Author's Note: Here we go! I started off with the Lion mother, thought we could delve into how she is faring lol. I hope you all like this chapter, I do. Thank you for all the favorites, reviews and follows :)

Disclaimer: I do not own the Game of Thrones, or the Books in the A song Of Ice and Fire series. I own only Johanna. Lyrics from The Lion and the Wolf by Thrice

"The lion's outside of your door

the wolf is in your bed

the lion's claws are sharpened for war

the wolf's teeth are red

what a monstrous sight he makes

mocking man's best friend

both the wolf and the lion crave the same thing in the end."

Chapter 9: Blood is thicker than water.

Cersei

Being at home in Kings Landing did nothing to fill the hole in Cersei's heart, nothing could fill that void. She had four beautiful children, each with a place in her heart, but one had been taken from her and left in a frozen wasteland. Cersei had begged, screamed and pleaded with husband for sixteen years to change his mind, but he never did. She never wanted her eldest daughter, her fragile daughter, taken from her but she was never given a choice. The day Johanna left her womb the child was cursed, cursed for a life beyond their control.

When Johanna was born, she came from her mother screaming and crying but the moment she was placed in Jaime's arms the tears had stopped. Cersei held their son while her daughter lay in her lovers arms. Their twins were the essence of who they were and they had made a promise to never let them live the life they had. Cersei did not want Johanna to feel the pain of loving someone she could never have, but she knew differently. She knew from the moment she lay her children in the crib together, their lives were cursed. She saw the way they looked at each other and as they grew the looks only got worse. She knew her children shared love that she herself shared with her own twin.

She worried more for her daughter when after her birth she became ill, and no one could describe the child's sickness. Her brother never caught it as they laid in a crib together but each day her skin would grow pale and the child would gain he chills. Cersei would hold her every night to keep the child safe, and eventually the chills would pass. She was sick for months, but when the sickness passed the child was never the same. She remained fragile and bruised easy.

Johanna stayed from anyone who not family, she was kept inside the halls of her home. Her mother had grown to see how fragile her daughter was, even emotionally. She kept the truth from her, kept the lies as her only truth. Her daughter would never know the harsh reality of the world. But she lost all control when Johanna was sent away, she had fought it for as long as she could, but her husband was brutish. He never listened.

"Cersei?"

She looked up from her wine, and shook the thoughts of the past from her head. Her daughter was gone and there was nothing she could do. Her brother made his way into her chambers, his face sullen and parchment held tightly in his fist. She eyed him in curiosity.

"What is it, Jaime? What troubles you, my love?"

He held the parchment together, his green eyes meeting her own. There was once a time when she could read her brother's eyes but that time had long since passed. Their love had remained but time had come to drive a rift between them.

"It's Johanna, Cersei."

She stood from her chair and reached her brother in a second. She snatched the parchment from her brother's hand and read it. Her heart began to break, her body began to shake and anger filled her eyes.

"She's coming home, I going to see to it."

She made her way around her brother, but the man grabbed her arm. His grip was tight, not to hurt her, but to keep her close. He pulled her back against his chest and held her there, his face buried in her golden hair.

"He won't bring her home, don't fight a battle you can't win."

The lioness ripped herself from her lover's arms, a fury in her emerald eyes. She stood facing him, her face contorted in anger.

"That boy sends us a raven mocking our daughter's pain and you would have me do nothing."

Her voice was low but her tone said all it had to. She was furious and she would get her vengeance.

"The boy is not mocking you, or us. He wanted his mother by law to know of his wife's condition. Would you rather not know?" Jaime reached his hand out to cup her face but she pushed his hand away.

She knew the Stark boy was mocking her daughter and her, and she was sure that he had caused the child's pain. Somehow, some way, that wolf had caused her daughter to lose her child. Cersei knew how much Johanna dreamed of being a mother, she knew it was all the poor girl wanted. She too had lost her first child, to fever, but even so losing a child or unborn child, it was still losing a child.

"If you are foolish enough to believe that then I pity you, brother." Her face became calm but her eyes held her fire.

"Cersei, my love, you know that if I thought for one second our daughter was in danger I would ride there myself." Jaime closed the distance again. "I love her, and I know you worry of the sickness coming back and how it makes her weak still, but she is safe."

Cersei went to argue but he pressed his lips to hers. It was a chaste kiss, an innocent kiss, something they had not shared in some time. Their innocence with each other had long passed. Most days it was lust and twisted love that remained between them.

"I would go to the ends of the Seven Kingdoms and across the Narrow Sea for our children, Cersei." He held her close to him, his eyes meeting hers. "You have to believe that, and trust me when I say she is safe."

Cersei buried her head in her lover's strong chest. He had been the only man in the Seven Kingdoms to ever see her weakness, to ever see her worries. He was the only man who deserved to see her in such a manner.

"You know I worry."

"Too much sister, but let Johanna grow and if she needs us, I will ride to Winterfell. I will bring our daughter home if I ever think harm will befall her."

Cersei made him promise, she made him swear to her. Johannaa was her first born daughter, her son's twin. She would never let harm come to her children, and knowing Johanna suffered leagues away was killing her. Why would the Gods bless her with such a beautiful, kind, child just to take her away. Why let her child be so close to her siblings, so close to her twin, just to take her away? Cersei resented Robert more everyday, and after seventeen years she thought there would be some kind of love between them. But she hated him, and she would make him suffer as she had.

Johanna.

Hands ran down her body, hands began pulling on her dress. She was screaming, kicking and fighting but no one was coming to save her. Not this time. She was weak and helpless as her dress was ripped open to expose her breasts, the man hovering over her let out a moan at the sight of them. She felt rough hands grabbing at them, groping her..

Johanna's emerald eyes shot open and the darkness of the room filled her vision. It was just another nightmare. She had been back in Winterfell for over two weeks, and yet the nightmares of the road came back to haunt her. Almost every night she found herself caught in the same loop of rough hands and stinking breath. In the darkness she lit a candle beside her bed, allowing a small light to fill the chamber. She knew it would not wake her husband, not much did.

Johanna pushed herself up on her elbow and looked over at her husband. He had been taking care of her since the moment the pain started, and even after. The bleeding had stop, and the pain had gone but still Johanna felt broken inside. Robb Stark cared for her, made sure she ate and bathed. He refused to let her fall into the madness the way his mother had over Bran.

She let her eyes roam over his sleeping face, and bare chest that lay exposed from the blankets. His eyes were closed but even then she could remember the intensity of his blue orbs. His face was no longer clean shaven, he had a beard growing and she often times found herself touching his face. Joffrey had never grown a beard, and Johanna doubted he would be able to pull such a feature off. On Robb Stark it looked handsome, she favored it over his clean face. Even in the darkness Johanna found her running a finger over his face.

He had done nothing but help her since her return, he had tried. She wanted to try, but the loss of her brother's child broke something inside of her. It would have been her one connection to home, and it would have been her first child. A child was all Johanna wanted. Countless times Robb Stark had tried to shake her blame, but it never helped. She believed herself to be cursed. And countless more times he would tell her they could try again, but she didn't know if she could.

She smiled to herself for a moment, looking at him still. She took a deep breath and leaned over him, placing her lips on his. He kissed her often, but she never kissed him first, not since the day she left had she kissed him first. As she placed her lips on his softly she knew he would not wake. She pulled away, for a second before placing her lips on his again. They were soft, warm and his skin smelt of the forest. As she went to pull away a hand found it's way into her golden curls, and the lips began to press back against her own.

Johanna's eyes opened wide and soon she was staring to her husband's open eyes. She did not fight him as his hand tangled in her hair, or as the other hand reached to cup her face. She continued to kiss him, feeling the warmth come between them. Soon he was the one to end the kiss.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

Johanna found herself laying on her back, her hands covering her red face. She had not meant for him to wake, she had not meant for such a folly.

"Johanna, you have no reason to be sorry." His voice was lazy with sleep. "Come back here."

He pulled her over to him, laying her head upon his bare chest. His skin was warm, and she felt her body shiver from a cold that had come over her.

"Are you still feeling a chill? I have given you so many blankets."

"It's alright, I think you are quite warm enough."

In fact Johanna felt herself curling up to him, her body searching for his heat. She felt his deep chuckle as she clung to him, a soft kiss placed upon the crown of her head.

"Let's get back to sleep, my love, I want you to leave this chamber tomorrow."

The next morning Johanna awoke to an empty bed chamber, but a plate of bacon and bread was sitting beside her bed. A small smile graced her lips as she took a bite. She was starving, and overly thankful for her husband's kindness. After eating she dressed and made her way from the chamber, quickly running into a child.

"Johanna!" Rickon's voice echoed off the walls. "Come with me, Robb is welcoming guests."

Johanna merely smiled as Rickon pulled her through the halls. Her body still felt weak, but she was stronger than she had been in the last few days. She was steadier on her feet, and she had no issue keeping up with the child.

She was pulled into the Great Hall where her husband sat at the head table, a regal look upon his face. Johanna was almost in awe of him for a moment, he wore dark clothes, his dark cloak and he looked sullen but he was handsome. When their eyes met his face lost it's sullen look and a smile formed upon his lips. Maester Luwin sat beside him and he eyed Johanna with sadness. Rickon pulled her to a smaller table below the platform her husband sat upon, excitement on his face.

"Who is coming?" She whispered to the child.

"A man of the Night's watch."

Johanna sat beside the child, before quickly taking him into her lap. He laughed as he sat upon her knee, and she could even hear her husband's laugh come from above her. She did not need to look at him to feel his eyes boring into her. She watched the doors instead, waiting for the man to enter. Johanna felt her heart jump when her uncle Tyrion walked in, she put Rickon back in his own chair. She made her way to him, kneeling down before her Uncle.

"Uncle Tyrion." She hugged the smaller man, feeling a burning gaze from behind her.

"You look much better than the last time I saw you, little one." His voice was full of jest. "And the babe?"

Johanna felt tears form in her eyes, but she quickly pushed them aside. She was a lioness. She stood from before her Uncle, wiping the dirt from her dress.

"I lost my child, Uncle." She turned and found her seat beside Rickon once more.

She could see the sadness on her Uncle's face but it faded fast. Johanna remembered the coldness he showed her when she told him the news. She did not doubt he had little care for the babe she should have carried inside. Beside her Uncle was the man Yoren, and seeing him only brought back the nightmares she suffered. It was the men he had brought with him that haunted her dreams.

"Baring my niece, I would have to say I received a slightly warmer welcome upon my last visit to Winterfell." Her Uncle eyed her husband, and Johanna could sense the tension.

"Any man of the Night's Watch is welcome in Winterfell."

But not my blood? Johanan did not speak her thoughts, she knew wiser. She sat with her hands resting in her lap as she was taught, and she just listened.

"Any man of the Night's watch, but not I, boy?"

Johanna fiddled with her dress, knowing her Uncle caught her husband's snide meaning.

"I am not your boy, Lannister."

Johanna stood, and looked at her husband. She did not like the way he said her family name, she did not like the way he spoke to her blood. She didn't speak up, she just made her way to leave the room. She would not sit there and listen to the two men go back with words. As they spoke their tones only barely hid their contention for one another, Johanna noticed it was mostly Robb who held the contempt.

As she neared the door Hodor came through carrying Bran. She stopped and kissed the child's forehead before she left the hall, her husband's blue eyes burning against her back.

Out in the courtyard Johanna found herself looking up at the sky. She could not understand her husband's hostility toward her family, they were her blood. Her family had done nothing to him, and if he wanted her to put an effort in their marriage he could not treat her family in such a manner. She had done nothing but be kind to his blood, and it was only fair he did the same.

"Johanna." It was not long before she heard her Uncle's voice.

She turned to see him coming from the hall, a sour look upon his face. Johanna did not like the idea of Robb causing a distress in her family.

"Uncle, you must stay here no matter what he says." She was almost pleading.

"Come with me, Johanna, I am staying in town. We can speak there."

Johanna found herself upon a horse before she could question her Uncle, and she could hear Theon Greyjoy calling after them. Her Uncle said nothing, and Johanna just cast a glance in his direction. She didn't say a word to him, and pushed her horse to follow her Uncle. She did not care what her husband would have to say about her leaving.

Johanna felt a blush creep onto her cheeks when her Uncle pulled her into the local whore house, all the women eying her. She looked to the ground, ashamed of being in such a place. Her Uncle did all the speaking, asking for a room where they could be alone, wine and food. In the room her Uncle did not speak, just pushed a plate of meat toward. Johanna wished not to eat it, but she knew the lecture that would come from his lips. Her family always pushed meat onto her, it was how it always was.

"How is the northern Lord treating you, my dear?"

She looked to her food, and to her wine. Her husband was a kind man,he cared for her, but his attitude made her feel sour.

"He's a good man, Uncle. He cared for me after the loss of my child." She picked at her food. "He's a man who any woman could love."

She knew her voice betrayed her, it always had a way of doing that. She was a horrid liar, her brother always told her as such. It helped that Johanna hated to lie, but it made it hard when she actually did.

"But not you?" Her Uncle kept a half smile on his face. "Very much like your mother, my dear."

Johanna saw nothing wrong with it, but the way her Uncle said the words made her shift. Her mother was a great woman, a kind, honest and loving woman. Johanna wanted to be half the woman her mother was, half the mother and wife she was. Her mother stuck beside her father even when he struck her, and stepped away from her to fuck his whores. If only Johanna could be so strong.

"I did not say I couldn't love him, Uncle." Johanna drank her wine. "If he was kinder to my family it would not be such a hard task."

Her Uncle let out a chuckle, and Johanna wondered what she had said that was so funny.

"My dear, the Lannister lions and the Stark wolves have not gotten a long in some time." She knew that much from Uncle Jaime. "Blame your Grandfather for that one, love."

Johanna did not understand her Uncle so she said nothing, she kept her eyes on her wine. It was a sweet drink, and it made her mouth warm. She knew she should focus on the food, focus on the thing that would strength her but she cared not. She drank until the cup was empty, and only after a look from her Uncle did she eat her meat.

They spoke on other matters, matters of less importance. He told her of his time at the wall, and she longed to have stayed. She wished she could have seen the world from the top of the wall, to see how small everything truly was. He spoke of going home and Johanna wanted to cry but she did not. She wanted to go home, she wanted to be among her family. She wanted to be with Joffrey. She wanted him to hold her, to make the loss of their child something he too mourned. Instead her husband held her, weeping over a child she did not believe was his. Guilt had crept over her.

"Come with me, Johanna. Let me take you home." Johanna looked to her Uncle in shock.

"Uncle, do not be foolish. You know I can not, and it's not a joke to say such things."

She wanted to go.

"I am sorry, my niece, my humor has always been a bit too dark for you." Her Uncle took her hand over the table. "Just be careful, alright. Never forget where you have come from."

His eyes had landed on her necklace and Johanna let her fingers wrap around the lion pendent. It was her connection to home, to her brothers, to her sister and to her mother. She needed no connection to her father, the marriage was her constant reminder of him.

"Never, Uncle."

She stayed with him until the sun had set, she stayed later than she should have. Johanna could not help it though, she got lost in the stories her Uncle told her. Stories her mother would have never let her know, stories of the past. She enjoyed hearing such things, things about her family she had never known. When it came time to say farewell, Johanna fought back the tears, and let her Uncle kiss her upon the head.

She road back alone, in the silence of the ending summer's night. Winter would come soon, her husband told her so often. She wished for summer back, for the warmth of her brother's hands in the gardens. She longed for the days where she would sneak out of the keep with Tommen on her heels, finding themselves on the beach in the late hours of the evening. They never stayed long, their Uncle Jaime would always find them. He would scold her, but then he would promise to never to tell her mother. She missed them all.

"Where were you?" She had gotten to her chambers, and the second she opened the door he spoke. "Johanna, you can't just ride off like that."

She ignored him for a moment, finding water to clean her hands and face. He approached her, pressing his body against her back as she washed herself.

"Johanna, please speak to me." His voice was soft, and warm against her neck.

"I was with my Uncle." She slipped from in front of him, and stood beside him. "He and I spent time speaking, at the brothel."

She watched as his eyes darkened, but it only lasted a moment. She found her way to her trunk, searching for a night dress to change into.

"You could have told Theon." Johanna bowed her head, and did not speak. "All I knew was that you had rode off. I was worried."

Once she found what she was seeking she turned back to Robb. Her face held a soft smile, it was not intentional but hearing of his worry warmed her heart, if only for a moment.

"I am sorry, you are right."

She began to untie her dress, as his eyes wandered over her body. She knew he would not make a move to bed her, to make love to her. She felt no more shyness as her dress fell to the floor, her anger at him over clouded her shyness. He would want her, and she would make him want her, but he could not have her.

"Johanna, I am sorry if I upset you earlier, my behavior toward your Uncle." She watched as his eyes landed on her breasts. "My behavior was not warranted."

"I am glad you saw that." Johanna stepped toward him, stepping over the dress on the floor. "I don't know why you hate them, hate my blood."

He didn't answer at first, his eyes were fixed on her body. He was a man, he was tempted like any other. She had heard her mother once speak to a maid of how she would use her body to get what she wished, Johanna had never imagined doing such a thing. Her body had been private, had been only for Joffrey to see for so long. Never did she think she would use her body to torture her husband.

"They aren't kind people, Johanna." His eyes met hers, and she saw the truth he believed in. "Johanna, you are kind, and innocent but your family, they aren't."

Johanna turned her back to him, and slipped her night dress on. She felt an anger build in her, and she felt shame for it. Robb Stark was the only person to make her angry.

"Johanna." He placed a hand upon her shoulder.

"Do not touch me." Her voice was soft. "My family is kind, just and as honorable as your own."

She spun on her heel to face him, her green eyes hot with rage. She would not sit there and let him speak of her blood. To speak ill of her family, of her mother and siblings.

"Johanna.."

"No Robb, I want us to work and we have been trying." She cast her eyes to their bed. " But I can't try , if you will speak of my family in such a way."

Soon the distance was closed between us, his body pressing against hers and his hands cupping her face. Their eyes met, and she felt her rage die.

"I will keep my opinions of them from your ears." His breath was warm on her lips. "I want this, Johanna, I want us."

Johanna caught herself getting lost in his eyes, but the moment he leaned in to kiss her she heard a voice in her head. Mine. She felt any warmth she gained from Robb fade, as Joffrey's words filled her head. She could never give Stark what he wanted, not if her heart still sought her brother. Until the day her love for Joffrey died, she could never give her husband what he sought.

Even still she let her husband's lips find her own. She enjoyed the kiss, she enjoyed his lips. She felt her heart pull in a direction it could not go, while her mind pulled her closer to the man whose hand's were upon her face. She wished it was easy, and she prayed to the Gods to help her but she knew she had long since forsaken the Gods with her sins. She would find no help, and no forgiveness. She lay with her brother, and lay with a man outside of marriage. She was sin.

As his lips left hers, she felt him pick her up. She felt a sudden wave of fear but it died as he laid her in their bed. He placed a gentle kiss upon her head before he left her to sleep, no doubt finding his way to tell her guards to stop looking for her. As she lay there tears fell from her emerald eyes, guilt and regret filling her heart. How much could she fake before she would break?