End of 283 A.C.

As ladies helped Livia get dressed in a fine red gown, its stitching made of fine red satin, she felt nothing.

They're dead. Robert's succession is secured.

They had her sit down at the vanity mirror, pinning her golden curls half up, while the rest were left cascading neatly.

It was Ser Gregor Clegane and Ser Amory Loch who did it. But we all know who commanded it.

They picked from different jewelry to adorn her with. Pearls, diamonds, sapphires, even rubies that looked just like blood.

Slaughtered like the Targaryen scum they are. Killed where they stood. They had no hope. No hope at all.

The ladies decided on gold to compliment her hair and her dress. They painted her lips red to cover the wound that was still there. They covered with powder all the bruises that have yet to fade.

Dead. Now, no one will ever doubt the Lannisters' loyalty to the Crown and the new king.

The ladies left Livia to her own as she waited for her father to come and take her to the throne room to meet the would-be king.

Yet she could not breathe, could not cry, could not speak. She had not spoken ever since she heard the news of Elia and her children's deaths.

The only sound ever heard from her were the sobs emanating from her room in the middle of the night, the terrors that haunted her.

The events at the throne room. Elia and her children, their laughter turning to screams. Rhaegar clutching her hands to hold her to a promise that had been broken.

She couldn't bear it. Thinking too much about it only broke her. Besides, she's had enough of the horrors at night. She would not plague herself in the mornings.

Things were supposed to be over. Everything was supposed to be alright yet it wasn't. It was her fault. It was all her fault. If she hadn't trusted her father with everything, this wouldn't have happened.

Livia looked into the mirror and saw what everyone would see. They would see a Lannister, of course, but her eyes had lost their proud shine and her lips formed a frown instead of a smile.

Livia had killed them all. She may not have been the one to stab them but she had ensured their deaths the moment the king granted passage to the Lannister army.

She itched to drink wine, to drown her sorrows but she had promised herself to drink no more. To do nothing to numb the pain. After all, she did deserve it. She would never taste another drop of wine for the rest of her life.

She deserved to feel every ounce of pain there is to pay for her crimes.

Livia stared at nothing, her eyes glazed with unshed tears that when the door opened, she did not even turn to face it.

"Come." Lord Tywin said, offering his arm for his daughter to take.

She said nothing, taking his arm as they walked to the throne room. Her eyes were blank, empty, and unseeing.

Lord Tywin of course, spoke of the matters that they must address but they all fell upon deaf ears and as they arrived at the giant doors, he finally turned to her.

"The fate of your brother is to be decided today." He gave her a warning look. "Keep a clear head."

Livia nodded once to acknowledge what her father had said but still, she felt nothing.

°•°•°•°•°

The throne room had never looked more different. A small gift to Livia as there were no signs of blood on the floor that would force her to confront the past.

The dragon skulls that were once littered at the sides were gone as well as the black and red banners. Replaced with yellow banners.

A stag in the place of a dragon with a wolf at his side and lions about to kneel.

'What a glorious day for maesters to write about,' she thought bitterly.

Finally, she looked to the Iron Throne, once occupied by a madman. Livia half expected the Mad King to be seated upon it.

What a surprise for her to see Robert Baratheon, his raven hair, now slightly longer, his blue eyes shadowed, and his easy grin now gone.

It was not the man she danced with that sat before her. It was not the man who was once a part of a drinking contest that sat before her.

The man that sat on the throne was the warrior who led the rebellion, the man who defeated Rhaegar Targaryen, the man who had ended the Targaryen dynasty.

It seems that he had changed as much as she did.

Livia and her father stopped before the steps as they both knelt before Robert Baratheon.

Their eyes met then. Blue and green, meeting once again. As if not a day had passed yet their eyes showed that too much had occurred.

°•°•°•°•°

Robert had wanted nothing more than to lie in his bed and rest upon arriving at King's Landing but he had duties now. As Jon Arryn liked to remind him.

Now that he is to be king. He had been accepting pledges and vows all day from men who once fought with him.

None peaked his attention until he laid eyes on someone worthy of attention.

Livia. Lady Livia Lannister.

The one he had failed to seduce. Robert almost laughed at the memory.

She was with her father, Lord Tywin Lannister. The man who supposedly delivered him the capital.

Delivered the capital? More like killed everyone when the war was already over.

However, his attention was quickly diverted to the golden-haired beauty once again.

She was just as he remembered. Beautiful. Confident. But she seemed to have changed quite a bit.

Robert had heard rumors of how the Mad King trapped Livia in the keep. That he had tried to kill her and almost succeeded.

As he looked upon her figure as she knelt and swore allegiance, he observed no trace of bruises and wounds but he saw just how scarred she really was.

The blankness. The emptiness. That was what he saw. The scars, regrets, and the pain.

"As proof of our loyalty and undying devotion to your reign, Your Grace." Lord Tywin spoke, signaling to someone and snapping Robert from his thoughts.

Now was not the time to look at a pretty maiden.

Robert watched as men carried two small bundles of red cloth and laid them near the throne.

Only the gasp emanating from Livia alerted him to what they were.

Not bundles of cloth, no. They were bodies. The bodies of the two Targaryen children. The children of that vile rapist and kidnapper.

One of the men uncovered both and showed the corpses of Rhaenys and Aegon Targaryen.

The little girl had been run through about a hundred times and the baby looked more like a mess of blood and bones.

Everyone silenced, no murmurs could be heard. It was as if Death itself curled up in the room and silenced everyone.

Robert almost laughed. 'That's what you fucking deserve, Rhaegar Targaryen. That's what you dragons deserve.'

He looked to Lord Tywin then. "Thank you, my lord. A great many thanks. Your loyalty is most appreciated."

"Your Grace." Ned said, cautiously. He looked to his friend who looked disgusted.

Robert was about to laugh, about to call them dragonscum. After all, that was what they were. He saw no children, only heirs to continue the dynasty of those criminals.

But then he saw her, the maiden who had the guts to slap him and stand up to him, breathing heavily, almost shaking as if the sight of the corpses rattled her entire being.

Robert sighed. Such were the hearts of women, so soft. If only he weren't such a gentleman.

"Take it away. We don't need anything spoiling our next meal." Robert commanded, watching as men came to take away the bodies.

With a wave of his hand, he dismissed Tywin and Livia Lannister but not before meeting her eyes once more.

°•°•°•°•°

Livia was ashamed to have felt relief when the bodies were taken away but her shaking had ceased. The bodies of the two children she cared for. The two children who she didn't see grow up. The children of the woman she considered her sister. 

Breathe. Blink. Remember the heart that beats inside. Focus. Breathe carefully.

She felt even more relief upon being dismissed but instead of exiting the room, they stood by the side, an audience to the next event.

It was only when she saw her brother entering the room did she remember what event was to take place.

He went on his knees still in his white Kingsguard uniform. The white and the gold made him look as if nothing had changed.

But Livia knew better. She had seen the golden armor covered in blood. She had wiped her hands clean with his white cape. 

"Ser Jaime Lannister. You stand accused of breaking your vows as a Kingsguard and as a knight of the Seven Kingdoms. You have murdered a king you have sworn to protect. How do you answer these charges?" Robert questioned, voice echoing in every part of the room.

"With the truth. I defended the weak and the innocent. I saved countless of lives. I regret nothing." Jaime answered.

"Nothing? For betraying your vows, I could have you executed. Do you think the people you have saved will mourn you?" Robert retorted, almost mockingly.

Livia frowned at that, anger surging within her. That was awfully cruel. If there was one thing she learned about the new king, he was cruel. He knew how to push people.

Jaime said nothing, could not say anything in response to that but she saw his fists clench in anger.

Luckily Ned had sensed the tension and spoke. "Perhaps execution is too extreme, my king. It is enough to strip him of his cloak and send him to the Wall."

Livia could sense her father stiffen beside her. He would not lose his son to the Night's Watch. But taking the Black was better than dying. Ned Stark could save her brother.

Jon Arryn suddenly leaned towards Robert and whispered something whilst looking at the Lannisters.

With a sigh, Robert stood from the Iron Throne. "Very well. I hereby pardon Ser Jaime Lannister of all his crimes. He will continue to serve as a Kingsguard. Hopefully, you will serve me better than the last king."

Livia breathed out. A small gift. A better gift than what she had expected.

Jaime uttered out. "Thank you, Your Grace."

Instead of exiting the throne room, Jaime walked to his father and his sister.

For the first time in days, Livia let her guard down. Not caring at all who was watching, she pulled her brother into an embrace.

No one noticed but the young king. Robert watched as the siblings embraced and he remembered once again the horrible stories he has heard about what happened in the keep.

As Livia pulled away from the embrace, smiling sadly at her brother, she could feel Robert's gaze on her and she felt an emotion awaken in her.

Gratitude for pardoning Jaime or disgust for being so cruel, she did not know.

After all, there has always been a fine line to such emotions. Gratitude and disgust. Generosity and greed.

Most of all, love and hate.

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