Thank you for reviewing the previous chapter Princess Rosalind of Underland and RhaenaTargaryen, and ty hubblebubble92 for showing interest

RhaenaTargaryen, it may be some time (for us, not them) before they really talk about things. The next several chapters are pretty slow-paced.

A big thanks too to jacobssibling who has reviewed chapters 1-4 and hopefully didn't quit after that! Thanks to that I will be sending the next chapter to my beta ASAP! :D

As they left the inn and headed outside to finally see Pentos in the light of day, Jaime excitedly grabbed Cersei's hand. Heading outside, they quickly found that the streets were crowded and noisy, though no more so than King's Landing. The main differences were the smell, or rather lack thereof, which was certainly a good thing, and the languages they overheard were more varied.

"That place there must be the place the Innkeeper was talking about," he stated as they arrived in front of a shabby-looking wooden establishment with the words "Duck Dining" painted on the front.

"I suppose so," Cersei replied, frowning as she opened the door. He could tell she clearly was not impressed, and that had they not been without a decent meal in so long, would have insisted they go elsewhere.

They entered and got in line, his mouth watering while they waited.

"Well, I certainly hope their food is better than their decor," said Cersei.

He glanced around, just as unimpressed as her, before shrugging. "I don't care. I'm so hungry that I doubt I'd even notice if it was slop they'd feed the dogs," he said.

After a short while they made it to the front of the line, but, unfortunately, the man at the counter informed them that he could not serve them.

"Why in seven hells not?" Cersei asked, annoyance flickering in her eyes.

"I was speaking to the man with you. You can stay and order."

"Why can't I?" Jaime asked, perplexed.

"This is a respectable establishment. We don't serve half-dressed people. Come back with a shirt on if you want service."

He sighed wearily, too weak from hunger to offer any sort of protest. "We'll be on our way then." He turned to leave but quickly found that Cersei was not following. He looked back at her with a question in his eyes.

She met his gaze almost apologetically and rubbed her belly. "Sorry. The baby needs food. I'll retrieve some coins for you after I order my meal. They'll probably serve you at that shady-looking place a few buildings down." Her fingers clenched tightly around the straps of the sack, making it clear that he would not be getting any coin until she ordered her food.

He hesitated. He had been without food for far longer than she had and he was really feeling the effects. On the other hand, she was pregnant and their diet as of late certainly didn't befit a woman in her condition, especially not one accustomed to more royal fare.

They stared at each other, him silently pleading for her to come with him, and her daring him to argue the point. Finally, the spell was broken when a man whom he assumed was the owner ordered him to leave immediately. The man pointed to a sign nailed to the front. "You should've never even ventured inside here. Can you not read? That sign says no shirt or shoes, no service. And your wife here can either order or leave as well. She's holding up the line."

He sighed and nodded at Cersei as if to let her know she had won the battle. "Come find me outside as soon as you order," he requested of her.

She replied that she would, before turning back to the man to enquire about the food.

The man informed Cersei of the meager options. Duck was apparently the only meat they served. There were only two different types of salads, and the final choice was either a butter biscuit or a honey biscuit. Underwhelmed by the choices, she chose her meal quickly. He responded by telling her what it cost, before promising her that her meal would be out shortly.

She untied the sack to get the needed coin but failed to see any coins in the small pouch stitched into the top where they had been keeping them. Jaime! At some point, the fool must have moved the coins to where the jewels and crown were. She wondered when he had been alone with it to do so. Perhaps while she had been sleeping? She reached into the large sack and felt around searching for them. She hoped that the man wouldn't look inside while she took her time retrieving the coins.

She looked as best as she could without removing any of the items from the sack. The crown, rings, and necklace were all visible, but she did not see the coins, nor did her hands brush across them. Her face burned red with embarrassment as people behind her began to complain.

"I'm going to have to insist you pay now or leave, Lady."

She was ravenously hungry, but she knew to cause a scene would not end well for her. She'd never felt so powerless before, not even when father refused to allow her to practice swordplay like Jaime, or when the Faith Militant had locked her away in a dungeon. Accepting her defeat, she headed outside to confront Jaime about the missing coins.

"There were no coins!"

"The jewels?" Jaime asked, alarmed.

"The jewels were all there. But the coins we had are all gone. Did you take them?"

"Why would I do that?"

"How should I know why? It's the only explanation. I am sure if somebody had somehow stolen from us, the jewels would not still be here!"

"Shit! I...I think I know what happened. I must have given them all to the maid to bribe her."

"You fool!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize it! I'm not used to having to watch what I spend. I'll be more careful from now on. Let's just go sell something. Remember Tyrion said there was a discreet broker next to the brothel. That place over there should be it."

"Let's go then. I am starving. I could be eating honey duck right now if it weren't for your stupidity!"

"I said I was sorry!"

Her reply was just to roll her eyes before scurrying ahead of him to the brokers.

He rushed to catch up. "Wait! What are we selling? You mentioned that there was one jewel you didn't wish to part with. Which one is that?"

She slowed her pace, eventually coming to a halt. "The pendant, of course."

The rings held their own sentimental value but would be nowhere near as hard to part with. The pendant on the other hand, was all they had left to remind them of House Lannister. Of course, she wasn't so foolish as to think she could ever wear it again. She thought perhaps one day, long after they were gone, when people thought House Lannister extinct some descendent of theirs could emerge. It would be like a giant fuck you to anybody who dared speak ill of House Lannister, as she was sure they would. More importantly, the pendant was a link to their past, her mother and daughter had both worn pendants identical to it. This was the only one that remained, the others were presumably buried under the Red Keep. She would not part with it.

They debated briefly before agreeing that they would only sell one item for now. She was worried that even that profit would be enough of an amount to raise suspicion with the bank. Together they headed inside to part with one of their few remaining possessions.

There was nobody else in the shop. She made pleasantries with the broker before taking the crown out. Just as Tyrion had said, he asked no questions. He examined it briefly before informing her of his offer. She frowned and made a counteroffer.

With a price now settled she waited for him to retrieve her payment. Her thoughts drifted back to the bittersweet time when Tommen had died and she declared herself Queen. A crown had been needed. She would not, could not, wear Tommen's, not after what he had done.

She remembered choosing the design and how pleased with the jewel-crafters results she had been. She had chosen silver with wisps of gold to show that even in grief, the golden lion stands strong. The center of the crown was the lion sigil abstracted, its mane representing the Iron Throne, her lifelong desire. She had made it finally, ruling without any man over her. She had never felt so empowered as when the crown was placed upon her head.

As the loss of her crown was finalized, she was surprised to find no great sense of loss accompanied it. Instead, to her surprise, she had found herself thinking of all the more important things that she had left behind in the Red Keep. The children's portraits. A lock of hair from Joffrey's first haircut. A doll that had once been Myrcella's favorite. Tommen's cat Ser Pounce. She wondered what had happened to him. After Tommen's death, she had scarcely seen him. She hoped he was not in the Red Keep when it had collapsed, or that if he was, he had made it out in time.

It was not until they were outside that Jaime spoke. "Would you like me to carry some of the coin?"

"No. I'm going to deposit what we don't immediately need into the bank. We need to be careful with our money. If someone were to rob us what would we do? A bank gives us protection against perpetual poverty."

"But isn't the sack rather heavy now? Perhaps I could go in and purchase another and we could both carry some coin," he suggested.

She didn't like that suggestion at all. What if he left her? She would need every last coin to support herself, and besides, that was her crown. The money should be both her joy and her burden.

"The walk to a bank shouldn't be far. I'm sure I can manage. Perhaps you could be useful and ask a local where the nearest bank is."

Jaime sighed but did as she suggested. A man gave them directions to the nearby bank and informed them of another bank of higher standing located across town, but for that bank, they would need to hire a wagon to take them as it would take hours to walk.

As they started their walk to the bank Jaime debated asking Cersei to go to the brothel with him to eat. He doubted they had any requirements that one wear should wear a shirt. As quickly as the idea entered his mind, it left, it wouldn't take that long to buy a shirt. More importantly, Cersei hated those places, and he wanted to give her better for her first meal in Pentos.

He noticed her struggling with the sack. "I can carry a bit more of the coins. I'll just put them in my pockets."

"You have no pockets. Those pants are servants' garb. I chose the designs for them. To prevent stealing I specifically ordered that they have no pockets sewn into them."

He laughed.

"What is so funny?" She asked, eying him suspiciously.

He stopped walking, letting a family pass them before stating, "They do have pockets. Multiple pockets. See. In the back here and this one on the side."

"What in the..." Cersei turned to look, noticing there were in fact what looked like pockets, just a few shades of brown lighter than the rest of the fabric. She put her hand in one of the pockets. "Are those crumbs in there?! Disgusting! Ugh! I can't believe those sneaky little servants. I wish I could whip them!"

"For sewing pockets into their pants?" He asked, amused.

They resumed their walking, and Cersei frowned, "Of course, they were obviously stealing food, and who knows what else. Well, I suppose at least whoever they were, they were buried alive under the Red Keep."

"You mean like us?"

"Not funny," she replied.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before his stomach growled. "Why don't you go order some food for us both while I deposit the money and get myself a much-needed shirt? I'm really hungry," he said.

"No. I'm going with you. At least to deposit the money."

She had eaten the pie last night, but being pregnant she still had to be just as hungry as him. Why wouldn't she just go order the food? Then they could both eat all the sooner. Was this her having to be in control of things, or did she think he would run off and leave her? After they were both clean, fed, and had seen a maester they really needed to talk.

A short while later they reached the bank. When it was their turn, Jaime tried to make an account to deposit the money. Cersei interrupted, and a very awkward encounter ensured before finally, they left the bank.

—-

Once they were outside again he turned to her, "Your servant, really?" he asked, hurt.

"It was my crown. You shouldn't get to be the one who owns the proceeds from it."

"You could have said that I was your husband!"

"But you aren't and I needed to make sure that I was the one signing for the money. After all, I should be able to retrieve my own money. Pentos probably has as idiotic laws as Westeros regarding a married woman's money."

Why did she need to retrieve her own money? Was she planning on leaving him? Indeed she had to realize she needed his protection and she wouldn't do anything so foolish and rash. Or would she? Perhaps she planned to raise their child in secret and reclaim the throne when they were of age. It had worked well for Daenerys, or rather it would have had she not gone mad. She knew he would never agree to such a thing, so perhaps she would leave him and he'd spend the rest of his life traveling, searching every face in the crowd for her. He could not let that happen. He hated that he was always the one to apologize first, even when she so clearly was the one with the greater sins, he'd hoped things might be different when he came back. He wouldn't let pride get in the way any longer though, tonight he would ensure she knew how much he loved her.

Please review. I am more motivated when people give feedback. I get a lot from reddit exchanges (not so much on later chapters tho) but it's just more satisfying when it's from someone who likes the pairing.