If the death of King Robert Baratheon, although it was considered an accident, had raised many questions, it was not the case with the death of Euron Greyjoy.

Of course, everyone knew what had really happened. After all, his body had been found at the foot of the castle, broken, as had King Tommen's when he decided to end his life by throwing himself out of the window, but this time it was just below the window of the queen's chambers.

It was obvious that it was she who had killed him, and yet people weren't talking about it.

They weren't idiots.

They had just escaped from Daenerys Targaryen. They knew that it was partly thanks to the queen that the threat posed by the Mother of Dragons had been removed, but they had not forgotten how her reign had begun, and they were well aware that if there were the beginnings of rumors about her involvement in the death of the man who had been her husband for less than a day, she would silence them, one way or another.

The people of King's Landing, and of Westeros, had been exhausted enough by the last war to risk death again, so soon after escaping fire and blood.

So they kept quiet.

They had finally learned that if they left the royal family alone, they would leave them alone too.

So it wasn't perfect harmony, now that it was all over, but they managed to live relatively peacefully, and that was all they wanted, after the horrors they had experienced.

oOo

Jaime glanced at Euron Greyjoy's empty chair as he entered the Small Council chamber, followed by Sercilia.

He smiled.

He had gotten what he deserved. If it had been up to him, he would still be suffering, and begging for his life, or rather, for it to be ended.

Never in his life had he known greater satisfaction in killing someone than when his sword, supported by Cersei's hand and his own, had sunk into his ribs.

No one else was there yet, so he sat down in his seat and let his thoughts flow.

His smile widened as he thought about what he had to do once the Council meeting was over.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of the door opening to let Tyrion and Sansa through.

The two were spending more and more time together, and it was obvious that they had grown very close.

When they sat down, they exchanged a meaningful look, and Jaime refrained from making a comment about it.

He was glad that his little brother had finally found someone good, someone who was right for him, someone who returned his feelings.

He deserved to be happy.

They didn't have time to talk when Cersei and Qyburn, the two remaining people, came into the room in turn.

Jaime smiled again.

The birth was coming. Cersei's belly had become considerably rounder, and she seemed to be having more and more difficulty moving.

Tyrion remarked to Cersei, looking amused:

''We almost waited for you.''

Sitting down in her place at the head of the table, she replied:

''I'd like to see you in my place. I'm so huge, I feel like I'm going to explode. This little girl can't get here fast enough.''

Tyrion smiled. A few weeks ago, it would have been laughable to think that one day he would joke with his older sister, and especially so soon after openly showing himself to be on her side. He raised his eyebrows:

''Convinced at this point that it's a girl?''

''I'm not. But your brother is.''

Jaime pretended to roll his eyes:

''Girl or boy, it doesn't matter, as long as in the end, the baby and the mother are healthy.''

But just as Cersei was about to get into the next part, he added:

''But it's still a girl.''

Sansa, Tyrion and Qyburn burst out laughing, while Cersei looked at Jaime, falsely exasperated.

''Well. Anyway, that's not the topic for today.''

Qyburn spoke up:

''We need to take care of the lordships, reallocate them for the ones without lords, and make sure the ones with lords are still loyal to us.''

Sansa held her breath. She was going to be certain about the future of the North.

Tyrion had told her about Bran's death, which meant that, according to the order of succession, the North, Winterfell, and all the titles that went with it were hers.

She had asked Cersei if it was possible for the North to gain its independence, but she still hadn't gotten an answer.

After all, why would the queen agree to give up one of her kingdoms? She had already done Sansa a favor, agreeing to let her stay in King's Landing during the end of the war against Daenerys, a war that the little people were already beginning to call "The War of the Three Queens''. She owed her nothing more.

He grabbed one of her papers and began to read what was written on it.

''For all we know, Sunspear, Highgarden and Casterly Rock have no lords. The Vale still has Lord Robyn Arryn, only son of Jon Arryn. With the assassination of House Frey, it is likely that the lords of the Riverlands want Vivesaigues to go to Lord Edmure Tully. These two lords do not represent a significant threat. If they should have the urge to start a rebellion, we would be perfectly capable of dealing with it.'' He looked at Cersei. ''I think it is wise to leave these two strongholds in the hands of their ancestral families, the lords of the Riverlands and the Vale will be more likely to recognize their authority, and ours, given that we agree to make this concession. But the decision is yours, Your Grace.

Sansa looked at Cersei.

These two kingdoms belonged to close members of her family. If Cersei agreed to let them have their lands and lordships, it would mean that she had a modicum of trust in them, and therefore, in her.

Cersei nodded:

''Good. Let us leave the Vale to the Arryns, and the Riverlands to the Tullys. As for Sunspear, it is in our best interest to leave it to the Dornians to decide who their new prince will be. Given their relationship with the Crown, and our family's relationship with the Martells, this is the best way to ensure that we don't end up with a revolt on our hands. In the case of Highgarden, I promised it to Ser Bronn of Blackwater in exchange for his trip North. He hasn't returned yet, but Jaime told me that, as far as he knows, he's alive, which means the Reach and the titles that go with it are his. Winterfell and the North are no longer a problem either...'' Sansa held her breath. ''Since they are no longer part of the Seven Kingdoms, which means it becomes the realm of the Six Kingdoms, I will leave it to their ruler, Sansa Stark, to announce this decision to the Northerners.''

She punctuated her sentence with a small smile at Sansa.

She could not believe it. She had succeeded in officially obtaining the independence of the North, which the Targaryens had taken from them, when the King of the North, Torrhen Stark, had bent the knee to Aegon the Conqueror.

She held back from howling with joy.

Cersei continued:

''Good. That settles it, then.''

Tyrion was about to point out that there was still Casterly Rock and the Westerlands, but he didn't have time to do so before she spoke again, addressing him directly:

''Which reminds me, I have a request for you, Tyrion...''

She grabbed a small wooden box from among the paperwork, and slid it across the table, right in front of him.

Before opening it, he joked:

''Don't you think it's a little early to be proposing to me? After all, you are hardly a widow...''

She raised her eyes to the sky, feigning annoyance:

''You're insufferable. Won't you just open it, and ask your questions afterwards?''

He smiled, and complied.

But astonishment took over when he lifted the lid of the box, and saw a shiny golden hand-shaped pin, similar to the one Qyburn wore.

He had no words to describe what he felt. He never thought that Cersei would one day offer to be his Hand, he never dared to dream of it, it was too beautiful, much too beautiful for him to imagine.

He looked at his sister:

''Do you think people will accept for Hand of the Queen a traitor who helped Daenerys Targaryen to come to Westeros?''

Cersei replied:

''Father used to say that the lion doesn't concern himself with the opinion of the sheep. I think he was right about that. Maybe people won't accept the traitor who helped Daenerys Targaryen come to Westeros to be my Hand. They will, however, accept the Lord of Casterly Rock, and Governor of the West.''

It took Tyrion a few seconds to understand what she was implying:

''What do you mean, they...''

She cut him off:

''I cannot tolerate that, while there are still Lannisters from the main branch, members of the younger branches get the reins of the Rock.''

Tyrion nodded, not really realizing what had just happened.

Cersei had just made him Lord of Casterly Rock and the Westerlands, Governor of the West, and her Hand.

''But what about Qyburn?''

He turned his head towards the latter:

''After a long discussion with Her Grace, we agreed that with the rebuilding of King's Landing and the future heir to the crown coming, there would be plenty of work for two.''

Tyrion smiled, almost blissfully.

Cersei stood up, not without difficulty:

''Good. Let's get to work, then.''

oOo

As soon as the small council meeting was over, Jaime pulled Cersei aside:

''Would you like to come into the gardens with me?''

Cersei frowned.

They had gotten into the habit of taking a stroll through what was left of the Red Keep gardens every day, but they had been forced to stop, temporarily at least, because of Cersei's pregnancy, which made it more and more difficult for her to walk.

Nevertheless, she nodded, and found herself clinging to Jaime's arm as he led her out of the castle, their dæmons on their heels.

The sun was shining softly in the sky, winter was well and truly over, but spring was not quite here yet.

Cersei felt like she was going to regret agreeing to this walk, when after only a few steps between the shrubs whose buds were just beginning to bloom and the flower beds, Jaime stopped.

Having no idea what he was about to do, Cersei frowned again, incomprehension rising on her face, as he turned to face her, and, before she had time to ask anything, he declared:

''I must confess that I never thought I would have the opportunity to do what I am about to do, but... Here we are. The war is over, everything is going as well as can be expected... We are going to have a baby soon... So, I think it's time...''

It was when he got down on one knee that Cersei understood what he was doing.

An intense wave of happiness spread through her.

''I should have done this a long time ago... You are the woman of my life, Cersei. You always have been, since the beginning, and you always will be...''

He pulled a small box out of his pocket, and, with some difficulty because of his golden hand, opened it to reveal a splendid gold ring, set with an emerald in the middle, and diamonds all around, a true Lannister ring.

''Will you marry me, Cersei?''

The lips he felt pressed against his and the arms that came to wrap around his neck were the only answer he needed.

Without hesitation, he returned her kiss, taking care of their little cub between them.

Barely pulling away, resting her forehead against Jaime's, Cersei whispered:

''Yes... Yes, of course I will...''

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