The Young Lioness

An Oath Forever to Keep

When Joanna woke up, it was almost morning. She got up and got dressed. She was wearing a pair of black pants, a long dark red dresslike tunic and black leather boots. Her hair fell through her back with a few waves and she was wearing a golden tiara. When she was ready, she heard a knock on her door. She opened the door and for her suprise she saw her sister. "Hello, sweet sister. Our brother told me that you were leaving to rescue Jaime. I just wanted to be sure that you were still here." Cersei said with relief for seeing her sister, entering the room. She didn't leave, thank the gods. I can't aford to loose another person to this war, she thought to herself. "Don't worry, big sister. I am not going anywhere. I failed one promise, I can't fail again." Joanna said in a neutral tone, looking to through the balcony. Cersei walked to her sister and put a hand in her shoulder. "You didn't fail Jaime. You had to make a choice and you choose exactly what he would choose. He would be proud. I'm glad that you stayed and I know Tyrion already told you this, but I can't loose you to this war too." she said standing next to Joanna watching the view too. "I know that. Listen, I don't want to be mad at you. So can we call a truce and don't talk about the kids." Joanna said looking at her sister. "Yes, I think we can do that. You really grew up, didn't you?" Cersei said rubbing her little sister's shoulder. "I did. Three years alone in the Rock, it's not easy. But, here I am." Joanna said with sadness and anger.
Many things had happened during those three years and some scars had not healled totally. Cersei noticed the change in Joanna's voice, she knew something terrible had happened during those three years. However, if her sister did not want to talk about it, she would not compell her to confide in her. Cersei knew that Joanna was always a lioness of the Rock, like her, although something or somehow had her change from the sweet naive girl into a more secure and worldwise woman.
"I am always here, you know? Even if we are not seeing eye to eye, you can always count on me, little sister. We swore an oath, when we were younger to protect each other and each one of us will keep it till the end." Cersei said looking at her. "I know, the same goes to you. I know I'm only 17, but I am glad to help if I can." Joanna said taking her sister's hands. "Tyrion was looking for you. See you later." Cersei said kissing Joanna's forehead. "I'll talk to him after the small council meeting. See you later." Joanna said softly.
Cersei left the room and Joanna laid on her bed just looking at the ceilling. It will never be the same, she thought to herself.
In the past three years, so many things had happened, things that she did not tell anyone. Things that had forced her to grow up and leave the innocence of the childhood behind. Apparently I am not the only one that changed. I am trying to deal with all that is happening. Coming back here. See everyone again. It's just not easy, but none of them must know what happened. You have to keep it secret, she thought to herself.
'You will have to be the strenght of the family', Jaime's words were dancing in her head.
After some time, Joanna decided to let go of the past, while it was still time. She put her black cloak on and went for a walk through the city.
Joanna walked through the gates of the Red Keep and made her way to the Fleabottom. Why is everything so calm and sad? It's like the city mourns, she thought to herself.
After some time walking, she was in front of Littlefinger's brothel. I thought that they'd have demolished this by now, she thought to herself. As she was returning to her walk, she heard, "Lady Lannister, so nice to see you again.". She turned and saw Petyr Baelish. "Nice to see you too, Lord Baelish. I see that you still have your business to run." Joanna said looking at the brothel and then at him. "People need a distraction, I only made them pay for it. You want to come inside, my lady? We could catch up the missing time." Baelish said with a devilish smile. "No, thank you. I am not that easy to fool, my lord. I heard that there were some problems, yesterday." Joanna said trying to get some information about what had happened. "Well, you should ask your sister. After all, she was the one who comanded the City Watch to murder all Robert's bastards." Littlefinger said smiling like the viper he was, trying to catch his victim. "Cersei would never do that, first of all. And second, don't play games with me or you'll regret it." Joanna said with a warning tone. She knew her sister and she knew that she would never have the courage to kill inocent children, at least until that moment. Joffrey on other hand...
"When I first met you, years ago, you were a little bird that had never left Casterly Rock-" he was saying with irony. "Don't make that mistake, my lord, I was never a little bird, I was always a lioness. And I believe you know what is said about Lannisters and debts. So last warning, don't play games with me or anyone of my family ever again." Joanna said with irony and leaving. She might not be as sharp in tounge as her siblings, however she could put her claws out. And like they sing in the song, they 'are long and sharp'.
"Why do Lannister sisters have to be so diffrent from the others." Littlefinger whispered for himself. He knew that he could not control them or push them apart. He just did not know why.
Joanna made her way to Tyrion's chambers to talk to him. When she arrived, she knocked on the door and she heard a female voice saying, "Who is it?". "Aah, it's Joanna Lannister, I'm Tyrion's youngest sister." she said surprised and confused. A young girl opened the door and let her in, "Lord Tyrion is not here, yet,my lady. However, I think he will be here soon." "Aah, allright. Thank you. If you don't mind me asking, who are you?" Joanna asked confused. "My name is Shae. Your brother took me with him to KingsLanding, after your father having apointed him Hand." she said closing the door. Joanna opened her mouth to talk when, all of sudden, the door opened and Tyrion and other man entered the room. The brother and sister looked at each other suprised. "Don't tell father?" Joanna asked with a knowing tone. "Yeah, don't tell father." Tyrion said looking down. "Seems like you know each other very well." the other man said with a giggle. "She is my little sister, of course we know each other very well. Anyway, this is Bronn and this is Shae. This is my little sister Joanna Lannister, the Lioness of the Rock." Tyrion said looking at them. "Well, it's nice to meet you." Joanna said. "Nice to meet you too, Lady Joanna. Your brother told me so much about you." Shae said looking at her. "Please don't call me lady, just Joanna is fine. I am sure my brother must have told you many things. Good things, I hope." Joanna said looking at Shae and then at her brother. "Of course. Shae is my lover, but she was a working girl, so don't tell father that she is here. And Bronn is my bodyguard. He helped me, when the Starks took me prisioner." Tyrion said, explaining. "Don't worry, I am not telling father. And thank you for helping my brother. If you two need something, just ask." Joanna said softly. "Can't believe you are brother and sister. Meaning, look at you and just look at her..." Bronn said smiling at her. "Carefull, you are talking about my sister. Besides, she knows how to use a sword better than you." Tyrion said looking at Bronn. "He is right." Joanna said. "Fisty. Love that in a woman. If you don't mind me saying, my lady." Bronn said.
What an idiot, Joanna thought to herself. "Anyway, Cersei told me you wanted to see me. But, we can talk later, if you perfer." she said looking at her brother. "No, we can talk now. Let's go, I'll escort you to your room." Tyrion said opening the door. "I'm sorry. It won't take long, I promise you. He'll be back in a moment." Joanna said to Shae. "Don't worry. Take your time. I hope we see each other again." Shae said bliking. "Anytime, just sent for me." Joanna said bliking too. What did I got myself into? Tyrion thought to himself, while watching the two woman talking.
They exited the room in direction to Joanna's chambers. "How was the small council meeting?" Joanna asked concerned. "Well, Robb Stark sent cousin Alton back to us with the terms of piece. He wants the North to be indenpendent and his farther's bones back. Our sister sent him back with a no as an answer. The Lord Comander of the Nigth's Watch asked for more men to the Wall, because apparently the white walkers returned. So you can see the problem." Tyrion answered with a concerned tone. "White walkers, fantasies? Seems like you have your hands full of problems. Now, I know why Littlefinger was so happy, the man loves chaos. And any word about Jaime?" Joanna asked looking down. "Cousin said that he still has his spirit, which is good. Wait, you talked to Littlefinger?" Tyrion asked suprised. "That's right, I talked to him. I was walking through the city and passed in front of his brothel and, for my bad luck, he was arriving, at that moment." she said rolling her eyes. "Carefull, he is a great liar." he said looking at her. "I know. He said something about Robert's bastards." she said looking at him. "Yes, Cersei comanded the City Watch to kill them, I am going to have dinner with Lord Janos and send him to the Wall." Tyrion said looking down. "That's one hell of a lesson. But, I don't think it was Cersei. She isn't that bold, Tyrion. Are you going to name Bronn Comander of the City Watch?" Joanna said opening her chamber's door. "I am. Perphaps, you are right, Cersei didn't do it. We will found out later. Will you join us?" Tyrion said entering the room after Joanna. "Yes, I am going to have dinner here and then I will join you." Joanna said closing the door. "I can send Podrick to bring you dinner, if you like. He is my squire, but he is a good lad. Just don't keep him ocupied. I know he is a handsome young boy." Tyrion said smiling. "Don't say that, allright? I don't want to think or talk about those things. I don't want to have hope." Joanna said with a serious tone and looking down. "They are dead. You killed them. It's over, Joanna." Tyrion said looking at her seriously. "How do you know about that? I never told anyone." Joanna said siting on the bed. "Your septa told me, when I was in the Rock a few days ago." Tyrion said siting next to her. Joanna sighed.
"I know they are dead. But the things they tried to do aren't. I was so naive to trust someone that wasn't you or Jaime or Cersei or father. And then after that, I was alone. Totally alone. I spent almost three years alone in the Rock, without my family! I didn't have anyone to talk or anyone I could trust. You have no idea, what that feels like! I'd tell myself everyday, that father would come back from whereever he was, or even for some miracle that you, Jaime and Cersei would came to visit me. So, I could just hug you or feel save in my own home. But, none of that ever happened. So, I just made myself stronger. I'd train everyday. And now, when I finally got to be with my family again, it's all changed. I am trying, really I am. But, it's not easy. I am not the girl I was, Tyrion. And I will never be her again." she said with anger and remorse in her voice. One could see the fire and the pain in her eyes, as she spoke. Then tears started to fall down her face. This isn't right. She souldn't have to face this alone. We sworn an oath. And we didn't keep it. We should have been there! What were we thinking, she was just 14. We knew father was never at home, Tyrion thought to himself. Then he gave her a hug to comfort her and said, "I know that you we've changed, since the moment I saw you, ready to go rescue Jaime by yourself. My biggest regret is that you had to go through that alone. We should never have been away from home all that time. We should have been there for you. We swore an oath, damn it. I hope that when you are ready and want to talk about what happened exactly, you know that we are always here." "I'm sorry I snapped at you that way. You didn't have any way to know. I know that all of you will be there to hear me when I am ready to talk about what happened. But, I don't think I will ever tell anyone. Besides they're dead now. I'll just ask you to not tell anyone." she said giving her brother a sad smile.
Joanna decided that from that moment on, she would not let the shadows of a horrific past haunted her any longer. They did not get what they wanted, and she killed them both, so there was no reason to be afraid of them. She might have stopped believing in love, however. Life is a strange thing in constant motion. And the boy, who was about to walk through the door of her chamber, a few hours later, would be the beginning of a new chapter of her life some time later, even if she did not know it yet.
"I won't tell anyone. I have to go, but I don't want to leave you like this. Will you be allright by yourself? I don't want to find an unpleasant suprise later." Tyrion said looking at her. "I will be allright. I will just have dinner and then I will join you, don't worry." Joanna said with a small smile. "Can I still send Pod to bring you dinner?" he said with caution for her reaction. "Yes, you can. After all, he is your squire, so I look forward to meeting him." she said nodding.
Tyrion said goodbye and left.
When the door closed, Joanna went to the table and grabed a few of her sketches. She sat on the bed, just watched them and remembered what gave them origin. Some were things she dreamed of, others things that she wanted to happen and some were just lines and circles that she had drawn to calme down, when she was stressed.
After some time, she heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?" she said aproching the door. "Your brother sent me to bring you dinner, my lady." a voice said behind the door. Joanna opened the door and let the boy, who aparently was 16 years-old, enter the room. The boy had black hair and innocent brown eyes. Tyrion wasn't lying, he is cute, she thought to herself. Podrick put the dinner in the table and said a little shy, "If that's all, my lady, I will be going. Lord Tyrion told me to make sure you are allright before I leave." "Thank you, for bring me dinner. I'm allright, you may go." Joanna said looking at the boy. When he was leaving, she said, "Excuse me, I didn't catch your name." "My name is Podrick Payne, my lady. But, most of the people called me Pod." he said smiling. "Well, Pod, I'm Joanna Lannister. Nice to meet you." she said also smiling. "Nice to meet you too, my lady. If you excuse me, I really have to go serve your brother." Pod said looking at her and then at the door. "Of course. See you around then." Joanna said looking at him. Podrick nodded and left.
He is only a boy, a cute boy it's true. But a boy nontheless and a squire, not that I have something against squires, my father on the other hand. Stop it! No way Joanna, no way! she thought to herself, while eating.
After eating, she went to meet Tyrion and Cersei.
Joanna arrived at the room and knocked. "Come in." she heard her brother said. She entered the room and took a seat next to him at the table. "What the hell did you said to Pod? The boy had a smile that nothing could whipe out." Tyrion said with a giggle. "I didn't say anything. I just ask his name and said it was nice to meet him and said I'll see him around." she said smiling. "I see he was not the only one who like that." Before Joanna could denied it, their sister entered the room. "So, what did I miss?" Cersei said seeing the expression in her siblings faced. "Nothing, just that I think my squire and our little sister will have some history very soon." Tyrion said giggling .  "Well, I don't doubt it. She's a beautifull young woman. Besides, if it is love go for it." Cersei said also with a giggle. "For all the gods, can you two stop it. It was one meeting! He is cute, I admit it. But it's just that." Joanna said in a defensive way, blushing. "See, you think he is cute." her brother said amused. "I think that finally our little sister fell in love, little brother." Cersei said with a giggle. "You two are unbelievable." Joanna said with anoynnence. "Fine, we will stop talking about that, for now." Tyrion said more seriously. "Yes, let's talk about important matters." Cersei said. "Like what?" Tyrion said confused. Joanna knew that they were about to discuss, so she pulled a cup and served herself some wine. She hoped that they did not notice what she was doing. Turned out she was right. "Lord Janos Slynt was comander of the City Watch. You had no right to exile him." Cersei said to Tyrion while walking through the room. "I had every right. I am the King's hand." Tyrion said at Cersei. "You're serving as the King's hand, until father gets here. I'm Queen Regent." Cersei said rebutting. "Listen to me Queen Regent, you're loosing this people. Did you hear me?" Tyrion said softly. "Ah, the people. You think I care." Cersei said with a ironic tone.
Of course, she didn't care. I have forgoten that these two were always fighting. Two complete different minds, Joanna thought to herself, while watching them arguing . She did not have patience for politics. She understood it and she knew it was necessary. Despite being capable of copping with it ,she still felt it was more talk than action. So she just sat there whatching and drinking wine. "You may find it dificult to rule over millions that wanted you dead. Half city will starve when winter comes and the other will plot to overthrow you. And your gold-plated thugs just gave them their raylling cry: the Queen slaughters babies." Tyrion said trying to made Cersei come to her senses. Cersei just stood there looking at him without said a word. "You don't even have the decency to deny it." Tyrion said frustrated. Cersei just walked across the room, with a shocked face. Tyrion just looked at her suprised. "She doesn't deny it, because it wasn't her." Joanna said looking at them. "Wasn't you who gave the order, was it? Joffrey didn't even tell you. Did he tell you? I imagine that would be even worse." Tyrion stated suprised. One could see the shock in Cersei's face and, at that moment, Joanna felt bad for her sister. She knew that Joffrey was a monster, however he could at least have told his mother. "He did what needed to be done." Cersei said looking over the balcony and then she snapped at him crossing the room, "You want to be the Hand of the King? you want to rule? This is what rulling is. Lying on a bed of weeds, ripping them out by the root, one by one before they strangled you in your sleep." "I'm no King, but I think there's more to rulling than that." Tyrion said trying to calm her down. It was not working. "I don't care what you think! None of you have taken that serious, it's all falling on me." she said finally sitting down. "Look, I know I don't understand a thing about politics or rulling, but I am here. We are here. You are not alone, Cersei. Like you said this morning, we swore an oath." Joanna said taking her sister's hand. "She is right. We swore an oath. And we are going to keep it till the end." Tyrion said looking at them. Cersei nodded. "And we are going to have to make a plan soon. Stannis Baratheon has discovered about you and Jaime." Tyrion said looking down. "What? How? Does anyone else know?" Joanna asked concerned. "It was Ned Stark. He discovered the truth about the kids." Cersei said looking down. "Apparently, everyone knows. Stannis sent ravens to every house in Westeros." Tyrion said looking down. "We have to protect them and you. I made a promise that I would protect you and that's what I am going to do." Joanna said , rehasuring her sister. Then she drank a bit of wine. When she stopped, she noticed that her brother and sister were looking at her with desaproval. "What?" she asked confused. "You are drinking wine. You are too young for it." Her sister said. "Oh please, I'm 17. Besides, you two are drinking all of the time." she said trying to save herself. "That's different. We are older than you." her brother said seriously, trying to make some point about it. That point was nowhere to be seen. "Are you serious? I mean you two were discussing all this time, and the only thing you agree on is that I can't drink." she said not believing them. "Just today. Then it's over." her sister finally said. Then they both looked at Tyrion. "Fine." he sighed at last. "Thank you." Joanna said smiling.
They spent hours talking, until they went to their rooms to sleep.
That night Joanna dreamt of all her family in the Rock, again. She hoped that maybe, if she kept dreaming about it, it might come true one day.

A/N: I know that in the books, Pod has the same age that Sansa, which is 11, but I choose to put him with 16 years-old, in this story. Also, yes , I know I rewrote almost one complete scene in the series, but given the context of this story, the dialogue between the caracthers in the scene doesn't make sense.