Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun

Chapter Twenty-Three.

Jamie was starting to regret accepting his sister's invitation for tea, well no he didn't regret it at all because he was glad to see her and he loved every moment he spent in the presence but what he did regret was telling her that he had seen Elia Martell and her cold northern husband in the gardens, all her warmth had fallen away from her and now she was pacing up and down her chambers and muttering like a mad woman.

Even now she was beautiful however, the warm afternoon sun caught her hair and made it looked like spun gold and her eyes were burning like green flames due to her anger, it was terrifying and beautiful and he couldn't tear himself away from looking at them. He stepped forward and put his hand on her arm and gently grabbed hold of it to stop her from pacing.

She shot him a glare that would send most men fleeing from the room, thankfully Jamie was not most men. "Will you calm down, if you keep pacing like this then you might be too exhausted too coo over your future husband at dinner tonight and that would be such a shame that I do not think that I could take it."

"Do you truly think that it is wise to mock me at the moment?" Cersei practically spat at him, the anger behind her eyes seemed to be growing every second that she looked at her brother. "When you bring me news like this?"

"You wanted to know if it was true that Princess Elia and her husband had come, you asked me to look into it. All I've done is tell you the truth." Jamie pointed out with a smirk, crossing his arms. "I would say that you've made your own bed."

Cersei scooped up her wine goblet and threw it at Jamie's head with a roar of rage, Jamie tilted his head to the side to avoid the goblet that went flying through the air and shattered into a thousand fragments as soon as it collided with the wall, glass tinkling down to the floor and the red wine staining the wall. "Now sweet sister, control yourself. You're going to be the princess of all seven kingdoms, is that truly how a princess should act?"

He would never normally mock his sister like this but at the moment Jamie could not help it, ever since they had arrived in King's Landing she had been utterly insufferable, when she wasn't going on and on about her future husband, how perfect her wedding was going to be or how she was going to be the queen one day, she was talking about how she couldn't trust anyone.

A sudden and recent memory came to him, over a week after they had arrived in King's Landing a handmaiden of Cersei's was caught sneaking out of her room with a beautiful ruby necklace and when his sister had found out she ordered that the handmaiden's hands and tongue be removed and her body thrown into the blackwater, the guards had not hesitated to do it as they would do anything to please their future queen. The worst thing was that there was no one that Jamie could tell about what happened, telling anyone would damage her engagement and Jamie knew that she would never forgive him.

Looking back to that moment, he wondered if he truly saw who his sister really was. But the worst thing was that it did truly little to bother him, it was a monstrous thing that she had done but he still loved her, even if at times it was so damn hard to be able to love her.

"This isn't funny! The only reason I suspected she was here because one of my ladies saw Rhaegar leaving a guest apartment, he is seeing her Jamie! That foreign whore is trying to steal my Rhaegar!" Cersei spat and Jamie knew that at the moment his sister was thinking of the most painful way to punish the dornish princess for this transgression. "I will carve out her heart and have her body fed to the dogs!"

"How many times do I have to tell you to be careful, you aren't the princess yet." Jamie pointed out as he sat down at the table and scooped up a slice of blackberry cake and popped into the mouth. "You were lucky that Rhaegar never found out about what you did to that girl, I don't think he would be very happy with you."

Cersei's pale face turned scarlet with her rage and for a moment Jamie honestly thought that she was going to hit him but at the last moment she seemed to regain control of herself and sat down in the chair at the other side of the table before she reached out and took his hands and looked at him in the eyes, it was almost like gazing into his reflection. "Jamie, she's trying to ruin everything for me. Don't let her Jamie, please?" She whimpered.

Jamie reached out with his hand and cupped her face and it struck him once again how truly beautiful his sister was. "Cersei, you don't have anything to worry about, she came here with her husband, I am sure that Ned Stark would have quite a problem with his wife attempting to seduce the prince and besides, she doesn't seem the type to try and take someone that belongs to someone else."

Cersei narrowed her eyes and shook her head, her golden curls bouncing around her face. "She's Dornish, you know what they say about Dornish women, do you honestly think that she cares about the fact that Rhaegar is going to be mine one day? She won't, not that whore. A part of me doesn't blame her for wanting him back, he's the prince and he's perfect and she was going to marry him and now she's the wife of a savage who won't inherit anything."

"She seems to be quite fond of him, from what little I saw." When he had seen the two of them in the garden he had been surprised, not by the fact that the husband and wife had been sitting with one another of course, what had surprised him was that the quiet wolf seemed to be showing such actual interest in his wife's nieces, it was unusual enough to be sure as most lords would not care overly much about his wife's extended relations even if they were trueborn, the fact that he seemed to be interested in knowing them even though they were bastards was surprising, if Jamie was a far more cynical person then he would even say it was suspicious.

But, even though Jamie had probably only spoken to the man perhaps half a dozen times including their one sentence to one another earlier, to him Eddard Stark did not seem the type of man who had any sort of ulterior motives and even if he did have one he did not seem like the type of man who use children as his pawns and Jamie couldn't think of any reason why they would be useful to him.

His sister did not seem to be at all convinced, she looked at him as though he had said the most ridicules thing imaginable and had grown two extra heads. She shook her head. "Fond? How could ever be fond of a man like that? A man who can give her nothing but being the lady of some unimportant holdfast? I would do anything to be rid of him as soon as possible."

He knew that his sister would, she had always been capable of doing things that others would balk at in order to survive, he had always admired that about her, how fierce she was. It suddenly struck him how utterly different the Dornish princess and Cersei were, Elia was quiet and had looked so small in the chair she had been sat in and looked so fragile, almost like a sudden gust of wind would knock her other and shatter against the ground in a million pieces.

Cersei was so strong, her skin looked fragile but it was not made of porcine, it was made of steel, she would never break for anything but there was little kindness in her and the little there was, it was all for him and he couldn't deny that thought pleased him or at least it would if she hadn't tried often to shower her affection on Rhaegar.

"He has no power and she was going to marry the prince and be the queen, she will do anything to get it back." Cersei said, more as a mutter to herself than to him. "I won't let her Jamie, Rhaegar is mine and I am going to be the princess, the real princess and then I am going to be the queen, she can't have any of it. I am going to kill her if she even tries."

"Careful, the walls have ears and we really do not want a to start a diplomatic incident with both Dorne and the North." Jamie pointed out as he reached out to stroke her hair, it always used to calm her when they were younger.

"You think I care about the North or Dorne?" Cersei asked with a scoff and pulled away from his touch, either not noticing or not caring how his face fell as she did so.

"I think you will care when both their armies are marching on us and her uncle who is in the Kingsguard comes for your head in the night, and while I might be able to protect you from him maybe, I won't be able to protect you from Arthur Dayne." Jamie was a skilled swordsman, he was an excellent one in fact but he wouldn't stand a chance against the sword of the morning, he would kill him in a matter of moments.

Of course, Ser Arthur and Ser Lewyn were both knights of the Kingsguard and were sworn only to protect and serve the king but he knew that there was only so much a man could before his loyalties were tested, Ser Lewyn was Elia's uncle and Ser Arthur was the elder brother of one of Elia's closest friends Ashara Dayne.

They would do anything for her, Jamie would do anything for Cersei no matter what vows he swore to the king, there would be fame in being a Kingsguard of course, ever since he was a child he would dream about raising to their ranks and becoming a knight, fighting alongside his heroes but he would threw it all away for his sister, if that was what she asked of him.

If Cersei heard his warning then she did not seem at all concerned about it, instead she stood up and began to pace back and forth as she played with her hands, muttering to herself once again. Jamie sighed heavily and stood up before he put her arms around her waist to hold her still and pressed a kiss to her neck. "Calm down." He breathed into her ear before he pressed another kiss to her flawless skin.

"I don't want her here, she's going to ruin everything." Cersei said quietly and frowned heavily but she did not resist or try and pull away so Jamie simply kept lavishing her with attention, it had been months since he had been allowed to do this and he was going to treasure every single moment of it.

For a few brief moments the two of them simply stood together and Jamie saw her face relax and he couldn't help but smirk, more that a little proud of himself. Just as he was about to unlace the strings at the back of her dress there was a sudden loud rapping at the door and Cersei jolted out of his arms and Jamie frowned heavily.

"My lady, may I come in?" A sweet voice said on the other side of the door and once Cersei was certain that she was completely composed she called for whoever it was to come in, the door opened and one of Cersei's handmaidens came through into the room. She was certainly no great beauty but with her sandy blond hair and amber eyes she was certainly not unpleasant to look at.

"Forgive me for bothering you my lady but you told me to come to you with anything that seemed important?" The young woman began nervously, any one with a hint of sanity would be nervous when speaking to his sister, what she had done to that other handmaiden had spread quickly among her other handmaidens and now all of them were terrified of upsetting her.

"What is it?" Cersei asked as she stepped further away from Jamie and looked straight at the girl.

"I saw one of Queen Rhaella's ladies escorting Princess Elia to the Queen's chambers in the Maidenvault and later on she was leaving, they must have been talking for quite awhile." As soon as the handmaiden had finished speaking Cersei's posture had grown stiff and she was clearly trying to fight off a scream.

"Get out." Was what Cersei finally said and the handmaiden rushed to obey her lady's command, rushing out of the room and shutting the door behind her. Cersei breathed deeply and Jamie came over to put a hand on her shoulder to try and offer some comfort but she violently shrugged it off but she suddenly turned to face him, the look in her eyes sparking a fear in him.

"Do you see, she is going to see the Queen!" Cersei screamed hysterically, tears of rage and frustration building in her eyes. "The old woman hates me, she looks through me as if I am not there most of the time and the few times she does actually see me, she looks at me like something that she stepped in. She hates me and she wants Elia to be Rhaegar's queen, they both plotting against me!"

Jamie did not say that he did not think that the queen was the sort of person to ever look down on someone, it would just upset her more. "Even if they are it doesn't matter, King Aerys wants you to marry Rhaegar and from what we've seen I don't think it matters what anyone else plots, if he wants you to marry his son then that it is what's going to happen."

It hurt beyond anything to admit any of that but it didn't matter when he saw that his words had soothed her a little but she still seemed anxious. "The queen does hate me, I know it so. And Rhaegar's little brother is a beast and a terror, how anyone could stand that boy for more than a minute is beyond me and Elia has known Rhaegar since they were children, she could convince him to set me aside."

Jamie was just about to tell her that wouldn't happen but he didn't get the chance as he noticed his sister's eyes widening and small smug smile spread across her face, she had an idea.

"Jamie, I need Elia gone. Kill her for me." Cersei whispered as she smiled adoringly at her brother, reaching out to stroke his face.

Jamie reeled back at stared at her with utter disbelief, not that she wanted the princess dead to be certain, Cersei wanted a lot of people dead and most of those people now were but had she not heard a single word about what he had just said about having two armies march on them? And worst of all, she wanted him to do it? Had she taken leave of all her senses?

"Do it for me, get rid of her." Cersei said, it started to sound less like a request and much more like a command to Jamie's ears.

"I can't." Jamie said, practically pleading with his sister to understand. "Cersei if people knew we were even speaking of this, we could be killed. She isn't trying to usurp you. I am sure of it."

"How can you be sure?" Cersei asked with a heavy frown. "She could be planning and scheming right not to take everything I have ever wanted, everything that is mine by rite. Father promised me ever since I was old enough to remember that I would be the queen, he has promised it to me time and time again and I am so close Jamie. We are so close! Think of Father if not of me, do you truly want him to be disappointed in you if I am set aside?"

There were few things worse in this world that bearing Tywin Lannister's anger, bearing his disappointment would certainly be close to the top of the list. Jamie sighed heavily and locked his eyes with his sister's. "Why me? Why can't you ask one of the guards to do it, they seemed to be quick to follow your commands when you had them murder that girl."

"I can not trust them Jamie, someone could get to them. Someone could speak and let it all be ruined or they might be to scared to deal with her, a handmaiden is one thing but a daughter of one the great houses, from the ruling house of Dorne? That is an entirely different manner. You're loyal Jamie, to me, to Father, to House Lannister. I can trust you to do this." Cersei said as she stepped towards him and cupped his cheek, caressing it with her thumb.

Was he all she said? Loyal to her and Father and House Lannister, yes, yes he was but was this what he had to do to prove it. Murder a woman who had done nothing wrong simply to prove it to her, simply to reassure her that there were no threats to her reign. "How would I even do it? She spends most of her time either with her husband or with her brother, I think they are likely going to complain if I walk up to her and shove a sword through her chest."

Cersei was silent as she thought on it and then opened her mouth. "Seduce her."

"What!?"

"Seduce her." Cersei repeated, if she noticed her brother's incredulous expression then she did not comment on it. "It won't be difficult, you're so handsome and Eddard Stark looks like a horse that was turned into a man. The dornish whore would love a bit of attention, then you can deal with her as soon as you see fit, but make sure it's done before the tourney. I want her out of the way before father comes."

Jamie suddenly felt extremely tired, as if all he wanted to do was lie down and sleep and not awaken for a thousand nights. "Cersei, what happens if I get caught?"

"You won't get caught, your too smart to get caught." Cersei said with a bright smile. "I know you can do it and I will beg Rhaegar and the King to show mercy even if you do, your the heir of Castery Rock. They can't kill you, Father won't let them."

Jamie wanted to shake her and scream that wouldn't work, if he was found out both the North and Dorne would want his head on a pike and Rhaegar was Elia's friend, he wouldn't want him dead as well not to mention Ser Arthur and Ser Lewyn. Two of the seven kingdoms and they would turn against the rest, the kingdoms would burn. Could she not see how dangerous this was to all of them? Before he could say anything like that however her soft voice brought him out of his troubled thoughts.

"Please Jamie, do this for me. Please?" She and Jamie sighed heavily and bent his head, silently saying a prayer to the Seven for the first time in a very long time before he looked up to met her eyes once again.

"Alright Cersei, alright."

End of Chapter Twenty-Three.

Okay so, in case anyone is wondering Cersei is aware of her father's plans with Rhaegar, as in the last chapter where the twins featured she gave her future husband a message, but she's letting her paranoia and jealousy get the best of her, Jamie is not aware of their father's plans other wise he would most likely have not said yes to what she asked.

Next chapter will be the tourney and will be told from Ned's perspective...Will he compete? Guess you will have to wait and see.

Please review, favourite and follow and leave constructive criticism.

Ta for now!

Doctorwhofan12345