A Shadow and a Wolf

Cersei VII

The Great Hall was empty. She could feel the sharp edges of the thousand melted blades against her legs, her back and her arms. It was said that the Iron Throne was made to remind the king to always remain vigilant. Cersei was no king, she was the queen. She hadn't needed the Iron Throne to remain vigilant. She had been vigilant all her life, expecting and looking for treason everywhere. Now, with the blades against her skin, only thread and silk separating the two, Cersei was more aware than ever of the dangers surrounding her. This is what ruling was: lying on a bed of weeds, ripping them out by the root, one by one, before they strangle you in your sleep. Every time she thought someone couldn't pose a threat, she proved to be wrong. These people had turned against her. Each time this happened, they made her stronger. She showed them what the Lannisters did to their enemies.

Now here she was, Cersei of the House Lannister, First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals, the First Men and the Rhoynar, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms. Her coronation took place two weeks ago. It hadn't been like she always imagined it. There were barely enough people to fill the room as Qyburn placed the crown upon her head. Everyone was silent as guards in crimson and her Queensguard watched them closely. Still, she was the queen. She had all she ever wanted. All she ever wanted.

Her children were buried under the Great Sept, or more precisely once were buried there. Nothing was left of it. The explosion destroyed all the district around the Great Sept of Baelor, including the tombs below it. After her walk of shame, Cersei had sworn to take her revenge on all those who wronged her. With the help of Qyburn, who knew some of the secret passages in the Red Keep and under city and who managed to control some of Varys's little birds, they found an ancient hide of wildfire left under the Great Sept at the time of the Mad King. They put fire to it and destroyed the Great Sept, with most of the Sparrows and the High Sparrow inside, alongside the Tyrell whore and her brother. Then they waited for Randyll Tarly's forces to storm the city, and when all his forces were inside, Qyburn started a new series of fires that destroyed everything around the main streets, killing Tarly and all his men. They hadn't found the body of the Lord of Horn Hill yet, but it wouldn't take long.

This had been a great victory for Cersei. She had been confined to her rooms after she left the Great Sept by Selwyn Tarth, who had arrived to serve as Master of Laws not long after the Sparrows imprisoned her. He used the situation to usurp the power and almost acted as Hand of the King, with the help of Harys Swyft the Master of Coin. It was a chance that among the few secret tunnels Qyburn knew there was one that gave directly into her chambers. This way they met without anyone noticing. Cersei could think about her plan and execute it without problem, and once the Sparrows and the Tarlys were dealt with, she rallied the Lannister guards still in the Red Keep and went after her enemies inside the castle. They betrayed her. They betrayed Tommen, their king, and she made them pay. First, she dealt with Harys Swyft and had him executed on the spot for treason. Tarth proved more difficult since his own guards were as many as her own. Among the chaos, the Tyrell guards didn't know what to do. She was surprised when Lannister soldiers arrived in the Red Keep, but she used them nonetheless against both men from the Reach and the Stormlands. It was chaos and many died, but in the end her men prevailed and she had Selwyn Tarth executed right in front of her eyes, to her great satisfaction. It was then that Jaime had entered the Great Hall with the body in his arms.

Her last son was dead. At the thought, tears threatened to break into her eyes. Gold will be their crowns. Gold their shrouds. The witch told her. It was fate. She told her she would lose her children. She told her she would marry the king but have no children from him. You'll be queen. For a time. Then comes another, younger, more beautiful, to cast you down and take all you hold dear. She was queen now. And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you. She had been right all the time. Cersei had tried to make the prophecy untrue, but to no avail. Joffrey, Myrcella, Tommen, they were all dead now, their ashes under the ruins of the Great Sept. The witch never lied to her like she thought back then. Her little brother would kill her. Tyrion would kill her. She had the confirmation of what she suspected for many years now.