Prologue

"Leora Lannister!" The tall man called out, grinning as he paced through the chambers, looking around and exaggeratedly heaving aside pillows and chairs.

"Where are you?" he pushed aside his thick golden hair and smothered laughter as he saw two little feet poking out from behind the curtains.

Jaime pretended to walk away, "I guess she isn't here!" he called out in a sing-song voice, and then suddenly darted across the room and heaved aside the thick red curtain.

"Got you!" he yelled, grinning, but his little half-sister wasn't there. Instead he saw a pair of her slippers, neatly positioned behind the heavy fabric.

Jaime gasped as the child ran at him from behind and jumped up onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist like a monkey.

Leora was laughing hysterically and he smiled, spinning her around and throwing both of them onto the bed.

She struggled to sit up, still giggling as her long golden waves flew wildly in her face.

"No Jaime, I got you!" she cried happily, and he grinned, lovingly pushing the strands behind her small ears.

"Where were you hiding then?" he asked her, a little ashamed to have been beaten at seek-and-find by a seven year old.

She pointed to the wine cabinet next to the window, Jaime frowned, "You were squished up in there?!" she smiled, but her face grew more serious, "No, look."

She got up off the bed and took his hand, dragging her brother to the cabinet.

Sliding the door open, Leora reached into the empty space and pressed lightly on a panel, a clicking sound was heard and she pushed down harder.

The bottom fell away and a dark hole appeared below, he gasped in shock, this had been his room all through his childhood, and every time he had visited Casterly Rock since then.

How had he not known about this?!

Leora was gone in a second, she slid through the gap and disappeared into the darkness, Jaime tried to stop her, but she was too quick.

Sighing, he pulled himself down, he could just fit into the cabinet, and feared that he would get stuck, but the passage below was large enough for him to stand fully in.

Leora was holding a torch, and as she carefully rubbed the flint, it burst into flame, lighting the tunnel up.

Jaime looked around in astonishment, the way was dug out of dirt and stone, this might be one of the mine passages.

"How did you find this?" he asked his little sister in astonishment, she shrugged, "I like exploring, there's lots of secret passages, rooms and cupboards all over the castle."

He only looked at her, Leora really was too clever for her own good – even Tyrion said so, though Cersei called her 'a precocious know-it-all'.

"Where does it go?" he asked her, following warily as she headed off to the left.

"I haven't been all the way left yet, but right it just leads to the mines one way, up the chimney passage in the East tower another way, and the third leads to that archer hole behind the moose's head in the ballroom, and the fourth is bricked up, it leads for miles and miles and miles, nearly a whole day's journey."

Jaime frowned, "And how would you know that?" she grinned cheekily, "I followed it half way, then came back, father nearly killed me, the second time I pretended to be sick, bolted my door and took food."

She frowned, "I think it might lead to the mines of Castamere Jaime.

They were all blocked up when father killed the Reynes, and that's about a day's journey in the same direction."

Her brother paled, "Well don't try and unblock it Leora!" he took her thin arm.

"This is a dangerous pastime you know, why don't you play with Myrcella and Joffrey instead? They will only be here for another week, and then you might not see them again for years!"

Leora groaned, "Myrcella's just a stupid baby! And I'd be glad to not see Joffrey for years, he's a little shit."

Jaime smothered laughter, "Where did you hear that word?!" he asked, trying not to smile.

She grinned up at him, her emerald eyes twinkling mischievously in the firelight, "That's what Tyrion said."

Jaime shook his head, "Well make sure you don't say that anywhere near your sister, or father, or anyone else for that matter!"

Leora just rolled her eyes, "I know Jaime." She told him, and then she gasped, "Look! There's a door ahead!" she ran forwards excitedly, and her brother walked faster to keep up.

Leora tugged at the handle, pulling it open ever so slowly, "Why are you taking so long?" he asked impatiently, immediately feeling foolish for being more excited than his baby sister.

"In case it creaks, you never know where we are, I don't want father hearing me!" she whispered back.

Jaime only nodded, looking nervously in as Leora pulled the door fully open.

She darted in, as quick and silent as a cat, and soon vanished.

Jaime hurried along behind her, and then up some narrow winding stairs, following the torchlight that danced on the walls; now they were proper walls of stone.

Then all of a sudden she was gone, Jaime looked around nervously in the darkness, "Leora?!" he hissed, but only silence answered.

Jaime stepped forwards cautiously, wishing that he had his sword.

Then suddenly the floor gave way and he was falling, no sliding, down and down.

Jaime screamed as he found himself sliding faster and faster, deeper and deeper, down into the ground.

He was on what felt like marble, it reminded him of childhood days with Cersei, sliding on a piece of wood down the big hill behind the training ground.

But this wasn't fun, he yelled for help as he plummeted down and down until suddenly he was flying through the air, arms flailing as he soared, flying for a second, before he hit the water with a splash.

It was freezing cold, and he gasped for air as he struggled to the surface.

But it wasn't the ocean, it wasn't salty and there weren't any waves, and everything was darkness, so he wasn't outside.

"Leora?!" he roared, as he relaxed into a comfortable stroke, "LEORAAA?!" he called again.

"Jaime! Over here, there's a platform!" a faint voice called, his heart melted with relief, and he propelled himself through the water towards her voice.

There was a little more light on this side though, and Jaime could just see his sister's silhouette, soon his fingers touched hard stone, and he hauled himself up out of the water and onto dry land.

She was kneeling beside him in seconds, and he sat up, gasping to catch his breath, "Why-didn't-you-scream?" he panted.

"Things like that happen, I'm always falling through trapdoors or running into walls. Screaming doesn't help anything though, it just gets you caught."

Jaime smiled weakly at this; she really was a bit precocious.

"Where are we?" he asked, looking around again, there was the faint rippling water, and the outlines of the wall at his back, but all else was darkness.

"No idea!" she grinned excitedly, and he looked up at her,

"Why are you so happy about that Leora?! How are we going to get back?! Certainly not the way we came!" He said, feeling anxious.

"That means that it really is a new place to explore! That's worth being wet in the dark."

She frowned, "Well, it is if it's something good…"

Jaime put his head in his hands, then stood slowly and put one hand against the wall.

"We can feel our way around the walls." Leora nodded, standing as well and holding onto the cold stone.

O/O/O/O/O

They walked in silence, concentrating hard as they blindly felt their way along, one foot hesitantly in front, afraid that they would walk straight off the ledge and back into the freezing water.

Then light appeared ahead, and Leora smiled as a doorway became visible.

"Nearly there." Her brother whispered; probably more to himself than to her, she wasn't frightened.

Leora was relieved though, when they came out into another tunnel, there was light coming in from a crack near the top of the passage, and she could hear men shouting in the distance.

They carried on quietly, she overtook him and went first, hurrying now up a steep slope, soon they reached the end.

The passage split in two ways, one went to a stairs, leading up, and the other went along in a passage for about ten feet then came to a dead end.

Jaime turned immediately to go up the stairs; Leora went to the left though.

"Where are you going? There's nothing there!" he hissed, "Why would it go this way if there was nothing?" she whispered back.

Sure enough there was something, a slit in the wall, about an inch wide, and it was almost exactly at her eye level.

Leora eagerly peered through, and gasped to see that it looked into the council chamber, and she was looking directly down on the council table.

She turned back to her brother right away though, "What was it?" he asked her curiously, Leora only shrugged, "I think it's a hole for letters or something, it's just a closet behind there."

Jaime nodded and continued up the stairs, "There's a door up here… Oh, it leads outside Leora!" he called down happily.

She smiled to herself, yes, she trusted Jaime, but Leora Lannister had plenty of secrets that were hers alone, and this was the best one so far.