𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝕔𝕦𝕓𝕤 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕠𝕠 ; (ℂ𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕚 𝕩 𝕆ℂ🐺🦁)

𝟙𝟠 - 𝕊𝕡𝕝𝕚𝕥-𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕦𝕖𝕕 𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕨

"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."