'How could you be so careless?' Tyrion yelled at his sister, then he let out a sigh. 'This is bad, Cersei. Like impeachment bad.'

'It was a brotherly kiss. Celebrities get away with it all the time.' Cersei shrugged.

She watched with hidden amusement as her younger brother paced the room up and down.

'First of all, you are not a celebrity, you are the President. And secondly, it was definitely not a brotherly kiss. And now the whole country knows that.'

'All right then, what do you suggest?' Cersei rolled her eyes.

She looked at her twin brother for support, but Jaime just stared in front of him with a serious expression.

'Resign. And deny everything more than that kiss between you and Jaime.' Tyrion remarked in a firm voice.

A heavy silence fell on the room.

'No! I won't do it!' Cersei screamed when she realized her brother was serious.

'For God's sake, Cersei, think of Tommen.' Jaime suddenly snapped at her. 'If you don't do this right. they can take him away from you. They will take him and…'

Cersei shook her head and instinctively put her hand on her stomach. 'No one will touch my children. I won't let that happen.'

She suddenly realized she had said too much. Tyrion didn't need much time to figure it all out.

'Cersei, you didn't…' he mumbled in shock. 'We were in the middle of your presidential campaign!'

'I.. I know that. But Joffrey was dead… and Myrcella was in boarding school… and Tommen was pulling away each day…' Cersei stammered. '…Yes, I wanted another piece of Jaime and me!'

Both Jaime and Tyrion were surprised to see her motherly side revealed to them.

'I just got elected President. I will not resign.' she remarked quietly. 'I did nothing wrong.'

'The law says otherwise.' her younger brother muttered under his breath.

'Then I'll change the damn law!' Cersei hissed angrily. 'Loras is with us. He will get the free marriage act passed.'

'What about the people? Your voters? They won't forgive you for betraying them like this.' Jaime remarked in a worried voice.

Tyrion nodded in agreement, which gained an eye roll from Cersei.

She walked over to Jaime and kissed him. He immediately deepened the kiss, but his sister quickly let go of him.

'Never doubt me again.' she stopped the kiss and slapped him across the face.

Tyrion instinctively backed away when Cersei left Jaime and stepped closer to him.

'You, my little brother will have to deal with the people. You will make Jaime and I look like the perfect fairytale couple.'

'Of course, no problem. How on earth would you expect me to do that?' Tyrion scoffed.

Cersei ignored his tone and gave him a confident smile. 'Give them bread and circuses. You are going to plan a presidential wedding.'


Tyrion's first idea of making his sibling's romantic relationship acceptable to the people was a family brunch in a chic restaurant close to the Red House. The place was flooded with the paparazzi who got secretly tipped off by the Lannisters themselves and Cersei gave an appreciative nod upon seeing her younger brother's work when she entered on Jaime's arm. The waiter quickly showed them to their table and Cersei couldn't stop herself looking nervously at her twin brother. Jaime seemed just as excited as her. Since the election more and more protesters gathered on the Red House lawn and the newly elected President was getting terrible press. It was needless to say how important it was to change the people's mind about them. They had to do the impossible: trying to look like a normal family. But the hardest to convince was their own son.

'I told you we shouldn't have brought Tommen.' Cersei hissed angrily behind her menu.

'Smile, Cersei.' Jaime mumbled with a fake smile. 'And lower the menu so those stupid hyenas you ordered here could see us.'

Tommen snorted in disdain.

Cersei shot a quick glance at him. 'I know you are angry, but at least, eat something.' she remarked, then she added. 'Please.'

Her son gave her a surprised look. He didn't hear her mother use that word often.

'What if I don't?' he asked stubbornly.

Cersei dropped her presidential act for a moment and leaned closer to her son.

'It's not the best time to defy me, Tommen.' she remarked in a serious voice. 'I have just become the most powerful woman in the world and our enemies are not happy about it. They will do everything to destroy us. They can take you away from me.'

Tommen shrugged. 'Maybe then I can live with Margaery. You are disgusting. I would never kiss Myrcella.'

'No one asks you to.' Jaime intervened before his sister had a chance to snap.

They sat quietly around their table for a while, then Cersei broke the silence.

'All right. Name your price.'

Tommen didn't need one moment to think.

'I want to go to church with Margaery to pray for your souls.' he said with a satisfied smile.

Cersei nervously twitched. Out of all the betrayals Tommen committed against her this was the worst. But in her current situation she didn't have the luxury to say no to him. For now.

'Fine. Whatever makes you happy, sweetheart.' she replied in mock ease.

Jaime gave her a reassuring smile and gently squeezed her hand before he turned to Tommen. 'Say a prayer for your brother and sister as well, okay?'

Tommen silently nodded.

'Democracy is the worst form of government.' Cersei remarked with a frustrated sigh. 'I'm glad we don't have to live in it much longer.'

Jaime looked at her in shock. 'What do you mean?'

His twin sister didn't have time to answer because Gregor stepped to her.

Cersei gave him an expectant look. 'Did you find her?'

Gregor grunted something and nodded.

'Good. Let's go.' Cersei answered and got up from her chair. Gregor was about to leave, but she called him back. 'It's just you and me, Gregor. Back door, one car. I don't want the motorcade.'

Gregor gave her a short nod and left. Cersei took her lion head cane and wanted to follow him when Jaime grabbed her arm.

'Where are you going?'

'It's none of your concern.' she remarked with a smile and left her still puzzled family.


'Melinda Alexander. Lady Melisandre. Very creative.' Cersei remarked scornfully as she walked into the fortune teller's living room.

'What do I do the honour, Madam President?' Melinda asked suspiciously.

Cersei sat down on the sofa. 'Do you remember me?'

'Yes. Such a dark future for such a young girl. It's not often I have to deliver a horrible prophecy like that.'

'I'm flattered. But now you have to do it again.' Cersei remarked in a firm voice.

Melinda shook her head. 'Sorry, I can't help. Your agent who had visited me earlier must have told you that I'm not a fortune teller anymore.'

Cersei couldn't be discouraged so easily.

'I'm sure you still have your cards. Bring them here.' she ordered the other woman with an impatient smile.

Melinda walked over to a cupboard and took a deck of cards from one of the drawers.

'Why is it so important to you?' she sat on a chair beside the sofa and began shuffling the cards.

Cersei folded her arms and remained stubbornly quiet.

'It came true, right?' Melinda continued. 'Clients usually come back because they see their prophecy coming true and they desperately want to change it. But they can't. That's why I don't like doing a second reading for the same person. So… which one was it? Which one came true?'

Cersei couldn't help herself shivering as she thought back to their previous session almost thirty years ago.

'Five minutes. Ask your questions.' Lady Melisandre began in a bored voice.

The ten-year-old Cersei didn't appreciate her tone, but she didn't let it get to her.

'Who will be my husband?' she fired her first question.

The fortune teller spread her deck of cards over the table. 'Draw a card.' she ordered.

Cersei took a card and turned the picture to the other woman.

Lady Melisandre couldn't hide her surprise as she looked at it. 'The Devil.'

'This is stupid.' the little girl rolled her eyes and quickly moved on to her next question. 'Am I going to have children?'

'Not by him.' the woman said. 'Draw a card.'

Cersei did as she was told.

'Three of Swords. Three times your heart cries out in joy, three times it's pierced by swords.' Lady Melisandre translated the meaning of the card that showed the picture of a heart pierced by three swords.

'It doesn't make any sense.' young Cersei frowned.

'If I were you, I would make sure not to have any children.' the fortune teller remarked firmly, but upon seeing the little girl's expression, she let her mask slip for a moment. I'm sorry, it must be difficult to hear. Do you want to continue?'

'Yes.' Cersei gulped and blinked away her tears that were threatening to fall. 'Am I going to be successful?'

'Love or career?' the other woman asked.

'Both.'

Lady Melisandre nodded. 'Draw two cards.'

The first card Cersei drew showed a woman in a flowery dress with a crown on her head. A satisfied smile flashed across her face until she saw her next card: a tower in flames.

'You'll become an Empress, but your empire will crumble down when the Tower falls.' young Cersei heard the fortune teller's cold voice.

'You're just trying to scare me.' she snorted in disdain. 'Just so you know, I won't give you more money. I want the truth.'

'It is the truth.' the woman reassured her with a scornful smile. 'Do you want to know how it ends?'

Cersei nodded. Once again, she followed the fortune teller's instruction and drew two cards.

Lady Melisandre quickly snatched them from her hands to study the pictures of what looked like some white sorceress and an old monk.

'The High Priestess will come to harvest the fruit of your labour and your fate will be of the Hermit.' the woman said with ease and Cersei could have sworn she saw her smiling.

'You have lost two of your children.' Melinda's voice dragged Cersei out of her thoughts. 'You are here because you want to know what happens when you lose the third one.'

Cersei shook her head. Now it was her turn to smile. 'No, I won't lose him. You have made a mistake. But I see that it was a waste of time coming here. You may not be a fortune teller anymore, but you are still a petty liar.'

She got up from her chair and made her way to the door.

'Wait.' the other woman suddenly stopped her. 'I should have noticed it. Your aura is glowing. You are full of life.'

Cersei scoffed. 'I don't have time for your bullshit. Are you going to tell my future?'

Melinda stepped closer to her and put her hand on her stomach. 'No. But I tell hers.'