Chapter 4

Jaime

Jaime Lannister stared straight ahead of him at a spot on the wall in the great Sept of Baelor refusing to look anywhere else. He and the rest of the Kingsguard were lining the aisle waiting for the new princess to walk down it on the arm of her brother and thus the ceremony would take place.

It certainly was hot in the Sept with the amount of people standing close together and wearing his own golden armor didn't do much to lower his temperature. He could practically feel the sweat sliding down his face and he almost grimaced with disgust.

Why in Seven Hells did these ceremonies have to be so long?!

He supposed it was preferable to a royal funeral where one would have to stand vigil by their king for days until the new king was crowned and they assumed their duties to him.

Still though, he wished this thrice damned ceremony would conclude so he could at least go back to the Keep and get himself some wine.

As he stood there and watched as the Jewel of Dorne was joined together with the Crown prince, Jaime couldn't help but feel a certain discontent in his own heart.

She had looked absolutely stunning when the servant had opened the door for him to collect her and bring her to the wheelhouse so they might go to the great sept of Baelor.

Her long glossy dark curls had been swept into an elaborate hairdo and her golden olive skin had been perfumed with a floral scent that made her smell almost intoxicating.

There was a thin circle of gold woven into her hair with a small bronze colored topaz gemstone resting at the center of her forehead. The pale golden dress she was wearing had a plunging neckline and an open back with the thin straps of it tied about her neck, showing off her generous curves and making Jaime curse himself thrice over for looking at her in such a manner.

Her smile however when she saw him was the sweetest thing he had ever seen and her golden brown eyes sparkled when she saw him causing his heart to skip a beat for a moment.

Never before had he seen a woman so beautiful.

She didn't ooze confidence like his sister did but Elia Martell was called the Jewel of Dorne for a reason.

Cersei was a great beauty while Elia was an exotic beauty. They were both stunning, but in very different ways.

As she stood in front of her husband and the septon placed their hands on top of each other in a symbolic gesture of their union, he felt himself stiffen.

Of course he had been stiff for the last few days leading up to this wedding and for the life of him, he didn't know why.

He had ignored it and carried on with his duties the same as he had always done. It was only when Elia was speaking with him that he felt the stiffness abate slightly.

Her smile had a way of disarming him and stripping him of all of his excuses and making him uncomfortable in a way that no one else did.

Those golden brown eyes of hers would stare into his with a gentle intensity that made him feel as if he were a child again and was both painful and soft.

No one he knew had ever looked at him with that sort of gaze…the last was perhaps his mother and she had died so long ago that he couldn't really remember it.

He wanted to cringe when he thought of Lady Joanna.

Jaime had often wondered what life would have been like in Casterly Rock if his mother hadn't died birthing Tyrion.

Given the fact that he was only six and ten it wasn't an odd assumption to have or to make. Tyrion was his little brother and he couldn't imagine his life without him but his father and sister always could.

They had hated Tyrion just for being born and it was something Jaime had tried to shelter him from. It had led to some roaring fights with his sister as this was the one issue he wouldn't back down from and led to them not speaking for days until either he broke or she broke.

Most of the time it was him.

There were very few things Jaime could do to protect Tyrion from his father however and perhaps that was one reason there was a miniscule part of him that was glad he was away from it all.

He did feel sorry for Tyrion who was at the Rock right now having to deal with both his father and his sister but it wasn't something that could be helped.

The blonde turned his attention back to the scene happening in front of him. The High Septon was droning on and on about the vows made before the gods and how anyone would be cursed who tried to tear Princess Elia and the prince apart and how this union would be until one of them left this earth.

Unconsciously the notion caused him to shiver.

Jaime knew there would be a time coming when he did leave this earth, and probably sooner than any other noble eating and drinking and being merry in his well-guarded keep because would need to be on his guard every day.

Wouldn't father have something to say about that? He thought bitterly to himself.

As he stood there with his sworn brother watching the wedding ceremony continue on and on for an interminably amount of time until he almost wanted to pull his hair out.

But that would be incredibly unbecoming so all he did was shuffle his feet slightly and roll his shoulders back.

The only sight in the entire sept that caught his attention was Elia and that was only because in his private opinion she was the most stunning woman in the room.

All of those who were gathered for the wedding were dressed in their finest but to the knight they didn't hold a candle to the princess from Dorne who looked more stunning and radiant that any woman he had ever seen.

He knew such thoughts were inappropriate for a knight serving the royal family, especially from her sworn shield but at the same time, he was young enough where he couldn't bring himself to care.

There were very few people that he would be pleased to be around more than Elia. She at least was a familiar and somewhat comforting face in the capital and as much as he would never admit it, he was glad she was here.

Her personality was so different from Cersei's he had discovered in the last few weeks that she had been in the capital and it still surprised him. Unlike his sister who had a very domineering take charge sort of personality, Elia was gentle and sweet seemed to value the people around her with a gentleness that took Jaime by surprise.

She spoke kindly with everyone not just the people around her and Jaime could plainly see that the servants, both the ones in the keep and the ones she had brought with her from Dorne absolutely loved her.

She'll make a good queen, he thought to himself as he stood watching as the Jewel of Dorne exchanged her vows with the dragon prince. She'll be a queen that the realm needs. The people in this city have had enough uncertainty and brutality to last them a lifetime. She will heal the realm.

He saw Elia glance up at the prince and smile as Rhaegar helped to remove the Dornish cloak from her shoulders and place the black one bearing the red three headed dragon about her once more.

Unexpectedly Jaime's hand tightened on the hilt of his sword as he saw the obvious and public declaration that she now belonged to another man.

A wave of bitterness crashed over him and with an effort, he swallowed it down. There was no sense in wishing for what he couldn't have.

As the vows were then sealed with a kiss, Jaime felt a muscle jerk in his cheek and took a deep breath.

Try to get a hold of yourself Lannister, he thought. You'll still see her everyday. Granted a woman like that won't belong to you…but you knew that when your sister talked you into this nonsense right?

The Lion of Lannister grimaced. The small voice in his head reminded him a good deal of a darker, nastier version of himself that sounded warped with bitterness.

As the royal couple turned to leave the sept, he released a deep sigh. Thank the gods. Now maybe I can go back to the keep and get something to drink.

Ω

Jaime was glad that the bedding ceremony was avoided.

Sometimes during the festivities, both the prince and princess slipped away to be alone and he could breathe a sigh of relief when it happened and they could not be found.

It would have made him sick to his stomach to see her like that.

It didn't matter that the Dornish were a bit more…sexually free than the rest of Westeros, she was too good to be put through something like that.

Jaime knew he would most likely be just as lecherous as the rest of Westeros when it came to seeing any other woman unclothed, however with Elia it just seemed sick and wrong.

He didn't stop to ask himself why it was that he felt that way as it didn't seem to matter. It was only later when he would wonder of all woman, why it would bother him the most to see her in that sort of manner.

Perhaps it was simply because he was her sworn shield and thinking of her in such a manner seemed wrong.

Perhaps it was because he still thought of her as the girl he had known so long ago.

But whatever the reason it still grated on him to think of her laid bare before the lecherous nobles and wedding guests that the king had bid come.

It seemed so….cheap.

He didn't know why the knowledge of this act was inspiring in him such feelings of discontent but he knew he was acting somewhat out of character in thinking so.

But then he had been acting out of character a lot lately.

His arrogance was still there as was his sarcasm but it was far sharper and bitter than it had been before.

And no one would point that out to him until later.

As Jaime stood there and watched the wedding guests dance and twirl and flirt the night away while the food spilled and the wine poured he couldn't help but wonder if any of these people were as fake as his sister.

He was missing Tyrion every day.

Someone pushed a goblet of wine into his hand and Jaime looked up into the smirking face of Jonathor Darry."

"Drink up Lannister," the knight said. "Even the sworn brothers are allowed to enjoy some aspects of tonight."

Cautiously Jaime brought the wine to his mouth and sipped. He knew it wouldn't be a good idea to consume too much lest it come to the attention of King Aerys.

There would be no one to save him then.

He looked around the room at the laughing maids and smirking nobles and felt his upper lip curl into a sneer.

Every day he could feel the bitterness closing in around him and the sarcasm building in an effort to maintain his nonchalant façade.

It was all a game though.

He was broken inside and he didn't even know it.

The ceremony continued long into the evening and Jaime didn't see Elia once. He did wonder more than once where she and Rhaegar had gone off to but decided that it was none of his business.

The moment the festivities ended and life in the keep returned to normal, he could resume his duties of service to the king and to princess Elia.

Until then all he had to do was grit his teeth through the laughter and the jests and wonder how foolish these people really were.

Ω

The next few weeks of wedding festivities passed in a blur for Jaime. The tourney concluded and the victor was rewarded with his prize. All in all, Jaime couldn't remember who was the victor and it didn't really matter.

Not in the end.

What did seem to matter however was the happiness that princess Elia displayed.

Jaime had been able to tell that something was wrong in the week leading up to the wedding as she had been quieter than usual and her smile had dimmed.

He was beginning to realize he liked when a smile was ever present on her face as it meant no matter what he was feeling, at least someone was happy.

But when she didn't smile, Jaime often wondered what there was to be happy about. He wondered whether or not she knew how much her own smile brought a sort of reprieve to his own melancholy.

She was another man's wife but he was her sworn shield and so that meant that he would spend more time with her, often then Rhaegar would.

A few weeks after the wedding Prince Oberyn left which was a source of relief for Jaime. He had been having a difficult time with the amount of people in the keep and managing his own time keeping an eye on the princess.

Seeing her with her new husband was proving to be a difficult experience and Jaime would feel his fingers unconsciously twitch whenever he had to follow the two of them around the keep along with Ser Arthur.

He didn't know what was provoking his tense reaction but he knew he needed to get it under control before it was noticed and there was some sort of repercussion.

It didn't mean that it wasn't difficult though.

The amount of sarcasm that he needed to hold back at times when addressing some of his sworn brothers burned his tongue.

The only time that he was somewhat himself and slightly less bitter was when he was with Princess Elia and following her around the keep.

She had a way of stripping past the nonsense, denial and anger that Jaime had wrapped around him and made him feel both vulnerable and comfortable.

She was actually able to get him to smile which was a herculean effort since his family had left for the rock. The time the blonde spent with her was the only time throughout the day where he felt remotely less angry or less bitter.

He could tell she was curious as to why he was so different from the person she knew so long ago, but his recent issues with his father and sister were nothing he wanted to talk about.

Jaime wanted to look forward, he really did but there were far too many things that were dragging him back. Whether that was the issues he was having with his own past or not having much choice in his own life at the moment or simply because he had been manipulated in the harshest way possible and was now separated from his family and his home, he did not know.

One thing he did know however was that the actions of the king were weighing heavily on his mood.

However, there were a few instances in the keep where Jaime was able to witness some rays of sunshine that lightened his countenance and made him feel not quite so grim.

It was almost impossible for Jaime to be dour and acidly sarcastic around her for there were times when her eyes would simply disarm him and he would need to look away from her lest he make a fool of his himself and reveal all of his secrets.

There was one time however when not smiling around her became impossible.

He had accompanied the princess to the gardens where she might spend her time in the company of the queen when he saw a glimpse of Elia's true heart.

As per usual, the princess had her golden smile on her face when she saw him and the two of them walked through the gardens together. It was something that Jaime noticed about her, she just had a genuine smile that filled a room and made his eyes stray to no other when he was around her.

When she saw him, the smile seemed to reach her eyes constantly and Jaime was shocked that his presence could elicit such a reaction.

He would never admit it, but he was beginning to enjoy spending his days with her. Her optimism and sunshine like personality as well as gentleness and compassion for the queen and young Prince Viserys especially was like a balm to him.

It had been a long time since the red keep had experienced someone with genuine compassion and honor.

Despite Aerys reasons for shunning his sister mad as they might be, Jaime was secretly glad that Elia's sweet and gentle presence had been brought to the capital. She would be a queen who would care for the realm and care for those about her with no motive other than love.

Jaime saw that when she was with Prince Viserys and insisted that the queen retire to rest so that she would look after him.

Viserys looked a little disappointed as a result of this.

It was obvious that he was closest to his mother out of all of the people in the keep. Jaime had never seen the little boy interact with Rhaegar let alone Aerys and he was secretly glad of the latter.

Aerys may have provided the seed, but the youngest dragon was all Rhaella. And because of that love for his mother that fuelled the glassy eyes and the slightly pushed out lip that was clearly sad.

When this happened, Elia got down on her hands and knees in front of the young prince on the ground looked him in the eyes. "Why don't you and I play together Viserys?"

Instantly the shy and nervous look on the little blonde's face vanished and he cocked his head to one side. "What game?"

Jaime cast a look down to Elia whom he was standing beside and was surprised and a little amused to see that her golden brown eyes were sparkling with amusement and mischief.

He felt his heart quicken a little.

"Why we shall play a game my brother and I used to play when I lived in Sunspear," the princess went on. "After we swam in the water we would come out and lie on the sand and make castles in it. Have you ever made a sand castle before Viserys?"

The little prince's eyes which had previously been on the ground looked up somewhat reluctantly to meet those of the Dornish woman. He slowly shook his head but he looked curious as well.

"Well we can't have that now can we?" Elia asked getting to her feet. She reached down and held out her hand towards the second prince who looked up at it and her cautiously, assessing whether or not she was trustworthy for a moment before taking it.

Elia then turned and led her brother in law off down the garden path with Jaime following somewhat curiously.

"Have you made sandcastles before Jaime?" Elia tossed over her shoulder and the blonde raised an eyebrow at her.

"No your grace, I can't say that I have," he replied.

Elia smirked at him and he was surprised at the mischief in her eyes. "Well then I shall have to educate you. Everyone should know how to build a sandcastle."

Despite himself Jaime smirked at her. "Should they? I didn't think it was so great a political matter as to be worthy of at least once a practice."

Elia laughed, the sound of it tossing upward into the air like the breeze down the path as they walked through the gardens. "You misunderstand me Jaime. Learning how to build a sandcastle is very important. After all how is one to learn how to rule their own keep one day?"

Jaime stiffened slightly at the mention of such things but was glad that Elia didn't notice. The last thing he wanted was an odd look.

Thankfully he was saved by Prince Viserys.

"I want to rule keep!" the three year old prince shouted happily tugging on the princess's hand and immediately Elia turned her attention to him.

"Will you be a good ruler Viserys?" she asked with a smile.

The small boy nodded his head so hard Jaime thought it would fall off of his neck. "Yes! Me be good ruler! Protect Mama and everyone!"

At least the boy has a sense of priorities, Jaime thought grimly to himself. That's more than I can say for his father.

"That's good," Elia said. "You must protect your family. It will be the most important thing you do as a ruler. And you must protect your people to. They will love you for it if you do."

Jaime raised an eyebrow at the princess's back. How much did she know of ruling? He knew her brother was much loved by the people of Dorne and that it was that leadership that had enabled them to resist the Targaryens for so long.

To this day Dorne was the only region that had never been conquered, instead choosing to bend the knee through marriage instead of arms.

It was far easier to traverse the cold than the heat in that sense. Dragons and armies needed water and food like every other being and in the harsh unyielding Dornish deserts such things were often denied.

There were oases in the desert but one had to know where they were and how to look for them in order to find them. In essence, if one didn't travel to Dorne by sea and didn't know the way on foot, they were essentially doomed.

By this time, the three of them had made their way down to the rocky shoreline that was connected to the back of the keep and looked out into Blackwater Bay and the ocean.

It was a beautiful sunny day with no clouds in the sky and a warm breeze blowing in across the water. The sun was shining on the water, causing it to sparkle so brightly that it caused Jaime's eyes to hurt.

His attention was diverted from his discomfort for a moment when Viserys let out a great peal of laughter and dashed for the water, pulling Elia behind him.

Despite himself, the blonde chuckled and slowly followed them.

Elia raised the hem of her bronze colored dress slightly and settled herself into the sand so the gown pooled about her as if she were at the center of an exotic flower.

It was a pleasing metaphor.

"Now what?" Viserys asked when he sat down beside her.

"Now I need you to go to the edge of the shore and take some wet sand and bring it back here," Elia instructed him. "We need it to build our towers and wet sand is the easiest to form."

"Alright."

The little prince unsteadily got to his feet and under Jaime's watchful eyes hurried to the edge of the shore where he began scooping up handfuls of wet sand and laughing to himself.

"I didn't realize this was a hobby of yours, your grace," Jaime noted with a chuckle in his voice.

Elia looked up from where she was digging out a divot in the sand with her bare hands and gave the knight a cheeky smile. "My brother Oberyn is known as the fighter in our family Jaime. But Oberyn and I were always called the tacticians. We knew how to run the keeps and whenever we all built sand castles together, we knew how to defend them. Oberyn has no patience for strategy. He is a fighter and likes to spend his time doing that. The Martell siblings all have their strengths and I like to believe that strategy is one of mine."

Despite himself, Jaime smiled back at her and there was a moment of silence before he unbelted the sword at his waist and put it down on a rock near them.

"Well if that is so your grace then you're going to need to make the area wider," he said, kneeling down beside her.

She frowned. "What's wrong with it?"

Jaime gestured to the dugout area. "You are going to build the castle inside of a valley and that makes it far more vulnerable to attack. The castle should always be built on a mountaintop that way you can see your enemies coming at all times."

Elia raised an eyebrow. "It is surrounded by sand Ser Jaime, there are no defining shapes that stick out in the landscape to hide an enemy."

"No," Jaime said. "But there are times when the landscape itself can turn against you and if you make your castle in the middle of a valley it can surround you and turn into a natural prison."

Elia's face screwed up into a rather adorable look of concentration. "Spoken like the son of Tywin Lannister himself. I suppose you're right however. Very well then, what would you suggest Ser Jaime?"

With a wide sweep of his arm, the knight smoothed out the sand again and then got up to select a few choice stones from the surrounding area.

"If you have a natural barrier that allows you to block out your enemies when you are building a keep it will allow you to be able to traverse it with ease," he said before placing several round smooth stones down beside her.

"And would you know of barriers?" she asked with mischief in her eye.

Far too much princess…far too much.

He was saved from having to answer however when all of a sudden Prince Viserys hurried back, his little face discouraged.

"What's wrong Viserys?" Elia asked.

"I can't bring sand," the little prince said. "It goes through fingers."

"Here your grace," Jaime said and reached for his helmet which was lying beside him. "Use this. You can bring twice as much sand that way."

Viserys eyes lit up.

"Thank you!" he said before snatching the helmet and hurrying back down to the shoreline before he began filling the helmet with wet sand.

By the seven, I'm going to have sand in my hair for days after this, Jaime thought, rubbing the side of his face wryly.

"He's such a good child," Elia said softly, bringing his attention back to her beautiful face.

"Aye, he takes after his mother," Jaime said.

"I hope that that is something that continues," the princess said, giving voice to Jaime's own thoughts.

He would never speak ill of the king though.

In fact he would never speak of the king at all.

It was just easier to pretend as best he could that the man didn't exist.

"I hope I have children like him someday," Elia said so quietly that Jaime almost missed it.

When he did register what she had said an acidic sensation rose in his throat and he had to swallow quickly.

"I am sure you will your grace," he said keeping a practiced eye on the prince who was still filling the helmet with wet sand.

"Have you thought of it Jaime?" she asked.

He blinked. "Of having children your grace? Never. I am forbidden."

Elia gave him a gentle smile. "I know. But you were not always so. Has there been a time in your life when you thought about it?"

The knight paused for a moment before answering. "No."

"Hmm, that's a shame," Elia said.

He frowned at her. "Why?"

"I don't know," she replied. "But I have a feeling that you would make a wonderful father."

Jaime looked at her in astonishment. "Surely you jest."

"Not at all," she replied as she folded her hands in her lap. "When we played together as children you always had a smile on your face that was like sunshine. And you were so good with your little brother that you caused him to follow you around everywhere."

I had to be, Jaime thought to himself. I was Tyrion's only protection against father and Cersei.

"I hardly think that that would make me a good father your grace," he said stiffly.

He was surprised further when he felt Elia reach over and gently lay her hand atop his. "I don't think you give yourself nearly enough credit Jaime. You're good with your little brother and now I can see you are good with the prince as well."

"I serve the prince your grace," Jaime said somewhat stiffly. "There is a difference. And in any case it matters not now. I am sworn to the royal family which means no matter how much we may wonder about it, it will not happen."

It took every ounce of his will power then to remove his hand from hers and he felt the loss of the contact both in his hand and in his heart immediately.

"I suppose," she said, her golden brown eyes searching every inch of his face. "But my opinion still holds true and I still think I am right. I was always right with my brother and I think I am right with you too."

Jaime was never more glad and disappointed when Viserys returned with a helmet full of wet sand.

The princess wasted no time in dumping it out and showing the young prince had to mold the wet sand into towers they could use to erect their keep.

Viserys was so enthusiastic and laughed and giggled so much that it couldn't help but bring a smile to Jaime's face.

He was comfortable in thinking that out of all members of the royal family, he liked Viserys the best. Perhaps that was simply because he was a child and thus innocent of all this life had to offer, but still…when the little prince smiled it was hard not to smile too.

The same seemed to go for Elia as well.

They spent the rest of the afternoon building sandcastles and laughing together when they fell down and had to be rebuilt.

It was only when the sun began to go down that Elia got to her feet, brushed the sand from her dress and Jaime picked up the extremely drowsy prince who was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.

Viserys then shocked Jaime thoroughly by laying his head down on the knights shoulder and snuggling closer to him as if Jaime himself were his favorite stuffed toy. He wrapped his arms around the blonde's neck and Jaime all of a sudden felt a lump in his throat which he had to swallow down harshly.

Elia seemed similarly surprised at the young prince's reaction to being held by Jaime and her expression was somewhat smug.

"We should be getting back," she said, reaching up a hand to brush the hair off of Viserys' forehead. "I'm sure the queen will be wondering where her son is."

"Indeed," the knight said.

Elia reached down and picked up his helmet from the sand before tucking it under one arm and the two made for the keep.

"Thank you Jaime," the princess said when they were halfway there.

Tywin Lannister's former heir frowned at her in confusion. "For what?"

She smiled up at him, her smile reaching all the way to her eyes. But those golden brown orbs were also tinged with sadness "For making my time here more enjoyable."

He inclined his head. "I am simply serving your grace."

He barely heard her soft reply. "You do far more than that."

As it was he did have sand in his hair for days after the excursion by the seaside.

But Jaime found he didn't mind.

Ω

Jaime found he began to enjoy being in Elia's presence even more after that day by the shoreline.

She was the only one in the keep that could elicit a smile from him although strangely enough, Viserys was slowly starting to be someone who could perform that herculean feat as well.

Even odder was the fact that the young prince seemed to have taken a liking to Jaime as well. He always had a smile for the knight whenever he appeared and even now the queen was beginning to take notice.

Jaime knew that his mother and Queen Rhaella had been good friends as well before his mother's passing thus perhaps that was why she seemed more comfortable with letting her son spend time with him as opposed to all the other knights.

He tried not to feel somewhat pleased by that but for whatever reason he did.

As long as his father had served the royal family, he now had his own connections as well which were proving to be somewhat surprising but also…pleasant.

However the pleasantness that he was feeling in miniature wore off slightly when a few days later…the king did something rather shocking.

It happened when Rhaegar was away with Ser Arthur at the moment and was the beginning of Jaime's dislike for the prince.

Jaime had just arrived for a court session with Elia at his side having followed her from where he met her at her chambers.

She had seated herself down on the side of the dais near the royal family and Jaime stood slightly behind her.

To the knight's understanding, it would simply be a regular court session in which the new Hand of the King would speak for the king and in which everyone, the king included would be bored.

But that didn't happen this time.

Instead, the look of abject glee on Aerys face was a cause for worry and when he noticed the fresh pile of wood on the middle of the floor in the throne room, Jaime went from worried to downright anxious.

His nerves were made even more acute when a prisoner in chains was promptly dragged in. The man was dirty and unrecognizable to those around him but that didn't stop gasps from being uttered.

"What is happening?" Elia asked softly, but the worry in tone was all but palpable.

"Please your grace!" the man called as he was thrown the floor at Aerys feet. "I am no traitor! I am a loyal servant of the realm!"

"Silence!" Aerys shouted.

He turned to the guards then. "Bind him and tie him."

Jaime watched with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as the man was dragged, screaming his innocence towards the pyre.

"What has he done your grace?" Elia asked turning to the king.

Aerys eyed her for a moment with disgust. It was no secret that he had no high regard for the Martells just as he didn't the Lannisters, but Jaime thought he might have been a bit more cordial to her regarding the fact that she was the be the queen and his daughter in law after all.

It seemed he had been wrong.

"The man was a traitor my dear," he said. "He was caught in a web of his own deceit in the kitchen muttering plots."

"In the kitchen?" the princess asked looking confused. "He is a servant?"

"Plots under my own nose," Aerys muttered. "I need to be more vigilant. They will all take my throne from me I know it."

"But surely there was a misunderstanding your grace," Elia tried again, her face turning pale as the man was tied to a stake in the center of the room.

Aerys look of disgust intensified. "There was no misunderstanding! I will not have traitors to my reign! Ser Gerold! Light the fire!"

"Yes your grace."

Elia opened her mouth to protest again, but it was too late.

With a crackle and a hiss the flames leapt from the lowered torch and the servant's screams for mercy became one of fear.

The room was utterly silent in shock and horror as the flames licked up the pile of wood and converged on the wretch tied to the stake in the middle as if it were a beast coming down on its prey.

The man's eyes were as wide as dinner plates and the terror in them stabbed right through Jaime's heart along with sick feelings of guilt for not saying anything in the servant's defense.

He knew if he were to speak up however, there was just as good a chance that he would be right next to the man in the flames.

Nothing was worth that.

In the next instant as the man's screams became even more acute, more pronounced, more agonized and as the scent of burning flesh filled the air, Jaime felt bile rise in his throat and had to swallow it down harshly.

He glanced around at his sworn brothers, wondering how on earth it was that they could be so calm when a man was being killed horrifically in front of them.

All of their expressions were curiously blank and then Jaime was struck with an even more appalling thought.

This must have happened quite frequently that they were able to be so nonchalant about it happening.

Gods…how many men has this monster killed? The knight wondered to himself as he glanced at the king and saw the sick glee in his eyes as the fire consumed the flesh of the poor wretch on the pyre.

As the skin began to char and the howls of the servant died as the smoke sapped the air from his lungs and the scent of the burned flesh filled the room causing much coughing and gagging to occur, Jaime risked a glance at Elia.

To his dismay, she was pale and trembling like a leaf and he worried for a moment whether she might faint.

I need to get her out of here, he thought to himself.

Gritting his teeth together against his own nausea, Jaime turned to the king who was chuckling gleefully and rubbing his hands together like a child who had gotten the last sweet.

"Your grace I think the princess is unwell, please allow me to escort her outside for some air."

Aerys glanced at the princess who was indeed shaking and the glee in his eyes changed to one of disgust.

"The gods must have some grievance against me for selecting a craven Dornish whore for my son," he muttered before waving them away. "Go."

Jaime stiffened slightly and his fingers twitched before he controlled himself and turned away from the king.

Jaime stepped down the steps of the dais to the chair on the bottom where Elia was sitting, before reaching out a hand towards the princess. "Come your grace. Perhaps the air outside will not be so foul."

She didn't even appear to hear him for a moment before she looked up and saw his proffered hand and took it.

The Dornish princess appeared almost mechanical as he helped her up and led her out a side door of the throne room, taking care to keep her as far away from pyre and the still burning body as possible.

Elia's grip on his arm tightened as soon as they were outside of the throne room.

Jaime glanced out of the corner of his eye at her and saw that her pale face had now turned an ashy grey. Her lower lip was clasped between her teeth and he feared she might bite through it if she clenched it tighter.

Jaime said nothing and focused simply on leading the princess outside the keep and into the gardens where she might have some air to bring the color back to her cheeks.

The moment they were in said gardens and out of sight of the keep, Jaime felt safe to talk.

"Are you well your grace?" he asked and then immediately wanted to cringe at how idiotic that sounded.

Of course she isn't alright you bloody fool! She just watched someone brutally murdered in front of her!

She turned to him then and he was shocked and dismayed to see silver tears sliding down her beautiful face and dropping off her cheeks onto the ground below.

Her tears moved something in Jaime then, some sort of compassion he had long thought that he had lost.

He didn't know what it was, but he did know that he hated seeing her cry.

Perhaps that was what possessed him to do what he did next.

He reached out and gently placed a hand on her shoulder before tipping her chin up and wiping the tears slowly from her eyes.

It was an incredibly intimate gesture, one that he would later curse himself for but in the moment he didn't think about it.

All he knew was that he wanted to see her smile again.

The sadness in her eyes changed to one of surprise before something in those golden brown depths seemed to collapse and she threw her arms about his neck.

Jaime took a step back, shocked and confused at the passion of the gesture before his reason took over and he pulled her close, wrapping his arms about her waist.

It was beyond insane and foolish for any servant could come around the corner at any moment and see them and all the seven hells would break loose then.

But Jaime couldn't bring himself to care.

He could feel the heat of Elia's body through his armor and feel her trembling slightly in his arms which prompted him to tighten his hold.

The silence in the garden was beyond acute and seemed loud in his ears and every breath seemed like a gust of wind.

Jaime recalled giving Elia a hug when they were children. She had fallen down when they were playing and had torn her dress and skinned her knee.

He hadn't really known what to do because they were alone at the time. Whenever Cersei or Tyrion were upset he always hugged them until they felt better. So was what he did with Elia.

Except this embrace was far more personal and intimate.

Jaime was highly aware of how her body curved around his and how perfectly she fit in his arms.

Though she was a little older than he was, he was taller and so her head fit into the curve of his neck just below his chin perfectly.

He could feel her tears against his skin and wanted to curse…both at the king for causing her pain and at himself for allowing this as it was highly dangerous. Damn Prince Rhaegar, he should be the one here comforting his wife when something like this happens! And yet he leave the task beside to go off to gods know where!

But it was futile.

He found he could no more ignore her suffering than he could ignore the presence of his left or right hand…it was just there, demanding that he do something with it.

So he did.

After a very long time, Elia seemed to calm for her tears stopped and her trembling ceased.

She made no effort to remove her arms from about his neck and Jaime was secretly glad of this for it gave him an excuse to continue holding her.

"I heard rumors," she whispered quietly. "Of the madness of the king. But I didn't think they were actually true. Things seemed so much simpler and unbelievable in Dorne. And now I find that they're all true….that poor man."

Jaime didn't say anything, after all what could he saw. He couldn't denounce the actions of the king no matter how much he wanted to as that would be treason.

"I shouldn't have come," Elia whispered. "I was a fool to come here. Being a queen is not worth the suffering of others."

"There are many who would disagree with you your grace," Jaime said quietly. My sister included.

"Then they are all fools," Elia replied. "How am I to survive in a keep where a monster stalks the halls preying on the innocent who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? Do you think that man was conspiring against the king?"

She looked up at him then," her beautiful eyes demanding an answer.

Jaime shifted uncomfortably. He didn't want to tell her what she wanted to hear as that meant he would be condemning the actions of the king.

But he also didn't want to defend the man either.

"I don't know," he said quietly. "But it seems that there are a lot of things I don't know lately."

Elia rubbed her hand across her face, brushing away the still lingering tears and stepped back from his embrace, obviously realizing the situation they were in. "I wish Oberyn were still here. He's always protected me, even when I didn't want it. I took it for granted before…but now I see that I may need it. Is anyone safe here Jaime?"

Her eyes looked up at him, searching his green ones, pleading for an answer.

He desperately wanted to give her one…but he didn't have any.

But in that moment as he looked down at her, tears still pooling in her beautiful eyes and sadness still on her face, an iron clad will seemed to settle in his stomach.

He didn't know where it came from but it would be something that would later drive him to do the most reckless thing he had ever done.

No…not everyone in the keep may be safe princess. But you will be. I'll protect you…I swear.

Ω

Sorry about the late update guys, finals have been killing me lately. As soon as exams are over in another few weeks, I should go back to regular updates. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review!