What IF

Chapter 6

The Broken Lioness

Cersei stood in front of her dead son in the Septs of Baelor, the funeral proceedings had been coming along as she watched her son being put to rest. She stood there alone inside the Sept after excusing everyone for a moment alone with her son. The High Septon was ready to argue and not in support of that but after a pointed glare from one of her guards, he relented and let her have her peace. The Faith Militant that had arrived to mourn the fallen prince were amicably disgusted at the High Septon's willingness to concede to her, Cersei paid them no mind.

Cersei saw Tommen lay there lifeless and she gave him a chaste kiss to the forehead and tried to will her tears away. Her boy had never done anything wrong and yet he died a death befitting a savage.

'Were you anybody else's child you would still be alive and thriving, you would grow to be a Prince and one day you would take your place as your brother's hand but life doesn't play fair my little lion. You were honest, kind and innocent. A good man. Yet the Gods decided to repay you by having a cruel mother. You deserved better than me and I am so sorry little one' she said as the tears finally broke through. She started crying, real tears flowing through her as she looked at her boy who was pale and had purple marks on his veins. She saw his golden shroud and it set her off even more.

She gave him another kiss but was startled when someone put their hands on her. She turned around expecting an assailant but was pleasantly surprised at the grown woman before her and she proceeded to breathe out a happy cry.

'Myrcella my sweet' she cooed as she kissed her and hugged her tightly. Her daughter returned the hug with equal force before turning her attention to her dead brother.

'I can't believe he is gone' she said with puffy red eyes 'he was always so kind and so sweet.'

Cersei held her daughter's hand firmly in agreement as both of them mourned their fallen lion.

'That he was' Cersei remarked before brushing her tears away and leading their daughter towards the exit door. Myrcella was here now, there was a glimmer of happiness in this dark foreboding world.

'I heard rumors on my way here. They say uncle Tyrion did it and that Lady Sansa helped him do it' her statement coming more as a question.

That was the official statement being sent around. Her father refused to comment on what he believed had happened but his silence was a further stamp of approval on him believing that Tyrion orchestrated all of this, or perhaps that is the story he preferred to go with so he could have good enough reason to be rid of that murderous wretch. It would be easy to blame him; she had blamed him all his life for their mother's death. But Tyrion loved Tommen, even through all her loathing of him she couldn't deny that. If Joffery were to be poisoned then Tyrion would be a worthy culprit but not Tommen.

She then remembered the prophecy of the woods witch and shuddered at the memory. She couldn't blame Tyrion, this was inevitable and it was all her doing.

'It's my fault Myrcella. All of it, you and your brothers are suffering because of me. I have done a lot of unrepentant things and people will strike everything I hold dear because of it. I am poison my sweetling. You have inherited all of my enemies without any of my defenses' she said desperately as she clung on to her daughter's fingers.

If Myrcella was shocked by her mother's fragile state, she didn't let it show. She grabbed Cersei by the head and proceeded to coddle her as she used to do to her when she was but a little girl. It startled Cersei a little at the change of her daughter's stature.

'Shh it's okay now, everything will be alright' she said softly. Cersei smiled slightly as she leaned into her embrace.

'Look at me crying like a silly hen and you comforting me. You have definitely grown my sweetling. Six and ten and already taller than me. You have become so beautiful, I am incredibly envious of you my lion cub' Cersei said as she smiled. Myrcella grinned at that.