CERSEI VI

Lord Tywin Lannister rode through the Throne Room and up to the King himself on his white stallion; his lion armour a true depiction of the warrior he had again proven himself to be. The Queen smiled proudly at her father while her first born son spoke the words, "I, William of the House Baratheon, First of My Name, the Rightful King of the Andals, Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, do hereby proclaim my grandfather, Tywin Lannister, the saviour of the city and the Hand of the King,"

Lord Tyrion stepped forward and gave the badge of office to an ever-timid Lancel, who handed it up to the Warden of the West.

"Thank you, Your Grace," he responded, taking the piece of metal and turning his horse out of the room.

Cersei could not remember a prouder moment. Her son and her father; working side by side after defeating the enemy. Ruling their Kingdoms. Next came Loras Tyrell, who's family William thanked for backing the Lannister army and saving the city.

"If your family would ask anything of me, ask it and it shall be yours," he said generously, though the Queen could not say she liked the sound of the words. She trusted the young Ser Loras enough, having guarded both her husband and son - but she could not be sure of his family. Call it a mother's instinct, she thought, we shall wait and see.

"My sister Margaery remains unmatched, I would ask you to do us the great honour of joining our houses in marriage," the young knight spoke and Cersei snapped her head up quicker than an arrow flying from a bow.

The only Tyrell daughter stepped forward; confidence nearly spilling from her tiny body.

"Is this what you want, Lady Margaery?" William asked.

This isn't right…something's not right here, Cersei thought in an immediate panic. She looked to the Princess Sarafine at her side and saw it in her too.

"With all my heart, Your Grace. I have come to love you from afar," Margaery spoke boldly. The Princess shifted uncomfortably and Cersei's eyes moved straight to her eldest son who did the same.

"Tales of your courage and wisdom have never been far from my ears…and those tales have taken root deep inside of me," she continued.

"King William is already betrothed to the Princess Sarafine of House Martell, Lady Margaery," the Queen spoke.

"And he loves her too," William looked to her, "however, my youngest brother, Tommen, is not yet matched either, my Lady. I will have to confer with my grand father…we'll see what arrangements we can make for you,"

Oh, William, the Queen thought, you're playing a dangerous game here.

If the Queen recalled correctly, the Tyrells had fought against her late husband in his rebellion by choice. People could argue that the Martells did too, but they were married into the royal family of the time - leaving them with little choice at all. But the Tyrells…there's something not right about them, Cersei critiqued as she looked back to the young Lady Margaery.

She was graceful and she was beautiful; but she wasn't true and the Queen could smell it from a mile away. The celebratory court soon ended, Will again requesting to see his small council in the chamber, his new addition included.

Cersei Lannister's father sat at the head of the table already, rising only for William and seating himself again soon after. She sat next to him and smiled to herself. Maybe this would be it for a while. Maybe young Margaery would be her only challenge. Maybe things would all be alright again.

"You are all faring well after the battle, I see," Will spoke, "but it's not over yet," he announced, dashing her hopes of a peaceful Autumn and safer Winter.

"The dragon was not here," her father announced to the room.

"What do you mean not here?" Cersei asked, utterly lost.

"She sits in the Yellow City of Yunkai, Slaver's Bay, still across the Narrow Sea,"

"With her eight thousand Unsullied," William informed.

"With her eight thousand Unsullied," Tywin repeated, slower.

"So, who did attack last night?" Tyrion asked, apparently as confused as his sister.

"Greyjoys, mostly. Some of her Dothraki. Her force was not large and it was not large for a reason,"

"They breached the gates," Joffrey reminded, evidently confused.

"Because they were told to," the Hand informed.

"A prisoner that we took left us a message," William said, "she didn't intend to sack the city. Only to test it,"

"Test it? Meaning?" Tyrion asked.

"She wanted to find our weaknesses, and now she has," the King continued, his standard small-council-meeting pace slowing to a halt

"Once word of the battle gets back to her…she'll prepare a real invasion; dragons and all," her father spoke, his disdain at their situation echoing throughout the silent room, "this is not a time to celebrate," he stood.

"We won a great battle," Joffrey scoffed.

"A battle, not the war," Tywin reminded, "there's more troops in the city now, not just a skeleton crew of city watchmen. But that doesn't mean we're prepared. We cannot play the wildfire trick again, she'll be expecting it,"

"And she will bring fire of her own," Cersei mused aloud.

"Indeed she will," William agreed.

This is far from over, she thought as she stared blankly into the table.

"From now on, the small council meetings will be held in the Tower of the Hand where I conduct my work," her father announced; no soul in the room willing to defy him, "we will begin making plans for a second visit from Daenerys Targaryen the next time I see you,"

"And what of Lady Margaery, my Lord, Your Grace? Is it truly your wish to betroth her to the Prince Tommen?" Varys asked.

"I wouldn't keep the Tyrells waiting," Baelish commented.

"You're not the one giving away a son," the Queen reminded.

"Ah, there's my daughter," Tywin laughed.

"Council is dismissed," William announced, walking to his family.

He leant his behind on the table and looked at his topmost advisers.

"She's five years older than Tommen, Will," Cersei began.

"Age doesn't mean anything in the game of royal betrothals," Tywin insisted.

"He's nine, father,"

"And when exactly was William betrothed to Sarafine?"

Damn it, she thought frustratedly in the realisation she'd have to come up with some other argument.

"I made a promise, mother," Will reminded, "I have to honour it,"

"I know…" she accepted, "I just…don't like her all that much. Can we not give Myrcella away to one of the older Tyrells?"

"Myrcella is our key to holding the Vale of Arryn," Will reminded his mother of the plans already in place, "we can't give her away because the Tyrell girl is…"

"Forward," Tywin finished, "you have to give her that,"

"Forward indeed," William agreed, raising his eyebrows, "what do you recommend, grandfather?"

"Margaery can have Tommen, in due time," the man decided, "for now, we have another royal wedding to discuss,"

"Indeed we do," Cersei looked to her son and saw the smile in his eyes.

We'll be okay, she thought, somewhat.

- A/N -

Yay for royal wedding planning, no yay for Marg trying to steal Will lol

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know in a review if you think Will did the right thing by suggesting Margaery marry Tommen :)

Enjoy your week guys! Thank you so much for all your reviews and favourites, feedback means the world to me 3