The victory over the Baratheon fleet was but one battle of many to come. Stannis would not easily accept his defeat and the proud Northern King continued to ride South on the back of his direwolf - or at least those were the fables whispered among the handmaidens. Some babbled of his looks, while others were frightened by the accounts that described him as a man who could transform into a majestic wolf and rip into men on the battlefield. Julianna didn't know what to believe, but what she did know what that the young wolf had successfully captured her Kingslayer. As he traveled further South hope consumed her, the prospect of the King of the North dragging Jaime into the thrown room as part of his negotiations with King Joffery making her heart race. A day would come where the Kingslayer would grace King's Landing once more, but a new threat was taking the secret whore.
It wasn't Cersei, though her eyes prayed on her handmaiden with each night. With each glass of wine, the queen reagent would grow bolder. Her nights with Lancel were abandoned for a chance to entice the girl into her bed, but tonight Julianna did not linger to snuff the queen's candles. Instead, the threat of being forced from King's Landing hung heavy over her. With the allegiances drawn between the Tyrell and Lannister families, Cersei had found herself betrothed to Loras Tyrell. It was only a matter of time before she and her handmaidens were whisked away to Highgarden.
Julianna concealed herself in the shadows, the heavy hood of her burgundy cloak hiding the remainder of her identity from those she passed in the night. If she was spotted, it would beg too many questions. Why was Cersei's handmaiden sneaking off to meet with the Imp?
These days, Tyrion found himself collecting secrets. First, he had snuck his lover, Shae, into King's Landing. The exotic beauty with her glowing skin, dark curly locks, and thick accent had adapted will to the stink of shit and overpopulation of the capital. Though, he was sure that having her assigned to Sansa as her handmaiden had made the acclimation much more bearable. Every moment he could sneak away and relish in the pleasure of both her company and her mouth was treasured. That was until he had been forced to marry the Stark girl. His wedding wasn't the only one bringing forth complications. With time he would find a way to part with Shae and love the Tully-haired Stark girl but there was one promise he was struggling to keep: his second secret within castle walls, his brother's whore.
He had intended to put her in the kitchen, but Cersei's preying eyes couldn't ignore such beauty. It was almost laughable, the admiration the Queen held for the secret lady of pleasure. Her concern and embrace of the girl had been almost motherly, it often left Tyrion laughing to himself. Such a cruel joke it was, having the young woman who fucked her twin brother hiding right under her nose. The pleasure he would get from telling her the dirty secrets he knew all too well about - he was the one who gifted this all to life after all. A threat quickly had encroached on his impending happiness. Cersei was to be wed, whisked off to Highgarden and her handmaidens with her. There would be no punchline to the joke, no reuniting the young maiden with his brother.
He waited in the gardens that surrounded the Red Keep, the Imp almost lost among the foliage and the shadows cast as the moonlight hit the trees. The outcast-ed Lannister could only be spotted in the moonbeams by those who were looking for the glistening of Lannister gold. The cloaked figure crouched down into the shadows alongside the Imp, biting down on her lip to keep quiet as Lannister guards patrolled the other side of the garden. It would only take a few more strides before they would move on to the corridors, leaving the unlikely pair alone. If they were spotted an excuse could be made, Tyrion was one who fancied beautiful women after all, and the right guard could be bought off to the right combination of coins. Some, however, feared his sister more than they could value coin, those were the guards they hoped to avoid in the darkness.
When the air was free from clamoring armor, the blondes peeled back the hood of her robe sending a cascade of curls down her back. She refused to tie her hair up in knots, but she dawned the some of the finest silks the city could offer her. Each time Tyrion saw her, she looked more like a Princess than a handmaiden and he couldn't help but worry that Cersei had plans for her. Tyrion parted his lips to speak but was quickly distracted by the pout on the young woman's lips and the tears that threatened to drip from the lashes of her eyes. When they had arranged to meet in the gardens he had anticipated that something was wrong, he couldn't help but worry that his life was about to get a little more complicated.
"Has there been news of your brother?" Her words were weak, cracking at the mention of Jaime. Each day she hoped to hear great news, but her hope was beginning to fade. Seeing her brave knight once more was becoming less of a reality, especially now as the keep was feeling more like a prison than a castle. The solemn shake of the Imps head left her heart aching. Hands trembled at her sides, her head leaning back to look up at that stars as she silently asked the Old Gods and the New: why?
Tyrion looked over the young handmaiden with great sympathy. He had not seen anyone with such devotion in a great time. Not the King, not his sister. Maybe Eddard Stark, but that same loyalty had gotten him killed. A part of Tyrion wanted to break to the girl that his brother, Jaime, wasn't worth the heartache. He had taken his vow to the Kingsgaurd, though Tyrion had known since he was a child that the bond his siblings shared went beyond brother and sister. Yet, Tyrion couldn't ignore that his brother had not only used the girl's services on the night of his name-day but continued to seek her services afterward. There was something about this girl that Tyrion had simply overlooked, and that his brother had fancied enough to dishonor his commitment to his Queen. Hands too large for his short stature reached out, taking both of hers in his own. A thumb stroked her smooth flesh carefully, a desperate attempt to bring her a semblance of comfort.
"My sister, she will take great care of you," Tyrion assured, but that was exactly what the young maiden was afraid of.
She recoiled from his touch, her hands coming up to hide the discomfort on her face. "No," she protested desperately, "I can't, not Cersei," she begged him even though she knew it would change nothing. Tyrion had taken many risks to find placement for her in their household, and she couldn't be more grateful, but the things she had been forced through were driving her to the edge.
"No?" Tyrion asked of her, his words heavy with confusion, "does she mistreat you?"
The blond sent her curls tumbling down her back with the shake of her head, her cheeks growing red with embarrassment. How was she to tell him that his sister was a greater whore than any she had met while in service to Littlefinger? "No, no," she sighed out, "she treats me with great kindness." That alone was enough to paint shock over the imp's features. Cersei was kind to no one. "I tidy her chambers, draw her bath, brush her hair," everything a handmaiden was expected of, "and when the moon is high over the keep and everyone is tucked away in their chambers, Cersei will sit me up on her pedestal and she will touch herself like a painted whore."
Tyrion's face went blank, his heavy brows coming together at their center. Cersei fucking Jaime had been a concerning discovery years ago. Cersei bedding Lancel Lannister had quickly become great material for blackmail, but his sister's sudden attraction to the young woman left a bad taste in his mouth. He was silent for a long time, his lips parting to speak but nothing would roll off his tongue. It wasn't often that the imp had found himself speechless. A hand raised to his collar, pulling the fine fabric away as he cleared his throat. Now, more than ever, he desperately needed a drink. "My sister, has she forced herself on you?" The girl shook her head. "And the arrangement you had with my brother, it forbids you from enjoying her company."
"Technically no," Jules sighed out, "but I don't want to pleasure the Queen."
"And you wanted to be a whore?" He didn't mean to challenge her so strongly, but it was a point that needed to be made. There was no pulling her from Cersei's clutches now, not until Jaime returned if he returned. Tyrion watched as a tear streamed down the girl's cheek. For many moons now, her life as a whore had almost been forgotten and now it was expected of her once more. It was much to ask of her, but it would further guarantee her safety. "My sister, it is best to be on her good side," Tyrion cautioned, "for whatever reason, it may be, she fancies you. Play into her hand, and you can have the assurance that you will be here when Jaime gets back-"
"If I please Cersei, I'll be swept off to Highgarden," she reminded with a subtle whine. It wouldn't be long before the King had married Margery Tyrell, Cersei would be expected to wed and leave for the rose gardens soon after. Growing up on the coast of Casterly Rock it had once been a dream to see the beauty of Highgarden, now it was a nightmare. As if a war wasn't a great enough division, she would be further from the keep, and further from Jaime if he was to ever return. The weight of the lies was almost too much for her as she lived among the royalty of Westeros, but she had the support of Tyrion here. In Highgarden, Jules would be forced to uphold the charade alone.
Tyrion's hands reached up, cupping Julianna's features between stubby digits. The fears of the unknown haunted them all, but her hysterics over the matter caused his nose to wrinkle in annoyance. If Jaime had any semblance of feeling for the girl, he wouldn't let the hills of Highgarden divide them - and if his feelings had faded, she would have the opportunity to start a new life, one where her work in the whorehouse could be long forgotten. The opportunities his kindness brought to the girl were almost unjust. If she had been anyone but his brother's whore, he would have left her to be fucked by every man in the city, but Jaime had always been one to offer the imp a level of compassion that no other had ever given him. Jaime had been the only one to see him for more than being a dwarf. For that, Tyrion felt obligated to do his brother such a favor to protect the one person who could quite possibly bring him happiness outside the hostility of their own family.
"Then, you will go to Highgarden," Tyrion told her, his soft gaze meeting hers. He watched as her eyes went wide and her pout fell loose with dismay. "It will be the safest place for you there. Robb Stark continues to ride South with his men, it will only be a matter of time before another battle is at our gates." He should have held greater faith in his father, but the Stark boy was proven to be an outstanding warrior on the battlefield. If it wasn't for the Lannister alliance with the Tyrell, the war would have been lost many moons ago. "When Jaime returns, I will inform him of the measures that needed to be taken in order to keep you safe-
The clamor of armor rattles through the night, the Lannister Guard taking to their routine patrol and bringing silence to the co-conspirators in the garden. The silver moon peeked from behind parting clouds that hung low in the sky, its beam sending the tears on the young handmaidens' face aglitter. Thick fingers reached out, stroking them from her face; "Now go, rest. It won't be long after dawn that my sister calls for you."
Just as quickly as her eyes could shut, they were forced to open. The sweltering city heat sent sweat over the swells of her breast as she abandoned her poorly made bed for the corridors of the Red Keep. The air was thick, making it almost hard to breathe as she shimmied past guards and others who rushed to attend to their morning duties. A lump formed in Julianna's throat as she grew closer to her Queen's chamber door. If she was awake, she risked having to face a foul mood - one that only wine could fix. The white-caped knights pushed open the heavy wooden door with ease, granting her access inside, and did not dare follow. Blue eyes went wide at the sight before her: her slender queen was sprawled out over the stiff surface of her bed. Silken sheets were draped and tangled over her naked body. Had she had a lover abandon her in the night?
Her body began to stir - no, she had been awake for some time now, Cersei was stroking herself and it had only now become clear to the young woman's eyes. "Shall I leave you m'queen, or shall I draw your bath?" Jules' eyes dropped to the floor, heat beginning to rise in her cheeks as she remembered the words Tyrion had spoken to her mere house ago: play into her hand. Slowly, her gaze found her queen once more, her hands coming to fidget in front of her hips. She had only been this nervous once before: the night she had first met Jaime Lannister, and his sister was much more intimidating.
Pushing up from her bed, long legs carried Cersei to the girl. For too long she yearned after her handmaiden, it was a thirst she would finally quench - who was the girl to deny her? No one could refuse the queen. "Such a modest girl-"
Julianna held back a laugh at her queen's words if only she knew the truth.
"Have you never seen another woman before?" Cersei probed, a delicate hand reaching out to toy with the girl's gown. Sure, Julianna had caught glimpses of Cersei as she was changed from one gown to the next, but never to such a degree as now. A smile splayed over the queen's lips, she felt powerful.
Swallowing hard, all Julianna could bring herself to do was quickly look to the ground and shake her head solemnly. There could be no indication that she was lying, it would put her placement as her handmaiden at risk.
"Such an innocent little flower," Cersei hummed, tugging the light fabric from the girl's shoulders, bearing her protruding collarbone and ample breast. The gods had been generous in giving the girl such beauty, it was too much for any man to appreciate, Cersei was going to keep her all to herself. Any Lord that asked for her hand would be quickly denied, the young woman would be the only thing to make her future travels to Highgarden tolerable. "There is so much I can teach you…" the queen let out in a breathy voice. Green eyes flickered upwards to meet those of the innocent woman she desperately wanted to corrupt. There was a certain light in her eyes, a distant fire, one that told Cersei there was much more to the girl than she knew. This excited the queen, her hands forcing the girl back over her chaise carefully.
Jules groaned as her back hit the firm surface, her eyes growing wide as her naked queen stood proudly over her. Her long golden hair, which was usually tied up in elaborate twists and knots, hung loosely and danced against her back with each subtle moment. Jules felt her touch around her ankles first, gathering the hems of her gown and carefully pushing it up her long legs until all the fabric had gathered her middle. She took a heavy breath to keep her body from trembling, the queen's hot breath now encroaching on her inner thigh. "M'Queen," she protested, but the lion continued to toy with her prey - after all, she should have been born a man.
The pulse in her ears was pounding so loud, Julianna almost did not hear the creak of the door as it began to open. Someone was entering, and she was sure the Queen wouldn't want them to be caught in such a compromising position - especially since she was already under scrutiny for her alleged relations with her twin brother. "Cersei!" It was the first time she had ever spoken her name to the lioness directly, the fear of the situation consuming her. Sprawling onto her side, Jules reached for the queen's robe, draping it over her naked form quickly before doing her best to cover her own frame. They both look disheveled at best, lumped on the floor with their legs intertwined. Anyone who entered would question their antics, but now it would be easier to excuse. Hands quivered as they clutched her now secured the fabric to her chest, the nerves of the situation slowly beginning to calm - thank the old gods and the new for their unexpected guest.
"Cersei-"
The voice was all too familiar, but when Jules looked towards the door she almost could not recognize the dirty man with matted hair that lay lifelessly against his cheeks. Why hadn't the guards detained the villager at the gates? Looking past the stench and grime, she sought out eyes where the light had faded and the smile that used to make her knees weak was destroyed by months of captivity and hardships. The man was not a villager, but her lost knight Jaime Lannister.
