You Know Nothing || Cersei Lannister (GxG)

XXXII.

Who is your favorite male character? Mine's Tyrion😛

<Paityn Stark>

   It was late, the only light in the room coming from a few candles that sat on my bedside table, just lighting the weathered pages of my book. I was losing myself in the stories of Old Valyria once more. I hadn't seen Cersei all day, and quickly put down the book, running to the door after I heard a soft knock.

   "Lord Tyrion." I greeted, my smile fading as I moved to let the small man in.

   "Lady Paityn." He replied with a curt nod, and put his hands behind his back, struggling to make eye contact with me.

   "Lord Tyrion..." I asked after a long pause, noticing the way he shifted back and forth on his boots. "Is there something you meant to tell me?"

   "This... I... this is awkward. You might want to sit down. Let me pour you some wine." He chuckled nervously, and I hesitated, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He grabbed two silver goblets from the table and filled them almost to the brim with wine, carefully handing me one. He finished his in about two drinks, which seemed to give him confidence, because he brushed himself off and took a deep breath, meeting my eyes finally.

   "You and I... are going... to be married." He broke the news to me slowly, and I sunk further into the mattress. I didn't know how to respond. With joy because I would be staying in the capital, with confusion because I thought I was going to be wedding Loras, or with awkwardness because I knew this man not.

   "Will I get to stay in King's Landing?" I asked him, and he nodded.

   "Yes, I am the Master of Coin. Your place will be here until I am needed at Casterly Rock." He replied, and I took a cautious sip of my wine. It bursted with flavor in my mouth and calmed me. "But..."

   "My father once told me that anything that comes before the word 'but' doesn't matter." I told him, and he tipped his cup towards me.

   "Your father was a wise man. An honorable man. But sometimes his honor was mixed with his wisdom."
   "He shouldn't have called Joffrey a bastard. He didn't know how to play the game." I looked down into my cup and sighed.

   "But you do." He said, and I raised a questioning eyebrow. "You know how to play the game. Despite all your discreet rendezvous with my sister, despite how tough you may think you seem, you know how to play the game. That's why you're here with me now."

   "How exactly do you play the game then, Lord Tyrion?" I asked, and he raised his ringed fingers.

   "I don't know. For me it's having money and strong men to kill my enemies and whores to fuck and wine to drink. For my sister it's protecting you and her children and drinking wine and hiring people to kill her enemies. For my father it's having money and being blind and demanding his children to do things they don't want to do for the good of the legacy. We all play the game in different ways, but one thing is for certain-"

   "You win or you die." I finished for him and he nodded.

   "Tell me, Paityn Stark. How do you play the game of thrones?" He asked, pouring himself another glass.

   "In honesty, I love my lover and I do what I can to protect the pack, even when we're apart. I worry about my family and I wear trousers and I read books and I answer the door every time someone knocks, even if it means bad news."

   "You're a clever girl, aren't you?" He smiled a crooked smile, his eyes glazing over with amusement as he drank and listened closely to every word that I said.

   "I suppose." I shrugged. "If you think I'm clever, then-"

   "Don't judge your cleverness on others' opinions, girl." He told me, swishing his wine around in the goblet. "Judge it by how much more clever your opinions are compared to others."

   "Ah." I nodded and smiled, watching him sit next to me.

   "I'm afraid we must be married soon." The air suddenly turned serious, and I sighed.

   "Before Joffrey's wedding?"

   "Yes." Lord Tyrion replied. "Within the week."

   "Have you spoken to Cers- the Queen lately?" I asked, biting my tongue. Cersei didn't trust her brother, so I'm not sure if he knew or didn't know about the two of us. I hoped he wouldn't notice the slip.

   He looked at me, his eyes amused again as the corners of his mouth dug into his stubbled cheeks. "You think you're so discreet, don't you?" He asked. "I fear you and Loras aren't that different. It's all rather obvious. She thought the two of you were being discreet also."

   "What do you mean?"

   He chuckled. "Everyone knew that Cersei had odd tastes. No one was really surprised when Stannis Baratheon told them about her and Jaime. And Paityn, have you looked at yourself lately?"

   "What's wrong with me?" I asked. "Is there anything overtly perverse about me?"

   "You're not perverse." He patted my hand. "You just have a different preference. But one would mistake you for a man, meaning no offense."

   "Ah." I replied. "Is it because of the trousers?"

   "I'm afraid so." He told me, and I sighed. "Oh, and Cers- the Queen wants a word with you." He smirked and I rolled my eyes, standing from the bed and placing my cup on the table. "Take the flagon with you. You're both likely to need it."