Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun

Chapter Twenty-Five.

Cersei wanted to hit something, she wanted to scream and stab and burn the tent she was in to the ground. More than anything she wanted to throttle her brother as he sat at the table with a bored expression on his face as though he did nothing wrong. How could he be so fucking stupid? Did he not realise what he had nearly cost her? What he had nearly cost all of them?

She turned on him and took all she had to not scream at him at the top of her voice. "I cannot believe that you turned out to be such a fool! Do you realise what you have done? You're the one who was warning me about not wanting to start a war with the North and Dorne, what were you thinking!"

"I was thinking that I had another plan that didn't involve me killing someone with a lot of powerful friends who would and could gut me if I touched even one of her curly black hairs, plus on top of that she doesn't deserve to die. She's done nothing wrong Cersei." Jamie's voice normally soothed her, it always seemed lull her into calm and made her happy but now all it did was infuriate her.

"You humiliated me!" She spat, her voice full of venom and took such joy in the surprise and the hurt in her brother's eyes, it was nothing less than he deserved for hurting her. "This was my moment! Rhaegar was going to crown me the queen of love and beauty and all would see that I was his! That I was going to be the queen one day and you ruined it all."

"What if you had killed him? I would've lost everything! Do you think that I would have forgiven you for that?" She spat and turned away from him, she didn't even want to look at him. "How could you do this to me?"

"I was trying to save our lives!" Jamie shouted as he stormed forward and grabbed her by the arms and spun her so she faced him, Cersei tried to break free of his hold but as always he was a great deal stronger than her. "I crowned her not to seduce her but to make her husband jealous, if I killed her and was caught then we would both be dead. But if her husband became so jealous that he can't stand the sight of me with her then he would take her away, it's what I would do."

"That is what I've been doing these past few weeks, not seducing her but making sure that Eddard Stark always knew that I was nearby and that I had an interest, you wanted her out of the way but I couldn't kill her Cersei but I also made you a promise so I came up with the best solution that would not get us killed. He will take her back to Winterfell soon and you will never see her again." He whispered the last part gently as he released her arms and cupped her face. "I promise Cersei."

Cersei felt her anger ease and her features softened. "She isn't more beautiful then me? She is not more lovely than me?" That crown should have been hers, it would've been her first and it would've looked so much more beautiful one her head than it would have on the Dornish whore's head, when it had been placed on the older woman's head she had hoped that the thorns of the flowers would pierce her skin and make her bleed.

"No maid in any of the kingdoms, or the free cities, or the summer isles or any other land can compare to you." Jamie whispered before he leaned is and joined their lips together, Cersei knew that she should not be doing this. Rhaegar would be disgusted by her and anyone could walk in on them and it was she that had told them on the ride here all that time ago that they could not be able to do this anymore but at this moment she did not care and simply relaxed into the kiss.

They stayed together like that for a few moments and Cersei found that during those moments all her hate and anger had all seemed to drain away from her, Jamie always had that affect on her. When there was the rustle of the tent flaps opening Cersei pulled away from her brother and stormed over to the other side of the tent.

Aunt Genna walked in with Tyrion following her, Tyrion walked over to the table and sat down in a chair before he turned to look at his brother with a cruel grin on his ugly little face, how could her beautiful mother and her gallant father have ever made a hideous, stunted monster like that? "My dear brother." He began, every word out of his mouth was dripping in mockery. "You've made quite a mess of things."

How Jamie ever love such a twisted thing that was so cruel to him? She would never understand why her own reflection was so devoted to him. He had killed their mother and Jamie had loved her even more than Cersei ever had, he had always used to sit at her feet and clenched his hands in her skirts and followed him around a great deal more than she ever did.

When they were younger and they used to swap clothes so they could pretend to be one another and Jamie would beg to spend all his time with their mother rather then learning with a septa, when father found out he had put a stop to it as soon as possible but their mother had comforted them and told them they hadn't been in trouble and that she understood.

She bit her tongue and forced back the tears, she was a lioness. She would not cry and she would not let the little monster have the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She allowed herself to think of one of the last memories she had of her mother, of her finding her and Jamie together and forcing them to be apart in separate rooms. It was one of the few times in her childhood that she could say that she actually hated her mother and so she clung to it and soon her anger was far greater than her sadness and the urge to cry seemed to have just faded away like mist in the light of the sun.

"Indeed." Aunt Genna said as she walked over to the table and sat down next to Tyrion before she reached out and picked up a large ripe plum from the golden bowl in the centre of the table. "Your Father and Uncle Kevan are speaking with the king at the moment to try and make sure you do not lose your head, honestly Jamie. What were you thinking? The relationship between the king and the prince maybe frosty at best but he is still his son and heir and if you killed him then he would show you no mercy."

Jamie opened his mouth to respond but Genna simply had to hold up her hand to get Jamie clamp his lips back together, no one interrupted her while she was still speaking. "On top of that fiasco you went ahead and crowned Elia Martell as your queen of love and beauty, forgetting for a moment that it is very much frowned upon for you to crown a woman who is already married to someone else, you seemed to have forgotten that she is married to the son of the warden of the north and is the sister of the prince of Dorne! So, again I ask what were you thinking?" She asked before she bit into her plum, juice staining her chin.

Jamie waited for his aunt to finish eating the plum as he knew better than to speak before she was finished, he glanced at Cersei and she was certain that she felt her heart drop into her stomach. He wasn't going to tell her about their plan was he? That would be insane and stupid and Father would kill the both of them, he couldn't do it. He wouldn't do it.

All too soon Genna finished her plum and used her handkerchief to wipe away the juice which she folded up and then stared at her nephew unblinkingly, Tyrion mirrored her and his grin seemed to have fallen away, perhaps the stunted little fool finally realised how serious this actually was.

Jamie let out a deep sigh before he began to speak. "Aunt Genna, you all knew that I was going to participate in the joust before I saddled my horse. I know that when the prince and I were matched that I should've let him win but I let my pride get the best of me, I didn't want to lose. Ser Arthur Dayne unseated prince Rhaegar during the tourney at Lannisport so I did not see the harm in me trying to do the same."

Cersei remembered that tourney, Rhaegar had been so beautiful on his horse and in his armour which was the same as the armour that he had worn today. That tourney should have been the happiest few days of her life, Father and Aunt Genna had promised her that she would be betrothed to Rhaegar by the time the tourney ended but the King had refused the betrothal and humiliated her and her father by calling him a servant and she a servant's daughter.

She had to wait years for her to get this far, she couldn't lose it all now. She couldn't.

"None was more worried when I when the prince was still on the ground, I had thought I killed him for a moment and if I had then I would've accepted any punishment that the king deemed fitting, of course. I crowned Princess Elia because I've grown quite fond of her over the past few weeks and I thought that surely it would be better if we were the ones joined to House Martell, with Cersei marrying Rhaegar we would be allied with some of the most powerful families of the seven kingdoms. I will admit I could've handled it better but-"

Jamie could not continue as Genna interrupted him. "Any other way of handling it would've been a better way of handling it, I understand the ambition but what I do not understand is why you? Jamie, you are not one for plots and you are not a fool, you can be reckless I will admit but never like this. I do not understand." She admitted with a shake of her head before she suddenly seemed to tense and turned her attention to Cersei. "Is this your doing?"

"What? Aunt Genna, I do not understand?" Cersei said with a smile, ready to play the ever so dutiful daughter.

"Yes, you do. Jamie would do anything for you as I know that Tywin and Kevan and Tygett and Gerion would do anything for me, they are my brothers and Jamie is yours. You are a jealous girl Cersei, you always have been. When ever there was a new babe in the nursery you would grow angry that there was no attention being given to you. You are most likely paranoid that the Dornish girl will try and steal Rhaegar back from you and in your stupidity, you formed a plot that could do serious damage to us." Genna stood as she spoke, bringing herself to her full height which was quite tall for a woman.

Cersei was undaunted. "You can not speak to me like that! I am going to be the queen! You maybe my aunt but you will apologise to me this instant!" She screamed, her voice shrill and she glared at her aunt with all the rage and hate she could muster which had made a great many men soil their drawers in the past.

Genna did not seem to be at all disturbed, instead she simply narrowed her eyes after her niece had stopped ranting, the green of her eyes looking like chunks of frozen ice. "Are you done? To be honest I don't care if you are because now you are going to listen to me. You are not the queen yet, you are not even in line for being the queen yet until you and Prince Rhaegar say your vows to one another and he places his cloak on your shoulders and that might not happen, Elia Martell thought she was going to be the princess of the seven kingdoms and now she is not as the King changed his mind, so I would not be so certain if I were you, words are wind."

Cersei bit her lip and whimpered, the king wasn't going to change his mind. He couldn't, she had waited so long to get here that he couldn't change his mind now. Why would he? It was obvious why he changed his mind when it came to Elia, she was sickly and too old and she would never be able to give Rhaegar healthy heirs but she was young and beautiful and could give him as many babes as he wished.

She wouldn't be set aside, she wouldn't.

The flaps of the tent were opened and Kevan walked in and everyone turned to face, he had a heavy frown on his and an unreadable look in his eye. "You've all been summoned by the king, Lord Eddard, Lady Elia, and Prince Oberyn have been summoned as well."

"For what?" Tyrion asked as he hopped out of his chair.

"I am a little uncertain to be honest, the king is...not being very coherent at the moment. Your father and I are trying to speak with him and for a moment I thought we were making some progress but then all of a sudden he simply started to demanding that you all present yourself, he's sent a servant to collect the Starks and Prince Oberyn so I think it would be best if we made our way there, we would not want to be late." Kevan explained before he turned and began to make his way out of the tent.

They followed him out and began to walk towards the royal tent, passing dozens of other tents as they went. "Uncle." Jamie began, clearly trying to hide his nervousness from them all but Cersei could hear it, she had always been able to read Jamie since they were children. "Be honest with me, does it look like I am going to lose my head?"

Kevan sighed before he spoke. "You have committed no crime Jamie, but the king's mood is unpredictable and you should not have done such a foolish thing. I would recommended being extremely quiet and if the king demands it of you, you will fall on your knees in front of him and beg his forgiveness. Do you understand?"

"Yes Uncle." Jamie said and then was quiet for the rest of the walk to the tent, Tyrion placed his hand on his arm to try and offer him some soft of comfort and it took all Cersei had not to scream at him to not touch him. Honestly, it was all going to be fine. The king wouldn't hurt Jamie, she wouldn't let him and even if he tried to she would simply make Rhaegar stop him.

Everything was going to be fine. She was going to be the queen. Nothing and no one would ever be able to take that away from her and if anyone tried then she would make them suffer.

It did not take them long to finally reach the royal tent and they stepped inside and the servant introduced them, the king was sitting on the throne of the raised platform with his wife at his side and two of his kingsguard, though Cersei could not tell who, standing behind him, Tywin was standing in front of them with an unreadable expression on his face, Prince Rhaegar was standing off to the side and all Cersei wanted to do was run to his side and bury her head into that gorgeous silver hair and pretend that none of this was happening.

There was no sign of the younger prince and Cersei was glad of that, the Prince Viserys was an awful little beast and she had tried everything she could think of to get him to like her from bringing him sweets from the kitchens and offering to play with him but he still remained utterly closed off to her.

Memories of how he humiliated her by saying that he wished his brother was still marrying Elia came back to her mind and she decided that as soon as she was the queen she was going to have shipped as far away as she possibly could, if he preferred Elia to her so much then perhaps he would do a great deal better in Dorne.

Speaking of Elia she, her husband and her brother were standing on the other side of the tent. There was no sign of Prince Oberyn's bastard daughters and she was glad of that, she had been surprised that the queen had been so forgiving of him bringing them to sit with them in the stands. He had been invited as a guest of honour and he decided to insult the queen by bringing his baseborn children?

Bastards might have been treated differently in Dorne but this was not Dorne.

Eddard Stark narrowed his eyes at Jamie and Cersei was certain that she saw his hands curl into fists for a moment before they unclenched. Cersei could at least understand why he was angry, a better and far more attractive man had made a claim on his wife.

Elia was standing next to him and placed her hand on his shoulder and whispered something into his ear, she was not wearing the crown but Cersei could see it on the table behind them. She supposed that the woman wanted to keep it as a reminder of a time when a handsome man saw something in her.

Looking at both of them Cersei couldn't help but feel sorry for any children they would have, neither of them were anything to really look at. Eddard Stark was long faced, it almost reminded her of a horse and his eyes were a dull grey while Elia was flat chested and at best she could be called plain.

None of their children would ever have any chance of being a great beauty, hers with Rhaegar would be so beautiful that they would have songs written about them.

Prince Oberyn was also glaring at Jamie and Cersei was glad that there were more Lannisters in the tent than Martells or Starks as if it was just Jamie and Oberyn then she imagined that the prince would've stormed over and smashed her brother's face in.

The king suddenly cleared his throat and everyone turned their attention to him, he stood to his feet and Cersei had to stop herself from frowning at how terrible he looked. His silver hair was dirty and tangled in knots, his silver beard was as long and as unkempt as his hair, his nails were as long as claws and he was rail thin from barely eating anything at all for such a long time.

How such an ugly thing could have had a part in creating her Rhaegar she would never know.

"Well, what an interesting few days this has been. You, boy! Come over here." The king shouted at Jamie, his voice was rough. Jamie swallowed roughly and stepped forward, kneeling down in front of the king and the queen. "You've made rather a mess of things haven't you? You do know it is frowned upon to crown another man's wife the queen of love and beauty?"

"Your grace, if I might interrupt." Tywin intervened as he stepped forward and placed his hand on Jamie's shoulder though it did not seem to offer his son much in the way of comfort. "We were all young once after all and youth can make any of us do foolish thing your grace, I am more than certain my son regrets these foolish actions and I-"

"Well, that's all very well Tywin but I do not remember asking you to speak." Aerys spoke and Cersei watched as her father's face darkened, his eyes narrowed to slits and he stepped back, not out of fear but if Cersei knew her father as well as she thought she did then simply to stop himself from doing something that would have his head removed.

Aerys turned his attention fully to Jamie and narrowed his purple eyes. "Do you know what I would've done to you if my son had been seriously hurt?"

Jamie suddenly seemed so very small and he tried desperately to stutter out some words that would appease the king who it was well known preferred some rather...cruel methods of execution, both Cersei and Jamie had been witness to the fact in their time at court.

She still sometimes had nightmares of that young boy's death, she wasn't a fool by any means. She knew that a king had to be strong and could not tolerate any descent and the only way to ensure loyalty was to make sure that your subjects feared you more than any other but even so she had to admit it that even she found the punishment a little cruel.

The boy had stolen a loaf of bread from the kitchens because he had been so hungry, he had begged for forgiveness and cried heavily and while Cersei knew she couldn't even she might have suggested mercy, perhaps simply taking a finger instead of a hand. But the king had needed his subjects to know that no crime would be tolerated in his reign.

The boy had been tied to a pyre in the middle of the throne room and fire had been set to it, the room was as quiet as a grave as all the noble lords and ladies watched a boy little more than a babe be burned to death, screaming in agony. Many of them turned their eyes away and she was certain that afterwards quite a few of the weaker members of court had fainted but none of them had tried to leave, none of them wanted to risk the King's ire.

Jamie had been as pale as milk and Rhaegar had clutched her hand so tightly that she thought her bones were going to crack but she had been so happy that he had been holding her hand that she didn't say anything, she had barely noticed the burning child after she realised she was being touched by her silver prince.

He had not been the most open with his affection since she had come to King's Landing and she didn't know why, she was the most beautiful woman in the world but also was spending as much of her time with him as she could but he barely had any time to spend with her.

Perhaps he just wanted to hold back his affection until their wedding night? She was surprised at how happy that thought made her, she was truly marrying a prince who cared about her honour and wanted to make sure that there wedding bed was not sullied. She loved her dragon prince so.

Speaking of her prince he strode forward and stood beside her brother and met his father's stare, looking every bit the gallant prince standing before the wicked old king. "Father, surely there is no need for this. I am perfectly fine and I am more than welcome to challenge, Ser Arthur unseated me at the tourney at Lannisport and no great fuss was made of it and as for him crowning Princess Elia I am certain he only meant it as a gesture of respect and he meant no offense-"

"It seems everyone thinks that I would like to hear them speak at the moment except for who I actually want to hear speak!" The king interrupted as he narrowed his eyes into a glare which he focused on his son. "Shut your mouth boy before I have your tongue ripped out, and I will do it. See if I don't." He threatened.

Rhaegar clamped his mouth shut and stepped back and Cersei let out a gentle sigh of relief, she was still worried about her brother of course but she wasn't sure how she would be able to marry her Rhaegar if something so horrible happened to him.

"Go on then boy, my son may actually be right for a change. He wasn't seriously hurt so I can let you unseating him go. But why did you crown another man's wife?" The king asked and then was quiet as he stared at Jamie, waiting for an answer. "I'm waiting for you to answer me boy." He spat when Jamie simply kept his head bowed.

"Well, your grace I...I have a great deal of respect and affection for the Princess Elia, I simply crowned as a way to show that to her and I certainly did not mean to disrespect her or her husband." Jamie shrugged slightly. "It was simply a gesture of respect and platonic affection for her, I simply did not think it through." He turned his head to look at Elia and her husband. "I apologise if I offended either of you."

Elia nodded in acceptance while her husband and brother simply narrowed their eyes in suspicion, the king was silent and stroked his long silver beard for a moment before he smirked and let out a dark chuckle that froze Cersei's blood. "Very well then." He muttered and turned his gaze to the Dornish girl who, Cersei had to give a little credit, did not flinch when it landed on her. "Girl, come here."

Elia did not bow her head as she walked across the tent with all the occupants eyes on her, she did not bend her back as she curtsied and she did not break the king's gaze as she looked into his eyes. "Yes, your grace. What would you have of me?" Her voice was gentle and low and Cersei just knew that she was planning something, trying to find something she could use.

Something she could use to take what now belonged to Cersei.

"Aren't you flattered by Ser Jaime's attention? How he would risk such scorn and disapproval simply to let you know how very much he respected you?" The king asked and there a mocking tone to his question.

Elia quickly bobbed her head up and down. "I am truly flattered Your grace."

"I'm very glad that you think so." The king grinned and both Elia and Jaime frowned heavily as did her father, her uncle, her aunt, her prince, the queen, the monster, Lord Eddard and Prince Oberyn. "For I've made a decision that I am sure you will both be happy with, you are both going to marry."

The air seemed to have been ripped straight out of the tent and silence was all there was to hear.

"What?" Both Jamie and Elia breathed in unison, breaking the spell, Elia's dark eyes had grown in shock and Jamie was as pale as a sheet. Rhaella turned to her husband in shock, her mouth hanging open. Rhaegar was looking back and forth from his father and Elia and clearly not knowing who to focus on or what to do, Lord Eddard and Prince Oberyn had both been struck dumb by the king's declaration and her Father was, for the first time that Cersei could remember, shocked. It only lasted for a moment before it faded.

Her aunt and uncle were looking at her father, waiting for him to say or do something and Tyrion was simply frowning heavily as he kept his gaze on Jamie.

Cersei did not like this, she did not like it all. She didn't want Elia here where she could seduce Rhaegar but Cersei certainly did not want her marry Jamie, her Jamie, her golden reflection. This was all his fault, if he had simply done as she said and killed the scheming bitch when he had the chance then all of this could've been avoided.

"Your Grace." Elia swallowed heavily before she continued to speak. "I am honoured that you would make such a match for me and I am utterly flattered but I must remind you that I am already married to Lord Eddard." She tilted her head towards her husband, perhaps in an effort to remind the king of that. Said husband took a step forward so that he was closer to his wife.

"Oh, yes I'm aware of that. I don't care, I Aerys Targaryen, second of his name, son of King Jaehaerys, second of his name. Do hereby dissolve the marriage of Elia Martell and Eddard Stark, so let it be known." As the words fell out of his mouth almost everyone in the tent stared at the king with mounting horror.

"Aerys." Queen Rhaella spoke quietly but strongly. "You cannot do this, you can't just break a marriage because you think that one of the partners in it would be happier with someone else, the Faith will not stand for it!"

"I am the king!" He roared and the queen flinched. "I can do as I like! The Faith answers to me as do the rest of you!" He stood from his chair and glanced around the tent. "Do not question me, any of you. This is the way it will be because I say it will." And with that the king stepped from the raised platform and began to make his way to the entrance of the tent, his kingsguard following him.

"Wait! Your Grace, please wait!" Elia cried as tears slipped from her dark eyes and rolled down her face. "Your grace I am with child, please do not do this!"

The king glanced back at Elia and then glanced down at her stomach and then back up at her face before he let out a weak chuckle that shook his entire body. "Girl, you do not seem to be very far along. This is what moon tea is for." And with that the king was gone, leaving the tent like a gust of wind that barely rustled the tent's flaps.

The sound that came out of Elia Martell's mouth barely sounded human as she fell to her knees and buried her head into her hands and began to sob violently, Eddard Stark half ran and half stumbled over to her and he fell in front of her and pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back and whispering into her ear something that Cersei could not hear. Oberyn Martell was glaring violently at Jamie who had not moved or said anything, he simply kept starring straight ahead.

Cersei realised, as she stared at Rhaegar who was looking at Elia with an expression full of pity, that she could live with this.

She could live with this as long as Elia Martell was as far away from here as possible, in the end when it came to Jamie or Rhaegar, she would always choose Rhaegar.

Always.

End of Chapter Twenty-Five.

Welp, who saw this one coming? Am I as cruel as GRRM yet? Anyway I'll leave you with this cliffhanger and I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope I captured Cersei's voice and character but I also really hope that I got Genna right as well cause I really like Genna.

I think that I should also clarify something that wasn't really touched on aside from Rhaella but will be brought up later in another chapter, Aerys knows he can't dissolve a marriage. He's insane, not stupid. But he isn't trying to really marry Jamie to Elia because why would he want his former friend to have such a strong alliance?

He doesn't. He is in his own way trapping Jamie by betrothing him to a woman that he can not marry even if Elia's pregnancy is terminated because the wedding has already been consummated, Jamie is not a member of the Kingsguard yet but he is a knight and Tywin sent Jaime with Cersei to court to find a suitable woman to marry.

All this was done to hurt Tywin by making that his son can not marry at all and thus would be forced to put Jaime aside for a different heir, plus Aerys actually thinks that this would weaken the STABM alliance, which he is aware of at least to some extent, by causing disability.

As always please follow, favourite and review if you enjoyed this. Constructive criticism is also always welcome.

See you next time!

Doctorwhofan12345.