When The Throne Bleeds

7. The Lannisters

The royal party and the newly appointed Hand of the King and his daughters had stopped at the Crossroads Inn for refreshments. Robert had taken Ned to the nearby pond to discuss some dire matters, leaving his Queen alone.

Cersei was walking up and down in her chamber, restless. Her goblet had already been filled and emptied thrice and now it lay barren on the table near the jug of wine. Her beautiful golden locks fell on her thick lilac dress, made especially for her to survive the northern cold. She was thinking about Brandon Stark. About his fall. About what would happen if he were to wake up.

There was a knock on her door.

"Enter." Cersei said, irritated.

Her twin brother, Jaime Lannister, walked in, his white cape fluttering behind him as he closed the door.

"Jaime!" She stepped closer to him, lowering her voice but he could hear the urgency in it all the same. "He saw us, Jaime. He saw us! We cannot wait for him to wake up. We need to do something!"

"We already did, didn't we?" Jaime hissed back.

Cersei turned around swiftly, starting to pace again. "You should've killed him there and then. Pushing him through the window was stupid. You left it all to chance!"

"What did you want me to do? Cut that child's head off?" Jamie asked hysterically.

Cersei swivelled around, looking Jaime in the eye. "Yes. If cutting that boy's head off would have kept him quiet then you should've done it. Our lives shall end the day anyone gets to know about our little secret. Maybe you don't understand that, but I do. Robert will have both of our heads on spikes. Then you may wish that you had silenced that boy then and there."

Jaime didn't say anything. Over the years, he had learnt to keep his mouth shut whenever Cersei was as agitated as she was now. He glanced at the jug of wine at the table. Half empty. He better not contradict her.

"We need to get him killed. That boy needs to die." She looked at him and he understood what she really was asking of him. He was a sworn member of the Kingsguard, not an assassin who murdered crippled children. Maester Luwin had announced that Bran's spinal injury had been very serious and should he ever wake up, he would never be able to walk. That boy had lost his legs, and Jaime did not want to steal his breath too.

"Cersei, listen to me." He pleaded. "Lady Stark stays with Bran all the time. We can't have both of them murdered."

"We're not having anyone murdered, Jaime. You're the one who's going to do the killing." She said in a spiteful voice.

"Killing Lady Stark? Have you gone mad? Winterfell would revolt. The Starks would revolt."

"Then what do we do? Watch and wait?"

"That is the first reasonable suggestion you've had." Jaime said appreciatively.

Cersei clenched her jaw, her face stony.

Jaimd cupped her cheeks, and leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"We'll see to all that when, and if, he wakes up. He might not even remember what had happened. You need to trust me." He murmured softly, gazing into her brown eyes.

Cersei gazed back for a second, then suddenly grabbed his jaw with her one hand and wound the other in his hair. She lunged forward and kissed him passionately on the lips and he melted at her touch, pulling her closer by the waist.

The Lannister twins.

Robert's marriage to Cersei had always been political, there had been no love in the marriage, no bond, no warmth. In those times, she had only found comfort in the arms of her brother, as they lay on the bed night after night.