"𝕋𝕙𝕖 Crown and the Faith are the two pillars upon which this world stands", Tommen announced to the crowded throne room what Cersei had no doubt dictated to him prior to this event. "If one collapses, so does the rest. Unfortunately, the chosen representative of the Faith in our city has defiled his honor and his name with his so recently uncovered unsaintly behavior." I grimaced. Half the actions of this entire city were unsaintly, and nobody cared. Not that it would be of any use; if the Crown persecuted every such matter, the streets of King's Landing would be quite empty and its dungeons overflowing. "It is because of this that a new leader of religion must be chosen to restore the Faith to its proper state. Luckily for us, a man of upmost piety has taken up residence with us recently. I hereby declare the High Sparrow, as he styles himself, our new representative of the Faith." The anointment came to no surprise to me. Cersei had detailed her entire plan to me earlier, starting with the raise in power of this High Sparrow fellow. The strange man hadn't even bothered to show for his own nomination. "Furthermore, these times of war have brought much unrest in the Seven Kingdoms. Violence is, of course, an inevitable part of warfare, but when it extends to innocent, honorable people, measures must be taken to prevent such mutiny. For that reason, I have decided to reinstate a sanction unseen for two centuries that my mother was so good to remind me of." And why was it gone for two centuries?, I thought cynically. This was a mistake, but not one I had been able to make Cersei see the extent of yet. "The Faith Militant will bring order to the land again. Crimes such as the destruction of septs and the rape of Silent Sisters shall not go unpunished." Except that wasn't the end of it, was it? The true reason Cersei had had the Faith armed was quite another. She had told the High Sparrow in the very same conversation in which she had offered him this power that Loras Tyrell was fornicating with multiple other men. With her brother accused, Margaery would undoubtedly say anything to free him of his charges, all the while condemning herself, as Cersei would have already provided the Faith with proof of Loras' sin. It was a sound plan in and of itself, clever, even, if not for the fact that Cersei herself would be at risk of being incarcerated. But she insisted it was fine, she would find some scandal to remove the Faith Militant from power again once they had served their purpose to tear down the Tyrell dynasty. I sighed and reluctantly joined the crowd in its applause while making my way to the exit to wait for Cersei.

She passed me soon after and I fell in beside her. "I can see you taught him a touch for the dramatic", I remarked. "That speech is sure to convince even the sceptics that establishing the Faith Militant is in their best interest." Cersei smiled. "That it will. It's only a matter of time until the seeds I planted will fall into motion, and we will be rid of our problem without lifting a finger." "About that", I began, already rueing the disharmonic mood I was about to create between us again, as had been the case every time I tried to explain my opinion on the matter since yesterday morning, when she had first presented to me her great plan. Immediately, she shot me a sharp glance, knowing as well as me what was coming. "What about it?" "I just don't think it's a good idea to make them aware of a crime that you yourself have committed", I said quietly. "How would they ever know?", Cersei retorted. "We are more careful than Loras. They have got nothing on us." I opened my mouth to speak, but she wasn't finished. "Besides, it's exactly the fact that I am the accuser that makes me less of a suspect. Why would I condemn him if I was doing the same thing? It's the perfect cover, really." We had arrived outside her chambers. Releasing a tense breath, I put my hand on Cersei's arm. "We can talk about this later. I love you, and I hate how on edge we've been around each other lately - about this, about Myrcella... I don't like arguing with you." She pulled me in closer by the neck. "Me neither. It's tenuous times we're living in, I understand that. You want to make sure we're safe same as I. But I am confident that this will work, and I want you to just trust me that I have the right feeling in this matter." One hand still on my nape, she opened the door with the other, never taking her eyes off me. "Let's get inside so we can discuss this in peace." I followed her through the door and turned right back around to take her hands. "I do trust you, and I want to believe you are making the right choice, it's just- I don't see this going well for us. Arming fanatics feels like a move that could backfire very quickly. They aren't soldiers, they are loyal to no one but their gods, and willing to turn against anyone because of it." Cersei considered me for a moment. "I know the risk", she finally said. "They will not remain armed for long, only long enough to deal with the Tyrell threat. After that, I'll be happy to send them back to whatever stinking hole they crawled from." I nodded, having run out of arguments. "What's done is done, anyways", I said, staring out in front of me with unseeing eyes before meeting Cersei's again. "Just- please, promise me you'll be careful in dealing with them. A sparrowbird's song has two voices. They'll turn your every word against you if given the chance, all while acting on your own orders." "I promise", she replied and kissed my forehead, holding me there in her arms. "I am wary when speaking to any man out of principle." I chuckled. "A wise mindset."

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Loras was sitting on a simple, backless chair opposite the row of more comfortable seats where Olenna, Margaery, Tommen, Cersei and I were witnessing the interrogation that the High Sparrow was presently performing. Why they had allowed me to attend, I still did not know. Cersei had stated I wanted to accompany her out of interest for the way justice was determined in the South, after all, I had originally been sent here to learn about politics and anything related. Still, to let me sit in on the trial of a member of the royal family just like that... "You are aware of the rumors concerning you and Renly?", the High Sparrow asked as he paced, a despicable old man who had a permanent look of dirt to him and one like he had one foot in the grave, but emanated power nonetheless. "I don't pay attention to rumors", Loras replied defiantly. His hair was unkempt and his clothes looked tattered, even though he had not been held captive by the Faith for very long. "You were said to be despondent when he died", the High Sparrow continued. "Witnesses state that you refused to leave his bedside, even as Stannis' army closed in." Loras looked up at him, not hiding the contempt in his eyes. "He was my friend. He was my king." "Wasn't Joffrey your king? He was anointed by the Seven, not Renly." Loras finally seemed to swallow his pride. "I was wrong to support Renly's claim, I know that. But I was forgiven by Joffrey. I fought for him in the Battle of Blackwater." He did not just fight in it, he won it. He saved all of our lives. I knew that as well as everyone else in the room, and still, I could not bring myself to empathize much. Him being convicted was the one thing this plan hinged on, what we were doing it all for, what we were taking the risk for. Better him than Cersei sitting up there, a million times better. "Wearing Renly's armor", the High Sparrow commented, pulling me back to the present out of my thoughts. "Why does it matter what I wore?", the young man bristled. "Do you deny all the charges against you? Fornication? Buggery? Blasphemy?" the preacher deflected. "Of course I deny them", Loras snapped. "You never lay with Renly Baratheon?" "Never." "Nor any other man?" "Never", he repeated. The old man nodded knowingly. "That will be all, Ser Loras." The addressed returned to his seat beside his grandmother. "Well, I think that's quite enough of that", Olenna declared and rose. "The Faith calls Queen Margaery forward", the High Sparrow interrupted. "You call me forward?", the young queen asked incredulously. "Yes, we have some questions for you", the man of the Faith replied patiently. "I am the queen", Margaery stressed. "You are. And according to the law of the Seven neither kings nor queens are exempt from testimony at a holy inquest." Cersei's smug face in Margaery and Olenna's direction said plenty. This was going exactly as she had planned. I, too, was relieved. Perhaps she had been right and this was just the perfect solution, fallen right at our feet. Now, I felt a little guilty for not believing her sooner, but then again, my concerns had been warranted. I was just glad they turned out to be false alarms from what I had seen. 

Olenna sat back down gracefully and Margaery took her seat on the interrogation chair. "How do you respond to these charges against your brother?", the High Sparrow asked her. "They are lies", she simply said. "All of them?" "All of them." The old man sounded almost rueful when he spoke. "Queen Margaery, in the presence of the Gods, do you swear that your brother is innocent of these charges against him? To the best of your knowledge?" "Yes, I swear it", she lied. "Thank you, Your Grace", he replied with a long look at her. As Margaery rejoined our row, the High Sparrow nodded to another servant of the Faith, who opened the door at the back of the room to let a young man around Loras' age enter. He was handcuffed and bedraggled-looking and seemed to have been brought in straight from the cells. Loras shifted in his seat uneasily at the sight of him. "Do you know this man?", the High Sparrow asked with a short look at the Tyrell boy. "Yes, very well", the stranger answered. "He is Ser Loras Tyrell, heir to Highgarden." "How did you come to meet?" "I squired for him. He took a liking to me, summoned me to his chamber the first day we met." "And what occured in his chamber?" The High Sparrow began pacing again. "We engaged in intimate relations", the young man elaborated, seemingly struggling with the wording. "You lay with him?", the High Sparrow stated to confirm. "That night and many others." "Liar", Loras growled, hands clenched on the armrests of his chair. "He's a liar!" "Is there anyone else who can support your claim?" the preacher asked. "Yes. Yes, Queen Margaery." Judging by his tone, the squire-turned-lover appeared to be enjoying this. Not such love after all, it seemed. "She walked in on us once, not long ago. She didn't seem surprised." Cersei, to my surprise, spoke up, sounding affronted. "His testimony is an insult to a great House. Why should the Faith or anyone else take the word of a squire over the heir to Highgarden?" She did not mention the queen in her attempt to conjure up further condemning proof, naming Margaery as such was beneath her even for this. The young man answered without delay. "He has a birthmark, Your Grace, quite high on his thigh, wine-colored and roughly the shape of Dorne." There was a beat of silence, then Loras lunged at him out of his chair, held back only by two Sparrows with great effort. They did not escort him back to his chair, however, but instead out of the back door to the cells. "What are you doing?", Olenna asked as if speaking to a child, rising simultaneously with Margaery as two new men stepped in their path. "Let us past." "The Faith is satisfied there is enough evidence to bring a formal trial. For Ser Loras... and Queen Margaery." "What?", Olenna expressed with a scoff. "Bearing false witness before the Gods is as grave a sin as any, my Lady", the High Sparrow said with a content smile. "Take her." "No." Margaery resisted the two guards pulling her away toward the cells. "Tommen. Tommen!" The boy seemed inclined to stop the Sparrows, but got no reaction out of them. "You can't do this. I am the queen!" Still, she was dragged along. "Tommen! Tommen! I am your queen, how dare you lay your hands on me..." Her voice faded off into the distance as the rest of us remained where we were. Cersei's face grew even more satisfied, matching Olenna's disbelieving stare without remorse. The scheme had worked... for now.

"Ahh, this is a day to celebrate", Cersei exclaimed, lounging on a plush armchair, a glass of wine in hand. "Margaery Tyrell imprisoned indefinitely, her whole family of liars involved in a scandal and brought to shame, Jaime off to retrieve Myrcella in secret-" She paused, eyeing me critically, and sat up straighter, concerned. "But you don't look happy. What's wrong?" I tried a small smile. "No, I am happy, this is good. This is great." I gathered my breath to continue, but Cersei was faster. "But?" "But we still aren't safe. Margaery knows about us. What if she tells them?" Cersei shrugged. "She lied to them once, she could do it again. They won't believe her." "Granted, they'll be suspicious, but what if she insists? Even if they don't think she is telling the truth, it costs them nothing to look into it. And with how zealous they have been so far in getting a hold of any and all sinners they can find..." Cersei set down her glass and crossed the distance to my chair. "You worry too much", she said decidedly as she lowered herself onto my lap, placing her hands on the sides of my face. "Or maybe you don't worry enough", I replied, stroking her hips. "All it takes is one careless moment, one slip-up or-" Cersei drowned out the rest of my concerns with her lips. "Like I said, too much worrying", she declared when she pulled back. I smiled despite myself. "You are insufferable sometimes, you know that?", I grinned, shaking my head. "Yes, people tend to tell me that", Cersei sighed with staged melancholy. She hopped back off my legs suddenly. "I think I have something that will cheer you up for good", she said, walking to her dresser to retrieve a small, curled up piece of paper. "The most interesting scroll arrived earlier." "What is it?", I asked, taking the parchment from her. Before I could read it, she replied: "I know where Sansa is."