"The day a girl was born to Joanna and Tywin Lannister, the world was disappointed by the failure of Lady Joanna to produce an heir to Casterly Rock. But not her husband. After months, the often stiff, cold-hearted Ser Tywin Lannister could bring himself to smile yet again. King Aerys II Targaryen sent the girl's weight in gold as a present and wanted her to come to court as soon as possible, so she would grow up with his son, Prince Rhaegar"

"And did she?"

"Aye, she did. Tywin made sure he would bring her once she was old enough, leaving his two other children and his Lady Wife at Casterly Rock. You see? Many used to say that Jaime was Tywin's favourite child, but that was a lie because, before any heir, there was his firstborn daughter – Cecilia Lannister – and she was the child he loved more than anything. People say that a part of Tywin died with Joanna, that he was never the same man after the death of his beloved wife, and though that might be true, it was only after the death of his beloved daughter that he became the man we all knew"

-Lady Genna Lannister to Lady Lilia Stark

𝟐𝟔𝟒 𝐀𝐂 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊, 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒, 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐒

LADY JOANNA LANNISTER HAD BEEN IN CHILDBED for hours pushing the so prayed for future Lord of Casterly Rock. Next to her had been her sister by law, Genna, as well as an army of midwives.

The room was agitated. Between bowls of hot water coming inside and out, the screams of a young Lady giving birth to her first child and the bloodied cloths, the nerves and uneasiness started to grow around the Lannister ancient seat.

"The baby is stuck!", the Old Maester announced inside closed doors, although this information reached those who stood waiting anxiously outside the chamber.

Tywin Lannister was among those who stood outside the door, trying to keep his composure and conceal his nerves and his dread that something bad would happen as his own Lady Mother had been a terrible victim of childbed fever. He walked back in forth and did not leave for a second. The screams of pain his beloved wife tried to suppress made his heart shrunk.

Tywin wanted an heir, every man wanted one but there was someone above all that burning wish... his wife. He wanted her happiness and he wanted her to live. If he had to pick between a son and his dearest Joanna, then he would do so without hesitation. She was above any and every ambition he could have.

The growing anxiety did not seem to come to an end. Every second that passed he wondered what his life would be without his lioness, without the most important person in his life... the person he loved.

Many people expected Tywin Lannister to marry a Tyrell. Joining the wealth from Highgarden with the wealth of Casterly Rock would have been a great move, a political move that benefited his House. Yet, for the first time in his life, Tywin did not care about politics or the good of his House. He couldn't.

The day his eyes met his cousin's in his feast as Hand, he knew there would never be another woman for him and as the time went by, any possible doubt that could surface would fade away as if it had never truly been up to thought.

Joanna was the love of his life.

With one excruciating scream, Tywin's eyes closed painfully but once he heard a tiny cry, he couldn't help but smile. His child had been brought into the world and was breathing... the fruit of his love and his wife's... his first Lannister baby...

He felt someone pat his shoulder, noticing only then how his father, Lord Tytos had taken some time to be present at such an important moment.

Lord Tytos was a good man... but not a good Lord. He would lend money to all other Houses and never ask them to pay him back, he would not intervene when he had to and he would not make sure the law was being followed correctly in his domains. House Lannister had seen better days before his rule, days where they were respected and not laughed at... days where the Lord of Casterly Rock wasn't commonly known as the Toothless Lion.

Tywin hated his father for it. He had tried to talk some sense into him but after his mother's death, the one thing his father would do was spending his day locked inside his chambers with his paramour, Gerion's wetnurse. Tywin thought his father's behaviour was despicable but he could not go up against him. One day he would be the Lord but that day hadn't come. Yet, he had to do something about it and he did... singers would sing songs about the fates of the Reynes and the Tarbecks and the might of House Lannister... and it had been Tywin's work.

The midwife opened the door and before she could get the chance to speak, Tywin walked inside. He found his wife lying on the bed holding a baby wrapped in a towel. Her face was one of fear... a fear Tywin did not comprehend. Was she hurt from the process, had something gone wrong? Was there something wrong with the baby?

He could not know for certain, not without asking her. So, he rushed to her side and looked at the child. Golden hair and green eyes like every Lannister. A pure Lannister without any doubt.

"What is it, Joanna?", he asked as he knelt next to the bed. Joanna looked at the baby without drifting her gaze away from the newborn's face. She didn't know how to say it because she knew he would be disappointed. She had failed her husband. "Are you feeling unwell? You must tell the midwife or the Maester!"

"No", she stopped her husband as he was about to stand back on his feet. Green met green as he tried to figure out his wife's fear and the hesitation in her. "I... it's... it's... it's a girl, Tywin"

Unlike what Joanna had thought, her husband smiled at her and sat next to her despite the bloodied sheets, kissing her forehead, not minding the sweaty hair or the smell of blood and sweat. Then, he looked at his daughter once again, her features filled with curiosity.

"And we will love her very well", he said with the sincerest smile. Joanna was the one person who brought him joy, the person who brought him a motive to keep going and to smile. No one could do the same for him and no one ever could, no matter how hard they tried. "She will be as beautiful as her mother and just as much the Lady, I'm sure. She will bring us so many joys! Have you thought about a name for her?"

"We could name her after your mother, Jeyne", she suggested noticing the uneasiness in Tywin's face. He missed his mother, he did not wish to name his daughter after her. It was bad enough missing her. "Or perhaps, we could give her a different name... how about Cecilia?"

"Cecilia Lannister", Tywin said out loud as he thought about how it sounded. He nodded approvingly, earning a smile from the baby. "She likes it and so do I. Cecilia Lannister she will be"

"I love you", Joanna blurted as she looked at the baby she held in her arms, meeting her husband's eyes right after. "Both of you"

Tywin pressed his lips against hers softly and then kissed her forehead. He grabbed his daughter with a fulfilling feeling in his heart. He had a child with his wife, his first daughter and he hoped they could have plenty more daughters and just as many boys to fill Casterly Rock.

That was the beginning of a family... a dynasty he would build with his Joanna. And that dynasty would be the greatest dynasty the world would ever see, the dynasty that not even the Gods could break apart.

"You must rest", he told her with affection in his voice and kissing her forehead as he was about to leave. "I will introduce our daughter to my father"

He walked outside the room with a completely different expression. Only Joanna could see his smiling, he would not allow anybody else to witness such an occurrence.

His father and his brothers stood outside the room along with his sister, who waited for the news about the baby's name. So, holding her in his arms, Tywin announced the very expected name.

"Meet Cecilia of House Lannister"

𝟐𝟔𝟕 𝐀𝐂, 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊, 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒, 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐒

TYTOS LANNISTER HAD DIED. Tywin Lannister was now Lord of Casterly Rock and, as such, he had to go back to the Rock to settle himself as Lord.

He had been absent in his children's lives since he would often be busy with matters of the King. He was a very important man, he was the Hand of the King and Cecilia, a girl of three name days, was already proud of her father but sad over her grandfather's passing.

She liked her grandfather, he was a funny man whose laughter made everybody around him laugh. Many times he would throw her in his shoulders and carry her around in piggyback style. Other times, he would tickle her so hard she would cry from belly pain that it caused her.

But now he was dead. Yet, Cecilia didn't understand the concept of death and how definitive it was. In her mind, her grandfather would come back. When she shared her thoughts with her Lady Mother, Lady Joanna smiled and caressed her little girl's hair hugging her.

"You are too good for this world, my dearest Cecilia. Unfortunately, your grandfather shall never come back for he has taken his place next to the Gods. He's now with them but I'm certain he is watching over all of us"

She wondered how that felt like but she decided to keep it to her imagination and think about how the Gods were like. She had been taught about them, her mother and her Septa had made sure to teach her while she was still little, and her favourite was the Maiden.

Currently, Cecilia was in the gardens playing with her dolls as her mother and her aunt took care of the twins, Jaime and Cersei, who had been born a year prior. Joanna was feeding her two children who were little more than one name day old when her eldest child dropped her dolls on the floor and looked at her mother with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Lady Mother, when will father arrive?", the little girl questioned after a long pause. She had missed him so much and could barely wait to see him.

"Soon, my dear. He'll be here soon"

That reply satisfied Cecilia, as she grabbed her dolls and kept playing with them.

As the very important man her father was, he would have Prince Rhaegar's own toymaker making dolls for his girl. Her favourites were Aemon, the Dragonknight and Queen Naerys. That was her favourite story, her favourite song.

She would daydream about having an Aemon of her own that would protect her and defend her honour from those who would question it. Sometimes, she would dream of it at night. She had wondered if Jaime would be that knight and in her dreams, an older version of him would fight for her and Cersei and keep them safe.

"My Lady, your Lord husband has arrived", one of the guards announced a few hours after. Jaime and Cersei smiled and clapped with their baby hands in excitement, being carried by their mother and their aunt Genna, as Cecilia walked in the middle of them.

The little cub was eager to see her Lord Father, she hadn't seen him in a while but she had missed him very much. She wanted him to see how Jaime would become a knight one day and how Cersei would be a beautiful lioness worthy of being a Princess or a Queen, even.

When she saw all the people gathered, she searched for her father and once her eyes fell on his face, she ran towards him and jumped into his arms with the greatest of smiles. Lord Tywin was a family man, but he did not show great affection, at least, not in public. So, though he hugged his eldest child, he did not smile upon her presence nor did he let the moment last for too long, placing her on the ground.

"Lord Father", she said with the widest grin as her baby teeth showed how much admiration the girl had towards her father. Her gaze fell upon a man next to Lord Tywin as she curiously looked at him, having her grin fade away.

"Cecilia, won't you curtesy to the King?", her mother asked kindly. The King's eyes were directed to her mother as they observed Lady Joanna from head to toe, making both her and Lord Tywin very uncomfortable. Cecilia bowed to the King along with her mother and aunt, as the silver-haired man smirked in content.

"Your Grace", the baby girl said. Her bows were perfect at the age of three and Lord Tywin was filled with pride as he watched his little girl show the grace she had inherited from her mother... even at the King. "I did not know you were the King, I'm sorry"

"Rise, girl. Your apologies have been accepted", the man said as he looked at the boy standing next to him, patting his shoulder. Cecilia noticed the silver hair and the violet eyes and came to the conclusion that the boy was Prince Rhaegar so many girls spoke about around the Lannister keep. "Rhaegar, address the Lady Lannister and her children"

"My Lady", he said as he kissed the hands of both mother and daughter. Cecilia's grin crept in her face once again at the kindness of the Prince, bowing to him in return.

"Your Highness", Rhaegar smiled back at the little girl with the same kindness. He had never seen a girl like Lord Tywin's daughter, mainly because all of his siblings would soon die and never grow more than a few moons. Sometimes they would even leave his mother's belly early and therefore, they would be dead.

It was a very sad affair and the hopes for a brother or sister to play with him would grow from technical to non-existent by the day.

Cecilia Lannister was everything he ever dreamt on a sister of his own. Tiny, gentle and beautiful. He wished he had a companion like her, no matter how much younger she would be.

"Rhaegar, call me Rhaegar"

Aerys giggled at the scene, being followed by all the people surrounding him. According to him, that scene had been too sweet and innocent to just stay serious and nobody questioned him because he was the King.

The court would stay in Casterly Rock for a year and throughout that year, Cecilia would have her fourth name day, as well as the twins, would have their second. Rhaegar was eight and Cecilia was four but they would still play together all the time, and the Dragon Prince would come to realize that Cecilia was all he thought and much more, being very intelligent for her age.

Jenny of Old Stones was the thing they liked to play the most about. He would be Duncan Targaryen and she would be Jenny.

Whenever they weren't playing together, Rhaegar would sing to her and show her how to play the harp or he would read her a book. They both liked the songs about Aemon the Dragonknight and Queen Naerys just as they both liked the songs about Duncan the Tall, though Rhaegar would be very sad about the last one since he died right where Rhaegar had been born, in the same day.

When that year was over, Rhaegar left Casterly Rock, but his bond with Cecilia was strong and their friendship was as solid as a rock and just as unbreakable.

𝟐𝟕𝟐 𝐀𝐂, 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆'𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒, 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐒

WITH NOW EIGHT NAME DAYS, Cecilia travelled for the first time to the Capitol along with her mother and her two siblings, who were six name days old at the time.

Jaime and Cersei had a bond no one could quite understand. They were always together and no one could separate them, not even their own mother.

Jaime had begun his sword training and he showed great promise, or so the Master at Arms had said. While he would practise with their uncle Kevan, Cecilia and Cersei would learn how to sew with their mother and their aunts, Genna and Dorna, who had recently married Kevan.

Life at Casterly Rock was happy but very lonely, at times. Cecilia would like to play with her siblings more and she enjoyed their company, but she was unsure if they liked her company as much as she enjoyed theirs.

So, when her mother informed them that they would be travelling East to the Capitol due to the tourney their father was going to host in the honour of the King's tenth-year reign, Cecilia was happy. She was finally going to meet again with Rhaegar, her beloved friend. As they entered the city, she noticed a bad smell but as she looked upon the majestic Red Keep, she was taken away by the beauty of the castle.

Her father was there to receive them and as they left their carriage, all the children bowed to their father and hugged him. Tywin was happy to see all his children. Jaime was growing into the heir he would be proud of having, Cersei was growing up to become more beautiful than her eldest sister... and Cecilia's grace could not compare to any of the other two's. Though Cersei was becoming more beautiful than her sister, she lacked the grace and the brightness of the eldest lioness.

"When will I be able to see the Prince?", she asked respectfully much to the surprise of Lord Tywin. Lady Joanna smiled. She knew of her daughter's adoration towards the Targaryen Prince and about the fact that they would often exchange letters.

"In the morrow", Lord Tywin replied. "The Prince is with his father at the moment and you must rest from your journey"

As promised, Cecilia met with Prince Rhaegar once again. She met his two cousins, Robert and Stannis. Robert was an easy-going boy two years her senior and Stannis was her age but much more reserved.

She met the Queen as well, of whom she had heard many lovely things from her mother and Cecilia would come to realize that the Queen was a beauty outside and inside with her gentleness and kindness. She was every inch what a Queen should be.

She danced with the crown Prince and with his cousins throughout the days. Robert was the one she would laugh with, Stannis was the one who she would talk to about their homes. He had told her about a bird he loved but whom Robert made fun of and, whereas Cecilia found Robert much more joyful, Stannis had the kindness of her heart, being the one she would spend more time with. She had watched as his own father and mother cast him in the shadow of his eldest brother and she felt sad for him. So, she would listen to what he had to say and create a conversation with him, finding out that he was much more than people thought he was.

Nevertheless, her proximity with Rhaegar was noticeable so, Queen Rhaella invited her to stay with them in King's Landing, making the Lady Joanna hesitant since she did not wish to let her daughter go, but eventually allowing her to stay with Lord Tywin in the Capitol.

𝟐𝟕𝟑 𝐀𝐂, 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊, 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒, 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐒

THE ROCK WHICH HAD ONCE BEEN JOYFUL AND LUXURIOUS, in colours of red and golden and songs about pride and prestige, was drowned in sorrow and pain at the death of the Lady of Casterly Rock, Joanna Lannister.

The red and gold had been replaced for grey and black and the sun which would lighten the castle had disappeared, almost like a sign from the Gods that the Stranger had gotten inside the castle without invitation and that not even the Mighty Lion of the West could stop him from taking away his golden lioness.

Lord Tywin had gotten back from the Capitol for his wife's birth like he always would and he had brought his daughter back with him.

It had been three days since their arrival when Lady Joanna's labour began in a much different fashion than the previous ones. Ser Tyggett and Ser Gerion had been appointed to keep the children occupied as their mother's screams filled the castle.

Jaime and Cersei, of only six name days, were distracted by their sister, of eight, as she told them the stories about knights and made them promises of a bright future ahead of them and their new sibling. She prayed for a boy since she wanted someone to practise with Jaime given that she already had Cersei, though they weren't as close as the sisters in the songs.

When a maid whispered something in Gerion's ear and left the room running back to where she had come from, leaving her uncle's expression from worried to heartbroken Cecilia thought the worst, and she wasn't wrong. Her Uncle Gerion was the Laughing Lion, there was no time where he would just stop joking and laughing... or so she had thought.

Ser Gerion approached all three children with pity and a somewhat melancholy and swallowed dryly before speaking up.

"Uncle, is there something wrong?", she asked with evident fear in her voice. However, all she could hear was silence.

"You must come with me", he said with a knot in his throat. He pressed his lips in a tight line that trembled before finally telling the dreadful words. "Your Lady Mother is... she is dying"

The words sunk in Cecilia's mind as she tried to fight back the tears. Jaime and Cersei exchanged looks and then looked at their sister's broken appearance. They were too young to understand the concept of death and how definitive it was, but Cecilia wasn't. She knew what death meant and the thought of a life without her mother felt empty and unbearable.

She walked outside the room, grabbing each side of her gown and running towards the birthing room as she ignored her Uncle's voice, who begged her to wait.

It had been too late. As she reached the front door, her Uncle Kevan and her Uncle Emmon were standing outside waiting for the news that they no longer needed to hear to know. He gave her a sympathetic look as if he knew what she was going through. Her two aunts left the room with bloodied gowns and sorrowful expressions. Both of them had puffy eyes and both of them holding themselves back from weeping... all for their sweet nephew and nieces, who were too young to grow up motherless.

She walked inside the chambers in which her mother was barely holding onto her life and she fought back the tears.

"You will say no more! You shall live, do you hear me?", Lord Tywin commanded his wife with a knot in his throat as she barely managed to keep her eyes open. "Don't leave me, Joanna, please. I love you..."

"Cecilia...", the weak woman who had once been the joyful Lady of Casterly Rock extended her arm, so her daughter would get closer.

"Mother, please don't die. Stay with me, you must stay with all of us, please!"

For the first time, Cecilia helplessly cried out for her mother who shook her head negatively still giving her the same warm smile she would give her whenever she would put her to sleep back when she was a child.

"To see you and your siblings alive and well is the last bit of happiness that is left for me in this world", she said almost in a whisper, her voice giving out. "Be there for the baby, Cecilia. Your sibling is going to need you"

"I promise you, Lady Mother, I will!", she said with tears in her eyes that Joanna cleaned hugging her daughter one last time and kissing her forehead.

"I knew you would", she whispered in her daughter's ear. "Now, leave me alone with your father, please"

She cleaned her tears and stood up back on her feet. Her green eyes had never been brighter, but sadly it was because of the tears that had left them until seconds ago.

As she reached the outside, she closed the door and found Jaime and Cersei sitting and hugging each other as they had been explained what was going to happen. It was unfair, so unfair that a woman as good as their mother had to be taken away from them.

Then, a scream was heard – her father's.

Tears streamed down her face as she placed her hand in front of her mouth and sobbed. Her uncles embraced their niece as she avoided their contact, she didn't want to be hugged by anyone other than her mother and since that would never be possible once again, then no one would get to do that.

When she saw her Aunt Genna holding the baby who had taken her mother's life, Cecilia walked towards the crying baby and softly touched his forehead. She had promised her mother she would take care of him and she was going to keep that promise until her dying breath.

"What is it?", she asked at her aunt, who was surprised by the girl's approach.

"A boy", the smile grew wider as she tried to keep her tears from falling. It was a boy as she had wanted. He had a head bigger than a normal baby, but he was beautiful nonetheless. His hair was blond but it seemed more platinum than gold, it was different from that of his siblings. His tiny hand wrapped itself against his sister's little finger, leaving her in absolute awe.

"I will love you very well, dear brother and I'm sure you'll be the smartest and the most honourable of us all and that our mother's death was not in vain", she told him making his cries come to an end. Jaime hugged his sister's waist as he looked at his baby brother. Cersei came closer to them as well, looking at the boy.

"I will too", Jaime vowed, earning an approving nod from his eldest sister. But Cersei... Cersei was disgusted by that baby.

"I will not!", she said spitefully, earning the attention from everybody. "I HATE YOU! YOU KILLED MY MOTHER! YOU ARE A MONSTER! I HOPE YOU DIE!"

"Cersei, do not say that!", Cecilia pleaded as she tried to grab her sister's hands, who walked away from her.

"He killed our mother and he is a monster! Look at him! Look at his head! I'll kill him myself if I have to", Cecilia's eyes widened at her younger sister's words. However, she did not get to say anything else, as Lord Tywin opened the door and left the chambers without saying a word. He did not look at that baby, he did not look at any of his children, he just left with a stiff face. However, that look was not the same he would have on previously, that look was full of grief.

He would never be the same after the death of his one true love... but neither would be his children, especially Cecilia Lannister.

So, I hope you have enjoyed this first chapter! 

I decided to skip over the less important stuff and this will be a recurring thing as I have some facts and much of my imagination to work with. Not only that, but I also think you aren't that interested in hearing about every single day of Cecilia's life so I will be skipping a lot in time, which is why time referrences will be given AT LEAST at the beggining of the chapter.

The next chapters are going to be with Cecilia as a child since around this time of her life, some very important things happen which lead her to meet different people and make new friends.

Before leaving you for good, I would like to address two things:

1. This story will not be updated as often as my other stories since it takes a lot more effort to write and I can't dedicate myself equally to the two stories (that and I haven't written that far)

2. I will write certain characters according to their depictions on the book and in which theories I believe, as well as my interpretation of them since the books aren't always THAT literal (to all those who have read/are reading, you know what I mean)

With that being said, I hope you are all doing well and staying safe during these times of plague!

XOXO,

-BW