Okay... so it has been a REALLY long time and tbh I forgot that this story was unfinished/unpublished. I have a few chapters that I wrote over 3 years ago that I am going to publish. There is a point in this story where I really struggled to wrap things up - I do already have an ending and I intend on posting everything I have left on this story. There are errors and a few inconsistencies - but I hope you find some enjoyment in it!

She wouldn't admit what she had done but Tyrion knew and he wasn't scared to tell her honestly. "I hope selling your soul was worth it… I'm surprised you had any left, I thought my dear father would have taken it all."

Vesara couldn't resist rolling her eyes. "Awfully unbecoming, Vesara." He took another swig of his drink before pouring the two of them another.

He had taken to harassing Vesara as a means to escape his own pitiful quarters and frankly she didn't mind the company, no matter how much he irritated her.

He never stopped talking. And she was scared that she may accidently answer one of his questions with a little more honesty than she would like.

She wasn't perfect and she knew that there was a chance that she could slip up. Tyrion was a Lannister after all and she wasn't so sure that she could trust him, no matter how much he outwardly despised his sister and his father.

Family loyalty is the most difficult to test.

"What say we journey to Casterly Rock?" She wasn't sure that it was a wise question but she had wondered if perhaps all of her problems would disappear if she were to depart King's Landing. There she could wait in comfort until a time where the dragon queen was ready to return to their shores.

It sounded nice in theory but she knew that she was unable to keep her nose out of things. As much as she resented that fact about herself, the desire to be in the middle of everything she had no desire to change her behaviour.

She would convince herself that she needed to remain here, that she would be more effective in the thick of it.

Tyrion looked at her sideways. "Casterly Rock? I'm not sure that you are suited to life at the Rock. My uncle Kevan would bore you to death if the bannermen haven't first. And besides… you don't strike me as someone who appreciates leeches. All they see is gold, power and influence and for that reason neither of us will never have any true friends."

"Friends are overrated."

"Now, now Vesara. We all need friends, we just have to decide which ones we pay and what we pay them with."

"Hypothetically speaking, if I were your friend, how would you buy my friendship?"

"You mean how would I buy your loyalty?" He surveyed her. She could tell that he already knew what his response was, he just wanted to keep her on edge.

She was genuinely curious as to what her price would be. And she asked that question of herself in turn.

"I won't ever need to buy your loyalty… you won't ever be loyal to anyone but that boy… just as you were only loyal to your father."

"Are you saying I can't be bought?" Perhaps that was true, she may not have been able to be bought but she was not stalwart enough to resist manipulation. Jon Arryn had done it and in some ways so had Jaime, whether he knew it or not.

It was in the little things that he did that reminded her of the knight that she knew as a child, the one that watched over her, told her stories and made her laugh. There were only two men who ever made her laugh.

Jaime and her father.

But now when she thought of Jaime she wasn't resisting a smile or giggle as she did once upon a time, instead she was resisting the urge to break things. He wasn't the knight that she thought he was and had to constantly remind herself of that every time she felt herself slipping.

"Not exactly. If our priorities don't align, then I am not of interest to you." She knew that she did not have the heart of a killer and would have to use other means to remove those who did not share her goals.

"Perhaps… I love my son and he is the only thing that matters. I would make friends with my enemies if it means that he would be safe. Without him, any pride, any position, power…" she scoffed, "...none of it would matter. If we don't live for those we care about, for those that will follow us then we live for nothing but our own vanity and pride."

From the pressure that was released from her chest she realised that she spoke true. She had sold her soul to both Tywin and Joffrey to ensure that Durrandon was safe, she had hidden him under all of their noses for his safety.

She had even contemplated befriending Cersei, well as much as Cersei could have a friend to protect Durrandon, but in the end it didn't take her long to realise that Cersei knew no comradery and she knew even less about showing friendliness and kindness to others.

Not even Jaime.

"You are the stupidest Lannister… all those years ago I asked you to do one little thing for me and finally the opportunity arises and you fail again!" She didn't mean to spy but it wasn't as if she could escape.

She came here when she wanted to be alone, when she wanted to think and in some strange way although it was dark, she felt safe. Not many would say that they felt safe in the skull of a dragon and yet in the act of imagining the Black Dread, the dragon that her forefathers rode she felt more powerful than ever.

She was only just small enough to still fit in the eye socket of the Black Dread, who was so large that he could swallow aurochs whole, so large that the hairy mammoths. His fire was as black as his scales and his wingspan was so vast that whole towns would drown in the darkness of his shadow.

Stories of dragons were never particularly her favourite, although she did have a soft spot for any about Balerion. How could she not for the last living creature in all the world who saw Valyria in its glory, he knew of a world that they could only speculate about.

"What was I meant to do? Leave her there? Disobey orders from the King?"

Their tone was making her uncomfortable, she didn't like to see people bicker. No one would dare bicker with her Uncle Stannis, he would never let them.

"Reconnaissance at Lannisport does not mean a rescue mission! She could have burnt with the rest of them. Father should be glad that you aren't his heir. A traitor who would rather protect a girl than his family. "

"Not while she was father's guest! You would have me embarrass our family by failing to uphold guest rite, disobey orders from the King and allow a member of the royal family to perish? I may have broken vows before but not without reason… I believe my word to mean something, even if you don't." She would have been proud of Jaime for standing up to his sister if she had not realised that they had been talking about her.

"If that had been one of your children what would you have had me done?" His tone was pleading, clearly he wanted to please her but he was uncertain that any action she may suggest would have been an option for him.

"Returned them to their beds before smashing their fleet, burning their towns, broke their castles and made another island of their skulls." She hissed.

The girl wished that she could peer out of the eye socket but she could not risk being seen especially after they had been conversing about her.

She didn't understand what the Queen was upset about, Jaime had done what he was bound to do and he brought her back to the safety of Casterly Rock and once she was inside the castle he continued on to Pyke. It was an act no different to any other men.

And whether Monterys liked it or not he and his men needed assistance as Tywin and his men responded and recovered from the attack of the Iron Fleet on the Lannister Fleet.

"I won't apologise Cersei… I did what needed to be done."

"And as usual, if I want something done, I'll have to do it myself." She let out a single laugh. "Everytime she comes back, persuading Robert to send her away again becomes more and more difficult. Every minute he spends with her everyone sees how much he favours her over Joffrey. You must see that she is a threat to Joff, Myrcella and baby Tommen. Do it for them. Please."

Vesara may have been young but she knew what emotional blackmail and guilt was. Had the same argument been presented to her she would have agreed.

Anything to protect the ones that you care about.

"She's a child!"

"She won't be a child forever Jaime and if she should become a woman she will make both of our lives difficult. It's me or her."

"I choose honour."

"Don't act as if you have honour! You're dead to me."

Vesara had waited until it was quiet once more and after what felt like hours she had decided that it was safe enough to emerge from the safety of the Black Dread. Picking up her light skirts she crossed the Red Keep as quickly as she could.

She headed in the direction of the White Sword Tower but she hoped that she wouldn't reach the Tower before finding him. Although she often was told off by Monterys for disappearing she did not wish for him to find her so far from Maegor's Holdfast.

As she cut across the gardens she found him. He wasn't difficult to spot, he was nearly angelic with the sun reflecting off his golden mane and his gold and white armour.

Quickly she adjusted her dress, a gown made of burnt orange Myrish silk and adorned with gold embroidery on the billowing sleeves . Normally it was reserved for Dorne but the weather in King's Landing was particularly warm. It also didn't help that she didn't have as many dresses as she would have liked fit for court, as she started growing rapidly. It wouldn't be long before she would be a woman. Or so they told her.

She was intentional in her footsteps, ensuring they were loud enough for the Knight to hear as she did not wish to surprise him.

"Ser Jaime." She nodded politely as she came to a halt. He barely raised his head from his somewhat slumped position on the stone seat.

Reluctantly he acknowledged her. It was clear that he wanted to be alone but she wasn't going to leave without getting a few words out. "I didn't get the opportunity to thank you Ser Jaime. You saved my company and I. You are a true knight Ser and more importantly, an honourable man."

His green eyes pierced hers for a moment before smiling softly without offering a response.

"Good day Ser Jaime."

He had acted honourably and even if others did not think so she had to at least reassure him that she too thought he did, just in case he were to begin to doubt it himself.

Whether Cersei would admit it or not, Jaime had chosen honour and for that she would owe him her life.

In the end, Jaime would always act honourably, to his own standard at least. Her only concern would always be the path that would lead him there.

She never had an issue with her half-brother, aside from the fact that he was vile to those he deems beneath him. But this had never been uncommon for the high born, thinking that you were better than everybody else was merely a birth right to some as a learned trait, as was the example set by Cersei.

"This king thing isn't so bad, father made it look difficult." He stabbed his dagger into the orange that rolled across the table in front of him.

"Father was never made for ruling, he was made for battle." She replied curtly. It didn't take long for her to realise that anything said to Joffrey was best kept closed. The more and more he spoke the more she became weary of him.

"Well yes. I too shall follow in father's footsteps. The Blackwater was my test, if I can defend King's Landing, I can defend our seven kingdoms."

It amazed her that he continued to take credit for the deeds of his uncle that he had left to rot in inconsequential chambers and conditions hardly fitting for the man that saved the city.

She often wondered what would have happened had her uncle's siege been successful. He cared for her, of that much she was certain, but he cared for justice more. Vesara knew he took offence in her refusal to join his cause, her refusal to openly acknowledge her allegiance to any side of the war of the five kings.

It would have frustrated him.

She had slighted him.

Just as her father had repeatedly done.

And as penance for his frustrations she would have been accused of treason for all to see. She did find some comfort that he would have taken Durrandon into his care. He would never have taken his thirst for justice on someone who was innocent of their parent's crimes.

"The Battle of the Blackwater seems so long ago. It won't be long until wars reach our gates again brother, I do hope you are ready."

"We will be ready Vesara. With Robb Stark well and truly defeated, the only enemy worth our time has had his head removed from his shoulders." She gulped.

It had been but a few days since news had spread that Robb Stark, his new wife and mother had met dubious ends. Vesara could do little to console Sansa, no one could. The only thing she could do for the girl was keep Joffrey occupied and the more she saw her brother thirst for the whimpering girl the more her resolve to keep him away from Sansa grew.

The sooner he married Margery, the better.

Her methods of distraction were wearing thin and some options she knew were to be only used as a last resort. There were some things she preferred not to venture into and one of those being the true extent of Joffrey's evil. And she definitely had little confidence to ask the extent of the role Joffrey and Tywin had in the plot. She knew that they would both go to extremes to defeat the enemy and restore the fear they had lost in the defeat at the Whispering Wood.

Vesara restrained a chuckle, the insult to Lannister pride was something that brought her more amusement than it should. Not that she was entertained by Jaime's capture or his failure but sometimes it was good to realise that you aren't as invincible as you thought.

"Regardless, we need to make arrangements to cement our position. The Baratheon rule is still so young and if we wish to make a dynasty that lasts longer than those dragon cunts…" he sneered.

The look he wore made Vesara slightly uncomfortable. The look in his eyes was similar to the one Cersei has when she has a plan ready to unfold.

"There is a lot of weight on both of our shoulders, with you and my grandfather taking charge of the city and settling the kingdoms, I've been thinking of other ways to solidify our hold."

He stood behind her now, his hands resting on her shoulders. Vesara couldn't help but feel some uneasiness in not being able to see the expression on his face. The malice in his voice was even more distinctive when he could not be seen.

"Margery Tyrell will make for a fine bride, we will have strong and handsome sons… in time." His hand came in front of her face, lightly grasping her chin and tipping it upwards to his face. His signature sneer looming above her.

"Recently… you have been my main concern. You do so much here, and what you can for both Casterly Rock from afar… It's unfair really, uncle Jaime has lost himself somewhere along the Kingsroad, or perhaps he has gotten himself killed… and here you are, with one son… surely that isn't enough to please Lady Lannister? By my count you require four sons."

Her stomach lurched as his hand turned her towards him from out of her chair. "You've given so much to the kingdom, it's time I returned the favour on behalf of the kingdom."

He went to her chambers first. He knew that he shouldn't have, he knew that he should have made himself presentable first, she would be startled by his appearance.

Vesara had not, she saw him covered in his own shit and did not turn her nose up or look away from him. She made him feel naked.

Cersei gawked at his stump; no words came from her mouth.

All she could do was fume that he had been left without a hand and that she had been stripped of her regency by a young girl. The very girl that she despised with her entire being. The very girl who her children confided in and who legally lay with her brother, she was beginning to take all that Cersei held dear. The things that kept her warm enough for one to believe that she wasn't dead.

She was cold still, just as cold as when he left. He didn't know what he expected, that his sister would welcome him back into her bed and that he could have her remind him of the life he had when he was whole. When he knew who he was, a mere member of the Kingsguard. It was all a cruel jape to let Jaime know that his father had won and could do as he pleased.

His father had been no better than Cersei.

He entered the solar to hear his father's voice with no one else in the room.

"Look who has decided to join us Durrandon, your Lord Father? I assure you my boy that this strange man before us is your blood, you will learn from his…hand…just as you are learning from mine."

Jaime came closer and saw his son sitting at his father's feet surrounded by war figurines.

"Since when do you enjoy the company of toddlers?" Jaime glanced down at the boy gazed up at him with Robert's dark blue eyes. The babe merely stared at Jaime and back at his grandfather before returning to his games. Jaime felt his heart swell from meeting his son for the first time, but he would not show his father the pride and love that he felt for the boy at Tywin's feet who would have neared two years old.

He was perfect. He looked every bit of a Baratheon as Cersei's children should have with just a hint of Lannister hidden somewhere. He wanted to take into his arms and hold him close, but he would show no sign of weakness in front of his father, he needed to prove that he was just as strong and stubborn as the old lion.

"This is no ordinary child, he is the future of our house. He will be wiser than any other lord, wiser than a King, he will be the most powerful Lannister since Lann the Clever, a true King of the Rock. How could he not be with a line like ours and a storm queen as a mother?"

Jaime found it hard to believe that his father openly put so much faith in an infant; it was as if he had given up on the rest of his family to do the work he had wished.

"Lady Vesara, a storm queen?" His father was being ridiculous, Vesara had never shown any inclination towards politics of the realm hence his surprise when he learnt that she was regent, she had already denied her true place in Dorne and here his father was bestowing on her false titles.

The same false title that Aerys had given her as a babe.

"Your lessons as a child clearly did not take root."

"Forgive me father, history of the Stormlands was never an interest area of mine."

"Let me enlighten you." He merely glanced at his son before turning his attention back to the boy who moved about the room uncomfortable in his deep red tunic.

"Durrandon Lannister, first of his name. Do you know why Vesara would have picked that particular name?" Jaime remained silent. "It is an ode to the end of House Baratheon. As I'm sure you recall, the reign of the Storm Kings ended when Argilac Durrandon, slain by Orys Baratheon, King Aegon's bastard brother, all that remained of their house was the Storm Queen, Argella. Their line ended with her and so began the Baratheon line, now to be subsumed by House Lannister. The girl is clever, she is acknowledging that she now faces what the last Storm Queen had, the legacy of her house ending with her."

"The line does not end with Vesara, you forget Cersei and Robert's children, and Stannis the sour still lives."

Tywin paid only a single glance at Jaime before continuing his work. From Tywin's silence he had confirmed Jaime's suspicions, Tywin was betting on Vesara's survival at the end of the war. If Cersei were unsuccessful in holding the pride of the Lannister name, the boy would be King. Either way, Tywin would have a grandchild on the Iron Throne.

And this one would have the Lannister name. A reminder that only Vesara would sire children that would be named Lannister.

"You will take the Lady Vesara and return to Casterly Rock and rule in my stead, the boy will stay here as the King's ward."

"My place is here in the Capitol with the King."

"Paying more attention to the King than your own son, some might take that the wrong way."

"We have never cared for the opinions of others, I have a duty to the King and I will do as a please… just as I have always done."

He gazed up from beneath his eyebrows, his lips pressed together tightly. "You are free from the Kingsguard and yet you remain here and continue with your duties as Lord Commander… perhaps you should be spending more time in the bed of your lady wife, you need more heirs and a few visits to her chambers since your return is not acceptable. You will be removed from your quarters in the White Sword Tower immediately."

"If the rumours of another lion in her bed prove true there is no need for me." He shrugged. "If you'll excuse me father." He turned to leave, but not before he heard his father's response.

"Go be a glorified bodyguard, if that is all your ambition. I will name Durrandon my heir and leave you here. I can give truth to those rumours if you continue as such… I should have married the damn girl myself."

Jaime glanced back at him.

Surely his father had to be joking.

Congrats if you made it this far! I hope at least some of it made some sort of sense...