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Fem!Reader is a lowborn citizen of King's Landing.

Set in no particular season.

(Y/N) is ganged up on in the streets and barely escapes with her life. As fate would have it, she ends up at the gates of the Red Keep, where the queen shows her kind side by helping the injured stranger on her doorstep... and offering her a better life.

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I was running for my life. Still, they followed, still, they caught up to me. A blow to my ribs sent me reeling to the ground. I could tell the spot would bruise, as would the rest of my body wherever it had been beaten by the men pursuing me. I was a bloody, broken mess already, barely clinging on to consciousness.

They had attacked me out of nowhere, pounced on me from an alleyway and starting shoving and hitting me. I had done nothing to them, I didn't even know them, but they seemed to take pleasure merely in my pain and fear. They didn't need a reason.

A rough hand yanked at my shoulder, flipping me on my back, and the man backhanded me across the temple with a balled fist. I could feel the skin break, warm blood trickling into my hair.

I didn't even have the energy to scream anymore. I scrambled to my feet, bolting off into a stumbling run again, paying no attention to where I was going. All I needed was to get away.

I felt a jerk on the back of my dress, but managed to tug it free, the grasp on it so hard the fabric tore. Cold air bit at my exposed skin.

Someone slammed into me from behind, knocking the air out of me and pinning me to the ground. Gasping, I tried to stand, but the weight on top of me was too great. My chin started bleeding where it had hit the cobblestone street.

Seeing as flight was no longer an option, I gathered the last strength I had and tried my best to fight off the man on my back, who was currently focused on pressing my face against the ground while he waited for his companions to catch up.

I writhed, attempting to free at least one of my shoulders so I could strike back at him, but as soon as he noticed, a flurry of fists came raining down on my spine, pain shooting through me with every blow, leaving me breathless.

Multiple sets of footsteps closed in, and a boot kicked me hard in the side. I would have doubled over, had I not been held flat to the ground.

I was sure I was going to die.

But then one of the men made a mistake: out of the corner of my eye, I saw him throw a stone at me, but he missed. Instead, the stone hit something with a metallic clang, and a new pair of steps approached, along with a shouting voice.

"You there! Which one of you threw that?"

The clinking of armor told me the man must be a knight or guard. It was him that the stone had struck.

"I asked you a question", the man said more sharply, stepping into my field of vision now, and I could see that he wore the Lannister coat of arms. A guard, then.

The culprit ran, clearly guilty, but the guard did not bother going after him. Instead, he grabbed the man atop me by the scruff of his neck, throwing him down onto the street beside me.

I hurried to get to my feet, taking only a moment to get my bearings before quickly escaping to safety behind the other guards on their posts and collapsing to the ground again.

The assailant did not appreciate having his quarry taken from him, though, and lunged for the guard that had saved me with a feral snarl before he could draw his sword. They were locked in hand-to-hand combat, neither able to get much of a hit in.

I watched them breathlessly, only now, having had the chance to calm down, realizing something odd about this situation. Why was there a group of Lannister guards stationed on some street?

"Will someone tell me what in the Seven Hells is going on here?", a sharp female voice called out, and I twisted around to see- no, it couldn't be.

Because if the woman striding up to the guards was who I thought she was, I had run to no ordinary street, but the entrance to the Red Keep.

But there was no mistaking those long blonde curls, that regal poise, that commanding voice. This was Queen Cersei Lannister, and I was bleeding out in the dirt in front of her castle.

"These men threw a stone at Hector", the guard in front of me informed the queen. "One of them escaped, but he has started fighting the others."

"What are these peasants even doing here?", she asked, then her eyes dropped to me and she visibly flinched. "And what's happened to her?"

The guard cleared his throat. "I believe the men were chasing her."

"Clearly", Cersei muttered, and then, to my surprise, knelt beside me. "Can you stand?", she asked.

I tried to shake my head, but even that small movement hurt. Now that the adrenaline rush was over, exhaustion and pain overtook me, and I could feel my consciousness slipping through my fingers by the second.

"What's your name?"

"(Y/N)", I managed to press out before everything went black.

👑

I woke up in a more comfortable bed than I had ever been in. Every part of my body hurt, but even through the pain, I appreciated the softness of the mattress and pillows. Someone was washing out my wounds with a wet cloth, and I turned my head as far as I could manage to see Cersei there.

She looked up at my movement. "You're awake. Good." Continuing to wipe away the dirt, she added, "I'm sorry if this hurts."

"It's okay", I mumbled, each word an effort. It did sting, but it felt like a feather's caress compared to what I had been through before. She finished cleaning the wound on my shoulder and started applying a cooling salve to my bruises.

Her hand traced the swollen line from my temple down to my jaw. "They beat you up quite well, didn't they?", she said quietly with something like a sympathetic chuckle.

I groaned my agreement, closing my eyes in a grimacing smile.

"But you'll be alright", Cersei assured me, running her thumb over my cheek. "None of your injuries are fatal."

"Thank you", I croaked. My throat was parched. "Why did y- why did you help me?"

"You collapsed right in front of me", she replied. "I could hardly turn away from you." She reached to the side and handed me a glass of water, which I took gratefully, though not without struggle.

"You could have, though", I objected after a few clumsy gulps. "You're the queen. You don't owe anyone anything."

She shrugged meekly. "Even so, I couldn't just leave you to die on my doorstep. The guards should have stepped in straight away when they saw you being attacked, not only when they were personally dragged into it. They failed at their job. The least I could do was make up for that failure."

I smiled. "Then you're kinder than most rulers I've met."

"Oh? Have you met many, then?", she smirked, raising an eyebrow.

I laughed, even though it made my ribcage ache. "None so sweet."

Cersei's lips parted in a dazzling smile. "Bootlicker", she teased, but I could tell she didn't really mean it. She put away the salve. "Well, I've gotten all the dirt out of your wounds, but you're still covered in blood. You'll need a bath. Do you think you can walk over there?" She pointed at a steaming bathtub at the other end of the room.

I sat up slowly, bracing myself on the bedframe with one hand. Every muscle in my body protested at the motion. Collecting my breath, I tried to stand, but dropped right back down, my knees giving out beneath me. Cersei quickly reached out a hand to catch me so my already battered body wouldn't crash down onto the bed, soft though it was.

"I'll help you", she said, slinging my arm over her shoulders. With her aid, I managed to hobble over to the tub, hot steam warming my face pleasantly as I leaned on the edge for support.

My arms' mobility was still more than limited, so Cersei got to carefully slipping my torn dress over my head. She gasped as the fabric revealed even more bruises underneath, in all shades of purple and green.

"How were you even able to run anymore?", she whispered as she delicately ran her fingers down the largest black bruise on my ribs, where one of the men had kicked me.

I winced, and she pulled her hand away quickly. Even that light touch hurt like hell. "Fear, mostly", I replied weakly.

"Understandable", Cersei commented somberly, then put aside the shreds of my dress and laid a hand between my shoulders. "Let's get you cleaned up."

One leg at a time, I stepped into the tub, relying on Cersei to stabilize me. The heat of the water made me sigh in relief as my muscles welcomed its comfort.

Cersei helped ease me down into a sitting position and brushed my hair back from my shoulders, allowing me to submerge myself to the neck. Already, I could feel some of the tension dissipating from my body.

"I'll start wiping you down", she said from behind me, grabbing a cloth. "Tell me if I'm hurting you anywhere."

I nodded, and she began on my arms, running the soft linen up and down my skin. Almost immediately, the water was being tinted red by the little swirling clouds of dried blood flaking off of me.

Cersei shook her head in horror. "It's a miracle you haven't bled out yet." 

"I'm not that easy to kill", I chuckled, but it didn't come across particularly confidently. In actuality, I had come very close to death today, and I was reminded of it every second by the pain in all parts of my body. If Cersei hadn't been there...

She moved on to my chest, the area that had perhaps been damaged the least, and I stiffened as her hand brushed my nipple. It wasn't an uncomfortable sensation, though - for the first time this day, I enjoyed something that was being done to me.

But Cersei interpreted it the wrong way. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?", she asked and withdrew her hand immediately, her voice concerned.

"No", I breathed, still trying to hold on to the feeling of her touch, "no, you didn't. Please keep going."

She continued, and again, her fingers trailed over my wet skin. I shuddered in spite of the warm water.

Suddenly, Cersei smiled in understanding and moved her hand back up, this time intentionally tracing my nipple. "I think I know what's going on", she said in a low voice, her mouth so close to my ear. She slid her other hand around my neck and started carefully massaging my breasts.

I let out a quiet moan, tipping back my head and resting it on the edge of the tub. My pain was fading by the second, driven away by her gentle, energizing touch.

One of her hands came up under my jaw from behind, cupping it softly. She nudged my head to the side and leaned forward, bringing her face close to mine.

"Is that why you showed up here? To seduce me?", Cersei asked, smirking.

"I don't know, is that why you saved me?", I returned with a smile of my own.

Her lips met mine, the soft rosy skin encapsulating my rougher, split one. "It might just be", she whispered against my mouth, the lightest touch of air, and I wanted to breathe that air, to smell her, to taste her. 

I kissed her again, with more passion, and she pulled me in deeper, the hand that had rested on my chest moving to my back. I winced as it accidentally landed on a bruise, and she quickly moved it further up.

"I can't believe this is happening", I wondered quietly between kisses.

"Not how you thought your day would go?", Cersei asked breathlessly, smiling wildly.

"Nothing about this day was expected", I replied.

She ran her fingers through my hair, pressing her forehead against mine. "I don't feel good about letting you go back out there while those men are still running free. How about you stay on as my handmaiden? It's not the most venerable job, but..."

"There's no way but up for someone like me", I said quickly. "I would be honored to work for you."

"Then it's settled", she smiled. "Stay here tonight, after we've finished your bath. I'll arrange for rooms of your own tomorrow."

The thought of sharing a bed with her made my stomach tighten with excitement. "Gladly. Will you help me out of the tub?"

"I think I should get the rest of the blood off you first", Cersei grinned. "You're not getting into my bed like that."

She picked the abandoned cloth back up and carefully scrubbed down my legs. When she moved up again, cleaning my stomach and sides, she cast me a sideways glance, then slowly slid her hand between my legs.

I sank deeper into the tub, opening myself to her touch, and closed my eyes in pleasure. Her fingers flitted across my skin teasingly, never lingering for long, and warm anticipation flooded my senses as I was internally begging her to commit.

Instead, she lifted me out of the tub suddenly, one arm braced under my shoulders and knees each, and carried me over to the bed. I opened my eyes again.

"Your sheets will get wet", I protested weakly, but I didn't truly want her to stop.

"Oh, they sure will", Cersei replied with a wolfish grin and delicately put me down on the bed, getting in beside me. My hair was dripping water onto the pillows in a steady trickle. "Now", she said, trailing a hand down my chest, "we can get properly accustomed."

"Come and get to know me, then", I smirked and took hold of her wrist, guiding her hand down to where she had started before bringing me over here. I shifted closer to her, careful not to put weight on any of my bruises and wounds.

She kissed me, and at the same time inserted her fingers into me. "My little wounded bird", she whispered in my ear, "flown onto my doorstep at just the right time. I'll take good care of you, I promise."

"I know you will", I replied, the words turning into a moan as I savored the feel of her inside me, knowing in that moment that right here was where I was meant to be, with her, in her arms; this was where safety, love and all things good were.

Her fingers worked away inside of me, gently, so she wouldn't hurt my still damaged body, and I started rubbing my hips against hers as the pressure grew, moaning quietly.

She closed her lips around the column of my throat, sucking on the soft skin as I threw back my head, my eyes half closed and my mouth agape.

The world blurred to a flurry of twinkling colors and sounds, the only thing remaining in focus the velvet-soft friction inside me. Cersei's fingers seemed to push deeper and deeper with each thrust, filling me up entirely. 

Sweet pleasure washed over me, rolling waves of tingling numbness sending shocks through my body and making my head feel like it was wrapped in downy cotton. My core tightened around her, pulling her in, and all my muscles locked and released as one in a symphony of relief.

I sank into Cersei's arms, sighing blissfully, and felt the exhaustion of the day catching up with me all of a sudden. My limbs were heavy and sore, my mind muddled. But I knew that I could rest now, that I would be safe with her, tonight and on all nights to come. A better life was starting. I nestled my head in the crook of her neck and drifted off to sleep.