Cersei ends up in Middle Earth and becomes a new peson - maybe. Perhaps.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Ariel

She doesn't know what she expected, probably not much - but certainly not being re-born in another world. Yes, she is certain that is what has happened because she still has all of her memories, which is rather inconvenient if you are also caught in a toddler body and can't really speak. Add to the fact that she is apparently not even human anymore -

But let's start from the beginning.

Whoever decided to have a go at her personal history apparently had her sent to and to be re-born in a land called Middle Earth, even more precisely, in a place called Rivendell.

She doesn't know that at first, of course, because in the beginning her bodily functions and urges and wishes take over and there isn't much she can do or see anyway, unless these people who are supposedly her parents now pick her up and carry her around. Then she can see strange houses, a daintier and loftier than anything she has ever seen, almost built into the rocks and cliffs and trees and nature all around her. It is a mountain region, like the Eyrie she supposes, and yet, the wide flowing gowns everyone is wearing ressembles more the dress of Dorne, or the Free Cities.

It takes her embarrassingly long to figure out that she's not human, but that she has become what they call Eldar, and that the language they are speaking all around her crib isn't Westron or any other human language but something apparently called Sindarin. Well, that explains why she can't seem to communicate, because apparently that messes with her brain. These things are strange - while she can think like an adult, she has to learn Sindarin like a child, one word at a time, even though she is clearly quicker than others, judging by her parents' pleased expressions. They spend time with her, far more than she would have expected, but later, she learns that Eldar children are so precious to parents that they would never give up their care to a wet nurse. Her mother - her new mother, she should say - is beautiful, more beautiful than Joanna Lannister ever was. She ressembles what she has heard of the old Targaryen queens, with straight, silvery hair and high cheekbones in a face so fine and etheral it seems to be drawn or cut from marble, but the girl (thankfully, she is still a girl) doesn't want to think about these dragon people now. Not after what happened... but Celebrían - Nana - seems to be everything a mother should be and everything the dragon bitch was not: She is smiling most of the time, twinkling eyes with no trace of purple, and she is smothering her children with love.

Children - as in plural - because there are siblings. While she was the oldest once (even though nobody cared), now she is the youngest of four. Her older brothers are twins, Elladan and Elrohir, both named after their father, Lord Elrond, the Lord of Imladris - a place which they usually call Rivendell. At least she's a lord's child, she ponders, it could have been worse, since that certainly guarantees her an appropriate amount of luxury and care. But it will also throw her into intrigues and truthfully, she had enough of that for a lifetime. He wonders whether there are already thoughts about betrothals for her right now, in Westeros there would have been, but she knows too little about that world, and at least nobody ever says anything.

Besides, she has an older twin herself, and it's a sister, Arwen. Cersei herself has become Ariel, the supposedly matching piece to Arwen, just as Elladan matches Elrohir. Since she is used to family names she can't fault her parents for their lack of creativity, but thinks that Cersei would have gone a lot better with Celebrían than Ariel. Maybe there is a grandmother with a corresponding name?

In any case, she warms up to Ariel and finds it is her father name, the most formal of all the names she will ever have as an Eldar girl. Both hers and her sister's name literally mean "noble girl", something she can get behind, but she also feels her name is prettier because "riel" can also mean princess. She has been a queen, once, so being called princess pays her at least some of her due.

The girls share a crib and later a nursery, and it seems somewhat familiar, because it's something she did with Jaime once. But none of her new siblings are Jaime and she misses him terribly. He was her other half, another puzzle piece, while Arwen is just her total opposite.

Where Ariel is blond and golden, Arwen is ebony and dark. They are morning and evening, day and night, sun and moon. Ariel rages and Arwen cries - fire and water. There is nothing they have in common, she thinks, even when she can hardly stand up yet.

Ariel is the only golden blonde in the family, as far as she can tell. An odd one out, which is more uncomfortable than she had expected, even though the rest of her family seems to find her golden colouring perfectly reasonable. Either there are some relations she doesn't know of, or her new father must be very very certain in his wives affections.

Somehow, when Ariel watches the Lord and Lady of Imladris together, she truly believes that these two love each other. Then she darkly wonders whether Lord Elrond would turn and be like Tywin if anything were to happen to his precious wife. From what she knows by now, after a couple of years (because time apparently passes somewhat differently if you have an Elven body), he is a totally different kind of lord. He seems beloved, but she doesn't kid herself in thinking he is harmless. No, no harmless man would have a child like her. It's that easy.

~ o ~

Sometimes, Lord Elrond - Ada - gives her strange looks, and even though she is only little and can hardly piece together a proper sentence yet (stupid brain!), she feels he has figured her out, somehow. Ariel has heard from others that he is skilled in healing and on the topic of prophecies, so yes, maybe he knows something - but what of it? He doesn't seem like the kind of man to kick up a fuss, more like the brooding sort.

Otherwise, he's kind and fair and the total opposite to Tywin: He bestows love liberally on all of his children, though it is utterly and horribly obvious who his favourite is - and it's certainly not Ariel. No, it's Arwen, with her big grey eyes and the timid smile, the soft laughter, and the high sensitivity. She easily cries, and she easily laughs, and everyone and anyone in this mountain village (at least she still thinks that's what Rivendell is) runs and caters to her. It's truly exhausting - especially since she is once again the unwanted second. Everyone tells her how wonderful she is, how beautiful her golden hair falls, and they move on to little Lady Perfect.

Ariel fumes and mostly ignores her sister, she tries to pass her time otherwise, mostly by listening and observing - like a cat. Arwen notices, of course, and is (adorably!) sad about it - the only problem is that it isn't even faked. The girl would really like to be her friend, and while it should give Ariel even more satisfaction, the big sad grey eyes only make her feel bad, and she hates that. Actually, she probably hates Arwen quite a bit. Not the way she hated Tyrion though, more like she hated sweet Elia Martell who just swooped in and snatched up Rhaegar. Ariel already knows that girl will snatch up any man she wants when she is older without even trying, and then probably look as horribly confused as Lyanna Stark supposedly was at Harrenhal. Horrible, these people, she should push her down a well or something before it gets a problem.

However, while this feels very tempting, she also knows she has been sent here to do better, and therefore pushing sisters in wells is probably not a smart course of action. So, she doesn't, and only pinches her when the parents aren't looking. Arwen never snitches, stupid chit.

And yet, there is her mother. Ariel knew what she missed out on when Cersei lost her mother due to the horrible imp, but Celebrían showes it to her over and over again. She manages to make her feel like her favourite person, and if that's not the best thing ever, Ariel doesn't know what is. Over all the years, there aren't many other Elven children in Rivendell - Imladris - and these figure out pretty quickly that Ariel is no fun to play with. But that's alright, she tells herself, she can be on her own. Even though that leaves her far too much time for dark thoughts, thoughts about her former life. But what can she do? She doesn't even know what she is supposed to do here.

The strange equilibrium of growing up in a fully functional family that is only disturbed by her own resentment (yes, she knows she is a little monster) is only interrupted when Ariel is what one might consider a six-year-old child, finally able to do interesting things, like running around to ask people questions and not take no for an answer. She has been declared a little hellion very quickly, but surprisingly, her older brothers are her biggest supporters now. While Ariel is weary of them at first, they grow on her after hundred years or so. She soon figures out that they won't tell on her to their father when she is sneaking out of the nursery behind the back of her father's always overworked assistant and they start to form a little rag-tag party - without Arwen, who is far too good and perfect to participate in things like that.

There is no sea, no cliffs, but there are waterfalls, and that's where they jump down, and for a moment she feels Jaime is with her again. But no. Sometimes she wonders whether he is somewhere stuck in this world as well. She doesn't think so, because she can't feel any pull of any kind. Eldar are a lot more sensitive to these kind of things, she has learnt, so if her were somewhere she would surely know.

While most things are better (she has to admit), some things are also very much the same: Her brothers gets swords and ponies and she gets needles and she is so hellishly annoyed about that unfairness that she throws the most epic tantrum Imladris has probably ever seen. People are appalled, her father is annoyed, but her mother is only amused and reminds Elrond that "Ariel reminds her more and more of her own mother and they better watch out." Ariel wonders what that means, because Elrond shudders for a moment - it reminds her of Tywin when he talks about Olenna Tyrell. Anyway, he caves in and she gets the riding and fighting lessons, if only in a reduced amount. But that's alright, she can make do, especially since she's got two brothers who for some reason love practicing with her. (And a sister who for some reason is an awfully good rider, but that doesn't count.) Elladan and Elrohir probably love Arwen more, like most people do, but Ariel is the fun-one, and they actually like her. It's strange to be liked. It's even stranger when she finds she likes these two as well. She would like to ride out on the trips her father takes the boys, but they say she's too young and it's too dangerous. Ariel doesn't understand, they simply could defend themselves, but she has learnt hunting is not a thing here. In fact, eating meat seems out of the question and there must be something in her biology connected to it, because the pure idea of it repells her.

~ o ~

Then, one day when Ariel returns from a walk in the woods, a new horse is standing in the courtyard, in front of their house which quite central of Imladris. She frowns - who is that rider? They don't expect visitors, she always knows these things. She has her little ears everywhere, a spy, and a good tief when if comes to strawberry tarts.

When the men step out of the house, she almost stumbles over the edge of her dress because the man next to her father is so much Jaime it's painful. He's tall, golden, and beautiful, with golden flowers (ugh, Tyrell, poor fashion choice) stiched onto his jerkin. A warrior, like THE warrior in person. But it's not Jaime. She can see it, and yet he looks at her curiously while she gapes like an idiot. Her father calls her closer, and she follows and curtsies in front of this man, who smiles down at her.

"Ariel, this is Lord Glorfindel of the House of the Golden Flower," her father tells her.

Glorfindel - of course she knows the name. The golden haired one, like Jaime, a warrior, like Jaime, who lost his hand in battle, like - she blinks, then smiles.

"I have heard so much of you, my Lord."

"Mostly exaggerrated, I am sure," he answers humbly, "but I am very pleased to make your acquaintance as well, Lady Ariel, for I have heard a lot about you as well."

She isn't sure if he has heard good or bad things, but his slight smile tells her that he might find it at least amusing. He looks at her father.

"They were all right, she truly ressembles the Lady, like Laurelin's light has been caught in her hair."

By now, Ariel is fairly certain she knows who he is talking about - her grandmother, the Lady Galadriel, a woman she has never met but heard much about. People often say she ressembles her, mostly because of the long blond hair, she supposes, though her grandmother allegedly has a tinge of silver in her locks which Ariel... well, she has not. Her hair is purely deep gold, and while it is certainly special, for Elvish perfection, the sheen of a star is missing. But she can't change her hair and she wouldn't do it even if she could, because truthfully, she thinks she looks fantastic. Yes, she is only a child, but she has the arrogance of an adult. Of course she also knows what Laurelin is, she knows all the stories by now, even though she sometimes still confuses them - but while she would have been insulted to be compared to a tree in her old life, she knows Lord Glorfindel means it as a huge compliment. She smiles back.

"I may say, your hair seems to be the same."

In fact, the whole colouring of thr man ressembles her and Ariel has questions. A lot of questions. But the ellon just smiles, almost boyish.

"And if I may say, I believe we have even more in common, if you squint a little."

Ariel blinks, it probably looks owlish. She can't imagine what she could have in common with a man like him. He seems unfazed and Ariel understands she is dismissed. He finds her a couple of days later though, and she narrows her eyes suspiciously. He only laughs.

"Don't worry, I don't want you any harm. Or take away your toy."

Oh yes, true, she is still holding her practice sword. Ariel lifts her chin.

"It's nor a toy!"

He looks at her indulgently.

"It is. But that is alright. It won't always be, just as you won't always be an elfling. Though your forms are sloppy."

Ariel grimaces, because they are - yet. But it's also due to these dresses. Dresses are simply not made for sword fighting. Her brothers wear shirts and trousers, and even her father puts on hunting garb when they are riding out. And then there is she, with these dresses... the thing is just, they are beautiful, and Ariel can't imagine wearing anything else anyway. True, she wore Jaime's clothes once. But that was so long ago... and she is a lady. Or will be.

"But that is not what I wanted to talk to you about. Am I right to think that just like me you lived a life before? Only that you came from somewhere else?"

She nods and he smiles and it's so kind and genuine. He is centuries old and yet seems so young, everything at once. Ariel wonders whether she will ever be the same.

"A great deed then, my lady."

Ariel huffs, because great deed?! Who are they kidding, she blew up a city, she stayed in the South and denied her help while this ellon stayed behind and sacrificed his life for his people. No. She still knows how she got there, children, Jaime and everything, and yet there is nothing great about this. Time apparently gives some perspective.

"Certainly not. Punishment, more likely."

The statement sounds strange in her children-voice. He looks at her calmly.

"Do you feel like it is a punishment?"

Truthfully, she doesn't know. She doesn't know what that is. Everything she knew is lost, her name, her life. And yet. She has a family. She is loved, in some way. She si living in a beautiful place.

"I have no idea."

"Well, Lady Ariel, maybe it is simply what you make of it," Lord Glorfindel tells her after a while, "and it seems the Valar have plans for the both of us then."