Harry Strickland was not alone when he entered the ruined throne room for the second time.

Accompanied by some of his best soldiers, they were dragging Daenerys Targaryen behind them.

It didn't take them long to catch up with her.

She had tried to escape, but she had nothing left.

All of her soldiers were dead, she had no dragons, and the memories of the people of King's Landing would never fade.

The North remembered, but it was not alone.

The people of Westeros had always remembered the Mad King.

They would never forget the person who had carried out his final order.

None of them were willing to help Daenerys.

Alone against the soldiers of the Golden Company, she had no chance.

She looked straight ahead as she entered what was left of the Red Keep throne room, pushed by the soldiers.

This was her first time here, the very first time, she had never been here, except in the Hotel of the Undying in Qarth, but that didn't matter, not really.

Cersei was there, of course she was there, sitting on the Iron Throne.

Standing beside her were her two brothers, and Sansa.

Daenerys gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, Cersei had no business being there.

The Iron Throne was created by dragon fire, it belonged to the dragons, and no one else.

She had fought all her life for it, and while she had dreamed of this moment, when, after the last battle, she would finally see for the first time the throne of her father, and all their ancestors, when she would enter the castle victorious, cheered by all as she had been in Yunkai, in Astapor, in Meereen, in the end, she was alone, pushed by the soldiers of her enemies, as if she had become a slave herself.

Cersei did not miss the look of pure hatred that Daenerys gave her when she arrived at the foot of the steps leading to the Iron Throne, flanked by mercenaries of the Golden Company.

She looked at her exactly the same way she had looked at Ellaria Sand when Euron Greyjoy had brought her back, with her daughter, a disgusted look, Ellaria had taken Myrcella from her, Daenerys had almost taken what would certainly be her last baby.

After an eye contact that lasted for long seconds, Cersei took her eyes off this girl who had pretended to be a queen, younger, more beautiful, but who had not managed to take everything that was dear to her, and called for servants, among the few that remained.

The two women, one young and one older, bowed as soon as they entered the room.

''Show them the way to apartments that were not destroyed during the collapse.''

Then, turning to the soldiers:

''I want her door guarded day and night, until we have decided what to do with her. She is not to leave under any circumstances.''

One of the mercenaries tried to protest:

''We said we would fight for you until the war was over. And it is. We have fulfilled our contract, the one you paid for.''

Cersei looked down at him:

''As long as Daenerys Targaryen is alive, the war is not over.''

The recalcitrant soldier prepared to retaliate, but a simple glance from his commander was enough to dissuade him.

Just before the mercenaries forced her to turn around, Daenerys glared at Sansa.

She had been right in thinking that Sansa had betrayed her brother's promise, that she had made an alliance with her enemies.

And that alliance had been fruitful.

While Daenerys had dreamed for days and days, months and months, of getting her hands on Sansa and making her pay for her treachery, she had come to King's Landing and narrowly escaped her fury.

And now she was the one who was winning.

She had made a mistake, she realized.

She shouldn't have listened to her advisors who told her that she wasn't, that she was imagining things, that Sansa had absolutely nothing to do with Cersei, that she too wanted her dead, maybe even more than Daenerys herself, and to take care of the young Stark girl as soon as she had the chance, as soon as she had her at hand.

That way, she wouldn't be standing proudly next to Cersei and the Iron Throne, while Daenerys was a prisoner.

Harry Strickland bowed his head, and walked out of the room, his men and Daenerys on his heels.

oOo

Night had already fallen on King's Landing for a while when Jaime entered Cersei's chambers, which had miraculously escaped the collapse of the castle, as had some other rooms.

She was already there, looking out the window at what was left of the capital, plunged into darkness.

Sercilia entered behind him by trotting, and joined Aramis, lying on the ground, just beside his human.

Without a word, he slipped behind Cersei, and wrapped his arms around her, coming to put his two hands, his golden hand and his hand of flesh, on her belly, which was now growing at sight.

Leaning slightly, he came to rest his chin on her shoulder, to put himself at her level, and smiled.

Their little cub would soon be here.

The birth was imminent.

Sometimes he wondered what would happen if the same thing happened to Cersei that had happened to their mother.

He had no illusions.

Having been there three times, he knew that childbirths were long, hard and painful, but most of all, they were dangerous.

And neither he nor Cersei were as young as they had been the last time.

The fear that this birth would only end in blood-stained, scarlet Lannister sheets, Cersei's cold skin, and condolences became more and more important as the term of his sister's pregnancy drew closer.

But, for the moment, he chose to leave his dark thoughts behind.

They had survived Daenerys Targaryen and dragon fire.

They had won the war.

Cersei had already successfully delivered a child four times. There was no reason she couldn't do it a fifth time.

She was a true warrior. She would not fail.

She would not fail, and soon they would finally be a real family.

But there was one blemish on this perfect picture.

The war was won. The war was over.

But there was still Euron Greyjoy.

And he knew what Cersei had promised him in exchange for the victory.

He gritted his teeth.

Once again, he would be forced to watch another man take his role, his role as a father, to watch that same man marry Cersei.

He must have tightened his grip on his waist, because Cersei turned to look at him.

She took his face in her hands, frowning with concern:

''Is something wrong?''

Jaime shook his head, trying to hide the source of his displeasure:

''No, nothing.''

''Stop lying to me. I know you better than anyone. I know exactly when you don't like something, and when you try to hide it. That's exactly what you're doing now.''

He sighed, then said:

"The war is over.''

She raised an eyebrow:

''Finely observed.''

''You are to marry Euron Greyjoy.''

Oh. So that was it.

''Would you be jealous?''

It was a rhetorical question. Of course Jaime was jealous, just as he had been of Robert.

After a lifetime of dreaming of finally being able to live out his love with Cersei, he was going to have to write it off again.

And yet, he refused to admit it:

''What? Me, jealous of that... That guy? Certainly not.''

She looked him in the eyes:

''You have no reason to be jealous.''

She moved a little closer to him:

''I have absolutely no intention of marrying Euron Greyjoy.''

''And yet, that is what you promised him, if he helped you win the war, which he did.''

Cersei shrugged:

''You said it yourself, the war is over. I don't need Euron Greyjoy or his Fleet anymore.""

Jaime frowned:

''And what will you do?''

''A Lannister always pays his debts. It seems to me that I owe one to Euron...''

He smiled at her. He knew exactly what she had in mind, and he would be more than happy to help her.

Ever since he had learned what that cursed man had done to her, he had only dreamed of one thing: to stick his sword between his ribs, and watch him die slowly, painfully.

Cersei seemed to want the same thing he did.

oOo

The two soldiers of the Golden Company camped in front of the door stepped aside when Tyrion arrived, to let him in.

Daenerys did not even look up to see who it was when she heard the familiar click of the lock.

For a moment, a brief moment, she thought it was Cersei, coming to humiliate her, to remind her of all she had lost, that she had nothing left, that she was going to die.

It was only when he was in front of her that she recognized the man who had once been her Hand.

Tyrion wanted to scream at her, to spit in her face everything he thought, everything he felt, she had hurt him, she had betrayed his trust, and he believed in her, he believed so much in her, and in what she was capable of doing, he loved her, he loved her so much, he would have done anything, absolutely anything, for her.

He was no longer able to tell if he loved her or hated her, he hated her for what she had done, she had slaughtered thousands and thousands of people, and would have continued to do so again and again if no one had stopped her, but she had trusted him, she had been one of the few to trust him, and for that he would be forever grateful.

But all that was in the past.

Daenerys had fulfilled the last wishes of the late Mad King.

And for that, she would have to die.

Varys had been right all along.

There was only one thing, only one word that Tyrion managed to articulate, keeping his eyes fixed on Daenerys:

''Why?''

Only silence answered him.

Tears flowed from his emerald eyes, gently tracing their furrows on his cheeks.

He wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her with all his strength, why, huh, why did you do that, what made you do it, those people were innocent, they didn't deserve that, and now it's over, now they're dead, why, why, why, why did you betray me, I trusted you, I loved you so much.

When he realized that she would not answer, he turned on his heels, and headed for the door.

Just as he was about to go out, and leave the room, he heard behind him:

''I had no love, here...''

He turned around.

She wasn't even looking at him.

''I loved you, me.''

She looked up at him.

But it was too late now.

It was not any more of amethyst eyes, of which he dreamed.

He wanted only sapphire eyes, eyes color of ice.

Once again, he turned away, and this time, he left the room, for good.

oOo

Thick gray clouds still covered the sky, even several days after the end of the battle.

The sun still hadn't shown its rays, almost as if winter was here again, except that instead of snow, it was ashes, covering the ground.

The remaining people of King's Landing were massed in front of the ruined forecourt of the Red Keep, the place that had seen too much bloodshed again.

Some of the ships returning from Dorne and the Reach had already brought back refugees from Sunspear and Highgarden, who could not believe their eyes when they arrived at the capital, the shock of seeing such a landscape was too great, far too great.

People watched as Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion Lannister, as well as Sansa Stark, and the Queen's Hand appeared.

They all knew why they were there.

Their hunches were confirmed when they saw members of the Golden Company appear, dragging a young woman among them.

They recognized her immediately.

They would never forget her face, nor would they forget what had happened.

Daenerys Targaryen was brought before the queen, who, speaking loudly enough for all to hear, said, looking her straight in the eye:

''Daenerys Targaryen... I, Cersei Lannister, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, and Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, sentence you to die.''

Thank you for reading! Don't forget to leave a little review, it's always a great pleasure ^^