The Queen in the North

Chapter Ten: The Iron Islands

Wrinkling her nose as she walked around the castle that she now called home, Arlenna Lannister couldn't help but think about how much of a down grade this place was compared to the castle at Aeredale. 

Aeredale had paled in comparison to Casterly Rock but it was nothing compared to the cesspit that she now called her home; Arlenna wondered what her brother would think of her now, the last true Lannister standing. 

Perhaps he would then see her worth, that she had been worthy of his attention and his respect, that it was through her that their house would survived after everyone else had failed. 

Tyrion and the two Hill bastards that had been fathered by Jaime with Cersei were not Lannisters as far as Arlenna was concerned, she refused to see them as such after they had betrayed her family. 

Stopping by a window, Arlenna tried to control the rage that she felt as she thought of her own family that had turned on her; that Arthur and Deston were now lost to her because they had sided with their sister. 

It was because of Sanira that she had lost everything, her useless daughter couldn't even die right and instead had caused the downfall of Arlenna's house. 

The news that Sanira now had two healthy sons and a third child on the way was not endearing to Arlenna who hoped to see her daughter suffer for all the perceived slights against her. 

Not even the news that Arthur had his own family, two sons now seemed to reach her; she couldn't bring herself too especially when her eldest betrayed her and sided with his sister. 

Arlenna couldn't wait to see their faces, hear their pleas when they realised that she had come out on top; that they were all at her mercy and they had to dance along to whatever song she sang from now on. 

That if they had done as she wished in the first place that all would be well and they would have been safe, instead they had betrayed her house and had cast it down to ruin. 

Sanira would have found herself as Joffrey's Queen, she would have all the power that she had now amassed and would have seen her children as the true rulers of the realm rather than the upstarts that they were now. 

Arthur would have married a fine match from the Reach and Deston would have been her darling boy, by her side for the rest of her days. 

The doors to the chamber opened snapping Arlenna from her thoughts of victory, so sweet that she could almost taste it and she turned to the two soldiers that had entered. 

"What is it?" Arlenna demanded, she had not been expecting any interruptions today and she knew that the fleet was still being rebuilt after Yara had stolen it from under Euron while he was being coronated. 

Arlenna had thrilled at the idea, she was a Queen now equal to that of her disobedient daughter who complained herself as Queen in the North, Queen of the Trident and Queen of the Vale. 

"You have been summoned," one of the guards stated, his face covered in a helmet so that she couldn't see nor that of the other guard that was with him; his voice was gruff and revealed nothing more. 

Arlenna pursed her lips, she looked at the two guards for a moment before she huffed and waved her arm for them to lead the way as she followed them. 

The two guards lead her through the halls of the keep, it was dark and miserable and no one crossed their paths as they made their way down into the dungeons.

"What is this?" Arlenna asked confused, the light so poor that she couldn't really see as they lead her through the corridors; she wrinkled her nose at the smell of damp as they walked deeper into the caverns.