Tyrion
The candle light slowly dwindled, and Tyrion reluctantly put down the book he had been reading, as he glanced over at his wife's sleeping form on the bed. In truth, he hadn't been paying much attention to the book, but he needed something to keep himself occupied, as sleep was likely to be an uncomfortable affair tonight. He'd decided he would be staying in the chair, as Sansa had seemed very distracted since she returned from her walk, and although she never said it, he knew that it repulsed her to be in the same bed as him. And why shouldn't it, as my father is always telling me, I am a grotesque little creature. How he loathed his father. Well, he thought, my father can make us marry, he can even make us share a room, but he will never compel me to force myself on her. He really wished that he could make her happier, though. Usually, his wit was enough to make people laugh; as a dwarf, it was his only real defence against the real world, that and the fact that he was a Lannister. But in Sansa's case, his wit seemed to do little to raise her spirits, and his being a Lannister made everything a whole lot worse. He sighed as he shifted in the chair, trying to get comfortable.
Just as he was drifting off to sleep, he heard a gentle knock at the door, so quiet, he wasn't sure if he'd imagined it. He slipped off the chair and waddled his way to the door, opening it slowly and standing outside before looking up to see who was disturbing him at this late hour.
"Tyrion," a familiar voice greeted him warmly. Tyrion stared in shock at the man who he'd believed dead.
"Jaime?" To see him here after all this time, Tyrion was delighted. He'd always loved his brother dearly, as Jaime was the only one who'd treated him with any respect and kindness.
"So, I see that father didn't tell you that I'd come back."
"He did not." Tyrion took in Jaime's composure; there was something different about him, less arrogant. Then he noticed the stump that hung loosely at Jaime's left side. "Ah. I suppose I'm the handsome one now!" Jaime grinned and gestured to Tyrion's scar.
"Don't think there's any risk of that yet. I would have come to see you sooner, but I've been very busy, and I'd hoped that either our father or sister would have informed you of my return." Jaime sounded apologetic, but there was also a continuous smile pulling at his features, and Tyrion was glad to have his brother back again. In truth, he often felt like his brother was his only true friend.
"Very busy, indeed? This sounds intriguing, let us discuss it over a drink of wine. Though perhaps, not in my bed chambers, I wouldn't want to wake my lady wife. Come, the kitchens are just along from here."
"Actually, not right now, Tyrion, it's quite late after all, I just wanted to see you before I headed to bed. It's been a long day, and if I settle down to drink with you, I'll likely be knocked out until tomorrow evening!"
"I see you haven't forgotten me after all," Tyrion winked. "Well, you've seen me now, is that all you wanted, or is there something on your mind? You know I've always been very good at reading people, Jaime, so don't try to hide it. Yes, there's clearly something bothering you."
"You're an annoyingly clever dwarf, you know that?" Tyrion knew that Jaime meant no cruelty with his words, and the accompanying smile assured him of it. "If you must know, it concerns a woman…"
"A woman? Is this about our sweet sister Cersei, has she spurned your affections?"
"You knew about Cersei?" Jaime whispered, shocked.
"Did you really think I was as blind as father? Of course I knew. But your reaction tells me that it isn't her after all, so, come on, details, who is this mysterious lady?"
"Her name's Brienne, we travelled to King's Landing together. She supported me when I lost my hand. I hate to admit it Tyrion, but I'm not sure that I would have survived that without her, she was my strength and for that I'll always owe her."
"And how exactly does one go about losing a hand?"
"Lady Catelyn released me, and sent Brienne to escort me back to King's Landing in exchange for Sansa and Arya. But we were captured by the Bloody Mummers and taken to Harrenhal, they're the ones who cut off my hand. Bolton was going to send me back to King's Landing, but I couldn't just leave Brienne behind to be raped and killed, not after all we'd been through. So, I… I suppose I rescued her."
"And then you fell in love with her." Tyrion didn't phrase it as a question, it was obvious where this conversation was headed.
"And then I fell in love with her." Jaime admitted. "I tried to keep it a secret, but then Cersei made Brienne so angry with me, and I needed her to understand that I wasn't a bad person, so I told her how I felt. And then, earlier today, she told me that she loved me too."
"Well, a Kingsguard can't marry, but I'm pretty sure there's also something in the rules about not killing the king, so I'm sure you'll find a way around it."
"Ha! Believe it or not, I'm actually trying to become a better man. Besides, Brienne is so honourable she makes the Starks seem corrupt. She told me that she loved me, but I don't know what to do now. I couldn't discuss it with her earlier because Addam Marbrand came over and suggested she trained with the rest of the City Watch, and thinking about it by myself just makes me want to stab things."
"Come on, dear brother, we're going for that drink." Tyrion insisted, grabbing Jaime's arm, but his brother shook him off.
"Perhaps tomorrow, Tyrion, right now I should really get some sleep. Thanks for the talk, though. It was good to see you again." Jaime bent to hug Tyrion, before departing back up the corridor, as Tyrion went back to his chair. The candle was all but extinguished. It was good to see you too, brother.
Brienne
This was going to be her last night in a luxury bed, as tomorrow she'd be moving to her new quarters with the rest of the City Watch, yet she just couldn't get to sleep. She'd been tossing and turning for well over an hour, trying to clear her head, but all she could think was Jaime. She wondered where he was right now, whether he was having as much difficulty sleeping as she was. She doubted it. Jaime was pretty impulsive, and tended to live his life in the moment, he'd rarely taken longer than a few minutes before he started snoring away. Yet another way that we're different, she pondered. It was too late to think like that, though. He'd admitted to loving her, and she'd admitted to loving him, so whichever way they chose to go from here, their relationship was going to be changed. Not that they had much choice about where to go from here. Brienne had her honour to think of, and the idea of having a physical relationship outside of marriage was abhorrent to her.
She'd never really spent much time considering marriage, as before Renly, she'd never had strong feelings for a man. But Renly and Jaime were so different, the situations so dissimilar. With Renly, it had always been unrequited, and she'd known that it always would be. Whilst she tried not to listen to rumours, as a member of his Kingsguard it had been hard for her to ignore the fact that Loras Tyrell had gone into Renly's tent a little more often than seemed normal, and a lot more often than his wife Margaery had. She'd always known that she'd never have a chance with him, but that hadn't stopped her hoping, wishing things could've been different, and her heart had jumped every time that Renly had spoken to her. She'd liked him from the moment she'd met him, completely unlike with Jaime. She'd hated Jaime. She'd hated the fact that he was the Kingslayer, she'd felt burdened about having to spend so much time with such a dishonourable, arrogant man. But then she'd come to know him, truly know him, and had seen the real Jaime Lannister. He wasn't the monster she'd always thought him to be, but a loyal, sensitive, accepting man who hid behind a mask of charisma, and Brienne knew what it was like to have to wear a mask. We have so much in common. She found herself almost wishing that there could be a possibility for marriage with him, but that would mean him leaving the Kingsguard, and she knew now that he did care about his honour, and that he felt it was his sworn duty to protect his King… Brienne could understand that. Eventually, she settled into a dreamless sleep.
She was awoken early the following morning by a knock at the door. Groaning, she forced herself out of bed, and walked over to open it, not bothering to put on shoes, and regretting it as her bare feet touched the cold ground… Winter was truly coming. She tugged the door open, and was greeted by Jaime Lannister's smirking face.
"You overslept. You're going to be late for duty if you're not careful, and I don't want Addam blaming me for your lack of reliability." He winked at her. "Can I come in?" Wordlessly, she stepped aside to let him through, wishing that she was wearing something more flattering than just her linen tunic and trousers that she'd slept in. He seemed to sense her thoughts. "Relax, I just want to talk, and I really don't care what you're wearing. Even in your sleeping clothes you'll always look a lot better than when you were wearing that hideous pink gown." Brienne had to smile at the memory; it had truly looked awful on her. Jaime sauntered over to her bed, staggering a bit as he did so, before jumping onto it, leaving her door ajar. She shut it behind her.
"Jaime, are you drunk?" She asked him, a bit concerned.
"Probably, I spent some time catching up with Tyrion this morning." He replied as an explanation, waving her concern off with a flick of his hand. "I'm fine, really. But Tyrion told me that I should try and catch you before you left to guard the city, so I did!" He finished with a flourish, as though proud of his ability to knock on a door.
"I really don't know what there is to say that we haven't already said, Jaime." She sighed, sitting down next to him, and feeling incredibly awkward. He shifted himself closer so that they were touching, and she could feel the cold of his Kingsguard armour against her skin. He smiled warmly at her.
"I meant it when I said 'I love you'." He paused, squeezing her hand for an instant before continuing, "But I also meant it when I said I'd help you rescue Sansa, that's why I'm here. Well, it's my excuse to be here, at any rate, I won't deny that I just wanted to see your face." Brienne blushed furiously. "Joffrey's wedding to Maergery is coming up in a week, and I've been thinking that it may be the perfect opportunity. Everyone will be focused on the bride and groom, so nobody is likely to pay much attention to Sansa, or question the actions of a gold cloak leaving the ceremony a bit early. My idea was to wait until about halfway through the feast, when some of the guests start leaving, and have you slip out to pack some of Sansa's things. If anyone spots you going into Sansa's room, just say that she asked you to fetch her a piece of jewellery, or something. Then, you come back and wait just outside the throne room, ready to escort her. Meanwhile, I'll offer Lady Sansa a dance, and move her across the room so that she's near the door. I then make my way back to the table, and cause a diversion by 'accidentally' spilling wine on the Queen. While everybody is fussing over that, you take Sansa and escape out one of the many hidden passages that I know this castle has. We have a week to figure out exactly which one. What do you think?" Brienne stared, stunned, as he finished detailing his idea. It was brilliant.
"That's… Actually a really smart plan."
"No need to sound so shocked, wench. I am more than just a pretty face, you know." He grinned disarmingly at her.
"The only problem is that Sansa still doesn't trust you, I can't see her even agreeing to dance with you, let alone go along with this plan."
"Which is why I'm going to change her mind. I'm having lunch with Tyrion and Sansa this afternoon, so I guess I'll just have to use my endless charm. I would've invited you along, but it'd look suspicious, and besides, you're a knight of the City Watch now, you have other places to be."
"How are we going to tell her the plan, though? We can't possibly let Tyrion in on this."
"I know." Jaime muttered sadly, "I hate to deceive my brother, but she's his wife, whether they're happy about it or not. It'd be too dangerous to let him know. I had breakfast with him this morning, though, and he mentioned that she's been very upset since she found out about the red w-, since she found out about her mother and brother. I suggested that perhaps she'd like a new friend, and put forward that you make very good company."
"You think I'm good company?" Brienne asked. You fool, Brienne, stay on topic! You need to fulfil your oath to Catelyn Stark, this isn't about Jaime!
"It will be up to you to convince her of this plan, and in the meantime, I'll try to make her like me. Anyway, you should report to the Mud Gate, that's where new recruits are always stationed; you don't want to be late." She couldn't help feeling disappointed that he'd ignored her question. He got up to leave, and she escorted him to the door, stopping as turned the handle.
"Goodbye, Jaime."
"Oh, and for the record," he said, turning back to her, one leg out the door. "I think you're very good company." He pulled her hand to his mouth and gave it a soft kiss, his lips lingering a little longer than was proper, before pulling away and beaming at her. Brienne hurriedly closed the door and got dressed in her City Watch uniform, before marching out of her room, intent on thinking about her duty, and not the warmth of Jaime's smile.
The boy
From his position inside the wall, the boy had heard everything. He waited until he was sure that the footsteps had receded, before easing himself back along the hidden passageway, towards the main castle. Lord Varys would want to hear this.
Sorry that this chapter took so long to write! I've been very busy, and was struggling to work out where to go from here, so lo and behold, a cliffhanger! Hopefully I'll be back on target now, and should have the next chapter ready by the following weekend.