Cerella Lannister:The True Lioness

A little brother

6 YEARS LATER
Page turn. The sound of feet on the steps. 2 feet on the step at the same time. After a few more steps a pause. Page turn. 2 feet on the same step. A slight intake of breathe. Hands on the bannister for support. Page turn.

Cerella heard it all. Paid attention to it all despite being engrossed in her latest book. It was her mother. Her heavily pregnant mother might she add.

She looked to the door as the women entered.
The girl rises her eyebrows "you didn't have to climb all the steps I could have just come down."

The women smiled and replied "we both know nothing can get your head out of that book." The girl wittily responded "knowledge is the greatest weapon one can have because of my femininity I'm more inclined to use it than force." She was only 6 but smarter than most girls double her age. Even smarter than her sister who was 3 years her senior.

Joanna hadn't been surprised. She had Tywin's eyes. The mark of a great mind. As soon as she could walk she'd go to the library. Once she could read and write there was no stopping her.

She had already mastered High Valyrian and all of it's bastard tongues. At age 5 she had requested a book on the Old Tongue of the first men. A few months later she had mastered it all so everyone assumed as they couldn't speak it. She truly was Tywin's.

But she was also Joanna's. She held such a striking resemblance to how her mother looked in her youth that the maester sometimes called her her mother's name.

So she was already a great beauty even more so than her sister. She had her mother's famous hair so alike to gold it was said a servant had cut it and sold it for gold. Her eyes were a pale green but unlike Tywin's held laughter and a twinkle of mischief. Her lips were a natural red. Her eyelashes long and dark.

She had a beauty that would have matched Rhaenys even in her early years.

She also had her mother's laugh one that filled you with happiness and giddiness. Her smile was also her mother's a beautiful thing that lit up her eyes and made others around her do anything to have it directed at them. Especially her father.

She was the apple of her father's eye. His pride and joy although being a girl. She could match him in an argument and had her mother's ability of making him laugh. He doted on her. She in his eyes was the perfect mix of himself and Joanna.

He hoped their next child would be the same.

There were footsteps on the stairs. 2 pairs of feet take 2 steps at a time. Judging by the creaking of the floorboards it was the twins.

Jaime was the first to enter the room. "Ella!" He cried happily to see his sister. Cersei quickly darted into the room out of breathe. After recovering she asks "is this where you have been hiding?"

Cerella rolled her eyes. "I'd hardly call it hiding if you know exactly where I am." Cersei crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at her little sister.

A sly smile then appeared on her face as she exchanged a look with Jaime. It's to late for Cerella when she realised what was happening.
The twins jumped on her and started tickling her.

"Stop." She cried tears in her eyes from laughing. Their mother watched on laughing at her children's happiness. She felt the baby kick.

Joanna would be lying if she said this pregnancy didn't feel different to the others. She knew something was wrong but she didn't voice her concerns as she knew even through Tywin hadn't given thought to it they needed another boy. She knew it was a boy just like how she knew Cerella was a girl and the genders of Jaime and Cersei.

She prayed nothing went wrong during the birth she didn't know how Tywin and the children would handle it. You won't die she reassured herself she had 3 living healthy children. Twins she had twins this will be easy. But she knew deep down it wasn't.

She knew the minute the labour started that was why she made sure she saw her children.

She sat on the bed and beckoned all her children near first came Cersei confused and bewildered.

"Cersei." Her mother said while stroking her hair "my firstborn." She said smiling weakly at the child ignoring the pain . She pulled her in for a hug and whispered "I love you well my child I know you will make a great queen." She of course knew Tywin's plan. She let go and gave Cersei one last kiss on the head.

Jaime came after Cersei just as confused. "Jaime." She called him lovingly. She pulled him in for a hug and whispered her message to him "my beautiful son I love you greatly and know you will be a great knight one day but you must protect your siblings especially the younger ones ,Cerella and the babe." He nodded still not knowing what was going on. She kissed his head.

Both Cersei and Jaime left the room still not knowing what was going on. But Cerella did. You'd just have to look in her eyes to know.

She walked proudly to her mother but once she reached her the tears came flowing out. Joanna hushed her child and said"I love you my child. You have to be strong. You are a Lannister never forget what that means. You're are a Lioness of the Rock and you must make sure you are treated as such. Be brave my child."

Cerella's last tear fell. That would be the last time she'd ever cry. What walked out of that room was a different person. One that hide their emotions to keep their family together. One that would lie and manipulate to get their way.

Cerella walked out of that room solemn and never the same. When her mother's last scream rang through the castle it signaled the birth of a little brother but also the true birth of Cerella Lannister.

THE TRUE LIONESSES
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