A/N: You guys, I'm so sorry for the longer waits. I've been terribly busy and it's hard for me to find the time to post, so thank you to everyone who's sticking with story and to all of my new followers. It means so much to know that you all are still liking this story!
Thank you for the big response last chapter! I had hoped that the Red Wedding and Robb's fate would get you guys going!
A great feast was to be thrown the next night, celebrating Jaime's return and Dimeria's bravery for bringing him back safely. Dimeria had never been to a royal feast; she hoped that they would be fun like the small gatherings she used to have at Castle Black, but when 2 handmaidens came into her room with a gown that morning, she decided she wasn't looking forward to the celebration.
"I would rather not put it on til later, if you 2 don't mind." Dimeria told the handmaidens.
They looked at each other warily, not really wanting to obey Dimeria's suggestion. "Look, I don't really plan on leaving my room today until the feast, so no one will see me looking like…" She looked down at her trousers and tunic. "...looking like this."
This seemed to satisfy the two girls and they laid the crimson dress on Dimeria's bed. "We'll be back in a few hours before the feast to get you ready, mi'lady." They said.
Dimeria meant to call after them to tell them not to use a highborn title when addressing her, but they left the room quickly. She walked over to her dress and felt the red fabric; it's long sleeves adorned with golden threads swirling throughout the length of it like rivers of sunshine were thick and would probably come down to Dimeria's wrists when she put it on. She sighed and walked away to look out the window; she really hated dresses.
She sat at her window for most of the day; she meant it when she said she didn't plan on leaving her room, Dimeria just wanted to rest. Her room overlooked Blackwater Bay and if she leaned out and looked to her right, she could see a small beach area where the waves lapped over on the sand; Dimeria didn't plan on going down there at all, but she couldn't deny that she enjoyed the view.
A knock sounded at her door and Dimeria almost groaned; there was no way it was time for her to get ready for the feast yet. She walked to the door, ready to open it and yell at the handmaidens, but she got a pleasant surprise.
"Lord Tyrion!" She exclaimed.
He smiled. "Lady Dimeria. May I come in?"
"Of course." She said, moving aside to allow him entrance.
"My lady, I never thought that I would be seeing you in King's Landing." Tyrion said.
"About halfway here I wasn't sure if I would make it." Dimeria said with a smile.
"Well, I'm glad you did." Tyrion forced a grin. Truthfully, Tyrion was absolutely baffled that she had come; and the fact that Jaime was her escort made things even more interesting.
"How was travelling with my brother? Not as enjoyable as my company, I assume." Tyrion joked with her, hiding the uneasiness he felt at Dimeria's presence in King's Landing; he knew how dangerous it was for her to be here.
Dimeria chuckled. "There were times I wanted to strangle him, but you have to work through those moments, I suppose."
"My, have you learned self-control? I must say; you've changed quite a bit from the time I was at Castle Black."
"Desperate times, call for desperate measures." Dimeria said. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed conversing with the imp; it definitely took her mind off of more serious things. "How have you been, Lord Tyrion?" She asked him.
"My lady, I think we're past the point of keeping each other's titles." He said.
"I'll stop calling you Lord if you stop calling me Lady."
"Agreed." Tyrion nodded. "Things have been better, I suppose, but I have my life; and I can't complain about that."
Dimeria nodded and sighed; sometimes she had to remind herself of the very same fact.
"And what about you?" Tyrion asked her. "I heard that you ran into some trouble along the way here."
Dimeria bit her lip before answering. "Yes, we were captured by one of Roose Bolton's men: Locke." She muttered. She hated talking about this, it just reminded her of a dark time in her life. To add to that, Dimeria felt uncomfortable discussing anything that happened between her and Jaime with anyone else. She felt as if the Jaime she knew; was a completely different man from whom he was here; people would probably laugh and call her crazy if she told them some of the things she and Jaime discussed while they were prisoners. Jaime Lannister of the Kingsguard didn't talk about vulnerability, but Jaime Lannister the prisoner allowed himself to be free of the guilt and blame people had bestowed on him when he killed Aerys Targaryen; he let his true self shine.
Tyrion could tell Dimeria was uncomfortable; he wondered what all had happened on her journey, obviously something very personal to her. He gave her a kind smile. "Some things are better forgotten, aren't they?" Tyrion said.
Dimeria knew he understood then. "Yes." She whispered.
"Well, I was just on my way to a Small Council meeting. I thought I'd stop by and see you." Tyrion said. "I should probably get going, or else they might strip me of my 'Master of Coin' title. And what a shame that would be!" His mouth was nearly drooling with sarcasm.
Dimeria laughed and walked him to the door. "I'm sure you would be devastated." She teased him. Before he was out of her room though, she said, "Oh, and congratulations on your marriage." She sounded horribly awkward.
Tyrion's face fell at the mention of his wedding to Sansa Stark.
"My handmaidens were gossiping about it this morning." Dimeria explained herself. Tyrion nodded somberly. "You could've done much worse, I hope you remember that." She said kindly.
"Maybe, but I fear Lady Sansa did marry the worst." Tyrion said sadly.
"I wouldn't say that; and if you don't believe me, just look at who she was formerly betrothed to."
Tyrion gave a little smile. "You're just caught up on all the news of King's Landing, aren't you?"
Dimeria raised her brows. "Handmaidens talk." She then sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. "A lot."
…
The handmaidens were back sooner than Dimeria wanted; truthfully she never wanted them to come back, but she didn't really have a say in the matter. They forcefully tugged the dress onto Dimeria's body, pausing only once to glance at her wounds from the bear.
"You're tying...it...far...too tight." Dimeria struggled to say since all the air was being pushed from her lungs.
"It's meant to be tight, mi'lady. It shows the woman's figure." One of the handmaidens said.
"Tie it any tighter and my figure will become deformed!" Dimeria growled.
The serving girl sighed and laced the rest of her back up, not tightening the gown any further. "If you would have a seat, mi'lady, I can do your hair now." She said.
Dimeria sat, saying, "Don't refer to me as a Lady."
"It's only common courtesy." The girl replied.
"Well, I am not a lady, so I don't necessarily deserve that courtesy."
The 2 handmaidens looked at each other and sighed once more; Dimeria could tell they had probably never served someone so far from being a lady before and they definitely didn't like it. They worked past their annoyance though, and began fixing Dimeria's hair in a southern style. Dimeria had seen several other women wearing their hair this way, but she couldn't help but widen her eyes at how ridiculous it looked.
"Take it down." She ordered them. "I don't like it."
"But this is how all the southern ladies wear it!" The two handmaidens told her.
"And I am not a southern lady! Take. It. Out."
Absolutely flustered and irritated, the girls took down her hair and put it in a simple style; pinning half of it back by braiding it and letting the rest fall down her back like a waterfall. Dimeria's white strand of hair wove intricately through the braid and she sighed in relief at how much better she looked now.
"If that'll be all, we'll be on our way now." One of the handmaidens said.
"Trust me, I don't want you here any longer than you have to be. Leave." Dimeria said rudely, but she didn't care.
Both of the handmaidens twitched out of her room, wondering to themselves how such an unmannered girl had managed to work her way into King's Landing. Dimeria stood gazing in the mirror, rubbing her dress as if it had creases, though it was simply perfect; she just wasn't used to it. When she heard a knocking on the door, she almost thought about grabbing something to throw at the handmaidens, but she decided against it. She swung the door open and couldn't tell if she was relieved or disappointed that it was Jaime and not the handmaidens.
"What are you doing here?" Dimeria snapped at him.
Jaime took a moment before answering, absorbing Dimeria's new appearance in front of him. He mentally shook himself and said, "I'm your escort to the feast."
Dimeria scrunched her nose. "Why do I need an escort? I can walk perfectly fine by myself."
"That's how highborn feasts work." Jaime sighed.
"I'm not a highborn lady."
"Yes, but you are one of the honored guests, seeing as you saved my life and brought me home. Now come on." He said offering Dimeria his arm.
She took it begrudgingly and began walking down to the feast arm in arm. Jaime felt rather awkward, though he suspected Dimeria liked the silence since she was still annoyed with him. He tried making conversation anyway.
"Lannister Red looks nice on you." He told her.
"Why? Because it's Lannister red, or just because it looks nice?" Dimeria said curtly.
"You could just take the compliment."
Dimeria sighed and closed her eyes. "Thank you."
"There, was that so difficult, little warrior?"
"Yes." She said without missing a beat.
Jaime shook his head at her. "If anything's difficult, it's you."
"If I'm so difficult, then why are you escorting me?" She snapped.
"Seven hells, how long are you going to keep this up?!" Jaime exclaimed angrily.
"I could ask you the same thing!" Dimeria said, yanking her arm away from his. "You're the one pretending here, not me."
Jaime clenched his jaw and grabbed Dimeria's arm again. "We don't have time for this, let's go."
Dimeria didn't resist, but she kept her body tense the entire time. Jaime's heart pounded in his chest, they hadn't fought like this for so long. Why start now? What Jaime truly hated though, was the fact that Dimeria was right; he was trying uphold a reputation he really didn't even want...why?
They came upon the feast, by being announced by the King himself.
"Ah! There they are! My Uncle Jaime and our brave guest, Dimeria!"
The gathered crowd erupted into applause as Jaime and Dimeria walked to the royal table; Dimeria forcing a pleased smile onto her face, and Jaime trying to ignore the stares he was receiving from those who didn't trust him. As soon as Dimeria was seated at the table, Jaime left her, taking a spot against a far wall to watch for any inappropriate behavior.
Dimeria was sat next to Tyrion who was already pouring his third glass of wine. He didn't pay much attention to Dimeria, he was far too deep in his own thoughts to acknowledge her. Dimeria sat down to a large plate of food and, much to her surprise, ate most of it; she couldn't remember the last time she had such an extravagant meal. By the time she was done, people had gotten up to start dancing to the music being played. Drunk Lords were becoming more adventurous with their attempts to woo any girl that came near them; grabbing their backsides and taking prolonged glances at their breasts. Dimeria began thinking she was lucky for being able to sit at the royal table far too soon, because King Joffrey then came up to her saying he wanted to introduce her some, "very important people."
"You were never introduced to him properly yesterday; this is my grandfather and Hand of the King, Tywin Lannister." Joffrey said.
"It's an honor to meet you, my Lord." Dimeria said.
Tywin nodded respectfully and said, "I thank you for bringing my son home in one piece. We are indebted to you."
"Your son already paid his debt by bringing me here." Dimeria said, forcing a smile.
"If my son has learned anything, it's that you can never repay someone for your life." Tywin said, sparks flying in his angry eyes. "Unless of course you give them their own life back."
He did save my life… Dimeria thought, but she wouldn't say that here, not to anyone in King's Landing and especially not Tywin Lannister. She only nodded in response and forced herself not to roll her eyes as Joffrey continued introducing her to people.
"This is my betrothed, Lady Margaery Tyrell." He said.
"It's such an honor to meet you, Lady Dimeria. Your bravery is so admirable." Margaery said.
Dimeria wasn't sure she had ever met someone who smiled so much. "The honor is all mine, Lady Margaery." Dimeria said, trying not to sound so awkward; she wasn't used to speaking so formally.
"If you're able to, I would love to have tea with you tomorrow in the rose gardens. You can meet my grandmother. I'm afraid she wasn't able to make it tonight, or else you'd be speaking with her now."
"It would be my pleasure." Dimeria said. She couldn't deny that her interest was picqued, she had never had tea before.
Lady Margaery's attention suddenly went behind Dimeria. "Oh, this is my brother, Ser Loras." She said pointing over Dimeria's shoulder. "Loras, come here, would you? I'd like you to meet someone."
Loras gracefully strode over to them, his curly locks ever so slightly brushing his eyes. "Lady Dimeria." He said, taking her hand and placing a kiss on it. "Everyone has been talking about you lately. You're the most interesting topic in King's Landing right now, and I mean that respectfully."
"I didn't think a bastard girl would be so interesting among such...highborn citizens." Dimeria said uncomfortably.
"Well you're not just a bastard girl now, you're a hero." Margaery said, taking Dimeria's arm since Joffrey had vacated after growing bored with the conversation.
They began walking through the crowd; Margaery introducing Dimeria to almost everyone she knew, and Dimeria placing a smile on her face for so long that she feared it would never go away. Dimeria was surprised though, she didn't think a soon-to-be queen would be so acquainted with those who weren't Royal; but she seemed to know almost everyone at the feast.
"I hope you don't mind," Margaery said, "but I think His Grace is asking for my presence. Will I see you tomorrow for tea?" She asked Dimeria.
"Yes, of course." Dimeria said.
"Wonderful! I'll send someone over to escort you." With one last large smile, Margaery left Dimeria in the dancing crowd.
Moving bodies pushed past her, leaving Dimeria disoriented and not sure where to go next. A hand pressed up against her bottom, making her jump in surprise, but mostly irritation. An ugly man, not one that Margaery had introduced her to, began eyeing Dimeria like a piece of meat, ready to grab her at any moment. She slapped his hand away, making him slur something incomprehensible; Dimeria assumed it had something to do with him wanting to take her home with him, but she didn't care to find out. She turned to walk away again, but he was persistent and grabbed her waist, hauling her back to him so close that she could smell his wine-stained breath.
"Take your hands off me!" She growled at him, but before he could object, he was yanked away by his shoulder.
Jaime appeared in his place, shoving the drunken man out of the crowd to land on his face. Dimeria frowned at Jaime when he turned back around to face her.
"I don't need you to save me." She told him.
He shrugged. "It's my job."
"Of course it is." She turned away from and began walking out of the crowd.
"Dimeria!" Jaime called after her, but he stopped, realizing the attempt was futile; Dimeria wouldn't talk to him unless she wanted to.
Desperate to escape the dancing idiots, Dimeria wandered up to the higher level of the throne room. It overlooked the crowd like a balcony, and also had windows giving view to the outside world of King's Landing. She rested her arms against the window, closing her eyes and reveling in the breeze coming off Blackwater Bay.
Dimeria wanted to leave, but she had a feeling that if she were the first to exit, she would insult the royal family. She hoped that they wouldn't be too disgraced by the fact that she wasn't joining the jovial party down below. Fairly soon, the music and laughter downstairs faded to a nonsensical blur as Dimeria focused on the breeze hitting her face. The stench startled Dimeria at first, but she found that she was quickly adjusting to the customary smell of the city.
"Up here by yourself, what, do you not like celebrations?" A voice asked her.
Dimeria really wasn't even thinking when she replied. "The celebrations are fine; it's the people I have a problem with."
"Yes, they can be quite a nuisance sometimes." The voice said distastefully; it clearly belonged to a woman.
"That's a nice way of putting it." Dimeria said with a tilt of her head. She turned to look at who she was conversing with and felt her eyes widen. Cersei Lannister lounged against the wall behind her, a glass of wine in her hand as she overlooked the intoxicated crowd down below.
"I suppose it is too nice, most of the time I'd rather have those idiots down there thrown in the dungeons." Cersei said maliciously. She sighed then and turned her head over her shoulder to look at Dimeria. "Of course, I'm not supposed to say that aloud being Queen Regent and all."
"I always thought that Kings and Queens were allowed to say whatever they wanted." Dimeria said, joining Cersei against the ledge to watch the feast.
"Oh, they can, but it always seems to come with a price." Cersei narrowed her eyes.
Dimeria thought about it for a moment, her gaze on the dancing people blurring as she focused her mind on the conversation. "I suppose that's how all things in life are; everything has a consequence." She snickered then and looked at Cersei. "Unless you know how to get away with it."
That surprisingly brought a smile to Cersei's face and she turned towards Dimeria, raising her wine glass. "Well then here's to getting away with it." She drained her wine and began watching the crowd below again.
Dimeria felt herself relax a little bit; talking to the Queen didn't seem so terrible, they actually seemed to be getting along. "Your Grace, I was expecting to see Sansa Stark here tonight…"
"Ah, it seems Lady Sansa has been overcome with some sort of sickness. She didn't feel well enough to come tonight." Cersei spoke quickly, showing her obvious dislike for the Stark girl.
Disappointment prickled Dimeria's mind; she had been hoping to speak with Robb Stark's sister, maybe if she got along with Sansa, she would feel some sort of closure about her situation with Robb himself. It was a long shot, but she didn't see the harm in trying, even if Sansa ended up hating Dimeria, it wouldn't really bother the dark-haired bastard.
"How has your stay been so far in King's Landing?" Cersei asked. The question, although quite simple, seemed forced from Cersei's mouth, as if she hated making mindless conversation.
Dimeria shrugged. "Nice, I suppose. Although I've had way too many visits from those handmaidens than I can stand. Do they all gossip, or is it just mine?"
Once again, Cersei found herself laughing at Dimeria's comment; the Queen couldn't remember the last time she had laughed at something so simple instead of finding humor in other people's pain. "They all start out that way, but eventually you can train them to keep their annoying little mouths shut whenever they're around you." Cersei grinned evilly.
"I'll have to do that right away." Dimeria said with exasperation.
They continued on like that for the rest of the night; watching drunk people make fools of themselves in front of everyone. They were lucky since most people wouldn't remember the ridiculous behavior, but Cersei and Dimeria were having an enjoyable time making fun of them.
Jaime watched them disbelievingly; he never thought Dimeria and his sister would get along so well; it was strange watching Cersei enjoy someone's company that wasn't his own or her children. By now, Jaime had sat down at a table hoping to revel in his own feast, but the strange behavior of Dimeria and Cersei had driven the appetite right out of him.
"What are you doing, brother?" Tyrion asked Jaime. "This is your feast, how can you look so sullen?"
Jaime didn't answer his brother directly, but only gestured up to the balcony where their sister and Dimeria were chatting the night away.
Tyrion nearly spit out his wine. "Well that is quite the sight. Is Cersei actually smiling?" He scoffed.
"She has been most of the time…" Jaime said, dumbfounded.
"Hm, well it looks like our dear sister has found a new best friend."
It was Jaime's turn to scoff now. "You and I both know Cersei; and I know Dimeria, they don't have best friends."
"Yes, and that's why they've found each other now." Tyrion pointed out. "Does their relationship upset you?" He prodded Jaime.
"Why has she suddenly taken an interest in her?" Jaime asked.
"I don't know, maybe Cersei plans on making our dear Dimeria one of her evil minions."
Jaime shook his head. "No, Dimeria's not that stupid."
Tyrion stared at Jaime then, not hiding the calculating look on his scarred face. Jaime tried to ignore it at first, but he was like a whining dog, begging for attention. "What are you staring at?" He snapped at Tyrion.
"That's high praise coming from you." Tyrion said. "It seems you've taken a rather strong liking to Dimeria." Tyrion grinned mischieviously.
Jaime shook his head in an effort to deny Tyrion's claim, but he just couldn't find it within himself to do so. He wanted to change the topic and he knew he had to do it quickly, or else Tyrion would continue making speculations about his feelings toward Dimeria; it was a trait that ran in the family.
"Where is your new wife, Tyrion? Couldn't make it to her new brother-in-law's celebration?" Jaime asked, diverting Tyrion's thoughts.
His question instantly darkened the mood. "Lady Sansa is not doing well."
"Hm, has she decided that the marriage life isn't all she thought it would be?" Jaime asked sarcastically.
"No life would be fun if you just found out that your brother and mother have been brutally murdered." Tyrion said.
That snapped Jaime out of his playful teasing right away. "What?"
"Robb and Catelyn Stark are dead; killed under Walder Frey's roof during Edmure Tully's wedding. Roose Bolton made the killing blow...he betrayed Robb Stark." Tyrion said, biting back his malice. He didn't particularly like Robb, but he was Stark: a good man and very honorable. To be betrayed and assaulted at a wedding and then to watch everyone you had ever known be killed by a man you thought you could trust...no one deserved such a fate. And Catelyn. She was fierce, brave, and loved her children more than anything in the world; Tyrion couldn't imagine the pain she must have felt to see her eldest son being taken from the world. Tyrion almost thought it was better she was dead; Catelyn wouldn't have wanted to live after seeing that happen.
Jaime groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. Sure, the Stark boy had captured him, but that's exactly what he was: a boy! It wasn't his time to die.
"Why would Walder Frey kill the Starks?" Jaime asked.
"Take one guess. Has plenty of money, always pays his debts…" Tyrion said bitterly.
Jaime closed his eyes in dismay. "Father actually paid Walder Frey to murder them."
He wished he could say he didn't believe it, but this was exactly something his father would do; he wasn't surprised. Jaime grabbed a cup and filled it with wine, draining it in one gulp.
This was not going to sit well with Dimeria.
…
But what only 2 people knew, was that Robb Stark was not dead; he was very much alive, just sitting in a cell at The Twins. The day after Tulkas had shown his secret to Talisa, they met in private, taking a walk through the fallen leaves in the woods.
"How did this happen?" Talisa asked him. "Everyone believes him to be dead."
"When the massacre first started, I don't believe Roose Bolton was in the room; he had fled right away it seemed. I, along with several others, knew of the suspicious behavior of Bolton, so when they first attacked, we weren't quite as unprepared as they had hoped."
Tulkas told Talisa of the fighting and how he had to fight off the men with crossbows in order to save Robb from being shot down. He explained how Brienne, The Blackfish, and Robb all knew something was going to happen; Tulkas also mentioned the one guard that had released Grey Wind during the fight, which allowed the direwolf to kill Walder Frey.
"We fought back, but there were just so many of them. When Robb fell to the ground, his mother just seemed to lose all hope and was overtaken by the massive crowd; in the heat of everything, I managed to overhear Lady Catelyn tell Brienne to find her daughters; and so Brienne fled the scene. After that, Lady Catelyn was killed."
Tulkas shook his head. "The Blackfish escaped, but I don't know where he is; no one has heard from him since that night."
"But, I don't understand." Talisa said with confusion. "Robb Stark...he...he's dead, or was, I don't know-" She stuttered over her words. "I saw Bolton's men, they paraded his dead body around the camp; they mutilated it and...and they put his wolf's head on his body."
The horror in her voice saddened Tulkas deeply, he hadn't seen the sight and he was glad; he didn't know what he would have done if he had seen the ugly things Bolton's men had done.
"I had finally killed all of the men with crossbows, but the last man got one last shot off, hitting Robb again. When he fell to the ground, Grey Wind defended his body, biting and viciously clawing any man who came near. He bit a man's face off, leaving him unrecognizable and...that's when I got the idea."
Tulkas was taken back to his deciding moment, the moment where he saved Robb Stark's life.
"I'm not sure how I did it, but I made my way to Robb's body, he was unconscious at the time; and I dragged him away. There are stairs at the back of the throne room, leading deeper into the castle; I saw Walder Frey's daughters escape back there. I removed Robb's bloody cloak, put it on the man that Grey Wind had mangled, and dragged the King out of the room before anyone could see me."
"You let the man that Grey Wind had disfigured pass as Robb?" Talisa asked in disbelief.
"When I heard what they had done to the man's body, I was nearly overcome with sickness, but I was sobered up when I told myself that at least I had saved Robb from that same fate." Tulkas said sadly.
"But, why did you put Robb in the dungeons?"
"If I had taken him to one of the rooms or a maester, they would have recognized him immediately. Walder Frey is dead, the cells are filled with other prisoners...they won't think to find him there." Tulkas explained. "I tended to his wounds myself. He's weak and in no condition to try to escape, but he's alive. And I'm determined to keep him that way."
Tulkas stopped in his tracks, making Talisa pause too. He looked her dead in the eye and said, "And I'm hoping you'll help me do that."
Talisa didn't even need a moment to consider it. She nodded her head firmly, ready to keep her King alive.
Again, thank you everyone for the continued dedication to this story! It means the world to me!
If you wouldn't mind, I hope some of you will tell me how I'm writing some of the new characters (Cersei, Joffrey, etc...) It'd be a great help. Let me know what you thought of this chapter!
Until next time...
