"You could try smiling."
"What do you think I am doing?" Cersei snapped out as her goblet of wine was gently moved from her hand to Ashara's. She needed wine, a lot of it, and at every turn she was being denied. First her husband, now her Dornish ally. Traitors, the both of them.
"I've seen your smiles. Fierce, playful, and all else in between." Ashara motioned to Cersei's jaw with her free hand. "This is you bearing your fangs. Too many teeth, showing their points."
"Afraid I'll eat the bride alive?"
"Assuming you don't go straight for the throat?" Violent eyes teased as the goblet was handed off to a passing servant."Come, it is a wedding. We are here to celebrate your brother's good fortune at finding a women he cherishes."
"A fitting word, cherish. Men cherish horses and whores, they are supposed to love their wives. Jaime seems to have done the best of both words and married his horse of a wife." It had been years since any feelings for Jaime beyond fond nostalgia had grasped her heart. She, like the rest of the kingdom had moved on after the war. Her own marriage and the prospect of power had held her attention long enough for her beloved twin to slip from her sight. Yet the sight of her other half enjoying himself at the side of a women carved from a jester's nightmare had revived old jealousies.
Jaime was hers. He would always be hers. He joined the Kingsguard, for her. He was forced out, for her. Even years later, with only scattered letters between them, he was her other half, and she wanted nothing more than to grab her brother by the ear. To chastise him like her one of sons for making such a foolish decision.
Brienne of Tarth. An old house of the Stormlands and little more. There would be no armies, great swaths of land, or plentiful dowry. Jaime would be the minor lord of some backwater island, while Tyrion sat upon Casterly Rock. The gods were cruel it seemed, especially when she was the only one besides her own father who seemed to care.
"Don't be rude. Lady Tarth has enough to deal with, without her good sister being a she-wolf." Ashara scolded as her hand slipped into Cersei's. The blonde queen hated to admit it, but she found the contact comforting. Her husband was steadily making his way through the swarm of Lords and Ladies with his ever-present grim look towards them. She envied Ned for his steely grey eyes, what she would give to be able to cut a man down with nothing but an errant look, however unintentional. "Now, we are going to greet the bride, and offer our blessing. I can play my part. Can you?"
"Of course I can." Cersei said, bristling at Ashara's challenge.
"Good." A soft, reassuring squeeze of Ashara's hand was needed. "Now, you are the Light of the West. Cersei of House Stark, First of Her Name. Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lady of the Seven Kingdoms and Stewardess of the Realm. Women wish to be you, and men want for nothing more than to be beside you. You are a paragon of grace, poise and beauty. A few false smiles and warm greetings are well within your abilities."
"You do say the sweetest things..." Cersei mumbled as Ned grew ever closer. "Let us get this over with. I wish to retire to my chambers." Preferably with as much wine as the servants could carry.
AN: This is to answer the question of what happened to Jaime. I think one thing people need to remember about Cersei is that she is a selfish person. She would have been too focused on the fact that she was allowed an almost obscene amount of power, among other distractions at the time, that Jaime would fall by the wayside as she went to work doing things for herself.
Anyways, Jaime got stripped of his titles, and his cloak cause there is no way in hell that Ned is letting him get off unpunished, Jaime was a man who broke a pretty big oath, and refused to explain 'why'. Since he couldn't execute Jaime because he's his wife's brother, Ned had to compromise. Jaime is left to inherit nothing, and after misadventures, some soul-searching, and a lot of arguing with Tywin, Jaime found Brienne. They hit it off, and now he's Lord of Tarth with his amazing wife. Mostly cause I like Brienne with Jaime and how they interact with each other. Comments, questions and concerns are always welcome as either reviews or PM's. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and have a good day.