Chapter 25

Robin Arryn, Lord of the Vale was dead. The raven reached Winterfell hours after the royal engagement was announced. Sansa Arryn wept in the privacy of her quarters, if she ever did. The little dove was perfection, a great lady in the making as was her Joanna, who took her mother's advice and faced her rejection with poise and alacrity. The blond girl did not speak to her sister however. Cersei thought it could have gone worse. Due to the news and also because king Robert wanted to hunt once more the royal party and the Lannisters delayed their trip south for another two weeks.

Cersei had asked Joanna if she wanted to stay with her. They would leave together.

"Thank you mother but I will go with father." Joanna said formally.

"It would be best if you stayed." She tried to convince her.

"Nothing will change mother. Arya will marry the prince. I have come to understand that." Cersei had been surprised by her mature attitude. The girl had always been reasonable but this was nothing short of unbelievable even for a gentle soul like hers.

Lady Stark feared subterfuge. "What had brought this change in you my sweet?"

Joanna looked at her with honest green eyes. "Grandfather."

"I don't understand." She waited for an explanation. Joanna told her everything, "He called me the morning after the king announced the betrothal."

"Grandfather saw me crying when I walked for breakfast and lead me to his study." Joanna explained. Cersei must have looked surprised because her daughter smiled.

"I was scared at first but then he told me to sit and I did."

"You are too beautiful to cry for unmannered boys. You are a lioness of the rock. Lionesses are proud and do not cry because a stag does not like them. We are lions and we feast on stags and other lesser animals." Joanna tried to make an impersonation of Tywin Lannister.

"I laughed and he told me I was just as beautiful as grandmother once was. He invited me to Casterly Rock." Joanna said proudly.

Cersei was speechless. Her father must be scheming again. "I thought Grandfather was ill tempered and rude when he first visited but he is not. He told me stories about our family and we he was young. He implied I should not tell anyone but I trust you very much mother."

Lady Stark liked this tale less and less. "So you have forgiven your sister then." She asked cautiously.

"Grandfather said that Arya was better suited for prince Gendry. He believes they have matching temperaments. He thinks I would do better with a well-mannered lord and I agree."

"Oh mother, it still hurts. I am sure you can relate. I will not lie to you. It hurts deeply that he does not love me. but you were correct. He will never be for me. After I spoke with grandfather I thought about his words and yours. I saw the prince look at Arya and I understood what you said. He will never look at me in that way." Joanna said sadly and cried.

"Oh kitten." Cersei said and hugged her. Joanna hugged her hard. "I'm still very angry and I don't like Arya much." Cersei tried to plead her case. "Don't mother. I know it is not entirely her fault but it is how I feel." Joanna then pulled away from the hug.

"Grandfather likes Arya too. He only likes granddaughters it seems." Joanna smiled. Cersei was puzzled once more.

"I saw them speaking the other day. Of course I do not speak to her so I left before they could see me. They were walking around the gardens."

Cersei watches as Joanna left. Tommen called her to see some dog pups. Her boy was trying to cheer his twin.

She walked in the general direction of the gardens. She did not have a good feeling about these meetings his father had with her daughters. Tywin was plotting and that was not good for anyone.

She heard them as they walked. Arya wore a simple dress and fretted around it.

"I have to say your mother liked dresses far more than you. In that respect you are not alike." Tywin said as they walked. Surprisingly Arya held his arm and they walked hand in hand.

"Well, yes, mother is far more beautiful too. She and Joanna love dresses." Arya said drolly.

Tywin smiled. "You remind me of her when she was your age."

"She was always impulsive, too smart for her own good." Father said.

"I don't understand why did you choose to have these walks grandfather. You should be speaking with Jon, Robb or even Tommen." Arya said calculatingly.

Father remained silent. Arya pressed on. "I know you like Joanna too. I saw when you smiled at her. Is it because she looks like grandmother?"

Cersei wanted to rescue her daughter from the lion's jaws then. Father did not speak of mother. Jaime and her had known mother but Tyrion never knew her. Her baby brother asked about her all the time when he was a young boy. Cersei cruelly told him that he was the reason why they did not have a mother and refused to tell him anything about her. Jaime seemed to have blocked all memories of her. Tyrion tried father once and he had a conversation with him in his study. Tyrion never asked after mother again.

"In part; your sister is witty and charming. She reminds me of your grandmother, she was just as gentle. My Joanna however was not as rash as you and your sister are." Father mused.

"I'm afraid your mother and you inherited my temperament." He said plainly.

"Joanna would have made a better queen." Arya said openly. It seemed the girl would tell anyone who had ears that.

"She would have made a good, albeit more conventional queen. Now your mother would have made a splendid queen but you will be a sight to behold girl." Tywin said smirking. "You will change the rules. You are too smart for your own good."

Arya laughed. "Mother said something alike."

"Run along. Go to your prince and remember…"

"Not a word to mother or anyone else." She ran after that.

Cersei stopped following them and went to the Weirwoods. It would not do well for Tywin to know that Cersei had heard him. She wondered about father's attitude. It was just like him. He loved to be in control of everything. He was plotting for sure. Cersei needed to protect her children, make sure they did not become pawns in Tywin Lannister's plans. He would not move and sacrifice them in his quest for power.

It was the day of their departure. Cersei wore a blue gown and prepared for the arduous day ahead. Bran was not happy to leave Winterfell; neither was Arya or Robb for that matter. Tommen was still smitten with young Cassana. Joanna, well her daughter was recovering. Ned kissed her neck. "Your brother wants to see the wall." Cersei smiled. "He'll stay then."

"Yes, Benjen will make the journey with him. Your father departs for the Westerlands on the morrow." Ned pulled her gown down. "We don't have time." She moaned when he pulled her hair from her braid. "The servant girl spent an hour doing that braid." The lady complained.

"I won't tangle your hair if you ask nicely." Her lord husband announced, he was freshly awakened, Cersei had ordered the maids to let him sleep longer. He was to ride all day and would need his rest.

"You've had me more times that you can count Ned." She said against his lips as he pushed her skirts up. "I'll be quick." He replied honestly, and his eyes darkened. "You are to leave Winterfell in a few hours, which is why you have to be in the great hall for breakfast.

"I'll break my fast with you here in our bedchambers." Ned said as he nibbled on her neck. Cersei ran her hands through his hair, "Fine." She relented when his fingers rugged roughly on her laces.

"I will not see you for at least half a year." He mumbled to her ear. Cersei nodded, "I will make sure Jon is capable of running our lands and then I'll join you my love."

She kissed him just as fiercely. Ned had been preparing for his departure since he accepted the King's proposition. He took her every night more than once this past week. He was ardent, insistent and possessive, asserting and marking her anew. He caressed her breasts and lowered her gown. "No one would ever be able to see past your gown, why is it that you ladies insist on wearing layers after layers of clothing?" Ned grumbled and ripped her shift and small clothes. Cersei whimpered when he bit her hipbones and proceeded to lick them and bite her skin anew. She had to suppress the moans; her voice carried or so her children told her over the years.

"I want to hear you roar Lioness." Ned pushed her legs apart and dove. Her beard scratched but she was used to burn. "It's early morning, the castle will hear."

"Let them." Ned licked her and helped her achieve a mind blasting orgasm. She was sweaty and boneless when Ned pushed her to her belly and raised her bottom. Cersei smirked. She liked it when he took her like an animal, an alpha wolf in heat. She bit the pillows and gasped when his seed spilled inside of her. Ned licked her back. "You are most sweaty Lady Stark."

"Whatever shall we do about it?" She asked enjoying his finger dancing over her calves. "I would take you to the hot springs and have my way with you again but alas if we leave these quarters we shall be seen by our children who no doubt will interrupt our plans." She turned sideways. "I have to take a bath now. I can't be smelling of you all day."

"I like the way you smell." He said and sniffed her breasts and collarbones.

Cersei kissed his nose. "I shall ask for our bathtub to be filled." She did and twenty minutes later they were alone once again in their bathtub. "No more fucking." She said and washed his face. He laughed and washed her face too. Cersei washed her husband with delicacy as if he was a newborn babe. He was relaxed and massaged her shoulders. They remained in the water, facing each other, embracing. Cersei felt the irrational need to ask him for things. "Promise me something my love." She said as she massaged his scalp. He was utterly relaxed.

"Anything Lady Stark." He said with open and trusting eyes.

"Promise me you will not be an honorable fool." He was about to refuse her, give her arguments and counterarguments. She shushed him. "These people are snakes in disguise. King's Landing is a dangerous place, not for you Ned. Promise me that you will try to play the game."

Ned kissed her forehead, "I don't know about any games my lioness." Cersei smiled sadly. "When you play the game of thrones you either win or you die. There is no middle ground my love." She was worried because as he said earlier, he would be alone for about half a year before Jon was truly ready to take over Winterfell.

"I can protect my family Cersei. I have done so for seven and ten years. I will be fine." She looked into his grey eyes.

"Promise me you will not trust anyone, No one, not my father, not anyone but our people from Winterfell and Jaime. He swore an oath to protect you and he will keep it." Ned snorted. The animosity between the two men had not diminished with the years.

"I will never trust Jaime Lannister, not even for you my love." He kissed her hands. Cersei frowned, "I will promise you this; I will not let our family be in any danger and I will be cautious as I always have been." He said with a soothing voice.

She nodded but the feeling of anxiety did not disappear. They finished bathing and joined everyone else in the great hall of Winterfell. She sat next to Arya who wore a grey dress. Joanna wore a white simple gown. Their children were ready to part by midmorning. Bran hugged her. Her boy did not want to look weak which is why Cersei cried and hugged him tightly. "You will be a good boy, no climbing. King's Landing is not Winterfell." She kissed his cheeks. Summer yapped around him. Bran wiped his tears while hiding away from his brothers and anyone else who could tease him because he would miss his mother.

Tommen kissed her goodbye and promised to take care of Bran and keep company with Joanna. He was the most resilient of her children, Cersei knew. Tommen was self assured and easy in nature. Tommen, her sweet boy promised to write every day if it would make her happy. She hugged him and said, "Watch over your sisters and Bran. Do not father any bastards." She said. Her son blushed. Tommen was a good boy but he was a boy nonetheless and with Robb without Jon to ground him it would be a matter of months before news of bastards reached Winterfell. "You would disgrace me and your father." She kissed his forehead.

Robb let her kiss his forehead and winked at her when she left. She would sure miss his mischievous nature. "Do not go looking for trouble. Do not father any bastards and make sure to keep away from your uncle Tyrion." Cersei admonished her son. Robb was wild but in a certain way understood how improper it would be if he fathered any children before wedlock.

"But I like nuncle Tyrion, he keeps very interesting company." Robb frowned when she smacked him upside the head. "Convince your "nuncle" to take you to the Westerlands and teach you about Casterly Rock. Seek your grandfather. You are his heir."

"I will write mother, not as often as you'd like." Robb had a knack for avoiding important conversation. She hugged him one last time before he joined Prince Gendry.

Joanna hugged her. "I will miss you very much mother." Cersei smiled, "As will I my kitten. Remember our chat and be careful in court. You are the wolf and the lion. We are predators do not trust easily. Family comes first and remember your sister loves you." Cersei said hurriedly as the young girl tried to frown.

"Mother, we have spoken about this. I do not wish to speak about it any longer." Joanna said with a silent determination and joined her twin brother and princess Cassana.

Arya was the last of her children she said goodbye to. "Be careful. You are not a child anymore. You are Arya Stark, betrothed to the Crown Prince. Do not shame your father, our family. Keep close to your brothers and sister. Do not be seen alone with any other man than your kin, not even your prince."

"Mother, I'm not a lady. I will never be a lady…" Her poor wolfling looked scared, more scared than when prince Gendry announced he wanted her as his wife. Lord Lannister's advices or hers had not yielded the required results.

"You will never be a lady." Cersei intoned and saw as her daughter's shoulders slumped. She put her hands around her shoulders and corrected her posture. Arya's troubled grey eyes looked up to her green ones.

"You will be queen my love." Lady Stark kissed both her cheeks and hugged her harder than any of her children because as much as she never acknowledged it she had favorites. She loved Arya and Jon differently, more perhaps, she never entertained those thoughts but it was true and she knew it deep in her heart. Jon had been her salvation. She lived because of Jon and his tiny face and then Arya, her daughter was the fiercest of her children and the most fragile. The dark haired girl was strong, capable, and smart. Arya grew up an accomplished archer and had been able to train with Winterfell's master at arms but no matter how much training Cersei and Eddard offered their daughters they were still girls. Joanna understood that, she was accomplished in archery but rebelled in the fact that she was a woman. The eldest Stark girl wanted to be a mother, a wife a lady. The youngest Stark girl was insecure in her looks; she thought she was homely, not as beautiful as her mother or elder sister. Arya like Cersei felt powerless. Lady Stark understood that hopeless feeling. Ned loved her and trusted her. He empowered her; few men in Westeros would do so. Cersei understood early on that Arya, like her would despair. This marriage to the Crown Prince had been very opportune.

Arya would not thrive as a lady but no one dared question a queen. Gendry Baratheon seemed to love her daughter and if Arya played her cards well she could have a happy marriage much like the marriage she had with Eddard. If Arya understood and played the game she would rule the Seven Kingdoms through Gendry Baratheon. Father was right in one aspect; her daughter will be a sight to behold as queen.

Cersei saw as her daughters and youngest son entered the carriages. Robb, Tommen and the prince had mounted their horses and travelled ahead. The king hugged her goodbye and managed to mount his horse with difficulty. The direwolves ran ahead all of them but for Lady and Summer, they preferred the company of their masters and the carriage.

Her husband approached her. "Goodbye my love." He kissed both her hands. Cersei wanted to hug him and implore him to not leave her. She felt unsettled; something about this trip did not sit well with her. She wanted to keep her family close, with her in the safe wall of Winterfell, the place she once thought to be a cold wasteland. She smiled tightly and kissed his hands too, a small show of affection. Her father frowned at her. She could not care less, what Tywin Lannister felt.

"Be sure to write to me. Keep an eye on Brandon and his direwolf. She did not know what made her say that but there was something about those animals that she trusted.

"I will. Do not fret my lioness. You will join us in the capital before you know it." He kissed her forehead and rode ahead.