They brought her to him wrapped in a bloody cloak. She was limp, unconscious, and was dropped at his feet by the Queen's men like a rag doll.
"We've brought your bride, KIngslayer!" Said one of the unsullied. "Her Grace has commanded that she be confined to Casterly Rock along with you."
With that, they were gone, leaving Jaime standing stunned in the courtyard. He had known that the Queen was arranging a marriage for him. It had been part of the agreement that Tyrion had arranged to prevent his execution. He tried to call after the Queen's men, to ask them who this woman was and why she had been treated thus but they ignored him as if he hadn't spoken a word. He knelt down and opened the bloody cloak, not knowing who to expect to find inside. She had dark hair that was wet with blood. Her clothes were tattered as was her skin, evidence of a flogging but she was breathing, alive.
Jaime sent a nearby servant after the maester and then he carried the petite young woman himself off to her room where her injuries would be treated. It wasn't long before the maester informed him that not only had she been flogged, she had a shoulder wrenched out of place and a broken kneecap. In spite of all that, the maester believed she would live given enough time and rest.
No one knew who she was. Jaime was more than a little angry that his wife had been delivered to him in this condition and they couldn't even have the decency to tell him her name. He checked on her continuously, hourly probably, just to see if she was awake but she never was.
On the third day after her arrival a chest of her things were delivered. Once again, the queen's men claimed to know nothing about it's contents or even who she was, only that these things belonged to the new Lady Lannister. He didn't bother pointing out that she wasn't the lady Lannister yet. He didn't want to invade her privacy by going through her things, but he he needed to know who she was so he opened the chest looking for clues. In the top of the chest he found a sword, a thin Braavosi style blade. Underneath that were clothes, peasant style simple dresses that laced up the front, boys clothes as well that looked they would fit her small frame, boots, undergarments, and then the only clue that the chest contained. It was a book, A History of House Stark. Why she have this book...unless…? Jaime went straight back to her room to look at her again. He gently lifted one eyelid and found that her eyes were the telltale Stark gray. He knew it was her, Arya Stark.
Ayra didn't wake up for another day. Some of his men found Jaime in the stables when she did finally awaken and he made his way back to her room to speak with her for the first time. He wasn't looking forward to it but it had to be done. He could hear a commotion from her room before he ever reached it. Screaming, kicking, footsteps, cries of "Hold her down!" and "Calm down m'lady!" He reached the doorway and found that four of his men had their hands on her. Her hands were tied and they were working on her feet. One of his men had a black eye, another had a bleeding bite mark on his neck and though he could see pain in her eyes from all her struggling, she wasn't giving up trying to get away from them.
"What is the meaning of this?" Jaime said angrily from the doorway.
Everyone stopped moving and the room went silent, even Arya.
"She was trying to leave, m'lord. She was trying to escape." One of his men explained.
"That's to be expected. I doubt she wants to be at Casterly Rock any more than I do. Now untie her and get out." Jaime told them.
"But m'lord she-" The one with the bite mark began to protest. Jaime cut him off.
"She is the future lady of Casterly Rock and you will treat her as such! Is that understood?" Jaime said firmly.
"Yes m'lord." They quickly unbound her and fled the room.
Jaime closed the door behind them to keep her in. Arya stayed sitting up on the bed and eyed him warily.
"What do you want?" She finally said to him.
"Answers. What happened to you? You arrived very badly injured." He said.
"Why should I tell you anything?" She said defiantly.
"Because I asked nicely." He replied but his tone was irritated.
"If you think asking nicely is going to make up for this…" She began but didn't finish the thought.
"Make up for what? I didn't have you flogged. I didn't ask for any arranged marriage either. Just tell me how you were injured and I'll leave you alone for the rest of the day." He said.
"Fine. I injured my shoulder and knee trying to stop an execution. The queen had me flogged for interfering." She said.
"That's it? Whose execution?"
"I told you how I was injured. That's all I'm saying for now." "She said, ever defiant.
"I'm not leaving until I get more details."
"If you want to sit there all day, suit yourself." She said, reaching for a book on the bedside stand and doing her best to ignore him.
"I can stand here for days if you like." He said with a grin.
She sighed, then cringed at the pain the movement caused in her shoulder. "It was my husband she executed, Gendry Waters. He was Robert Baratheon's bastard." She said, staring at the wall behind him and refusing to meet his eyes.
"I'm sorry…" Jaime said. It made sense that the new queen didn't want any Baratheon family members left alive to challenge her rule but it didn't make it any less cruel.
"Why are you sorry?" Arya was angry.
"You're right, I'm not. I was just being polite. If you'd rather I be rude I'll gladly comply." He said.
"I'd rather you just leave." She said.
"Done." Jaime turned to leave the room and left her there.
Jaime left her alone for the rest of the day as promised but the next morning he went up to her chambers at breakfast time. He didn't plan on speaking to her. He doubted it would help anything if he did but he knew that the maester would be checking on her then and he wanted to know how well she was healing thus far.
"How is she?" Jaime asked in the hallway as Maester Gavin left Arya's room.
"Her wounds are healing well. I suspect that her knee might not ever be quite the same as it was. She will likely always walk with a limp but she will walk. However there has been another development. I suspected on her arrival here that she might be with child. I didn't want to say anything until I had the chance to speak with her. She confirmed my suspicions. She has missed one moons bloods." Gavin said.
"Seven hells...does anyone else know about this?" He asked the master.
"No, no one."
"See to it that it stays that way. I need to speak to her." Jaime went to her door and knocked.
"Go away!" Arya shouted from the other side.
Jaime ignored her and went into the room anyway.
"Oh, it's you again." Arya sighed. "I thought it was Gavin with more of his salves. That fucking stuff stings like a bugger."
Jaime almost laughed. He wasn't used to hearing such language from a woman. But he knew he shouldn't be surprised at it. Arya wasn't an ordinary woman.
"Gavin says you're with child." Jaime said, coming straight to the point.
"So? What of it?" She said.
"Does the queen know?" He asked her.
"Why would I have told her? I'm not stupid."
"Then you know that if you want to keep your child, we'll need to marry right away." Jaime said.
Her face paled at his words, then she nodded. "You'd say the child was yours?"
"I will, but only if you'll agree to try to get along with me after this."
She seemed conflicted about that. "What exactly does that mean? Am I supposed to let you fuck me whenever you want to or just be polite or wear fancy dresses or what?"
"It only means that you'll stop trying to run away and stop fighting with my men and and at least make an attempt at being civil with me." He said. It was the best he could hope for.
"What if she doesn't believe the lie? The baby will come a month early. What if she knows that it's Gendry's child?" Arya said worriedly. "I would be better off running away."
"No you wouldn't because if you run away you'll be alone and if you stay here you'll have all of Casterly Rock to protect you and your child."
"Even if you would do that, and I don't see any reason why you would, Casterly Rock can't stand against her dragons." Arya protested.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Casterly Rock has deep caverns that no dragon could ever reach. We'd have a chance here and I'd rather go down fighting than running away. I think you would too."
She thought for a moment. "I would."
"Good, then you won't object to the wedding taking place tonight?" Jaime asked her. He was in no hurry to marry her. He truly wasn't. Yet he knew that it had to take place quickly if he didn't want to watch a child be executed by the new queen.
"If you're just looking for an excuse to fuck me…" Arya said angry but there was fear in her eyes.
"No. You're still injured. I'll not touch you."
She didn't look like she believed him but nodded anyway. "Alright. Tonight then."
The entire household went into a flurry to prepare a wedding for that evening. Jaime really wasn't thrilled about it but he knew it had to be done. He had to do what he could for Arya, for the sake of the oath he made to her mother and allowing the queen to suspect there were any Baratheon children alive would do nothing to help Arya. By the time evening came a suitable dress had been found for Arya and a small feast laid out. The ceremony was short, as was the feast because Arya was in no condition to be on her feet for dancing or any of the normal peasantries. They retired to Jaime's chambers in the end. No one would believe the pregnancy story if they didn't at least spend the night together.
Jaime locked the door to the bedchamber and turned and found Arya standing next to the bed, a dagger in her hand, knuckles white from her tight grip.
"Put the knife down Arya. I'm not going to hurt you." Jaime said calmly, almost annoyed.
For half a minute she didn't move. Then she slowly lowered her arm and the blade clattered to the floor. He took a step closer to the bed but she seemed to believe he was coming towards her and she took a step backwards. He stopped.
"I'm just going to get into the bed, alright?" Jaime told her.
She stepped aside and allowed him to get into bed, still wearing his clothes. Arya stood at the bedside watching him for several minutes, leaning mostly on her good leg, making no move to come to bed.
"You're in no condition to stand there all night." Jaime told her. "Just lie down and rest. If I wanted to harm you I would have by now."
She hesitated and then moved to the bed, lying down while still wearing her clothes. She was still in pain. He could hear it in her breathing. She managed to settle herself and close her eyes as if to sleep. Jaime didn't fall asleep for a long time. He could tell by her breathing that Arya wasn't asleep either.
"Are you afraid of me, Arya?" Jaime spoke into the darkness.
"Of course not!" She said.
He didn't believe her but he dropped the subject anyway. "Where were you all this time? No one has seen you since before your father died."
"Why do care? It's not as if we're going to be friends. I'm still a Stark and you're still a Lannister." She said accusingly.
"I'm just trying to pass the time. This is far more boring than I had expected of my wedding night. If you'd rather not talk, I'm sure we can find something more entertaining to do."
"I was lots of places these past few years." She said, answering his original question. "I ran away from Kings Landing disguised as a boy. I went north with a group bound for the wall. Gendry was one of the boys in the group. I got captured a few times, ended up in Harrenhal and was taken by the Hound and he got wounded so I left him and went to Braavos to train with the faceless men. I was there for three years before I decided to come back and try to find Sansa. While I was looking for Sansa I found Gendry again...and we got married, and the Queen came with her dragons. She offered a reward for any relatives of the usurper. Someone sold him out for the gold. I tried to stop it and ended up here."
"You married lower than your station. I take it you married for love." He commented.
"Yes, I married for love!" Arya was angry. "Unlike the second time."
"I'm not concerned about that." Jaime told her almost cheerfully. "I'm sure you'll decide to love me later on. Any woman would."
"Ew, I'll never do that."
"Suit yourself." He said, resuming the silence.
"Is there any wine in this room?" Arya asked a short time later.
"There can be." Jaime got up and spoke to a servant outside the door. Jaime lit a candle while they waited. The wine was brought to them right away. Jaime set a glass on the small table in the corner of the room, passes the cup to Arya and then poured another for himself.
"What happened to your hand?" She asked him after gulping down the glass of wine. She passed the cup back to him and he poured her another.
"It got chopped off." He said with shrug. "But the golden one is better, don't you think?"
"No, I don't think so." She said quite honestly. "Can you still fight with your left hand?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"I had to learn to use a sword with both hands during my training. It's not as easy with my off hand but it can be done." She said, gulping down more wine.
Jaime said nothing to this. He had never quite mastered swordsmanship with his left hand. It irritated him that Arya could use both hands, that is if she were telling the truth about it.
"I saw your sword when your things arrived." He told her. "I wouldn't have opened them but I was still trying to find out who you were since the queen's men couldn't be bothered to tell me. It's a fine little blade."
"Do I get to have it back?" She asked him.
"If you promise not to hurt anyone with it, yes."
"I only hurt people who try to hurt me first." Arya said matter of factly.
"Then it shouldn't be a problem. No one is going to hurt you here."
"Not even you?" She asked it as if she thought he was a liar.
"Not even me." He replied.
"Could I have more wine?" She asked holding out her cup. He poured her a third glass and a third glass for himself.
The next thing Jaime could remember was waking to Arya's voice the next morning.
"Gods… how much wine did we drink?" She was saying.
He realized he was under the covers and he was naked, so was she. It started coming back to him little by little. They'd had more wine. He remembered stumbling back into bed and how she had laughed at his inability to walk. Then she had blown the candle out at her bedside and admitted that she didn't like the dark, it made her feel lonely. He had moved closer to her so she wouldn't be lonely...
"Too much." He finally said.
"Did we…?" She asked.
"We did. You don't remember? You said you didn't like the dark."
"Seven hells…" She clamped her hand over her mouth. Then she immediately turned and puked over the side of the bed. "Too much wine." She mumbled as she sat up and wiped her mouth.
"I hope so…" Jaime said.
"What do you mean, you hope so?" Arya said, her hand on her now throbbing temple.
"Well if the memory of last night is making you vomit then we have more problems than I'd expected."
"Oh." She said, meeting his eyes with flushed cheeks. "It wasn't that. It was just the wine."
"Good. I'm going down to breakfast. I'll send some maids in to help you, and to bring breakfast up. You should stay off your feet." He said, throwing his clothes on and getting up to leave her as quickly as possible.
Jaime hadn't intended to sleep with her that night. He hadn't intended to sleep with her at all. She was too young, too vulnerable, and injured as well. He didn't have any interest in bedding the Stark girl. This marriage was supposed to be for political reasons only. And now all of that was ruined by his memories of the previous night. The feeling of her lips against his, her hands in his hair, his member inside of her...He knew it had only been the wine but she had been so wanton, so greedy for more and he had given it to her. It had been too long since he'd had a woman, and as she'd said, they'd had too much wine. He tried to push the thoughts of it from his mind and couldn't. As soon as breakfast was ended he went straight for the practice yard. He needed the distraction of a sword.
By the time the noon meal came Jaime had started to become worried. Arya was still injured and he had been drunk and could only remember bits and pieces of the previous night. What he remembered was all good things but it was very possible that she remembered it differently. But he stayed away from her room until evening. Jaime made his way back to her chambers right after dinner.. She was in bed with a tray of food in her lap which she had apparently barely touched. She glanced up at him when he entered the room, her face was flush.
"Are you feeling alright?" Jaime asked her. Maybe she had a fever.
"I'm fine." She said and put the tray aside on the bedside table. "I'm sick of being alone in this room."
"You shouldn't be out of bed walking. Yesterday was enough for a while." He told her.
"Who said anything about walking? I said I was sick of being alone." She stated.
"Right. Sorry about that. I should have seen to it that you had some company in here."
She gave him a disgusted look. "So what would you do, order some servant to come in here and keep me entertained?"
"I assumed you didn't have any problem keeping company with people of lower birth." He pointed out remembering that her husband had been baseborn himself. He wasn't really sure what Arya was so upset about.
"I don't." She said and went silent, seemingly dropping the subject.
"Then what's the problem?" He asked.
"Nothing, Just forget it."
"Wait, were you trying to indicate a preference for my company?" Jaime said with half a grin.
"Of course not." She said with an air of indifference but her cheeks were flush again.
"I think you were." He said. "And even if you weren't I've decided that you'll be stuck with me for tomorrow whether you like it or not."
"Next time I'll just keep my mouth shut and be alone." She said annoyed. He said nothing to that and for a moment they lapsed into silence. Jaime moved as if to leave her for the night, then stopped again.
"About last night...I hope I didn't hurt you." He said.
"You didn't." She said and the blush had clearly returned to her cheeks.
"Good. Goodnight Arya." He said and was almost out of the room when she called after him.
"Jaime?"
He turned to look at her and found that she had tears in her eyes. "Yes?"
She swallowed. "Never mind." Whatever she had been about to ask him she had evidently changed her mind. "Good night." She added and with that he left her and went back to his old chambers.
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Arya threw her head back onto the pillow with a frustrated sigh as Jaime left her. She hated herself. Hated the fact that she had been so close to asking Jaime to stay in her bed. What in seven hells was wrong with her? She hadn't wanted to marry him. She had intended to do everything she could to run away or fight him off until he had offered her the protection of Casterly Rock for Gendry's baby. She didn't quite believe he would do that but even if he hadn't meant it, if she could manage to make him like her then he might do it anyway. Manipulation wasn't her strong suit. She much preferred to just fight someone to get what she wanted. All she wanted right now was to keep her unborn child, what little was left of her husband, safe. Her only real chance of doing that was to stay put and try to gain the allegiance of her new husband. She hadn't expected it to be so complicated. For one thing, something about him had her constantly arguing. Even if she knew how to seduce a man, she couldn't have done it with him. Just having him nearby made her want to slap that smug smile off his face. She had never been one of those agreeable courteous ladies like Sansa. She wasn't the type to flirt either. She'd always had an argumentative streak but he somehow made it worse. She had to fight with herself not to fight to fight with him. And to make matters worse, that wine last night had ruined everything. She had never felt anything quite like that, quite as good as that. She was consumed with guilt by the fact that she had enjoyed sex with another man so soon after being widowed. It didn't help matters that the man had been a Lannister either.
Arya turned onto her side and hugged her pillow. Her chest hurt from the ache of loss and she cried herself to sleep.