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

𝟙𝟡 - 𝕃𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔽𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕

"𝕎𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕖𝕝𝕝?" I read the letter again and again, trying to make sense of it, but its contents remained as sparse as they had been the first time. "So do the Boltons not hold it anymore?" Last I had heard, Roose Bolton was Lord of Winterfell, installed as Warden of the North by Tywin after his aid in the Red Wedding. My heart still ached with loathing when I thought of my brother's murderer ruling the castle that should one day have been his. "They do", Cersei replied hesitantly, "but she has been welcomed into their halls as one of their own." The insinuation struck me clear as daylight. "This isn't right", I spat out bitterly. "Who was behind this?" Cersei scoffed. "The same man who snuck her out of here in the first place, damned little snake he is: Petyr Baelish. He was even so bold as to inform me himself of what he did with the hostage he stole." I flinched at the word hostage. I had known, of course, that my sister had not stayed here this long for the city's hospitality - and as the public believed, neither had I - but it still seemed a lot more extreme put into words like that. "So he saved her from one monster only to marry her to another", I exclaimed, frustrated and not caring that I was speaking to said monster's mother. She pretended not to have heard, anyways. This would always be a brittle topic between us, even if she had come to accept that he had his flaws, and was best left avoided. "Please, I have to get her out of there. Will you help me?" "Already a step ahead of you", Cersei said with a satisfied smirk, "I have written back to Baelish. Your brother, the bastard, will have had the same thought as you. When he marches on Winterfell to help your sister, and I am certain he will, Littlefinger will get the Vale to support him. If Sansa manages to stay alive until then, he'll make sure she's safe." "Why?", I asked, my voice laced with doubt. "He just sold her out, why would he help get her back?" Cersei's smile widened amusedly. "You forget the most important thing about Petyr: his love for Tully women. With your mother and Lysa dead, he'll do anything to get Sansa by his side." As much as I hated the idea of that slimy man gallanting all over my innocent little sister, I also had to admit that an infatuated man was the safest bet to see someone rescued - even if that man was as questionable in the pursuit of his love as Petyr Baelish. "Fine", I sighed, "that makes me feel at least a little better." "She'll be alright", Cersei assured me, taking my hand and tracing slow circles on it. "Thank you for caring", I suddenly blurted out. Cersei looked up at me, surprised. "What?" "I know you don't like Sansa", I said, "but you went out of your way to help her anyways. Thank you." She lifted my hand to her mouth and kissed it. "Anything for you, my love. You care about her, that's all I need to know. You have seen enough of your family suffer, most at the hands of my own relatives. I will not let the son of the Warden we installed hurt your last true remaining sibling." The last. She really was. Father, Mother, Robb, dead because of the Lannisters. Arya, disappeared and probably dead because of the Lannisters. Bran and Rickon, killed by Theon, who was supposed to be like another brother to me. Jon was only my half brother to begin with, and now he was gone, to the far end of the kingdoms, sworn there for life - although he was likely going to break that vow soon for Sansa. Perhaps I would get to see him again, at least.

"Thank you", I said again. She tugged on my hand to pull me to my feet. "Come. I wanted to cheer you up, and that wasn't exactly successful. You decide how we spent the rest of the night." I grinned. "Oh, I might have an idea or two on that." She let herself be led to the bed eagerly, where I pulled off her dress in a quick, practiced motion. We were well attuned to this by now, our hands instinctively knew where to go, the way you could accurately navigate a room in complete darkness after living in it for long enough. I removed her undergarments too before I let her tend to my clothes. While she opened the corset of my gown, I wondered just how far her offer of control extended. Normally, she was the one who set the agenda of our nighttime activities, but perhaps today would be different. I wasn't sure if I would even know what to do, but just the concept was exhilarating. My view of Cersei's enthralling face was temporarily blocked by the fabric of my dress being pulled up over my head, but just a second later we were facing each other in the nude, hunger flaring in both our eyes. Testing my luck, I pushed against Cersei's shoulder slowly but firmly, forcing her down onto the bed. She submitted without question and her eyes never left mine as I lowered myself on top of her, a hand braced on either side of her neck. Slowly, I leaned in to kiss her, my lids only closing when our lips connected. Still, her image glowed before me in my mind's eye, the golden hair spread out around her head like a halo, emerald wildfire glinting in her eyes the way it always did when she was getting aroused, her cheeks already hinting at the flush that would soon adorn them. I pulled away just enough to let air flow in between our lips and opened my eyes to find myself staring straight into hers. Acting on instinct, I ran a hand up her side and immediately felt the effect in her quivering lip. She tried hard to keep her face composed, but soon fell to my touches that wandered lower and lower with each stroke. Pulling me flush against her, Cersei whispered into my ear, "Faster". Her hands remained on my shoulders as I complied, my fingers trailing further south and finding her entrance. "You mean like this?", I asked in the same hushed tone and entered her. Cersei gasped soundlessly, fingers digging into my skin. "Yes", she ground out. I moved out and in and out and in again, all the while putting my weight onto her hips to hold her down and in place. She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling herself up against me as my thrusts rocked her body. I felt the curve of her breasts pushing against mine from the bottom and drove my hips into her harder, feeling wetness spread between my own legs like it already was between hers. When she kissed my arching neck, I could hardly contain myself, even though it was her receiving tonight, not me. But it seemed she wasn't far from collapse either, because her kiss turned into a long moan that almost made her bite down on my skin. I put all my force into the movement of my fingers to draw every last noise out of her that she had to offer. With a stifled squeak, she finally released, clinging onto me as she squirmed against my body and the sheets beneath her. I was breathing almost as heavily as her when I pulled out and carefully slid off her, watching the last of the orgasm wash over her. She rolled onto her side and studied my face dreamily. Pushing a strand of my hair to the side, she said in a low, drowsy voice, "We ought to do it like this more often. You're good at this." I gave an affectionate chuckle. "Is that so?" She smiled wide, her expression still elatedly dazed, and kissed me, a long, demanding kiss. "Yes", she breathed against my lips.

🐺🦁🐺🦁🐺🦁🐺🦁🐺🦁🐺🦁

The following afternoon, I sat alone in my chambers. Cersei had gone to visit Margaery and probably rub her imprisonment in her face with devastating sweetness and would not be back until later. I found myself thinking of Sansa again, of all the things left unsaid between us, all my regret and shame about the dismissive way I had treated her. More than that, I was ashamed of barely thinking about her anymore in the weeks following her disappearance from the capital. I had been worried, of course, but then there had been so many other things to take care of and I had honestly just forgotten amidst the chaos of the local affairs. Comforting Cersei through Joffrey's death, Tyrion's trial, the business with the Tyrells and the Sparrows - somehow, my sister's unknown situation had slipped through the cracks of the construct of those worries. But that did not diminish the relief I felt at hearing she was at least alive and fairly well for now, and would soon be freed from her current bonds. Seeing as she was in a position to make contact again (albeit assumably monitored by her new husband - I would need to be cryptic enough that he wouldn't understand my words the same way she would), I decided to write to her, to at last give her some explanation for my inexcusable behavior. Grabbing a paper and quill, I began my letter, giving nearly every line a double meaning that I prayed would be enough to make her see.

Dearest Sansa,

I hear you are back at our family home. I am so happy to know you are safe, and hope this marriage will take a better turn than your last. You are not forgotten here, and I pray I will be able to see you soon.

However, I am aware that I have much to account for. I wish I could tell you in person the details of my reasons, as feelings never translate quite as well to the page. But I will do my best to explain.

I have been inconsiderate, selfish and negligent to you. For that I am so sorry, and I cannot apologize enough that I wasn't there for you the way you needed me when things reached their worst. But I hope that after reading this, you will at least understand why I acted the way I did, why I seemed to focus on other things in place of you. You see, I am still here in King's Landing, held close by the queen. Her favor has been a priority to me since we got here, as it once was to you, too, and I fear my loyalty has at times made me stray from you. I never intended to set you aside like this, my own sister, I simply got caught up in the role I assumed here and came to earnestly master. It may sound strange to you, but I enjoy it, this devotion comes naturally to me, and despite all the strikes of fate we have suffered, I have had nothing if not a good life here. So whenever I appeared to disregard you, know that it was not out of indifference toward your feelings, but out of the distraction of my own. I will say this: you were wrong about the queen. She is nothing like her son nor her father, who have caused us so much pain. She has rewarded my allegiance graciously by providing me with every comfort and liberty here, and standing by this opinion I do not regret, even if you disapprove of it. Still, I hope this letter will allow you to conceive the behavior that shames me greatly. I want for us to have a fresh start when we meet-

The noise of commotion outside the door made me look up from my writing. People were running up and down the halls, barking orders and passing the apparent news as they went. Curious, I got up and opened the door, nearly slamming it in the face of a servant rushing by. "What's going on?", I asked her, "what is all this fuss about?" I would never forget her next words, they sent an icy chill through my bones that didn't leave for days after. "It's the queen", the servant rasped, "she's been imprisoned!"