First off a quick note to anyone coming over from ao3. I did not delete this, nor my other fics on ao3. ao3 deleted them all and perma banned me because of how I responded to a person who was leaving me anon hate comments. I have more info on my blog at lionsescaped dot dreamwidth dot org I don't know if I'll be uploading all the 26 chapters here, or not. It depends on how many reviews I get outside of reddit exchanges and friends. If you did review some of the chapters just comment on my blog, I have a downloadable version for people on my access list there, and I will also be posting chapter 27 there for people on my access list. The only thing you need to do to get on my access list is have reviewed in the past 3 months on ao3 or have been a regular reviewer before then.

Chapter beta'd by beta'd by RhaenaTargaryen on ao3 check out her stuff, it's good!

This fiction picks up after the events of my fic "A Lannister Always Pay His Debts."

In "A Lannister Always Pays His Debts" their younger brother Tyrion brings Cersei and Jaime back from death just like how Jon Snow was.

For fandom blind readers from Reddit here is some canon info and context to help you understand the story better. The canon is long and complex so I'll just say what you need to understand this story and the dynamics in it.

Cersei Lannister has been in a romantic relationship with her twin brother Jaime Lannister since they were teenagers. He joined the Kingsguard so that he could stay in the Red Keep where she lived with her husband King Robert Baratheon. They had 3 children together, Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen, which they all passed off as The King's children. Joffrey was a psychopath and murdered at his wedding by the bride's grandmother. Myrcella was poisoned on her way back to The Red Keep by Lannister enemies and died in Jaime's arms after they shared a sweet father-daughter moment in which she told him she knew he was her father. Their last remaining child, Tommen committed suicide. A suicide some would say she caused, as he did so after she orchestrated the destruction of the Sept of Balor in which his wife was currently in, causing her death. After his death Cersei had herself crowned Queen.

After Cersei became Queen, Daenerys Targaryen, who was the daughter of the man who was King before Robert Baratheon killed him, finally arrived in Westeros after having been hiding in exile since her childhood. Daenerys had three dragons, and 10s of thousands of soldiers on her side.

However, there was a bigger threat, an undead man called The Night King with a horde of creatures called wights, and an ability to turn people into undeads. He even turned one of Daenerys' dragons undead.

Daenerys was convinced by a man named Jon Snow to wait on fighting for the throne until these creatures were defeated. Cersei agreed to do the same and promised to send troops.

Cersei was lying however and did not send troops. When Jaime found out about that and how she was plotting with Euron Grayjoy, leader of the Iron islands behind his back, he decided to leave anyway. They argued, and she threatened to kill him, having her bodyguard approach him threateningly.

In the end, she let Jaime walk away. He rode North, to help against the threat.

While in the North he began a romantic relationship with Brienne of Tarth, a woman often mocked for being ugly and looking and acting like a man. Brienne and Jaime had met years prior, when she'd been tasked to escort him back to King's Landing as her prisoner. They had an antagonistic relationship that eventually became friendly, and a one-sided love as Brienne fell for him.

In the North their romantic relationship began when he was drunk. He regretted it the next morning, but as he had taken her virginity he felt obligated to give things a try.

Eventually, he realized how dire things were for Cersei and he rode back to King's Landing to try to save her, leaving Brienne crying as he cruelly broke her heart.

When he arrived, Daenerys was burning King's Landing to the ground with her only remaining dragon. Euron Grayjoy was also heading to the secret entrance to save Cersei and he started a fight with Jaime. Jaime killed him, but got terribly wounded in the process. When he finally made it to Cersei, rumble fell down, trapping them in and they could not escape, more rumble fell and crushed them to death.

Now on to the fic!

Eying the single pair of paddles in the dinghy, Cersei looked at Jaime expectantly. He held his stump up, as his golden hand had been unfortunately sold by Tyrion to bring them back. She sighed heavily, grabbed the paddles, and began rowing. The full moon shone upon them as they left the shores of Westeros. Thankfully, the path to Pentos was a straightforward one. They only needed to ensure they hit no rocks on the way.

Hours passed with only the sound of waves to break the silence. Neither he nor Cersei seemed to know what to say.

He was wondering if Cersei knew that he was aware that she had ordered his death. No, surely she didn't know or she'd be attempting some sort of explanation. There must be another reason for her silence. She was probably tired, in spite of their almost eternal slumber. Did being dead even count as sleeping? He supposed it must, for he had felt quite exhausted before her death, yet now she felt more awake than ever. He wasn't sure however how long this feeling would last. Perhaps it was all the excitement and he would soon again feel exhausted.

"Jaime, doesn't it take about a day or two to make it from King's Landing to Pentos? How will I sleep if I have to row this whole time?" Cersei asked, as though she could read his mind.

"Actually, it takes about three to five days."

"Three to five days! Are you certain? I cannot row for that long! How in seven hells did Tyrion think we could make it to Pentos? I would say he sent us off to our deaths, but he surely wouldn't have brought us back just for us to die. Or would he have? Perhaps I was too quick to forgive him!"

He sighed, "Don't go acting that way again. There are small islands along the way. I'm sure he intends for us to stop and rest at them before making it to Pentos."

"Small islands? Why do I know nothing of these islands?" she asked suspiciously.

"Tyrion knows of these Islands, I'm sure. You know how much he's studied maps."

"Studied maps?"

"Yes. Maps. You know, the things with landscapes drawn on them?"

"That is rather funny. I've done plenty of my own studying of maps. You know how father was. Never would let me see the world, no. But he was determined that I know all of it. There are no such islands on the map."

He sighed. He'd messed up claiming the islands had been on maps. Now they had barely begun on their journey and were already arguing and it wasn't even about anything important. This was going to be a long trip.

Annoyance flickered in Cersei's eyes. "So why have I not heard of such islands? They are certainly not on any maps. So please dear brother, tell me if there are such islands, why are they not on any map?"

"Perhaps because they are small and uninhabited. They are more patches of land than islands, to be honest. But they will allow us to rest for the night."

"Small patches of land. How quaint. And how do you know of these little patches of land?"

"I just know." He didn't want to admit that after her marriage to Robert he still had hoped she would run away with him. He didn't want to admit that the times he had asked for permission to go to Pentos hadn't been for leisure. It was to study the route. To learn just how two people alone could make it to Pentos. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing it hadn't been a spur-of-the-moment thing when he had asked her to run away with him all those years ago.

"You just know eh? Well great for you. I suppose you'll direct me in which direction I should head then?"

"Of course. Just head straight for now. Then you will see a patch of land. But It should be a long while until then."

"How long of a while?"

"About fifteen to eighteen hours. Depends how fast you can row."

"Eighteen hours?!" she sighed in frustration before another thought occurred to her. "What of food?" she asked, concerned.

"It's already been four or more I'm sure." It had been barely two, but they had no way of knowing that. "And It looks as if Tyrion gave us a fishing net and some water jugs. Perhaps there is more food in here," he said, gesturing to a small bag in the boat.

"I certainly hope so."

It was some time before Cersei spoke again. "It seems risky to stop at any land, no matter how small."

"We don't have a choice. I'll hide the boat as well as I can. I'm going to get you to safety. You, me, the baby."

"The baby...I still haven't felt the baby kick since..." her voice broke.

He placed a reassuring hand on her knee. He wished he could take her in his arms and wipe away the tears that had started to flow down her beautiful face. "We will get you to a maester as soon as we get to Pentos."

"It may be too late then."

"You haven't bled, have you?"

"No. But the baby could be dead inside me. The witch said-"

"The witch said? Fuck that old hag. She probably made it all up."

"How? She couldn't have known I'd have three children. Couldn't have known they would be mine, not Robert's. That they would all die. Though she was wrong about one thing..."

She trailed off leaving him to wonder what she meant. He had never wanted to hear the prophecy and could never understand her obsession with it. Nonetheless, It would certainly be easier to talk about than the other things they needed to discuss. "What was the witch wrong about?"

"He said that the valonqar would kill me."

"Valonqar?"

"It's High Valyrian. It means little brother."

"Little brother...wait...is that why you've always hated Tyrion so?" Talking about Tyrion might be a good thing. Her tears had stopped flowing at least and he was curious just how sincere her apology to their little brother had been. Did she really regret how she had treated him all these years? He'd always thought. even as cruel as Cersei could be, that even she couldn't have hated Tyrion just for killing their mother. He had been just an infant after all. Her embarrassment over him being a dwarf didn't seem enough of a reason either for her hatred of him. He'd long ago suspected there had been more to her hatred but could never quite figure out what. Over time he had come to wonder if maybe Tyrion was right about her. Maybe she was even more hateful than he thought and he was just blind to it because of his love for her.

"In part, yes. I mean I still hated that he killed our mother and I hated that he was a disgusting little imp. I don't mean just his size; I mean how lecherous he always was. And greedy. Always so greedy. Even as a child, he used to try to take my toys always. My stuffed lion especially! Yours too. of course but you never seemed to mind."

He smiled at her sadly. "I never minded because I knew why he did it."

"Why?"

"Father. Father never gave him any toys of his own. Never paid him any mind. I was all he had and those toys put a smile on his face for however brief."

"Father. I think the longer he is dead the more I grow to hate him."

He was surprised at this revelation. "Hate father? You hated our father?"

"Not while he lived. Only after he died. I thought a lot about everything he had done. Everything more he would have done. He never cared about me. I was a broodmare to him. Used for securing House Lannister's bloodline into the Throne."

"Well, so much for that."

To his surprise, Cersei actually smiled at that. "If only father could see us now."

"He would be rolling over in his grave if he could," he agreed.

"My last words to him were when I told him about us. I nearly thought he would die right then from the shock. Perhaps he would have later succumbed if Tyrion hadn't..."

"Well, I'm glad he found out before he died. I always wanted to tell him."

"But you never did," she replied accusatively.

"No. I didn't." Why was she angry? She never had wanted him to tell their father. Had she?

Some more time passed, the two both silent and lost in their own thoughts. A low rumbling was heard. "Was that me?" He asked.

"I think it was me. I didn't realize until now how hungry I was. Also...I have to make water. How am I to do that here?"

"Hold it?"

She looked at him as if he truly was the stupidest Lannister. "Hold it?! Hold it! For twelve or more hours? Really Jaime, even you should-"

He cut in before she could finish her probably rude comment. "I'll find something for you to go in." He looked at what was on the boat. One of their three water jugs has only a third of the water left. It may have been foolish, but they agreed that they would quickly finish it and she would use that.

Once Cersei relieved herself and they got the boat back on course, he looked more closely at the food in the bag. Tyrion had provided, but it wasn't much. He would have to catch some fish when they made it to land. "There isn't much in the way of food. Just some day-old bread, dried apples, and carrots. You should have it all. You need your strength to row."

"You need yours too. You were bleeding before..."

"It's all healed now. Though I seem to have quite the scar."

"Well, how do you propose I eat? Should I just let us drift again?"

"Or I could feed you."

"I suppose that would work better. As tired as my arms are getting I'd rather make it to shore sooner rather than later."

"Alright then. What would you like first?"

"I suppose some apples."

He fed her some of the apples. As he did he couldn't help but remember the last time he had fed her. They had been in bed. He had fed her strawberries dipped in honey and the night had ended in pure bliss. There would be no such antics now, as in this dinghy he could barely reach in front of her mouth to feed her. Not that he planned to do anything if they had more room. He was still conflicted about things. Besides that, they needed to get to safety. Still, he couldn't hide his happiness as he thought of that night. He had spent much time licking the honey off of her.

His happiness didn't go unnoticed by Cersei. "What are you smiling about?"

He wasn't going to let her know that he was reminiscing about them. Not yet. Not until she explained why in seven hells she had ordered his death. "I was just thinking of when we get to the free cities. Of how we will be able to have any food we want. They say the free cities have even more of a selection than Westeros."

"Really? I've not heard that. I suppose we will have to see."

Before long she had enough of the apples and asked for some bread. He broke that apart too and fed it to her. When she had her fill of that he offered her some of the carrots. She declined. She had never been fond of those so he figured he would eat some of them. There was still some left as well as some bread and apples if she got hungry before they made it to land.

A bit more time passed before Cersei broke the silence. "You're rather quiet."

"I've nothing to say," he replied.

"You normally have a lot to say."

"Well if you hadn't noticed there is nothing at all normal about this situation."

"No I suppose there isn't," she replied dryly.

Hours passed, and he shot all her attempts at conversation down. She'd tried to have him killed. If she wanted to say something, she should start with apologizing for that, among other things.

What felt like hours passed before Cersei yawned and asked him what time he thought it was.

"Probably long enough that the sun should be rising soon," he replied.

Yet more time passed before she once again broke the silence. "Tell me of the war."

"There isn't much to tell."

"Isn't much to tell? You fought a war against undead creatures. With a mad Targaryen and a dragon. Surely there is something."

"What do you want to know?" he asked.

"I suppose everything. How was the Night King defeated? Who fought? Who died? I'm bored, Jaime. Think of it as your debt to pay."

"My debt to pay?" he asked, raising an eyebrow

"For being useless right now. For me being pregnant and yet having to do all the work."

He wanted to protest. He had come back for her after all. She would still be dead under the Red Keep if it hadn't been for him. Tyrion cared enough to bring him back, but he had only brought her back for him. However, telling her all of this would just cause an argument and he was tired of that. Maybe telling her of his time in the North would help to get his mind off of the fact that she'd ordered his death. Besides that, she was right in a way. It was she, not he who would ensure they got to Pentos. He would be lucky if he could even manage to catch fish for them to eat. "Fair enough. Where should I begin?

They talked as the sun came up, and for even some time after that. He told her much of his time in the North, and she seemed interested in every last bit of it.

Talking to her like this he was happy, truly happy for the first time in a long time. He knew he had her full attention and he wasn't going to lie, it felt damn nice. He was almost disappointed when he spotted the small patch of land in the distance.

End Notes: Please review. It's very discouraging that so few review reading this fic review on this site. I plan to copy and paste all my reviews from ao3 over here, since my fics there got deleted by ao3, but I would love some reviews from users of this here site.

I've now got a Feedback form now here: You can find the feedback form to rate dialogue, pacing, etc for this chapter here:

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