Game of Thrones - The Rose of Winterfell

A War Brewing Between Two Houses

Exiting the throne room, I forced myself to breathe deeply as Lehna, Taria, and I swiftly walked the corridors of the Red Keep to return to the Tower of the Hand. Breathing deeply, I urged myself to keep my stride short as I conversed the twisting corridors of the Red Keep. I turned a corner and nearly walked into a garden currently occupied by my Father and Queen Cersei. Before I could make a hasty retreat, I was pulled into a hidden alcove as Taria harshly said, "be quiet." Shocked by her tone, I bit my lip and watched the Queen observe my Father before saying, "the South does not seem to agree with you." Father breathed, saying, "I know the truth Jon Arryn died for." My eyes widened in fear at the notion that my Father had discovered the same truth I had recently uncovered. I strained my ears to hear when Lehna uttered, "we should return to the Tower of the Hand." Taria glanced at her and was about to nod when we heard, "your brother Or your lover" from my Father.

Unoffended, the Queen boldly said, "the Targaryens wed brothers and sisters for 300 years to keep bloodlines pure. Jaime and I are more than brother and sister. We shared a womb. We came into this world together. We belong together." I could feel Lehna's and Taria's gaze as I tried to contemplate Robb and me in their position, only to feel my stomach turn. Shuffling away from them, I quickly vomited the contents of my stomach into a vacant planter. Breathing in and out, I felt a gentle hand rub my back as the Queen murmured, "in the rare event that Robert leaves his whores for long enough to stumble drunk into my bed, I finish him off in other ways. In the morning, he doesn't remember." Taria softly said, "breath through your nose. It will calm your stomach if you breath through your nose."

As instructed, I closed my mouth and slowly breathed through my nose, trying to ignore the continued conversation between my Father and the Queen. "You've always hated him." Ceresi hummed and muttered something I could not hear before saying, "every girl in the Seven Kingdoms dreamed of him, but he was mine by oath. And when I finally saw him on our wedding day in the Sept of Baelor, lean, fierce, and black-bearded, it was the happiest moment of my life." Feeling her wistfulness and delight in retelling the memory, I wanted to sympathize until she coldly said, "your sister was a corpse; I was a living girl, and he loved her more than me." With a calm stomach, I shakily stepped away from the pot only to hear Father say, "I'll tell him the truth when the King returns from his hunt." I glanced at my companions and whispered, "help me back to the Tower by a route they will not notice." Both nodded. With gentle hands, they led me away as I heard, "because wherever you go, Robert's wrath will follow you."

Returning to the Tower of the Hand, the three of us attempted to shuffle past guards to my room so I could lie down. However, a servant approached and uttered that Septa Mordane wished to speak with me. Groaning, I asked the servant where she was and was directed to the balcony adjacent to our dining area. Breathing out, I glanced at Lehna and Taria before asking, "would you mind continuing on to my room to prepare a bath for me?" They nodded as I lifted my head to seek out Septa Mordane.

Moments later, I entered the dining area to find Sansa and Septa Mordane silently embroidering. Approaching, I uttered, "you wished to speak with me, Septa Mordane?" She lifted her gaze and, with a nod, set her sewing aside. "Yes, it seems that your sister, Sansa, understands that her recent behavior has caused strife and would like to discuss how she may make amends with you." Surprise, I glanced away from the older woman and turned to my younger sister. It was then I noticed she was wearing the Lannister lion pendant draped about her ivory neck, publicly claiming her support of the faux prince. Breathing past my anger at the article, I calmly asked, "what do you wish to discuss, Sansa?"