They stayed in Harrenhal long after the Northerners had left, awaiting the party from Casterly Rock before going on to King's Landing. Giana would rather not have waited for her sister at all; thoughts of Cersei still made her blood boil, after hearing from her father what she'd done to the Starks. She had always disliked her sister, but never as much as Cersei hated her. Now, that hatred was mutual.

It was amusing, however, to see the cold greeting her father gave Cersei upon her arrival. Giana felt a stab of satisfaction when Tyrion gleefully told her that the two guards who followed their sister wherever she went were chosen by their father, not by her, and would not obey if Cersei told them to leave.

Joffrey was as vile as ever, of course. Being ousted from the throne had not humbled him one bit, and he still ranted about how he would have taken the heads of Loreon Storm and every single one of the Starks, instead of making peace with them. He wasn't shy about his opinions, either.

"And how did you suppose your grandfather do that, given that the peace treaty everyone just signed is the only reason you're coming back to King's Landing at all?" Loreon asked him, amused, as they all ate together the evening of their arrival. Lord Tywin's orders, of course, or no one would have come. "This is why you're not allowed to be King,"

Tyrion and Myrcella laughed, whilst Tommen cracked a smile. Jaime, however, barely reacted. Giana felt for her elder brother; he had not been himself, since Lady Rosennis' death. He must have really loved her.

Though her father was clearly displeased with the fact that his grandson would only be prince consort to Shireen rather than the ruling monarch - he likely viewed it as a problem to correct in the future - at the same time even he seemed slightly relieved that this cruel, stupid boy would never be the most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms.

"Who asked you, bastard?" Joffrey snarled viciously. "Your head should be on a pike on the walls of this castle, yet here you sit at dinner with us,"

One look at Cersei showed she thought much the same thing.

"I'm Lord Regent of the realm," Her son grinned, more Robert's son than any of Cersei's golden-haired brood. "Lord of Storm's End, too, even though I am a bastard. It's funny that you in particular name me so,"

That earned him a disapproving glare from Lord Tywin, and a murderous one from Cersei. It seemed to go right over Joffrey's head, though Tyrion choked on the wine he'd just taken a sip of. Even Jaime smiled faintly, for half a second.

Giana had not missed family dinners. Actually, who was she kidding? They were never boring.

"Speaking of bastards," Joffrey turned triumphantly to Jaime. "I heard you sired two of them on that grim-faced Stark bitch, uncle. What did you see in that one? Obviously she was a whore, but I'm sure you could have paid for a less odd-looking one,"

Oh, you little shit.

Dead silence, though Cersei didn't even bother hiding her smirk.

Jaime's smile cut like a knife. Giana already knew Joffrey had bitten off more than he could chew. The boy had inherited neither her brother's cutting wit, or Cersei's clever cruelty, only a moronic and undeserved bravado.

"Rosennis Stark was a lady, nephew," Jaime said. "Though I've known one whore who was outwardly more beautiful, I tend to find such women lacking,"

Tyrion laughed so hard at that he nearly fell off his chair. Giana gave up trying to keep a straight face and joined him. Loreon was grinning, Myrcella looked half-horrified, half-amused whilst Cersei's gleaming smile had fixed in place, her eyes promising bloody vengeance. Jaime held her stare; though Tyrion and Giana regularly went up against their sister, it was rare that the twins challenged each other, even in the years they had grown apart. Giana shared a look with her younger brother, who was eagerly watching the unfolding events like he was at a particularly diverting joust; Tyrion grinned at her, and she smiled, shaking her head.

Joffrey simply looked confused, and unhappy they were laughing, presumably at his expense. "Bet she didn't look such a lady when Roose Bolton stabbed her in the heart," He snapped, reactive as ever.

It took everyone a moment to realise what he'd said, but when they did, silence fell across the table. Oh Cersei, you fool, why did you tell him?

"Joffrey!" Cersei hissed, grabbing his arm, face suddenly very white.

Giana stopped laughing abruptly, as did Tyrion, who was looking at Jaime with concern. We never told him what she did. For good reason, admittedly, but now Giana was wondering if that was the right decision. Jaime knew it was Roose Bolton who wielded the knife, but not that it was his sister who had put him up to it.

"What?" The boy scoffed. "Surely they know your plan was a success,"

"Your plan?" Jaime had eyes only for his twin.

Cersei, for once, had no clever reply. "Jaime, I - "

Giana had never seen her brother look so furious, nor look so much like their father.

He got to his feet. "You told Bolton to kill her,"

It wasn't a question, and her silence was proof enough.

Before anyone knew what was happening, Jaime had crossed to the other side of the table with the grace of a predator, grabbing his sister out of her chair roughly by the arm. It happened so fast that the rest of them had no time to do anything. Giana cried out, hands clapped to her mouth, as they all hastened to their feet, hovering, unsure of what to do. Loreon was the only one in the room who had a hope of restraining Jaime, and he did not look likely to step in any time soon.

Cersei tried to fight him, protesting furiously, spitting insults, but Jaime backhanded her across the face without hesitation, slamming her against the nearby wall.

"Enough!" Their father barked.

Neither twin was listening to him, both fully engaged in a vicious argument punctuated by Cersei slapping and hitting at him with flailing hands. It was hardly an equal fight, they all knew who had the upper hand. Joffrey stood with his mouth agape, for once shocked into silence. Tyrion watched in grim satisfaction, as did Loreon. Tommen and Myrcella looked horrified, by both the revelation and what they were witnessing now. No one except Lord Tywin seemed prepared to say a word, but for once he was ignored.

"That Stark bitch deserved to die!" Cersei was shrieking. "She betrayed me! She would never have accepted Joffrey as King, and would've killed him the second she had the chance,"

"Joffrey is a cruel, insane child who murdered her brother and reminds me so much of Aerys Targaryen that I can barely look at him without my skin crawling," Jaime said with venom. "Who could blame her?"

"How dare you say such awful things, about your own nephew!" She spat. Jaime openly scoffed at the word nephew but Cersei wasn't done. "You bring up the Mad King, forgetting that your little Stark whore used to spread her legs for him every night,"

"Well it clearly wasn't every night, sister, or I wouldn't have got a bastard on her,"

She slapped him but he just laughed an awful laugh, furious.

"None of that changes the fact you killed her,"

Even Cersei seemed to recognise the hatred in his tone, for the first time showing a hint of fear. That didn't stop her pressing forward with a spiteful smile.

"We're two halves of the same whole, brother. Now she'll never have you again,"

Jaime stared at her for a moment, long and hard. Then his hands moved to his sister's throat.

Cersei's eyes bulged and she clawed at her twin's hands and face, nails drawing blood, mouth making awful choking noises, but he did not let go, or even falter. Gods, Giana hadn't thought they'd actually try to kill each other.

"Jaime, stop it!" She broke herself out of the daze, rushing forward and trying to pull her brother off, to no avail, he was too strong. "Don't make yourself a kinslayer, please, don't,"

None of the others moved a muscle. But their father had called for guards, who came in and were able to wrestle Jaime off of their sister, though not to the floor - he was their lord's son after all - merely restraining him upright. He didn't fight them after being dragged away, though glared at the sister he had once loved with pure loathing.

Cersei collapsed to the floor clutching her throat and taking in huge gasping breaths. For once, it was unlikely that she was being dramatic. Guards helped her to her feet, though had to physically stop her from lunging at Jaime now he was restrained.

"Get her out of my sight," Jaime ignored his family, breathing heavily, turning to the rest of the guards. "Or I'll rip her fucking head off,"

The captain of the guards turned to Lord Tywin with a raised eyebrow. He nodded sharply.

"He attacks me and I'm the one to be led out by guards?" Cersei scoffed in haughty protest, but went out with her head held high, like she'd suffered some great injustice. Her lip was bleeding from where she'd been backhanded, and a livid bruise was already forming there, and around her throat.

Jaime had not held back at all, never mind she was an untrained woman and he was a knight; Giana felt an uncharacteristic wave of vindictive satisfaction. Lord Tywin's expression from the end of the table was unreadable, yet simultaneously furious. Giana went to her brother, a gentle hand on his back.

The doors shut behind Cersei. Joffrey opened his mouth, inhaling a breath of outrage, but Jaime got their first.

"Another word from you, boy, and I'll break your nose badly enough that you'll wish it was merely crooked from a little girl's fist,"

"Pick your moments, Joff," Myrcella murmured.

Giana bit back a smirk when Joffrey did not say a word.

Tyrion spoke instead. "It's so nice to see House Lannister reunited again. I've missed these family dinners,"

*

The journey back to King's Landing was an uncomfortable one. Giana was travelling in Cersei's wheelhouse, unwilling to repeat the gruelling journey on horseback from the Banefort, and her sister was seething the entire time. Despite the fact that Jaime rode towards the front of the party - alongside Loreon, Tyrion, her father and surprisingly Joffrey, whom Lord Tywin had insisted on riding instead of hiding in a carriage with his mother; the city knew him as the boy who hid behind his castle walls during the bread riots, firing at them with his crossbow - Cersei was still enraged by his very presence.

Giana's twin siblings had not been near each other since that dinner, and hatred gleamed in the eyes of both of them when the other was mentioned. Granted, they hadn't been on the best terms for a long time, but it was unnerving to see Jaime actively despise her. Giana and Tyrion had always felt loved by their brother throughout their childhood and beyond, but had believed he would never care for them like he cared for Cersei.

Myrcella was also travelling by carriage, and refused to speak to her mother in anything other than clipped, one-word answers. Tommen had been avoiding Cersei for days, riding with the others near the front. The boy cared for Ser Renan (his true brother) as much as he cared for his supposed brother Loreon (or, cousin twice over?), whilst Myrcella saw Morganna Snow as the sister she'd never had. Or did have, even. Gods, the Lannister family was more a circle than a tree.

Giana was glad to have her son Leo with her, for at least he was good company. And, in all fairness, Myrcella was as pleasant as normal towards her.

The land they travelled through had been hit hard by the war. Whilst some areas in the Riverlands had been left all but untouched, here the earth was scorched and every other building was a burnt-out shell. Crops were destroyed, livestock slaughtered and the corpses of men, women and children in various states of decay littered the ground. It was disturbing to see, but neither Giana nor Cersei moved to shut the curtains. Cersei likely did not care, but Giana, for her part, thought that if more people fully understood the horror of war, it would happen less often.

When passing the site where the pale castle of Whitewalls had once stood - before Lord Bloodraven had torn it down eighty years past - the whole column abruptly stopped. Giana hadn't been concerned - perhaps a wagon had got stuck - until the harried-looking guard came galloping down from the front saying that Lord Tywin needed her, Cersei and Myrcella of them to attend him urgently.

Cersei grumbled but no one disobeyed their father's summons, and the three of them rode to the front of the column. It was clear as they drew closer that something awful had happened. Men were gathered around the cliff, looking into the fast-flowing river below, a sheer drop of around fifteen feet.

"Has someone gone in?" Giana was immediately concerned, urging her horse forwards, scanning for her family. Loreon was safe, Tyrion, Jaime, Father, Tommen... All of them wore an odd look on their faces, however, as they too watched the bank.

Something was being hauled out of the river. A boy in fine armour and a golden cloak. The golden cloak that Lord Tywin had forced on Joffrey, not allowing any shade of Lannister red on his person.

Cersei started to scream.

"Maester!" Her sister leapt from her horse with unforseen athleticism, for once uncaring of her fine skirts as she ran towards her son's prone body. "Get a maester, you fools, what's wrong with you?"

"It's too late for a maester," Lord Tywin said in an even tone.

"Don't you dare give up on him, don't you dare, you can't - "

Giana tried to put an arm around her weeping sister, but was viciously shrugged off. Cersei stormed over to where Joffrey had been lain on the grassy bank, falling to her knees and pawing at his clothes, as though trying to check for damage. Giana could see the angle of Joffrey's neck, however, the blood staining his scalp, and the pallid shade of his skin. A miracle he hadn't sunk entirely, in that armour.

"What happened?" Myrcella was asking her uncles numbly.

"His horse spooked and bolted," Jaime had to raise his voice to be heard over Cersei's cries. "Right over the edge of the bluff there," His tone was impassive, emotionless, and not in a shocked way like Myrcella's.

"He might've lived, had the horse not fallen with him," Tyrion added. "And if he hadn't hit that rock,"

Giana glanced over the edge. Sure enough, there was a jagged, bloodstained outcrop of rock directly underneath.

"Quick, at least," She remarked, wincing at Cersei's great, heaving sobs with a great deal of sympathy. Her sister was an awful person, but no one deserved to lose a child like this. The idea of Leo ending up as broken as Joffrey was now was horrifying.

Tommen was not weeping either. Loreon clapped him on the shoulder, and he shot him a grateful look, but he looked more shocked than upset. Lord Tywin stood alone, his expression hard to read.

"He did it!" Cersei suddenly exclaimed, jabbing a finger at Tyrion. "He hated Joff, he's threatened him before, and me! The little monster killed my son!"

Tyrion shook his head, mildly disgusted. "I know you're grieving, but think about what you are saying, Cersei," He said. "I pride myself on my ability to argue, but I doubt I'm capable of talking a horse into running off a cliff,"

"Don't mock me," She spat at him, cradling Joffrey's limp, broken head in her lap. "You could easily have men lying in wait to release a - a snake, or make a loud noise,"

"A wise thing to do when I myself was riding within six feet of the boy,"

"Enough," Lord Tywin spoke and they all fell silent. "Boy," Tommen jumped as his grandfather addressed him. "You will take your brother's place and marry Shireen Baratheon. This changes nothing,"

Tommen's face paled, his eyes widened but he swallowed then nodded, once. "Yes, my lord,"

"Nothing?" Cersei shrieked at their father. "My son's death means nothing to you, is that it?"

As their sister's tone raised in pitch and volume, Giana glanced at the others. Their presence was not helping the situation. Wordlessly, she, Jaime, Loreon and Tyrion left the scene, Myrcella and Tommen following them. The two were muttering together; they had always been close, given how Joffrey liked to pick on them. Tommen more than Myrcella, as he did not use to retaliate.

Giana fell in step beside Jaime, linking her arm with his and giving a squeeze. "You're allowed to grieve too, you know. If you want,"

"He was nothing to me," Her brother replied honestly. "The world is better off without him in it. If it makes me a monster for saying so, so be it,"

She could not help but agree.

*

The wedding of thirteen-year-old Tommen Baratheon to his 'cousin' Shireen was a joint affair with their coronation. Both the bride and groom wore magnificent clothes in Baratheon colours, and there was absolutely no hint of red anywhere in the ceremony. With Tommen's golden curls and Shireen's dark hair, together they fit the theme well.

Everyone seemed pleased, whether openly or in secret, that it was Prince Tommen who was marrying the young Queen rather than his brother. Cersei was not happy with the whole affair, but that was to be expected. She still accused Tyrion of murdering Joffrey, though Loreon was her second favourite candidate, and Giana, Jaime and even Lord Tywin had all featured in her wild claims. Her paranoia was growing by the day. Giana was grateful for their father's guards, for fear of what her sister may be planning.

But there were more problems than Cersei in court.

Giana had heard of Stannis' red witch, even though she had never met the woman. In Loreon's absence, Melisandre had extended her influence, which had fallen considerably after Queen Selyse's death and even before that been strictly contained by Stannis and Loreon himself. There were a number of people at court - not many, but enough to be concerned about - who had converted to the faith of the Red God.

Loreon put a sharp stop to that, sending Melisandre away from King's Landing on pain of death and banning the practice of her religion in court. Whilst harsh, it would be dangerous to earn the enmity of the Faith of the Seven for allowing such practices. Melisandre's influence could lead to the common people becoming suspicious of and alienated from the royals.

The odd power dynamic between the Tyrells, Lannisters and Baratheons would not be solved so easily. Giana was not made for politics, and didn't have much of a part to play in the decisions surrounding the early reign of Tommen and Shireen, but even she could see that things were not running like clockwork. Whenever she saw her son, he liked to explain things to her, as it seemed to help sort things out in his own head.

Loreon was Lord Regent, Lord of Storm's End and cousin to the Queen, her only living relative on her father's side. He essentially had the power of a King, and the backing of the Stormlands and much of the Reach. He was also the half-brother (officially) of the Prince Consort, yet had been born and still remained a bastard, so had to be careful not to make enemies or overstep.

Mace Tyrell was Hand of the King, a placatory gesture for not wedding Shireen to his son Willas. To keep him relatively happy, Loreon would also marry his daughter Margaery, at some point, though Giana was sure her son was making him wait on purpose. Lord Mace might have the power of Highgarden behind him, but after Renly's death, many of his bannermen had turned to Loreon rather than follow the Tyrells. The Florents were key among these, and keen to affirm that the Queen was half-Florent, raising themselves to challenge their long-resented liege lords.

And Tywin Lannister was Tywin Lannister. His grandson was married to the Queen but was not the King. His son Tyrion was Master of Laws on the small council, whilst Jaime was Lord Commander of the Kingsguard (despite having been absent for his entire tenure until this point). Loreon had also offered Lord Tywin an honorary position on the council whilst he was in King's Landing, which he took, acting as though he was still Hand and walking all over Lord Mace, who could only bluster in protest given that more often than not Loreon tended to agree with his grandfather.

Giana tended to ignore all of this. She had spent her life in the shadow of powerful men fighting for control, this was nothing new. Instead, she decided to spend her time with those who were not so powerful now but would be in years to come; her nephew Tommen and his little wife.

Considering the newlyweds were aged thirteen and eleven, they got along better than many couples who were married for decades. Tommen had always been a friendly and kind boy. He was decent with a sword, and could do well in his maester's lessons if he tried hard enough, but his true love was animals. As a wedding present, Giana had gotten him a cat with a litter of five kittens and his smile had lit up the room. Tyrion had gotten him a pair of large but docile dogs, whom Tommen insisted on keeping in the castle, whilst Jaime had bought him a fine palfrey of his own.

Shireen earned her husband's loyalty forever when she cooed over these pets, playing with the kittens with pieces of string and sneaking the dogs small titbits of food. It was clear the girl had been a lonely child, and often got overwhelmed with the attention that was paid to her, flatterers and lickspittles vying for her attention, men like Tywin Lannister telling her what to do. Tommen was warm, calm company that didn't ask anything of her. He too had been lonely until Loreon had come to court, then Renan Snow.

Both Tommen and Shireen were instructed to sit in on every council meeting, at Loreon's request initially but Lord Tywin had agreed it was necessary. One day Shireen sat next to Giana's father and listened to his advice, whilst Tommen sat beside Loreon, and the other day they swapped places. In theory, it was to help them gain a rounded understanding of politics, but Giana suspected it was so that one of the poor children wasn't stuck next to Lord Tywin every day.

Loreon liked to tell Giana how well both of them were doing. Shireen was a lot like her father; reserved until she had a strong opinion, then she would stick to it with a stubbornness that refused to bend until someone presented evidence to convince her otherwise. She was clever too, picking up on things with an unexpected sharpness, and had learnt to not show her emotions that easily.

Tommen was different, of course, his emotions written on his face for all to see. But where Shireen was not so comfortable with the diplomacy side of ruling - the art of winning people over and making compromises - he excelled. Tommen was simply likeable, and came across as trustworthy and earnest. He might find the tougher decisions impossible to make, but that was where his Queen could step in.

Giana remarked on some of this to Shireen when they were sat together one day.

"Loreon says you have remarkable control over your face for one so young,"

The girl smiled. "Lady Rosennis - Seven bless her memory - told me that I could never appear weak or emotional, or all the men would dismiss me and not respect what I have to say," She said. "I think she's right, from what I've seen,"

Giana had thought that was learnt from Stannis, but this made more sense.

"Unfortunately for us girls that's sound advice," Giana smiled sadly. "My father doesn't respect men who wear their heart on their sleeve, let alone women. You're a smart girl to listen to that, and even smarter to pull it off. I was never good at hiding what I'm feeling. Although you should be able to relax in private. Tommen would hardly judge you for it,"

"No, he wouldn't," Shireen's expression warmed. "He's - he's very kind,"

"You're a lucky girl to have such a husband," Giana said. "He is kind - and handsome too. I'm sure he'll grow up to be even more so,"

Shireen blushed then, glancing away.

She had to laugh. "You're allowed to think so, you're married sweetling! And you're eleven besides - innocent enough to get away with admiring any man,"

"He is handsome," The young Queen admitted, allowing herself a small smile. "He looks a lot like his father," Her smile dropped at that, eyes widening in alarm. "Sorry, my lady, I meant nothing by that. He's handsome like my uncle, King Robert was,"

"No need to fret," Giana placed a hand on her arm with a regretful smile. "I'm hardly going to have your head for saying what's obvious, am I? You're the Queen," She gave a small laugh. "Best not say things like that in front of my sister, though,"

"I won't," Shireen grimaced, holding no love for Cersei. Tommen had had to step in on several occasions to tell his mother to leave his wife alone. "I worry, though. I know I'm not - not pretty. Will Tommen be happy with me as a wife, when we grow up?"

"Oh sweetling," Giana was saddened that the thought had even crossed the girl's mind. "Tommen's a kind boy, he'll be happy with you whatever you look like. Besides, you have the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen on a girl, flowing black hair, and you'll have a lovely tall figure when you're older. Baratheon features are meant to be grown into, dear, they don't suit children. Loreon was quite funny-looking until he was past fourteen,"

"Myrcella said something like that," She fretted. The two had become good friends in the past weeks. "But what about my big ears? And my greyscale scars? My hair covers the ears, and I know the scars can be hidden - Mother was talking about getting me a mask fitted, before she died - but I can't exactly wear it all the time,"

"You don't need a mask," Giana said firmly, wondering what Selyse Baratheon had been thinking. "You're the Queen. If anyone comments on your scars - or your ears, or insults you in any way - you're allowed to make them pay for it. Or make it a fashion - all those lickspittles dying to copy you. The scars prove you survived a horrible ordeal, besides. That shows strength just as much as any scars a knight earns on the battlefield. They give you character,"

"I suppose," Shireen still looked doubtful.

Giana made a mental note to remind Tommen to tell his wife she looked lovely as often as possible. Yes, Shireen would likely never be beautiful, but she was hardly ugly - she really would grow into her strong features, perhaps to be pretty - not that it mattered. She was Queen, she could look how she wanted.

Giana wasn't the only one looking out for young Shireen, which was good. Tommen had his entire family there for him - dysfunctional or not, the Lannisters (mostly) looked after their own - but Shireen only had Loreon as a blood relative, not including the few ambitious Florents that had sprung up round court, whom she barely knew. Yet Shireen seemed delighted to see Ser Davos Seaworth upon his return from the Vale, embracing him like, well, a father.

"I'm married now, Ser," She said, stepping back from perhaps the only man Stannis Baratheon had considered a friend.

"I heard! I hope young Tommen is treating you right," The man replied with a fond look in his eye.

"He is very kind," Shireen smiled. "Have you been practising your reading and writing?"

"I have, your Grace," The knight smiled. "Those letters you drew out were very helpful. And Lord Arryn's maester was very generous, he gave me a few more lessons,"

"That's good," Shireen beamed. "Soon you'll be able to write to your wife," And idea suddenly came to her. "Do you want to invite her and all your sons here to stay a while?" Anticipating his protest, she continued. "Before you say I'm being too generous, you're Master of Ships, it's definitely allowed - they can even live here if they feel like it,"

"Thank you, your Grace," Davos said, clearly grateful for the chance to see his family again. "You'll be a good Queen,"

*

To many, Jaime appeared the same as he had been before the death of Rosennis Stark. Giana, on the other hand, knew him better. His replies were more cutting than usual, more caustic and said with less genuine humour. His smiles were even sharper, his eyes colder, and he seemed to have started caring less about, well, everything around him.

He did seem concerned about the goings on in the North, however. He had heard from Renan Snow that Morganna - his daughter, bastard or otherwise - had vanished in the Riverlands, and to expect a ransom demand soon, though none had ever come.

One day, however, his mood seemed suddenly lighter.

"I got a message," He confided in Giana as they walked in the Godswood. "A man who wore no colours passed it to me in the yard," He held out the slightly crumpled piece of parchment for her to look at. "Ren sent him,"

Found M - she's safe and hidden, in good company. Plan is underway. You'll know when (if) it's successful. Some (good) surprises to come. Will talk properly when I see you next.

"Plan?" Giana frowned. "What's he planning?"

"Justice," Her brother smiled grimly, looking almost like a Stark. His smile melted away quickly, however, as they reached the great oak heart tree. "Vengeance too, I suppose. Not that either will bring her back,"

"It might make things easier to bear, though, if her murderer isn't walking round enjoying his position as Lord Paramount of the North,"

"Perhaps," Jaime stopped before the tree. "I - " He broke off, turning away from her for a moment with a dry laugh. "I sound like a fool for saying so, but I didn't realise how much I'd miss her. Sharp-tongued, stony-faced Stark that she is. We've been apart more often than we've been together, but knowing she's not up there in Winterfell as we speak..." His features twisted in anger. "All because of her own husband, and our bitch of a sister,"

"Cersei told me that she never asked for Lady Rosennis' death,"

Giana had spoken to her sister on the subject. Cersei seemed to think that Jaime was being the unreasonable one and would realise that soon enough, more evidence of her descent into madness. It was clear she hadn't forgiven her twin for strangling her, and likely never would; she had muttered some nonsense about a prophecy, and the Frog being right. Valonqar, she had called him, swearing to Giana that she would never be alone in his presence again.

Privately Giana had thought that was best for everyone, and wished Cersei had come to that conclusion two decades ago.

"As if," Jaime scoffed. "The nerve she has, to say that. She would despise any woman I looked twice at who wasn't her, let alone one I had two children with. She realised Morganna was mine before the girl herself worked it out, she knew full well what she was doing,"

"Perhaps she's lying," Giana said. "Perhaps not. Neither of you will forgive the other regardless. But for what it's worth, she claims that she only wanted Robb Stark dead due to the threat he posed her son. As for Lady Rosennis, she just wanted her out the way for the same reasons, knowing it would be too risky to kill someone whose power could be removed easily enough. She was meant to simply be disgraced and discredited by the revelation that she was unfaithful to her husband with the Kingslayer, then locked up at the Dreadfort by Bolton. She doesn't know why he went rogue and killed his wife,"

"Because that's so much better," He chuckled darkly. "Maybe it's the truth, or maybe not. But either she ordered the murder, or it happened as a result of her actions. Ross is still dead, and I'd rather it was Cersei - it's that simple. Even after I stopped... seeing her, I never hated her, still loved her as a sister, even though I thought I saw how vile she truly was. I had no idea," He paused. "I see her in full now, and I think I could stand by and watch her die without feeling a flicker of guilt,"

Giana had very little to say to that.

Jaime laughed without humour. "Sorry, little sister," He said. "Don't let me push my misery on you,"

"I can't exactly blame you for it," She said. "But you'll drive yourself mad thinking like this, on hatred and what could've been. Why don't you try and remember her how she was, not for how she died? Tell me a story, a nice story,"

Jaime snorted, disdainful of the idea.

"Just do it," Giana said flatly.

He eyed her skeptically, but did seem to be thinking. After a while he began to speak.

"In the early days, when we were still Aerys' hostages but the rebellion had broken out, things were a lot more relaxed," He started. "I managed to convince Ser Arthur and a few other knights to come out with me hunting in the Kingswood, and brought her along. I don't know if Aerys ever found out, but two Kingsguard seemed enough to stop a young girl escaping. Of course, if she'd wanted to, she could have outridden us all and tried to make her way back to her family, though at the time it hardly seemed worth the danger of travelling alone, or Aerys' displeasure which it would bring upon the Starks.

"I still remember the look on her face when we rode out of the city. Having only ever lived in Winterfell, being trapped there for months, not even allowed to leave the castle, must've been suffocating. She kicked her horse into a gallop the moment we were through the gates, jumping fallen logs and dodging through trees, and even I struggled to keep up with her. She reached our destination ages before I did, and was waiting with this grin on her face, knowing full well that half our companions were going spare thinking they'd lost Aerys' hostage. 'Keep up, Lannister' she had the nerve to say.

"When the others caught up, one of the older knights gave her a lecture and she suffered through it wearing this stony, disdainful expression that showed she truly didn't give a shit, but smiled at me when I said something sarcastic to the knight," He smiled himself then, shaking his head. "I remember wondering then how I'd ever thought her dull,"

*

Giana was the only one of her siblings who spent time with their father without him summoning her first. Jaime had always been Lord Tywin's most valued child, as the heir, but Giana was his favourite. Though she hadn't inherited Lady Joanna's sharp intellect and cunning, she had her generosity, her skill with people, and was perhaps the only child who had achieved the future her father wanted for her. Her bastard son had long since been a stain on that, but now Loreon was King in all but name, that seemed to have been forgiven.

She was also perhaps the only person who could get him to leave his work long enough to eat a lunchtime meal with her. Not every day, though perhaps once a week.

"I heard you met Ser Renan at Harrenhal," She said, pouring them both a glass of water - never wine - from the pitcher on the table. There were never any servants attending their private meetings. "What did you think of him?"

Her father was silent a long moment, but she knew to wait for him to think before replying.

"There is not overmuch of Jaime in him,"

Giana smiled; not laughed, her father was always suspicious of laughter. "I see what you mean. He has Jaime's eyes, Jaime's sword hand and a hint of his recklessness, but that's about it. He's certainly your grandson, though, don't you think?"

"Perhaps," Lord Tywin said. "He certainly has an aptitude for politics, or perhaps a willingness to try. It is frustrating - Snow is a bastard who has never had a formal lesson on such matters in his life, yet I spent hours trying and failing to drill such things into Jaime's head as a boy,"

"A shame Ser Renan didn't have such opportunities," She said. "I'd imagine he'd have taken to it much better,"

"A shame he's not trueborn, you mean," Her father phrased it like he was correcting her, but she thought otherwise.

"He could be," Giana dared to say. "The King loves him like a brother," She realised how that might sound after she said it - Tommen was indeed Ren's brother, something her father vehemently denied - so hastily moved on. "And the Queen has nothing but respect for his late mother,"

Lord Tywin was silent for a long while, considering that.

"No," He said eventually. "The Stormlands might accept being ruled by Robert's baseborn son, but I will not allow a bastard Lord of Casterly Rock. Renan Snow could be useful, but he will never lead our house,"

There were plenty of things she could say to that - Loreon was twice as capable as most trueborn heirs, Renan was too, her father was cutting off his nose to spite his face in turning down the perfect heir for the sake of his own foolish pride and misguided sense of what would shame their house - but she knew Lord Tywin would listen to no one, and perhaps her argument would only convince him even further.

"Did you hear that the girl, Morganna, disappeared after Lord Bolton sent her north?" Instead she changed the subject, almost.

"I did," He said. "Rather strange, that Ser Renan was seen to be leaving the castle in a mad fury, tearing off to rescue his sister, only to return the next day seemingly pacified. I've received reports saying that the dozen Bolton guards who were sent to escort the girl to Winterfell were found hanging by the side of the road a day's ride from Harrenhal when the main contingent went north, their throats slit, but no sign of her to be found,"

"You're not suggesting that Ren killed a dozen men singlehandedly and managed to hide his sister away, all in the space of a day or two," Giana said incredulously.

"Of course not," Her father said sharply. "I am simply remarking that it is strange. Snow is not without friends, and who else would have reason to arrange an ambush on those men in particular but spare the girl? If it had been outlaws, they would hardly have bothered hanging the men and slitting their throats, and they'd have been robbed blind at that,"

For once it was Giana who was silent, thinking.

"If that man ever comes south again," She said eventually. "He would be wasted as a household knight,"

Lord Tywin inclined his head. "A bastard could never be Lord of Casterly Rock," He said. "But one only needs to look at your son to see that he could rise high regardless. I would not be opposed to tutoring him for a position on the Small Council, given time,"

*

Edited November 2024

Not so much action in this chapter, aside from Joffrey's death, but it was certainly necessary. I hope Cersei's paranoia and descent into madness is becoming more obvious, seeing as Joffrey's death in canon was the event that made her spiral considerably. 

Yes, Ren did warg the horse from a distance (I like to think he warged a bird to fly south and went from that to the horse) and gallop off a cliff into the river. What does everyone think of Tommen and Shireen? The more I thought on it, the more well matched they seemed, especially with Tommen being older and slightly less pathetic in this story from Loreon and Ren's efforts.

Jaime's grief for someone he cares for is hard to write, as the only family who die in canon are Joffrey (who he cares nothing for) and his father (whose death he is sad for but he struggles to grieve). It won't be a surprise to anyone that the scene where he tries to strangle Cersei was a joy to write.

It's also nice writing from the perspective of a character who is genuinely a nice person haha - Giana's always a breath of fresh air even though her chapters are not the most action-packed.

As always, thanks for reading, and many thanks to everyone who comments!