A white book sat on a white table in a white room. How plain, she thought as she stood at the center of the round room. Her red gown was like a bloodstain that would tarnish in the sacred room. Cersei Lannister vividly remembered the first time her eyes had fallen on the quarters in White sword tower; her lips had parted in awe, and she had even let her fingers trace over the great book that rested upon the table. The knights in the book had been men remembered for their duty and sacrifice for their King. Men solemnly vowed to protect, live, and die for their king. Her father had promised her to the Targaryen Prince, Rhaegar when she had been encapsulated by the clean white cloaks of the guard and she had smiled so coyly. Many could have mistaken it for the joy of being promised to be queen - no, it wasn't that. Cersei had an idea.
Her dear brother, Jaime, had been in King's Landing since he had been old enough to leave their life in Casterly Rock behind. While Jaime squired for great knights, Cersei was taught to sew and was forced to watch as her mother's belly grew with the monster that would take her from them on her birthing bed. A part of Cersei wanted to resent Jaime for the privilege that came with his birth. For he was the firstborn son, set to inherit their father's lands and titles, and she was a broodmare to be married off and impregnated. It had left a bitter taste in her mouth, even if she was meant to be queen. Wedding another would not suffocate the yearning that ached through to her bones. A longing and desire that she could only have for her brother.
We shared a womb. We came into this world together, we belong together. It was a simple argument that had founded all the persuasion it took to convince Jaime to stir of whispers of his aspirations to dawn the white cloak. And when she had him consumed by her wind-whirl dream of living in King's Landing together, sneaking beneath the nose of their King, she had reintroduced him to every curve and angle of her body. He had taken her on the table, each passionate movement sending it across the floor with a grind and knocking the great white book to the floor its pages split wide open.
Any whisper of an arranged marriage between Jaime and Lysa Tully had been tarnished and within a limited number of days, Jaime had been named to the Kingsguard. Tywin Lannister was sent into a fit of rage The pin, which denoted his status of Hand of the King, was stripped from his chest by his own hand and was discarded at the feet of his King. There was no greater slight than taking his firstborn son, his heir! His legacy would be lost on his daughter and a dwarf all thanks to a seed Cersei hand planted.
When she had heard the news she was ecstatic, the tears in her eyes those of happiness, but soon she was weeping in sorrow. She would not be wedding Rhaegar Targaryen. He had wed Elia Martell and she had birthed him a beautiful Princess. And while childbearing had almost taken Elia from him, her belly grew swollen with another. Both Cersei and her father had hoped that she would meet her fate on the birthing bed and that Cersei would become Rhaegar's new bride. It had been Tywin's intention to keep Cersei around the keep since she had blossomed into a woman - to have Rhaegar see the very beauty of the woman he had turned away, and maybe with time he would have come to desire her, but Tywin's patience had run thin. This would be the final time Arey's would slight him. Tywin had sent his guard to Cersei's room as soon as he had been hit with the news. They had taken no care in packing her things, their orders simply to pack her things and leave by nightfall.
He did not listen to any pout or cry of disapproval that slipped from Cersei's lips. There would be no changing her father's mind once it was set. Now, she was forced to bid her farewell in the plain white room of White Sword Tower. Tears still threatening to spill over the lower lip of her eye, lashes the only things preventing them from slipping down high, angled cheeks. The rattle of armor sent a chill down the course of her spine, and Cersei held her breath praying to the gods that it would be her brother. Glancing back over her shoulder, she met a face that mirrored her own in all the right ways. Cersei golden hair hung low and ticked his cheeks. His eyes were bright and his grin split wide bearing a smile so perfect it left maidens swooning. When he looked at her, Cersei almost gagged. What was that look? One of pride, what was there to be proud of?
Jaime's smile fell the instant he saw the look of distaste on his sister's features. He had known that look well and rarely ended well for the young knight. The narrowing of her eyes and the thin line her lips fell into as they pressed together told him one thing; *you did something wrong. * Jamie's jaw slacked, his hands growing clammy at the thought. What could he have possibly screwed up now? He had only done everything he had told her to do. Little did he know that would be his greatest mistake.
"Cer-" Jaime couldn't even manage one syllable before she was throwing herself at him. Wiry arms wound around his middle, her face seeking comfort in the crook of his neck.
"Don't let them take me away-"
"Take you?" Jaime let a single brow arch up, his head cocking to the side to get a good look at her. "Who is taking you?"
"Father," Cersei was dismayed, "when he heard that you were raised to the Kingsguard and only returned to King's Landing to protect the Queen... he went livid! He has men in my room packing my things Jaime. We are to take to the Gold Road. Tonight."
Jaime cast his gaze out the narrow windows of the tower, quickly becoming fixated on the waves of the Blackwater Bay as they swelled. He swore he could feel the weight of the waves crashing down on top of him with the news his sister had brought to him. His sister was to be a lady of the court. She was to wed the Prince. If not Rhaegar, then Viserey's when he came of age. He had done all he could to secure the honor of the Kingsguard, not for himself but for his sister, and now, it was all for nothing. He brought his hand to his mouth, rubbing it slowly as if it would take the frustration away. He felt the rough stubble that itched as it threatened to grow in, and his own lips narrow as he pressed them down into the same unimpressed frown his sister wore. "I did this all for you, so we could be together-" his words were almost a growl, his teeth biting down on his tongue until he could taste blood. He had lost everything with a single proclamation. He had lost his birthright, the whispers of his promise to Lysa Tully - though that wasn't all that bad - and now his sister.
"I was to marry prince Rhaegar!" Cersei spat out, her body growing tense as she pulled from the touch that had been meant to comfort her. No, he didn't get to do this. He didn't get to blame this all on her.
Jaime scoffed, and frowned inwardly when it had almost escaped his lips as a laugh, "And who told you that?"
"Father-" it was the easiest answer, even if it had been partially true. It was no secret that her father had turned down countless proposals as he awaited an offer from Arey's, but it wasn't just her father's words of promise that gave her hope. it was those of Maggy the Frog.
Cersei could still remember the day as if it had happened only the night before. Walking through the woods with Melara Heatherspoon at her side. The scared glances they shared as they passed between the trees and the air reeked of mud and rot. When Cersei shut her eyes, she could still see, feel and taste it all. The ugly hag that greeted them had promised greatness. She would marry the king, give him 3 children that would reign over Westeros, and in time, the valonqar would take her last breath from her with his hands around her throat. There was a chance that it was nothing more than a fable told to her when she was scared and impressionable - and that was seeming more like a reality more than ever - but Cersei wanted nothing more than to be Queen and to have her brother there at her side to protect her. To love her.
Cersei stood at the center of the room, the palms of her hands bracing herself against the wooden table. Tears no longer threatened to spill down her cheeks, she was no longer caught up in sorrow. Now, she was angry. It wasn't often that she did not get what she wanted. There was always a way, she just needed to find it. For too long people were trying to keep her away from Jaime. First, it had been her mother's maid that had found them for the first time. They had been just curious children then, and it had lost the maid her position and sent Jaime across the castle. They had been told not to explore one another again, or their father would be told. The secret had died with their mother. Then, as Jaime came of age he was sent to squire to established knights and he was sent all across the Kingdoms. This was meant to be the moment that miles of road would no longer divide them. He had secured a place in Kings Landing, and Cersei thought she had as well only to be torn away from the Castle she so desperately wanted to call her home.
"There had to be a way-" Cersei started, her words catching in her throat, "-I can't leave you again."
His armor rattled with each stride, his arms coming to wrap around his sister as he stood behind her. His face pressed into her golden hair, pushing through until his nose grazed against the delicate skin of Cersei's neck. "Father will come around with time," Jaime promised, even if he wasn't so sure. Their father had always been a proud man. If he had felt slighted by King Arey's there was no telling to what extremes their father would go to regain his pride and secure his legacy. His hot breath washed over the length of her neck, Jaime's eyes fluttering shut as he was intoxicated by the scent of her. Jaimie would have to hide how his heart-ached at the thought of being away from her, there had always been something to look forward to when she was at court. Even when he would leave four tournaments, Jaime could always look forward to returning to King's Landing - returning to Cersei. His lips curled downwards. There would be no more secret rendezvous in the dead of night. No more stolen glances, or pouts of disapproval on her lips when a flirtatious handmaiden would be bidding for his attention. There was one promise that could be kept that could have only been secured by the success of being named to the Kingsguard: Jaime could not be wed.
From the moment he had taken his vows, he was sworn to the King and the King only. Jaime would live out the rest of his days in King's Landing, waiting for his sister to return. When she did, whether it be wed or still but a maiden, Jaime would be ready for her.
Cersei spun in place, turning so that her back was to the table and her lips were mere inches from those of Jaime. They breathed the same air between them. "There will come a time the two of us will be together again, for they cannot keep us apart. Two bodies, one soul," Cersei muttered, her bright green eyes fluttered over the exquisite features of her brother's face. There was no other man in the kingdom who could compare to the handsome lion that was her brother. He would be hers, and hers only. She would kill to assure this, and she already had. "We belong together," she managed another whisper and watched as Jaime glanced around the room, then over each shoulder to assure they were alone. While they had been hiding their affections since childhood, there was not a moment they fears they could be caught. The twins could never be too careful.
When Jaime was sure there would be no unwelcome interruptions, he stole the space between them and met her lips in a gentle graze. His kiss was firm, his tongue swiping at her lower lip until she granted him passage inside the warmth of her mouth. It would be a kiss to last a lifetime. One that Cersei would feel even after the many months ride back to Casterly Rock. If any other dare try to kiss her, it would be only his lips she would remember. His hands gripped her arms firmly, keeping her lithe frame pressed to his own. There was once a time they had been identical in every way, even their father struggled to tell them apart. With age, changes had taken them both: womanhood had since graced Cersei, and the endless training with the sword had brought a strength Jaime could have never imagined for himself. His grip grew tighter as a form of self-restraint. He craved to rip at the skirt of her gown and bare her soft flesh to him and to explore each curve of her body. Only did he pull back when his lungs begged for breath, his lips remaining parted in a quiet gasp.
Cersei was weak in his hold, her knees threatening to give way beneath her. Heart thundering behind her breast, Cersei whimpered as Jaime pulled further from her. Tears threatened to spill once more, her body craving to feel whole - something that could only be felt with her brother buried inside her. "Jaime, please," her words were a careful whisper, his hands grasping at the white cloak that hung from his shoulders.
"We can't, not here," Jaime muttered back, his long hair hanging down into his face as he glanced back towards the wooden door that granted them only a semblance of privacy. At any moment any one of the guard - or worse their father - could walk in and catch them in the most compromising of positions. "They will be looking for you, and when they can't find you," his body shook with a heavy sigh, "the entire Lannister guard will be sent to search the Keep…" Jaime's vision dropped to the ground as he thought, his heart-wrenching in his chest, "…I should be getting you back to father."
His sister recoiled from him as if she had been him, her face melting into a look of betrayal. How dare he say that to her? After she had expressed to desire to leave him, his answer was to deliver her to their father? "No," she protested, her arms coming up to cross over her chest, "no, I won't go. You can't-"
"Cersei," Jaime sighed, his touch leaving her arms so his fingers could take hold of her chin. He directed her eyes up to his and did his best to ignore the tears that had built up in her emerald eyes. "Father won't be leaving King's Landing without you, not after all that has happened. You're all he has left-" his words broken, his lips fighting back a frown. "We will see each other again," he promised, his hand splaying gently over her cheek and his thumb beginning to stroke at her flesh, "when you are the queen." He wasn't entirely sure where she had gotten such hope and desire to lead, - though it might have been strongly influenced by their father - Jaime would feed her aspirations. "The moment I get word I will ride for Casterly Rock and deliver you to your King myself."
Cersei threw her arms around her dear brother one last time, her face pressed firmly against the cool metal of his chest plate. His eyes shut tight as her tears slipped down her cheeks, her teeth taking hold of her lower lip desperately. She would count the moons until they were together again, but nothing would come fast enough. They were not meant to be apart. Since birth, the Gods had demanded it, they were to be together. "Our days will come," Cersei promised her brother, "when I am queen, there will be no stopping us." Hands raised up, cupping each side of his jaw and holding her gaze to his. "I love you," she spoke, her heart swelling in her chest as if it were to explode through her breast the moment they were to part.
"I love you," Jaime echoed to her, his arms coming away from her body and his legs taking him a step back. He kept his head down as he escorted Cersei to their father in silence, and he did not dare raise his head to look up upon his father's ace. Through closed eyes, he could envision the disappointment there. The anger. The room cleared around him of both persons and possessions, leaving Jaime to be the only lion among dragons in King's Landing. He stood in the tower of the hand, his white cape caught in the wind as he gazed down at the city below. The city reeked of shit and ash, though the smallfolk that lived in its streets did not seem to mind. Jaime wrinkled his nose, his eyes jumping from one winding street to the next before they settled on the small convoy of his father's house as it began its travel to Casterly Rock, and further from her home which was simply right next to him. Jaime grit his teeth and made a silent vow, he would do all in his power to assure himself that one day she could return home to him. That he would do whatever it takes, even if that meant dishonoring his pledge to the Kingsguard. For Cersei was meant to be the Queen and was the only woman worth his honor.