This is my first time writing a story using "She/her" instead of "I/me" and I admit I'm not quite sure if I'm doing it right. Please let me know!

Also: Florence is a city in North Essos which is ruled by a Signoria, of which Narcissa's father is a powerful member.

Before the events of Season 1

"My lady, what troubles you?" Gloria asks worriedly as she enters her lady's chambers in the morning and sees her pacing around nervously still in her bathrobe.

Narcissa wants to answer her, after all, Gloria's always given her the best advice each time she asked for it. And yet, she does not want to put her in a difficult position and choose sides. Her movements slow with hesitation, Narcissa finally raises her eyes to look at her handmaiden. "If I told you something of great importance, you'd be bound to share it with my father, wouldn't you?"

Gloria appears weary for a few seconds, opening and closing her mouth a couple of times before choosing not to speak at all and simply nodding. A sad smile creeps on her lady's face before she speaks. "As you should, Gloria. Please pack my belongings, I have a feeling I will be gone quite some time."

Without awaiting a response, Narcissa walks out of her bedchambers, entirely forgetting she's still dressed in nothing more than a bathrobe and walks down the great staircase into the patio. Although it was still quite early, the sun was already warming the air and she didn't regret cutting her hair shorter than what was common for women of her stature.

"Has father already returned from the Signoria?" She asks her older brother who doesn't even bat an eye at her attire. With time, everyone could grow accustomed to anything.

"He has, sister. And I warn you, he's not in the best of spirits," Lorenzo replies and his sister's eyes widen at once but he is quick to reassure her. "Mother is stable." He explains reassuringly and Narcissa finally allows herself to breath out.

"Whether in good or bad spirits, I'm sure father will be pleased to hear the news I bring." Narcissa replies before walking away from her younger brother, although he's much taller than her.

Father would be happy with what she had to tell him, that was certain. But she knew he would be much less pleased if she were to tell him the truth and not the lie she had been creating in her mind for the past three hours. But alas, father himself always said that the ends justified the means and she wouldn't contradict this wise man.

As soon as the guard saw her approaching, he opened the door to her father's study. "My lord Cosimo, your daughter is here to see you."

She couldn't hear her father's response but she knew she was welcome by the way the sturdy man held open the door for her. "Good morning, father," she cheerily greeted as soon as she stepped inside the study and poured herself a cup of wine.

"I don't know why I bother having dresses made for you, Narcissa," the middle-aged man chuckled behind his desk, looking at his daughter with pure love in his eyes.

"Soon enough, that won't be your responsibility anymore, father," Narcissa smiled before sitting down in front of him, her legs crossed. At once, her father's amusement vanished making him seem as old as he truly was.

"You're still intent on taking the vows, then?" Cosimo inquired with sadness, already knowing the answer and his daughter merely nodded at his words. "You know there's no beauty, no art, no love up there. It's a great honor, undoubtedly, but not exactly the best path to happiness."

"I don't seek happiness, you know that. All I want is peace of mind and knowledge." Narcissa couldn't avoid noticing the way the skin around her father's eyes creased and that the gray hairs on his head, at first almost non-existent, now easily surpassed the black ones. She wouldn't disappoint this man, not if there was another way.

"But I have considered your offer, father." She spoke and the man merely raised his eyebrows as he took a sip of wine, not understanding the meaning behind her words. "You told me I shouldn't take a decision without knowing all that there is to know. I've travelled most of Essos without finding a reason not to take my vows. The next thing to do would be testing my determination in Westeros," Narcissa explained and slowly, she saw her father rejuvenating again.

"You want to do your great travel? The same way I did more than twenty-five years ago?" He asked hesitantly, as if scared his daughter would take back her words.

The truth was Narcissa had no interest in approaching the Westerosi. They were barbarians more interested in blood than knowledge, in glory than harmony. As far as she was concerned, nothing in Westeros would make her want to stay there. But she had a mission to fulfill, and failure wasn't an option to her. A few months in Westeros for a whole life in the peace of the High Tower, a fair price.

"Yes, father. I've decided to go to Westeros, from the Wall to Dorne, I want to see it all." Narcissa lied.

At once, Cosimo stood up and walked around his desk to hug his only daughter. "The Westerosi are known for their brutality and their ancient traditions, Narcissa. You must be careful. But Westeros is also the home to many of the world's greatest wonders, it's where I met your mother."

Narcissa heard her father's voice crack but she wouldn't comment on it, not when she was also trying to suppress a sniff herself. She had heard their story countless times, more than she would have liked to. She couldn't quite believe the love at first sight her parents' seemed to have experienced with each other, but they were happy, at least until her mother got ill, and that was all that mattered.

-/-/-/-

"Please take no offence in my words, Sir, but do you really know your way around these lands?" Narcissa asked her guard after hours of riding. She wasn't usually one to complain, sometimes life was hard and you just had to go through it, but she couldn't help notice the horses growing tired and she had the impression they had been riding in circles.

"My lady, I admit I had never set foot in Westeros just a month ago but your father made me memorize the entire continent. We've left Dorne a couple of days ago and are now riding north to the Storm Lands." Piero explained with confidence and Narcissa was left with no other choice than to trust him.

Everything looked the same to her and it was just then that it started to weigh in on her how far away from home she was. She hadn't seen her brothers and her parents in over a month. For all she knew, mother could be dead by now but she wouldn't dwell on that thought. She had said her goodbyes, knowing her travels would be long and she had taken into account the eventuality that they would last longer than what her mother could survive. So, she would travel to the Twins, meet her disgusting grand-father and hopefully find out a little more about her mother's youth there.

Narcissa would have preferred to find out those things from her mother herself, but it had been years since Amara had last recognized her daughter. She had also asked father but he told her that Amara had never shared much about her time back in Westeros, saying her true life had begun the moment they met and he brought her to Essos.

"Let's stop here for the night," Narcissa ordered her companions. They were travelling with six horses for only three people. Some would have called it a ridiculous expense, but if Narcissa had to spent her father's coin, she would make sure that they'd never a ride a horse to exhaustion.

Sir Piero attended to the horses while Narcissa and Gloria walked inside the inn to get three rooms for the night. The inn wasn't exactly the kind of accommodation Narcissa had been used to in Essos, but after over thirty days in Westeros, she had had no choice but to lower her expectations.

"I'm rather tired, my lady," Gloria whispered into her ear, hoping to be heard among the men who were eating supper. "If you don't have any objections, I would retire to my chambers, my lady."

"Of course, Gloria. Make sure you eat something before going to bed, though."

Narcissa and Piero had supper on a table of their own at the very end of the large room. This meant they had very little light to see what was on their plates but at least the noise was tolerable. "I do hope you do not resent me." Narcissa said as she buttered some bread. "For making you leave your home to accompany me through these lands, I mean." Piero finally raised his gaze from his plate which was now empty and Narcissa ordered one of the maids to get him some more food. "You know you can be earnest with me, Piero," Narcissa said coyly, as if sharing a great secret.

"My lady, accompanying you on this journey has been the very best thing to happen to me since being born in the great city of Florence."

Narcissa had been sure he was lying, but Piero explained that being born poor, he wouldn't ever have had the opportunity to go beyond Florence's walls, had Cosimo not asked him to accompany his daughter on her travels.

"Well, the pleasure is all mine." Narcissa cheered, already having had a cup of wine too many. Soon enough, she found Piero yawning and she sent him to his room. He refused at first, but she was quick to remind him that at this hour, the inn was filled with nothing more than cripple old men who moved slower than a snail in mountains.

Piero left her table and Narcissa asked for an entire pitcher of wine, it would be easier than asking for her glass to be refilled every few minutes. She looked around herself one last time before calling it a night and it took her all she had not to laugh out loud. Had she known back then what she would step into, Narcissa would have admitted her error instead crossing the Narrow Sea.

Just as she was about to stand up, the door flew open and a very short man walked in with confidence, a handful of armored men behind himself. "I request your best room for tonight," the blonde man shouted over the noise and the entire room went quiet at once. If she had known this was how it worked, she would have done the same thing hours ago to get some peace and quiet.

"My apologies, my lord. But there are no more rooms available for tonight," the inn's owner replied next to a table he was attending to, his voice trembling with fright. So, Narcissa thought to herself, short he may be, he certainly holds more power than anyone else in this room.

Silently, the dwarf produced a small black pouch from his pocket and held it up in the air. "I'll pay whoever forfeits me their room," the man promised as the coin rattled inside the velvety bag.

Immediately, people started speaking in hushed voices across the room but before anyone could take up his offer, Narcissa spoke up. "Why don't you gamble for it, like a respectable man?" She dared the powerful dwarf and immediately, his guards' hands went to rest on their swords, waiting for the dwarf's instructions.

He sought her out in the almost empty room and a smirk appeared on his face as soon as he set on her. She held his gaze and had to admit that he would have been classically beautiful weren't it for his short height. However, the world was cruel and he was only attractive in a twisted sort of way.

"Maybe I will, my lady," he replied loudly enough to be heard in the large enough.

Merely a few minutes later, he and two other man were sitting around her table, cards in hand. They all played in silence if you didn't count the funny one-liners the dwarf gifted them with every once in a while. This was the first time Narcissa was enjoying herself in Westeros but she quickly pushed away the thought that Westeros might not be so bad after all. A cards game is a cards game, always enjoyable no matter where.

But less than an hour later, the other two men left the game, saying they had already lost enough coin for a single night's gaming. Narcissa picked up the cards in her hands and started shuffling them.

"My lady, at this point, we could just share the room," the blonde man suggested with a wink in his eyes as he filled her cup with more wine.

"And why would I agree to that, my lord?" She inquired teasingly, leaning over the wooden table to deal out the cards.

"I have money," the man, who was most likely in his mid to late thirties, replied, bringing the cup to his lips in a suggestive way. Narcissa couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips then and hoped he wouldn't be offended.

"To a banker's daughter, money doesn't mean much." Narcissa chuckled, picking up her cards and the man looked up at her, a certain mix of curiosity and lust in his eyes. "You'll have to do better than that."

"I have a powerful name, maybe I could share it with you." Much to her dismay, Narcissa was now blushing at his words but she cocked an eyebrow, not wanting to show her emotions to a stranger. "I am Tyrion, Tyrion Lannister of Casterly Rock."

Narcissa played an ace of spades before looking at Tyrion again. She had heard his name before. Her father had warned her of the Lannisters before she set sail across the Narrow Sea. "I am Narcissa, Narcissa –" But Tyrion interrupted her before she could finish.

"Lannister," he said with an arrogant smirk on his lips that made him seem younger than he was and laughter erupted between Narcissa's lips.

"Medici. I am Narcissa Medici," she said, once she had calmed down. "It was a nice try, I'll give you that, my lord."

"You've travelled far, all the way from Essos." Tyrion commented, looking at his cards, before letting her steal his valet. "What brings you to modest Westeros?"

Narcissa cocked her head, pondering her answer. She hadn't told the truth to Piero or Gloria, but this man didn't know her father, so what was the harm in it? "A sword," she said and Tyrion looked expectantly at her, wanting to know more.

"A game was held in my City, but I had ran out of monthly allowance. So I pawned my father's precious sword, knowing I would win enough coin in the game to buy it back the next day, my lord."

"And what happened, my lady? Did you lose?"

"No, my lord, never," Narcissa blurted out, slapping his hand as if offended. "Someone bought it before I could and brought it to Westeros."

"Do you know where it is?" Tyrion inquired with interest, the game now long forgotten.

"I was told that the man who bought it is a tradesman's from King's Landing. I'll recognize it easily, it has my mother's name written on the blade," Narcissa explained.

"That's where I'm headed, to King's Landing," Tyrion revealed, now setting his cards aside completely. Narcissa did the same, her eyes were too tired to focus on anything anymore. Or maybe, it was just the wine. "Maybe you could join me, my lady?" He suggested, his green eyes alight with wit, but then again, she had always preferred blue ones.

"And what would people say about a lady following a stranger? I have a reputation to uphold," Narcissa countered though she knew she wasn't very believable. A proper lady in Westeros wouldn't be playing cards in the unholy hours of the night in an inn.

"Many ugly things they would say, my lady," Tyrion murmured, shaking his head as if shaking those thoughts away from his mind. "But no one would dare say any of those things about Lady Lannister."

Narcissa scoffed, turning her face away at his words before she could compose herself. "Do you want to bed me or wed me, my lord? I am confused." And this time it was Tyrion who laughed and it sounded weirdly melodic.

"I suppose I'd like to do both," he admitted confidently.

"The first, I'm afraid, I wouldn't agree to in a place such as this," Narcissa replied with a wink. "As for the second, I plan on taking my vows to the High Tower as soon as I return home."

"Why would a lady like you want to spend the rest of her life locked up in a tower with nothing to fill her days but the study of life?"

They spent a couple more hours chatting with each other and Narcissa had to admit that Tyrion Lannister was an interesting man. She hadn't expected to meet any of those in Westeros. Alas, time didn't stop and she had to retire if she wanted to be fit for riding in the morning.

"I apologize, my lord, but it's time for me to retire. I'm sure you'll find this wooden benches to be a comfortable bed," Narcissa joked before standing up and making her way around the table, but before she could really leave, Tyrion caught her hand in his.

"Travel across Westeros, my lady, and enjoy the sights. Once you arrive at King's Landing, I'll have your father's sword waiting for you." Tyrion promised, and she wondered what he wanted in return but she didn't ask.