𝕋𝕙𝕖 horizon had been a black, blurry line when I had looked out of the window this morning - ships. For a moment, I had feared we were under attack, but this fleet was not a threat to us at all, quite the contrary, in fact. Euron had brought the ships he had promised - and they lived up to the claims he had made about them. Moreover, they were full of the finest sellswords gold could buy: the Golden Company from Essos. Our chances of winning this war were suddenly looking a whole lot better. Daenerys - and my family, an uncomfortable voice inside me reminded me - was engaged with the White Walkers in the North, who had finally breached the Wall. I shuddered to think how they might have accomplished this. The Wall had not been broken, ever. Measuring 700 feet in height and 300 feet in width of solid ice and stretching for a hundred leagues, it was impenetrable... until now. But the North was a long way from here, and I just hoped we had enough time to prepare for our stand against whichever side came out victorious. I prayed it would be the living. Not just for my siblings' sake, but also because if the dead won, their army would only grow by the amount of defendants it slew. It was almost nightfall by the time we received the commander of the Golden Company in the throne room. "20,000 men, is it?", Cersei asked. "Yes, Your Grace. A few died in transit." "They cheated at dice", Euron said defensively by way of explanation, then seemed to reconsider. "Or maybe I cheated. Someone cheated." This is no time to make jokes, I thought, annoyed by his perpetual cockiness. These are the men that will stand between us and certain death. We cannot afford to lose them to this bastard's jests. The commander rolled his eyes. "They weren't good fighters, you won't miss them", Euron added conciliatorily. Cersei let out a deep breath. "Horses?" "2,000." "And elephants?" The man cleared his throat. "Uh, no elephants, Your Grace." "That's disappointing", Cersei commented. "I was told the Golden company had elephants." "They are excellent beasts, Your Grace, but not well suited to long sea voyages." What good would elephants be against dragons anyways? They'd only be bigger targets. What we need are men who can shoot, and weapons for them to use. But I did not voice my thoughts. I knew I had the right to, but it mattered not. Cersei knew more of strategies and battles than I. She would take care of those, and I would handle the diplomacy - a quality she did not always excel in. But that was why we ruled together. We each had our strong suits, and we played our parts accordingly. "In any event, you are most welcome here in King's Landing, Captain Strickland", Cersei said. "We look forward to fighting on your behalf, Your Grace", Strickland replied and bowed before leaving the hall. He had better manners than Euron, that much was certain - but that was a low bar anyways.

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We were walking down the hall to dinner later when Qyburn crossed our path. Cersei stopped him. "I have a message for you to deliver", she said quietly. "Locate Ser Bronn of the Blackwater. Tell him there's somebody I need him to kill, a score to be settled - on his behalf as much as on mine. My brothers made promises to him for his services often enough and never kept them, but he should know that this Lannister pays her debts. Have all the gold brought to him that he thinks the job is deserving of." "Whose death could be so important, Your Grace?", Qyburn asked. What she said next shocked me. "Tyrion's and Jaime's. Give Ser Bronn the crossbow Tyrion used to kill our father, I want that little imp to choke on his guilt. And Jaime, he betrayed me just as much. He would rather aid our enemies than stay and defend me, that much he made clear. I want them both dead. Ser Bronn will argue, he always liked my brothers, the wretched fool, but I trust that high enough of a reward - ensured, this time - will convince him." She stepped closer to Qyburn. "No matter what: Convince. Him. I will not have those two traitors come back and try to ruin my life for the hundredth time. Make sure they die at his hands." Qyburn nodded. "I will have the gold and crossbow prepared and seek him out as soon as I can." Cersei smiled contentedly, bowing her head at Qyburn in approval, and continued on her way. I followed, but an uneasy feeling nagged at me. She had allowed Jaime to leave, albeit in conflict, and now she ordered his death. She had offered me to join the fight in the North, too, and told me she would understand. Had that also been a lie? Could it just as well have been me being sent after right now, if I had gone? I did not want to believe she would do such a thing, not to me, but I was bewildered by her seeking vengeance on Jaime, too. I had not judged her resentment of his leaving to be so severe, and yet here she was, arranging his execution. 

We sat down at the decked table and with one look, Cersei seemed to guess my thoughts. She waited until all the servants had left the room before she spoke. "You don't think I would have done this to you, do you?", she asked, sounding genuinely startled that I would assume such a thing. I said nothing, and she reached over the table to grab my hand. "Vallery, I would never hurt you, you hear me? Never. Even if you broke my heart, shattered it into a million pieces and spat on it, well, I would be crestfallen, but I would never let anything happen to you. You should know that by now." I was relieved to hear my worries eased, but there was still something I was wondering about. "Just as you should know that I would never betray you like that. But if I had gone North, if I had chosen my family... would you have seen that as a betrayal?" She was quiet for a while, thinking on my question while heaping food onto her plate. "I don't know", she finally said. "I think it depends. Would you have returned as soon as the fighting was done? Would you have remembered where your loyalties lie and seized the opportunity to gain information about our enemies, sus out potential weaknesses? Would you have refused to let yourself fall back into the charm of your old home?" I split open a pomegranate with my knife, nodding appreciatively. "You have a remarkable mind, Cersei. I would not have thought of half those things, truth be told. My loyalty is yours, always, but I lack the sense of calculation you have. You see political chances everywhere, potential allies and enemies, intelligence for your next manipulations - you play the game everywhere, at all times. I'm not like that. I can't look at the world like that." "Sometimes I think you're the one better off in that regard", Cersei said quietly, sounding almost dejected. I wanted to tell her that wasn't true, to comfort her, but her tone made clear that she did not want to talk about this anymore. So instead, I focused on the food on the table. "Are those honeycakes?", I asked, delighted, and picked one up. "I haven't had one of these in years!" "The Golden Company brought them, from Essos", Cersei replied, glad about the change of topic. "Our trade with the eastern continent has been sparse of late, but they took lots of supplies with them." I bit into the soft pastry, sweet honey oozing from the sponge-like cake onto my lips. "Mhh. They sure know their way around sweets." Cersei grinned. "Perhaps you will let me taste your sweet cake after we're done eating. I'm in a mood for dessert." She gave my backside a light smack. I nearly choked on my food at her words and started coughing, though the flush on my face did not stem from a lack of air.

"Lead the way then, my queen", I replied once I had regained control over my throat. Cersei got up from the table with a smirk. "I believe you know the way very well." "Sure I do", I smiled back cheekily, wiping my hands and mouth on a napkin, "but the view is so much better when walking behind you." Cersei took my hand in hers and pulled me along, back down the corridor we had come through. "You're about to get a much better view than that", she muttered, bringing her mouth close to my ear. "That is, until you start seeing stars from how hard I'll fuck you." I bit my lip in excited anticipation. "And since when are you one for playing rough?" She regarded me for a moment with amusement and hunger mingling in her eyes. "Since seeing how aroused it makes you." She snapped playfully at my ear, stopping just short of it and burying her nose in my hair. "Oh, I just can't wait to feast on you. We've really been neglecting this pastime of late." "There has been so much to do", I mused. "There's always much to do", Cersei countered. "Together we rule Seven Kingdoms. Say what you will about Robert, he was right about this one thing - ruling is exhausting. When do we get a break?" "Right now sounds perfect", I confirmed. "That it does", Cersei agreed and swung open the door to her chambers, surprising me by picking me up off my feet and carrying me to the bed, kicking the door closed again behind us. "Now", she drawled, a wide predator's grin spreading on her face, "I have you all to myself." "And I you", I replied, burying my hands beneath the back of her gown and running them over her soft skin. She delicately placed me into a sitting position on the bed, all the while being careful not to slip from my ardent embrace. I did not give her time to watch for where to open my lacing before pulling her into a fierce kiss. She would just have to feel around for it. Our lips met time and time again with such an intensity that I knew they would be all swollen later. "Faster", she panted between kisses when I undid the clasps of her dress one by one. I bunched the fabric up in my hands and tore the rest of the metal hooks open all at once, leaving Cersei's back starkly exposed to the late summer breeze wafting in from the balcony. I pulled the dress all the way down her hips, probably tearing a few threads, but we did not want to separate even long enough to pull our gowns up over our heads. Once we had both managed to undress each other, we fell back onto the bed, still kissing and letting our hands blindly explore the other's body.

Cersei pushed me further back by the hips and positioned herself in a kneeling position between my legs. She spread them apart and pushed them up onto my body, leaving my lady parts fully exposed for her tongue to work its magic on. "I think this is the real dinner", she said, her breath tickling my sensitive skin and sending shivers down the base of my spine. "That food back there was just the appetizer. And I'd like to have this every day." "You can have me any time you like", I replied, my voice weak already, wanting her to start. "Then I shall", Cersei said in a low, humming tone and began sucking on my pearl. A gasp escaped me, and I arched my back as her lips sucked in my skin again and again, massaging it in oh so sweet waves of shocking stimulation. I felt a pull behind my navel, my core tightening, and I leaned into the touch of her mouth even more. Her tongue lashed out to slide into my opening, tasting me in rapid strokes, teasing the edges before going back to playing with the marble at its top. She brought in her hand to take over where her tongue had left, still sucking me while her fingers began a steady rhythm of plunging into me and slowly slipping back out. The tip of her tongue flicked over my pearl so fast I indeed began seeing stars as she had promised, and her fingers picked up their pace too, three of them thrusting as deep into me as they could, over and over. My body was rocked across the sheets, and if she hadn't been holding on to me, I would have slid against the headboard before long. My thighs and pelvis clenched, several muscles spasming from the strain, and I screamed out when Cersei's teeth came down on my pearl just as her fingers reached the deepest spot within me. This was the tipping point, and I came undone all over her face, hand and sheets, my hips bucking as I threw back my head, gasping and whimpering loudly. My hands dug into her soft, short hair, trying to keep her mouth on me for longer, to make this moment of unadulterated bliss last. Cersei licked up most of my juices and wiped the rest away with a blanket. "That's my girl", she muttered, coming up beside me and wrapping me in her arms and a blanket, before the heat of the moment could give way to the night chill that had crept into the chamber. I cuddled into her readily, enjoying the warmth of her and the feeling of her familiar body against mine. We fit together perfectly, like two pieces of a puzzle, like a door and its frame. Together, we were whole. "I love you", I whispered, just needing to say it for no particular reason. I wanted her to know this at all times, because it was the only thing we could be certain would endure in the coming storm. "I love you too, my little wolf", Cersei replied and tilted up my chin to look me in the eyes. "And I always will. You're everything I have left now, and I would watch the world burn for you." "As would I", I said without hesitation. "And you know what? We might just have to." Cersei shook her head lightly, the movement obscured by the pillows beneath her head. "We won't. They won't stand a chance against us. We'll win, just like we always do. Nobody has brought us down yet, and this won't either. Just you wait. We will be forever, you and I." And she was right, I decided as sleep slowly claimed me. We would always win. And on nights as peaceful as this... you could almost forget about the brewing war.