Three
They crowd round Sam's computer as he queues up the security footage. Brienne's head is still throbbing and she's grateful she only has to watch small snippets of video this time.
They quickly work their way through the footage until they find Yna and—
"Who's that?" Jaime says, tapping his finger against the computer screen.
Brienne scowls, grabbing the folder of pictures they had gone through with Pia. She flips through each page until she pulls one out and says, "It looks like Robert Frey."
Jaime scowls as he leans back in his chair. "Never thought to show Pia screenshots of those moments when more than one person went into the storage room," he mutters.
Brienne rubs her temple and says, "One step at a time, Jaime. Sam, please go through and flag every time you see Yna, okay? We'll take a look at it all when we get back." She glances at her watch. "I'll call the museum; arrange a meeting."
*/*/*/*/*
Dr. Robert Frey is young and whip-thin with sharp features that vaguely remind Brienne of a weasel. Still, he seems pleasant enough. An Assistant Curator in the Age of Magic division of the museum, he's the most frequent visitor to the storage room according Sam's call just before they reached the museum.
"I'm working on a second doctorate," Robert says with a slightly pompous air. "My research requires extensive analysis of artifacts located throughout the museum." He shakes his head. "We really need to re-organize those back rooms," he mutters.
"Well," Jaime says with a charming smile, "there's been some evidence of unauthorized entry into the storage rooms. You've been seen on the security footage—"
Robert flushes and deflates. "Yna. Right? You're talking to me because of Yna."
Jaime and Brienne exchange a glance then nod.
The young man shifts in his chair then says, "Look, we take guests into the storage rooms all the time! I didn't realize it was against policy!"
"Nobody's in trouble," Brienne says, her voice soothing, "and it's not against policy…yet. However, we've been asked to look at the security protocols that are in place and identify any weaknesses. Unauthorized access to the storage rooms just happens to be one of those weaknesses."
Robert gives her a relieved look and says, "I was just trying to impress her."
Jaime raises an eyebrow. "Impress her?"
"She's really pretty. Don't you think?"
"Ah," Jaime murmurs. "And taking her to the storage room was so you could...?"
Robert blushes a bright, glowing red. "No! Nothing like that! She's not interested in me that way." For a moment he looks crestfallen, then says, "But I'm okay with that…mostly. Anyway, she's sweet and nice and really interested in the Age of Magic, even if she does have a few crackpot ideas about it." His sudden smile is so bright it almost makes his weaselly face appear handsome. "She's pretty smart, too. Arguing with her has been a lot of fun even if her ideas are nothing more than Internet conspiracy theories."
Brienne gives him a smile and says, "What kind of crackpot ideas does she have?"
"Oh, she thinks magic was real. I mean, she really believes it, even in the face of scientific evidence to the contrary. Silly, really. Anyway, I took her into the storage room one day because she wanted to see some of the artifacts that are considered 'magical'. I thought once she saw how mundane they are, how ordinary, she'd realize her theories just don't hold any water."
"Which artifacts did you show her?" Jaime asks.
Robert frowns. "What does it matter?"
Jaime shrugs. "Just curious, really. My brother also believes magic was once real and we're always arguing about it. I mean, did any particular artifact sway her to your side of the debate? I can use all the help I can get when I'm arguing with my brother!"
Robert relaxes and shrugs. "It can be frustrating," he says. He frowns as he thinks back. "Nothing in particular seemed to convince her that magic never existed. I showed her...let me think...I showed her a piece of petrified weirwood, and there's a gold choker with an empty setting that's rumored to have once held a magic ruby...oh, and I showed her a pouch filled with quartz sand that's logged in the archive as the remains of a glass candle. It's not, of course."
Brienne raises an eyebrow. "You seem very certain."
Robert shrugs. "My research has shown glass candles were supposed to be made of dragonglass—sorry, that's the fanciful term for it. I mean obsidian. Quartz isn't the same thing." He frowns and shakes his head. "She didn't believe me when I told her it was quartz. Only time I ever got angry with her. I mean, arguing about whether magic was ever real is a fun philosophical exercise, but I also have a geology degree. I know my rocks!"
*/*/*/*/*
Pia is already gone for the day by the time they finish with Dr. Robert Frey, so Jaime and Brienne return to their office.
"Well," Sam says, "my review of the footage corroborates both Dr. Frey's story and Dr. Tyrell's. Yna only goes into the storage room twice: once with Robert and once by herself. She's carrying a notebook when she leaves the second time. My background check shows Yna is an active member of an online forum, The House of the Undying, which also backs up Robert's story."
Jaime frowns. "The what?"
"House of the Undying. It's a forum for magic practitioners. They spend most of their time debating the legend of Bran the Sleeper and any prophecies they can find about the return of magic. Some of it's pretty crazy shit. Yna also works part-time as a fortune-teller at the Sandsilk Tent."
Brienne's brow wrinkles with a frown. "Where?"
"It's in Old King's Landing," Sam says with a shrug. "They tell fortunes and you can buy good luck tokens and love potions; things like that."
Jaime raises an eyebrow.
"It's all on their website!" Sam says.
"Right."
Brienne groans. "I can't handle this today." She rubs her temple and says, "Well, at least we know they need props and trinkets for their store. Mayhaps Yna stole the pouch to provide an air of authenticity to the place. Or mayhaps it's for one of her clients. We'll go in the morning and speak to the owner."
Jaime smiles a little, although it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "You don't wish to rush over this minute? Mayhaps buy a love potion or two before your next night out?"
She blinks at him, scowling. "I really can't handle this today," she mutters and stands. "I'm heading home. Pick me up at my place in the morning and we'll head over first thing."
*/*/*/*/*
That night at his usual time, Jaime mutes the movie he's watching, picks up the phone and scowls at Brienne's number.
The urge to call is almost irresistible…but she was out last night and had enough fun to forget herself to the point she ended up with a hangover this morning. She needs her sleep; she doesn't need him playing games with her. Not that he means to be playing games but he can't seem to stop himself from saying whatever it is he's thinking or feeling at the moment.
He remembers his recent encounters with Cersei and grimaces as he gently bangs his head against the back of the couch.
Brienne doesn't need to be dragged into that drama. No matter how he tries to disentangle himself, he'll never be completely free. His past is complicated and so is his future and Brienne deserves better than to be trapped in that web alongside him.
He turns up the volume on the TV and shoves the phone beneath the cushion beside him.
Out of sight, out of mind, he tells himself.
*/*/*/*/*
His fingers itch to call her until long after he's gone to bed.
*/*/*/*/*
Brienne feels more deflated than she wants to admit over the fact that her phone stayed stubbornly silent the night before.
Cersei, she thinks sadly, then shakes her head as she heads to the front door of her apartment building to meet Jaime. It's her own damn fault for thinking their nightly phone calls means anything at all to him. Even if he is always the one who calls, she should have known better.
It doesn't matter anyway. He's still Jaime Lannister, they still have a job to do, and she's nothing if not professional.
She flushes a little as she get in the car and tells Jaime everything's all right. She keeps a determined smile on her face as he drives them into Old King's Landing.
*/*/*/*/*
The Sandsilk Tent is located in a red brick building but the interior, at least, more than makes up for the prosaic exterior. The room they step into is small with two round tables and a beaded curtain hanging in the doorway leading to the back. True to its name, sandsilk is draped, billowing, over the walls, and the discreetly placed brass lanterns fill the room with dim light shimmering through red, orange and yellow glass. It all combines to give the place an atmosphere of mystery and—yes—magic.
Two women glide through the beaded curtain and approach. One is heavy-set with a broad face and a flat nose, while the other is stocky with a multitude of warts on her face. In the dim, red-orange light, her skin looks...
"Green?" Jaime asks as the women stop in front of them. "Really?"
The woman blinks in surprise than glares. "You should not mock another person's misfortune, ser," she says coldly but turns a welcoming smile towards Brienne. "My name is Maggy and this is my associate, Mirri Maz Duur. You have come to us to learn your future? We can peer through the mists of time using tea leaves or cards or, if you are brave enough, a drop of your blood on my tongue will tell me all that awaits you."
Mirri says, "Or mayhaps you need a love potion or two?" She flicks her gaze from Brienne to Jaime then back again, raising an eyebrow.
Jaime laughs as Brienne blushes and tries to stammer out a response.
"I am more in need of love potions than my friend," he says, "and yes, we would love to have you tell us our futures."
Jaime decides the horrified look on Brienne's face is worth suffering through whatever platitudes these women will tell them.
*/*/*/*/*
The sandsilk on the walls muffles their voices and the lanterns throw shadows that twist and dance against the gently undulating fabric. Mirri and Maggy speak in low voices as they shuffle the cards in their hands and Brienne finds herself swaying closer as she listens.
"There is magic all around us," Maggy says, her skin a mottled green when seen this close. "It is in the air we breathe and the words we speak and the places we go. We create it every day as we live (she and Mirri each lay down a card) and work (a card) and love (a card) and pray (a card). It is the magic of birth (a card) and faith (a card), of love (a card) and life (a card)…and of death (a card)."
The women put aside their decks and look up at Jaime and Brienne.
Mirri's eyes glitter in the dim light as she says, "This is the magic of the ordinary and powerful in its own right. Now…let us begin."
Mirri and Maggy lean over the table and peer at the cards, both those in front of them and the cards in front of the other. They glance at each other and nod.
Mirri says, "Jaime, I see you have impulsively embarked upon a new beginning after a reckless past. The path ahead is not without dangers of its own including the dangers of past mistakes returning to haunt you. There are regrets over a past love that hold you back. Too much time wondering about the roads not taken can keep you mired in place and if you're not careful, regret about what-might-have-been will prevent you from reaching for the happiness that is standing right in front of you."
Mirri frowns at the cards, touching each one in turn before she continues.
"This new path, this new journey, will be one of twists and turns and ups and downs before you find happiness. You are surrounded by lies and deception but the truth will be brought to the light whether you will it or no. You will never be completely free of the past but if you hold on to the good and release the bad, you will find it to be a source of strength and not weakness."
Mirri finishes speaking and Maggy glances up from the cards she's been studying to pin Brienne with her gaze.
"You, Brienne, are also surrounded by lies and deception. Whether you can forgive and understand and move past them is your decision and no one else's. You are driven to succeed, but there may be a heavy price to pay if you are unwilling to be truthful to yourself about what you truly desire and if you allow self-doubt and fear prevent you from taking risks."
Maggy pauses, lightly brushing her fingers against the cards in front of her.
"Happiness waits for you at the end of your journey, which is also twisting and bumpy, but remember that you are the only one with the power to drive things forward. Work and career consumes you at the moment along with a burning desire to solve other people's problems and do right by them. However, that passion can cause you to lose sight of your own needs. Self-doubt can also overwhelm you if you're not careful, and turn you craven. If you stand proud and push through your fears to take emotional risks then you, like Jaime, will find love and happiness and family."
The silence that follows in that sandsilk-lined room seems to overflow with weight and meaning.
Then Jaime says, "Very interesting. Thank you," and turns to Brienne. "Are you ready to go shopping in their store now?"
*/*/*/*/*
The trinkets for sale are non-descript and everything that's expected to be available from a fortune-teller. In the end, Jaime buys a book about Bran the Sleeper, settles their bill, and ushers Brienne back out to the car.
*/*/*/*/*
Jaime drives in thoughtful silence and Brienne watches him from the corner of her eyes.
Suddenly he laughs.
"What's so funny?"
"Practical magic."
"Well, I'm not sure how something that doesn't exist can be considered practical—"
"No, no—Practical Magic. Sandora Bullok. Nycole Kydman. Aedan Qinn. 1998. Two sisters, who are maegi, are raised by their eccentric and equally magical aunts. Their aunts make a living by telling fortunes and selling love potions." He shakes his head. "Who knew there are people out there actually living that storyline?"
Brienne sighs. "Living that storyline or not, we're still no further ahead than we were before."
He nods. "There are definitely easier ways to make 'magical' trinkets than stealing artifacts from a museum."
"Another dead end," Brienne mutters and sits in glum silence for the remainder of their journey back to the office.
*/*/*/*/*
A/N: The list of Tarot cards that I used to come up with Jaime and Brienne's fortunes:
Jaime:
Live – The Fool
Work – Queen of Wands
Love – Five of Cups
Pray – Eight of Cups
Birth – Three of Swords
Faith – Strength
Love – Ten of Cups
Life – Death
Death – King of Cups
Brienne:
Live – King of Swords
Work – Queen of Pentacles
Love – Two of Cups
Pray – Knight of Swords
Birth – Nine of Swords
Faith – Nine of Wands
Love – Ten of Cups
Life – Devil
Death – Queen of Cups
It's a pretty surface reading of the cards, of course, so my apologies to any Tarot card readers out there.
