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Chapter Eleven: The White Cloak
The castle of Harrenhal was large, the largest Evelyne had ever seen. And standing on the shore of the Gods Eye looking up at the dark, partially charred walls she could see that it was once probably one of the most beautiful castles in the Seven Kingdoms.
There were five towers, tall towers, but from her place on the ground outside the walls she could only see the tops, the castle's outer walls were so tall. When they had first arrived her eldest brother Gregor had pointed out the wooden scorpions that stood on the top of the walls, but now she could barely make them out. They were so small.
They had been at Harrenhal for a day and a half now and Evelyne had already explored as much of the castle grounds as she had been allowed. Much of the castle had fallen to ruin, she had learned that the Whents only used the lower thirds of two of the five towers, the rest were left to decay. A servant had told her that there were parts of the castle that had not been entered in decades. They said that there were bats in the towers. Lord Whent had made a joke of it by putting bats on his House sigil.
The ruin and the bats were horrible, but they did not take away from the grandeur of the castle. The great hall had thirty-five hearths and could fit an entire army in it. The Godswood was twenty acres. There was a bear pit, a large bath house the size of her family's great hall, and the largest tourney field she had ever seen.
It seemed to her that this castle would have been better suited for giants than for men. And everything about this castle intrigued her. From its history, to its size, to the awkward way the towers all leaned left after the castle had been burnt by Aegon Targaryen's dragons.
She and her brothers had arrived before Jaime. But she had seen many Lannister knights arrive that morning and she had a feeling that he would be arriving soon, the opening night celebrations would begin at dusk. And she knew enough of Jaime Lannister to know that he would not miss that. She had told her brothers that she wanted to explore the Gods Wood, knowing that they would believe that it would take her all day to do so, and then she had gone to the Gods Eye so that she could look out for when he arrived.
She wasn't looking for him now though, she was too busy staring at the castle, her back turned toward the road. As nervous as she was to see him, as anxious as she was, there was just something about the castle that drew the eye. She was so busy staring at the castle that she did not notice the man approach her until he had spoken.
"It certainly is a sight, isn't it?" a man asked from over her right shoulder.
"It is," she agreed, not looking away from the castle. "It was brave of Lord Harren to build it on such a scale. He had to know that it would catch the notice of the Targaryens."
"I believe that was the point," the man told her.
She nodded, perhaps he was right. "They say it's cursed," she told him softly, still not looking away from the massive walls in front of her. "There have been seven Houses that have held it since Lord Harren, and each of them lost it. One would think that a lord would think twice about holding Harrenhal."
"Cursed or not, the holdings are some of the richest in the Seven Kingdoms," the man argued. "Perhaps holding a cursed castle for a matter of time would be worth the benefits the House reaps during the years."
Evelyne shrugged her shoulders, "Working under the assumption that riches are the most important thing in the world."
"No," the man said, "but your House's legacy is."
She smiled at that, "Spoken like a man who serves a Great House," she told him, finally turning toward the man. "We little Houses do not worry about legacy so much."
"No?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't that why your House is so careful with its Ironwood forest? Legacy?"
"Survival," Evelyne argued, her brows furrowed as she looked at the man, surprised that he knew what House she hailed from. She was not wearing the Forrester sigil. The man looked familiar, though she could not immediately place where she had seen him.
He was tall and though he was an older man he had more muscle to him than some of the young men preparing to fight in the upcoming tournament. His hair had been gold once, though now it was streaked with grey. He had yellow whiskers on his strong chin, his lips turned down at the corners as if he had spent his like frowning. He had high cheekbones and green eyes flecked with gold.
She gasped when her gaze fell to the gold lion sigil on his doublet. This man was familiar to her. And not because she had ever seen him before, but because she had seen his features on someone else. On the man she planned to marry. This was Jaime's father.
She quickly sank into a low curtsy, hoping the man would forgive her for her impertinence. She had just told the richest man in the Seven Kingdoms that wealth and legacy were not important. "I'm sorry, my Lord," she greeted him, not quite able to meet his eyes. "I did not recognize you."
"I see," he told her, his lips turning up a bit at the corners, as if he were fighting a smile. "You're just that opinionated and forthcoming with everyone then? Not simply your future father by law?"
Evelyne looked at him, surprised. "You, you know, my Lord?" she asked him.
"I know that my son is quite taken with you," he told her, moving closer so that he could stand beside her instead of behind her. "I know that he had me break a guaranteed match in favor of asking for your hand. I know that you told him no. I also know that you continued to send him ravens, something that tells me that you are not as sure of your rejection as he was of his affection for you."
Evelyne smiled at him, she felt a blush rising on her cheeks, "You know quite a bit then, my Lord," she told him, not wanting to give too much away.
"Not as much as you know, my Lady, I'm sure."
She studied him for a moment, his features were so much like Jaime's, but they lacked the warmth she had come to expect. Jaime might have been his son, but Lord Tywin Lannister was the shadow. Her eyes narrowed playfully as she watched him. "Did you come here to threaten me, my Lord?" she asked him. "To scare me into accepting your son's hand?"
The man shook his head, "No," he told her. "I would not do you the disservice to imply that you could be scared into doing anything. And I would not do my son the dishonor of forcing his bride to accept his hand. That would not a happy union make."
"And are the High Lords of Westeros in the business of making happy unions now?" Evelyne asked him, being just brave enough to tease the man who would soon call her daughter. "Here I thought their aim was prosperous marriages."
"They can be both," Lord Tywin told her.
"They can also be neither."
Lord Tywin chuckled, "That they can, my Lady. Though I would never wish it for my son."
"I would never wish it for Jaime either," Evelyne told him. She did not realize until a moment too late that she had been too familiar, too soft when she said his name. She had not said it in as many words, but Lord Tywin could see what was in her heart, she was sure of it.
"You care for him," the older man observed.
Evelyne thought about denying it, but it would have been a lie. "He has a way of getting under one's skin," she murmured, glancing away from the green eyes that looked so much like his son's.
"And you have a way of getting under his, Lady Evelyne," he told her. He glanced away from her, looking toward the castle. "Before we arrived he told me that I needed to meet you, that I would understand as soon as I met you. I assumed that it was because you were beautiful, which you are. But I see it now. There's a fire in you that he never would have found in Lysa Tulley. There is a strength in you that comes from your Northern upbringing, a stubbornness unlike anything I have seen outside of my own daughter."
Evelyne smiled at him, "And that pleases you, my Lord?" she asked him, guessing that it was approval she saw glinting in his eyes.
"Being the Lady of Casterly Rock is not an easy position," he told her, still looking at the castle instead of her. "It is difficult, and hard. It takes a certain kind of woman to be Lady Lannister. You would be well suited for it."
This was praise, she realized, as far as he was concerned. "And am I to be Lady of Casterly Rock?" Evelyne asked, still playing with the older man.
"That is for you to answer, my Lady," Lord Tywin told her, his hands behind his back as he started to walk away from her. "Though I sincerely hope that you consider it. For my son's sake."
Evelyne smiled. Yes, she thought, I have considered it. And my answer is yes.
-.-.-.-.-
He found her before the opening ceremonies. She looked beautiful, dressed in a gown of crimson velvet with silver stitching and details. He could not help but smirk when she approached him, if only the detailing on her gown had been gold she would have looked like a Lannister.
As they were in public, surrounded by other lords, ladies, and knights she played the part of a proper and formal lady. He wanted to rush to her, to throw his arms around her and swing her around in a circle. He wanted to press a kiss against her lips, to promise that he would make her happy. But she greeted him with a gentle inclination of her head and a shallow curtsy, "Well met, Ser Jaime," she greeted him, a smirk playing at the corners of her lips.
"Well met?" he asked, a smirk playing at his own lips. "That is all you have to say, Lady Evelyne? Well met?" He chuckled and shook his head, "I wonder why you bothered to approach me to begin with. Those four words were hardly worth the journey."
She smiled, realizing that he was repeating her words from one of her previous letters. "Yes," she told him, her smile widening. "That is all I have to say."
"Oh you're a cruel one, aren't you?" he chuckled, moving closer to her and holding out his hand to her. "You come to me, dressed almost in Lannister colors, but not quite. And then you say the one word I want to hear before I even ask you my question."
Evelyne smiled at him and placed her hand in his, allowing him to pull her closer to him. "All you need to do is ask me then, Ser Jaime," she told him, rolling her eyes when he lifted her hand to his lips so that he could press a kiss against the back of her hand. "I am not the one playing with your emotions, you are."
Jaime was quiet for a moment, watching her, "You really will say yes?" he asked her, needing to be sure. She had told him in her letters that she wanted to marry him, that she wanted to believe everything he told her, that she would say yes. But he still couldn't wrap his head around it. Whatever he had done to earn her love, he wouldn't believe it until she was truly his. "When I ask you?"
"Yes," she told him, laughing a bit as she looked at his face. "When you ask."
He smiled at her and nodded, "At the end of the tournament," he promised her. "Once I've won and named you the Queen of Love and Beauty. In front of all the High Lords and Ladies of Westeros. That's when I will ask you for your hand."
"You're going for a private feel then, are you?" she asked, her tone biting and sarcastic.
He chuckled and shook his head, "I hope that, perhaps, by asking you in front of all of them you will be unable to change your mind and tell me no."
Evelyne laughed, throwing her head back and allowing her red hair to dance down her spine. "Oh but think of what fun I could have," she told him. "Rejecting you in front of all of Westeros. That could be more fun than telling you yes."
"Don't you dare," Jaime told her, lunging forward so that he could wrap one of his arms around her waist and pull her closer to him. "I have suffered your rejection once, Ev, I will not be able to do so again."
She stared at him for a moment, her blue eyes darting over his face, as if she were reading him like she would read a book. "I gave you my word, Jaime," she told him, her voice solemn. "I will not break it. I will marry you."
Jaime smiled and nodded at her, noting the curious looks from those who walked past them. He allowed his hand to drop from her waist, it was too familiar a touch, there would be whispers. "In that case, please allow me to escort you to the tourney field. I thought that we might watch the opening celebrations together."
"People will talk," Evelyne warned him.
"And what have I told you since you first caught my eye?"
Evelyne smiled and nodded toward the tourney field, silently telling him that he could escort her, "Let them talk," she told him.
"Indeed," Jaime told her with a soft smile. "They will write songs about you and I, Lady Evelyne. I'm sure of it."
"And will you have them played every night once we are married?" Evelyne asked, turning to look at him, the right corner of her lips turning up at the edges.
"Every night and twice on feast days. People will hear the songs so often that they will think we had forgotten the words to Rains of Castamere."
"Oh no," Evelyne laughed, "we cannot have that. Part of the Lannister legacy is how full of yourselves you are. We can't have you forgetting the words to your own song."
"Legacy?" Jaime asked as they walked. "You sound like my father."
"He found me today," Evelyne told him. "When he first arrived, I imagine. I must admit I was a bit more forward with him than I think he would have liked."
Jaime chuckled, "I'm sure he appreciated it," he told the woman. "My mother had a quiet way of standing up to my father, nothing like what I'm sure you gave him a taste of. But she had the same fire in her that you do." He paused for a moment, "Did you tell him that you intended to say yes?" he asked her.
Evelyne smiled at him, "He hinted at it, I'm sure he wished for a straight answer."
"But you did not give him one," Jaime guessed, enjoying the sparkle in the young woman's eye. Oh, he was sure that she had given his father hell instead of an answer.
"I did not," Evelyne told him with a smile.
Jaime chuckled, "Oh my father is going to both love and hate having you at the Rock," he told her, lifting her hand back to his lips so that she could press a kiss against the inside of her wrist.
"And you, Jaime?" she asked him.
"Will I love and hate having you at the Rock?" Jaime asked her. He shook his head, "I imagine a bit of both," he told her honestly. He could practically see her heart fall at his words. The sparkle left her eyes, her lips parted in surprise, she let out a shallow, shaking breath. She was disappointed in his answer. Perhaps she had wanted a declaration of his undying love. But that would never be their relationship. They both knew it. He sighed and stopped walking so that he could turn to look at her. "I have a feeling that you will try my patience every day," he told her. "I'm sure that at least once a fortnight I will think that my life would have been easier if I had not married you. I imagine that once a year you will make me seriously consider setting you aside and finding a nice, docile southern girl. But I will promise you that no matter what you do, what you say, how you behave I will never stop loving you." She wasn't looking at him, her head was ducked, a blush coloring her cheeks. He reached out, using his hand to tilt her head up so that she would look at him. "You ask if I will love or hate having you at Casterly Rock and my answer is both. But I will always love it more than I will hate it."
Her blue eyes were sparkling again as she looked at him, "You have always had such a way with words," she told him, shaking her head as she pulled away from his reach.
"And you have always had a way of playful disdain," Jaime chuckled back.
"A friend of mine once told me it was my armor," she told him with a smirk.
Jaime chuckled, low and dark, "An armor I soon hope to take off," he whispered to her.
She gasped, the blue in her eyes darkened. "Too forward," she whispered back to him. "As always."
They had reached the tourney grounds now. They took their seats, hoping to remain hidden among the crowd. The last thing Jaime wanted was for her brothers to decide to sit with them. Or worse, his sister. She sat closer to him than she had ever sat with Ned. Her left hand sat on the bench between them, half hidden by her skirts. As Lord Whent gave his welcoming speech and named his own daughter the Queen of Love and Beauty for the beginning of the ten day tournament Jaime allowed his hand to drop down on top of hers.
As the King stood up to acknowledge the cheers of the crowd Evelyne interlaced their fingers.
For the first time since he had read her letter where she promised to marry him he finally felt as though she was truly his.
He was so happy that he barely listened to the king's speech. He was so wrapped up in the feel of her beside him that he was surprised when he heard the King call his name.
"Ser Jaime Lannister, please come forward and be presented to the King's Guard."
Author's Note:
Oh you guys thought that this was going to be a happy story didn't you? Silly readers, there are no happy stories in GoT. There's always drama. And this week the drama is Jaime's deciding whether or not he will honor his arrangement with Evelyne or if he will join the King's Guard.
What do you think he will do? (I won't guess because I already know.)
Anyway, happy Game of Thrones day! Who's excited for tonight's episode? THIS GIRL!
I thought I'd celebrate with an update. What say you?
Thank you for reading, for adding this story to your alerts lists and your favorites lists. But most of all, thank you for your reviews! I live off of them.
HPuni101: I giveth and I taketh away! Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad that you enjoyed the last update and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well. We're really going to start having fun in the upcoming chapters.
The Mikaelson Cupcake: I really was surprised by how much I enjoyed the letters. The first time I wrote a chapter of just letters I thought it wouldn't work. But I kind of liked it. So I wrote the last chapter all letters and I loved it. And now, in the chapter after the next one it's letters again (with a twist). Maybe one day I should just do an entire story in letters because I like them so much.
Anyway, I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you liked this one as well. As for your question ... Jaime is obviously going to be offered a place in the King's Guard. But you'll have to wait until the next chapter to see how he responds.
Melmela: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope that you enjoyed this one as well! Thank you so much!
That's all I've got for now.
Until next time,
Chloe Jane.
