JAIME

He doesn't even know what possessed him. It had been a foolish thing to do. A completely foolish thing. He should have remembered the markings, the lines and distinctions between them. He wasn't supposed to stand that close to her. She was the Princess after all. After their departure, he had maintained as much distance from her as possible and from the looks of it, she was doing the same thing. The only conversation he had had with her after the morning of their departure was when he had offered them Casterly Rock for the night. And even then all he had said was that they could stay in Casterly Rock instead of some small inn where the Princess would still be in any form of danger. It had been a valid suggestion. Just because they had defeated the Brotherhood, didn't mean the West was altogether safe. Plus, she was the Princess. Her life would always be in some form of danger or something. So a castle was better than an inn and he was just glad that Ser Arthur had himself agreed to that suggestion.

So he had offered her the place for the night, lying to himself that he only did it because that is what his father would have done. It was a delight to play host to her. He had seen the way Princess Visenya was with Lord Sumner, how she was so respectful and so kind with the Lord, how she would always stop to talk to him and thank him for being a gracious host at Crakehall. He wanted that right now. She was avoiding him but he wanted her to look at him, to reward him with a smile and thank him for offering the Rock for the night. The fact that he himself had been avoiding her was of no importance now. He wanted her to talk to him, simple as that.

But she was so… ugh. She was just driving him mad. She was with Tyrion! Tyrion! Laughing with him, talking with him, thanking the "young Lord" for offering his home… But it was Jaime who had done it. He had been the one to offer the place. She was supposed to thank him. He didn't even know what he was feeling anymore. All he knew was that if the Princess would laugh once more at something Tyrion said, he would walk upto the duo, drag her to him and kis-

He shook his head at that. He was going in a very wrong direction. He tried to clear his head but his ears instantly perked up at another laugh from the object of his scrutiny. Was she trying to kill him because he was certain she would be the death of him.

"Tyrion.", he finally snapped and immediately regretted the tone he had taken with his little brother. "I think we should let the Princess rest now. We have a long travel ahead of us.", he continued in a much more gentler tone.

"We? You are leaving too, Jaime?", his brother asked dejectedly.

He snuck a glance towards the Princess but she wasn't looking at him but at Tyrion.

"I have to, Tyrion. Father, I believe, wants to see me." It is not a complete lie. Jaime is certain his father would want to know of his Knighthood but then for that a letter would have sufficed. However, he is not so willing to let the Princess go yet.

"Can't Tyrion come?" she asks and looks at him.

"Father will not want that I am sure." Tyrion answers for him and Jaime feels horrible for everything that has ever happened to Tyrion. Jaime had been a highly active child, running and jumping. He is positive that if their father had ordered for him to stay inside like he had done for Tyrion, Jaime would have simply run away.

He is drawn out of his thoughts when Tyrion says something to him.

"Sorry?", he asks not having caught a word his brother uttered.

"I said, you will come back soon won't you? Oh and bring me something from King's Landing."

This time on hearing his brother, he nods. "Yeah but for now I need to escort the Princess back to her chambers."

"Oh no no. It is quite alright. My Kingsguard is waiting outside for me." she interrupts quickly before turning to Tyrion, "It has been an absolute delight and honour to be in your company, my Young Lord."

"The honour has been all mine Princess. Thank you for visiting." Tyrion answers and Jaime steps aside to let one of their maids take Tyrion to his chambers.

He speaks up when it is just the two of them, "Ser Darry I assure you has already retired for the day. I swore to him upon my Knighthood that I would escort you to your chambers when you were done playing with my brother. You won't make me break an oath now, would you, Princess?"

"I assure you I do not need an escort so thank you Ser Jaime but you can leave." she replies and there is a slight bite in her tone which amuses him.

"If I recall correctly, the last time you were here my pretty little Princess, you had lost your way and I had been the one to escort you back to your chambers. So shall we?" He offers his hand to her but she just walks past him and he quietly follows. After all, he is not letting the Princess run off so easily. She had outright ignored him through the supper, not even acknowledging his presence and now this! Like he would let it happen.

"Why are you following me?", she asked him as they walked and he retorted, "Why are you ignoring me?"

Without warning she stops and turns to him, "Really? Really? You are asking me why I am ignoring you! You are the one who started it." Just as quickly she turns back ahead and starts walking.

"You are going the wrong way. Take the right here.", he instructs when she continues straight ahead.

"So you are not going to acknowledge my words? For somebody who had trouble with me ignoring them, you have some nerve to not bother with my words." Still she takes the right he told about and as they reach her chambers he notices another Kingsguard waiting at the door.

He feels a pain in his chest as he watches her walk away without so much as a backward glance. This had been a horrible turn of events.

It only gets worse when they leave Casterly Rock and head to King's Landing. This time she doesn't even go out of her way to ignore him. She just instructs her Kingsguard that Jaime isn't allowed to see her and that puts a stop to all his attempts at approaching her. He may be a knight himself but these are the deadliest and finest of knights in Westeros and he is no fool to even think of going against them. However, that doesn't stop him from glaring daggers at the knights as they guard the Princess's carriage.

Things worsen further when they reach the Red Keep and by that point, Jaime is certain that all the Gods are against him. He is greeted by the Queen, he knows she is actually here for her daughter and not Jaime, and lo and behold Cersei Lannister herself. As the Queen ushers her daughter in after a quick greeting, Cersei comes to him, "I would have thought you would be here sooner. I wrote to you several moons ago about father's wish to have me married."

"Yet here you are. I am positive, hence, that I am not too late at all."

"Why are you here with her? What were you and the Princess doing?", she asks following him as he enters.

"Travelling. I have been knighted.", Jaime answers absent-mindedly as he takes in the surroundings, "Something wrong?"

"Ser Harlan Grandison passed away in his sleep last night it appears. Everybody is preparing for the rituals. I knew the Princess was bad luck. We have a death as she comes home." Cersei remarks and he still doesn't know why the Princess has gotten under Cersei's skin. But then again, that Targaryen has gotten under skin too. It is just a Visenya Targaryen thing, he assumes.

"You are forgetting she is not the only one to return. I did too. Also, Ser Grandison died last night and we have arrived just now. So we didn't bring death.", he remarks and bitterly muses that Cersei should have been happy for him, for the Knighthood he had craved. He can still remember the way Princess Visenya had jumped into his arms at that news and it seems like Cersei hadn't even heard him.

"Don't put yourself in the same group as her. Believe me we would all be better off without Visenya Targaryen in our life." The way she says those words, it almost sounds like a threat to the girl.

"Cersei…" he warns, not certain why he feels the need to jump to the girl's defence.

"Oh do not you worry. I am not foolish to ever do something to that girl. Not yet anyway."

He finally turns to properly look at Cersei for the first time since he is here and just as suddenly she seems so wrong. Her hair feel too blond and he wants them to be paler, her eyes too green when he desires more indigo-purplish, her skin sun-kissed from being brought up at the Rock when he desires it to be pale. Suddenly, she is just not as beautiful as he thought she was.