Gold Saw Dyed in Lannister Red: Cersei (286 AC)

Cersei lavished her infant son, Joffrey, with all the love in the world that was his birthright as she cooed at him. Her emerald green eyes gazed lovingly into his eyes of jade, as she took in the perfect picture of his visage. He had wispy hair the color of straw, that would grow golden with age, much like the long hair he was impudently swinging his little hands to grab onto.

"Why don't you hold my finger instead," Cersei suggested, finagling her index finger between the infant Prince's tiny digits to lay claim to his palm.

Her son's fingers clasped hers in a familiar grip, and once again she allowed herself to put aside her fears for the future and frustrations with the present. Now that she had given Robert an heir, she could get her father to back off on the subject of children for at least another year. She could put off having to sleep with that man for just as long, and focus on giving her love exclusively to her love.

She just sat in her chair beside the window overlooking the world, and basked in the shine of the sun and the love of her son, and all was right in creation.

*Knock* *knock* *knock* *knock* came the sound of knuckles on the wood of the door, and the voice of her maid Bernadette calling out, "Your Grace, you have a visitor."

And because the gods decreed that she couldn't have anything good in this life without paying a price, Cersei had to divert a modicum of her attention from her golden lion. "Tell them I am not receiving visitors now."

Then came the sound of the door being opened and crashing against the wall and heavy footsteps crossing the threshold.

Her rage began roaring up as she turned to address her trespasser. "I said I wasn't receiving any-"

Her voice died with a whimper as her gaze was taken prisoner by eyes as red as the Lannister lion. Eyes belonging to Black Gold Saw.

"I'm sorry, your Grace," Bernadette huffed out as she barged in behind the intruder. "I tried to stop her, tell her you were-"

"And she thanks you for your service," the Doll's oversized right hand pushed her back through the doorway with the equivalent effort of a clerk pushing paper and used her left to close the door into her face.

Joffrey whimpered and reached out, trying to monopolize his mother's attention.

"You have no right to order around my maids and abuse them like that," Cersei rose from her chair, her baby boy cradled in her arms.

Of all days for Strength to be gone, Cersei bemoaned.

Black Gold Saw tilted her head to the side like a curious child observing a ladybug they found in the grass. She stalked toward Cersei, the sound of her heavy boots mixing with the increasingly distressed moaning of the baby in the Queen's ears. The Doll verged on invasion of her person, still wearing that damnably easy grin, backing her into the very chair she had risen from.

"Is this where you finally stand in rebellion," Black Gold Saw mocked. "What makes this maid so different from the ones before?"

Cersei flinched when she felt one of the Doll's bloody hands curl around her back and shoulders and the other support Joffrey and her arms across her front. Her son indignantly squawked for his mother to look at him.

"Take your hands off me," Cersei hissed. "I am your Queen."

"My Queen is tired," Black Gold Saw slowly lowered Cersei back into her chair. "And she would be aggrieved if she were to drop her Prince."

Cersei remained stiff after Black Gold Saw let go, only reacting when Joffrey began crying out, turning to him to kiss and shush him. "It's okay, Joffrey. Mother will make the scary monster go away."

*Thunk*

She nearly jumped when Black Gold Saw plunked another chair right beside hers. The Doll then plopped herself into its seat.

"I believe we got off on the wrong foot, as the turn of phrase goes," Black Gold Saw said, laying her arm over the back of Cersei's chair, and her hand over the opposite side of Cersei's body from her, just behind Joffrey's head. "I offer you my congratulations for birthing a healthy prince."

"Spare me your patronizing words," Cersei spat. "Father already sent a raven with his congratulations, there's no reason for you to be here."

"You wound me with your vicious barbs," Black Gold Saw clutched at her chest with her other hand. "Just because I'm Lord Tywin's favorite tool doesn't mean I have no will of my own, or the freedom to act on it."

Cersei wanted to scream in rage at Black Gold Saw, cause a scene, create a scandal, anything to get this blasted Doll away from her forever. But she didn't want any harm to come to Joffrey, so she had to dam up the overwhelming majority of it, and let only some of leak out, lest she burst from the pressure of holding it all back.

"So you will to make yourself an enemy of your Bonded's only daughter?" Cersei rumbled. "Who happens to also be the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, and the mother of its next King?" She turned and kissed Joffrey, mollifying the infant once more with her love and affections.

"What have I done to make me an enemy of Your Grace?" Black Gold Saw smiled. "There's no need to mask your envy with hostility."

Cersei snapped toward her. "Save your venom for someone else's ears." Cersei smiled back at her. "After all, why should I be envious of someone expendable?"

"Oh?" Black Gold Saw raised an eyebrow.

"There are thousands of Dolls in the world," Cersei said. "At least a few hundred in the Westerlands alone. And Father is offering marriages to House Lannister for anyone Bonded to a Doll. I heard at least a few have taken up the offer. Any one of them could do your job as well as you.

"But me? I'm his only daughter, the only chance he has at continuing his precious legacy," she preened. "There is nothing he won't do for the sake of the members of House Lannister. For us. And you are not one of us."

Cersei radiated smugness at the conclusion of what she said, confident that she had put Black Gold Saw in her place.

But the Doll's smile never wavered, and the sight of that caused Cersei's to do so.

"Have you ever heard of Matthas, son of Willem?" the Doll randomly asked.

Cersei was confused. "I have not," she admitted, wondering where this Doll was going with this.

"He wasn't anyone important before he took up Lord Tywin's offer," Black Gold Saw stood from her seat, slipping her hand from Cersei's body and scraping it across the back of her chair as she did. "And he wasn't anything really remarkable afterwards either. But, like you, he serves Lord Tywin to expand House Lannister, and his lady-wife gave birth to their first child only five months ago. A son."

Cersei felt her chest tighten, as Black Gold Saw leaned over her and laid her right hand upon her left shoulder, her thumb crossing her collar and her fingers setting upon her back.

"And I learned something from that baby," Black Gold Saw noted. "Children take after their parents – both of them. Matthas's son looked to inherit his mother's green eyes, but he definitely had his father's brown hair."

Black Gold Saw then looked down at Joffrey, and Cersei's heart leaped to her throat.

"No," she whispered in horror.

The Doll reached one of the monstrous talons on her left hand toward her son.

"No, don't," Cersei whimpered in protest as the Doll's demonic strength easily held her in place.

Joffrey cried as the claw hung over him like a sword suspended on string, moving back and forth over his fragile body to tap and poke at him and cause no end of distress to his mother.

"No, please, stop!" Cersei begged.

Black Gold Saw withdrew her finger, but Joffrey continued wailing, and it was all Cersei could do to clutch him even tighter to herself and murmur sweet nothings to bring him back to calmness from his terror. Such was her distress that she didn't notice Black Gold saw leaning in close to her again until she heard her whisper into her ear:

"The next one better have black hair."

Black Gold Saw let go of her, and left her room. Left her with her titles, her dresses, her gold, her son, and her tears.