The Storm Queen | Game of Thrones

Eight

Cassana

I wait in my room for the inevitable argument with my mother, but I don't even care anymore. For too long I've lived in fear of Cersei Lannister, and despite all I leave behind in the capital I will be free of her. Her and my grandfather alike. The night grows dimmer and I begin to wonder if perhaps I hadn't been betrayed but as it finally becomes silent, the door bursts open and I close my eyes bracing myself for what's to come.

"Mother," I greet, praying for just a moment that perhaps she doesn't know, but as soon as I see the look on her face I know.

"You are a princess, not a common whore!" she immediately scolds. "Don't think I don't know about that boy being in your bed."

"You mean the man I'll be marrying," I correct bitterly. I knew Myra would betray me. In the end they all do.

"Do you want to get yourself pregnant before the wedding?" she chastises, and my blood begins to boil.

"I'm not a common whore." I stand to face her with tears burning in my eyes but I do not dare let them fall. "And do not dare speak to me like that."

"Then don't act like one", she scoffs. and then her tongue becomes even crueller. "That boy doesn't love you, he just wants what all men want."

"And what of what I want?" I ask with emptiness in my heart, and her eyes burn with something far more personal than disdain towards Robb. 

"Look at yourself, you are just like your father," she spits. "Whoring yourself and falling hopelessly and stupidly for a Stark. Lyanna never loved him, don't think that boy loves you. He can't give you anything, you'll just be trapped here and isolated for the rest of your days if you marry him. You will never see your family again."

"And I can't wait for that day." My heart becomes cold and I know that cruelty is certainly something that I learned from her. "You're bitter because my Father never loved you and you can't stand the thought of me being happy somewhere you can't get your claws into me. You want to keep me in Kings Landing where you can control me but you can't. I won't let you."

"All I've ever tried to do is protect you," she growls as she tries to restrain herself. "That boy-"

"This is about far more than just Robb and you know it," I challenge, finally crossing lines I've never dared cross before. "If you had it your way I'd be stuck in that godforsaken city with you until the day I die but no, you'll be the one to die alone in that city. You're afraid and you should be. Robb can give me far more than you ever could. A good home, an actual family, one that doesn't put children to the sword. Robb cares for me, he wants to make me happy, to love me. Something you've never done."

A gasp escapes me as she strikes me across the face. Tears burn in her eyes as I return the gesture twice as hard and I know that I've finally struck a nerve within her. Perhaps even found her heart.

She clutches her cheek and her voice is bitter as she reveals "Your grandfather has decided that the wedding will be postponed until it can be held in Kings Landing, I may yet have you sent to Highgarden. Try not to get yourself pregnant in the meantime."

The blindside leaves me completely dumbstruck, and any restraint I have is gone. "Get out," I grit between my teeth. She stands her ground smugly and the years of tension finally snap as I peg a glass at her head. "Get out you spiteful bitch!"