When Erron had seen Leia in crimson and gold on the morning after her wedding, his face looked pained, but he had said nothing. Her heart had ached for her knight, and she wanted nothing more than to take him into her arms and kiss away his hurt, but she was a woman wed. Lady of the Rock. Jaime Lannister's wife. She could not go to Erron without putting them both in danger.
It had been a month since the wedding, and she scarcely saw Erron at all. He was constantly busy; training green boys, standing guard for Jaime in his councils and audiences with the people he governed. But finally he was assigned guard duty for Leia, which both excited and pained her.
"Lady Leia." He said, a mask of courtesy in his handsome face. Leia had to resist placing a hand on his scruffy cheek. Instead she took his arm and had him escort her to the sept.
"Ser, I've been missing your company. You've been quite busy of late." She said in a bright, friendly tone.
"Yes, my lady." Was all he replied. Leia's heart sank, but she said nothing.
"I've seen so little of my household ever since the wedding. Everyone except a few journeyed back to Starfall. All I have left is Minnie, a few guards..and you, Erron." She looked up at him, but he refused to meet her eyes. His frown was the only thing that gave her any clue as to what he was thinking. When he did not reply, she grew frustrated.
"Why won't you speak to me?" She whirled around shut the sept door as they entered, enclosing the two in the dim room with only the candle light.
Erron hesitated, staring at her with a look so sad, she thought she'd cry. Suddenly, Erron took her into his arms and embraced her, taking her by complete surprise and leaving her breathless.
My poor, sweet knight.
"Erron.."
"No," he interrupted, burying his face in her neck. "There isn't anything you can say or do, Leia. You're his wife now. The day you said those vows, you bound yourself to Jaime Lannister. No, don't interrupt-it's not your fault, sweet Leia. I know. I understand, it's okay. It's just hard to see you with him..to see you in those clothes.." His voice broke suddenly, and he pulled away. She was wearing crimson silk, with rubies in her hair. They were a gift sent to her from Jaime's aunt Genna. Erron sighed as he touched on of the ruby pins, and Leia felt ashamed.
"I'm sorry, Erron. For everything." Leia whispered. She stood on her tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, and walked past him. "You can stand guard outside of the door. I think I need to be alone for a bit."
He left, and as the door shut behind him, Leia knelt down infront of the Crone and bowed her head.
It was a long while before Leia was done with her prayers, and when she stepped out of the sept, she was surprised to see Jaime waiting outside of the door instead of Erron.
"Oh, I didn't expect you..where is Ser Erron?" Leia asked innocently, but Jaime smirked, his green eyes sparkling.
"What? Aren't you glad to see me, Lady Leia?" before she could reply, Jaime pushed himself off off the wall he had been leaning against and waved her words away. "I'm joking, sweetling. I needed him to take care of something for me, and I thought I'd escort you back to your chambers myself."
Leia eyed Jaime warily and took his arm as he offered it.
"You were in there for quite some time. Tell me, what were you praying for?" Jaime asked nonchalantly, but he seemed amused.
He always seems amused. Like he is in on some kind of joke that no one else knows of.
"It has been a long time since I've prayed, my lord. I had a lot of catching up to do."
Jaime said nothing, but nodded. They walked in silence the rest of the way. When they arrived at her door, Leia turned to thank Jaime for the escort, but instead of stopping, he went right in, irritating Leia.
"You could have at least asked to come in." she said smartly as he turned and grinned at her. She crossed her arms and glared at him, but she couldn't help but notice how handsome he was, in black and dark crimson, with his golden hair and emerald eyes..
Oh gods, what am I thinking?
She quickly looked away and spotted the wine across the room, and she headed towards it. She usually needed some wine to be able to tolerate Jaime.
"I have a gift for you." Jaime said, his annoying smirk still in place.
"And what is that, ser?" she asked, pouring herself some wine. When he didn't answer, she turned around and saw Jaime pull a black velvet box out of his pocket. He strode across the room to her and held it out to her, then opened it. Inside, on a cushion of crimson silk, was a gold chain necklace with a lion's head pendant. The lion was solid gold, with two emerald eyes, and a red ruby in its open mouth.
"It was my mother's. I would have given it to you earlier, but Aunt Gemma had to find it." he laughed softly, and a serious look took over in his eyes. "Leia, I'm not a good man. I've broken most of the damned vows I've ever sworn, and I've hurt many people. I know what people say about me, I hear them whisper. I know what you think of me, and normally it wouldn't bother me in the least; however, you are my wife. I need to at least try to do one thing right in this world. So please, at least try to understand."
"Understand what?" Leia asked after a pause. Her eyes were wide, her hands trembling.
Jaime took a breath and removed the necklace from the box. The sun shining through her window made the pendant glitter beautifully, and Leia could hardly take her eyes off of it. He walked behind her and she moved her hair aside for him and he placed the necklace around her throat.
"As a boy, I wanted nothing more than to be Authur Dayne." Leia tried to pull away, but he grabbed her softly and she stilled. "The day your brother knighted me on the battlefield, I felt as if all of my dreams were coming true. I was only fifteen, but I felt invincible. Until I returned home, and Cersei told me that our father wanted to wed me to Lysa Tully, but Cersei wasn't going to allow that." Jaime tugged Leia's arm and led her to the bed, where they sat beside each other. Leia's eyes were wide the whole time.
"So my sweet sister decided that I should join the Knightsguard, so I could be close to her when she married the prince. But the gods have never been sweet to me, and Cersei didn't marry Rhaegar Targaryen, and when the Mad King slighted our father, she was whisked away, back to the Rock, and it was all for naught."
Jaime's eyes grew dark then, and he stared into the fire blazing across the room.
"Aerys was completely psychotic. All of the people he burned alive, all of the times I had to stand guard as he raped his wife. I could do nothing about any of it. He was my king, and I vowed to protect and serve him until I died. And then when Robert survived the Battle of the Bells, and Aerys realized that the city was in danger of being sacked, he came up with a plan. He gathered his pyromancers and they began putting together caches of wildfire. You know what that is, right?" Leia nodded and he sighed. "They put them all over King's Landing. Aerys decided that he would rather burn the place to the ground than lose it to Robert Baratheon. When his hand, Qarlton Chelsted, argued against him, and threw his chain of office to the ground, Aerys burned him alive and raised the pyromancer, Rossart, as his new hand.
"When Rhaegar left the capitol, I begged him, begged him to let me go with him; however, he refused. He put a hand on my shoulder and promised that when he came back from battle, things would change. He put the lives of his wife and children in my hands.." Jaime broke off there, staring at his good hand, and his golden hand for a while before continuing.
"But Rhaegar died, and I was left to defend the Mad King, whom only wanted me close because he feared my father, and he knew he could use me against him. I tried, Leia, to convince the king to come to some agreement, I tried to convince him to some kind of peace terms, but he refused, and he ordered me to bring him my father's head as proof I wasn't a traitor. When I heard that the pyromancer and king were together, I knew what I had to do. First, I gutted the King's hand, that bastard. And then I slit Aerys's throat, before he could order the destruction of the damn city." he chuckled darkly. "So, how many lives did I save that day, Leia? Millions?" he shrugged. "It didn't matter, though. When Eddard Stark burst through those doors, his judgment was already made. No words would have swayed him, or anyone, really.
"So Leia, I may be a monster in many ways, but not entirely in the ways you believe. You can whisper about me, glare at me, hate me..but I am your husband, and I am going to honor my vows to you to the best of my ability...even if you are an exasperating pain in my ass." His smirk quickly found its place on his lips, and Leia could only stare at him, blinking, her mouth open. When she was finally able to move, she stood from the bed and got on her knees in front of Jaime.
She took his golden hand and pushed the sleeve back from it, and began undoing the straps that held it on. Jaime tried to jerk his hand away, but she flashed her eyes at him and gripped his arm tightly, and he stilled. She removed his hand and placed it beside him on the bed, before looking long and hard at his stump.
She looked up, met his eyes, and kissed it.
Jaime's eyes were wide and his expression unsure, and Leia knew what she had to do. She had asked the Seven for strength, for guidance, for knowledge, and they had sent it to her.
Leia was asleep when he slipped from her bed. He quietly gathered his clothes and snuck out of her room without waking her. He wasn't sure of the time, but the moon was high and the stars were bright. Jaime walked back to his chambers feeling as if he were walking through a thick fog.
Upon entering his room, he poured himself some wine and walked out onto the balcony.
The wind was bitter, and he cursed himself for not dressing warmer, but he gritted his teeth and endured it. The waves were bathing in moonlight, and he could hear seagulls calling out to each other. The salty air felt good in his lungs after being so deep in the Rock for so long.
His thoughts wandered to Leia and her wild curls and big indigo eyes. He thought of how she kissed his stump, and how she pushed him back onto her bed, kissing his mouth until his lips were sore. He thought of how he fucked her while she wore nothing but his mother's necklace.
She may never love me, but as long as she understands, that should be sufficient.
He thought of what Cersei would think if she saw Leia wearing the necklace, and it surprised him that he didn't care at all. Cersei would have never gotten on her knees for Jaime, unless his cock was out. She would never take one look at his missing hand, much less kiss it.. Leia had surprised him, and he felt a sense of pride he never felt with Cerseiā¦
"Ser Jaime?" he heard Lewis Piper's voice call through the door. Jaime rolled his eyes and called for the boy to enter. When he saw that he held a letter in his hand, and an ashen face, his heart dropped into his stomach and he almost jumped from the balcony.
"A letter from King's Landing, ser."
I should have let the damned place burn.
