Silver Stag

Meetings In The Capital

[King's Landing - Red Keep, Cersei's Chambers]

Cersei's demand was met with a mixture of shock and amusement by her daughter, Aelinor. She had not seen her mother in montgs and had thought she was content with her life on Dragonstone, far away from the political intrigue and backstabbing of King's Landing. At least, until a greater threat presented itself in the form of the army of the dead.

But here she was, being summoned to the Red Keep, accused of being a pawn in her husband's supposed betrayal.

"Mother, what are you talking about?" Aelinor asked, her voice firm but controlled. She had learned to keep her emotions in check around her mother, for fear of being manipulated or hurt.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Aelinor," Cersei snapped, her voice icy cold.

She sat down on her one of her chairs, her heart heavy with a mix of sadness and anger. She had alwys known that her daughter, Aelinor, was the one person she could nevr truly possess, the one person who could nevr be controlled or manipulated. And yet, she had alwys believed that Aelinor was hers, that she was the one who had given her life and purpose.

She was the only child she had by Robert. Praise the Seven she didn't look it. Truthfully she looked like neither of them.

For though she was born to a Baratheon father and Lannister mother, her features were not those of the rugged and stern-faced men of the Stormlands, nor did she bare the blonde hair and green eyes of the Lannisters. Instead, her eyes were bright and amethyst, her hair a wild tangle of silver and gold, and her skin a smooth and creamy complexion, like the Targaryens of old.

She was a dragon in human form, and she knew it from the very beginning.

But now, as she looked at her daughter, she saw a woman who was happy, truly happy, with her husband, Daemon, and their twin children. Cersei couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy, a bitter taste in her mouth. With both of her sons gone, Aelinor was meant to be her trophy, her legacy, her way of securing her place in the world.

But fate had other plans. Aelinor had found her own happiness, her own purpose, and it had nothing to do with Cersei.

"Mother," Aelinor said, her voice soft and gentle, "I know what you're thinking. You think Daemon stole me from you, that he took my happiness away from me. But the truth is, he gave me everything I evr wanted. He gave me a family, a home, and a love that I nevr knew was possible. My children are far away from the dangers of King's Landing. I ran away because you were making dangerous decisions, and I feared for our lives. I nevr wanted to cause you any pain or harm."

Cersei scowled, her heart hardening against her daughter's words. "You were alwys meant to be mine," she spat, her voice cold and bitter. "You were alwys meant to be my legacy, my way of securing my place in the world. Your brothers are gone. You and Myrcella are the only semblance of happiness I have."

Aelinor looked at her mother, her eyes filled with tears. "Mother, I am still your daughter," she said. "I may be married to Daemon, but I am still your child. I can't go back to that life. I can't go back to being a pawn in your game of power and manipulation. I have my own life now, my own family, and I won't let you take that away from me."

Cersei's heart ached with a mix of sadness and anger. She had alwys believed that her children would be her greatest achievement, her greatest legacy. But now, she saw that they were not hers to control, not hers to own. They were their own people, with their own lives and their own destinies.

And as she looked at Aelinor, she remembered the prophecy of Magy the Frog, the prophecy that had haunted her for so long. "Two will die beforr you, the other two will leave you," Magy had said. And now, Cersei knew that the prophecy was coming true. Her two sons, Joffrey and Tommen, had died, and now, her two daughters, Aelinor and Myrcella, were gone as well.