Characters: Teen!Cersei, Rhaegar (suggested Cersei/Rhaegar)

Disclaimer: None of this is mine (save the jewellery). All property of

This is an AU/What if Tale Characters may be OC due to this premise.

Earrings Part 2

Cersei stared in quiet disgust at the earrings of wood. They were hardly the opulent jewels she had expected from a Targaryen Prince. It was simplistic, almost tribal in its design. Badly carved, polished pieces of wood strung together on a strand of metal with two beads of metal to complete the piece. It reminded her of something the mountain tribes would wear.

'What is this?' she asked, certain it was some sort of jape.

'What do you believe it is?' Rhaegar queried; a mysterious smile playing on his lips. Cersei furrowed her brow debating the answer he wanted to hear.

'It is-' Cersei hesitated, recalling the manners she was taught to express; the court games that she sought to master. 'Natural, my prince, almost-'

'Wild? Perhaps,' Rhaegar intoned. 'Unprofessional and childish might be a more accurate statement. Certainly not worth the attention of a highborn lady,' he concluded. Cersei could feel his violet eyes watching her intently. Two predators pacing, she mused. Her cheeks warmed to the accusation. 'I made it for you my Lady. A symbol of our courtship and our betrothal,' Prince Rhaegar continued, a genuine smile playing on his lips. It was a rare sight to behold, and it left her at a loss. 'I have read that it is a Northern tradition for suitors to offer a handmade trinket to their betrothed. It is believed that it should represent the one who receives it,' he explained.

Cersei opened her mouth to speak but the words would not come. She knew not whether to be disgusted, insulted, or furious at Rhaegar's blatant lack of respect. 'My prince, I am only worth a few pieces carved, polish wood to you?' she stammered clearly offended.

Rhaegar furrowed his brow, his perfect features distorted by his obvious distress. 'My Lady, I certainly meant to cause no offense.'

'Then what did you intend my prince?' Cersei retorted in icy tones. Her betrothed may have been a dragon, but she was every bit a lioness in her own right. If she was to be his bride she would do it as his equal, just as her beloved mother had been with father.

'I sought to create something that reflected your true nature,' Rhaegar said. Cersei had about enough of his vague, empty explanations and was about to say as much when the Dragon Prince took her free hand into his own.

'You are nothing like the women of court. You act the perfect lady, but you have a warrior's heart and spirit that cannot be tamed,' he explained. 'So I chose to craft you earrings after the fashion of the Mountain Clans. For in their women are regarded as equal in all matters. I have been told that it is not uncommon for a woman to lead and rule their people as chieftain.' The prince took pause, clearly permitting Cersei the opportunity to digest the weight and meaning of his words. The young lioness knew not what to make of the revelation.

'Once you told me that you believed you would have fared better as a man,' he continued in quiet tones. Cersei almost winced. She had hoped Rhaegar forgot her furious outburst, from a fortnight prior. The words were not meant for his ears, and had been directed at her twin brother Jaime. Nonetheless, the Dragon Prince had been witness to it all, much to her chagrin.

'So I must ask if you were given all the opportunities that your brother has been given, what would you choose to do.' It was a question Cersei had spent far too much time dwelling on.

'I do not wish to trouble you with such trivial matters my Prince,' she politely said. It was the answer she knew her Father would have expected her to give. Cersei knew she could not afford to ruin this betrothal no matter the cost. However, it was not the answer the prince sought.

'If you are to be my Queen I will need your utmost honesty, even if it is not the answer I desire. I have no interest in a woman who will not be honest with me,' Rhaegar said in plaintive tones.

Startled by his blunt answer Cersei fell silent, as she determined a reply that was both honest and would not incur her Father's wrath. Her doubts soon gave way to brazen courage. If the truth was what the prince sought, then he would have it. Meeting his gaze she answered, 'I would be a knight, my voice would be heard. I would marry whom I choose, should I even choose to wed. I would be free to do all the things men can do only I would do it better. They would fear and respect me for my might and my mind.'

Rhaegar looked thoughtful, his silence oddly comfortable to Cersei. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet, almost shy. 'I too have been denied the path I wish to follow. A prince who wishes to be a grand maester, absurd I know,' he said with a heavy sigh. 'My Father would have none of it. No son of a dragon will ever wear the grand maester's' chain,' he added mimicking his Father's raspy voice.

Cersei was startled not by his proclamation, for she knew the prince was a bookish sort, well-educated beyond his years, rather his honesty and the absurdity of it all. 'You're a prince, with the seven kingdoms under your heel, why would you wish to throw it all away?' she balked.

'You are a highborn noblewoman, with a chance to one day become queen. Why would you wish to throw it all away?' he replied with a chuckle. Cersei decided she rather liked the musical sound of his laughter.

'Because I would be free to choose the life I want to live,' she replied. It was the truth. Jaime was free to do as he wanted but Cersei was to become a perfect little lady. A lady, or so she believed, was little more than a thoroughbred sow who would be sold in marriage to the highest bidder.

'And that is why I fought Father for your hand in marriage. I want a queen who will look me in the eye, and say what is on her mind. A lady who knows what she wants, and is not afraid to get it,' Rhaegar answered. It was an unexpected revelation, one that greatly pleased her. Rhaegar understood what even Jaime could not. For the first time she truly felt that she was not alone.

'The dragon maester prince,' she mused with a hint of a smile. Despite her best attempts, Cersei could not envision the beautiful dragon prince wearing a maester's cloak and chain.

'The lioness knight,' he retorted, raising a brow his smile turning wry. In his violet eyes, she could see he too struggled to envision her readily clad in armour with a sword on her hip.

With a sincere smile the lioness removed her elegant ruby earrings, replacing them with the prince's crude creations. She could not help but marvel how something so small, and so simplistic could make her feel strangely powerful. Meeting his gaze she politely bowed, an unspoken means of gratitude. To her astonishment, the prince gently cupped her cheek with a hand, and leaned in to whisper 'thank you' in Cersei's ear. Before quietly turning away without another word spoken. Leaving her to wonder if his gratitude was birthed from their shared understanding, or the fact she now held the secret of his dreams.