Chapter 16

I groaned and my eyes reluctantly opened to see the crimson and gold drapery that constituted my canopy bed curtains.

Minutes passed, as my mind wavered between the decision to begin the process of waking up or succumbing to the alluring desire for more sleep.

Even after a night's rest, my body felt utterly shot through, as if I had worked myself to the bone and a bit more past that yesterday and a single night's rest simply was not enough for my body to recover from its ordeal.

And yet, with a herculean effort, I managed to twist my head to the left and right sides of my bed only to see it was I alone in it. Lanna must have been up and running already which meant Jaime was likely long gone.

Though judging by the shafts of light that penetrated my room, he might be back sooner rather than later as we were well past dawn and likely approaching noon.

It had been a very long time since I had slept in till noon.

But I think I deserved a rest after what happened last night.

I wiggled my fingers.

They responded.

Next, up were my toes.

They also responded.

It took me more moments than I would have liked to muster the energy to raise my leaden arms for my next action, but I confirmed my chest was smooth and unmarred.

A fact I much appreciated after seeing countless dreamers impaled upon those spires of ice last night.

Thank you, Raava.

For a single moment, I thought I felt something resonate deep within me, some ember of feeling before it vanished.

I like to think it was the spirit bound to my soul hearing and acknowledging my thanks.

Or it could have been indigestion.

Who knows with things like this?

I turned to look up at my bed canopy, blankly and unseeing, lost in ruminations about the events of the now past night.

Of how I almost fucking died last night, from a threat I never saw coming.

Mere inches and seconds were all that laid between me living and dying, my isekai journey coming to an utterly ignoble end.

No, I survived.

And that was all that should have mattered.

Yet the trembling in my heart could not be denied, that my brush with death had shaken me slightly.

Violence and the threat of death were not something I had ever worried about in my previous life.

But this was not the first-world country of my last life. This was Westeros, a world rife with danger, sudden and violent, and potentially from any angle. I thought I was more prepared to deal with the harshness of this world but it seemed I was still soft.

I would have to be more careful.

And stronger.

High falls were not something I should have needed to fear with any bender having a variety of options to resolve such an issue.

Fire flight via propulsion.

Airbending had many solutions all on its own but as I couldn't airbend yet, it was irrelevant.

An earthen cushion was a possibility or directing the energy from the fall into an attack. Maybe raising forth an immense ramp to bleed energy but raising such earth without proper rooting would have been challenging.

With waterbending, maybe I could have taken control of the spires and remade them into an icen ramp.

So many things I could have done differently in the moment, yet, I knew I shouldn't be judging myself so harshly.

I was thinking calmly now, in the safety of my bed and wrapped up comfortably in my sheets with a fire crackling about merrily to the side.

Not suddenly thrust into a skydiver's worst nightmare.

I felt that my plans weren't exactly terrible but in the end, they proved fruitless against Bloodraven which was reasonable.

Whereas I was merely a visitor to whatever that dream realm is, he lived there full time so it was no wonder how utterly outclassed I was.

Would I have to worry about him again tonight for a potential rematch?

The thought of it filled me with hints of trepidation.

And anger.

Screw Bloodraven. Man's making me feel feelings I don't wanna feel so let's punch them away.

Round 2, lets fucking go.

Though I doubt it would have gone any better than it did last night.

Was it because I lacked strength of will? Determination? I knew since my past life that my will was not especially resilient. If I had to have a mental showdown with Ozai like Aang did, I would lose, zero doubt about that.

Hm.

Well, if it all goes to shit, I'll just ask Raava again then!

I'll start the fight and if I can't finish it, I'll run to big sister Raava who will finish it for me!

Mwahaha!

I could not help but wonder though… Was there any way to stack the odds in my favor?

Would burning down the Godswood help?

Hmmm.

Probably not? I mean it was Raava who took me down into that realm so I had my own access to it through her so burning down the Godswood would do little except please the inner pyromaniac no doubt inherent to every firebender.

Buttttttt, it might help Rhaegar?

Rhaegar had dreams sent to him by Bloodraven so maybe if I burned down the Godswood, would it hopefully cut the connection, or possibly mute it?

Maybe I was getting ahead of myself. I wouldn't even know how to burn it down in the first place, without getting caught that is.

The burning is the easy part.

The not-starting-a-religious-incident thing was the more complex matter.

Nah, let's take a step back. Maybe Rhaegar and Bloodraven both being Targaryens and slightly magical with the whole dragonbonding thing would be enough of a connection for Bloodraven to enter his dreams.

Before my thoughts of further pyromantic acts could be developed further, the door creaked open.

I lifted my head to see Lanna.

"Morning, Lanna." I greeted her, my voice dry and groggy.

She raised an eyebrow at me and put her hands on his hips like an exasperated mother. "Morning for not much longer I fear. Lady Joanna has tasked me to wake and prepare you for a mid-day meal."

It was even later than I thought it was.

I groaned and flopped to my side, wrapping myself deeper into my blankets.

"I don't wanna," I whine petulantly.

Bed too comfy. Nice and warm. Don't wanna leave. I am Burrito de Cersei now.

Lanna, both older and stronger, having none of it, stepped forward, gripped my sheets, and with a mighty heave, pulled the blankets off.

Noooooooo. Burrito Cersei is unraveled, undone! The humanity!

"Come now Cersei. You don't want to miss the meal, don't you?"

My stomach gurgled in response.

I've been betrayed!

Lanna let loose a girlish giggle while I huffed and dragged myself up into a sitting position before starting the arduous process of climbing off the bed.

"Fine fine."

I straightened out my bunched-up sleeping shift as Lanna led me to the side of the room where a little vanity table was placed. Not that there was much there besides a brush and a circular mirror of beaten silver inlaid a decorated frame. Thankfully I was too young for makeup but I was not looking forward to that since I had not a clue what constituted makeup in medieval times but like anything, people were probably putting stuff on their faces which they shouldn't.

This lead-based eyeliner just absolutely makes the eyes pop!

Oh deary dear, let's get this arsenic-based powder to cover up those blemishes!

Sitting down, I examined myself in the mirror, taking in my features and expression. Funnily enough, even from a young age, Cersei suffered from Resting Bitch Face. My smiles came across as more, mockingly smirky than anything in good humor. The less said about when my smiles showed teeth the better. I had a feeling it would only get worse as I aged and the baby fat melted away.

Ah well, it's a problem for the future.

As I sat there looking into the mirror, I noticed that it was of surprisingly good quality, but there were still a few spots of distortion here and there.

Could I do something about that?

As Lanna picked up a hair brush and started untangling my frazzled hair with practiced ease, I reached out with my senses for the metal mirror upon me.

Instantly, tiny and miniscule pockets of earth shone in my inner eye.

The hammering of the mirror was done carefully and skillfully, but it wasn't exactly one hundred percent smooth.

I focused on one pocket of distortion and reached for the trace elements just within it and commanded them to flatten.

The piece of polished silver screeched slightly and now I could see a visible dent in it.

Oops.

I made it worse.

Lanna just sighed behind me, so familiar with my antics that the rhythm of her brush did not even break stride.

"I can fix it!"

Less macro control, more micro. Like the smith who made it.

I shifted my focus to the quarter-sized dent, the edges of the circle to be exact, and began trying to bend them back into a flat plane.

Shaping earth was relatively easy as it was malleable as clay in my hands and under my earthbending. Metalbending felt more like smithing, where things had to be forced into place with strength.

Big works were rather simple like twisting metal into various shapes, but small delicate works? This shit was hard.

But it was good practice so I would continue!

And this mirror was probably hella expensive and I didn't want to get yelled at.

Minutes passed and eventually, I managed to bend it back into a semblance of shape.

Except the distortion was way worse now.

"It was always like that," I stated as confidently as I could, as if hoping reality would conform to my words.

"It sure was, m'lady," Lanna said dryly, meeting my eyes through the mirror.

I rolled my eyes in turn. "Look. It's a work in progress."

"Uh-huh," Lanna replied, having put down the brush and had her fingers now deftly twisting through my hair, weaving a simple braid.

I pouted.

Under her practiced hands, Lanna quickly finished the braids. While she stepped over to my bedchest to grab me a dress, I bent water out of the basin and washed my face with it with the blob.

Hehe. Waterbending, an ancient sacred art going back thousands of years, rich with tradition and philosophy but here I am washing my face with it.

Magic is magic.

Moments later, I was done and threw the blob of water back into the water basin where a maid would replace it later.

And I was perfectly dry! Who needs towels when you got waterbending eh?

It was merely a matter of moments later that saw me changed and headed out to lunch.

Lunch was a bit of a quieter fare since this wasn't a feast hosted by a king or anything. A plate or some fowl, thankfully chicken, alongside some stews, loaves of bread, and fresh fruit to top everything off.

Nobles in medieval times ate some uhhh… Weird shit, at least to me and mine tastes.

Pigeon pie was plenty popular in this day and age but to me, pigeons were dirty and gross and I struggled to try and see them as food. It would be like eating rat pie and I just couldn't do it.

There were also other stuff like peacocks and swans too which wasn't as bad but to modern me, I struggled to just see them as food.

Which was silly of me really, what was the difference between a peacock and a chicken? One was prettier and that was it.

I was more focused on picking apart my chicken rather than listening to the conversation going on around me as missing breakfast had made me a bit ravenous. Both mother and father were here in attendance along with Jaime who joined us from the yard shortly before we started eating. Lanna was standing off to the side since she was technically just above a servant.

Then I heard my name mentioned.

"Huh?" I questioned, looking up from my wooden trencher.

Tywin was looking at me.

"Yes, father?"

"Your brother was just telling us of your meeting with the Prince."

I blinked. "Uh, yeah?"

"Do not stutter, Cersei." He reprimanded. "It is beneath you."

I winced and straightened up in my seat. "Yes, I spoke with the Prince. We spoke of matters in the White Sword Tower."

"And what matters were these?" He questioned.

"He was worried about the burdens of kingship if His Grace truly does not wake," I answer.

"Oh?" Tywin looked intrigued at the thought. "And you soothed his ills?"

I fidgeted. "I mean, I spoke with him and he seemed to feel better at the end?"

"What exactly did you say to calm the Prince?" Tywin asked curiously and even Mama Jo looked interested.

I had to think about it for a moment because I couldn't remember what the hell I did say since I was just bullshitting my way through the conversation as best I could.

"A few things. He was worried about what kind of King he would be so I told him that his succession had far fewer problems than his predecessors. He is not Daeron the Good or Jaehaerys the Wise stepping in to stitch back together a broken realm."

Tywin looked thoughtful before speaking. "Wise advice, but succession has a habit of showing faults where none were thought to be. It would still be prudent to be more careful. Continue."

Uhhh… Was there anything else?

"A burden shared is a burden halved. A bad king can be a mediocre king if they surround themselves with and heed wise counsel."

Tywin raised an eyebrow at my statement. "I do hope you spoke more gently than that."

"I did yes."

"Hm. Was that all?" He asked.

I nodded. "I believe so."

Mama Jo smiled. "And yet Rhaella tells me otherwise."

"The Queen spoke of these matters?" Tywin turned to her.

"Not of this, but she has been rather delighted that her princely son has taken to visiting his dear old mother," Mama said slyly.

I felt my face flush, a reaction which was missed by none.

"Cersei?" Jaime inquired.

Bowing before the gazes of all those at the table, I explained. "I uhhh… May have told him to make some friends and that he should visit his mother more."

"Oh, but I don't think those were the exact words were they?" Mother teased.

Tywin caught onto whatever mother's scheme was as I saw his neutral expression shift to one of amusement.

"Do repeat what you said, Cersei." He demanded lightheartedly.

"A mother's wisdom is a precious thing and it shouldn't be wasted," I mumbled embarrassedly.

Mama Jo released a delighted laugh at that, utterly pleased with herself.

Tywin chuckled lightheartedly and Jaime just nodded in agreement with my words.

I sat there hoping to melt away into a puddle before Tywin finally moved the conversation forward. "Regardless, Cersei. You've met and surpassed my expectations."

"You're welcome?" I wasn't exactly trying to fulfill what he wanted, life just kinda had a way of working out sometimes weirdly enough.

"Is there something you desire?"

Did something like this merit such a thing? Eh, I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Can Jaime and I have free rein of the castle?"

Tywin pondered the request for a moment while I awkwardly waited. Being forced into confinement was fine in a past life, when I had my gaming PC but here and now? I might as well be grounded.

"Very well. Though I wish for the two of you to stay with each other." He looked at both Jaime and I. "Is that understood?"

"Yes," We chorused.

"Good." Perhaps seeing the excitement etched onto our faces, "Go, take your leave. The castle is yours. Do not embarrass our family."

And like that, me and Jaime scrambled off our chairs and out of the room, Lanna right behind us.

FREEDOM!

All the secrets and tunnels of the Red Keep shall be mine!