Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun.
Book 2
Chapter One-Hundred and Twenty-Seven
For the first time in far too long a time, Cersei felt like smiling.
She had been a prisoner for the past twenty or so years, now she was free and given at least part of the respect that she deserved. She was given a place of high honour within the throne room of the massive pyramid that dominated the skyline of Meereen, after all, she was the mother of the groom and so she was sat at his left as he sat next to his new bride.
Cersei did not know what she had been expecting when she laid eyes on Daenerys Targaryen, she had known both her father and her mother and both of her brothers and yet the girl who called herself a queen did not truly look like any of them, she had the silver hair and violet eyes of her mother but her face seemed to be all her own, though the beauty of Valyria was plain to see on her features.
The lack of an arm was unfortunate, her son deserved a perfect bride for his queen but alas they needed her, she was the one with dragons and armies and thus this was the way it had to be. Aemon played the gallant well enough tonight, dressed in a fine silk tunic and sandsilk trousers, his own purple eyes shining in the light of the flames that danced in their iron pits.
It had been a hard journey to get here, she had hoped that the voyage across the narrow sea would be the hardest part of it, and it had not been easy to be sure as their voyage had been troubled with rough seas and harsh winds but the captain of their ship had assured them that he had sailed through worse than what they had gone through and they wise to sail before the autumn had truly come.
And the trek over land had not been any easier, Loras Tyrell had been the one to suggest that they shave their heads to better hide their identities. Cersei had not seen the point of it in truth, Aemon was the only one who would benefit from it and there were plenty of silver haired people from Lys and he could just pretend to be from that city.
Ser Meryn barely had any hair, and while Loras Tyrell might take pride in his curls they were still just brown, hardly unlikely to give them away. But it seemed that the knight of flowers had gotten his claws already deep into her son as he had agreed with his lover and so all of their heads had been shaven, Cersei had frowned all the way through it as the knife of the Tyrell boy had cut through her curls.
But it was hardly the first indignity that she had suffered and so she had bit her tongue and told herself that it would all be worth it in the end.
But that had only been the start of her hardships, Essos was a larger land than Westeros and it was far more divided, and it was a long trek from Pentos to Slaver's Bay and their plan had been to make for Volantis and take ship from there to reach Meereen.
It had not been a short journey, from Pentos they had needed to go south to Myr and then south-east to reach the oldest of the free cities, the days had blended into one another after a while and the only way Cersei had been able to measure the time was that all their hair had needed to be shaven twice more before they had finally reached Volantis.
Finding a ship that had been willing to take them to Meereen had been a trial as well, it seemed that those that had the rule in Volantis had not been pleased with the disruption to the slave trade that had been caused when the breaker of chains had freed all the slaves and put Astapor and Yunkai to the torch with her dragons and the captains who made port in Volantis did not wish to anger the triarchs and so almost all had refused to take them.
But eventually they had found one captain with a spine who was willing to make the voyage, he was a Lyseni with a thick accent and an outrageous manor that was surpassed by his manner of dress and the man kept staring at her breasts, Cersei would have slapped him if they had any other option to take them to the dragon queen and so she smiled sweetly and pretended that she enjoyed the affections of this Salladhor Saan and laughed away all his many offers to marry her.
It had been a long voyage, and she had often found herself praying for a storm to hit them so that their captain would be swept into the sea but it seemed that the gods always enjoyed making her the subject of their jests as they had sent a storm but it had not been Salladhor Saan who had been swept off to a watery grave but instead Ser Meryn, and that denied her a blade that had been sworn to her and she felt the lose keenly.
They had come ashore at a small harbour town between Yunkai and Meereen as Meereen had apparently closed its harbour, it was mostly abandoned and those that remained stared at them from far with dark eyes which reminded Cersei far too much of the words of Maggy the Frog from all those years ago, that it would be dark eyes that would bring her end, but she was a lioness and would not shrink away from any gaze.
The march down to Meereen had been the hardest part of the journey, the sun had glared down at them with all the fury of a god, and they had soon been swallowed up by a vast horde of people that were also making their way to the city that the Mother of Dragons had made her own. Her son spoke to many of them, but Cersei had tried to dissuade him from it, she did not trust them.
Blisters had formed and burst and turned the skin on the bottom of her feet to leather by the time they had finally reached the walls of Meereen but the gates were closed to all and there were so many people camped outside of the walls that it seemed like the city was under siege from an invading army that had not bothered to bring any ladders or siege towers.
The only way into the city then was by speaking to one of the Queen's men who waited outside the gates in a small silk tent, where petitioners could ask for an audience with the Queen of Meereen but the lines were long and there was no guarantee that an audience would be granted but they had no other way to reach her and so they stood in line and waited.
The skies had darkened, and they were the last to be seen before the men inside would return within the city's walls for the night and Cersei took that as a good omen, the three men inside were composed a freed slave of Meereen, a Dothraki brute and a member of the Unsullied and their faces were masks of stone when they walked into the tent. "Who would come before the Khalessi?" The Dothraki had said.
Cersei had opened her mouth, but it was her son who spoke first, "Her blood kin, I am Aemon Targaryen, her nephew and I have travelled half the world to see my aunt and bring her home, I must see her at once."
That had broken through the masks, there had been shock and suspicion on their faces in equal measure and they were made to wait outside while they decided among themselves. "My prince," Loras Tyrell began, glancing around as if he was looking for a threat. "That may not have been the wisest course, Daenerys Targaryen may be your aunt, but she is also a rival claimant to the Iron Throne and your claim is stronger than hers, if she sees you as a threat then it would serve her better to have your head on a pike."
"My good ser what would you have had me done instead?" Aemon had asked with a frown as he waved his hand around at the teeming masses of people all around the city, there had to be thousands of them. "Look at all these people who had come all this way, should I have said that I have no real reason to come and see but I should be allowed to see her anyway? I had to say something, and the truth might be the best choice here."
And it had been as when they were called back into the tent, it was the Unsullied who spoke to them then. "You will be allowed to attend the audience on the morrow, if you are found to be false then may whatever god you hold sacred save you from the Queen's wrath, be certain that no one else will."
It was hard to try and sleep that night but when the morning came and they were the first to see Daenerys Targaryen it had all been worth it in the end, the Queen had questioned them of course but Cersei alone had enough knowledge to prove that they were who they said they were and Loras Tyrell's presence was helpful, his father had stayed loyal to the Mad King till the end after all.
And when all was said and done Daenerys had embraced Aemon with her only arm as if she had known him her entire life and bid them all welcome to Meereen, she had pressed a kiss to Cersei's cheek afterwards and thanked her warmly and promised her that her loyalty and dedication would be well-rewarded.
And thus, here they were now, it had only taken a few weeks for her son to charm the woman and now he sat at her side, a simple silver circlet with a single amethyst set in it around his brow to proclaim him as her king consort. They did make a handsome couple, she supposed, and Cersei could not help but smile as her son whispered something into Daenerys's ear that made her laugh.
Cersei's gaze left them for a moment and reached for her wine cup, in truth the food was not the choicest that she could hope for. The wine was yellow, thin and sour and most of the food was in the style of the Meereenese, there were some meals that looked choice enough, but the sight of roasted dog had sent her appetite away from her and so she had simply kept to the wine, vile as it was.
Daenerys rose to her feet and lifted her own goblet. "Ser Loras Tyrell!" At the call the knight rose from his seat further down the dais. "Come and kneel before me."
Ser Loras did as he was bid, falling to his knees before the King and his wife. "You brought me my husband and my goodmother and saw them safe to my side, I owe you a debt that I can never truly repay you. But I do mean to make a start, you are a knight of the seven kingdoms, anointed in the light of the seven and I know your house to be loyal to mine own."
"This is simply the first way that loyalty will be repaid, Ser Loras Tyrell, I would name you as Lord Commander of my Queensguard, do you accept?"
"Your Grace, I accept with all humility this great honour that you have laid upon my shoulders," The Tyrell boy spoke the words and his eyes never strayed from Daenerys Targaeryn's face, but Cersei knew that it was to her son that the vow was meant, no doubt the vows of never having a wife or children would trouble Ser Loras little, if at all.
"Then rise Ser," Loras did, and no-one cheered louder than Aemon, the feast continued on then but after a while Cersei found that she had grown tired, and the wine was not worth staying and so after saying goodnight to her son and his wife she left the throne room and made her way to the chambers that had been given to her.
The rooms were comfortable and spacious, and certainly far more to her taste than those dismal little rooms above the kitchens in the Red Keep, it was not at the very height of the pyramid, but it was high enough to give her a decent view of the city and she could hear the song of dragons through the night, Cersei had found herself listening to that song until she fell asleep more than once and it gave her the sweetest of dreams.
Cersei lit a slender lavender candle and placed it on the small table next to her bed and was about to strip out of her clothes when she caught movement in the corner of her eye, a flash of white and a glint of steel and a panicked cry burst out of her throat, and she fell backwards to avoid the hand that had reached out of the darkness to grab at her arm.
She was about to scream, there had been no guards on her door but the Unsullied filled the pyramid like bees filled a hive so someone would hear her call, but when the figure stepped into the light of her candle flame for a moment all the fear fled from her, to be replaced by confusion and irritation as she rose to her feet and glared at the shadow. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?"
Jaime looked awful; his skin had fared no better than hers under the assault of the sun and his hair was long and unkempt and perhaps it was just the light of the candle playing tricks with her eyes but for a moment she thought that she saw streaks of grey within his hair, the beard that he had grown in service to that Dornish bitch was wild and wiry, he looked an old man.
There was sorrow in his eyes when he looked at her, he had never looked at her like that before. "Similar to how you did, I took a ship or two and walked a very long way. I was coming here regardless you understand sweet sister, the Queen was certain that you and the boy would come here, though I prayed that you would not be. But I am sworn to obey, and so here I am."
It was then that Cersei saw the knife, plain steel with a wooden hilt wrapped in leather but it seemed to her in that moment that no blade had ever been sharper. Cersei lifted her eyes from the knife to stare into her brother, her twin, her other half's, those had not changed. Still the same colour, beautiful as they always were in her dreams. "Jaime, you can't."
"If Daenerys Targaryen crosses over to Westeros then it will mean fire and blood, how many villages and towns and cities and holdfasts and castles will she burn in order to claim the Iron Throne? How many people will be reduced to ash, how many has she already burned?" Jaime shook his head. "I opened her father's throat when he tried to burn down King's Landing with wildfire, I will not let his daughter live to do worse than he ever did."
"Then why are you here, her chambers are at the top of this pyramid."
"You know why," Jaime said and stepped closer to her, Cersei stepped back with each step he took. "You and Aemon had committed treason, you committed by fleeing here and your son committed it again when he took her for a wife, even if I just made an end to the girl and left Aemon would still be here, he could rally the Dragon queen's forces around him, a quest for vengeance, and war would come to Westeros."
"And even if he couldn't, I know you would never stop. Cersei, I know you." There were tears in her brother's eyes then, and Cersei didn't understand why there were tears in hers as well. "You'd take the boy from here, you would find him another army and you would not stop until he was sitting on the iron throne, and you were at his side, whispering into his ear. I can't let that happen; Elia won't let that happen. So, she sent me."
In that instant all of her sorrow and all of her fear faded away like fog in the early morning light of the sun, Cersei laughed. Jaime looked at her like she was a mad woman. "And why did you think that she did that?" Cersei spat at him, "Oh that spiteful Dornish cunt, this is her way of rubbing salt into the wound, she sent you to kill me so she could show me that you are utterly and completely hers now, when once you were mine."
Jaime frowned, but he had stopped advancing on her. "That is not the reason, I am a knight of her Queensguard and she knew that she could only trust me with this, she isn't like you."
"Oh, she is exactly like me, she's just better at hiding it you blind fool," Cersei shook her head and covered her face with her hands, turning her back on him was probably not the wisest course of action but she found that she could not care less, she could not bare to look at the fool he had become. "Once, I loved you so much that I would have burned the world to the ground, but you abandoned me, did nothing to help me in that prison that I was forced into, you served that Dornish bitch and her northern savage who stole my throne."
"It's not yours, you have no claim to it."
"What claim did they have!? None, but they somehow got in any way!" Cersei roared, spinning to face him. "You should have been at my side; I would have told Aemon to name you as his hand and we could have been together, I have a Targaryen son who would have dared to say anything to him about it when he sat the Iron Throne, how could you pick Elia Martell over me?"
"Because I love her more than you," Seven words, that's all they were and yet they hurt more than anything Cersei had ever felt in her life before, but she was the mother of a king and a princess of the realm, and she would not let Jaime see her weep and she would not let this happen to her, and so she lunged and scooped up her candle and flung it at Jaime's face.
Her betrayer dodged to the side and Cersei bolted for the door, she had not barred it and so she threw herself against the door, falling into the wide passage outside of the room, screaming bloody murder as she struggled to get to her feet.
Cersei had gotten to her feet and was taking her first stumbling steps away from the room when a hand that once she had known so well grabbed her by her curls and pulled her back, the pain was blinding but all her care about that fled in an instant when she felt the cold steel of the knife against her throat, it was pressing against her skin and she already felt something wet trailing down her neck.
"Jaime, please."
In that moment the world seemed still, and she could feel Jaime shuddering against her as held her close. Once to be held so close to him was one of her favourite things in the world, but back then she had never thought that Jaime was capable of hurting her. What a fool she had been, to trust in anyone even the other half of herself.
The world came back to life when a dozen Unsullied came running down the passageway, and it sounded like more were coming from behind them as well. "Uncle Jaime!?" Aemon said, pushing through the lines of unsullied with shock in his eyes which was soon replaced with rage. "Let her go, now!"
Cersei heard Jaime sigh and then the knife was away from her throat and Cersei's knees buckled and she fell to the floor, her entire body shaking. The former slave soldiers surrounded her brother and Aemon rushed over to hug her, normally Cersei would have pushed him away. He was to be a king; he could not be seen to be weak by anyone and nothing caused men to ridicule others more than if they were seen to be too attached to their mother.
But Cersei did not push him away, in that moment she did not have the strength to do it. Her body was still shaking from the fear, and the heartbreak and so she simply let her son hold her, she did not even try to hold back her tears.
"Jaime Lannister," Daenerys Targaryen's voice was so soft that Cersei almost did not hear her, she had stridden past her soldiers as if there was not an ounce of fear in her and she was staring at Cersei's brother like a child with a new toy. "My brother told me about you, you are the man that betrayed our father."
"I am, my lady. And I would do it again with no regrets, he was a monster." Jaime scoffed and for a moment he seemed to her like the glorious young knight he had been, no one able to touch him. "And from what I have seen, he would be most proud of you."
"I will not take judgements of my character from a kingslayer and oathbreaker, a man who snuck into my home life a thief in the night with the intent to murder his own family. You speak to me of being a monster Ser? The body of the guard who was to guard the slave's entrance was found with his throat cut, your handywork no doubt. His name was Jovoik, he was from Norvos as a child and he reclaimed his name and fought for his freedom and you killed him like it was nothing," Daenerys spat. "You have no right to judge me, take him to the dungeons."
At her word it was done, and the passageway was empty aside from Cersei, Aemon, Daenerys, and the dragon queen's Dothraki handmaiden. "Mother, are you all right?" Aemon asked gently, his voice as sweet as a song. "Can you stand?" He asked, helping her to her feet. "We should summon a healer for you, we need to do something about that cut."
Her son helped her back into the chambers and sat her down on the bed and one of the fat eunuch healers of the Dothraki came to tend her, he spread a thick paste on silk bandages and wrapped them tightly around her throat, within moments it felt like some had set fire to her skin and her hands came up to rip the bandages away but with a sharp word the eunuch stopped her, telling her that the fire paste would cleanse her wound and if she took it off then there was ever chance that infection would set into her blood.
Aemon stayed with her for a time, and he had never been more precious to her than in those moments, but he could not stay forever. It was his wedding night after all, he did try and put it off, but Cersei had not let him, she found her words and her bravery and sent him on his way with a smile that she hoped was stronger than it felt on her face.
The night that followed was hellish, her wound's burning not only continued but seemed to deepen as well and she had to claw at her arms in order to stop herself from ripping the bandages away from her neck but that was not all that was keeping her awake. Every time she shut her eyes all she could see was Jaime with the knife in his hand, ready to end her life for Elia Martell's sake.
After a time, she was able to fall asleep, but her dreams offered no peace, Jaime was waiting for her there as well. For a moment Elia Martell was there as well, laughing at her as Jaime carved out her heart, before she changed into Cersei's father who was deaf to her pleas before he turned into Rhaegar, who turned his back on her before he turned into Lady Joanna who stared at her so sadly.
When she woke it was midday and someone was hammering at her door, Cersei's head was aching, and her throat was still burning but in truth she was more than glad for the distraction as she did not want to face her dreams again, perhaps never again.
One of Daenerys's savages who had acted as one of her bodyguards, her bloodriders she called them, was waiting for her on the other side of the door but Cersei did not know his name and the only way for her to distinguish him from the other two bloodriders was by the massive dragonbone bow that he carried. "Woman, the Khalessi wishes you to break you fast with her."
Any other day Cersei would have slapped the savage for speaking to her like that but not today, the rage that had always fuelled her, that had kept her alive and moving forward with the promise that one day vengeance would be hers against all those that had wronged her, was smothered. She wished to sleep but feared to dream and so she nodded and followed the savage to where the Queen of Meereen would be waiting for.
Cersei had felt so utterly at bliss the morning after her wedding, for all the ruin it had fallen into later Rhaegar had been everything that she had dreamt of at the start, her perfect prince from all her girlhood fantasies. Daenerys did not look blissful, but then she never did. "You may sit," the much younger woman told her as she used her only arm to gesture at the other chair at the table.
"Your Grace is very kind," Cersei said as she sat down at the table, there was fruit, pitted olives and boiled eggs but it hurt her throat to swallow and so she settled for slowly nibbling at a few olives, and even that was a trial. "I hope that she had a decent night, I know that the wedding night can be a trial. But I have always told my son to be gentle to whoever his future wife would be."
"Oh, I enjoyed it very much. And so did he, he is with Ser Loras now for sparring, I mean to give him a fine sword so he may lead my armies." the smile that spread across Daenerys's face made her look much closer to the age she was, her sole hand came to rest on her belly. "I am certain that I'm with child already, a witch once told me that I wouldn't have any children, but I don't believe her, all witches are liars."
Perhaps the girl was wiser, and saner, than Cersei had first thought as the younger woman's words threw her back into Maggy the Frog's dark tent all those years ago, how many times had she told herself that all those words had been naught but lies just to give herself some comfort? And they had been lies, the witch had said that she and Rhaegar would have three children and that wasn't true, Tygett had been the golden nail that vanquished the ugly old woman's lies.
"I just wished that the rest of the night had been as wonderful," and just like that the Queen's joy was gone, replaced with a dark storm cloud. "Ser Jaime is your brother, would you ask me to show him mercy?"
There was something in Daenerys's voice that made Cersei hesitate, something that reminded her of Aerys in his daughter's eyes then. "Ser Jaime is my twin, we were...very close when we were younger," She would not tell the truth of it, Targaryens may have wed brothers to sisters for hundreds of years, but they got away with it because they were held apart from the rest of men, closer to gods, if anyone else did it then it was a sin and some Targareyns say it that way as well. "But he murdered the rightful king and choose to serve the wife of the man who stole the throne from your House and did nothing as I was kept a prisoner."
"I cannot forgive him for that, do with him as you will." Something in the air changed then, and a smile slowly started to unfurl on Daenerys's lips, her eyes were shinning.
"I know what it is to have a brother you loved, relied on, and then have him turn on you." Daenerys reached out with her hand and clutched Cersei's tightly. "I think we and your son shall do great things together, my lady. I promise you that. Now, return to your chambers and dress in your finest clothes, we have an execution to attend."
And so, they did, in the booth that had been reserved for the greatest of the great masters in the largest of what had been the fighting pits that the Queen had ordered closed when she took the city for herself, the Queen was dressed in purple silk with her crown on her head, amethysts glinted at her ears and throat and fingers, Cersei's son was sat next to his wife and he looked troubled to her eye but she would have to ask him what was wrong later.
Jaime was brought out into the middle of the pit, naked and shorn of all his hair, Cersei could see the cuts and bruises where he must have struggled against his captors and been cut by the razor. He looked so much older now, Cersei felt a pang in her heart and the pleas to stop this were at the tip of her tongue, but she would not let them loose, she had come too far now, and Jaime had abandoned her first, the wound at her throat ached and so Cersei hardened her heart and did not look away.
The Unsullied staked Jaime to the ground with iron pegs, the sharpened points driven into his palms and the top of his feet, the points were glowing hot and Jaime's screams made tears rush to her eyes but still she did not look away.
The Dragon Queen said a sharp word in what had to be Valyrian and two shadows crawled out from under their booth, it was the smaller two of the three dragons, large as ponies, the cream and gold one and the green and bronze one. The black one was not there, but Cersei was certain that it was not far away.
Jaime had stopped screaming, but he was not silent as he writhed on the sands, no blood leaked from the burned wounds. He hadn't noticed the dragons yet.
Daenerys rose to her feet and spoke, loud enough for everyone gathered in the pit to hear her, mostly it was her own soldiers, her Dothraki and her freed slaves as most of the masters had quit the city, their pyramids ransacked after they had gone from the city and those that remained preferred to hide within their pyramids and keep their heads down, in hopes that they could hide from their new Queen's wrath.
"On the night I gave my sun-and-stars to the flames in order to seen him on to the Night Lands, I made a vow that I would always make a place for you all if you gave me your hands and your hearts, I thank you all for your loyalty," she raised her one arm. "But let it be known that betrayal will not be tolerated. You do not know this man, why should you? But I do, I was told stories of him at night as a little girl that would make your blood curdle, this is the man who betrayed my father, his king, his Khal, and opened his throat."
That got the crowd going, the Dothraki were singing, demanding blood for blood. "Ser Jaime of the House Lannister, you are a kingslayer and an oathbreaker, a murderer who crept into my home into the middle of the night to cut the throats of me and mine. You murdered their grandfather, now I give you to my sons for their justice."
The dragons were upon him them, Jaime stared back at them. The cream and gold opened its maw and breathed a thin stream of golden flame, catching one of Jaime's fingers alit. Her brother screamed, they grew louder when the dragon clamped its jaws around the finger it has set on fire and ripped it away, the green one did the same to a finger on Jaime's other hand.
Again and again, until each finger on each hand was burned and eaten and Cersei understood all at once. They were going to eat Jaime piece by piece. "Fire heals, but it closes and cleans as well, I do not want him to bleed out, I want him to feel every bit of this. It's part of why I had his hair shaved away, I do so hate the smell of burnt hair."
How long Cersei sat there she could not say, how long Jaime screamed for and how much of him was burnt and devoured before he finally fell silent, she could not say either. All Cersei knew was that she did not look away from a moment of it, and she was grateful for the smoke as it gave her the perfect excuse for the tears that slowly fell down her cheeks.
Soon enough none of Jaime was left that was recognisable, all that was left was a lump of charred, black meat that the Dragons kept tearing at until even that was gone soon enough, only bones and burnt scraps were left.
"Princess Cersei Lannister, rise." The words shocked her out of her world and Cersei found that she did it without question, a pair of Unsullied lead her down into the pit and she did her best to not look where Jaime had been, keeping her eyes on the Queen and her son in the booth, did Aemon know what was going to happen to her? Cersei could not tell.
"Your brother murdered my father, your father betrayed mine when he needed him the most. These sins cannot be forgotten, but you have brought me my heart from across the sea. You are the trueborn daughter of a noble house; you know the houses of Westeros and what I will need in order to bring them to their knees. Cersei Lanniser, I name you hand of the Queen."
The world was bright and loud and thunderous, Jaime was dead. All around her people were cheering her name, Jaime was dead. Hand, her Lord Father had been the greatest hand the realm had ever known, and Cersei knew if she had just been given a chance then she could be even greater still, Jaime was dead.
Cersei smiled, sobbing, and accepted.
End of Chapter One-Hundred and Twenty-Seven