A/N:

No apologies or reasons are appropriate for the massive delay. But being blocked coupled with real-life business causes a lot less productive writing time. I'm sorry!

Hopefully I still have some readers out there!

Special hanks to everyone that reviewed 10 years ago:

imaygoPOP (Thank you! and pro-Cersei? can't say i hear that too often!), Belladonna007 (it's fair to say that I still have only hunches on who wins the game of thrones [i could not resist using that] and who cass actually winds up with at the end. to me, it still could go several ways. and thank you :) ), amrawo (Thank you! I try to plan as much as I can!), StarkStruck11 (I know. But thanks for being understanding, though I wouldn't say my being blocked is genius, haha. but thank you!), LittleNK (Thanks! Sorry you waited this long!), and KatieGG (Thank you! And your English seems fine :D).

This has a lot of talking and set up and such.

Disclaimer: I would be writing Winds of Winter right now if I owned this.

Red and gold cloaks were the ones that opened the doors to the carts and re-shackled her and Catelyn's hands. There were crowds of people outside, all stopping in confusion from whatever task they were doing to look on to them. They will start throwing things soon. They will hate us. But nothing ever came. Even the shouts she expected to hear were nothing more than loud murmurings and whispers.

She kept her head down until she saw the prisoner marching in front of her and Catelyn. His auburn hair distinguished him immediately, though Cass was unused to seeing him without his shoulders bathed in furs. "Robb!" Her voice escaped her, much like it did on the Sept next to his father.

He tried to turn his head, but the Lannister guard shifted it back forward. Cass could only see his back, see his ratty, stained tunic and the manacles on his ankles. His head never faltered, especially as he said. "I'm fine."

Fine. Of course you are. Robb was stronger than she was. She didn't know why she ever thought otherwise.

As she was being dragged forward, the Red Keep was coming closer and closer, looming over her. She could see every tower, every window, every brick, and tried to tell herself that this place was just like any other. Her feet were limp, stumbling over each other, and the guards had to hold her up to make sure she wouldn't trip. She hadn't walked in a while—her legs still used to being motionless in a small cart for too long.

She recognized the boy struggling to pick her up. It was the small, acne faced teen that originally put her in chains. "If you could let me talk to him, ser, I'd be so grateful."

The boy hesitated, face red from grabbing her waist. "Ser Jaime is ahead leading the men up. I cannot get through the crowd so easily."

"Not Ser Jaime." Cass' eyes went over the heads of the Lannister men in front of her, trying to see where the Kingslayer had gone. "Lord Stark, ser. If you please."

He hesitated again, but then quickened his pace, dragging Cass more and more through the dirty streets. The Red Keep was several yards away still, but Cassana didn't have much time. The doors were approaching, and she could see more and more gold capes as the Lannister soldiers started to fan out from the entrance. "Robb." She was next to him, and she could see his face clearly. There were still scars there from the Twins, and his beard was thick and messy on his cheeks. "Can you hear me?"

"Aye." He kept his eyes forward on the castle in front of them. "I said I wanted to come here and visit you, Cass. This wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

Me either. "Just listen." She had no time for nostalgia. "They'll be taking you to the black cells, Robb. It's small, cramped. They won't feed you much and barely give you water, but you have to hold on, alright?" You have to survive. If you don't, I don't know what I'll do. "Please…"

She was shoved forward, falling to the ground. Her palms scraped against the stone floor and soon the crowds were shouting, cacophonous bellowing through the square. The guards dragged her up and carried her through the doors. They were soon shut and the yelling disappeared behind the heavy barrier. Robb Stark was being dragged to a different place, and Cass wanted to call for him, but her voice died on her lips. Her hands started to throb, and she looked down to her palms. The skin was peeling and blood was dripping from the shallow cuts.

"You must be more careful."

The voice was too calm. It put her on edge. Cassana looked up to see a pretty girl with brown hair and round eyes. A white cloak was beside her, and all the other guards seemed to step aside as she approached Cassana. Her eyes went to the Kingsguard by the girl. "Ser Loras."

She had mixed feelings about seeing that knight again, and obviously Ser Loras felt the same. He was staring at her as if he were looking at a ghost. She fidgeted under his gaze, uncomfortable. Jaime's right. I look like Renly too much.

The pain was in his eyes, the dull light of memory of her brother, and Cass waited for him to speak, to say anything. Loras only stared at her, biting his lip. The girl though approached her and grabbed her hands. "You're cut. Please let me see to it, Lady Cassana."

She was obviously noble and had no need to be handling Cass' scrapes. "I am fine." This girl looked like a Tyrell, and Cass withdrew her fingers back, realizing who she must be. "You are the woman my brother married."

Margaery Tyrell had soft brown curls and big brown eyes. She was pretty, beautiful even, but Cassana felt angry staring at her and her brother here in the Red Keep. You married my brother and now you are here. And they mark me as a traitor? She could not trust the Tyrells. Their allegiance was to Highgarden and Highgarden alone. Cersei must realize it too. She must know that the roses are only here because…because…

Cass' anger faded and she approached Margaery, her hands letting the blood drip in clear view. "Would it be imprudent to ask you to call me sister?"

She smiled immediately at Cassana's suggestion and nodded. "I would like nothing more. Let me clean your hands. You can have one of my cousins as a handmaiden and can borrow one of my dresses before you see the king."

"You are too kind. Thank you, Lady Margaery."

"Please, we're sisters, Cassana. You said so yourself." Her smile grew. Cass wondered how the girl could force it to be so wide yet look so real. "We have no need for titles."

Ser Loras turned as another figure approached and gave a small bow. "Lord Commander."

The title made Cass stiffen. Jaime looked taller somehow in the mass expanse of the Red Keep. Or maybe Cassana just felt smaller. The Baratheons were all but gone from these halls—even the royal sigil had a lion stalking its back. "Touching." Jaime looked to Ser Loras. "Escort Lady Cassana to her new chambers. My sibling wishes to speak wither her there."

Cersei. Cass rubbed her arm. "Will you not bring me yourself, Ser Jaime?" Can you not see us both together? She tried to look at his face, to read him, but Jaime was too good at putting on facades.

"I will accompany Lady Margaery to court. Her betrothed is to relay judgment on Robb Stark."

Cass stiffened, and Margaery placed a hand on her arm. "It is alright, sweet sister. I was once betrothed to a traitor too."

The words were like daggers, and Loras must have felt the same for he was soon grabbing Cass' wrist and tugging her up stairs and down halls, his white wool cloak flapping. "Loras!" Cass coughed as he dragged her forward and down the dimly lit quarters. "Let me go! I must hear what they…"

"And hurt my sister? Get yourself killed?"

The second reason surprised her. Was Loras Tyrell concerned about her safety? She slipped her wrist from his fingers and looked at him, his armor, his white cape. "You did not care about Renly's safety. I don't see why you should care about mine."

The Knight of the Flowers looked as if he were about to hit her, but Cass didn't shrink back. She held her ground as his face twisted into disgust and sadness and finally shame. "I don't think I have to tell you about my feelings for your brother."

She felt a chill run down her spine. Thinking of Renly made her dizzy, and she realized she never really had time to grieve for him. I don't even know where his bones lie. Cass had abandoned him too. She had run to wolves while the Tyrells turned to lions. "We're not so different, Ser Loras." Cass tugged at her dress. "You sell your sword and I sell myself."

"Yet we'd both be useless without our names. You know that." He took keys from his belt and unlocked a wooden door. "Your chambers."

Cass blinked. She knew this tower—she knew this tower very well. "The Maiden Tower?"

"We all assume that still holds true for you." Loras didn't seem to mean it offensively. "You will be close to my sister here and yours too from what I just heard."

She lowered her eyes. "Margaery seems…nice."

"She is." Loras stood in front of the door that would be her room. He grabbed the hilt of his sword. "Cassana, I did all I could do for Renly. I don't want you to think…I know that…"

"You do not have to explain it further to me. How do you protect a man from a shadow, Ser Loras?"

The words seemed to confuse him, and she wondered what he thought had happened. Does he blame someone else for his death? She would not explain it to him here, not with the spiders in the walls. "We will grieve for Renly together, my brother. Perhaps in the Sept?"

The idea didn't seem to sit too well with Loras, but the knight nodded and he knocked on the door, causing Cass' breath to catch. She hated that she was afraid of Cersei—that she had once admired this beautiful women for her power and grace and now all she wanted was to hide and run away from her. She's only a woman. She's all flesh and blood and fear, like everyone else.

But the person behind the door was no woman at all. "Tyrion?" She smiled immediately at the sight of Tyrion Lannister, speedily walking away from Ser Loras and into her room. "It's…it's been so long."

"Fifty years from the look of you." Tyrion gestured for her to sit and then looked back to the Tyrell in the door frame. "Do make sure my sister keeps the Young Wolf's head intact, will you?"

Loras didn't say anything more before leaving.

Cassana looked to the bed, to the small candles lit in the room, to the red curtains and silver pitcher of water on the table. Her head hurt. Her eyes hurt. She looked to Tyrion and wasn't sure what she saw—was that pity or anxiety on his face? Her throat felt dry as she tried to speak but she did not move for the water. "I was expecting to be brought to my old room."

"I'm surprised your old room isn't ash." Tyrion went to the table and poured her a cup. "Drink. You sound like a man."

"I've missed you." She took the cup and drank. The water hurt her throat, but she finished it anyway. "I was also expecting that your sister would be the one to greet me."

"No need for pleasantries, Cass. We all know how Cersei and I feel about each other, and I gather your opinion of her does not vary much from my own." When Cass did not answer, Tyrion only laughed and continued, "She rather deal with Robb Stark at the moment."

Her skin iced over. "What are the odds of him surviving?"

"I don't think you want to be asking that question." Tyrion handed her a brush. "I pulled enough strings for you. I cannot do the same for Robb Stark."

She took it and dropped it. Making herself look pretty did not seem like a priority to her at the moment. And even it did, what she needed was a bath, not a brush. "Jaime said he had talked to you."

"It's a fact that while my brother uses his sword, I use my mind. There are certain occasions when both are necessary. Jaime was at least smart enough to know that talking to my father would be better than trying to fight him." Tyrion's voice turned serious. "You have to be careful still."

"I know." Cass grabbed the brush back and pulled it through her hair. This was her survival, wasn't it? Dirt fell out and onto the floor.

"My father is convinced that you will be useful alive, but Joff does not like his dear aunt and her time with the wolf."

She swallowed. "I came to free him, Tyrion." Her voice was low, hopefully too low for spiders. "Jaime told me not to come here."

"And go to Stannis? Would you have liked that?"

She remained silent.

"Stannis and the red woman plague my sleep. That and my father." Tyrion grabbed another bottle from a side table. This one was filled with wine. "Tell me, why are you not with Stannis? Is it to save your betrothed's life? Is that all?"

No. Cassana spoke loudly. "I have no love for him or the Starks. My loyalties lie with the crown, my brother's son." She swallowed. "He is what is best for the Seven Kingdoms."

"There's no need to lie to me."

"I'm not." Cass said immediately. Not completely. "Tyrion, my brother cannot….he cannot rule. He does not have the love of these people, and Melisandre will be at his back. She will poison him and burn the new gods. There will be smoke billowing out of the Sept of Baelor and blood on its steps." This kingdom will burn just like the stag in his sigil. "My loyalties are to this crown."

"Simple process of elimination then. Robb Stark is captured. Renly is dead. Stannis is being controlled by someone even crazier than my sister, and so you settle for the boy-king."

She fidgeted, her fingers tugging at each other. "How bad is he?"

"He was starving this city before the Tyrells came, and he wished to kill all the men in the streets for having a cowpie tossed at his head." His eyes told her even more beyond that, and Cass felt her breath grow short. "But he is our true king. What are we to do?"

She wondered if Tyrion truly believed those words or thought she did. Cass did not move to argue them in a factual way. "Tywin Lannister is our king. I should grovel at his feet."

Tyrion smirked. "My sister's feet first, then my father's. Jaime and I were the wrong Lannisters to have love you."

There was a soft knock on her door, and Cassana soon met with Margaery's cousin. Tyrion excused himself as her new handmaiden brought her to a bath, laying out dresses and shoes and underclothes for her to choose from. Grey will mark me a wolf, gold a Baratheon… She could not bring herself to wear a flowery green gown, and so she took the crimson one, telling herself that she was playing this game. Try not to make enemies of them yet—not known enemies, anyway.

The gown was tightened after her hair was washed and her pale skin stripped of all dirt and grime. Her bath had been drawn from rosewater. The scent made her want to sneeze.

Ser Loras was accompanying her again when the Tyrell girl was done braiding her hair and adding a small gold clip to hold the strands in place. The girl smiled and gave her a hug. "You are almost as beautiful as Lady Margaery!"

Cass forced a smile, deeming that some sort of compliment. "Thank you."

Loras offered her a gloved hand and walked her to the throne room.

She used to enter this room without any care—hair undone, no thought in her head of the people or things they were to say to one another. Her brother would always greet her warmly, and the small-folk and lords and ladies in the hall would smile at her because she was the king's little sister. She was the poor girl that never knew her father and mother. She was the girl that her brother was willing to wait another five years for before he found a man suitable enough to marry her. She was important then. But that was not the case anymore.

Cassana wanted nothing more than to bolt as the doors opened, revealing this room she had seen hundreds of thousands of times before. Loras' grip on her hand tightened, and Cassana tried to remember Robb's face as he was brought in chains. Head high. They are your family too…in a way.

Joff was staring her down. Her little nephew sat on the Iron Throne, his fingers tapping on the arms as if it were a soft drum. The Kingsguard were around him, flanking his sides, and there too was Jaime, hair blond again in the southern light. Cersei was sitting on a throne beside her son—beautiful still and wearing a deep blue gown. Her golden hair fell down in ringlets, and her smile was growing with each step Cassana took towards her.

Her heart was the loudest thing in the room, reminding her of beating drums and weddings and blood—blood and death everywhere. Cass' breathing became ragged, and soon enough, Loras was dropping her hand to bow. She looked at him, dumbly, and then curtsied herself. "My king."

"Rise."

She did with Joffrey's voice, but kept her head lowered, unable to hold her chin high under the weight of the fear in her head. She was not as strong as Robb. "My king," she repeated.

"I'm struggling, dear aunt, of what to do with you. You were kidnapped by Ned Stark, and though I am…relieved to see you back, the news I have heard makes me question your loyalty."

Kidnapped? She looked to the court around her. They were maintaining that lie, and it would only benefit Cassana more. Good then. "I am happy to be back. I know there have been lies circulating, but that has always been the case." Cass looked to Cersei briefly before talking again to Joffrey. "I am sure this court is familiar with that too."

Joffrey's smirk faded. He must have heard the rumors too. Cersei looked ready to pounce from her seat—a true lioness—but she remained stationary, face unable to hide her dissatisfaction. She kept her mouth shut though, which surprised Cassana immensely. She was grateful for the blonde woman's silence. The boy-king continued. "You are my aunt. You are my father's sister, and I know how much he had loved you. It is that love that has saved you today, Aunt Cassana, for I still mistrust your true intentions." His fingers kept tap, tap, tapping on the metal throne, the sound echoing throughout the hall. "Your betrothed is sitting in a black cell."

She knew that. She wouldn't let that information shock her or anger her. That was Joffrey's intention. It was hard for a Baratheon to rein in his temper, and the sentiment held true for her. Her chin stiffened. "Is it my mistake or did he not marry someone else weeks ago? Betrothals are not always made with both parties' compliance, dear nephew." Cassana searched for Sansa Stark in the room and found the girl's red hair easily. "You were once betrothed to a wolf too."

Though her comment clearly irked Joffrey, the king seemed satisfied enough with her response. Cersei finally spoke. "Sansa has remained loyal to us. There are also whispers of you going to Stannis Baratheon."

There are rumors of me fucking Jaime too. Isn't that the real problem? Cass smiled. "Your brother brought me to him."

Cersei's green eyes flashed briefly to her twin. "Why would a sworn brother of the Kingsguard—the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, let you go from one traitor to another?"

"I freed him from Robb Stark, my queen. I let your brother go and then asked him to bring me to Stannis. I…I wanted to convince him to not align with the Starks. The plan was already in motion." She rubbed her arm, hesitating. "My brother has another woman whispering in his ear. He has no use for sisters."

Cersei leaned back, moving her head to the side as if she were examining Cassana like a painting or a piece of meat. Cass didn't flinch back under her gaze or turn to look at Jaime. She smiled back, pleasant, pushing her chest out in the red dress. "Then you swear fealty to my son?"

"I do."

"And if I take off Robb Stark's head…"

"Let us not talk of executions when we could talk of weddings." Her mind moved to think of Margaery, that light, sincere smile on the girl's face. She hoped her own grin was half as believable. "What you do with the Stark boy is of no concern of mine, but I am excited, as I am sure you are as well, for my nephew's wedding. I always liked those much more than a hanging. Don't you agree?"

The blond was squirming in her seat. All of the white cloaks had their fingers twitch over the hilts of their swords besides Loras and Jaime. She could be dead with a few words. "You are free to leave, Lady Cassana."

She curtsied again before practically sprinting out of the hall.

"Lady Cassana!"

She wanted to avoid this person most of all after her little questioning in the throne room. Cass kept walking, pretending not to hear the shouts.

"Please, my lady. Please talk to me."

Cass stopped and bit her lip before turning. "Lady Sansa…" She curtsied again. It was weird, strangely upsetting, to think that this young girl would be the lady of Casterly Rock one day. "My apologies. I'm in my own head too much. I believe that I should be offering you my congratulations?"

The young girl flushed. "Thank you. I wish you could have been to my wedding." She swallowed, wringing her hands together. "Did my… did my traitor brother treat you well?"

Cass didn't know how to answer that question, didn't think she could out in the open like this. "We shouldn't be talking about that, my lady."

"My husband has a lot of respect for you. He thinks you can…you can help fix things here."

She half-smiled. "Tyrion is a good man, Sansa. I know he isn't a knight like Ser Loras or…"
"Jaime Lannister?" Sansa asked, looking much cleverer than Cass ever remembered. "Is he a good man too?"

"He…" Cass didn't really know why Sansa was asking that. How many rumors were there? "He means well."

"He is a good knight to bring my brother here. I also heard that he went to my grandfather's seat." Sansa started walking down the hall and Cass followed. "I suppose my grandfather is a traitor too."

"Hoster Tully died, my lady. I'm sorry, but Edmure Tully is the Lord of Riverrun now."

"My uncle? Edmure?" Sansa's brief sadness on her face was quickly removed. "No, that isn't right. Excuse me for saying, but isn't that the reason why Ser Jaime went? To take the Tullys out of Riverrun?"

She hates him too. She is just better at hiding it than most. Cass grabbed her hand. "Do you like to pray?"

"To my father's gods." Sansa looked at their hands, not knowing what to think. "Why do you ask me this?"

We may be safe there. "Will you take me there? I'd like to pray with you."

Robb Stark had treated her very well.

It was the first thing she said to Sansa, and that one sentence alone seemed to brighten the girl up immediately. Cass went on to explain everything else—Robb, Ned, Jaime, Stannis—and she waited for the girl to ask her why she was here, but Sansa didn't.

"I don't know how to free him either." Sansa finally said. She was touching the bark of one of the trees. Cass thought of the heartree in Winterfell, when she sat there with Robb and Jon Snow. She was afraid of Grey Wind then and the crying trees, but now the thoughts of them only brought her comfort and sadness. "Can you keep a secret, Lady Cassana?"

It depends. "For you? Yes, of course."

"I'm leaving the night of Joffery's wedding."

What? Cass held back a laugh. She stretched out her legs on the godswood's floor and stared at Sansa, waiting for her to take back the words she just said. But she didn't. "How?"

"I won't tell you his name, but a knight promised to take me away. He'll bring me home."

A knight? Is it Jaime? Cass blushed a little. Maybe he meant to keep his word. "Does your husband know of this?"

Sansa shook her head. "Or if he does, I'm not aware of it."

Cass supposed she should have probed more, but another possibility was taking over her thoughts. "Joffrey's wedding."

"Yes, my lady?"

"There will be so many guards watching the king and new queen." Cass was smiling. "They will be watching for threats around the Sept and the throne room." And everywhere else will be bare. "Your knight was good to take you away then."

"My brother…"

"I will get him out." That is the time. "I…People love me still, don't they? Someone will help me. Your brother will not die, Sansa."

The girl hugged her then, as if that flimsy promise was enough to spring Robb from his cell all on its own. They linked arms as they walked back into the Red Keep, Cass' chest feeling somehow lighter and heavier at the same time. Maybe it was possible to save Robb from this hell—maybe—but how would she ever go about accomplishing it?

I cannot ask Jaime to help me. But she could not trust anyone else. Sansa could not help her and Jaime would refuse to. I will have to get him then. I will have to fish him out of there my…

Cass was jolted to a halt as Sansa stopped. Her arm immediately fell away from Cassana's and the young girl curtsied deeply, so gracefully, that Cass was sure she would look like a fool if she were to do the same thing next to her. And maybe she should have curtsied, but one look at the two people in front of her had her stiffen, prickle. "My queen." She swallowed at Cersei before looking to her twin. "Ser Jaime."

"Cass?" Jaime looked to the both of them. "What are you…"

"Jaime, take Sansa back to her chambers. Poor little dove must have forgotten our brother expects her for dinner soon." Cersei patted her twin's arm.
He didn't move. Jaime looked at Cass but did not say anything, did not even let his eyes waver until she smiled and said, "If you wish to talk to me Cersei, all you have to do is ask."

The queen gave a grinning sniff and watched as her brother took Sansa's hand and walked her down the hall. Cersei walked passed Cassana, expecting her to follow. And she did. "You link arms almost like sisters."

"We are in a way. She married your brother and you were married to mine." Cass could feel her forehead start to sweat. "It is strange, my queen. Margaery calls me sister, but I realized I have never offered the same to you. I feel bad. Guilty even. Are we not sisters, Cersei?"

Cersei Lannister stopped at the suggestion, her skin looking sickly white. She grabbed Cass' wrist and made the girl look at her. Cass flinched at the sudden pain and Cersei's poisonous glare. "Call me sister again and I will kill you. Don't misunderstand me."

She thought the words would have frightened her, but they seemed to only incite her. The initial pain was fading, showing eventually how weak her hold actually was. She's just flesh and blood and fear, like everyone else.

Cass turned her wrist and freed her hand, grabbing Cersei's in exchange. "You misunderstand yourself." Cass squeezed her fingers, crushing it and pushing the queen against the castle's wall. "You think yourself a god, Cersei, when all you are is a bitch with the right name." She dropped the woman's hand, infuriated, her temper breaking. "Tywin Lannister controls you and he does not want me dead. Do not think your threats have any weight on me."

"Where does this confidence come from?" She seemed flustered, but not at all worried. Whatever fear Cass was hoping to inspire died as soon as her words hit the air. Her grip faltered, and Cersei took her hand back, brushing back her gold hair. "You left this place a girl but came back a woman. Did someone take your maidenhood, Cassana?"

Cass averted her eyes. She wasn't exactly sure what to say—if the truth were good or not.

"Tell me, what am I to do with you if I find out you fucked a traitor?" She stroked Cass' hair. "You love him. I see it on your face. You would do anything to save him, wouldn't you? That's why you're here."

Cass' hair was knotty, but Cersei tugged through, causing the younger girl to cringe and close her eyes. She then touched her cheek, a seemingly gentle exchange, but the sharp nails and pressure broke skin. Her words, more than the biting touch, made Cass shake.

"How would you like me to kill him? Fast? Slow? I'll have you watch if you want. I'll have you do it yourself."

She swallowed. "He does not…"

"Concern you?" She sniffed again and took a step forward. Cass inched away. "I see the stupid look on your face. I see your love for him. Don't take me for a fool, Cassana. Your presence here endangers my sons. Your love for him makes me sick."

"My love for who?" Cass asked, trying to sound innocent. "My love for Robb? Or for…"

The hand hit her before she began to say his name. There was a loud sound, a solid pat and Cass felt her head turn from the force. Cersei stood in front of her, face as red as Cass' dress, chest heaving from whatever anger she was still trying to suppress. Cass swallowed down her trepidation and fear. She had brought this on herself. She had taunted Cersei to see if she...if she...

She already knew I love him.

This wasn't about Robb at all. Cersei knew about Jaime.

Her cheek stung from where Cersei hit her, burning more from the open scratches she also put on her face. Cass touched the tender area and smirked. "Is there something you might actually want from me, my queen?"

There was a slight hesitation as the queen caught her breath. She gave a light tap on Cassana's reddening cheek. "Only to cause you pain, Cassana." Her voice was low, cold. "But that shouldn't be too hard."

A/N:

I will try to update faster! I swear. Reviews are the best motivators! Let me know what you think!