The Young Lioness

A Tale, Weddings and Castellans

At last, everbody was at the Capital, at least everyone that mattered, the Coronation would be in a forthnight and the Wedding would be the next day, therefore only then would the people from all of the Kingdoms join in. Still, for Jon and Daenerys it was important to have their friends and family there with them, while they prepared things. All of them were helping.
Sansa, Joanna, Brienne and even Arya sometimes, helped Daenerys with the dress for the Wedding and the Coronation, as well as the decorations of the room and all of that. Above all, they surported her, whenever she had doubts. Daenerys knew that probably she would never be able to have children because of the curse that the Maegi made upon her. With all of it getting closer, one day they were the five in a room, just talking, and she just had to let it out, "I can't have children." The women looked at her a bit surprised and confused, "What do you mean?" Joanna asked. "Years ago, when I married Khal Drogo, I got pregnant, but there was a whitch and she made a curse, I lost the baby and she said that I would never have children again. That's why I'm so attached to my dragons, because they are the only children I'll ever had." Daenerys explained. "Dany. Look around you, you're going to be a Queen. The curse is gone." Sansa said assuring her. "What kind of Queen am I going to be if I can't have heirs?" Daenerys asked concerned. "You'll be a good Queen, no matter if you have heirs or not. Someday, it will happened and you will have children, it just did not happen yet." Brienne said. "What if the curse is real? I've never got pregnant again after Drogo." Dany said, preocupied. "You really belive that?! We've defeated the army of the dead, Jon came back to life, Arya can change her face, Bran can see things and control animals, you have dragons. The Wildlings crossed the Wall and the Dothraki crossed the sea. It's not a curse that is going to stop you. You're the Mother of Dragons." Joanna explained. "Still, I don't know..." Daenerys said. "Why don't you ask Sam to see if there's anything wrong?" Arya asked, shooting the idea. "That's a good idea actually." Dany said. "See..." the women said at the same time. "Fine, I surrunder. You're right, it just did not happened yet." Daenerys said with a giggle and she was happier because, deep down, something told her that they were right. Suddenly, the men entered the room, they had been checking the city and the constructions taking place. Each of them took a sit. Podrick sat next to Joanna, Jaime sat next to Brienne, Jon sat next to Daenerys, Gendry sat next to Arya and Tyrion sat next to Sansa, because it was the only spot left. They knew that they had done it on porpuse, still they would not do anything about it. "What were you talking about?" Jon asked. "Women things." Daenerys said. "Speaking of which, we have something to tell you." Jaime said, taking Brienne's hand. She looked at him surprised and he said, smiling, "I told you I couldn't wait." "I kind of hoped that you would wait a few more weeks." Brienne said. "What is going on?" Joanna asked curious. "You tell them." Brienne said to Jaime, smiling. "We're going to be parents." Jaime said smiling. "That's wonderful! We're so happy for you!" All of them said. After everybody congratulating them and getting back to their sits, Daenerys said, "I can't believe that, after all we've been through, we're here." "I know, right? It's amazing." Jon said. "There's just one thing that does not make sense." Arya said. "Yeah, why did Cersei commited suicide?" Sansa asked. Tyrion and Jaime looked at each other and then looked at Joanna. Joanna nodded slightly, but in a way that they understood that she was the one who was going to tell the truth. Podrick took her hand, he knew that this was hard for her. Joanna took the other hand to her belly and started to tell the story as if it was a tale for the baby, "Once upon a time, there were four siblings. Two boys and two girls, two lions and two lionesses. They loved each other very much, so they made an oath. They swore that they would always protect each other and that they would always be there for each other. Always and forever, they said... However, life put them to the test. Love, duty and honor were tested to their limits. The eldest brother and sister were sent to the Capital, while the younger brother and sister remained at the Rock. Since early that they realized that they would only have each other. The younger brother raised the younger sister almost alone. Their father, the proud lion, was never home and their mother had died when they were young. Later, their father sent the young siblings to the Capital as well. In those times, the world seemed beautiful. There was no sorrow or unhappiness. They were together and helped each other. There were new members in the family as well. It was perfect, they thought. Until, one day. The proud lion decided to take the young lioness back to the Rock. Things started to crumble piece by piece. Their family seemed to cease to exist. The eldest sister became mad. The eldest brother was captured and betrayed. The young brother was acused of a monstrous crime, he had not commited. And the young sister saw dark memories that remained in her mind forever and was forced to grow up fast. They became different persons, during that long road that is called life. Still there were some good things. Along the road, they met people who would change their lives forever. They met the love of their lives, they met friends and they found a family with people from every corner of the world. The two brothers and the young sister fell deeply in love. Still it was never easy. Tragedies happened and lives were lost. They fought together, they fought against each other, still the oath remained. At the end, the four of them were in a room. The destiny of the eldest sister was already set. She was going to die, in her madness, she had became cruel and had hurt too many people not to be so. So a choice was given, she could die painlessly with the people, who loved her and that she loved, there with her, or she could wait and die a horrible death. They convinced her to take the painless way... and for a moment she was herself again. The sister they knew and loved. She apologized for everything and they forgave her. The oath was fullfilled, and then she died there and was reunited with her cubs. The young sister led the brothers outside, they were devasted, however, in the eyes of men, the lion queen had commited suicide, only the remaining lions knew of the real story. Somehow, the brothers and sister went back home and were reunited with the ones they loved. See, little one, family is the most important thing that life has, it doesn't have to be bound by blood as long as it is bound by love." By the time she ended, Joanna could feel the tears in her eyes, still she was not sad, she just missed her sister and she just wished things were different. The people in the room were surprised and they could feel how hard it was for the three of them to have to do that. Jaime and Tyrion were really touched by their sister words. It was their story and all of them knew it. Brienne took Jaime's hand and squeazed it a bit, comforting him. He looked at her with a small smile and rested his head in her shoulder. Sansa got up and went to where Joanna was and gave her a hug, Joanna hugged her back and then said, "Thank you." Daenerys was crying a bit, because she never had that connection with her brothers. "I can't imagine how that felt like." Daenerys said. "I'm glad that you didn't feel it." Joanna said and Sansa went back to her sit and looked at Tyrion with a small smile. Tyrion looked at her and made a small smile too. Then he looked around and said, "Yes, it was hard. Because you know a person all your life and suddenly she changes completely and there's nothing you can do about it." "You three were very brave to do that." Arya said honestly. "Yes, I don't think any of us could have done it." Jon agreed. "You could. But I think it's safe to say that me and Tyrion could not have gotten out of there if it weren't for Joanna." Jaime said, looking at his sister at the end. "The battle would have gone on and on, if it weren't for you." Jon said. "He's right." Daenerys agreed. "You can't be serious... I did almost nothing." Joanna rebutted. "You did everything you could and more, Joanna." Pod said, taking her hand again. "They're right." Brienne said. "Yeah, for once in your life, you getting into trouble was what saved us from a destrutive war." Tyrion said. "Some of us might not be here if it weren't for you." Gendry said. "They are right. You were the one who managed to put everything where it was supossed to be, you were the one who was always there for us." Sansa explained. "Believe me at the time, if I could have gotten away from there, I would have." Joanna said honestly. "You're the most selfless person we know. We all understand that you had to get out of there, it was your baby on the line." Daenerys said. "Fine. I surrender." Joanna said with a giggle and they all laughed.
Some time later, they saw that Sansa and Tyrion were looking at each other and that they wanted to talk about something, therefore it was time to put into pratice a plan they had woven the night before to get them back together.
"It's getting late..." Jaime said, out of nowhere. "No, it's not." Tyrion said confused. "It really is." Joanna insisted. And then everyone started to stand up, except Tyrion and Sansa. "Don't you dare doing this." Tyrion and Sansa said at the same time. "We aren't doing anything..." Arya said as if she had no idea what was going on. "Yeah, we're just tired..." Jon said, this was the first time that Jon Snow lied straight. "Tired?" Sansa asked sarcasticaly. "Really tired." Jon and Arya said. And all left and they were alone in the room.
Some time passed by and no one talk, untill Tyrion said, "Well... they did that on propose... I can't believe they did that." "Me too... So..." Sansa said. "So... uuh, I'm pretty sure that they are already occupied, so do you want to stay a bit longer and talk or something?" Tyrion asked. "Sure... I've never got to ask, are you allright? I mean after everything that happened with your sister." Sansa said. "I am holding on... I mean, I'm happy that everything is coming into place, really I am, it's just that... I've been at it for so long and now everybody is moving on and it seems like I'm back where I started... it probably doesn't make sense." Tyrion tried to explain. "It does actually. I understand how you must feel... Look, I know that you are not allright with what happened. I want to be there for you, like you were there for me when my family died." Sansa said. "Thank you, Sansa. It really means a lot to me." Tyrion said, smilling, he was surprised to hear that. And totally happy as well. Sansa also smiled. "Well, you'll be Queen in the North, so that's wonderful." Tyrion said. "It is... Maybe we should have stayed married." Sansa said, shoting the idea like he had done in the night of the battle. "We've never oficially cancelled it, I think." Tyrion said. "Yeah, I think you're right." Sansa said. Then they both smiled. It was the begining of a new story for them, even if it was the resuming of an old one.
Meanwhile, Joanna and Podrick were already in their room. They made themselves ready to go to bed and then layed down in each other arms.
"Do you think they might have talked by now?" Pod asked. "I hope they did, we didn't plan the whole thing for them not to talk." Joanna answered with a giggle. "I can't remember seeing Tyrion so quiet, the entire time I knew him. I mean there was just one time, with Olenna Tyrell." Pod said. "Me too, he really loves Sansa and he doesn't want to screw it. And I don't think anyone could match Olenna Tyrell. The only time I spoke with her was when I defeated Loras at practice and the only thing I was able to say was 'thank you'." Joanna said with a giggle. "You said more than me." Pod said with a chuckle. After a few seconds of silence, "We have to make it oficially, you know. The marriage... and we have to start looking for a place to live." Joanna said. "I know. You think it can wait until after the cerymonies? Because now everything is a mess and we wouldn't find anything, anywhere." Pod said. "I know that. I just don't want Jenny to grow up without a home. And I know that you never had a home or a family and I want you to have that." Joanna said a bit concerned, taking her hand to her belly. Pod took his hand to hers and said, "She won't grow up without a home. We will find a home and we'll be happy. You and Jenny are my family now and forever. Look from where we started and where we are now. It's not a place that is going to stop us from getting a happy ending." "One day, we can tell that story to our children." Joanna said happily. "Yes, one day, we will." Pod said. Then they fell asleep.
The next day, they all got up early, and, after breakfast, Jon and Daenerys sumoned them for a meeting. They were all there in the council room. After everyone arrived, Daenerys started, "Jon and I sumoned you here for, even if it is not official, we will rule westeros. We just came out of a war and we need to keep our friends close." "So here is the plan. We thought of apointing the wardens of each kingdoms and, since we're getting married, we thought that, in each of the kingdoms, if there are no rullers yet, then we could make a visit and, if the situation presented itself, a wedding to make it oficial." Jon explained. "That's a good idea, but it takes ages to travel between the kingdoms and we only have a fornight." Joanna said. "We thought that we could go on the dragons." Daenerys said. "All of us?", Jaime asked with disconfort, for he would rather have a horse. "We can do the trip twice.", Jon replied simply. "Allright... but first there must be records of which castles are without rulers, right?" Arya asked. "Right. We've been looking at the records, and, by that, I mean Sam has been looking at the records, and he found out that there's only one castle in that situation, which is Harrenhal. We thought of entrusting it to Ser Davos. Then there are some that had rulers and now are almost empty. Like Highgarden." Jon explained. "Give it to Bronn, we promised him." Tyrion and Jaime said at the same time. Of course you did. What a brilliant idea?!, Joanna thought, not even surprised. "Allright, then Storm's End is Gendry's and Arya's." Daenerys said and they nodded. "Still, we thought of making several trips around Westeros and to the west, because none of us was made to stay in a castle rulling... so it will be a little complicated to rule the Stormlands." Arya said. "Tarth is in the Stormlands, right?" Daenerys asked. "Uh, yes... why?" Brienne asked a bit confused. "Tarth could rule the Stormlands, that way they could go sailing and we would have a trusted ruler in their place." Daenerys said. "I don't know what to say, I think my father would agree. But I'm still bound to the North by oath." Brienne said. "I realese you from that oath, it's your home. You should be there and you'll be my friend always. You fullfiled the oath that you made to my mother." Sansa said, she knew that home was an important thing and that Brienne was the heir to her house and that she wanted to help her father rulling Tarth. "Thank you, my lady. I guess my father is going to be, uh, let's say surprised." Brienne said. "Should I worry?" Jaime asked. "I don't know." Brienne said honestly. "Good, then it's settled." Jon said. "The North is indenpendent so it is not our bussiness to intervinue." Daenerys said. "Thank you." Sansa said. "Anytime... and now there's Casterly Rock... how do you want to do this one?" Daenerys said. Joanna's blood run cold for a moment, it was unexpectedly sadly for her to hear talking about the Rock, still she would certainly not take it away from her brothers. Suddenly the realisation of the fact that she and Pod would have to find a place soon, strucked her. They both knew that they could remain in some place where their friends were, still they wanted a place just for them, to raise their children. Podrick, who was next to her, took her hand and squeazed it a bit, comforting her. "Well, I'm not the heir, so that's up to them, not to me." Joanna said honestly. Then she took a step back and Pod followed her. After that, Joanna whispered in his ear, "Please, get us out of here." Pod nodded slightly and then said, "If you excuse us, Joanna's feeling a little bit sick, so we're just going to get some air." They all nodded and then Joanna and Pod left.
Outside, Podrick led her to their room. There, he asked, "Are you alright?" "I don't know. I mean I'm happy for them, really I am. I don't want to feel like this, but..." Joanna said, siting on the bed. "But it's your home." Pod said, looking at her. "Yes, the worst is that I don't get it, I simply don't get it.... I always knew that I would never get the Rock and I was alright with it. And now, I feel like that there is no other place that could feel like home." Joanna said. Podrick sat next to her and pulled her into a embrace and then said, "Listen to me, love, I know how much the Rock means to you, trust me I know, but we will find a home. Me, you and Jenny. We will find a place and we will be allright, even if that place is not the Rock." "You're right. It will all be alright." Joanna said at last.
Meanwhile, in the room where the rest of them were talking, Arya and Gendry had left already. At last, Jon asked again, "So, Casterly Rock?" "It's Jo's." the brothers said at the same time. "Alright... what about you?" Daenerys asked. "Well, I've never wanted the Rock in the first place and I want to live my life with Brienne, so we've been talking and we are going to Tarth, both of us." Jaime explained and Brienne comfirmed it. "And I and Sansa... we've been talking too and... we decided to give our wedding another  chance, so I'm going North with her... Look, it's been my honor to be your Hand, but I'm sure you can manage now without me and I want to move on. I don't want to be where I started and, I can't believe I'm saying this but, I would like to quit the game." Tyrion explained too. "It's been my honor as well and I understand that you want to move on with your life. Just help us find someone to do your job, will you?" Daenerys asked. "Of course." Tyrion answered.
After clearing things up, Jaime and Tyrion went to find Joanna. They knew that she had got sad after hearing talking about Casterly Rock. They went to her chambers, they knew that she was there. One thing that made them happy and relieved was that Pod would always be there for her. When they arrived at the room, they knocked and Podrick opened the door and let them in. Then he said, "Well, I'm going to leave you here talking. See you later." Joanna nodded and then he left.
"Are you feeling better?" Tyrion asked. "Yes, I am." Joanna answered. "We know that you got sad after hearing talk about the Rock. That is why we wanted to talk to you." Jaime said. "Look, before you say anything, I know that the Rock was never mine and that it will never be. I don't know why I got that way, but it won't happen again." Joanna said. "The Rock is yours." Tyrion and Jaime said at the same time. "W-what? But I'm not the heir." Joanna said, surprised. She was happy, still she did not understand what they meant. "You are and you always were, even when father was alive." Jaime said. "It was always your home, more so than ours. We've always felt better away from there and you've always felt better when you were there." Tyrion explained. "But what about you? It is still your home." Joanna said. "No, it's not. I'm going to Tarth with Brienne. I want to have a life with her and I've never wanted the Rock. Of course, it's our childhood home, but it was never mine." Jaime said. "I understand that. I hope you'll have a wonderfull life." Joanna said smiling and then looked at Tyrion waiting for him to explain. "I'm going North. Sansa and I agreed to give our marriage a fresh start, so... I'm going to live at Winterfell." Tyrion said. "Finally! I'm sure you and Sansa will be very happy." Joanna said. "I hope you're right." Tyrion said. "She normally is." Jaime said. "We will keep seeing each other, right?" Joanna asked. "Of course, we will. Besides, we can't let our kids grow up without their cousins." Jaime said. "You two better slow down, because I mean... in three months... without marriage-" Tyrion was saying, kiding. "Hey, I'm married." Joanna rebutted. "Without official marriage..." Tyrion corrected. "You're only married because father made you." Jaime said. "I believe that it was one of the few things that he made me do, that turned out good for me." Tyrion said. "I believe so. Always and forever." Joanna said. "Always and forever." the brothers said. Then they all smiled. Joanna was absolutely over the moon to know that she would get the Rock. She couldn't believe it, she and Pod would be able to raise their children in Casterly Rock, her home. That was, by then, their home.
When Joanna told Podrick about the Rock, he hugged her with joy. He felt so happy for her, because he knew what it meant to her and he was also happy for the both of them, because he was starting to feel that he would feel at home too.
In the afternoon they parted, the first stop was at Storm's End. There Arya and Gendry had a simple wedding just with family and friends, none of them liked to be the centre of the atentions. Therefore, they just said the words in front of the Weirdwood tree, because Arya wanted to honor her father and, the way of doing it, was to marry by the Old Gods. She wore a simple dress, because Sansa presuaded her to. However, Joanna knew that, deep down, Arya liked it. Joanna was happy for both of them, they were her friends, almost like family.
The next stop was Tarth. When they arrived there, Selwyn Tarth welcomed them and was overjoyed to see his daughter again and Brienne was also overjoyed to see her father. The Evenstar was surprised and a bit apprehensived to know that his daughter was to marry The famous Kingslayer. Jaime was almost pannicking, because he really loved Brienne and he really wanted to marry her. After a long conversation, on which, Joanna was almost sure, Brienne had been the one who had managed to get it to turn out the way it did, Selwyn agreed to allow the marriage. He also felt that Brienne should take his place as Evenstar and by then Lady Paramount of the Stormlands.
They had time, therefore the women helped Brienne to pick the dress and the men helped Jaime trying to find something better to wear in the wedding.
Brienne's dress was beautiful and brough out the color of her eyes. They were giving it the final details, when Joanna asked, "Are you alright?" "Yes, just a bit nervous." Brienne answered. "It's going to be fine. You two love each other and that is what is most important." Joanna said smiling. "Thank you. I guess I'm the Evenstar now... it's going to be something to see." Brienne said a bit concerned. "Remember what I said the first night we made camp?" Joanna asked. "That I would manage it great, because I have a good heart?" Brienne said. "Exactly. Never forget that, alright?" Joanna said. "Alright." Brienne said. "Do you mind if I go see how Jaime is? Because I'm pretty sure he's freaking out and if I know that boys, well... they're not helping." Joanna said. "They will, definetively, make it worse." the rest of the women said. "Go. Can you take the cloak that is on the table, please, it is the one that my mother used. My father gave it to me." Brienne said. "Of course. It will be fine, don't worry." Joanna said. "I hope that at least one of us is calm later." Brienne said. "I'll try my best." Joanna said and then left to go find Jaime.
Joanna arrived at the room and knocked on the door, Pod opened it and for the look on his face when he saw her, she realised that he was relieved to see her. The look said 'Thanks the Gods, you're here'. Then she entered the room and she comfirmed that, They're right... they made it worse. Therefore, she said, "If you wouldn't mind, I would like to talk with my brother, before he marrys." All of them nodded and, after that, only Joanna and Jaime remained in the room. "I brought this. Don't forget it." Joanna said as she put the cloak on the table. Jaime nodded. "So how are you?" Joanna asked. "I'm... freaking out. They were trying to help and it wasn't working." Jaime answered. "I noticed that, why do you think I came?" Joanna asked. "Thank you, but I can't calm down, I mean, what if I forget the words?" Jaime said in pannick. "Alright. Sit and take a deep breath." Joanna told him and he sat on a chair that was in the room and did as she said. Joanna sat next to him and said, "Look, you're not going to forget the words, Jaime. It's going to be fine. Alright? You two love each other and that is what is important." "I've never thought I would do this, I mean marriage and all of that, I've never thought I would have it." Jaime said. "I know, but it is happening. You're going to have a life with the person you love. It's real, Jaime." Joanna said smiling. "I can't believe it, she's the most honorable person I know and I'm The Kingslayer. I'm lucky that this is happening at all, because I don't deserve any of it." Jaime said. "When are you going to understand that our past does not define us? You did what you had to do and it was the most honorable thing to do. She knows and admires that. You are not The Kingslayer that people see, you're Ser Jaime Lannister and you're a knight. What does it matter what other people think? The only opinions that matter are the ones of the people you love." Joanna said. "Thank you, little lioness." Jaime said more calmly and then he stood up and went to pick the cloak, without her noticing it. Joanna stood up too and went to stand in front of him. "I hope you and Brienne are very happy together. Good luck, big brother." Joanna said, straightning the collar of his tunic. "You're the next, you know?" Jaime asked with a chuckle. "I know." Joanna said with a giggle. "You have the cloak?" Joanna asked. "It's here." Jaime said, showing it to her. "I liked to know where mother's is." Joanna said. "I'm sorry, but I also don't know. Maybe Tyrion knows." Jaime said. "It doesn't matter now. Anyway, let's go." Joanna said and then they left to the sept.
It was a beautiful cerimony and, at the end, they were happy. The happiest that Joanna had ever seen them.
Some time later they departed to Casterly Rock.