Chapter 10
Jaime
It was hard to remember the last time he had been in such a rage.
Well…perhaps that wasn't entirely accurate. There had been many times over the last few years since he had joined the Kingsguard that he had been in a rage.
He had been angry when his sister had manipulated him into joining the Kingsguard, he was angry when the truth that he had become trapped in a life that he didn't want had descended upon him, he was angry as he watched Prince Rhaegar neglect Elia, he was angry when Rhaenys had called him her father and he had known it was not the truth, he was angry when that same prince had publicly shamed his wife and made himself and her the subjects of lewd court gossip and the object of scorn by the mad king…and he was angry when Rickard and Brandon Stark had died and he hadn't had the courage to do anything about it and had simply stood there like a coward with the rest of the court as they had all looked on in horror.
But now…now he was downright apoplectic.
In truth the anger on behalf of Elia had been building since the tourney at Harrenhal in which the prince had publicly shamed Elia for another woman…he just hadn't know it yet.
But now that it was well and truly done and the prince had run off with another woman, war being the result, he didn't think he had ever been so livid before.
How…How was it possible for someone to possess that degree of carelessness, recklessness and irresponsibility all wrapped into one dysfunctional package?
He just didn't understand it and he didn't think that he ever would. What had it all been for? Really?
The realm was being torn apart the cost of one man's dissatisfaction with his wife. Jaime didn't even want to imagine his father's reaction.
Tywin Lannister would no doubt be assessing the situation from the stronghold of Casterly Rock and wondering which side it would be best to back. Jaime had a feeling his father wouldn't move to join the war until it was determined which side was going to win.
Because that was just the sort of cold hearted bastard that he was.
At the moment Jaime was once again standing in the gardens watching over Elia and her children. At the moment he was the only member of the Kingsguard still left in the keep as the rest had gone with Rhaegar to fight this gods be damned war.
This had all begun because of a woman….
Jaime glanced over at Elia who was doing her best to keep the prince and princess entertained and not crawling away from her. The smile on her face as she handed Rhaenys a toy seemed real…but Jaime knew it was all an act.
He had seen silver tears slide down her golden cheeks more than once and that was the one thing that angered him more than anything else.
He didn't even know how it had happened but sometime in the last few years of his being in the capital, Elia had come to be his anchor. She had been his distraction from his own dark thoughts and moods and when her children had come along, they had brought a strange light back into his life.
When Rhaenys smiled and laughed at him, he somehow forgot to be angry or brooding.
When Aegon would get a wondering look on his face as he looked at anything around him, Jaime would find himself smiling without knowing why.
The twin's curiosity about the world was infectious and he didn't know when he had come to care for them beyond the two of them being his charges, but it had happened all the same and he had been powerless to stop it.
He knew he shouldn't…that he was merely doing his duty to the royal family and fulfilling his vows but at the same time, one could not spend hours and days and weeks and months and years with someone and not develop a bond with them, a connection that stood the test of time.
It didn't matter that they weren't bound by blood to him…they were hers and for him that was enough.
But apparently it hadn't been enough for the dragon who had galloped away from his wife and twin children in the keep several months earlier causing the princess to become very quiet. Her eyes would turn black when Rhaegar's name was mentioned and she did her best to stay as far away from Aerys as she could.
Jaime did his best too but that didn't stop the king from seeking his good daughter out whenever it fancied him.
He would sit with her and watch Aegon and Rhaenys play with his small greedy violet eyes and Jaime would watch Elia's stiff shoulders, rigid posture and tight mouth as she beheld the dragon's eyes on her children.
He himself would stiffen when Aerys would whisper terrible words to Elia, words that claimed it was her fault that Rhaegar had gone and that the only reason he had chosen her for his son was that it was as close as he could get to a drop of Valyrian blood.
Elia could stiffen and her eyes would blaze with golden fire but she would say nothing as one wrong word and Aerys would have her head.
But he would never take it.
Jaime had realized almost from the moment he had put on the white cloak that would forever signal him a slave to the mad dragon that the king was a mad man and the only reason that he kept Elia and Rhaenys and Aegon around was to ensure the cooperation of Dorne. He had to keep the children as they were his legacy and he needed them, but Elia…Elia was expendable.
The knight had heard countless times of when he had mocked the princess, calling her weak and saying that if only she hadn't been so useless than perhaps Rhaegar wouldn't have left her for another woman.
It boiled Jaime's blood to hear the words being said and it had made a red mist descend over his eyes when he saw the pain on the Dornish princess's face and he had been the one to wipe the tears from her eyes.
That should have been the task of her husband. Rhaegar should have been the one that was here to comfort his wife from his father's cruel attacks and insane paranoia.
And yet he was off in gods knew where with the woman he had stolen for whatever reason.
Jaime had a feeling that Elia knew the reason Rhaegar had run off with Lyanna Stark but he had decided not to press for answers as it was none of his business and he had no desire to cause her any more pain.
The dragon prince had already put her through enough.
In a way Jaime was glad he was gone, at least his absence would be less of a reason for Princess Elia to grieve and more of a reason for her to accept the situation and move on from it.
After all, if the prince survived the war and returned with Lyanna Stark as his bride it would mean that Elia would become one of two wives and any other children that the Stark girl had would be princes and princesses as well.
But even if the wolf girl had sons, Aegon was still the heir to the throne.
The more Jaime thought of that however, the more he began to wonder if having many children was something that Rhaegar cared about at all.
He too knew that the silver prince had been spending more and more time with his books throughout the last three years of his marriage to Elia and it had to do with something he called "the prince that was promised."
Whatever the bloody hell that meant.
Jaime had long since decided he wasn't going to waste his time thinking about it. There were more important things to focus on after all.
As it stood, the war was going badly for the royals. Among their loyal supporters they counted the Tyrells and the Martells, the latter of which was only supporting the dragons because Aerys still held their princess and prince among Rhaegar's guards.
And Lewyn Martell wasn't even in the capital.
He had ridden off with Rhaegar to go put down the rebellion as waged by Robert Baratheon, Ned Stark and Jon Arryn. But Jaime could see his reluctance to go and that of Ser Arthur surprisingly as well.
The blond knew for a fact that Prince Lewyn would never approve of what his prince had done and it had taken all of his restraint and a reminder of his oaths by the Lord Commander Hightower to not say what he was really thinking.
As it was, Jaime had seen the Martell prince sending heated glares towards the heir to the throne many times since he had awarded the Stark girl the flower crown at Harrenhal.
But it was his last words to Jaime before he had ridden off with prince Rhaegar that would the blonde would remember forever.
"You look after her Lannister do you hear me?" the dark haired man had hissed as he gripped Jaime's upper arms so tight that he could feel the pressure beneath his armor. "You take care of the princess and her children or when I return I will hunt you to the ends of the earth and beyond."
Jaime had winced and made a mental note to never cross a Dornishman when he was serious. They were the most laid back and relaxed people that he knew so when one of them was serious, it was a life threatening issue.
"You don' think the prince will achieve victory?" he asked when Lewyn released him, resisting the urge to rub at his upper arms.
Lewyn laughed, but it was a sound that made the hairs on the back of Jaime's neck stand on end. "The prince is a fool. If he thinks that the royal army can hold back the coming onslaught of Baratheon, Stark Arryn and Tully he is more insane than his mad father."
Jaime blinked. He knew that of all members of the Kingsguard, Lewyn had the most reason to dislike the king for how he treated his niece but he had never heard the man speak a word against him.
To do so now only revealed the depth of his loathing for Aerys.
Lewyn's eyes narrowed as he looked at him again. "But it matters not what I think. What counts is what is about to happen. The realm is about to bleed and the Targaryens have caused it. Whether that will be our blood or that of the rebels is another thing."
He paused for a moment as if he were deep in thought and looked back at the keep where he and Jaime stood watching as the other men of the Kingsguard hurried about.
Prince Rhaegar was nowhere to be seen.
The two knights looked back at each other and the blonde had almost wanted to shy away from the grim intent he saw in Lewyn's eyes.
"Remember what I said Lannister. You protect my niece and my great niece and nephew. If something has happened to them upon my return…and I will return. I will find…and you will not like what I do then."
Jaime winced and rubbed the back of his neck as he stood watching Elia with her children on the terrace gardens. He had wanted to tell Lewyn that he didn't have to worry for the princesses and the prince. He had wanted to tell the man that he would guard them with his life and it didn't matter how many men he had to face to do it. He even wanted to tell the prince that if it came right down to it, he would sacrifice himself for the children and the woman he had come to care for.
But the words had stuck in his throat and they wouldn't come from his tight tongue that wouldn't loosen.
And he didn't know why.
Perhaps it was because he didn't want Lewyn to think less of him for having fallen in love with his niece, or that he didn't want him to mock him for it.
But deep down, Jaime knew it was because of Elia that he said nothing. She was dealing with the loss of her husband's love and having to be a parent raising her children alone. He didn't want word to get back to her and be utterly humiliated when she didn't return his feelings.
Because Jaime knew she didn't.
She had had the silver prince, the young dragon in her bed, the highest standard of men in Westeros, to stay anywhere but the top would be ludicrous for him.
Especially seeing as how she wore a crown and would be a queen upon her husband's return from battling the rebels.
If he returned that was.
If.
That all too elusive word that had the power to topple empires, decimate armies and end the lives of men.
Jaime hated that word.
He had been living in the shadow of if for the last three years since he had been appointed to the gods be damned Kingsguard.
And now that word was going to take on an entirely new meaning as the realm bled and men died for one self-absorbed prince who hadn't been able to keep his hands off another man's betrothed.
Damn it all.
Apart from thinking privately that the man was a fool, Jaime simply couldn't understand why Rhaegar had chosen let alone looked at another woman.
Deep in the recesses of his mind he believed there would never be another woman more beautiful than Elia Martell.
He didn't know how she would compare to Cersei but since he had not seen his sister in almost three years, some of the details of her face were fading somewhat.
Elia, with her beautiful eyes more endowed body and sweet smile and wise words were something that he saw everything, something that he was coming to cherish, to care for.
It was worse than he thought.
The manner of self-loathing and mockery that had been inwardly directed were unprecedented when he realized the manner of his feelings for the Dornish princess.
Jaime knew he would never tell her and he still wasn't convinced that it was love or anything beyond a sort of attraction.
He often wondered to himself in the dead of night whether it was in fact love and if it was, would be ever love Elia as much as Cersei?
It didn't matter either way however. Despite his feelings the princess was still a married woman and it would be the height of dishonor if he were to pursue whatever gods damned feelings he had even if the prince was away.
It was less than honorable but Jaime almost wished Rhaegar wouldn't return. He had an heir was it was. Aegon was the heir to the Iron Throne and so there was no more need for the silver prince.
He was also glad for the departure of Jon Connington.
Ever since the man had taken the place of his father, the blonde had developed a healthy dislike for him.
Though Connington had never spoken a word to Jaime himself, it was the looks of thinly hidden dislike that the new Hand gave Elia that Jaime did notice.
He had noted the look in his eyes whenever Connington looked at the crown prince, noticed the softening the slight curve of his mouth as he tried to suppress a smile also the frown that would color his face when he saw Elia and Rhaegar speaking.
The man thought himself subtle and in truth he possessed all the subtlety of a brick.
Jaime supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. Rhaegar possessed the stunning looks of all the Targaryens. He had had women falling over themselves for him before Elia Martell was chosen as his wife and it wasn't surprising that men occupied the spectrum of adoring idiots as well.
Seven hells, he was just glad that both of them were gone.
Now he just had to deal with a broken hearted princess, a mad king and a queen that seemed to harden with each passing day.
He was the only knight of the Kingsguard left behind because Rhaegar had insisted that he was all the defense that Elia would need should the worst happen.
I suppose I should be honored at his trust in me, the blonde thought cynically to himself as he stood in the gardens and watched the royal prince and princess play. But it seems that the worst has already happened.
Ω
It had failed.
The royal army had failed at the Trident and Rhaegar Targaryen was dead.
The news had not been long in coming to the capital and Aerys had seen that the man who had delivered it was burned alive the moment the words left his tongue.
Jaime had hurried out afterwards, certain he would be sick in the bushes after what he had just seen.
He was just thankful that Elia had not been there to hear the news as the mad king might turn his irrational rage on her. Jaime had listened to the man belittle and degrade her as the war went on, mock her for being weak and stupid, saying it was her fault that his son had run off.
If the man found out his son was dead and she was anywhere around, the blonde feared what he might do to the woman who was now Rhaegar's widow.
Immediately, the king had sent away his son Viserys and the queen Rhaella who was now heavy with child to Dragonstone where they would be safe should the worst happen and the capital fell.
He hadn't done the same thing for Elia and her children however even though Aegon was the heir to the throne. Why he had not taken such precautions concerning them was something that was a mystery to Jaime.
The long and short of it was that Aerys was keeping Elia, Aegon and Rhaenys hostages in order to ensure the loyalty of Dorne. If he sent them away, Dorne would know that their princesses and prince were safe and would have no reason to support him, given how his son had dishonored her.
Jaime winced and rubbed a hand across the jaw that was now rough with stubble. He needed to do something about that soon as finding time to rid himself of the facial hair that had accumulated beneath his notice was difficult, especially given the nature of the last few months.
It still shocked him, the prince was dead and somehow the war had changed in favor of the rebels.
In truth maybe he shouldn't have been surprised. The rebels were fighting for a genuine reason and Aerys well, Aerys was fighting to keep his crown. Perhaps the war was being one by sheer passion and adrenaline.
And now he was standing in the throne room watching the king pace back and forth atop the dais before his throne, hands behind his back and his violet eyes darting erratically from side to side.
Jaime wished he knew what the man was thinking but at the same time didn't want to know. To peer into the depths of Aerys mind was surely to invite madness.
But for some reason the king had asked him to be present in the throne room this day and though wary Jaime hadn't questioned it.
After promising the princess who was currently in the gardens with her children that he would return momentarily, the blonde had strode to the throne room, determined to get this over with as quickly as possible.
But it seemed the king had other ideas.
When Jaime had entered the throne room, he had seen a man leaving and recognized him to be a servant. The man was breathing hard and running for his life and he appeared to be a hunted animal for the way his eyes darted around.
Jaime had watched him run down the hall and disappear around a corner, feeling his own dread mounting before he stepped into the throne room.
Over the last few weeks he had felt a change in the air…something in the realm was changing and Jaime had a sick feeling that it was because the Targaryens were losing the war. With the crown prince dead, there wasn't much hope for the Targaryens to remain on the throne. With Robert Baratheon victorious at the Trident and the crown prince dead, the royal army crushed, the reign of the dragons was coming to an end.
And all for one woman.
The moment Jaime had stepped into the throne room and taken his place beside the king where he had been required to stand since the rest of his sworn brothers left the capital for gods knew where, a sick feeling entered the pit of his stomach and he swallowed hard.
Aerys paused for a moment in his pacing to look at Jaime with his manic bright eyes, causing the young man to want to cringe.
Finally he paused. "Well now…you didn't tell me Ser Jaime."
He sounded oddly lucid but the blonde wondered whether or not this was a ploy to lure him into some sort of trap.
When he answered, he answered carefully. "Tell you what your grace?"
The king looked at him for a long moment and then a cruel smile crossed his face. "He did not send word? It would be just like my old friend Tywin Lannister to do such a thing."
His father? This was insane.
"What does my father have to do with anything your grace?"
Aerys began to chuckle, a sound that made the hairs on the back of Jaime's neck stand on end. "He waits until the war is all but spent and then comes to be now under a flag of parlay."
It took a second for Jaime's brain to process what Aerys had said before he blinked stupidly. "Pardon your grace?"
"Don't play the fool with me Lannister!" the king snapped. "Why has he waited now to come to me, my old friend? Even now he and his army are sitting at the city gates under a flag of parlay, waiting for it to be opened."
"If I may your grace."
At the sound of the unexpected yet familiar voice, Jaime whirled around and took in the shuffling form of grand maester Pycelle, standing no more than a few feet from the steps of the dais.
When the bloody hell did he get here? What is this simpering fool going to say?
"What is it Pycelle?" the king barked. "Speak you doddering fool!"
Finally something we can agree on your grace.
"It would perhaps be in the best interest of House Targaryen to allow the Lannisters entrance your grace," Pycelle went on. "They have proven loyal servants to the crown in the past, they can be trusted again."
The sick feeling once more entered Jaime stomach and wouldn't go away. Pycelle's words seemed calm and rational and yet he couldn't help but think that something terrible was about to happen.
"Perhaps," the king muttered under his breath. "Perhaps my old friend has decided to show his loyalty once more since he ran off like a snivelling rat to Casterly Rock and abandoned his duties."
Jaime opened his mouth, unsure of what he was going to say but feeling the need to say something…anything.
Unfortunately to his shame and embarrassment, no words came out and he was left to open and close his lips for a moment like some sort of simple fish.
Somehow when he had managed to get his wits about him, the king had agreed with Pycelle and sent word for the man to order that the gates of the city be opened.
"Your grace, is this a wise decision?" Jaime asked somewhat hesitantly.
The king turned his horrible purple eyes on him which had grown wide with manic rage. "Are you questioning me Lannister?"
"No your grace I – "
"Good! Then leave me this instant. I have no further need of you at this time."
"But – "
"Out!"
And Jaime went, cursing the old man with every step that he took and cursing himself at the same time for not being able to get out complete sentences.
He didn't know why but somehow he had an uneasy feeling about his father's presence. He couldn't explain it and yet it was some sort of lurking premonition in the back of his mind that his father wasn't there to help.
He didn't want to believe it, why else would Tywin Lannister be there after all? And yet the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach continued.
Pushing it to one side, Jaime returned to the gardens, where he sighed with relief upon seeing the princess and her children in their familiar spot.
Elia seemed to be frowning slightly, her exquisite face seemed to be marred by worry but at the sound of his footsteps, she looked up.
The blonde was somewhat surprised to see a look of relief on her face when she caught sight of him. And then she frowned again…his own expression must have been telling.
"Is everything alright Jaime?" she asked.
"Yes your grace," he replied. "Why wouldn't it be?"
"The king has asked to see you," she went on as if his reason for withholding a smile was obvious. "Many who have gone to see him bear the same look leaving as you do now."
Jaime barely suppressed a grimace and rubbed the side of his face, trying to come up with an answer for her.
The only one that came to him was the truth however.
And so with the words burning like an acid on his tongue, he spoke it to her.
"My father and his army have appeared at the gates of the city."
Her frown deepened. "But surely that is a good thing. Your father was a loyal servant of the king, the Lannister army will help protect us from the rebels who are no doubt nearing the city."
How to explain to her and there was this sick feeling in the pit of his stomach with his father's presence and how Jaime had a terrible notion that his father was not here to help.
But he didn't say all of this. "Perhaps."
She went on as if she hadn't heard him. "Perhaps now the war will turn in our favor. My husband may be dead but the crown still has an heir. The Targaryen line will endure."
The more she spoke, the more Jaime felt the urge to void his guts in the bushes. He swallowed the bile that was rising in his throat hard and coughed several times to clear it. He didn't know why the presence of his father's army outside of the city filled him with dread but the feeling refused to go away and in fact became even more acute as time went on.
Eventually Elia stopped talking about the benefits of having the Lannister army at their gates and Jaime lapsed into a worried silence. His nerves felt taut and he flinched at every small sound, every snap of a twig and even every sound that the prince and princess made.
The tense and heavy silence continued for nearly a quarter hour before the atmosphere suddenly changed.
In that moment, the sound of footsteps could be heard racing down the garden path and Jaime whirled around to see a servant racing toward him as if his life depended on it.
With apprehension roiling in his stomach like sour milk, Jaime turned to the servant.
"You!" he barked in a grim voice. "What seems to be the trouble?"
The servant skidded to a halt a few feet away from him breathing hard and gave a quick respectful bow to Elia who had stopped looking at her children and was looking at the servant in alarm.
"Begging your pardon Ser Jaime," the servant managed to gasp out. "But the king has requested your presence in the throne room immediately."
The sick feeling in Jaime's stomach increased until it took a visible effort to calm himself.
"Very well," he said as calmly as he could before letting the servant run off and turning back to Elia.
"Jaime what is happening?" she asked, her brow furrowed in concern.
"I am certain nothing is the matter princess," he said nearly through his teeth. "Come I will see you to your chambers and then I will attend his majesty."
Elia studied his face for a long time and opened her mouth once before it seemed that she understood him. She snapped her jaw shut and then nodded before taking up
Rhaenys in her arms and reaching for Aegon. The twins had just passed their third name day and so were walking and talking in their babyish English which sometimes caused their mother to want to pull her hair out.
In order to assist her, Jaime reached down and swept Aegon into his arms without a second thought.
"Come," he said. "We must hurry. It is not wise to keep his majesty waiting."
"Jaime," Elia said softly but in urgent tones as they hurried into the keep and up a flight of stairs to her chambers. "Is everything alright? You look pale."
"I don't know your grace," he replied hurriedly but would say no more.
All the way they hurried down the halls, Jaime's thoughts were whirling with what the king could possibly wish to tell him. Had his deepest fears been realized and his father was not here to help as the king seemed convinced he would do?
At that moment the knight and the princess passed a window and Jaime caught a glimpse of the city.
His blood chilled when he saw smoke rising into the sunny sky from some of the buildings.
Elia saw it too.
Her face turned an ashy grey and she turned to him her eyes wide. Jaime didn't do anything except to take her arm and urge her along. "Quickly now."
Mercifully they reached Elia's chambers in the next few moments and Jaime rushed her and the children inside.
"Bolt the door," he all but snapped at her, "and don't open it for anyone but me."
She nodded somewhat shakily and he waited outside until he heard the bolt sliding into place before he left.
All but running now, Jaime took the stairs in merely a few leaps before he was racing along the main floor to the throne room.
He paused outside another window and saw that the smoke in the air, rising from the city had increased in scope and volume. There was an acrid smell in the air and he swallowed hard as he turned and continued his run down the hall, skidding to a stop outside the throne room.
He had about two seconds to gather his scattered wits before he stepped into the horrible thunderous silence to look at the king who was sitting on the throne. Striding forward and bowing low before the throne, Jaime kept his eyes lowered. "You wanted to see me your grace?"
The king looked him over and the silence lingered for so long that a cold sweat broke out on the back of Jaime's neck which he had to resist the urge to swipe at.
"It seems your father is as treacherous as he always was," Aerys said somewhat softly and Jaime's head snapped up to face him. "I beg your pardon your grace?"
Aerys went on as if he hadn't heard him. "Even now your traitorous dog of a father is sacking the city, turning on the king and family he once swore to serve."
Jaime felt ice in his blood as his worst fears were confirmed and he had to clench and unclench his hands to make sure there was still feeling there.
"They will be here before long," Aerys said in a deadly quiet voice and Jaime swallowed hard. "It seems the reign of the Targaryens is about to come to an end."
He turned to Jaime then who was still standing there staring at him stupidly. "But perhaps not yet."
"Your grace?"
Aerys eyes lit with a terrible fire. "Now is your chance to prove your mettle Lannister…to prove that you are loyal to the crown and no other."
"How?" It was the only word that came to mind in that moment.
Aerys got up from his throne and took a few steps down the dais until he was standing before Jaime.
"Take your sword," he whispered "and bring me his head."
Jaime felt cold in that moment he had to swallow several times before he trusted himself to speak. "What?"
"You heard me," the King said before turning to someone that Jaime had not yet noticed. "Lord Rossart!"
Jaime flinched and whirled around to find the new hand of the king stepping from the shadows into the light of the torches. "Yes your grace?"
"Send word to the guild," the king said softly. "It is time. Let Baratheon be king of the ashes."
The new hand bowed and quickly left the room while Jaime was left to try and process what was happening.
King Aerys fascination with wild fire was nothing new and there had been many times when Jaime had seen members of the alchemists guild leaving by side doors in the keep and his dread at the stability of the king only increased.
It was only then that he realized what the king intended to do.
And he realized if Rossart left and passed the word to the pyromancers that the city would be nothing more than a smoking ruin and everyone would die.
Including Elia and the children.
He was running from the room before he even realized what was happening with Aerys manic laughter following him.
His mind was now solely focused on one thing: stopping Rossart before he left the keep.
He found the man just as he stepped through the doors and into the gardens. Jaime's sword was in his hand before he even realized he had reached for it.
"Rossart!" he roared and the man whirled around at the noise. In the next instant, the blonde's sword was buried in his chest up to the hilt.
"This is so that you may never again obey an insane command from a mad man," Jaime hissed before pulling the blade free and watching the man fall to the ground at his feet like a marionette that had lost its strings.
He had bought himself some time but he had no doubt that once Aerys had learned of what happened, he would order the burning of the city a second time.
He couldn't let that happen.
But his father was coming and Jaime had no illusions of what the man would do if he reached the red keep. It was obvious that the war had turned in favor of the rebels and the reign of the Targaryens was over.
But just because it was over didn't mean that all of the dragons had to die….just one of them.
Tywin Lannister had remained curiously neutral during the war and had ignored all ravens of assistance from the crown and the rebels.
His father was never a man who did things without thinking them through and Jaime realized in that moment that his father had been merely planning to see which side would win the war before he joined the fray.
And now that Robert Baratheon, Jon Arryn and Ned Stark had been victorious at the Trident, the rebels were going to win and the Lannisters had a chance to ingratiate themselves in the service of the new king.
But there couldn't be a new king unless claimants were cleared away.
Aegon and Rhaenys….
And then for the second time that day Jaime found himself running for the throne room. He knew what he needed to do.
Only two things were necessary now and he had to get them done within the next few minutes.
The moment he entered the throne room and found Aerys slumped on the throne, he felt his resolve harden.
"Where is it?!" Aerys demanded upon seeing him. "I ordered you to bring me is head!"
"I changed my mind," Jaime whispered before raising his bloody sword that he had just used to kill Rossart with. "There is someone else's head that is far better."
With that he advanced on Aerys, striding up the steps of the dais with heavy and damning purpose.
"What are you doing?" the king said uneasily as he tried to rise from the throne.
"Something I should have done a long time ago," Jaime whispered and before he could second guess himself, he thrust his sword into the king's chest.
Aerys gurgled and convulsed like a fish impaled on a stick before he finally went still.
Not even having time to contemplate what he had done, Jaime pushed Aerys body off his sword and ran down the steps of the dais, heading for the chambers of the princess.
He had gone no more than a few feet however when the soft sounds of a familiar voice called out to him. "And what do you plan to do now?"
Jaime whirled around and came face to face with Lord Varys who was standing a few feet away from the fallen body of Aerys before the throne. He had pursed his lips and as always his hands were folded behind his back against his rather garish robes.
"Nasty business," he murmured before turning to Jaime. But I warned him after you left. I warned him what would happen if he opened the city gates. But he didn't listen. Stories will be told about this day you know? People will speculate as to the how the king died, who did the deed and so on. But many stories will speculate about a missing Kingsguard who was not there when his king needed him. Oh dear..Oh dear. What a troubled time we live."
"If you have a point to make you old mutterer than do so before I gut you like I gutted him," Jaime snapped.
Varys eyes narrowed at him. "Lower your voice you fool! Do you wish for the entire keep to know that you have committed this disgraceful act?"
"They will know soon enough," Jaime replied dully.
"Perhaps not," Varys replied and Jaime whirled to him. "What are you talking about?"
The spy master was silent for a moment. "If the late King Aerys was so entranced by fire than perhaps we should give him a decent burial."
"What are you talking about?" Jaime demanded.
"Cease your wonderings, all will be revealed in due course," the spy master replied smoothly. "Go and collect the princess and her children with all haste. We have little time and even less to carry out our plans."
"Our plans?" Jaime asked in bewilderment.
"Yes Ser Jaime," Varys replied. "Our plans. Or do you think that I did not notice the softening of your demeanor towards the princess every time you see her…or the affection that you display towards Prince Aegon and Princess Rhaenys despite the fact that they are not your own? Do you think I would not know that you loved Princess Elia despite the fact that she belonged to another man."
Jaime felt the blood drain from his face for a moment and Varys waved a hand at him dismissively. "Do you think you are the only man to love a woman they can't have? Now no more questions. Go…before all is lost and our chance to rescue what is left of the Targaryen dynasty turns to ashes as the unlamented King Aerys was about to do to King's Landing."
Still bursting with questions and beginning to feel the guilt of what he had done, the knight nevertheless turned and hurried away.
And for the third time that day, Jaime ran.
Ω
Finally we get to the meat of the story. Sorry for the long wait guys. As I mentioned on my other stories, I just moved into a new house and have not had internet for almost two weeks. But now that the rebellion is almost over with, the AU portion of the story will be beginning. I hope you guys like the chapter and don't forget to review!