A Champion of Light and Lions (Cersei Lannister x OC)

21 - Returns To Places Old And New

"Good morning", I said as I stepped up next to Cersei on the quay. "I'm not too late, am I? You were gone when I woke up, and it took some asking around to figure out where you had gone."

"Not at all", she smiled. "The boat was only spotted an hour ago. It will be a little longer before it arrives here."

"Good. I'd hate to miss your reunion."

Cersei had recovered well from her imprisonment. With hours of care from a whole flock of handmaidens, her hair had been returned to its former silky glory, and any physical injuries she had sustained had long healed. The injury to her pride was another question, but that was something we would deal with when the time was right. A Lannister always paid her debts, after all.

And this morning, the most joyous message had reached the city: a small barge was seen heading for our port, the very same that Jaime had left on to retrieve Myrcella from Dorne. The princess was coming home.

Cersei put an arm around me, pulling me close, before asking, "Did you hear the news from the North?"

I shook my head. "What is it?"

"Stannis was defeated by the Boltons", she said.

"Really? I expected him to win, to be honest. His army seemed far more formidable, and he did have one of my order with him, after all."

"That is true, but the Boltons hold Winterfell. That is a significant advantage. Stannis' army was already exhausted from the journey and their time out in the cold. They didn't stand a chance."

"So the North finally has a victor. Let's hope Baelish acts upon his promise soon."

Cersei nodded. "It would be quite a weight off our shoulders to have the North under our control."

I looked out at the water. One could almost make out the individual silhouettes on the boat now. I saw a figure standing at the bow, but could not see who it was - presumably Myrcella, though. She had grown so much! When she left, she had been only a child, but now she was a woman grown. I could feel Cersei's excitement next to me at the prospect of finally getting to see her daughter again.

The barge approached slowly but surely and eventually, I could see that it was not Myrcella, but Jaime standing there, awaiting us.

As the boat drew near, though, I was puzzled by the grim expression I could now discern on his face. Was something wrong? Perhaps he was just unhappy to see me, after all, the last time we had spoken, I had set him on fire.

But when he remained just as sullen when he looked at Cersei, I knew it was not as simple as that. And then, finally, as the ship came within shouting distance, I saw the horrible truth: the cloth-covered bier behind Jaime, with the unmistakable shape of a body beneath it.

A moment later, Cersei noticed it too, and tears welled up in her eyes. "No", she whispered almost inaudibly, "no, please no. I cannot lose another child."

I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly as she squeezed her eyes shut against the inevitable facts that pulled into the harbor. "I am so, so sorry", I said quietly. It was simply unfair, after the traumatic loss of her son, then her father's death shortly after, that she had to say farewell to another member of her family. Joffrey had had to go, and I thought a part of her understood that, too, but Myrcella had been innocent. She had been a kind and sweet girl, and she did not deserve to be taken out of this world so early.

The boat ran onto ground, and Jaime stepped off it into the kneedeep water. He walked up to Cersei silently. When he stood in front of her, he said, "I'm sorry. I did everything I could, but they poisoned her. We were out already, and everything was fine, and suddenly-" His voice broke off as tears clogged his own throat. Myrcella had been his daughter just as much as Cersei's.