Disclaimer: Game of Thrones is D&D's property, after being GRRM's property. Or else, Lancel would be the happiest kid in Westeros, should it be mine.

Summary: Kill the husband and let the father be born. That was exactly how Lancel felt ever since his wife passed away two years ago, leaving him with their only daughter to care for.

In his daughter's eyes

Chapter 10

Lancel tried to smile as he was carefully brushing his daughter's sandy hair, preparing it to be braided into a crown, just the way she liked it. Lelia was a social butterfly, something she inherited from her mother and he was thankful she didn't get his awkward demeanour and his horrible shyness. So, that was no surprise for him, seeing her excited at the idea of a family event. His cousin Cersei and her husband Robert had organized their annual huge family dinner, where both the Baratheons and the Lannisters would meet. Lancel remembered he had feared attending it the year Elora passed away. It had occurred just five months after her death. He had been surprised by Robert's attitude towards him. When he was a teenager, he had worked for him and he had been a real pain in his behind. Yet, when he had arrived, freshly widowed, Lelia holding his hand, he had seen another part of the man he had never imagined:

Robert had been a good friend.

He had certainly looked pitiful and broken, he could remember the look of shock in his host' eyes when he greeted him. Robert hadn't teased him the way he used to. In fact, he offered him wine and they had talked, alone. A genuine talk between two grown men. With time, Lancel had understood the source of that kindness. Robert knew how it felt to lose the person you called your soulmate. Ever since that day, the patrarch of the Baratheon family was among the ones who took his side when his abilities as a father were doubted. Now, he was fearing to go because they all knew what happened to him. He felt ridiculous, he was 26, not 10, but he couldn't help it.

"I can't wait to play with Nymeria!"

"I know."

"Uncle Willem told me Marissa would be with him! Too bad Ami won't be."

"Well, you'll see her later."

Lelia smiled as her father finished her crown. She kissed him on the cheek to thank him and went to show her grandmother how pretty it looked. He smiled at that. He could remember the times where he had helped Janei with the same issue. Everyone was getting ready to leave.

It was time to go to the Baratheon mansion.

XXXXX

It was Cersei who had opened the door and Lancel had to admit that time had no grip on her at all. Of course, she didn't look like she was a teenager but she looked so much younger than her actual age. She was still stunning. He wondered how she did, all the things she did to keep that look of hers. Her own father was the same way, he looked his age but he seemed just as tall, strong and charismatic. Next to him, he always felt like a little boy. Yes, he had to admit, the members of both families, Baratheon and Lannister, seemed gifted with the blessing of aging well. He bit his tongue when he heard a little girl calling Cersei "Grandma". She hated the thought of her aging. Yet, it came from her own kin and according to Tyrion, her love for her children, and thus her grandchildren, was her only redeeming quality. That, and her cheekbones. After greeting everyone, Lelia was allowed to go and join Nymeria. She had impressed everyone by her patience, her non-fading smile and her politeness. Myrcella and Joy watched over the children as they quitely played together.

"Good to see you here." Lancel heard behind him

Gendry smiled at him. Being Robert's son, he and his family had been invited as well.

"Thanks. Wasn't sure to come to be honest, but Lelia wanted to be here."

"Yeah, Nym was all over it as well, how she'd see Lelia outside of school."

Lancel smiled.

"So, how are you doing?" He asked

"Kinda well. Arya gave Dad the best birthday present. We're expecting again."

"That's amazing! Congratulations!"

"Nym can't wait until the baby is born. You should see her, she draws non-stop to decorate the future room."

"That's adorable."

He briefly wondered how Lelia would have reacted to the new of a new sibling. Not that it would occur. It would never occur. But he couldn't help wondering how she would have reacted. Excitement? Jealousy? When he saw how doting she was over Myrcella's infant daughter, how amazed she was by Joy's baby bump, he had his answer. It would have been an amazing moment to share. A moment that was stillborn.

"Lancel. Can I have a word?"

The young man turned around to meet Joffrey. Lancel was always amazed by how strongly he looked like Jaime. He was told he looked a lot like Jaime himself but Joffrey was Jaime, only younger. That seemed natural, as Jaime was Cersei's twin brother, still, it was still impressive to witness. Joffrey had changed a lot. He was still a snob, he was still thinking he was superior but the unjudging love Margaery gave him shook him to the core. She had tried so hard to understand him that he had started to soften. For her. He wanted her to never regret her choice, he wanted to be able to be with her, the only woman who could support him. He nodded, congratulated Gendry again and followed Joffrey in a quiet area. They sat and Joffrey offered him a beer.

"How did you do to go on like you did, after you lost Elora?" He asked

There was no malice in his voice.

"Did something happen to Margaery?" Lancel worried

"Yes and no. But... Well, our daughter is born."

"Congrats."

"The birth was extremely difficult and she had lost a lot of blood. It's actually a miracle she survived and that she is considered still fertile by the doctors. They came to see me when she was delivering Joanna. They told me there were chances she'd die. Or that I'd have to choose between her and our child. Thankfully, I didn't have too but... Lancel, I completely freaked out..."

His voice was cracking. Hesitantly, Lancel gently patted his shoulder.

"The woman I loved gone, and myself alone with an infant to raise... I was so scared to lose her... I'd be lost without her... How did you do, to go on, with Elora dead and Lelia so young?"

"I'm not an example to follow, it led me to a burn out. But when Elora died... The day she was buried, I buried the man I was with her. I was no longer a man, or a husband. I was a father. Lelia was the treasure she left me, the thing she loved most, and I had to protect her, for her sake, in her memory. My fatherly side completely took over and I basically ran on autopilot. After a while, though the sadness remained, the pain went away and I started to have control again. What kept me was the fact that Lelia loved me and that I loved her. I went on, for her."

"But what if I had hated Joanna for taking Margaery from me? It could have happened. Look at Grandfather."

"The very fact that you are wondering that is a proof you wouldn't have rejected Joanna."

"But, you never saw the ghost of your wife in your daughter?"

"Lelia is her own person. Of course, sometimes, I do see things. But before being my child and her daughter, she is herself."

Joffrey sadly smiled and nodded.

"Do you think it's karma?"

Lancel looked at him, puzzled.

"For all the things I have done."

"The Seven aren't twisted enough to take a mother from a child just to punish the dad."

"A twisted lesson for a twisted guy. Seems logical."

"Then, why is Ramsay happily settled with Myranda and their hounds?"

Joffrey finally laughed.

"Thanks. For listening. And if you repeat to anyone what I told you, I will say that you lied."

"What did you say, exactly?"

He smiled and the two men joined their families, Lelia sitting happily next to her grandfather, impressing the adults by how well composed she was. Even Tywin was impressed.

Lancel never felt any prouder.

His daughter was only 5, yet she was already a little badass by being a perfect little lady.

To Be Continued