Morganna wanted to kill the king.

She had first hated Joffrey after seeing how rude and arrogant he acted to everyone in Winterfell, and even to her brother in King's Landing before that. When the prince's lies and cruelty had resulted in her own face being bruised and the direwolves all being sent back to Winterfell, she had hated him more than she'd ever hated anyone before.

It all seemed so pathetic now. The feeling she felt then had seemed strong at the time, but looking back it was quite clear that she knew nothing of true hate.

Then Joffrey had murdered Lord Stark. She wanted him dead for that, and hadn't believed she could despise him any more after seeing his wormy lips curl into a satisfied smile at Sansa's anguished screaming, at the severed head of her uncle being raised above the crowd. That was why she had punched him, and she had been paying for it ever since.

Not that she expected anything less. In fact, she was surprised she hadn't been killed herself, or at least thrown in a dungeon, for daring to lay a hand on the king, and humiliate him in front of half of the city. As it was, she had been thrown into a tower cell, bare and bland, all alone with very little to amuse herself aside from the few times a week that Sansa was allowed to visit. It was maddening, and a year ago she would've thought that the worst kind of torture, but now she knew better.

Of course, a punch to the face had done little to curb Joffrey's evil nature. Sansa came into her cell one day, ashy pale and shaking like a leaf, saying that the king had forced her to look at her father's head on a spike. She had evidently tried to hold her grief in in front of everyone, and didn't even break when they were alone together. Morganna would almost have rather her cousin cried and sobbed, for it would be better than the detached, terrified girl she saw now.

She had never been best friends with Sansa. The only times they got along were when they talked about handsome boys and pretty dresses, because there were no other girls Morganna knew who were interested in such things. Generally, she just enjoyed getting under Sansa's skin - she was very easy to irritate, and rather gullible - which meant they didn't have the best relationship.

Now, however, Morganna found she looked forward to her cousin's visits more than anything, because she saw no other people in this wretched place. She had no idea what was happening outside her cell, aside from what Sansa could tell her, in a hushed voice so the guard outside wouldn't hear. She tried asking her cousin to bring Princess Myrcella up here - it would be so good to talk to her friend again - but Sansa had fretfully refused, saying the queen would be most displeased. She hadn't pushed the matter.

The monotony was killing her, and she had only been locked away for a week. She had searched the room all over, there was no way out, not even in the fireplace; she had scraped her hands raw trying to find another tunnel.

It was worse than before, because then there had been an end in sight; not so much anymore. She suspected that they shut her away in the hope Joffrey would forget about her; likely the moment their gracious king saw her face, he would scream for her head to be stuck on a pike beside her uncle's. And no matter how much Cersei hated her, she could not kill her. All doubt about that had been removed when the Kingslayer became a captive of the Starks.

How Morganna had laughed when she heard the news of the Lannister's defeat in the Whispering Wood. Up until Sansa came into her rooms several days later, and she had noticed the bruises on her cousin's chest and wrists, peeking out of her gown.

"Who did this?" Her eyes narrowed.

"Robb won a battle," Sansa said rather blankly. "Joffrey told Ser Boros to beat me," There were vivid bruises all up her arms and legs, ribs and back, deep purple, black and green. It was a wonder she hadn't broken anything.

"I'll kill him," Morganna was halfway to the door, not caring that the guards outside would hardly let her pass, when her cousin grabbed her arm.

"You mustn't," She implored. "You've caused enough trouble. Joffrey's nose is healing crooked and he's furious, even the queen won't be able to stop him if you do anything else," Morganna had to grin at that, and despite herself, Sansa managed a small smile, which quickly faded. "Morganna, I'm so glad you're here. I don't know what I'd do if I had to pretend to... to love him in front of everyone here,"

"That's why you're being let out and I'm not," She shrugged. "I'd sooner have my tongue ripped out than act like I love that monster. I dream about killing him every night,"

"You shouldn't say such things," Her cousin said, glancing around nervously like they could be overheard. Morganna pulled a face. Sansa hesitated before continuing. "I've been having the most dreadful dreams. I asked Grand Maester Pycelle for a sleeping draught, and I slept for a long time, but I still had them anyway,"

"What dreams?" Morganna ordinarily would have scoffed at such things and gone to find someone more interesting, but now she didn't really have a choice, so humoured her.

"Most of the time I'm chasing some poor rabbit or deer, and end up killing and eating it raw," Well that wasn't what she'd been expecting. Morganna gave her cousin an odd look, as Sansa tried to explain further. "It's like - like I'm a wolf. I see Nymeria and Grey Wind and Crow there with me, hunting,"

"And you're Lady?" She tilted her head, rather intrigued. Her cousin nodded.

"That's not the worst of it," She gave a small shudder. "The other night I dreamt of battles and blood and screaming. Robb was there one minute, and cousin Renan the next, both fighting and killing. And I was killing too, tearing terrified men to pieces. And I enjoyed it. I could've sworn Nymeria looked at me with Arya's eyes. Then I wake up with the taste of blood in my mouth," There was a pause.

"Robb won a battle the other night," The two girls shared a rather unnerved look, then Morganna grinned, breaking the silence. "You must be a warg,"

"No," She gave a small laugh, shaking her head. "Don't be silly,"

After that, however, her cousin's visits grew further and further apart. Sansa claimed that the guards were told to keep them apart more often, no doubt under Cersei's orders, so the defiant hostage didn't corrupt the compliant one. Morganna spent her days bored out of her mind, enough to spend more time scrubbing about in the fireplace, trying to locate a passageway. It was only after she gave the hearth a good kick in a fit of frustration that something shifted in the brick. Something was there, some kind of panel, so worn down after years of disuse as to be invisible.

It took another hour, ruining her fingers and the handle of the spoon she'd been given at breakfast that morning, but eventually she was able to prise open a panel in the side of the fireplace, revealing a hole that was tiny, leading into black nothingness. It looked only just big enough for her to squeeze through.

Of course, she didn't hesitate before doing exactly that.

The tunnel didn't open up at all, nor did it have a ladder right away. She had to edge her way sideways through dust and cobwebs, stone scraping at her from either side. She could hear the guards outside her room talking, could hear someone coming up the stairs, though she couldn't see a thing in the gloom. A good thing she was never afraid of small spaces. Then she came across a ladder by nearly falling down the shaft.

Even Morganna wasn't prepared to go down that dark hole, relying on an ancient ladder, without any light. Besides, it was near midday; someone would be up with her meal soon, and it wouldn't pay for them to find her missing.

That night, however, she lit herself a candle and went exploring. Exploring the passages soon became how she spent most of her nights, and increasingly her days too, though she had to be careful that no one found her gone from her cell, and that she managed to scrub all the ash and dirt from herself after.

She also had to be careful not to get lost. The passages in the walls were a maze, and more than once Morganna had gone too far and actually started to worry that she wouldn't be able to find her way out. It wasn't the kind of place you wanted to be lost in. There were times when she felt like she wasn't alone in the tunnels, sometimes hearing the shuffling of feet, or breathing that wasn't her own. But when she swung her candle round to see, there was never another soul.

Those rather disconcerting occasions weren't enough to stop her exploring, however. Whilst Morganna had yet to find a passage out of the castle - and even if she had, she couldn't leave without Sansa - but what she had found was the way to Myrcella's chambers.

Her friend had been asleep the first time she crept out of the fireplace, but quickly awoke, startled to see the skinny, tangle-haired, grime-covered figure at the foot of her bed. Morganna was more than grateful she hadn't screamed, giving her time to explain. Once she had, the princess was more than delighted, wrapping her arms tightly around her, despite her filthy state.

"I'm so sorry," Myrcella had said honestly, drawing back from the hug. "For everything that happened. And for Joffrey,"

"It wasn't your fault," Morganna said, looking away for a moment, before grinning and changing the subject. "Now tell me everything you know about what's been happening,"

It was those nights with Myrcella that kept her sane, or else she would have been stuck in that cell for months without leaving. They would talk for an hour or two, then sleep side by side in the princess' bed, and Morganna would steal away as the sun rose so as not to be caught.

"Why won't your mother let you visit me?" She asked idly one evening, knowing the answer but wishing it wasn't true anyway.

"Because you punched her son in front of half the city,"

"Perhaps," Morganna laughed. "Oh, I didn't tell you..." She quickly told Myrcella of her strange conversation with Cersei on the day Uncle Ned was killed, the odd questions the queen had asked about her mother and her brother. "She said something very strange... That if I really did look like Aunt Lyanna, Robert would not have treated her as badly as he did,"

"I suppose Mother meant you look rather like her," Myrcella frowned. "Now I think of it, you do look like her. Quite a lot like her, actually,"

"Does she not want anyone growing up prettier than she is, is that it?" For once, Myrcella ignored her dry comment, getting out of bed and bringing the candle.

"Come to the looking glass," She said. "I look a lot like my mother, more than Joff or Tommen do," They stood side by side. It wasn't immediately obvious, but the more Morganna looked, the more the resemblance was undeniable.

"If your hair was dark, we'd look like cousins," She said, rather amazed that she hadn't noticed before, beyond the fact that she and Myrcella were both very pretty, young and had high cheekbones. She supposed she just hadn't been paying attention. "Sisters, even,"

"If your hair was golden, you'd look like a Lannister," Her friend said, rather too seriously. "If you look past your hair and eyes, you look more Lannister than Stark,"

"Why do you sound so strange?" Morganna laughed. "I'm not a Lannister, so why does it matter? Surely this is just one of those odd things that happens, like how none of you look like your father at all,"

"Yes, well, what else would it be..." Myrcella agreed, but sounded rather unsure as she trailed off. "There's been... whispers, around court. You wouldn't have heard, being locked away,"

"About what?" She frowned.

"Uncle Stannis sent letters to all the houses in the realm, claiming that Joff and Tommen aren't King Robert's children," Morganna's eyes widened. "Everyone tries to hide it from us, but it's hard to ignore. I'm sure Mother doesn't know I've heard,"

"And whose children are you supposed to be? It's not like the queen can be entertaining any handsome guests, with the Kingsguard outside her door day and night. Unless he's claiming she got with child from Meryn Trant or Barristan the Bold," She laughed, but Myrcella didn't.

"That is what they're claiming,"

"Well that's just ridiculous. You're too pretty to be Meryn Trant's daughter, and at his age, Ser Barristan would struggle to father one child, let alone three,"

"You think that's ridiculous?" Myrcella smiled weakly. "Stannis claims that Uncle Jaime is our father, not King Robert," Morganna pulled a disgusted face at that, which her friend matched. "It's madness, clearly he just wants to destabilise us any way he can, and that would make him the rightful king, but the fact such things were even said... Poor Mother, how awful that must be to hear?"

She could think of a lot more awful things she would like to do to Cersei Lannister than spread far-fetched slander, but wisely chose not to voice them here.

"I can't imagine people will believe something like that, unless he has proof," She said instead, knowing she sounded rather insincere. Myrcella shot her a regretful smile, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"You don't have to do that," She said. "I know you hate them all, quite fairly,"

"You're not so bad," Morganna said. "You should be queen, not Joffrey,"

"I would be better, wouldn't I?" Her friend laughed. "Though that doesn't say much,"

Weeks passed in this way, during which Morganna got to know the network of passages better, making it less likely that she'd get lost, though she still witnessed those rather disturbing signs that she wasn't the only one to use the tunnels. She even caught a glimpse of a small figure slipping around a corner once, but they were gone in a blink. Even when she followed them, there was no trace left at all.

Then came the night when the princess greeted her with a sad smile, the bearer of bad news.

"No," Morganna felt her own eyes widen at her words. "No, you can't go, you can't!" Her heart was sinking, panic building up inside her. My only friend in this place, half of Westeros away.

"I don't get a choice," Myrcella's face was weary in the candlelight, her golden hair glinting against the pillows they both leant on. "I'm to leave for Sunspear in two weeks. Uncle Tyrion has already arranged it,"

"Of course he has," She scoffed. "Selling you to some Martell prince, not even heir to anything, in exchange for swords that will never come because Dorne hates your family,"

"I have to go," Her friend said quietly, no traces of her usual boldness and charm on her face. "I'm a princess. It's expected," And Myrcella was always the perfect princess; charming, bold, intelligent and most of all, dutiful.

"Joffrey hardly acts like a king is expected to," Morganna sat back against the pillows, scowling. "Why should you have to?"

"If everyone used my dear twin as a standard to hold themselves to, the kingdom would fall apart within days," Despite her mood, Morganna had to smile.

"I'll give you that. How's his nose?" She hadn't had the pleasure of seeing the damage she caused to Joffrey first hand, but Myrcella had painted a very amusing picture; Pycelle had tried to set the bone straight again, but Joffrey had refused to let any maester near him after a highly painful first attempt, and so his formerly perfect nose was healing crooked. It was likely a good thing that Morganna was being kept away from him, or she would have laughed herself silly.

"Awful," Myrcella's lips twitched. "Mother can't stand it. I think she's considering drugging him and getting Pycelle to set it straight then. Either that or having someone hold him down to do it,"

"I hope it really hurts," She said pettily. Her friend laughed.

"I'll miss you," Myrcella's voice was rather tremulous, a tone she would never use where anyone else could hear, holding out her arms for a hug.

"I'll miss you too," Morganna wrapped her arms around her friend. She really would, miss her that is. Myrcella was not like the friends she had had before; young ladies who amused and entertained her with their company, but who she ultimately didn't care much for, and didn't mind leaving behind in the North. Myrcella felt like... her other half. Someone she had been missing her whole life. And without her, this place would be an awful lot darker.

In the coming days, she heard of the death of Lord Renly - King Renly, according to some - which didn't particularly interest her, until she heard that her mother had been present in the tent he had died, and some suspected she had a hand in his death, despite it being announced as a mysterious assassin that fled. Morganna wouldn't put it past her, honestly, and according to Myrcella it had resulted in more troops from the Reach and Stormlands going to Stannis and Robb's side.

Not good for the Lannisters, certainly, but for the Starks... She had been in a good mood that night, until she remembered who Joffrey would be taking his losses out on. The next time she saw Sansa, the bruises on the girl's skin made her blood boil.

To her great surprise, Morganna was allowed out for the first time in months, to see the princess off from the docks. Perhaps they had to parade her around in public every once in a while, so her family wouldn't think they'd killed her in secret and start chopping bits off the Kingslayer.

She wasn't going to complain, however. Being out in daylight, which she'd only caught glimpses of from her window, was a beautiful thing and despite her sadness at Myrcella leaving, she couldn't help but grin all the way down to the docks. She had said her goodbyes to her friend the night before, of course, seeing as the princess was riding with her family some distance ahead, Sansa close behind them.

They were still keeping Morganna out of Joffrey's sight as much as possible, which even she had to admit was a good idea, and was happy to stay near the back of the procession wearing a muted blue-grey gown, drawing as little attention to herself as possible. She was also surrounded by guards, however, so unfortunately escape was out of the question. Clearly they had learned.

It was impossible not to notice the unrest of the crowds lining the streets they passed on the way to the docks. She was not feeling particularly charitable towards the population of King's Landing, given they had roared and cheered at the spectacle of her uncle's death, but even Morganna felt pity for the stick-thin children minded by hollow-cheeked mothers, gaunt fathers and grandparents that looked like a sharp gust of wind would blow them away.

The city was starving due to the Tyrells blocking all food coming down the Roseroad, and here they all were from the castle, parading in front of hungry people, draped in finery and riches. It was rather a slap in the face given many couldn't afford to feed their children; she would be angry if she were them.

Myrcella set sail for Dorne without a tear, having hugged her brother Tommen, who looked like he wanted to cry but managed not to. Her friend waved at the group in general as her ship began to move. Morganna waved back, but the princess likely couldn't see her in the group crowding the docks.

Then it was time to make their way back to the keep. Morganna didn't think the unrest of the smallfolk would go any further than the few heckles, glaring and dissatisfied muttering that they'd experienced on the way down. Unpleasant, but mostly harmless. She couldn't have been more wrong.

Whilst she couldn't see quite what was happening up ahead when the procession stopped, she did hear shouting, and saw the various items being thrown in Joffrey's direction. Her first reaction was to laugh, until the crowds to the side of them got the idea as well, and began throwing things too, rocks and rotten vegetables and what she hoped but doubted was mud. Joffrey was screaming something, setting the Hound on the people of the city, the crowd was screaming back, and all hell broke loose.

Morganna, towards the back of the party, found herself in the middle of a full blown riot, grubby hands tearing at her gown as the guards around her swore and drew their swords. They'd given her some prancing, skittish excuse for a horse to ride, bred for prettiness rather than fighting through hordes of angry people. It was all she could do to keep the terrified creature heading in the right direction, until one of the guards grabbed the bridle.

The other guards hacked away at the crowd, and by some miracle both she and the man holding her horse made it to the Red Keep largely in one piece, although both of them were battered and bleeding. She couldn't see the other guards that had ridden with them. Morganna's plain dress was in tatters, a cut above her eye was bleeding and livid bruises would certainly be blooming all over her skin within the hour, but she barely paid attention to that, scanning the yard with increasing panic as she realised someone was missing.

"Where's Sansa?" She called, but the Imp had realised the same thing and was currently screaming at Joffrey for refusing to send men after her, even slapping him in the face. That was a sight that would usually have had her laughing if she wasn't so worried. Her cousin had never been much of a horsewoman, she would never survive in a crowd like that, and clearly the king wasn't listening to his dwarf uncle, too busy shouting curses at the mob.

Morganna had never felt relief like it when the Hound elbowed his way through the gates, covered in the blood of other men and with a sobbing Sansa slung over his shoulder. No one was going to stop her kicking her horse at a canter towards her cousin then, dismounting whilst the animal was still moving and hurrying to her side as Sandor Clegane set her down none too gently on wobbly legs.

"Thank you," Morganna said honestly to the man, ignoring Clegane's snort as she turned her attention to Sansa, but was interrupted as Tyrion Lannister hurried over on his twisted little legs.

"Get inside, quickly," He snapped at her. "Joffrey's just seen you, and he's hardly in the best of moods as it is. I doubt I can dissuade him easily if he decides to cause trouble,"

"Joffrey knows where my cell is," She said with a fake smile, annoyed at the interruption. There was no chance she was leaving her cousin's side now. "He can have me killed any time he wants. Not that you'll let him, this time at least. Losing another Stark hostage would hardly be good for your brother. Besides, he looks rather distracted trying to kill his own smallfolk,"

"Morganna," Sansa's tone urged her to be quiet. No doubt her cousin had kept up her lady's courtesies the entire time they'd been held captive, meekly admitting that her family were traitors and feigning regret for the capture of Jaime Lannister. Morganna admired her on some level, but could never force the same lies through her own teeth.

"You just escaped being torn apart by an angry mob, I'm not leaving you alone with them," She waved a hand scornfully at the surrounding people and Lannisters, turning to Tyrion. "Let Joffrey set his Kingsguard on me, I won't hold it against you. I suppose the brave knights aren't used to beating little girls who hit them back," She smiled sharply at the dwarf, who did a small double take, before shaking his head.

"That will only get you beaten to a bloody pulp,"

"I'd rather that than scurry away to my cell,"

"Then you're a fool,"

"Alright," She shrugged in a way so uncaring it was insulting, pointedly turning back to Sansa. "Are you hurt? Did they get to you at all?"

"One man tried to tear me off my horse," The girl was still somewhat shaky. "But - but the Hound cut his arm off," There was a pause. Morganna tried not to look too impressed. "What about you? You seem fine, but you were right at the back. How did you make it through?"

"Lots of hacking and slashing," She said. "And of course I'm alright. Now you're safe, that was the most exciting thing that's happened in weeks," Her cousin gaped at her, and she grinned, lowering her voice slightly. "And it's not every day you see Joffrey get hit in the face with a handful of shit," Sansa let out a little choked giggle, and the Hound snorted darkly. Morganna hadn't realised he'd heard that.


After the riots, though Morganna wasn't given complete freedom of the castle, she was allowed to go outside once a day, supposedly as a reward for good behaviour. So long as she was escorted by a guard and stayed out of Joffrey's sight, she could go wherever she liked for an hour or so. She suspected Cersei hadn't had anything to do with that; more likely it was Tyrion Lannister, who she had passed a couple of times in the corridors and who always gave her a rather curious look, speaking with her for a few minutes before leaving with his hard-faced sellsword.

She seemed to be the only one in the castle who was in a relatively good mood, due to the fast approaching threat of Stannis and Loreon Storm from the south, who his uncle had named Lord of Storm's End and given his future children the name Baratheon. Every night she lay in her small bed, eagerly awaiting the day the Baratheon forces stormed the Red Keep, laying the heads of Joffrey and Cersei at her feet and bringing with them her mother.

Everyone was wondering where Lord Tywin was with the Lannister army to defend the city, and though Cersei and Tyrion were no doubt trying to keep it quiet, soon there was were whispers everywhere that Robb Stark had tricked the Old Lion, luring him into the west by capturing a few minor castles, and then making a hasty retreat, trapping the Lannister army in the west in a stalemate and taking Lord Tywin's daughter Giana with them, and her eldest son. If that was true, no doubt the whole kingdom would be laughing at the lions before long.

There were also whispers of Robb Stark and his pack of monstrous direwolves - Lady and Nymeria must be with him - and also his bastard cousin, Renan Snow, who they said was more vicious, more daring and colder than the Lord of Winterfell. Ren had by most accounts been the one to lead the small group of men to the Banefort and kidnap Lady Giana, whilst Robb led the retreat east.

Whilst Cersei didn't seem to be bothered by the news of her sister's abduction, Tyrion was most definitely concerned. She had made a point of asking him about it when they next met, with a sly smile that clearly irritated him, and though he had replied neutrally enough, it was obvious he worried for his sister.

"My brother won't hurt her," Morganna had smiled wolfishly. "Much,"

"Talk like that is rather foolishly brave," He narrowed his eyes. "You should take a leaf out of Lady Sansa's book and start chirping some pretty courtesies,"

"What are you going to do?" She asked. "Even if you hurt me now, when Stannis takes the city I'll send a message to Ren, telling him to do the just same to Lady Giana,"

"You're a spiteful little thing, aren't you?" The dwarf smiled in false cheer, and she just laughed.

"Why shouldn't I be? You killed my uncle, and hold me and Sansa hostage. All Lannisters can rot, for all I care," Rather unexpectedly, he laughed at that, shaking his head.

"Oh, you truly have no idea, do you?"

She put that rather strange comment to the back of her mind. There was plenty else to distract her. Sansa was acting somewhat strangely, like she was keeping something from her, but no matter how much she pressed, the girl refused to admit there was anything. Then came Sansa's first flowering, and the episode where she nearly set fire to her entire room trying to burn the bedsheets. Many thought her cousin had gone insane, but if Morganna was betrothed to Joffrey, she would have done the same thing.


She watched the ships and troops on the horizon from the battlements, and smiled. She knew little of war and strategy, but it wouldn't have taken even a third of what was coming to take this wreck of a city. The Red Keep would be harder, of course, but it would fall in the end. Mother's with Stannis. That alone spelled Cersei and Joffrey's death sentence.

Morganna was made to sit in the castle sept with all the other twittering southron ladies and, even worse, Cersei. Having already been forced to sit through Joffrey making Sansa kiss his sword, she was already wishing she was in the middle of the battlefield if only to be away from here, a mood that only intensified as Cersei drank more and more wine.

Sansa bore the brunt of the queen's awful conversation, about a woman's weapon being between their legs and other such nonsense, but Morganna knew she wouldn't be able to keep herself quiet much longer. As wildfire from the river turned the room light green, she made to get up, planning on heading for the highest window she could to observe the battle, to avoid ending up snapping at the queen.

"Lady Bolton," Cersei hand closed like a vice on her wrist, and Morganna turned to her wearing a sweet smile as convincing as that of a cat cornering a small bird. "Wherever are you going?"

"I want to see what's happening," She said honestly. "I can't stand sitting still in here," I can't stand you.

"Of course," The woman still did not let go of her wrist. "You remind me of my brother, Jaime. He was always... restless," Morganna eyed her warily, considering the last time she'd been in the presence of the queen for any length of time, the woman had brought up her brother and ended up throwing crockery at the wall. She didn't like the look on her face, either.

"Can I go, your Grace?"

"No, you may not," Cersei's grip tightened. "Sit," Reluctantly, Morganna sat again, noticing the bleary look in the queen's eyes. She was good and drunk now, which could either be to her advantage or ruin. There was a pause before Cersei spoke again. "Did your mother ever tell you how much of a lying whore she is?" Morganna blinked, wondering where that had come from, but anger quickly overtook her at the insult.

"Don't talk about my mother like that!" She fired back, standing back up and wrenching her arm out of the queen's grip. The room fell silent, all eyes turning their way.

"Morganna," Sansa urged, pleading, tears running down her face. "Her Grace did not mean offence, she is no doubt concerned about her sons out there in the fighting,"

"Horseshit," Morganna laughed derisively, earning herself gasps from the other ladies.

"Sit down," Cersei hissed, the look in her eyes ugly now even as she smiled reassuringly at the curious ladies. "Or I will have Ser Ilyn take you from here and beat you bloody," She wouldn't put that past her, so with the most vicious glower she could summon up, Morganna sat. "If your mother is such a saint, where do you think your bastard brother came from?"

"She was raped," Morganna snarled back, though was careful to keep her voice down. It only occurred to her after she said it that her mother might not want Cersei Lannister to know that. Too late now. "What do you think happened? She was the Mad King's hostage, she was hardly wandering the streets," The queen only laughed, making her blood boil.

"Is that her story?" She shook her head. "I might have even believed that, had it not been for you,"

"Me?" Morganna raised an eyebrow. "I've got nothing to do with it. I was born years after the rebellion, and I'm not a bastard besides,"

"Nine months after the tourney at Riverrun," Cersei's lips twisted unpleasantly.

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Gods, you truly are as stupid as he is," The queen took another gulp of wine, seeming to be talking more to herself than either of them. "Though I can't believe I never saw it myself, before. Of course, it's rather unexpected. Why my sweet Jaime would deign to pay a plain, cold creature like Rosennis Stark any attention is beyond me. She must truly be a whore in the bedchamber to keep such attention,"

"Don't be ridiculous," Morganna rolled her eyes. "As if my mother would pay any attention to your vile Kingslaying brother,"

"Well what other explanation do you have for the fact that you share almost all of my features?" She snapped at her, gripping her arm again.

"Perhaps I'm your secret bastard with my Uncle Eddard," Morganna suggested, half-laughing, trying to shrug her off. "That's no more ridiculous than what you're suggesting," But Cersei wasn't listening, and didn't let go.

"You talk like him, sometimes," She said. "Bold, reckless and stupid. Standing next to my daughter, you look as good as sisters. You're too beautiful to be made from Rosennis Stark and her cold northern husband. No wonder your mother never brought you south with her. I'm surprised she let you within a mile of this place," Her nails dug in enough to hurt. "I'd kill you for it, if they didn't have my foolish siblings captive,"

Morganna remembered with a cold feeling how angry her mother had been when she realised she had arranged herself to go south. No, that's just because of Aerys, it has to be. Mother wouldn't do something like that, and not with him.

Sansa took advantage of the silence to try and distract Cersei, asking her why Ilyn Payne was there, lurking menacingly behind them. Morganna heard Cersei's awful reply, that the man was there to kill not only the queen in the event they lost, but also Sansa and Morganna, so no one would get any satisfaction from Stannis' win.

Sansa wept even more at that. Morganna pretended she didn't hear it, even though she wanted to scream and hit the woman until her face caved in. For the first time, she was thinking that it would be better to bide her time here. She couldn't give Cersei any hint of an escape plan, or they would never get out.

As the ladies around them grew increasingly more panicked, and Sansa actually took charge and calmed the room, she thought of what the woman had said, that she was a bastard sired by the Kingslayer.

It was very strange how much she did look like the queen and therefore her brother, but surely that explanation was impossible? Perhaps if Cersei had just said that about Ren, she could've believed it, but even then, the idea of those two was just... strange. She couldn't have thought of two more different people than her mother and Jaime Lannister.

No, she decided as another burst of wildfire from the river lit up the room green, and Cersei ordered Joffrey to be brought back from the front after hearing that the citizens of King's Landing were attacking the defenders from within the walls. It can't be true. Even if the queen believed that rubbish herself, she was drunk and delusional.

She would see her mother soon, anyway, providing Stannis won and they got away from the queen's insane plan to have Ilyn Payne murder them all. She could ask her then. From all the reports Cersei was getting, the Lannisters were losing, badly, despite the trick with the wildfire.

No doubt her mother would find the queen's accusations as ridiculous as Morganna did.


A necessary update on things in King's Landing, so apologies if this was a bit of a filler chapter, this isn't the best I've written and I'm not too proud of it. I'm bad at writing battle scenes, hence why we're seeing the Blackwater from the perspective of Morganna rather than Loreon.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/commented on this story, as well as all readers, you're all appreciated!

Special appreciation goes to the charming anonymous reader who left a review on chapter 5 on . I don't normally respond to reviews like this one, but with this one I'm rather confused as to what you mean when you say certain scenes were done just to fix a plot hole I 'dug myself into'. If you think Jaime being an asshole to Ned is out of character, I'm not sure what books you've been reading, because it doesn't seem to be ASOIAF. I'm all for constructive criticism, but that's just lazy, not to mention wrong.