Golden Lioness [Game of Thrones] COMPLETED!

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Eavesdropping is very unbecoming of a lady, so one should never get caught."

-Cersei

In her dream, Joanna stood in her room at Casterly Rock. The chambers were exactly how she remembered them. The fancy bed in the far corner of the room, the elaborate dressing screens, the chests full of beautiful clothes, down to the vanity with the golden rings. She walked to the balcony, pushing away the curtains. The wind blew in Joanna's hair and dress, but the warm breeze was pleasant. She looked over to Lannisport and saw her father's fleet mixed with some of the small fishing boats. There was a calm in her, it relaxed her shoulders washing away the pain of... of... Joanna could not remember the stresses in her life as she watched the waves crash against the rocks that her family castle was built on.

A flash of black caught her eye, and Joanna turned and watched with amazement at the swarm of crows in the sky. They skipped and swooped in the air like they were doing a show just for her. Their dance brought them closer to her and Joanna walked to the far end of the balcony, reaching out her arm. A crow, or a raven as Joanna noticed they were, landed on her arm. Although its talons were sharp, it did not seem to bother her as she held the bird. It squawked gently before taking flight. The raven joined its friends and the dance picked up again, this time faster. The birds did flips and spins, squawking with joy as if they were singing. But something was amiss, Joanna noticed. Their squawks began to sound like screeches and they became clumsy, hitting each other. Their bones broke upon impact with one another, and they began to fall from the sky onto the rocks below. Some birds did not hit the others, but surprisingly, with sickening cracks, their bones broke too. There was soon only one, the raven that Joanna had held. It was fighting to stay alive. Then its neck broke and it began to fall. Joanna, in haste to save to bird, reached too far over and fell onto the rocks too.

Her green eyes pierced the darkness of her chambers in Winterfell as she awoke with a start. What a horrid dream, she thought, lighting the candle on the table next to her bed. Joanna looked at the book that lay next to her tossed in her sheets. It was The Wall and the Beings Beyond. She shuddered and vowed not to read books involving omens before bed. But was it just the book? Part of her mind itched.

She never ended up getting undressed the day before, so Joanna just pulled a different fur shawl over her arms and headed out to break her fast. She thought the dreariness of Winterfell had gone, but even weeks after news of Jaime stabbing Eddard Stark in the leg still brought a veil over the castle. Joanna found it amazing that one man could affect a castle thousands of leagues away. As she walked to the dining hall, she wondered if Casterly Rock would be this glum if something were to happen to her father-probably not.

Joanna made her way through the kitchens first, grabbing an apple before ordering her breakfast of bacon and bread. She did not want eggs or anything bird related this morning. As she neared the grand room, she felt the presence of people in the room, and she could hear their conversation.

"Day and night," she heard Robb say. "I am plagued with that damned question. I cannot sleep, I cannot eat, I am always wondering, should I go to war?" Joanna made a sharp inhale.

"Are you asking me, my lord?" Maester Luwin replied.

"Yes," Robb said. Joanna got the impression that he was pacing as his voice would fade just a second before crescendoing loudly again. "Do you believe it is time to call the banners?"

"It is not up to me." His calm and collected voice had always bothered Joanna, however, she much preferred it over Maester Pycelle's bumbling in Kingslanding. There was silence in the room and Joanna considered her options of returning to the kitchens or showing herself. But Robb's next words made her stay in place.

"What of Joanna?" Robb asked, making the Maester pause.

"She will become a bargaining piece and a prisoner." There was more silence from Robb's end. Joanna could feel her heart pounding in her ears, she did not know what to do.

"Do you think she'll be killed?" Robb inquired quietly. Joanna wanted to escape from the room, her head was spinning, she had to find some way to speak to her father. Perhaps let him know Robb Stark might call the banners, soon.

"Perhaps," Maester Lwuin was truthful, she knew. "War is a rough time and it's not only the soldiers who die." Joanna slipped from the dining hall, her hunger forgotten and her apple still in hand. Quickly, she made her way back to her room, careful not to walk too fast to call attention to herself, but not so slow that Maester Luwin would be finished talking with Robb.

Once in the guest house, Joanna bounded up the stairs, her white hair fell in her face. She did not bother to push it back when she reached her door, instead, she walked right in.

"Joanna!" Anya was in her chambers already. "I have barely seen you since the time in the library, I came back to bring you wine but you were gone..." Joanna was searching through the chests by her desk, but all of them were full of wine, none of them with paper. The quill and ink were already on the table, Joanna just needed the paper. Where is it? She wondered. "...I wanted to speak with you but I was with my husband.."

"Anya," Joanna said cutting her off. "I need you to stand up for a moment." The handmaiden was compliant and stood right away. Joanna then opened the chest and fished out some loose parchment. She walked over to the desk and dipped the quill in the ink, and began writing.

"Dear Father," she wrote.

"Are you still mad at me for being a wildling?" Anya interrupted Joanna's writing. "Because I can prove my loyalty, tell me how."

"I am not cross with you, Anya," Joanna said. "I am simply quite busy at the moment, so please do be quiet."

"War is coming, I tried to tell Tyrion. Now I am telling you. If you have not already, please prepare. I will do what I can from the North. Thank you for all of your teachings in life, I will be strong, the northerners will see how loud a Lannister can roar.

- Joanna"

She placed the quill on the paper and began folding the parchment, preparing it for air travel. Joanna then stood and opened her door and walked through, Anya trailing behind. Joanna glanced into the courtyard to see if it was empty so that she could carefully sneak into the Maester's Turret, where the ravens were kept but in the centre of the gravel courtyard, Joanna saw Robb and Maester Luwin, walking together. Joanna cursed.

"You said to prove that I'm loyal. I'll show you I'm loyal," Anya said annoyingly. However, Joanna realized, she could use Anya's desire to get her something.

"I need a raven," Joanna whispered to Anya, careful not to catch the attention of the men outside as she explained that she wanted Anya to steal the bird from the Maester's Turret while Joanna distracted the Maester himself.

Later that day, after Anya had hopefully stolen the correct raven Joanna stood on the bridge, hiding the bird under her cloak. Silently and quickly she unsheathed the bird and tossed it into the sky. For a second, she felt as free as the raven. Joanna felt hope swell in her chest and warm every part of her that Winterfell had froze. She was going to see her family soon. Things would be okay.

But they wouldn't, Joanna noticed as the bird began to dip. There was a series of sick cracks in the sky as bone after bone of the bird broke. Joanna watched with horror when the bird fell out of the sky, already dead from the neck cracking while still in flight. The bird's body was gone below a broken tower and Joanna stood still in terror.

The note, she remembered and bolted off running, skirts in hand. The planks of wood under her feet were icy as she hurried down them, slipping on the last step. But she got back to her feet with a quick glance at her bloodied palms.

She wove through the buildings, sticking close to the walls in hopes not to attract any attention. Joanna arrived where the bird had fallen, it was grassy yet the bird had cracked its skull on one of the rocks where it fell. She glanced at the bird, where it lay limp, then at the tower. Joanna was getting a strong sense that she was right where she ought to be. This is where Bran fell, she realized. This is where my brother threw a little boy from a tower. The raven was limp and broken on the ground. Joanna glanced at the parchment and untied it from the bird's feet, tucking the letter into her sleeve. With a last glance at the tower and the broken raven, she walked away, hearing a soft caw as she left.