Cersei
The Red Keep had become a prison for her, she who had once shone brighter than the sun, she who had ruled Westeros since her son, her golden child had come to the throne. Now she was nothing more than a relic of an age past, forgotten and discarded just like her uncle had been. Except her uncle was dead and she was still alive, Ser Robert Strong had proven just as undefeatable as Qyburn had said he would be, the brute had killed his opponent, some foolish green boy whom the Warrior Sons had put forward to defend the High Sparrow and his accusations against her. The man and the faith had been made to look the fool that day, and oh how she had gloated over it, and how she had taken joy over it. So much so in fact that she had not even cared that Margaery that little rose had been cleared as well, her innocence proven, her uncle dead, she had made moves to take back what power had been taken from her, starting with the High Septon.
The fool who had sought to cast her from power was dead, Qyburn had seen to that, she knew not the specific details only that Ser Robert Strong had been busy the day she had been with Tommem, one of the few times she was allowed to visit her son. Next she had worked to remove the Tyrells influence from court, and to remove them from court altogether, this was taking longer than she had expected. For all that the man appeared to be an oath and a fool, his darling daughter and his connections to the Hightowers of Oldtown had meant that the Faith looked more favourably upon him and his then they did of Cersei and Tommem. But she had had Qyburn install one of his puppets into the Most Devout, and the man had been elected as the new High Septon. The man had slowly but surely removed the people of the faith who seemed to be more in relation to the Hightowers than their actually gods, and had replaced them with Lannister men, and with that had come the demand for Margaery and Tommem's marriage to be set aside.
It was then that she truly realised how desperate the fat oaf was for his daughter to be queen, the man begged and pleaded with the High Septon that Margaery had been proven innocent and that the marriage would be consummated, when the man seemed to be unmoving he had turned to her, and she had merely smiled demurely to him and had merely said it was out of her hands. With the Ironborn invading and capturing so many castles within the Reach the fat oaf had not had too much time to protest the demands being placed upon him by the new High Septon, but then news had come from the south, some boy calling himself Aegon Targaryen had taken Storm's End and with it the allegiance of the Stormlords.
That had been a deep shock to Cersei, for whilst there was no doubt in her mind that this boy was merely a pretender- after all her father had laid Aegon Targaryen and his brat of a sister and weakling mother's bodies at Robert's feet after the sack- the fact that he had taken the Baratheon Fortress and had killed Lord Rowan in the process was mightily impressive, already she could feel her grasp on the throne beginning to slip. And so she ordered Tyrell to send Lord Tarly to deal with the pretender once and for all, Tyrell did that though his sworn bannerman bent the knee to the boy, that had caused Cersei all sorts of headaches and anger, traitors each everyone of these little roses, she was going to kill them all even if it took her own life to do so.
There was another headache for her to worry about as well, she had removed Tyrell as regent and reinstalled herself as such, she had sent Tyrell back to Highgarden but had kept his little rose in the Red Keep as leverage for his good behaviour, she cared not that this could antagonize him against her, she was Queen Regent and would do as she pleased. The other problem was Stannis Baratheon, the most stubborn and only surviving of the Baratheon brothers had gained the fealty of the northmen, having legitimised Brandon Stark's bastard and wedded him to Robb Stark's whore of a wife, the northmen had kicked out the Ironborn from Deepwood Motte and had taken Winterfell from the Boltons though Ramsay Bolton still lived and had apparently taken Jon Stark's wife and son hostage. That was enough to make her happy, though her happiness was dented somewhat by the fact that Stark had then led Stannis's forces and taken Riverrun and the Twins, it seemed King's Landing may be under attack sooner than she had thought.
There was also the fact that Qyburn had reported to her of the Dornish snakes revealing their true loyalties at last, Doran Martell for so long the cautious and boring man had finally entered the Game of Thrones, and had declared for the boy calling himself Aegon Targaryen. Though according to Qyburn, the man was still playing it safe, he had committed 10,000 spears to the boy's forces for his march on King's Landing, but he had not betrothed his own daughter to the boy, no Jon Stark's aunt Allyria Dayne was to become Queen should the boy win the throne. It seemed Prince Doran was not assured of his supposed nephew's victory, enough so that he still kept his son's betrothal to her precious Myrcella, not for long though. Cersei had men in Dorne loyal to her and her alone, and soon Prince Doran would learn the price of betraying a Lannister, her father had caused the Rains of Castamere, and Cersei quite fancied the rains over Dorne, a new house would rise from that mess and she would have her daughter back, at any cost.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Calling for whomever it was to come in Cersei found herself looking at her Master of Whispers, a man who had served her loyally when all else had deserted or betrayed her. Qyburn seemed nervous as he spoke. "Your Grace, there has been a letter from the Rock for you."
Cersei felt something akin to fear stir within her, she had not had word from Damion since he had written her to inform her of Uncle Kevan's body arriving at the Rock, had the Ironborn struck at the Rock? "Well what does it say then?" she asked trying to keep her voice neutral.
Qyburn swallowed nervously and opened the letter and began to read, Ser Robert Strong stood like a thick shadow behind him. "Dear Cousin Cersei, I write to inform you formally of my ascension as Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West by order of his grace King Tommem Baratheon first of his name, the lawful king of the Andals and the First men etc. As your liege lord, I request that you come back to Casterly Rock and allow for Ser Daven Lannister to assume your position as his grace's regent. Yours Martyn Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West."
Qyburn finished reading the letter and then put it down, and looked at her nervously. Cersei was silent for a moment before she felt cold rage begin to boil within her. "He dares, that brat, that worthless scum, thinks to call himself Lord of the Rock when it is I who is the rightful Lady of the Rock as my lord father's heir and successor. To what does he presume to do so?"
Qyburn swallowed loudly and spoke in soothing tones. "He mentions a royal decree handed to him by his father signed and sealed with his grace's own hand. He states that Lord Tyrell and Lord Tarly were witnesses to the sealing and writing of this decree as was Pycelle."
Cersei snorted, though she could feel her anger beginning to boil over as she glanced at the letter still on the table before her. "How convenient for Martyn then, that he would claim the witnesses be one who is now a traitor and one who is away in Highgarden and one who is dead. Tommem is a boy who will do whatever he is told to do. This decree has no validity, I will have Tommem issue a decree to overrule this and then have Martyn taught a sharp lesson."
Qyburn coughed and when she looked at him questioningly he stuttered out "That may be a problem Your Grace."
"How so?" Cersei asked, was Qyburn about to fail her as well?"
"His Grace has another document with him, of the same proclamation, it was kept within Lord Kevan's chambers, and after his lordship's death I was instructed to take it and keep it. I have it here." Qyburn said sheepishly.
Cersei glared at the man and took the proffered piece of paper, and read it quickly. She felt her world begin to crash around her as she read it, it confirmed everything that Martyn, her traitor of a cousin had said in his letter, and there was even one more sigil on the letter, it was something she had not seen before, a winged creature with three heads and was that a web she looked at? "Whose sigil is this Qyburn, Varys'?" she asked trying to keep her voice calm though she could feel the nerves slowly creeping in.
She saw Qyburn chuckle and felt anger begin to pool inside of her this was no laughing matter. "No Your Grace, it is not Varys' sigil, though I confess I can understand why you might find it so."
"Then whose sigil is it?" Cersei asked.
"Why my lady it is mine." Qyburn said and then he gave a titter that sounded so very familiar to Varys' she nearly choked on her wine.
"Yours? But you are a maester, you have no allegiance to anyone but those you are sworn to serve, and you serve me. Why would you take part in this treachery, this foolishness?" She asked angrily.
"Because the rightful king is at your gates my lady, he is here now and soon all show be as it was meant to be. Varys is not the only one who wished the dragons back. Ser Robert hold her down, we have unfinished business me and the Lannisters." Qyburn said.
Cersei was about scream when Ser Robert Strong pushed her down and held her as Qyburn shoved some sort of concoction down her throat, and the world began to go black around her.