Chapter Seven
A/N: Thank you to magnus374, green and Sithlord king for reviewing the last chapter.
The great hall was alive with light and music, the like of which had not been seen in years. The veins of gold in the walls glimmered with the candle flames, like precious threads woven through an intricate tapestry. In the centre of the room stood Ser Arthur Dayne, surrounded by a noble flock of birds dressed in silks of a thousand different colours. It seemed as if Cersei Lannister was the only young woman in the Westerlands who was not half in love with the champion of the day.
"Do you not wish to dance with the champion?" Rhaegar asked, seated beside her on the dais. To his credit, the prince seemed glad for his friend's success.
"I would have to fight to get near him." the young woman reasoned. It was a weak excuse. Lord Tywin's daughter could dance with any man she chose at any time. It just so happened that the only man she wished to dance with was sat beside her.
Rhaegar nodded, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. It seemed he had seen right through her façade.
"My father actually seems pleased by the celebrations." Cersei stated, watching the man out of the corner of her eye. If Tywin Lannister smiled, he would be beaming from ear to ear. "That is an achievement in itself."
Rhaegar did not share in her gentle laugh, for he knew the truth of why her father was smiling, and his as well. He had begged the men not to announce the news tonight, but they had insisted. The end of a celebration such as this was the perfect time for a royal announcement, they had agreed. And what use was there in waiting any longer?
"My lady, I had hoped to have a chance to see you alone for a moment." Rhaegar offered. He could see his final chance slipping away with each second he watched the dancing.
Cersei gazed up at the young man in shock. She could not have appeared more dazed if he had offered her a ride on a dragon.
"I'm not sure my father would approve of such a thing." Cersei stated, the regret almost murderous in her tone. "I ought to stay at the feast, so that people might see me."
"Just one moment." Rhaegar assured her. "Then they can see you all they like for the rest of the evening."
And they surely would do.
Eventually, Cersei nodded her acquiescence, following the prince up onto the gallery overlooking the hall. It was not hidden away well enough to be improper, but it was private enough that they could speak without interruption, even if it was for just a few moments.
"My lady, these celebrations are not entirely for Ser Arthur's benefit." Rhaegar did not skirt around the subject; if he did, he feared he would never find the strength to tell the truth.
"What do you mean?" Cersei questioned. She was watching the dancing, where women all but beat each other for a chance to take the champion's arm. How foolish they seemed.
"There is to be an important announcement tonight." Cersei watched the prince curiously as he spoke. She still had no inkling of what was to come. "Our fathers have made an agreement between them, an arrangement to benefit both their Houses greatly."
"The two of us are to be wed." Rhaegar took pride in his courage at saying the words so simply. Until he realised that he did not say them.
"You already know?" the young man breathed. Cersei shrugged a little, the movement barely visible beneath the heavy fabric of her gown.
"I suspected it was what you were going to tell me," she reasoned. "But I've known of the plan for years. Likely long before you did, in truth. My father told me, not long before my mother died, that I would be a queen. And a promise between a Lannister and Lannister is worth its weight in gold."
"And what do you make of this proposal?" Rhaegar asked. The answer did not truly matter, for Lord Tywin would force the match regardless, but he had to know.
The young lady watched the dancers below her, the wide circle of Myrish silk skirts as the women turned, lost in a joy she was never quite allowed to feel.
"I do not mind it, I suppose." Cersei sighed. "I've always known my father would choose my husband for me, and there are far worse men in the Seven Kingdoms than you, my prince."
Rhaegar did not know quite what to make of her response. Of course he would have wished for more enthusiasm, if only to assuage his own guilt. After all, Lady Cersei had seemed so keen on him throughout the tourney. As her father had no doubt instructed her to seem. The prince wondered for a moment how much of her interaction with him had been false.
"But you would prefer someone else?" Rhaegar surmised. There was an element of torture in his consistent questioning, but he could not seem to stop the words dripping from his tongue.
"It's not that I would prefer someone else, it's that I do not want to be a wife so soon." Cersei sighed. She had turned from the dancing now, to face the window overlooking the sea. She took comfort in the waves, always going in and out, come what may. "I know how these matches work. As soon as your father and mine make the announcement, we will be wed within a year, and then my only purpose will be to look pretty and birth an heir for you. I suppose I just want to keep what little freedom I have for a while longer, that is all."
Rhaegar looked down at the dais, where his father and hers were speaking, watching the band for an interval at which to make their grand announcement. Perhaps if he could speak to them for just a moment…
"And if I told you I would try to gain you a little time, what would you say then?" Cersei looked up at Rhaegar, her emerald eyes glassy. "I will go to my father this minute and tell him I will not marry you until you are six and ten. Will that be enough freedom for you?"
Cersei burst out laughing, the relief palpable in the air around her. She reached up to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, my prince. I have no words to tell you how much that would mean for me."
The weight of their engagement still pressed heavy on his shoulders, but as the young girl laughed, he could not help but smile along. His father would be furious, as would Lord Tywin, but it was worth the risk, to see her smile once more.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!
