(King's Landing: 10/3/298 AC) Cersei V
"It's getting late sweet sister," her beloved stated. The setting sun reflected off of his radiantly white armor, making him appear ever more beautiful. "He may not show."
"He would be a fool to disregard a royal summon," she stated simply. "Besides, there is still an hour or so before the sun fully sets. If he keeps me waiting until nightfall, however, I don't care whose son he is, or what father thinks of him."
"With the way you had dismissed him, I am quite surprised that he yet remains within city walls," Jaime added.
"I am not. Even Loras would think twice of returning to father with news of failure. No matter how many times I dismiss him."
"Father's loyal dog," Jaime stated in a whimsical tone, reaching for a leaf within a nearby tree.
"Yes, but the situation has changed, my love. Now my dear husband has seen fit to negotiate giving Tommen, Tommen," she emphasized, "to his humorless brute of a brother and that favored whore of his that he takes for a wife!"
"A ward of Dragonstone?" he asked, oblivious to what outcome entailed.
"Ha! Not while I still draw breath!" The venom from her voice, flowed freely, it potency threatening to poison a kingdom.
Her lover gave her a look of utter confusion, the leaf he had been meddling with quickly forgotten. "What? It was a jest, when did this exchange transpire?"
She felt the hate creep into her eyes as she looked at him. It was not directed towards him, no, but it served to highlight her annoyance at his question. "During the feast, celebrating Stannis' brat!" she spat. "That drunken sow thought he could decide the fate of my children behind my back?! He will regret it!" In the midst of her anger, the thought of 'thanking' her spy, within the bitch's household, for this information remained unclouded. 'She proved far more useful than expected. I will squeeze more information out of her when time allows.'
"Calm, sweet sister, calm," Jaime raised his hands towards her in a placating manner. The usual smile on his face giving way to one of concern.
"Don't you dare, Jaime Lannister! Don't you dare tell me to remain calm when the futures of my children are being decided by others! No one, especially not Robert, nor Stannis, or that smirking whore from Dragonstone, will take that away from me! I am their mother! I bore them, I love them, and they are mine! I, and I alone, will decide what is best for them!"
The outburst made Jaime unsure, so he remained rooted to his spot, standing awkwardly. The leaves continued with their quiet rustling, disrupting the uneasy silence between them. She moved towards a stone bench, nestled near a copse of trees, crossed her arms, and sat on the cold, flat, seat. A brief shiver overcame her, causing Jaime to start forward. She waved him off, not wanting him near at the moment. He seemed ready to reply to the dismissal, but she glared at him, and he held his tongue. Without warning, he reached for his sword, staring down the path they had come.
"Reveal yourself!" Jaime ordered hand at the ready, his blade peeking out from underneath its sheath. "It is unwise to skulk in the shadows before the Queen."
"Calm, Ser Jaime, calm," a familiar voice uttered smoothly, mimicking her lover's earlier placating words. "I am here, by royal summon."
A form came up the path, the sunlight that managed to penetrate the trees revealed a man armored in polished red and black steel. The chest plate held a golden lion clenching a jeweled flower in between its jaws, and she knew immediately who it was, without ever seeing his face. "Loras," she whispered, as he emerged from beneath the spotty shadows of the trees.
"Ser Loras!" Jaime shouted, a handsome grin lining his face. "About time, the Queen and I were getting worried you lost your way!"
"Apologies for the delay, your grace, Ser Jaime," the young, Tyrell, knight bowed, before nodding his head for her brother. His words sounded like silk, while his dull golden eyes peered into her soul, attempting to peel away at her. A tight smile formed on her face, blazing emerald eyes countering his golden pools. He relented his assault, and continued to speak, "I was waylaid by Ser Steffon and his Greyjoy compatriot. They spoke of my sister."
"Oh?" Jaime perked up at that, striding up to Ser Loras, his hand resting upon his sword hilt. "And how is the Lady Margaery?" Any news from Dragonstone interested him, and she did not understand why. This time, however, was not the time for indulging curiosities.
"Your sister does not concern me, Blood Rose," she spoke before Ser Loras had even had the time to formulate a response. "All that matters is the fate of my children."
"Of course, your grace, as I'm sure such a matter is also of import to the rest of the seven kingdoms," he replied, seemingly bereft of any interest in the conversation at hand, but she knew him better than that.
"Did I give you permission to speak, ser?" She took his silence as an acknowledgment, for she had neither the time nor the patience to draw this conversation out any longer than was necessary. 'Especially with him,' she thought. "Word has reached me of a plot by Robert, and his stubborn mule of a brother, to send Tommen to Dragonstone," she saw him twitch his eyebrow upward in seeming confusion. "Find something interesting, ser?"
"No, your grace," his normally stoic face looked somewhat stunned. "I would have thought that outcome to have been obvious, and inevitable, given Ser Steffon's exploits on the Stepstones."
"Of course it was," she replied, feeling foolish for having never seen it. 'Robert's eyes always lit up when Steffon's name was uttered. Doubly so after the Stepstones,' her memories flashed. 'It was obvious,' she cursed to herself. 'Of course, he would wish the same for my sons. With Joffrey unable to, due to his position as crown prince, Robert's eye would eventually shift towards Tommen. I should have seen it.'
"It was news to me," Jaime quipped.
"All that time," she rose from her bench and began to pace, bringing her hand up to her mouth, gnawing at her thumb. "All that misery I've suffered living with him. His whoring and drinking. The embarrassment," she looked up towards Ser Loras, who remained still, passive and uncaring. His attention seemed drawn to a small rosebush. 'How quaint.'
"Am I boring you, Ser Loras?" she questioned, her irritation growing at his nonchalant attitude. "You will show me the proper respect, Tyrell. My father cannot protect while you are in King's Landing."
"Apologies, your grace," he bowed again, this time it seemed genuine.
'Father cannot protect you in King's Landing,' the thought crept into her mind, as she glared at the Tyrell boy. 'But it would take a rather large amount of armed men to dispatch you,' she knew how dangerous her father's Tyrell ward was, even if she would never openly admit it. The wind wafted through the trees, carrying the empty scent of her father's ward. 'Even the smell of this shit infested city seemed to be afraid of marring his fair presence.'
His head snapped back towards her, with a smile, and she hesitated briefly. 'A lioness does not fear the rose, no matter how bloody its thorns,' she reassured herself.
"Just admiring the roses," the young knight stated.
"If I could spare your attention, for the moment?" He nodded slightly in response.
"Good. I understand you have my father's ear? Unless, of course, your constant eloquently worded reminders, left me with the wrong impression?"
She saw him smirk at that, "No, you have the right of it, your grace."
'There is was again.'
"At every utterance of 'your grace,' you seem to find humor in it. Why is that?" she questioned innocently, smiling as she did so. 'This upstart needs a reminder in who rules.'
"You mistake my joyous tone for one of mockery, which I assure it is not. I am merely in awe at the titles and heights that your grace and the rest of my esteemed foster family, your family, has risen. It brings no small amount of joy to see you and yours prosper." His reply was smooth and sure and had she been anyone but Cersei Lannister, she might have fallen for it.
"My, you have quite the way with words, Ser Loras. However, I should warn you to curb your amusement at my expense, Tyrell," she chastised. "Lest you suffer the same fate as another amusing boy. The one who was found wandering into my family's vaults?" Her smile rose as his fell into a deep frown. The rustling of the leaves cascaded over them, throughout the canopy of the godswood within the Red Keep. "Terrible what father did to him," she grinned at the insolent knight, daring him to do something.
Jaime had come up behind her and whispered in her ear. "This is unwise."
Ignoring his warning, she continued, twisting the dagger deeper into Ser Loras' chest. 'You do not mock me, boy.' "Oh! Apologies, ser, I had forgotten how close you two had been. You and he spent much time together, yes?"
Ser Loras remained deathly still, face flat, and emotionless.
"Yes, I believe you did. 'The ward and the thief,'" she stated wistfully. "Who would have thought he was merely using you to get into the Rock and its magnificent vaults? I feel as if it should be made into a song. What say you, good ser? I could pay a bard to…"
"No," he stated in a voice barely above a whisper.
"'No,' what?" She relished watching his, admittedly handsome, form hesitate.
"No," he lingered slightly, before uttering the last, "your grace."
"Good, you see? Was that so hard?" 'You are the comrade of my brothers. With them, you can jest. You cannot with me.'
He shook his head. The joy had left him.
"Now, back to our previous discussion. When you return to the Rock, with Myrcella, tell my father I did this out of spite to Robert. Not because he made me, or forced my hand. Tell him, I will not allow Robert to have even a small ounce of happiness or contentment. Also, since my brother had vouched for you, I would appreciate if you emphasize, to my father, my need for more Lannister household guards. Do you understand, ser?"
He nodded, crossing his arms. "How will you deal with the King's plan to have Tommen fostered on Dragonstone?"
"None of your concern, Blood Rose," she replied, returning to her stone seat. "I will set things in motion with the King," she had ideas, but none she would share aloud with an outsider. "In the meantime, you will serve as a member of my personal guard." With the rise of Stormlander and Dragonstone numbers within the ranks of the city watch, she needed every available sword. No matter how much she disliked him, and he, no doubt, disliked her, he would still prove useful, just in case.
"It would be my honor, your grace," he bowed once more, all mirth having dissipated from his voice. "When should I make preparations for departure?"
"You will know when," she stated. "Ser Loras? Would you kindly, wait by the entrance of the godswood, while my brother and I talk?" He seemed surprised. "What? Did you think I meant you would be part of my household guard tomorrow? Go."
"As you command, your grace," he pounded his fist against his chest, bowing his head in supplication, before marching off to the entrance of the godswood.
"You gave up Myrcella, rather easily sister," Jaime spoke in a cautious tone.
"Hmph," her eyes began to water. "Even just the thought of giving up Myrcella, the way I had been given away to Robert, sickened me. Speaking the words felt like I was tearing out my own heart!"
"Then why?" He moved closer to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
She could not help from reaching for it with her own hand. "With father, I at least know Myrcella is relatively safe. With the bitch and Stannis, I cannot guarantee the same for Tommen. Especially if…" she trailed off, mind flooded with thoughts of the unthinkable.
"No," he reassured her, "it won't come to that. Not with that fool Stark bumbling aimlessly around in his investigations."
"I know," she nearly screamed. "What worries me is what that woman has planned for the two bastards she has on Dragonstone," for the first time her voice shook.
"I've dealt with all of them. All the ones in King's Landing, at least," she stated, knowing Jaime had his own reservations on those actions, but he knew it had been necessary. "Save for those two."
"The smith and the whore's daughter?"
The silence stretched for what seemed like an eternity. "I waited too long, Jaime. I should have struck before Jon Arryn had begun his ill-fated investigation, then we could have been spared this."
"What can she do with two bastards, sister? That isn't proof enough. Only a fool would think otherwise," Jaime stated. "Besides, if she wanted to use them as proof to tell Robert, she would have done so already, and in all likelihood, our heads would have long ago been rotting on spikes."
'He's right, she has had ample opportunity,' She kissed his hand, rising from her seat. "Let's go, my love, before our absence is noted and tongues begin to wag," together they set out in the sunset, towards the entrance of the godswood.
