Jaime
It took about three drinks in for Jaime to finally acquire a taste for the ale in Flea Bottom. He and Bronn were enjoying the company of some of the Golden Company sellswords. Despite the fact that the tavern was fill to the brim with men, women, soldiers, and whores, Jaime preferred to be here rather than in the Red Keep. Ever since a raven from the Westerlands came, Cersei had been in a fit of rage. When they learned that almost the entire Lannister forces garrisoned in the Riverlands left under false knowledge, Jaime had to do his best to keep his sister calm. She wanted to Kill five hundred of those men to set an example, but all Jaime had to do is remind her that they were already outnumbered.
This kind of behavior had to be bad for their child, yet Cersei continued to grow in her rage. But now things were beginning to calm down ever since the raven from Winterfell came. Tyrion sent it informing that they were ready to meet. What he failed to mention that Qyburns little birds didn't was that he sent ravens to all the other Kingdoms inviting three lords to attend this meeting as well. If the Targaryens succeeded in uniting the other lords with them, then the war would be truly lost.
Bronn had just finished teasing one of the many prostitutes around them before he leaned closely to Jaime to whisper to him. "I just got word from my boy's inside the City Watch. The food stores are near empty and will only last another three months. After that, the city's fucked." He pulled his head away and finished his beer.
"What about the Westerlands?" Jaime asked casually as he drank down his ale.
"The good Lords have plenty of food for them and their people for the winter. Too bad we're in the Crownlands and even the Queen's power won't force them to turn over their stores."
"Can we smuggle anything from the Reach?"
"Maybe a little bit, but who will? The Tyrell gold's gone so there's no one to hire."
"All of it?" Jaime was sure that there was plenty remaining after giving the Iron Bank their due.
"Aye, not sure about the details but Cersei invested it into something that'll gain the upperhand in the war to come."
Jaime felt a headache suddenly come over him and massaged his temple. That gold could've bought them more food from Essosi Merchants. A small part of it could've paid smugglers to steal from the Reach. Cersei was keeping more and more things from him as the days passed and if continued like this then the Targaryens would lay siege to a city of skeletons.
"Would you quit your damn moping already?" Bronn asked. "There's still a chance to win. It's just not reachable by anyone without dragons and a bigger army than yours. And from what I heard, the men who stayed in the Riverlands are doing the smart thing and switching to the side the has that chance."
"Well then, why don't you join them already?" Jaime asked, irritated. "My brother already offered you a castle and a highborn lady, what's keeping you here?"
"You are."
Jaime turned his head, surprised and even flattered, but that was only because he was starting to get drunk.
"I like you Lannisters," Bronn said, "if it weren't for you lot, I wouldn't be where I am today. So I'm making this offer only once. After this meeting with the Targaryens happens, I'm going with them to face whatever it is the fuck their fighting that isn't you."
"It's an army of dead men, did you know that?" Jaime playfully asked.
"Aye, I heard. But luckily for me, I'm good at three things. Surviving, fighting, and fucking. You on the other hand, or your only hand in your case, are good at two things. Commanding armies and being a pawn to your sister."
Weeks ago, Jaime would've tried to punch Bronn, but ever since there talk in Littlefinger's brothel, he couldn't help but feel that Bronn was right."
"If you need more proof, do one of two things. Go to the Black Cells and ask Elliara Sand how's she's liking her stay along with every other prisoner your sister put there since a certain Queen arrived in Westeros. Or stay with your sister and die in your city." Bronn got up from his seat and stood right behind Jaime, placing both of his hands on Jaime's shoulders, squeezing them. "You should try to calm down a bit. Maybe find a woman who isn't blonde."
Bronn patted Jaime's check and left the tavern. As conversation and laughter boomed around him, Jaime sat quietly, as if defeated and had no purpose. He finished his ale and set it the empty mug on the table before getting up and leaving. Outside of the Tavern, to guards that were his escorts stood at attention and followed him as he left.
"Are we going back to the Red Keep, my Lord?"
"Yes, but first we're going to the dungeons."
The Black Cells always had a fowl stench to them, but the thought of rot and shit sounded sweet and fragrant compared to what lingered in the air now. Moans of pain echoed throughout the halls of men and women alike. There had never been as many prisoners before now.
Jaime followed by two of his men were escorted by Qyburn to one cell in particular. The guard that stood watch over the door unlocked for them and Qyburn decided to wait outside rather than go in. Jaime slowly walked in with a torch in hand, the contents of the cells disgusted him as the light bled inside. On his right was a woman with as much flesh as a skeleton, chained to the wall. Her wrists were riddled with scabs and blisters and if not for the sound of raspy breaths, Jaime would've thought her to be dead.
On the other side of the cell, lying on the ground was a decaying girl's corpse, dressed in tattering Dornish clothing. Her right arm was ripped from her body and dangled on the shackle it was chained to. Maggots crawled up and down the face and body.
Jaime was horrified at the sight. Cersei never told him what she did to Elliara and Tyene, but that was probably because Jaime would've done something about this. He walked over to Elliara and knelt down to her. She didn't look at him, but she didn't look like she could anyway. The colors of her eyes were paled and cloudy.
"Can you hear me?" Jaime asked. The only confirmation he received was a longer exhale she managed to do. Jaime looked down to the ground, ashamed of this. "I hate you, I do. When I first saw the blood drip from Myrcella's nose and she began to die in my arms, I wanted nothing more than to sail back to Dorne and put your head on a spike. After you, I would've done the same to all of your bastard daughters." He lifted his gaze back up to her. "But this is… it's not human."
Elliara breathed out something that sounded like words, but they were far too quiet to hear. Jaime leaned his ear to her, nearly touching it to her lips. "Save…her…"
Jaime looked back at the corpse rotting on the ground and sighed. "Tyene's dead." Elliara just kept breathing the same words over and over again. Tired of what he saw, Jaime drew his dagger and without hesitation, he stabbed Elliara at her heart. She didn't even flinch when the steel pierced her flesh and was pulled out.
Jaime's dagger slipped out of his fingers as he stood up. He didn't bother to retrieve it, he just left it on the ground and he exited the cell and started walked back the way he came. He couldn't help but wonder how many more were in such a condition. His escort followed him closely and Jaime decided he needed to be alone. "I won't be needing you two anymore today."
"But Ser Jaime, we've been instructed by the queen to accompany you." One of them said.
Jaime turned around to face them. "And I'm instructing you to fuck off. If you're still following me when I exit the Red Kapp, I'll give you the honor of dying by a Valyrian Steel sword."
Jaime turned back around and kept walking, leaving his escort where they stood as they followed his orders. He didn't understand what he was feeling. But he wanted to be alone.
As he wandered through the streets of Flea bottom in the early of the evening, looking for somewhere he could drink without being surrounded by sellswords and soldiers, Jaime was stopped when he heard a woman singing. It was a song he'd never heard before and the tune was soft and inviting. He decided to follow the song to the singer and saw a young woman at the corner of the road, playing a harp as she sang. She had long brown hair and had a fine figure. Her face was beautiful and her voice matched her looks. He caught her eyes and she gave him a small smile, inviting him closer to her.
"Lovely song," He said, "I can't say I've heard it before."
"It's a new one." She told him.
"Did you compose it yourself?"
"No, the King did."
'The King.' As far as Jaime knew, there was only one person with that tile in Westeros. "You'd call the Bastard of Winterfell your King when you live in a city ruled by the rightful Queen?"
The women held back her laughter, but amusingly smiled at Jaime. "I know who you are, Jaime Lannister. Anyone would when you carry such a sword and wear your hand of gold so openly."
Jaime looked down to both his sword and hand, unsure of how he let such an onbvious detail slip past him. "And yet, you'd denounce my sister as your Queen all the same."
"I'm a Northerner. We have something that very few of you have south of the North."
"And what's that?"
"Honor." The woman set her harp down and leaned it against the wall of a home. "Your sister murdered hundreds when she blew up the Sept of Baelor, including Queen Margery and rumors are going around that she's running out of food to feed us. As for the Lannisters who're dead, your father played a great part in the Red Wedding. Joffrey was a cunt, everyone knows that, even you." She wasn't wrong about that. "The only Lannisters I thought were good souls were King Tommen and Princess Myrcella, but it was all because of your sister that they died in the first place." She wasn't wrong about that either. Tommen loved Margery even if she was manipulating him. But Myrcella's death happened because of him, Tyrion, Cersei, and their father. If Cersei had listened to him, Tyrion might've been spared from a trial, but him letting Tyrion free led to their father's death. But then again, all of this was because the great Tywin Lannister ordered the death of babes and hated a dwarf he was forced to call his son. "If you tell right now that the city, no the country would be better with them still alive, I will find the nearest Gold Cloak and give myself up."
Jaime shook his head at her. "Why're you here then? If you have no allegiance to Cersei of this country, why don't you leave?"
The woman's brow arched high. "You're right. Tomorrow, I'll get on the next ship sailing for White Harbor and go home."
"There are no ships leaving for White Harbor."
"Oh, that's right. We're at war and the ships are being used to defend the city. In that case I'll pack up my things and travel on foot, with no money or protection to get me there."
Jaime felt like a fool for assuming as much. Cersei had raised the cost of food and living to a great amount to pay for the war. It was then that he realized something he missed from her earlier statement. "What about me and my brother?"
"What?"
"You named my sister, my father, my nephew-"
She gave him a glower for not stating the obvious.
"My 'son', but you didn't mention me or my brother."
"The Imp might be a Lannister, but he's doing the right thing supporting King Jon and Queen Daenerys. As for you… there are few who know why you killed King Aerys."
Jaime's expression went blank for a moment before regaining his composure. "You don't look old enough to remember the Mad King."
"No, I was only five, but my mother was servant in the Red Keep. She told me how you saved the city from Wildfire when you broke your oaths. You fulfilled your vows as a knight to protect the innocent. But even then, you couldn't stop your father from sacking the city." She gave him a small smile that lifted his spirits up a bit. "I know it might be late, but thank you doing what you could."
This was the first time Jaime was ever thanked for what he did without having to tell someone about it. He felt a new feeling rush over him hadn't felt many times before, only when he talked with Brienne. "You know, it wasn't even an hour ago that I killed someone."
"Who was it?"
"Elliara Sand."
"The one who killed Myrcella."
Jaime nodded his head and sat down and a nearby barrel. "I hated her with every bit of myself as I could. When I saw her brought before Cersei in chains, I felt satisfaction. Cersei told me she killed Elliara's daughter with the same poison that killed Myrcella. Again, I felt satisfaction. I never went to see her in her cell until today. I thought she would be dead by now, in fact I prayed to the gods she would be. But instead, I saw her barely holding onto her life and her daughter's corpse was still rotting in front of her." The North woman looked saddened when she that. "Why is it that when I saw her like that, I felt regret for the woman who killed my daughter?"
"I don't know," She walked up to Jaime and planted a small kiss on his lips without any resistance from him. "Why did I do that to a man who fights against my King?" Jaime couldn't resist her any longer and pulled her back to him and kissed her more. He didn't know why he desired her. He didn't even know her name. But she didn't lust after him like Cersei did, she was comforting.
She brought him to her home and they both embraced each other for the entirety of the night. Jaime had only ever been with Cersei, yet this felt far greater. It felt like what we longed for from his sister, but never got. Before the sun rose with the first light, Jaime had already dressed himself as the woman lay asleep in her bed. Before he departed, he left her his entire purse and wrote a note on a parchment for her that read – 'Sing in the North.'
As he passed through the gates of the Red Keep, he was stopped by two of the guards. "Ser Jaime," one of them said, "the Queen has summoned you to appear before her."
"This early? What for?"
"She didn't say, ser. If you'll please follow us."
"Of course." Jaime had no idea why Cersei would be up at this hour. It was daybreak and she never woke up this early.
When he finally appeared in the Throne Room, Cersei was sitting on the Iron Throne and the Mountain stood next to her being ever protective. Jaime finally made it to the base of the steps. "You sent for me, your Grace." He noticed purple bags under her eyes and she was radiating with anger.
"Ser Jaime, I understand that you killed our hostage in her cell. But you were kind enough to leave the weapon you used." She was mad about Elliara's death.
"I only quickened her fate. She wouldn't've lasted through the next moon anyway. It's a miracle she lasted as long as she did."
"It wasn't a miracle, it was because I made it so." Jaime became estranged. "I had Qyburn giving her something that would have prolonged her life in that state. But you ended it."
"Tyene was rooting in front of her. You had your revenge and there was no reason to keep her alive."
"No reason? Now that she's dead, Dorne has no reason to hold back their armies anymore. We had leverage against them but you threw it away."
"You were torturing her beyond what she deserved!"
"What she deserved? She murdered Myrcella and declared for the Dragon Whore. Who are you to decide what she deserved?"
Jaime slowly walked up the steps to the throne until he stood above Cersei. "Myrcella knew about us," he spoke softly, "she knew I was her father and those few seconds I held her in my arms was the only time I've ever been able to be a father to any of our children."
"And I've been a mother to them their whole lives." Cersei blinked a few times as if waking up from daydreaming. "But I can forgive you for this. Only if you do something for me."
"What?"
Cersei looked past Jaime and nodded at a guard next to the doors of the room. He and one other opened them and two Gold Cloaks walked in, dragging someone with them. Jaime turned around and realized it was a woman, but it wasn't until they reached the foot of the steps did he realized who.
They threw down the North woman and she slowly got up to her knees. Her face was bruised and bloodied from many beatings. When she looked at Jaime, she didn't look angry or sad. She looked sorry.
"Kill her." Cersei ordered. Jaime looked back at her, his mouth open with disbelief. "I told you never to betray me again. If you want to prove that, then serve justice to one who would support the usurpers in the North. If you refuse to do so, you will be displaying loyalty to the Targaryens which is punishable by death."
"Cersei-"
"I am the Queen, you will address me properly in court!"
Jaime looked down to the North woman who nodded at him ever so slightly. He knew she didn't want to die, but she wanted him to live. His hand shook as he slowly gripped the hilt of Widow's Wail and unsheathed his sword. He walked down to steps and when he was in reach, he rested the blade on the North woman's shoulder. She looked directly at Cersei before boldly speaking. "Winter is Coming."
Jaime raised the sword up, only needing to swing it down to complete the deed. But instead, her let go of the sword and let it clang to the ground. He turned around to face Cersei. "I am a knight, sworn to defend the innocent, not to murder the defenseless."
Cersei stared him down, but her response was calm. "That's fair. You're my brother, and I can understand the importance of meaningless things to men, like honor and duty." Her gaze turned back to the North woman. "But the sentence still stands. And since you do not want a beheading, I thought of something better." Before Jaime could react, the Mountain pulled him away as the Gold Cloaks dragged the North woman away from the steps and to the center of the room. The Mountain wrapped his hands around Jaime's arms and held him in place as a third Gold Cloak entered the room carrying a small keg with him. As the two men holding the woman released her, the third uncorked the keg and poured a familiar green liquid on her.
Before Jaime could object or do anything, one of the men struck a flint and the yellow sparks ignited into green fire and the room filled with screams that he never wanted to hear again. As the flames rose and scent of the air turned to burning flesh, Jaime lost the strength in his legs, but the Mountain held him up. He wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn't seem to.
Even when the body stopped moving and the fires began to die down, Jaime could still hear the screams. He looked over to Cersei and saw her smirking at what remained.
