Hear me Roar - English version

CHAPTER 16 - Do I have your word ?

               Once outside the Council Chamber, air fills my lungs once more. I'm drenched in sweat and my cheeks are flushed. Why is it that, whilst I usually have no trouble asserting my authority, I find myself panicking in Cersei's presence? I don't know what happened between Winterfell and King's Landing, but my courage must surely be waiting for me along the Kingsroad.

"Are you all right?" asks an unfamiliar voice.

"Everything's fine... I... I think I've just mocked Queen Cersei. Can she still have my head cut off? Fuck..."

               My companion lets out a small chuckle. I then realise I've sworn in front of him. If there's one thing I've learnt since arriving in the capital, it's that I need to keep my wits about me. It's beneath me.

"Forgive me, my lord" I pull myself together.

"Don't be like that with me. I'm not a knight."

"You were accompanying Lord Tyrion, weren't you?"

               He's tall, slim, his hair as black as coal. Judging by the three knives I've already spotted – one at his waist and one in each of his boots – he must be a mercenary. Or, at the very least, very dangerous.

"Bronn," he introduces himself. "Just Bronn."

"Pleased to meet you. I am Diana Stark."

"He told me about you."

               'He' told him about me? What on earth could he have said about me to a mercenary? Well, I am the queen, so I suppose there are things to be said. But for Tyrion to be talking about me to his new friend is surely an exaggeration...

"Only good things, I hope," I reply calmly, though my brain is on the verge of exploding.

"Always," Bronn affirms. "He raved about your beauty, and I must say he wasn't wrong."

My beauty? So that's how Tyrion speaks of me... I feel as though I rather like that.

"Has Lord Tyrion seen my husband?" I ask, so as not to betray my unease.

"If you're talking about the scrawny little blond lad, yes."

"I like you, Bronn. I intend to spend the evening with Tyrion; we have some catching up to do. I imagine you'll be joining us."

"They say King's Landing has the best brothels."

               Just then, the Council Chamber door opens. Tyrion and Cersei must have asked everyone else to leave, as they are the only ones remaining inside. Surprisingly, Littlefinger keeps his back to me, continuing his conversation with Maester Pycelle. It shouldn't annoy me; I asked Petyr not to come near me anymore and he's respecting my decision. Except that's not what I want.

               I want him to keep trying to talk to me, to look at me intently even at the most inappropriate moments, to say my name. I'd give everything I have to hear him say my name one last time.

"Baelish's Brothel is the best in the city," I explain to Bronn, speaking much louder than I ought to.

"I've heard of it," he replies. "But I've never been there."

"Well, you'll certainly be able to go there now that your purse is full. Working for the Lannisters has its perks."

"I work for Tyrion, not for the Lannisters."

               He'll learn soon enough that it's all the same. Do you think Tyrion amassed all that gold through hard work?

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