[298 AC – A few days before Phenex' meeting with Pyat Pree]

Looking at the gorgeous red-haired priestess before her, Cersei wished she could just order her guards to impale her on their swords, of course only after having thoroughly broken her by having her defiled by every man in the city.

The Red Witch, that had managed to place herself in the small council as an advisor, represented everything the Lannister Queen wanted but could never get.

Cersei was incredibly beautiful, she was very well aware of that. Her golden hair, emerald eyes, fair skin, slim waist, full breasts, and stunning features had once made her the most beautiful woman of the Seven Kingdoms, and even now as she slowly grew older, most of her beauty still remained.

Melisandre though was easily just as beautiful as her, but the priestess had something that the Queen craved more than anything else - true power. And for this Cersei hated her.

The High Priestess was a sorceress that could probably turn a hundred men to ashes by herself with the greatest ease, if the things she had heard about the High Priest Thoros and the stories the Spider had told her were true.

Melisandre, as a woman, also held incredible authority in the Red Temple and her influence in the court was ever-growing. And even though the priestess did not overly involve herself in the happenings at court, being mostly a silent observer, even Jon Arryn had subtly sought her input.

Thankfully that old bastard was dead now, something Cersei felt great pride in having a hand in.

The former Hand of the King had simply come too close to a truth he shouldn't have touched upon, on top of being a thorn in her House's side since Robert had claimed the Iron Throne.

The death of the Hand though hadn't been as helpful as Cersei hoped, as she had tried to send her men after all the bastards of her husband that Jon Arryn had managed to find, only to realize that the Red Temple had taken them all in.

And while this was a very serious problem, Cersei was not stupid enough to send her men to the temple to retrieve them. Not only would that be equivalent to sending her guards to their death without achieving anything, but the Red Temple also was not an entity that could be provoked so easily.

And so the Queen had seen little other options than to go and meet that hateful witch, hoping that her House's connection with the temple was enough so that she could convince the red-headed whore to hand over her husband's bastards.

“So, what have you come here for, Your Highness? Is there something you perhaps need my assistance with?”, Melisandre inquired, her voice almost enchanting in its sensuality.

Gritting her teeth, Cersei addressed the priestess as politely as she could manage: "I have been getting reports about the several reported criminals being sheltered by the temple and I am just here due to my concern for the temple's reputation."

A peal of short bell-like laughter escaped Melisandre's lush lips as she listened to Cersei's words.

"I didn't think you enjoyed engaging in gossip, Your Highness.", the Red Priestess replied with a perfect smile, "The Lord blesses every one of his servants with the ability to discern the guilty from the innocent. So you see, it is simply impossible for criminals to find shelter with the temple, Your Highness.”

For a moment Cersei was at a loss for words after hearing this answer, and truly what could she say in response?

It was a fact that the priest and priestesses had magic powers, so how could she argue with the witch about what those powers entailed with her not being a priestess herself? Cersei also couldn't really threaten Melisandre, as even her rashness and thirst for bastard blood had their limits.

And before the Queen could really formulate another argument, the Red Priestess addressed her once again.

"It is admirable for Your Grace to care so much about the lawfulness in the city, even though the City Watch is normally very thorough in erasing threats. Or could it be that Your Highness is worried about her own safety?", Melisandre voiced out in praise and concern, her features mirroring her words so perfectly that even Cersei felt a chill crawl down her spine.

Erasing threats.

The way the priestess stressed those words, made it all too clear to the Queen that Melisandre knew exactly who and why Cersei inquired about those sheltered by the Red Temple.

The Red Witch continued though without pause and her next words were what really caused a spike of fear to emerge from the Queen's heart.

"Well, I am sure Your Highness' guards and the Kingsguard are perfectly capable of keeping you safe considering how close at hand Your Highness keeps them. I suppose the only worry is the unseen dangers like poison and such.", Melisandre voiced out as if she was just pondering about the possible dangers.

“But if that is really a worry of yours, you can always come to me for advice, Your Highness. I am in fact well-versed in poisons, even something like the Tears of Lys wouldn't escape my eyes.”, the Red Priestess reassured 'kindly'.

Cold, ice-cold. Cersei's blood practically froze in her veins, as she looked at the red-headed demoness in pure fright.

' … Kingsguard … close at hand … dangers like poison … Tears of Lys … '

These words echoed over and over in the Queen's head, as she looked into the unsettling blood-red eyes of the priestess.

'She knows. She knows everything.', Cersei thought in shock and terror.

But what made the normally lofty Queen practically frantic, was that there was absolutely nothing that she could do to silence the Red Witch, as she remembered all too well what had happened to those that attracted the Red God's wrath onto themselves, like the Faith Militants.

In the end, the Queen couldn't leave the priestess' quarters in the Red Keep fast enough and in her impotent wrath, she even beat one of her handmaidens, whom she knew slept with her husband, into a bloodied state and scarred her face brutally.

And just a few days later when her anxiety about the Red Priestess telling Robert what she knew, started to slowly overwhelm her fear of the Red God, a distant echo of terrible power made her experience what true fear really was.

Never before had she felt so utterly powerless and insignificant, as her mind and heart were pressured by the shadow of a presence that made her collapse on her knees and even wet herself.

Gone were any thoughts of plotting against the Red Priestess and for the first time in decades Cersei prayed for forgiveness for her sins, pleading for the Red God's mercy. At the very least when it came to the life of her beloved children the Queen pleaded and pleaded for hours for 'his' forgiveness.