As the two letters rest on his (dead) father's study table, Jaime takes short, sharp breaths to calm himself.
The first to arrive was from Brienne. He'll never say it out loud, but when he recognized her handwriting, his heart raced. In the space of time of the blink of an eye, he imagined she had decided, on a spur, to forgive him and ask for him to rescue her from Aerys' clutches. He'd gladly do it; he'd whisk her away from King's Landing and they'd live incognito wherever she wanted, and the years before the Long Night would be spent making a small army on their own.
Her words shattered his fantasy, however, instead introducing him to a nightmare: his sister and Prince Rhaegar gone missing, his father burned to death by Aerys, he and Tyrion being called to have their heads chopped off for no reason other than being Tywin Lannister's sons. Now would've been a good time for Tyrion to be proven a bastard!
The second letter confirmed the first, although it's way more neutral, as an official announcement is supposed to be. He pictures Brienne writing her note hurriedly before being caught in the rookery, and his heart races once again. She cared enough to warn me, he realizes.
Then the full weight of the news he got dawns on him. As much as he hates the idea, there is no other plausible answer to Aerys' actions than a war declaration. He cannot simply let his sister's abduction and his father's unjust execution go unanswered, and he cannot offer himself and Tyrion to be punished for no crime at all.
He must go to war for the father and the sister who never loved him, while the woman who actually cares about his well-being will be swallowed into a conflict she has absolutely nothing to do with—just like he had nothing to do with the Starks and the Baratheons, yet got the worst end of the rope as he had to choose between his king and half a million people.
He must declare war against the Crown, yes, but he must also find a way to end it quickly. I must get rid of Aerys earlier than the first time, he decides. I'm not Kingsguard anymore, so nobody will call me an oathbreaker when I kill him. People will understand why I did it, just like they understood why Robert killed Rhaegar so viciously at the Trident.
Speaking of the prince… Should I simply kill Aerys and be done with it? This all began because Rhaegar abducted Cersei… Oh, he has no doubts this time that his sister went willingly with him, wherever they went. As he told Brienne when they parted, her goal in court was to convince him to take her as second wife. Perhaps they had run away to do just that. Killing Aerys will force Rhaegar to come back to King's Landing to take the throne. I simply talk to him then, see what happened. Yes, this sounds like a good plan.
With that in mind, he burns Brienne's letter—which was obviously meant for his eyes only—and goes to Uncle Kevan. If he truly has to wage war, he must call not only for his bannermen, but for allies outside the West. He can surely count on House Tully, as Tyrion is under their roof and Edmure squires for his uncle. Lysa is likely unbetrothed, since their engagement was broken off just now, and Catelyn wedded Brandon Stark not so long ago. Depending on how supportive Lord Hoster is, he may call for the Starks' aid. The thought makes his head spin. The North, the riverlands and the West fighting on the same side… nobody in my other life would conceive that. Not even the White Walkers unified these three kingdoms.
Edmure is there when Jaime shows the official letter to his uncle. "Call my brothers," he advises. "This must be discussed among us all, but we cannot do what he says."
"I know," he agrees. "I fear we must go to war."
Uncle Kevan nods and tells Edmure to wash himself and join them in the main solar.
"Aerys has truly gone mad," Uncle Gerion declares with a sigh. "How do you plan on answering this, nephew? You are Lord of Casterly Rock now, the decision lies on you."
Jaime sighs in response, looking at his three remaining uncles: Kevan, Gerion and Tygget. Once, he had an aunt, Genna, but she died two years after his mother, in the same way—the birthing bed. Unlike Mother, Genna's baby perished alongside her, leaving her husband—a Frey—without issue. Uncle Emmon went back to the Twins; as far as Jaime knows, he died long before the siege in Riverrun, given he wasn't with his family when Walder Frey celebrated their (short-lived) victory.
"War," he replies dully. "There is no other answer. But we must focus on Aerys."
"Why?", Uncle Tygget asks. "This all began because Prince Rhaegar kidnapped your sister. Your father would not be so careless otherwise."
Jaime shifts on his seat. "I doubt Cersei was truly kidnapped, Uncle," he says. "Father took her to the capital in hopes Rhaegar would marry her, either taking a second wife or setting his marriage to Elia aside. Cersei is deeply infatuated with him, so I doubt he'd have any trouble convincing her to run away with him. If that's the case, I see no reason to attack the prince for something Cersei agreed to do. Aerys is the one who, without a doubt, did the unforgivable."
Uncle Gerion frowns, but Uncle Kevan nods. "I remember your father's plans. I think it's a sensible course of action, at least for now. If Prince Rhaegar shows a different nature to us, we change our target to include him too." He looks at his squire. "Do you think we can count on your father to aid us?"
"Of course," Edmure answers without hesitation. "As Tyrion's foster father, this affects our House too. Or it should, at least."
"It does," Jaime agrees. "Hoster Tully is the one who delivers Tyrion to Aerys, should he answer the call."
"He won't," Edmure says firmly. "He'll wait for your answer, Lord Jaime."
Lord Jaime. What an odd combination of words. He barely remembers being called as such in his other life, even after Tommen dismissed him from the Kingsguard. Whenever someone used his name instead of 'Kingslayer', they almost always referred to him as 'Ser'.
"Then I'll write to him and ask for his aid," he announces. "Uncle Kevan, would you write for me to the bannermen? I'm afraid my handwriting gets worse if I write too much."
He chuckles at that; Jaime's failure at reading and writing is well known in the Rock. "Of course, nephew."
The bannermen—no longer his father's, but now his own—arrive over the month: the Lannisters of Lannisport, who remind him of the cousin he killed, although poor Alton is probably still feeding on his mother's breasts; Houses Marbrand, Westerling, Crakehall, Farman, Swyft, Sarsfield, Serret, Yarwyck, Payne, Clegane, Lefford, Hetherspoon, Greenfield and Lorch. Half of those men make his skin irk, but he has to at least tolerate them; none of them would understand if he acted harshly, anyway.
They decide to march to Riverrun to meet with Hoster Tully, who answered to Jaime in the meantime promising to gather his own bannermen to aid the cause. After hearing his reasoning—Tywin's plan to wed Cersei to Rhaegar is no secret, after all—they decide to lay siege to King's Landing while a few of them infiltrate the Red Keep to kill Aerys.
(Jaime lets them talk, but deep down he knows he will go all by himself. Without the wildfire—and they should be able to reach the capital before the caches are spread—Brienne won't have a reason to kill Aerys, so she may feel duty bound to defend him, like it or not. Jaime has no intention to fight her, but he doubts the other men will think of sparing her when she proves to be as good as any man in a fight. He refuses to risk Brienne's life this way, especially in the name of his father and sister.)
Actually, in the end only a handful of commanders go with Jaime, Uncle Kevan and Edmure to Riverrun. Uncle Gerion and Uncle Tygget stay behind with most of the army, since neither Jaime or Kevan saw any need to have the soldiers march twice. "When we leave Riverrun for King's Landing, we'll send ravens signaling you can go," Jaime explains.
The ride to the Tully's castle takes ten days. Edmure's occasional friendly rambling helps to distract him from his thoughts, but not enough to truly dispel them. When he's alone in his tent, all he thinks about is Brienne. How is she doing in the capital? Has she been able to shield herself from the horrors at court? Did Cersei torment her before leaving? Does Aerys treat her like a soldier, or like a woman?
(Jaime shudders to think of the possibility that the Mad King could take a liking into her like he did with his mother.)
Questions about her future plague his mind as well. Will Brienne be kept at the King's side, or will he send her away? Of course, the answer depends on whether Aerys will send armies after him before he reaches King's Landing—which is a real possibility, since he never wrote back to the capital. Will Brienne try to kill Aerys before he orders the wildfire caches spread? For all he knows, she's planning to do it now—although he doubts it; she wouldn't have bothered to send him a note if she intended to get rid of the king right away. No, if she has any plans, she's biding her time; hopefully, she'll bide long enough that he will kill him first. I can't let her become the vilified Kingslayer. Out of all people in this realm, she's the one who least deserves this scorn. Let me have it, if it must. I've lived with it my whole first life, I can live with it a second time.
His heart sinks at the thought that Brienne is experiencing horrors she was spared of in another life. She should not have left Tarth. Actually, she should not have been sent back at all. He briefly wonders how she ended up in the past, but shakes the thought off. He cannot fathom a way without asking her for at least a clue, and, even if they see each other again, he doubts they'll ever be on speaking terms again. It's what he's due, after all.
I get that you want to punish me for my sins, he mentally tells the gods, but what has Brienne done to deserve this? If this is my misery, you should have brought Cersei along, not Brienne. My twin and I both deserve our hells; Brienne is meant for the seven heavens.
Speaking of Cersei… how will her future unveil after this? Is there any chance of her coming alive out of this war? Ned Stark found his sister dead; for all he knows, he's doomed to the same fate. But what if this change of woman provokes a change of outcome? Perhaps Cersei will be able to endure whatever killed Lyanna Stark; and then what? Will she stay married to Rhaegar, if they eloped? Will she be set aside, disgraced by the realm as Dragon's Whore or whatever other name they come up for her?
He shudders again at the thought. If Cersei is disgraced, she will go back to the Rock, where he lives permanently now as its Lord. She will either try to get him back or make his life hell for 'abandoning' her, regardless of his efforts. Just like she berated him for not going back to her sooner when he was taken prisoner, she won't appreciate him going to war for her if she ends up shamed by the realm. No matter the reality, Cersei always digs her own grave, he realizes with a wave of sadness crashing upon him. And she will most likely try to dig mine along. He can't let her do it again. Last time he dug his grave, he shoved dust right on Brienne's face. Kill me, shame me, torture me, cast me down, but please spare Brienne, he prays to whoever's listening.
Much to his surprise, Hoster Tully and his bannermen are not the only ones waiting for him in Riverrun: Rickard Stark is there with his heir, his daughter and their spouses. "I must admit," he says after greetings are exchanged, "I had not expected to see you here."
As Lady Catelyn and Edmure share an embrace, Lyanna Stark smiles. "Did you forget our time together after Harrenhal, my lord? How we all had fun at my brother's wedding to Lady Catelyn? We are all friends." Her smile falls. "An attack on one of ours is an attack on us all."
She says it fiercely, and once again Lyanna Stark reminds him of Brienne. They could have easily been friends, he realizes. At her side, her husband—the man he once despised for the way he treated Cersei—agrees.
They all sit down, and Jaime shares his plan. They all seem to agree, until he reaches the part in which he wants to attract Rhaegar to the city for a talk. "I like the idea of luring him to King's Landing," Robert says, "but not for a mere talk. He kidnapped your sister, Lord Jaime. Gods only know what he's doing to her! Do we really want this man as our king? If we are already getting rid of Aerys, we should get rid of his son while we're at it."
He sighs. "Lord Robert, my father's ambitions were no secret in King's Landing or in the West. He wanted my sister to be Queen someday, and for that he took her to the Red Keep so she could fall under the prince's good graces. Their plan was either to have his marriage to Princess Elia set aside, or to have Cersei as his second wife. She was deeply infatuated with him, and I don't think he needed to abduct her. That is why I am considering talking to him."
He sees Lord Brandon shaking his head. "It doesn't justify what he did, Lord Jaime," he says. "Lord Robert is right. Whether your sister was willing or not, there was no need for them to disappear. Proof of it is that your father was furious, not elated as he should have been. Why didn't Rhaegar take your sister as second wife in the sight of gods and men? Targaryens have done so for generations; there was no need for them to elope."
"This isn't Prince Duncan and Jenny of Oldstones," his wife adds. "Although that one also ended rather badly, but—well, this is much worse. You may want to reach an understanding with the prince, Lord Jaime, but none of us are happy with the idea of him on the throne should his father fall."
"He was a promising man," Lord Hoster comments. "We all believed he'd be a great king, but he just proved to be a huge disappointment. I agree with Lord Robert; if we are going to kick Aerys off the throne, we should not crown his firstborn in his place."
"Then who?", he asks. "His baby grandson? His second son, who is a child?"
"We can host a Great Council when we're done," Lord Rickard replies, waving his hand dismissively. "Our priorities now are Aerys, Rhaegar and your sister. I am in favor of laying siege to the capital, but we must be prepared for combat."
Uncle Kevan nods. "We have the West, the riverlands, the North and—I assume—the stormlands." Robert nods. "It's a lot already, but I'm afraid we can't count on Northern forces soon, can we?"
Rickard shakes his head. "It's winter; marching will be a slow and painful affair."
"You could stay behind as back-up," Jaime suggests. "If the North pretends to stay neutral, the Crown already loses an important ally."
"They still have the crownlands themselves, though," Robert points out. "And we have no idea who Dorne and the Reach will side with."
"I'll bet on the Reach fighting for the Crown," Lord Hoster says. "Dorne is between a rock and a hard place. Rhaegar offended Elia, but Aerys may very well take them hostage."
Just as he did in my time, Jaime thinks. "He may use the Kingsguard as leverage, too," he says, drawing all attention to him.
Uncle Kevan hums. "I had not considered that," he admits. "Who is part of the Kingsguard nowadays?"
Jaime has the answer on the tip of his tongue. "Ser Arthur Dayne, Ser Barristan Selmy, Ser Gerold Hightower, Prince Lewyn Martell, Ser Jonothor Darry, Ser Oswell Whent and… Ser Brienne of Tarth."
"Seven hells," Robert curses. "I forgot about the lady knight." He sighs. "I have to speak with her father. Aerys will surely have fun using her as a hostage, if not outright send her to battle to see her killed. She's what, five-and-ten?"
"Too young for this," his wife whispers, wide-eyed.
"Exactly," her husband agrees. "House Selmy is among my bannermen as well. I'm not sure if they still view Ser Barristan as theirs, though."
"House Darry and House Whent are among my bannermen," Lord Hoster says, "both of which are here."
"Two Kingsguard are Dornismen," Uncle Kevan observes, "one of which is even related to the princess. Kingsguard may fight for their king regardless of the sides their families take, but I doubt House Martell will put two relatives under risk. I say Dorne will remain by the Crown's side."
"My brother is married to a Dayne," Brandon reminds them. "We may bring them to our side, even as spies."
"Lady Ashara's brother followed Prince Rhaegar," Jaime counters. "We'd be asking them to choose between siblings. Ser Arthur wields his House's ancestral sword, so it's not like he gave up on his family."
Lord Hoster sighs. "What I wouldn't give to have an informant in the Red Keep," he says. "If we knew more about the situation there… Does the King know about his son's whereabouts? Is he as outraged as we are?"
Jaime thinks of Brienne's note for a moment, but pushes that thought away. He refuses to use her; she had been kind enough to warn him already.
The discussion goes on for another hour as his new allies bring new points to Jaime's plans, ones he had not thought of beforehand. It still feels surreal to have Houses Stark, Tully and Baratheon as friends, but this is his life now. It's slightly better than my last one, he thinks as he asks for Lord Hoster for a private talk.
"I am most grateful for your aid, my lord," he begins. "I declined a betrothal between our Houses—"
The Tully man cuts him off with a laugh. "Lord Jaime," he says, not laughing but still grinning, "my daughter did not complain about your broken betrothal at all. In fact, you might have saved us a huge headache." He drinks water from a cup nearby. "My dear Lysa showed up at my study one day declaring she wedded my ward, Petyr Baelish, and that their marriage has already been consummated." Another laugh. "Of course, I was displeased at first. House Baelish is the smallest of the Vale; why would I want my daughter to lower herself so? But then I realized how happy she was, and—I did not have the heart to have her marriage annulled."
Jaime merely nods, unsure of what to say. This story doesn't sound at all like the one he heard about Lysa and Littlefinger in his first life. "Perhaps this can be useful now," Lord Hoster muses. "Lord Robert was Jon Arryn's ward until not so long ago, and so was Rickard's son Ned. Add my daughter's marriage… We might bring the Vale to our cause, if we use our cards right. Remind me to bring up the subject tomorrow, will you?"
Once again, Jaime's only answer is a nod. His head is still spinning when he retreats to his guest chambers.
Houses Tarth and Selmy chose to join the fight; Lord Selwyn is especially interested in having his daughter and heir back. The thought makes Jaime's heart threaten to leap out of his throat.
If only he wasn't Lord Paramount, he'd leave to Tarth and ask Lord Selwyn to be his household knight. If he was bold enough, he'd ask to be Brienne's sword shield, serving as her protector and sparring partner. If only he deserved such an honor…
But he doesn't deserve to be near Brienne, and his duties forbid him to follow his heart's wishes. When this damned war is over, he will have to face the pressure of his bannermen offering their daughters and sisters as wives to him. I can't do it, he realizes. How can I marry anyone when my heart belongs to Brienne?
Rationally, he knows he can grow to love his wife. He fell out of love once, nothing says he can't do it twice. However, he knows, deep down, there is no getting over Brienne. She is the one for him, even if he is not the one for her. She's his true love, and he'll never move on. Even comparing his feelings for her to those for Cersei is unfair, for he can easily forget he ever loved his twin when he thinks of his lady knight.
No, he will never love another. He may grow fond of his wife and become her friend, but he will never make love to her. No, that act is one he can only ever do to Brienne, and she is not his to make love to. His cock grows hard at the memory of those sweet nights in Winterfell, but the sensation only makes him want to cry. He condemned himself to never kiss, touch or hold her ever again when he left her in Winterfell; it doesn't matter they were given another chance in life. This is a punishment, he thinks. Having Brienne so close, yet farther than even when we didn't know each other.
As Rickard Stark predicted, the Crown's forces attack them before they can arrive in King's Landing to lay siege. The Reach's armies alone should be enough to drive them away, but Robert's bannermen managed to hold over a third of the soldiers in the stormlands. Still, there are the crownlands' and the Dornish armies to fight.
Battles come and go. Some are won by the rebels, some are won by the Crown's forces. Jaime faces Prince Lewyn on the field and ends up killing him, much to his sorrow. Ser Darry meets his end while fighting the Blackfish.
Brienne was not sent to battle, not even once. He doesn't know whether to rejoice or to fear for her safety.
Six or seven months go by before they receive news that Rhaegar joined the Crown's forces. "That's it," Brienne's father says. "Proof that we cannot allow Rhaegar to take the throne when this is over. He sided with his mad father."
Jaime suppresses a shudder. History is truly repeating itself. They have yet to reach the capital to lay siege; he might not be able to get there before the wildfire is ordered to be spread across the city's underground. For all he knows, Aerys already gave the order.
"Speaking of Aerys," he says, "we must remind ourselves of our ultimate goal."
"How are we supposed to do it," Lord Royce—the Vale indeed joined them—asks, "when we are not at the city's gates yet?"
"We only need a small garrison," he argues. "The idea is to infiltrate the castle. There is no report of Rhaegar bringing Ser Arthur and Ser Oswell to battle, so he must have left them with Cersei. Ser Jonothor and Prince Lewyn died in combat, and we've already seen Ser Barristan and Ser Gerold in the field. Which means there is only one Kingsguard to defend the Keep."
Lord Selwyn takes a sharp breath. "If you can spare my daughter," he says quietly, "please do."
"I intend to lead the infiltration," Jaime replies. "I can't promise we won't fight Ser Brienne, but I can promise we won't kill her. At worst, we'll knock her unconscious—which may be necessary. I remember her skill when I fought her at the melee." He tries not to give his fondness away. Her father doesn't seem to notice anything unusual; he just thanks Jaime in advance.
He comes face to face with Rhaegar before he reaches King's Landing.
There was already a small party picked to go. When Jaime realizes going alone is no more a possibility, he personally picks his team: Ned Stark—who is leading the small Northern garrison while his older brother and father stayed with the back-up armies—the Blackfish, Yohn Royce and Brienne's father (who decided he wanted to make sure no harm would come to her). Lyanna Stark volunteered to join, in case they needed a woman to distract the soldiers, but both he and Robert deemed her too inexperienced to come.
(He ought to call her Lyanna Baratheon someday.)
Indeed, neither Ser Arthur or Ser Oswell are with him, but he somehow grabbed Ser Gerold and Ser Barristan along.
"I just want to know where my sister is," Jaime pleads, not eager to fight the men at all.
"Safe," Rhaegar says simply, drawing his sword.
He sighs, realizing the prince is not willing to talk, and draws his sword as well. Oh, how he misses the lightness of Widow's Wail.
The fight is not clean, despite all men involved being known for fighting honorably. But this isn't a tourney; all of them are fighting for a cause, which is more important than foolish notions of honor.
Yohn Royce is killed in battle, and Ser Barristan is gravely injured by the Blackfish. Jaime finds himself fighting Ser Gerold when sees it: Ned Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen in single combat.
Stark is good, but not as good as he was when he faced Jaime in the streets of King's Landing, and the prince is far more skilled. This Ned is not Jaime's enemy; on the contrary, he's aiding his war, waged for his family. He cannot let the man die this time around.
In a swift movement, he evades Ser Gerold's attacks and runs to Rhaegar. In another swift movement, he pierces his sword through the prince's neck. Before he can even process what he just did, he hears a cry of pain. He turns to see Lord Selwyn on his knees, with Ser Gerold's sword in his belly.
"Take him to a healing tent," Jaime says in his best commanding voice, pointing to Ser Barristan. "He and Ser Gerold must be given the respect their position demands."
The two surviving Kingsguard were just taken back to the main camp after their fight, along with the bodies. The battle comes to a stop when they show up with Prince Rhaegar's corpse, as well as Lord Selwyn's and Yohn Royce's. A truce is held for the following day and night.
Jaime takes advantage of it to slip away to the city.