way, he is not on both journeys. Now do you see? You are quick to misjudge us, little dove. We will have none of that, eh?" She pats Cersei's other hand that was still on the table. "No, we shall not!" And then she giggled.
"And how would you bring him back?" That was all she cared about right now.
Margaery beamed at her. The dread was back in Cersei's mouth.
"Lord Bronn, please join us." the young queen regent called out.
The parasite appeared from behind Cersei. He walked pass her chair, took Margaery's hand and gave it a kiss. Cersei coolly reached out for her cup of wine, trying not to look so affected. When the wine touched her lips, she almost choked it back.
"Our brave man here will smuggle your son out of Highgarden but my courtiers know about this escape and will assist him from there," Lady Olenna explained. "He has no other reinforcements, if that is your next question. In order for this to work, he must do it alone. He will take the routes that only men like him know best."
Cersei cannot even speak. Her mind refuses to understand any of this.
Lady Olenna kept talking nevertheless. "It must be inconspicuous, you see. While we give our enemies false trail to sniff, Ser Bronn will navigate the regions of Dorne with Tommen until they reach Storm's End. From there he will take the original route of Kingswood." She stopped when she saw Cersei's face now drained of color.
"You—all of you are mad!" Cersei pushed herself off the table, digging her fingernails on the armrest of her chair. "You wish to entrust my only son to this, this leech and take him right across enemy territory? There is nothing there but forests and marches. The Martells will hunt them down in no time!" She glared at the parasite, her rage getting stronger and dangerous. "He will never be able to keep my son safe enough to reach Storm's End!"
"My lady, please—" Margaery began but Cersei grabbed the nearest goblet and threw the wine on her face. The young queen regent let out a squeal as her mother immediately took out a handkerchief and wiped her, hushing her before she begins to cry.
"Cersei," Lady Olenna did not rise from her chair (or perhaps she couldn't) but she was able to keep Cersei from doing anything else when she called her attention. "This is no time to allow your Lannister pride to get the best of you. You are not irrational—"
"You don't know what I'm capable of," Cersei pronounced each word with every bit of venom she could master. "If you think I will let you—"
"And how will you stop me, little cub?" Lady Olenna was grinning now. "Your brother Jamie is Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and is bound to the crown. Margaery holds the crown as the king's widow is entitled to. And now she will marry your youngest and she will be queen; a better, more gracious queen that your spiteful petty self will ever be."
She took another slice of bread and began ripping it into tiny pieces, her hands steady and precise. "Tommen is in our castle and you will not get a hold of him unless we allow it. Or do you wish us to send you to the Martells so you can make peace with them and support your daughter's marriage to their inbred prince? Then make enemies of us? We are here in Red Keep not the Martells. The Iron Throne is a room away for us to take. Do you wish us enemies, love? Who protected you from the mob of peasants who wanted your head since your father's death? Who kept you alive when you should have died along with your family's shame and unpaid debts?" She took the knife and pointed it at her but not unkindly.
"I know exactly what you are capable of, Cersei," she said softly, the smile now gone but her eyes held the sharpest kind of glee. "You can roar as loud as you like but you live in the garden now with flowers like myself with thorns that will prickle you so many times every day of your life unless you learn your place and learn it quick."
With the gravity of the old woman's words, Cersei didn't notice that she was slowly sitting down. She still balled her hands into fists but she did not roar even if she wanted to. She looked at Margaery and the girl looked back, her face still lovely even in tears. Lady Alerie remained quiet as she is unmoved by all this.
Finally, Cersei looked at the parasite. He held her gaze lightly and she wished she knew what he was thinking. When she opened her mouth, the words that came out of it surprised her as well as the calmness in them. "I wish to speak with Lord Bronn alone, my ladies, if you all would be so kind."
Margaery stood up first. Lady Alerie helped Lady Olenna from her chair while the young girl approached Cersei. She kissed her in the cheek.
"We are always kind," she whispered into her ear and then she pulled herself up and smiled. She is so beautiful, Cersei thought, and I need her to fucking die over and over…
As soon as the Tyrell women left the balcony, Cersei did not waste her breath and asked point-blank. "What are they paying you? How much?"
"I doubt you can beat the price," the parasite smirked.
"I have no plans to do so," Cersei paused. She commanded him to come close.
The parasite was standing inches away from her now. She immediately stood up and clutched him by the collar of his gray vest and whispered. "You are taking me with you to Highgarden. If I do offer my son to these despicable weeds, I want to bleed from every cut the experience has to offer." She looked directly in his eyes and pressed herself against him.
He said nothing at first and simply brushed the stray strands of hair from her cheek. "They think you will try to escape with the boy."
"And go where? Surrender myself to the Dornish clan? I would sooner fuck a horse." She lowered her voice. "No. My son belongs to that throne. Not my daughter. Myrcella will be a Dornish wife not a queen. It is the safest for her."
"You have to ask permission from the old hag," he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. "And she will refuse. If you want your son to live, I have to go alone. And think about it, Cersei. You may be a lioness but you had never lived in a jungle."
"Nobody knows what I am capable of," Cersei disentangled herself away from him. "I will ask Lady Olenna and she will let me go." She sounded more confident than she felt.
The parasite chuckled. "The Others take you, you stupid bitch."
She was fast but he caught her wrist before she could even land the slap. He pulled her close again while his other hand gripped a fistful of her hair from the back. Cersei whimpered and cursed herself for the sudden weakness she felt with him. It took all of her mighty will to stop herself from raising her left leg and circling it around his waist. He must have read the torment in her face because he let her wrist go and slowly rubbed her left thigh through the thick skirts. She still felt it all the same. It made her eyelids flutter as he leaned his forehead against hers. Cersei wished she had a blade to his heart.
They would have kissed but they knew that Varys' little birds are still watching. She wriggled herself free and took a few steps away from him.
"I am coming with you," Cersei warned him for the last time. "And no one, not even the Tyrells or Martells, will stop me from getting my son back and sitting him on that throne."
He did not reach for her again although she ached for his rough hands and hated that she actually did. "Even if Margaery Tyrell will be his queen?" he asked.
She felt the smile in her lips. "Only by name."
Bronn returned to the Stokeworth Castle that afternoon to inform his wife about his quest for the Tyrells. He knew that his sister-in-law and her husband will return home today.
It was quite a likable opportunity then that Olenna Tyrell employed his services because he can't stand spending time with his new kin. He does not enjoy his dinners with them especially when that bastard Balman who may be decent enough with a sword but is still too predictable with his strokes. His sister-in-law Falyse despises him since the first day they met and he is slowly sharing the same sentiment. Lady Tanda, his mother-in-law, is the only one he feels certain affection for. She is always generous and lets Bronn do whatever he wants. As soon as he left Red Keep, he told her everything first. She expressed initial shock and fear about the arrangement but she cannot refuse the Tyrells, of course.
"Oh, my poor girl," she muttered, referring to Lollys. "She will miss you sorely."
"She has the babe to keep her happy," Bronn countered. "You have to watch out though and make sure she feeds him. She forgets a lot."
"I should have the cooks ready you a package of food for the road."
"Loaves of bread and fruits will do," he remarked. He thought about Cersei and added. "Throw in one of our best wine in there too." For some reason, he truly believed Cersei will come with him. That woman will find a way to make sure she does, he knows that.
He came to his wife next. Lollys was in the bed as always. Her bodice was loose around her flabby body and she snored with her mouth open. Bronn paused momentarily, wondering if he should fuck her before he leaves tonight.
Before making that decision, he walked across the bed to look at Tyrion in the crib. It was still small but his skin was smooth and milky which showed he was healthy. Bronn cautiously lifted him up and the babe didn't wake up. It snuggled into his arms though. He had no idea why he is doing this at all so he placed it back down the crib, feeling incredibly stupid. He also realized he didn't want to fuck Lollys now or perhaps ever again.
That wouldn't be a bad thing in itself because she is a lousy lay but he knew that the only way he can completely secure his place in the Stokeworth family tree is to give his wife an offspring, a huge piece of himself inside her. Lady Tanda will be pleased with that and may even let him have half of the estate that he never really liked sharing with Balman.
Maybe when I return, Bronn thought. It would give him another motivation not to get killed on his way to Highgarden and back to King's Landing. He could use that.
He went to the yard to inform some of his best guards about the new training exercises he devised. He wanted to make sure that the shits are practicing even in his absence. It was around noon when Bronn finished his preparations for the trip. He only brought one sack of food and other replenishments. He had his sharpest sword on his belt and three other blades hidden around the rest of his body. He wore black garments and a cloak for the cold. He didn't bother with an armor. He will be traveling for a month and he needs light load as much as possible. Lady Tanda insisted with a ginger balm for him to carry in case he gets wounded and needs medicinal treatment. He accepted it.
Bronn arrived to Red Keep castle an hour after. The sun was almost hanging low in the sky by then. Entering the castle grounds annoyed him a bit because scattered crowds have once again flocked the place. He saw Lancel Lannister on one side, talking with a chambermaid by the looks of it. He spotted Maester Pycelle walking with Lady Alerie.
When he reached the throne room, he was surprised to see that it was locked. It must be empty inside then. He circled the hallways for a while before he found the large room where the small council would usually meet. He crossed that and found the other doorway to the throne room. It was deserted as he thought. He walked a few more steps to get a bigger view of the Iron Throne. The swords erecting from it still look sharp and he heard that they can still cut anyone (who isn't rightful) who sits there.
"You're early, my lord." He turned around at the sound of Margaery Tyrell's voice.
"I didn't want to see my sister-in-law and her husband," he admitted. "We're doing both of us a favor, I think." He paused. "Your grandmother is with Her Grace, I suppose?"
"You always mean Cersei when you say that address," she pointed out. "It doesn't seem fair when I am the queen regent." She does look positively hurt.
Bronn watched her approach him. He spoke. "I'm sorry about what she did earlier."
"Why do you apologize for her insolence, Lord Bronn?" she had a walk of a confident woman now and it made him forget how young she truly is. Eighteen is not so young.
When she was a few paces away from him, she stopped. She has changed her gown (which isn't surprising because it did get wet with wine). She now wore a pink one with ruffles on her neck and in the hem of her sleeves. The gown was fitted tight around her waist and it made her cleavage look all the more pleasant. He tried not to get a glimpse of it because he knew that she would notice him.
"I am to marry the boy so please make sure he is alive," she spoke differently now. "He's the only one who can give me the crown as promised by that vile mother of his."
"I didn't realize you want to be queen that bad."
She still smiled like a little girl nonetheless. "I'm a Tyrell. I grow strong when anyone least expects it." To make the point even obvious, she walked closer. They're standing only inches away now and she looked up at him with those intriguing brown eyes.
Bronn didn't look away and his gaze followed her as she climbs up the stairs towards the Iron Throne. She faced him from there, smiling before she sits down. The enormity of the throne would have swallowed her if only she didn't look so beautifully perfect in it. She looked terrifyingly at ease in her position that it made him smile against his will.
He put down the sack he carried and climbed the steps for himself. She allowed him to get close. Margaery Tyrell just waited, her eyes beckoning.
"Lord Bronn," she cooed, offering her hand, "My sweet knight of Blackwater, tell me what you think of me. I have wondered so long if you share the same dreams I have at night." When he accepted her hand, she pressed it to her cheek and sighed.
"The boy I'm to marry, he is only eight. I have to wait five more years before he warms me and I do not think I can wait so long." When she blinked, her tears eased in. "Oh, my lord of Stokeworth, it is cruel…"
She calls him lord and knight like it was supposed to move him, as if would make him swear utter loyalty to her. It didn't sit well with Bronn but she is young and beautiful and is now holding his hand against her warm skin like this. He gripped their hands together and pulled her from the throne. She immediately encircled her free arm around his back. She is shorter in this proximity, with her face buried in his chest as he cradled her waist with both hands. When he succeeded in lifting her up by cupping her arse, she had her legs wrapped around him in a heartbeat and he quickly swept her away from the throne and walked towards the nearest column instead. He chose one that's hidden in the shadows where the streaks of sunlight from the heavy-curtained windows barely touch it.
He pushed her back there and wasn't surprised when she locked her lips on his own. Bronn pushed her long skirts up. As soon as her thighs are bare, he unbuckled his belt and his sword dropped to the ground. He hurried on unlacing his breeches with her help. She was tiny in his embrace that he almost thought he could crush her. But she is stronger than she looks, he will give her that. Even when he increased the speed of his onslaughts, she would quiver once in a while but she never collapsed or asked for him to yield. She tightened her legs around his waist and held on for life. There was strain in her moans at first but as soon as she danced to his rhythm, her whimpering became more pleasant to listen to. She nibbled on his ear and murmured his name and titles, pleading for him to hold her forever, love her and no one else and worship her…
Bronn felt himself nearing the end so he pulled back and managed to soil her small clothes from within her gown. Two of his fingers reach out inside her and then he puts them in his mouth, tasting fresh blood mixed in her nectar.
Nothing more satisfying than breaking into maids, he thought.
No sooner when they finished that Bronn realized the gravity of what he has done. As rewarding as it may be, this could get him killed.
Margaery Tyrell wrapped her arms around his neck and he lifted her up slightly so they could kiss. He pulled away first and was about to say something when she said. "Do not fret, my lord. The doors in both sides of the room are locked and there are no little birds to sing of our great sin. Varys adores me and I am now the keeper of his berries." She giggled.
He was still unconvinced. She smiled brightly at him and pressed her lips against his again. She pulled away. "It was unfortunate that I have to wait another month before we may have each other again. But small sacrifices should be made if I am to be queen."
Bronn still said nothing. This seems to confuse her.
"I thought you will be pleased that I offered you my maidenhead, Lord Bronn."
"Your grandmother and mother won't be. Tommen too."
"He is a child." She interjected. "And once we do our duty as man and wife in the marriage bed, he wouldn't know if I was a maid or not as long as I raise him myself and teach him about lovemaking before anyone does." She rubs her fair hands on his chest. "As for my kin, they will refuse me nothing. I am their most treasured flower after all."
Bronn removed her arms around his neck. "Whatever you say, my lady."
"Call me Margaery, sweet knight, like you had before."
He did not feel like holding her after the deed was done. Nevertheless, he whispered her name as he kissed her in the mouth. He pulled her weakly against him, inhaling the scent of her youth and deception but found himself thinking about Cersei Lannister instead.
She knew that her cousin would want to come. She can see it in his eyes as she moved above him, their thighs rubbing against each other in sweat and urgency. He was still weak from his last battle and there's always a certain frailty to the boy she did not enjoy unless for this activity alone. Cersei slammed herself against him over and over until he was biting back a scream. She run her hands on his smooth, hairless chest and imagined it was Jamie when he was fifteen, when she had first made love to him. The memory did not bring her any joy at all, not like it used to. So Cersei thought of the parasitic sellsword-turned-lord. Ser Bronn of the Blackwater. Lord Bronn of Stokeworth. She wanted to rip him apart.
Amazingly enough, the thought of killing the vile sellsword-turned-lord strengthened her thrusts as she leaned close to her young cousin and bit him on the neck. There was a tinge of blood in her tongue now and the heat between her legs pulsated further until it took all her iron resolve not to shout out Bronn's name when she came.
She wiped her cousin's seed from her belly and got out of bed immediately. Lancel knew that she didn't want to talk about anything so he silently got dressed and left her chambers as if he was just another gush of stale wind.
Cersei sat on the edge of the bed now, clutching one of Joffrey's loincloths. It was maroon with clasped golden hands embroided on the hem. She pulled it close to her face and inhaled. It was starting to smell less like her son and the more she tried to remember what he smelled like, the more difficult it becomes to recall everything else about him.
When Joffrey was pulled out of her, she remembered the look on Robert's face when he tried to hold the babe but the boy wouldn't stop crying. Jamie wanted to hold Joffrey then but the resemblance between them would be too suspicious so she refused. The three of them looked on Cersei as she nursed Joffrey at her breast. Robert didn't seem to feel any kind of affection for the babe ever since; perhaps because he knew without knowing that it wasn't his seed that gave it life. Jamie, on the other hand, always looked envious for all the attention Cersei gives to Joffrey. Neither of them loved her firstborn. They became fond of Myrcella and Tommen when those two grew up but it had been so different with Joffrey.
Another memory fleeted past, one where her son lay in her arms, his breath leaving him; where he raised a hand and pointed at the imp before the Stranger took him from her. He was special, she defended as she sat there on the bed, and no one understands how special he was. The tears stung her eyes for a split second before she rubbed her fingers against her eyelids while her other hand still clutched a piece of Joffrey.
"Tommen", she whispered into the cloth as if it's a secret. She knew she could never see Myrcella again. She will never be there when her daughter had her first blood. She's going to need me then more than anybody else, she wanted to scream, but I won't get to hold her close and warn her of the pains of becoming a woman.
"Tommen," she repeated. He would be just as fair-haired as a Lannister should be and he is to wed a Tyrell scum to keep the throne. Is he going to jump in my arms like he used to whenever he sees me coming? She wondered. Sometimes I would only go to another room and he would already miss me. Does he search for me in the rooms at Highgarden every day, but finally stopped hoping he will ever find me again?
Cersei shoved the loincloth back to her dresser and covered her face with both hands. I must be powerful again, she told herself, for the children, I must be wicked.