AN :
Next goal for another extra chapter is 600 power stones.
In the Game of Stones, you either win or you wait. The more Power Stones you offer, the faster the chapters come.
...
( Cersei Lannister POV )
First, the Dorneish princess had bullied poor Callum, belittling and insulting the soft boy. Then Jaime was sent off to marry a Tyrell girl from the reach and now even Rhaegar, who Cersei was supposed to marry, was stolen away by some snake from Essos.
It made her want to cry but she would not because she was too strong, so instead she prowled up onto the deck and watched the land pass by because it was all she could do.
...
She stalked back and forth, like an angry yellow housecat as she glared at the alien landscape of the Dorneish coast. She had read about it before, a huge flat desert land of dried-out mud flats, sand, and death, and it certainly looked like it from where she stood on the deck of the ship.
A thin skirt of palm trees gave a band of green near the edge of the water, but so thin that you could stare right past them into a hellish yellow and orange expanse. Sand, sand, sand as far as her eyes could see, stinging in the reflected light of the midday sun. The view was only occasionally broken by great stones rising from the ground, barren monoliths of banded rock that were dappled with color and potential interest but helpless against the sheer scale of the desert about them.
Was this the land Callum was to be stolen away to? This wasteland that stretched into the distant horizon? It made her stomach turn as her vivid imaginations conjured images of her poor brother withering away to dust on the sand-blasted heights. She knew that part of her wasn't rational, that House Martell controlled fertile lands and green gardens amidst those sandy dunes, but she couldn't help but think of it anyway. What was she supposed to think about instead? There was nobody to talk to!
The afternoon blazed on down, such that Cersei's skin began to redden even as her mind continued to run in circles unbidden, until in the distance she saw the land break away to the west, and the water changed color as if a gigantic painter had drawn up a brush the size of the seven kingdoms and painted the water green instead of blue-grey. The heat felt even more oppressive, choking now, and sweat poured from her forehead and soaked into her clothes. "Ser Oswald, could you go ask the captain if we've just entered the Summer Sea?." She asked.
"Of course, Lady Cersei." The knight nodded, before leaving her sweltering alone on the deck, the bosun- she couldn't remember his name, she'd never talked to the man more than a few words, bellowed orders, and the ship began to turn, men rushing to adjust the sails. They were most of the way done by the time Ser Oswald came back. "He says we are on the Summer Sea now Lady Cersei, and that in around an hour, we should be able to see Sunspear, though we've no plans to stop before Oldtown."
"Sunspear…" Cersei mumbled. She wondered if Princess Ennella would be there right now. Perhaps she should drop in on House Martell, and see what they were really scheming about. She was just about to ask that they visit when she caught herself. This might… no, she shouldn't. She had already had her opportunities for adventures stripped away from her like a gown on a bedding night. She didn't want to know what would be taken if she caused more problems. She needed to… needed to get back to the Rock where things made sense.
Cersei sighed.
Standing up from her chair, she went right back to her cabin. "Do you feel unwell my lady?" Ser Oswald followed after her, tromping along.
"I have no desire to see Sunspear. Dorne seems unpleasant enough as it is." Cersei said bitterly and shut the door behind her. Going to her desk, she again pulled out what little paper and ink she had, and this time, she began to write.
'To my most beloved brother Jaime,
I hope that the Reach finds you well and that you are having many fine adventures squiring for Lord Luthor in Highgarden.' she paused for a moment, considering her feelings. 'I have found that I missed you dearly and that King's Landing has been increasingly unpleasant recently, so I asked Father to send me home when he could.
I shall be in Oldtown when I send this letter, but I will return to the Rock afterward. I am sorry to be so near to you and yet unable to see you Jaime, it makes my heart ache in my breast.' Cersei tapped her chin gently. She didn't want to ask about the Tyrell girls, or really about that Mace boy Jaime got along with, but she didn't have much else to say.
'Know that I am thinking of you and keeping you close in my heart, dearest brother.' Cersei smiled as she signed her name. Writing the letter hadn't taken as long as she'd hoped, but it did feel good to release her feelings through ink and pen. Unfortunately, she had to keep it short for Jaime. Jaime didn't like to read.
She pulled out another sheet of paper… she only had five… but she knew who she wanted to write to next obviously.
'To my most…' hmm, Callum couldn't be her most beloved brother too, that was Jaime, obviously… 'To my most beautiful and precious brother Callum,' she wrote out. Knowing him, he'd probably get flustered when he read it. That made Cersei happy.
'I hope that this letter finds you well, I have missed you dearly since that' Cersei considered her language for a moment, then decided she really didn't care 'Dorneish harlot bullied you and stole you away to Sunspear. I hope your stay there wasn't too terrible despite the arduous sun and miserable deserts of Dorne.' she snickered to herself. 'I am writing this letter as I pass by that blasted wasteland myself, returning to the Rock from King's Landing. Soon we will be able to see each other again in person.'
Cersei felt a grin spread over her face. That would be the good part of this entire trip. Of all the people in the world, only Jaime and Callum could ever possibly understand her. Father tried, and Aunt Genna was close, but only those two knew her well enough. Jaime because he was born with her, snuggled in the same womb, and Callum because he shared her misalignment of heart and body. It would be good to be with him again, she had so much to tell both of her brothers.
'I have so much to tell you about when I return to the Rock Callum. Did you know there are tunnels in the walls all throughout the Red Keep? I found the entrance to one of them in my bedroom by accident, a wooden panel just wedged open a bit.
When I explored it I found that they went everywhere, all over the castle, and there were peep-holes in all the rooms and chambers so that I could watch all the comings and goings everywhere.' Cersei smiled as she wrote. 'I wish I could have shown Jaime and you and taken you down there with me on an adventure because I had many of my own.' Cersei reminisced as she wrote, her pen slipping across the page as she conjured memories in her mind.
'There was a large chamber with a mural of dragons on the walls, and paths down to the Targaryen's treasury vaults, glimmering with gold, though nowhere near as much in all of them as in even one of the deep vaults in the Rock. I spied on bedrooms and common halls, offices, and training yards, and not one of the fools realized I was there. That I was spying upon them, little Cersei hidden away where they couldn't see her, but I could see them.' she giggled as she continued to write. 'You wouldn't believe how many affairs I saw between the courtiers.
Those women at court will spread their legs for anyone! Lord Celtigar was sleeping with no less than three other men's wives that I saw, and from the looks and sounds of it, he must have been better than their husbands because-' Cersei's pen screeched to a halt as she recalled that she was writing this to Callum, not just to get her thoughts down on paper. She felt her cheeks flush ruby red and drew a line through the middle of her last sentence.
'Please ignore that last line, Callum, my thoughts got away from me and it's improper to write such a thing to someone blessed by the Maiden with a pure heart as you are.' Cersei frowned as she tried to think of something else to write about.
Ah, right, she should ask about Callum too, not just talk about herself. That would be impolite.
'I will be sending this letter from Oldtown when I reach it. We heard that the Most Holy at the Starry Sept proclaimed you were blessed by the Maiden, Smith, and Crone when you were in the city. I think I may visit him myself when we make port there.
I wonder if I may be blessed by the Warrior or the Father if you are blessed by the Maiden and the Crone. Perhaps our blessings were merely assigned to the wrong child by accident.' Cersei smiled, knowing Callum would understand what she meant. 'At any rate Callum, I have so many things to speak to you about when I return to Casterly Rock, I hope to see you soon. With most heartfelt Love,'
'Cersei Lannister'
Cersei grinned as she finished the second letter, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She still didn't feel like going above deck to see Sunspear, but the boredom no longer felt as pressing.
She glanced at the few remaining sheets of paper she had smiled, and began to write.
=======================
If you'd like to support my work, or get early access to chapters before public release you can join my P atreon
Link to join my p treon :
[email protected]/moonlight10