The Long Winter | Jaime Lannister X Stark OC | GOT/ASOIAF

King In All But Name

They stayed in Harrenhal long after the Northerners had left, awaiting the party from Casterly Rock before going on to King's Landing. Giana would rather not have waited for her sister at all; thoughts of Cersei still made her blood boil, after hearing from her father what she'd done to the Starks. She had always disliked her sister, but never as much as Cersei hated her. Now, that hatred was mutual.

It was amusing, however, to see the cold greeting her father gave Cersei upon her arrival. Giana felt a stab of satisfaction when Tyrion gleefully told her that the two guards who followed their sister wherever she went were chosen by their father, not by her, and would not obey if Cersei told them to leave.

Joffrey was as vile as ever, of course. Being ousted from the throne had not humbled him one bit, and he still ranted about how he would have taken the heads of Loreon Storm and every single one of the Starks, instead of making peace with them. He wasn't shy about his opinions, either.

"And how did you suppose your grandfather do that, given that the peace treaty everyone just signed is the only reason you're coming back to King's Landing at all?" Loreon asked him, amused, as they all ate together the evening of their arrival. Lord Tywin's orders, of course, or no one would have come. "This is why you're not allowed to be King,"

Tyrion and Myrcella laughed, whilst Tommen cracked a smile. Jaime, however, barely reacted. Giana felt for her elder brother; he had not been himself, since Lady Rosennis' death. He must have really loved her.

Though her father was clearly displeased with the fact that his grandson would only be prince consort to Shireen rather than the ruling monarch - he likely viewed it as a problem to correct in the future - at the same time even he seemed slightly relieved that this cruel, stupid boy would never be the most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms.

"Who asked you, bastard?" Joffrey snarled viciously. "Your head should be on a pike on the walls of this castle, yet here you sit at dinner with us,"

One look at Cersei showed she thought much the same thing.

"I'm Lord Regent of the realm," Her son grinned, more Robert's son than any of Cersei's golden-haired brood. "Lord of Storm's End, too, even though I am a bastard. It's funny that you in particular name me so,"

That earned him a disapproving glare from Lord Tywin, and a murderous one from Cersei. It seemed to go right over Joffrey's head, though Tyrion choked on the wine he'd just taken a sip of. Even Jaime smiled faintly, for half a second.

Giana had not missed family dinners. Actually, who was she kidding? They were never boring.

"Speaking of bastards," Joffrey turned triumphantly to Jaime. "I heard you sired two of them on that grim-faced Stark bitch, uncle. What did you see in that one? Obviously she was a whore, but I'm sure you could have paid for a less odd-looking one,"

Oh, you little shit.

Dead silence, though Cersei didn't even bother hiding her smirk.

Jaime's smile cut like a knife. Giana already knew Joffrey had bitten off more than he could chew. The boy had inherited neither her brother's cutting wit, or Cersei's clever cruelty, only a moronic and undeserved bravado.

"Rosennis Stark was a lady, nephew," Jaime said. "Though I've known one whore who was outwardly more beautiful, I tend to find such women lacking,"

Tyrion laughed so hard at that he nearly fell off his chair. Giana gave up trying to keep a straight face and joined him. Loreon was grinning, Myrcella looked half-horrified, half-amused whilst Cersei's gleaming smile had fixed in place, her eyes promising bloody vengeance. Jaime held her stare; though Tyrion and Giana regularly went up against their sister, it was rare that the twins challenged each other, even in the years they had grown apart. Giana shared a look with her younger brother, who was eagerly watching the unfolding events like he was at a particularly diverting joust; Tyrion grinned at her, and she smiled, shaking her head.