It's been a couple days and while I was waiting outside Tyrion's chambers Shae comes running down the hall towards me. I grow concerned as she gets closer.
"I need to speak to Tyrion." She says quietly as she comes up to me.
"Why? What's wrong?" I ask.
"It's Lady Sansa." She answers. "She was taken to the throne room and it doesn't feel like it is for something good." Her words make me nervous. I immediately open the door to Tyrion's chamber and both of us barge in.
"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" He asks us.
"Sansa's in trouble with your nephew." I tell him. "Probably because of her brother." He perks up a bit, but doesn't go to jump up to help. I look over to Shae and she looks to me at that same moment. We may not like each other, but we both have a friendly relationship with Sansa. "Aren't you the one whom is supposed to control him? Isn't that what the Hand of the King is supposed to do?" He sighs before hopping out of his chair.
"Don't mistake my pause for disinterest, Trixie." He says as he walks past me. "I'm trying to think of a way to disperse my nephew's anger." He walks out the door and I quickly follow him with Shae right behind me. By the time we reach the throne room Bronn has joined us. Tyrion tells Shae to wait outside and I open the door for him. Bronn enters after him and I follow him. "What is the meaning of this?" The little Lannister shouts to the large room. I look at all the people in the room and spot Sandor. I glare at him. I know he's the King's knight, but that doesn't mean I can't feel betrayed by him just standing by as Sansa is humiliated in front of everyone present. The whole room is silent now. The only thing you can hear is the sound of our boots as we make our way to poor Sansa on the ground. "What kind of knight beats a helpless girl?" Tyrion seethes. I rush to Sansa and try to give the poor thing some comfort.
"The kind who serves his king, Imp." Ser Meryn seethes back. I glare up at the man as I pull Sansa tighter into me.
"Careful, now." Bronn voices. "We don't want to get blood all over your pretty white cloak."
"Someone get the girl something to cover herself with." Tyrion orders to the room. No one moves until I say something.
"Ser Clegane, thank you for volunteering your own cloak." I call out to him. Sure, it's a bit risky move on my part, but I feel a bit impowered right now. Sandor slowly walks towards us and takes off his cloak to offer to Sansa.
"She is to be your queen." He says to his nephew as I use the cloak to cover the crying Sansa.
"I'm punishing her." Joffrey Says.
"For what crimes?" Tyrion asks. "She did not fight her brother's battle, you half-wit." I would smile at that if I weren't trying to soothe the poor girl held tightly in my arms.
"You can't talk to me like that. The king can do as he likes!" Joffrey retaliates.
"The Mad King did as he liked." Tyrion informs the king. "Has your Uncle Jaime ever told you what happened to him?"
"No one threatens His Grace in the presence of the Kingsguard." Ser Meryn says as he draws his sword and points it to the little lion.
"I'm not threatening the king, ser. I am educating my nephew." Tyrion speaks, his gaze not leaving Joffrey. "Bronn, the next time Ser Meryn speaks, kill him." He orders Bronn before turning to Ser Meryn. "That was a threat. See the difference?" He turns to Sansa and I, slowly coming closer as if she were a cornered animal. He offers her his hand. She looks to me and I nod slightly. She takes his hand and I help her to stand up. We turn to the door and begin walking. "I apologize for my nephew's behavior." He whispers to her. The other ladies in waiting follow us as he continues. "Tell me the truth. Do you want an end to this engagement?"
"I am loyal to King Joffrey, my one true love." She answers with no emotion in her voice. Her words cause me and Tyrion to stop at the door to the throne room as she and her ladies in waiting continue on.
"Lady Stark, you may survive us yet." I nod my head in agreement at his realization as Bronn comes up behind us.
"The little King's backed up." He tells us. "Clogged from balls to brains."
"You think dipping his wick will cure what ails him?" I roll my eyes at Tyrion's words.
"You men think sex is the answer to everything." I huff out.
"I agree, there's no cure for being a cunt." Bronn says. "But the boy's at that age. And he's got nothing to do all day but pick wings off flies. Couldn't hurt to get some of the poison out."
"You men all think the same way, don't you?" I ask as Tyrion walks out of the throne room to get a whore for the king, I'm sure.
"I can't speak for those I don't know, but yes. Most of us think about sex on a daily basis." Bronn answers me. "Maybe if you experienced it, you'd know why." He jokes with me. I punch his shoulder and we have a good laugh as we head out to get something to eat and drink.
After a couple hours the room goes silent as it usually does when a certain someone enters. As my eyes meet Bronn's my brows knit together and I feel my face heat up. Bronn shakes his head to try and convince me not to do what I'm thinking, but I don't care. I get up and storm over to the pathway in front of the man who just entered. I stand there and put my hands on my hips, holding my ground as he comes closer seeming to not care that I'm in his way.
"Hey!" I shout at him. "I need to yell at you because I can't yell at the King!" It's true. If I yelled at the King like I am about to yell at Sandor, my head would be on a pike pretty quickly.
"Piss off." He says as he puts a hand on my shoulder and lightly pushes me out of his way.
"You did not just do that!" I shout. I run ahead of him and stand in his way again. "You did nothing to help her today! I had to force you to offer up your cape!" He seemed to take my shouts well until he yelled back.
"What should I have done, huh?! How am I supposed to go against the king's orders?! I'm supposed to follow his orders, Trixie! I'm not about to be killed for a little girl I barely know!" His words take me off guard his fierceness causes me to flinch back.
"You don't get to call me that anymore." I say just above a whisper so only he can hear it as the whispers from around the room grow in volume. I slowly walk back to the table with Bronn and sit down. I set my elbows on the table and put my head in my hands.
"That went about as well as I expected." Bronn chuckles. I roll my eyes and pick at the left over food on my plate.
Hours later, after dark, I am standing by the inside of the door of Tyrion's chamber as he works at his desk. We reside in comfortable silence until he breaks it.
"Trixie." He says to get my attention. My eyes meet his.
"Yes, Little Lion?" I ask with a smirk. A smile makes it's way to his lips too as he looks to the papers on his desk.
"I missed you calling me that." He says just above a whisper. Then his face falls. "I don't know what to do." My eyebrows knit together and my own smile falls in concern.
"You don't know what to do about what?" I ask as I walk closer to his desk.
"You." He replies as he looks up at me. I stop right in front of his desk.
"I'm confused why you think you need to do something about me." I pause to let him speak, but he stays silent. "If my presence is a distraction, maybe I should just leave."
"NO!" He shouts immediately. Almost cutting my sentence off. His facial expression had a mixture of concern and fear. "You are not a distraction. I just have these feelings that..." He trails off, thinking of a good way to say what he wants to.
"Sounds like I am a distraction." I say. "You are thinking of the feelings you have for me, comparing those feelings to the feelings you have for Shae. It is simple for me to understand that, Tyrion. I'm not stupid." He meets my eyes again. "You don't think I have been trying to get rid of my feelings for you so it's easier for me to leave or be with someone else?"
"I'm sorry."
"Stop." I tell him. "I understood why you took Shae to your bed the first night she was in your life." I glare at him. "She was in that line of business, you believed you wouldn't survive the battle the next day, and you knew I wouldn't give you what you wanted." He let out a breath as I finished my comment. "In fact, that morning I prayed I would die in battle. I hoped I wouldn't have to feel the heartbreak I felt that night for the rest of my life. But I don't regret living. And you shouldn't regret loving both of us. Feelings can't be controlled. All I can do now is support you, so don't let those feelings you have distract you from the job you are supposed to be doing as Hand of the King." He doesn't get a chance to reply as a knock is heard on the door. We look at each other for a second before he breaks eye contact and motions for me to answer the door. I walk over and open the door to see the young Lancel Lannister there. "Greetings, my Lord. May I ask why you're here?" He just looks me up and down and sneers at me before trying to shove past me. I put an arm out, holding onto the door frame to keep him from entering. "I'm sorry, my Lord. I can't let you in unless I know what your purpose here is." I hear footsteps from behind me in the room stop right next to me.
"Ah, Lancel." Tyrion says. "Your visits are too few, cousin. Dear Trixie, please let the boy in." Reluctantly, I let my arm fall and I open the door wide enough for him to walk in. I glare at the boy as I keep my hand on my weapon. I see the boy roll his eyes as he walks inside and I shut the door.
"Her Grace, the queen regent, commands you to release Grand Maester Pycelle." Lancel holds out a rolled piece of parchment to Tyrion. "Here's your warrant."
"So it is." Tyrion says, taking the parchment. "Will you take a cup with me and my bodyguard?" He asks to keep the boy from leaving. Said boy looks my way and I raise my right eyebrow at him. He gulps as he walks further into the room, following Tyrion. I keep my eye on him, though. "I find that mulled wine helps me sleep." He throws the warrant on his desk before heading over to pour himself, Lancel, and I a drink.
"I am here at her Grace's behest, not to drink with you, Imp." Lancel turns around and tries to head towards the door as an involuntary growl escapes my throat at the derogatory term. He's a bit startled by the sound and it stops him in his tracks.
"I wouldn't use such words around me, cousin." Tyrion tells him. "Trixie gets very offended." He turns around to look towards Lancel and me with a couple glasses of wine in his hands. He offers one up to me. "Ladies first." I bow my head and take the cup from his hand.
"Thank you, my Lord." Tyrion then offers the glass in his other hand to Lancel. The boy refuses the cup, and Tyrion shrugs as he begins to drink from the glass.
"If my sister was so concerned for Pycelle, I would have thought she'd come herself." Tyrion points out. "Instead, she sends you. What am I to make of that?"
"I don't care what you make of it," Lancell replies. I move from behind him to sit on the desk in front of the boy and my movement startles him a bit. "So long as you release your prisoner immediately." His voice is a bit shaky as he keeps quickly taking looks my way.
"Trixie, please sit in a chair, my dear. I know your legs must be tired." Tyrion motions to the chair behind his desk. Lancel seems a bit confused at our interaction. "Have you received your instructions directly from Cersei?" The younger Lannister looks from me to the shorter Lannister as he speaks. Tyrion pulls up another chair for himself to sit in. He holds his hand out to me and I hand him the warrant for him to open.
"As I said several times." Lancel answers.
"And you've waited this long to deliver the information?" Tyrion asks as he opens the rolled parchment.
"When the queen regent gives me a command, I carry it out without delay." There is a slight pause as Tyrion reads the parchment.
"Cersei must have great trust in you," He speaks after reading and rolling the parchment back up. "Allowing you into her chamber during the hour of the wolf." I hadn't really thought about that. I look to the boy with curiosity. Has he become the replacement for Ser Jaime?
"The queen regent has a great many responsibilities." The boy replies. "She often works from dusk till dawn."
"She must be very glad to have you helping her from dusk till dawn." Tyrion states. The boy gets closer to the desk where both of us are seated. "Ah, lavender oil." I had smelled it before. I had been trying to place the scent since I met the boy at the door.
"The queen regent's favorite." I pipe up. The boy snaps his head to glare at me.
"How would you know such a thing?" He seethes at me.
"Forgive me, my Lord, but I do have ears." I tell him. "I've heard random bits of information about lots of people in this city."
"She speaks the truth, cousin. Even as a girl she loved the scent." Tyrion corroborates.
"I am a knight!" The young Lannister shouts with a slightly wavy voice.
"An anointed knight, yes." Tyrion agrees. "Tell me, did Cersei have you knighted before or after she took you into her bed?" I had to try hard to keep the wine I have in my mouth. Lancel seems startled and scared. "What? Nothing to say? No more warnings for me, ser?"
"You will withdraw these filthy accusations!" The boy shouts.
"Have you ever given any thought to what King Joffrey will have to say when he finds out you've been bedding his mother?" At Tyrion's words the boys appears to be shocked, and he looks like he's about to faint. I react immediately and put my wine down, stand up, and bring my chair over to him just in time for his knees to let go. He sits in the chair and rubs at his face.
"It's not my fault." The boy retaliates.
"Did she take you against your will?" I ask him. He looks up at me and then over to Tyrion.
"Answer the question." Tyrion says. "Can you not defend yourself, knight?"
"Your own father, Lord Tywin, when I was named the king's squire, he told me to obey her in everything." The boy defends.
"Did he tell you to fuck her, too?" Tyrion asks. Lancel stands up violently.
"I only meant I did as I was bid." He explains.
"Did you hate every minute of it?" I ask him. He glares at me.
"A high place in court, a knighthood, my sister's legs spreading open for you at night." Tyrion continues. "Oh, yes, it must have been terrible. Wait here with Trixie. His Grace will want to hear this." I head to the door to open it for Tyrion as he also makes his way over, but Lancel speaks up to stop us.
"Mercy! Mercy, my Lord!" He shouts out as he falls to his knees before us. "I beg you!"
"Save it for Joffrey." Tyrion tells him. "He loves a good grovel." I open the door as Lancel continues to stop us.
"My Lord, it was your sister's bidding. The queen." Both of us look back at him after I've opened the door all the way. "I'll leave the city at once, I swear."
"No, I think not." Tyrion replies quickly.
"My Lord?" The boy questions.
"You heard me." Tyrion says. "My father told you to obey my sister. Obey her. Stay close to her side. Keep her trust. Pleasure her whenever she requires. No one ever need know as long as you keep faith with me." The boy lifts his gaze up to look at me, and I stay stone faced. I don't want to show any reactions to Tyrion's words and plan with Lancel. The boy returns his gaze to Tyrion as he continues to speak. "I want to know what Cersei is doing, where she goes, who she sees, what they talk of, everything. And you will tell me."
"Yes, my Lord, I will." Lancel answers with a shake in his voice. "I swear it, as you command." Tyrion claps, breaking the heavy mood in the room.
"Oh, rise, rise." Tyrion says in a lighter tone of voice as he pats the boy on the shoulders. "Let us drink to our understanding." He grabs his cup of wine, but looks for another cup for Lancel. "Oh, you don't have a cup. Oh, well." A smile grows on my face as Lancel stands up and exits. "Smile, cousin. My sister is a beautiful woman." The boy stops for a moment just outside the doorway. "And it's all for the good of the realm. Go back and tell her that I beg her forgiveness, that I want no more conflict between us and that henceforth I shall do nothing without her consent."
"But her demands." Lancel speaks up.
"Oh," He glances back at the scroll on his desk. "I'll give her Pycelle."
"You will?" The boy asks.
"Yes, I'll release him in the morning. Cersei can keep him as a pet if she wants, but I will not have him on the council. I could swear that I had not harmed a single hair on his head, but that would not, strictly speaking, be true." I smile as Tyrion turns away from the doorway and I shut the door, not waiting for Lancel's response to those words. After a few moments, I walk over to his desk and grab my cup of wine. I down the rest of it before gently placing it back down. I look to Tyrion and he has a look of awe on his features. "I'm so lucky to have someone like you in my life." I chuckle at his words as I take my place back at my post by the door.
"I feel I'm luckier, Little Lion." I say. He looks at me with a scrunched brow.
"How so?" He asks.
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in King's Landing."
"Some would say that is not a lucky thing." He replies.
"I would not have such deep feelings for someone." I say, referring to him.
"Though, it is unlucky that I am with another." He replies again.
"And I would surely still have no name." I finish my reasons, and I see him smile at my words warmly. He can't spin that reason now can he? The rest of the night we spend in silence and trade glances until Bronn replaces me for the watch as Tyrion's bodyguard. I make my way to my bedchambers and spend the rest of my waking minutes thinking of Tyrion and a future that could not possibly come true.
A/N: Hey everyone, I am so sorry there is so much time between chapters. I can't promise anything right now, but I will try harder to continue as many of my stories as I can.