Chapter 8: Cersei

Cersei

It was the middle of the night but Cersei's eyes were still wide open. She lay still staring at the walls of her room. It felt like months had passed since they received word of William's injuries during the battle. She had been having trouble sleeping ever since. Every time she closed her eyes, she could hear bells ringing. He was being brought back to Kings Landing and would be arriving any time now.

She lay awake most of the nights imagining ways to torment the Tyrells. She had already done enough for them to remember their place the next time they try to undermine her. She had ordered for all the crops to be stored in Kings Landing which meant that the Tyrells had to empty their larders. She sent Mace Tyrell to meet with Lords who had not paid their taxes. Normally, this task was done by messengers but she felt a special pride in convincing Mace Tyrell to do the same. While that fool considered this an honor, everybody else would see it as an embarrassment to the Tyrells. And Margaery, she was left out of all important decisions, meetings, and even public appearances with the only exception being the Sept where she went to pray. Cersei had not missed any opportunity to humiliate the Tyrells in open court. She had made sure that Westeros knew that Lannisters were the ones in charge, not the Tyrells.

There was a knock at her door and her handmaiden informed her that the Lannister army had entered the city gates. The King was being brought in. She ordered her to prepare a room on the ground floor so that they didn't have to carry him up the stairs. She felt her heartbeat faster than ever. Her hand reached for a glass of wine but she controlled herself. She had promised her son that she wouldn't do that till she was the Queen Regent. She got up and dressed. She had to be presentable.

She entered the room to found it full of people. She rushed towards the bed to see her son not bothering to look at anyone else. He looked so peaceful. If it weren't for the bandages covering his abdomen, one could easily be led to believe that he was asleep. She sat on the bed beside him and took his hand in hers. She brushed aside his hair which had grown longer than Will liked to keep and were now reaching his eyes. She placed her hand on his forehead and found it too hot. Her son was burning up. Somebody placed a hand on her shoulder and she turned to see that it was her brother Jaime. Her first instinct was to lean into his touch but she controlled herself realizing that she was in the presence of other people. She looked around for the first time to see who was in the room. She saw two kingsguards, Grandmaester Pycelle a couple of servants, and her two brothers.

"What do you think Grand Maester? Why isn't he waking up? His wound isn't deep at all. The armor absorbed most of the blow," said Jaime.

"Well, it is quite a tricky situation, my Lord. The wound appears to be sewn properly but the King's has developed a high fever."

"What is the cure?" asked Jaime grinding his teeth at Pycelle saying the obvious. Sometimes she felt that she should have his balls chopped off and kick him out of the Red Keep.

"I will give him a potion which will bring down the body temperature immediately. The King will be up and running till the sun rises," he replied and started searching his satchel for the potion.

"Are you sure? The healers on the road told us a similar thing and gave him a potion but it didn't help," said Tyrion. She wondered why Jaime brought this little monster along with him. Nothing good had ever happened when he was around.

"Those people are not trained in medicines like the maesters are and I am the Grand Maester. I will not be questioned on my treatment by anybody especially by the likes of you," he argued agitated. He had an apparent dislike of Tyrion since he was imprisoned.

Pycelle opened a vial and put a few drops in Will's mouth. He then left with his companions telling everybody that William's fever would likely break till morning. The servants also left and Jaime instructed the Kingsguard to stand outside the room. It was now the three Lannister siblings left in the room. Cersei had yet to speak another word. She couldn't take her eyes off her son.

"Has anybody called for Margaery? She should be informed that her husband is back. I'll send somebody," said Tyrion and began to walk towards the door.

"No," she replied without taking her eyes off her son.

"What?" he asked.

"Let her be. I don't want her here."

"She is his wife. She has every right to be here," he replied and started walking towards the door. Maybe it was his son's poor condition or the fact that she hadn't slept at all but Cersei felt such a rush of anger inside her that she picked up a vase from the bedside and threw it with all her might at the nearest wall. Tyrion stopped right in his tracks and looked at her warily.

"I said NO. It's been a rough night. You both must be tired from the journey. You should go and get some sleep. We won't know anything until the morning. There is nothing you can do for him now."

Tyrion nodded and left while Jaime kept standing there. She looked at him pointedly as to ask why he wasn't leaving.

"I would like to stay for a little while," he answered.

"No. Get out. We don't need you," she replied. He wanted to argue but the look on her face left no room for argument.

She was left alone in the room now with her son. Her poor son. She made herself comfortable on the bed beside her son. She sat there watching him breathe. She didn't care about how she looked or how much time had passed. Nothing else mattered in the world except her son and his breaths.

"I came as soon as I heard," came Margaery's voice and it shook Cersei from her daze. She sat up and brushed her hair aside with her fingers and straightened her clothes.

"He is burning," said Margaery caressing Will's face. "Oh! My poor king," she exclaimed. "Send for the Grand Maester immediately," she commanded her handmaid.

Cersei touched Will's forehead and found that he was indeed hotter than he was last night. Margaery's visit brought her back from her memories and she noticed that he was breathing more heavily.

The two women sat in silence waiting for Pycelle. The old man would indeed take a long time to come here. She looked at Margaery and found her face filled with worry.

"He doesn't look very well. I hope he recovers quickly. Nothing good has happened since he left. Where is Tommen?" asked Margaery.

"He came to visit early in the morning. He has gone to the Sept to pray for him," replied Cersei. She couldn't bring herself to give a snapping reply to Margaery as she would have done just a day ago.

"You must be so worried. They write songs about men fighting an injury after falling in battle but nobody talks of those who sit beside them. The fear, the worry, the constant urge to remain beside them so you can see their face when they wake up. I went through the same when my brother Wilas broke his leg. I can only imagine what it must be like for a mother. This is the first time when Will has fallen ill isn't it?"

"No, he has before."

"I mean of course he has gotten ill before. I meant this serious," said Margaery.

"He has. The day he was born. Joffrey came first after hours of labor. Pycelle held him and said that he was in excellent health. Then came William shortly after Joffrey and I was the happiest I had ever been. But I felt the sudden shift in the atmosphere. You see, he wasn't crying. They took him straight to Pycelle who came back after a few minutes and told me that Will wasn't going to make it. He believed that Joffrey had taken most of the food provided by my womb which made William very weak. So weak that he couldn't even cry. I demanded to hold him. When I saw him he was the smallest little thing. I took him in my arms. He was so cold. Cold as ice. And his breathing was so heavy like it took all he had in him to just breathe. Like right now," she said softly and both women looked over at him.

"What happened then?" asked Margaery.

"They tried to take him from me. Pycelle said that he wasn't going to last the night and I shouldn't get attached to him. He even had the balls to talk about where to bury him right in front of me. I had him thrown out. Jaime took Joffrey to his nursery and I was left alone with Will. I got out of my clothes and held Will as close to my body as possible, hoping that my body heat will warm him up. I sat still all night holding him in my arms watching him, praying that his every breath isn't his last. The sun came up and my boy was still breathing. Pycelle called it a gift from gods. The midwives called it a miracle. But I knew the truth, he was never going to die."

Nothing more was said between them till the Grand Maester arrived. He looked flustered and struggled to get words out of his mouth. He told her that he was going to repeat the potion he gave him last night and now the rest was in the hands of the gods. Cersei then called for Qyburn. Pycelle objected saying that Qyburn was thrown out from the Citadel and while he was allowed to experiment on Ser Gregor, she shouldn't risk him treating the King.

Qyburn took one look at William and began working on a potion immediately. His potion was able to bring William's temperature down and made his breathing easier. Cersei was finally able to leave her son and attend to other matters as the Queen Regent.

She was informed by her handmaids that she received a gift from Dorne. She opened it to see that it was Myrcella's necklace in the jaws of a viper. She told Jaime about it and he decided to go to Dorne himself to bring her back.

The next morning she went to William's room and found Qyburn already there. She placed her palm on William's forehead and found that it was hot again.

"His temperature is rising again," she told Qyburn.

"I know your grace. This potion merely helps to bring the body temperature down. It is not the cure to whatever is the cause of our King's suffering. I haven't been able to yet develop a theory as to why the King isn't recovering," he answered.

"So what do you suggest we do?"

"If there is a cure then it can be found at only one place in Westeros," he replied.

"Send a raven to the Citadel. Inform the Archmaester of William's condition and summon him to the capital," she said.

"Archmaester Ebrose can be quite stubborn your grace. It is the Grandmaester's job to look after the King. Archmaester only helps those who come to the Citadel," he warned.

"Write to him to arrive within a week if he doesn't want the Lannister army tearing down the Citadel. Keep giving William your potion till he arrives. Where is Margaery? Hasn't she been to see William yet?" she asked.

"She is in the Great Sept of Baelor, praying for our King's health your grace."

Days passed and Wiliam's condition was the same. The Archmaester wrote to reply that he was making the journey to Kings Landing along with an assistant. He was set to arrive anytime now. Pycelle had come to her and begged her to not call the Archmaester to the capitol as it would be a huge embarrassment for him. She paid him no heed.

Cersei was informed that a small council meeting was taking place in her absence. She stormed in the small council chambers. There she found Margaery sitting at the head of the table where she once sat. Among those sitting on the table were Olenna Tyrell, Mace Tyrell, some Lords she didn't recognize by face, and Pycelle.

"Why wasn't I informed of this meeting and what are you doing here? Where are my council members?" she shouted at Margaery.

"A few members of the small council have been replaced on the orders of the Queen Regent," answered Pycelle.

"I gave no such order," replied Cersei.

"Of course not your grace. I meant the Queen Regent," he replied nodding towards Margaery.

"Is this some sick joke? I am the Queen Regent by order of the King himself," she screamed.

"Yes, King William did make you the Queen Regent as is made clear in this letter," answered Olenna Tyrell holding up the letter given to her by Will which she had given to Pycelle to declare her Regency. "But if you read this royal command carefully Cersei, you will see that it is clearly written that you were to be Queen Regent till the King returns to the capitol. Well, he has returned," she continued with a smug smile on her face. Cersei felt that she had been hit on her head.

"But he is incapable of ruling at the moment. He clearly wanted me to rule in his stead," Cersei argued.

"If our King had such intentions then he didn't make it known to his loyal councilmen," replied Olenna Tyrell.

"What gives you the right to call yourself Regent?" she asked Margaery.

"Your grace, in the absence of any Hand and without a regent appointed by the King, on the rare occasions that it had happened in the past, it has been the Queen who has ruled as the Regent. Also, Queen Margaery has the support of Prince Tommen who wants her to be the Regent," replied Pycelle. He had changed sides and joined the Tyrells after she had embarrassed him. It was expected. What she didn't expect was Tommen betraying her.

"When did you talk to Tommen?" she asked.

"Prince Tommen believes that you shouldn't work during these tough times and should spend your time looking after the King. He trusts me to carry out the responsibilities of the kingdoms," replied Margaery for the first time with her usual smirk on her face. What wouldn't she give to slap her right here in front of everybody?

Cersei cursed herself. During the time that she had spent focused on Will's health, the Tyrells had played their cards and now they were in charge. She walked out of the small council chambers hoping that Will recovered soon because Margaery had filled the small Council with men loyal to the Tyrells and now they were in charge of the seven kingdoms.

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading guys. This was a sort of filler chapter to help you guys understand what would happen in the next chapter. Please let me know if you have any criticism. Follow and favorite the story if you liked it.