Naveena LANNISTER :||: Queen Series #2

5) Long May He Reign!

Naveena
"May the Warrior grant him courage and protect him in these perilous times." The throne room was packed with noblemen as the priest held the crown above Tommen's head, Jamie stood to the left of the king as the King's Guard, Cersei, Tywin and I stood off to the right facing the king. "May the Smith grant him strength that he might bear this heavy burden. And may the Crone, she that knows the fate of all men, show him the path he must walk and guide him through the dark places that lie ahead. In the light of the Seven, I now proclaim Tommen of the House Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms."

Lowering the crown, it sat upon his blonde head, the gold warped into the shape of antlers, entwined to form a ring in homage to House Baratheon. A yellow topaz sat in the front and centre. "Long may he reign!"

"Long may he reign!" The crowd repeated and then applauded their new king, whom they knew to be kinder and gentler than his brother.

Tommen's eyes flicked to Margaery standing in the front row beside her brother, in front of her grandmother and father. The festivities began, and Lords started paying their respects to the new king, walking up the steps to the Iron Throne where he sat and bowing to him. Tommen was humble, nodding to every one of the lords and every so often, his eyes flickered to his betrothed standing in the gallery.

I'd accompanied Margaery up here, and neither of us had said her name specifically, but we'd discussed Joffrey's poisoning and hinted at Olenna's involvement. So, we both knew, and we were both thankful for that old murdering hag. The beautiful Tyrell draped in black, still mourning the loss of her husband, as was Cersei mourning her son. The Queen Regent noticed Tommen's smile and spied us together.

Turning in a flurry of robes, she made her way from the throne platform, up the stairs to us. "Cersei," I greeted, the woman coming to stand between Margaery and me.

She gently placed a kiss on my cheek, eyes drifting down to the mingling crowd below us. "Your grace," Margaery nodded.

"There he is." Cersei gazed at her last living son. "Long may he reign."

We repeated the mantra, and Margaery noted, "He sits on the throne like he was born to it."

"Yes," Cersei agreed before turning to look at her for the first time. "But he wasn't though, was he?"

"No, he wasn't."

"You still mourn for Joffrey?" Cersei noted her black cloak, while I stood on her other side wearing a black robe.

"He was my husband, my king," She said the right thing like a good girl.

"He would have been your nightmare," Margaery looked at Cersei, never hearing the woman say a bad thing about her beloved children. "We all knew what he was. Myself included. You never love anything in the world the way you love your first child, no matter what they do. And what he did it shocked me. Do you think I'm easily shocked?"

Margaery and I both went from nodding in agreement to shaking our heads. Cersei was not a person who could be surprised. "No."

"The things he did shocked me," The mother took in a deep breath. "Tommen's only a boy, a good, decent boy."

"He always has been," I added.

"Who was the last decent king, I wonder?" Cersei mused, downright insulting her late husband. "He could be the first man who sits on that throne in fifty years to actually deserve it."

"It would be some consolation, wouldn't it?" The Tyrell girl stood watching him along with the rest of us. "After all the horror that put him there."