AN: Thank you for your patience. Here you go, please enjoy! Oh and no, as I said before, Jaime is NOT the dragonborn.
The arrival at Whiterun went without incident, as was the way back from their contract, except for that weird dream, that is. Jaime had been open with Aela, and she with him. A camaraderie and friendship had already been formed before but now it was cemented. He was happy, ecstatic even. What he always wanted he had it right now as a Companion, and a warrior.
He could not help but think of the past, however. As they said their greetings to the guards and the gates opened to the city, Jaime saw children playing and his eyes grew almost misty. He had imagined not too long ago blonde children, taller than most, looking at him with bright blue eyes. Skyrim was a blessing, but miracles could only do so much. He would move on, eventually, and now he had a duty he reveled in performing.
"Torvar is probably already opening bottles and arguing with Farkas and Vilkas at this point." Aela laughed.
Jaime smirked. "Athis is snarling at Njada and Skjor is amusing himself with the show in a corner."
Their laughter got the attention of some but they continued to walk their way to Jovarrkr. Jaime greeted Danica and she smiled, happy to see him in one piece.
"I will be back tomorrow." Jaime reminded her, to Danica's annoyance.
The healer shook her head. "There is no need, Jaime. We have a good amount working tomorrow."
"The man is stubborn as a mule, Danica." Aela intervened with a smirk, amused. "What do you always say, Jaime? A Lannister always pay his debts?"
He laughed out loud but calmed down. "Aye, but I do this because I like it."
Jaime did not like it much but he was happy helping Danica around. She had been the first to take him in and provide food, stay and even comfort when she could in her lectures. He liked Danica, she was gentle and kind, and deserved to get all the help she could get.
The aforementioned sighed. "Alright Jaime, tomorrow."
He smirked and began to walk but then he spotted something new. There was a very little girl in the plaza, begging for coin. Now, it was a common occurrence in Westeros, much to his dislike. He had been born privileged but after being on the roads with the wench and when he went north to Winterfell, he saw the plight of the common folk. Not like he had not before that but then again, his eyes had been clouded.
War also had many starving, their houses burnt or their families slaughtered, sometimes both. Jaime was horrified but understood it was the way of things when it came to conflict. However, something struck his chord when people ignored the single little one as she tried to beg and even she seemed ashamed. That was what got his attention.
Aela looked at him with a raised eyebrow as he approached the girl.
"Please, a coin." The little girl whispered and lowered her head as Jaime stood in front of her.
"Why are you begging, little one?" Jaime asked with a raised eyebrow.
The little one looked at him and her eyes were a shade of deep blue, making him gasp slightly. "I am hungry."
"And where are your parents?" Aela asked in his silence, becoming even more confused as Jaime stared at the little girl. 'What was going through his mind?' She wondered.
"Dead, the farm was taken over by my uncles, who kicked me out, thought I was good for nothing." The girl said with sadness. "So now I can do nothing else. I could not survive out in the wilderness… I tried, but had to come here."
Jaime felt anger raging within him. How dare they cast a child out like nothing? "How long have you been living like this, little one?" He asked. The knight felt Aela stiffen, probably angered too.
"A couple of weeks, but just made it to the city." The child stated, shrugging helplessly. "I tried to work but no one would accept me so I had to… beg." It was evident she did not want to do so.
Jaime now understood. "What is your name, little lady?"
"Lucia, sir." She said and bowed her head slightly, as if in shame.
"My name is Jaime Lannister." He said with a smile as he knelt to be at her eye level. "This is my friend, Aela."
Lucia smiled in recognition. "The fearsome Aela of the Companions!"
"That she is little one." Jaime replied with a smirk, to the delighted laughter of Aela and a smile of pure adoration from Lucia.
Clearing his throat, he asked. "How about this little lady? You can earn your coin and stay through work."
"What kind of work?" Lucia even raised an eyebrow and he felt amusement and dare say some pride that she was intelligent for her age.
"You could work for a friend of mine. She needs help at her temple."
"Jaime, we have not even asked-"
"Do you accept, Lucia?" Jaime put up his hand to shake, ignoring Aela. "It is customary to agree to deals with a shake of hands."
Lucia looked at him, her blue eyes narrowing before nodding and shaking his hand with her small one. Even then, despite her protests, Aela could not help but smile.
"Good choice, little lad. Now, let us get something. I am hungry."
Jaime and Aela laughed as Lucia tried to pick a single apple. Jaime instead bought her a stew, with gravy and buttered onions. And four apples along with a sweet roll.
Aela felt happy to see this side of Jaime. She knew he was a good man, but the fact that he felt the need to feed a child in the streets for nothing in return was refreshing. The Companions had gained a good man and she was delighted it was her who brought him along.
"If you want to get the job, you will eat the whole bowl." Jaime threatened with a slight smile, much to Aela's amusement.
An hour later, Jaime saw Aela and Lucia sitting down at a table close to the plaza. The priest continued preaching about Talos, the guards ignored him, and Jaime pictured the whole thing with amusement before shaking his head and knocking the door to the temple.
"Jaime!" The healer smiled as she opened the door, then raised an eyebrow mockingly. "Your shift starts tomorrow, or do I need to kick you out now?" She joked.
"I actually wanted to ask a favor." He began, and she frowned a little. "There is this little girl, she was begging for scraps outside…" Jaime felt nervous asking but he had already given his word, and knew Danica was as soft as he was in such things.
"And?" Danica already knew where this was going to. It was evident from the very beginning that, although arrogant, Jaime had a soft heart.
"I will pay for her stay. Just have her work here, safe from outside." He said. Gods knew how dangerous people could be, and Jaime wanted Lucia to face none of that.
Danica smiled. "She is welcome to join, Jaime."
The former kingsguard smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Danica. I will not forget your kindness, past and present."
"Kindness or not we sure need the help here, Jaime. When is she coming?"
"I thought you said you had all workers around." Jaime made a face mock hurt. "Are you lying to me now, Danica?"
"Oh shush." She slapped his armored shoulder lightly. "Now, where is she?"
Jaime called Aela over. The archer brought a timid young girl with her. "Little lady, I present you Danica Pure-Spring. She is a very good friend of mine and you will obey her, understand?"
"Yes sir!" The young girl smiled and that brought a feeling of pride and joy within the Lannister man. Sometimes, smiles were worth more than gold. Seeing Aela share that same smile with him was another bonus indeed.
"Who are these Red Riders they keep talking about?" Jaime asked as he and Aela drank some ale in the mead hall. Torvar had passed out as per the norm and Farkas was regaling a tale of him fighting three bears at the same time, to no one in particular. Vilkas was sneering in the corner, sulking as usual before he started talking in hushed whispers with Skjor.
"Do not know much, to be honest. Skjor mentioned them causing some mischief in Eastmarch but it is quite strange." At his raised eyebrow, she elaborated. "They only attack bandits, sack their camps and weirdly enough, they are quite voracious when it comes to books."
"Books?!" Jaime asked, baffled. "Why the bloody hell would they be interested in books?"
Aela shrugged. "Skjor is just as baffled as we are. They do run protection rackets, miners and farmers are under their protection in exchange for payments and sometimes food."
"Are they nords?"
"Some, but Skjor said they have seen orcs and dark elves around with the lot. Whoever the leader is, my respect for keeping so many conflictive idiots together." Aela mentioned, impressed with the Red Riders leader or leaders.
'Please, not some idiotic Brotherhood Without Banners.' He thought with disgust though seriously doubted it. The Red Priest was usually drunk while Dondarrion did not strike him as someone who would treasure books as much as these ones did. And they were also dead. 'So were you.' A thought came to his mind but dismissed it.
"They also hate the Thalmor." She mentioned as she took another sip of her drink, shrugging at his gaze.
Jaime hated them too, but it was strange. A group of many races put together to work. The Red leader must be one hell of a man, or woman. 'Must be an excellent warrior.' Jaime thought with a smirk.
Eastmarch was not in Jaime's wishes to be visited, however. While the hot springs rumored to be in the area seemed fascinating, the presence of Ulfric and his followers was not. The Empire had been slowly fortifying the border. Things seemed to be heating up for a confrontation.
Jaime knew the Companions would declare neutrality but still, to think that a possible conflict could reach them was a daunting thing indeed. He would do as Ser Arthur Dayne always said.
'Sword sharp, mind sharper.' For the coming conflict, which now seemed almost inevitable, the saying was more fitting than ever.
"Tell me something, Jaime." Aela said all of a sudden. "Of all those seven kingdoms you spoke of, which was the strongest?"
Jaime smirked. "That would be a matter of perspective."
"How come?"
"The Reach could call upon more than one hundred thousand warriors. The Westerlands were the wealthiest region while the Vale of Arryn was nigh impregnable. Then there is that gods forsaken land of Dorne, with a desert that will bury an army before they see a city."
"Hmm." Aela just hummed and thought it over. "And all the others?"
"The North had formidable warriors but lacked the manpower of the other kingdoms due to how cold it was. Colder than here in Skyrim, I can tell you." Jaime smirked. "The Iron Islands are best left as shit islands while the Riverlands had no defenses and their warriors were morons except for a select few."
Aela raised an eyebrow. "And the… what was it called?" She hummed in thought. "Stormlands?"
Jaime felt sad thinking of that region, knowing the wench called it home. "Formidable martial culture but weather was wild, difficult. They did produce great warriors like Ser Barristan the Bold."
"Do you miss home, Jaime?" She asked, now looking at him fully.
Jaime smiled. "I do miss Westeros at times, but home is here with the Companions."
"Smooth answer, outlander." The archer laughed and took another drink. "Let us go bother Skjor."
The former kingsguard shrugged but smirked as he too stood up and walked with Aela to where Vilkas and Skjor were arguing.
"…And prove what? We are not some faction that conquers! We are Companions, we honor contracts and that is it!" Vilkas grumbled.
"Contracts that are shrinking. Those bloody stormcloaks never knew how to guard their own. Now these Red Riders are taking over and our work is ever disappearing." Skjor scoffed. "Next thing you know, they will spread around like a disease."
'So the Red Riders are expanding…' Jaime thought with a grimace. They could be moving into other provinces. Sooner or later, they could become a sort of fighter's guild as he read from the books in Tamriel or perhaps a mercenary company like the Second Sons. Either of them were terrifying prospects.
"The answer is no, and that is final." The smaller twin growled.
"Says who? You or the Harbinger?" Skjor sneered while Vilkas glared at him.
"Have we tried meeting them? Or their leader?" Jaime asked, to Vilkas' narrowed gaze and Skjor's baffled look.
"And have them kill us on the spot? Of course not!" Skjor scowled. "This is a discussion that could do well without inexperienced pups."
"He was just trying to provide input, Skjor." Aela chuckled, which made Jaime scowl. He was angry, he did not need her help.
"Actually, a good one." Vilkas said, to their astonishment. "This… Red Rider is elusive but perhaps we can try to set up a meeting…"
"For what?" Skjor asked, with a look of sheer exasperation. "He will just skin us on the spot, we don't know about the Silver..." But was cut off there.
"Skjor, for all that is holy, stop talking!" Aela growled.
Jaime was honestly confused. What was Aela referring to? Silver who? He knew he was not as smart as others but he could tell something was up. "What?"
"Never mind that, Jaime." Vilkas dismissed. "Now, diplomacy should be used first instead of…" He narrowed his eyes at Skjor, who sneered back. "Rushing ahead like brutes, even Farkas would agree with me and he is drunk off his arse right now!"
Scoffing, Skjor walked away. "He has always been hotheaded." Aela said, to no one's surprise. Jaime felt the need to not do a single sound, as Tyrion labeled him a hothead more times than he could possibly count. 'My brother is a man of action.' He missed Tyrion so much.
"Rushing into conflict with this emerging organization would not be on our best interests, and with how conflict has been brewing…" Vilkas did not have to elaborate further. Jaime knew he referred to the Empire fortifying their border, the increasingly insufferable Thalmor more often around than not and the stormcloaks gaining some momentum.
"I will talk to the Harbinger, see what we can do." The twin nodded at them both and walked away.
Jaime just looked at Aela, who seemed stressed about something. "Want to get drunk?"
"Torvar, is that you? I thought you were passed out at the hall!" The archer said in mock wonder, making Jaime laugh.
"Not that much, I have to spar tomorrow with Ria!"
The cave was beautiful but the blue mushrooms were special, for him. They illuminated the way to his war table. It had been some weeks of hard fighting but finally, the area had been cleansed of those beasts impersonating as people. His men and women were incredibly efficient, and felt fortunate in having them to at least provide some sense of hope for the farmers and miners in the region. They had seen nothing but misery for years. Now, a huge bandit camp was in flames and the people felt safer.
When the villagers smiled at him and his men, he felt invigorated, accomplished, important. He gazed at his ever growing library. It was a huge thing, with probably over four hundred of them. None of them were gathering dust, however.
The books he collected with his men were special. The intimate details of Tamriel and Skyrim especially were amazing to him. It was something to cure ignorance.
He frowned then, as in thinking of ignorance. Ulfric did not care, of course. He had seen it in Windhelm, had been enraged at the treatment of dark elves and argonians, khajitt too. The bloody idiot was aiming to challenge the empire, but could not keep his own province in check. Could not see the people angered by his lack of empathy for them. Hopefully Torygg will do something, but he seemed to be busier dealing with the Empire in Solitude.
As much as he hated the Thalmor and the Empire somewhat, he strongly felt Ulfric was doing a mistake. He knew a conflict was brewing. He would make sure he and his men were ready to help the common folk.
Footsteps echoing behind him, he turned and saw Gruzmak, one of his top leaders. "Chief, the village has sent their thanks." The orc growled with a smile. He was also a good friend.
The orsimer gestured and four men carried crates full of carrots, cabbage, cheese, onions and, most importantly for many of them, mead. He was rather fond of cabbage soup, remembering when he and his companions had to ration their food to survive.
The men cheered as he cracked the important crate open and he smiled. "Your hard work pays off! Tonight we feast thanks to your hard work!"
As all men and women began to carry the mead outside in excitement while others put the vegetables and other supplies in a room close to the war table, two men stayed behind.
Gruzmak the Grey and Vidnak the Viper. Both began this endeavor with him from the very start, and were his closest confidantes and friends. He remembered them fighting desperately for their lives, an ice wraith trying to claim their lives and his clumsy attempts to help them. Somehow, in his stupidity charging to help, it paid off. He gained two fierce and loyal friends. He also sneered, remembering the guard who saw them in desperation but ignored the whole thing. He was one to never forget such slights.
"Chief." Vidnak began, his red eyes narrowing, carrying a letter. "Another offer from Krev."
"What the hell does he want?" Gruzmak growled in anger, turning to the dark elf. "We already told him no many times, how many other negatives will it take?"
"It is quite the amount of gold to clear a small area." The dark elf said as if nothing had happened, red eyes narrowing futher. "I am suspicious, however, that it is very much outside our area of influence."
"Then why the hell are you mentioning it to the chief!"
"Enough." He said calmly. He knew his men, and their fortes and weaknesses. Gruzmak was loyal, a powerhouse on the battlefield and an able tactician but was short tempered, easy angered. Vidnak was an amazing scout, the very best he had seen in years, sneaky and dangerous but loyal. He was also stubborn and had an absolute fascination to argue even when there was no need for it. "I believe we can do this at the war table."
As his two men discussed the offer of that… man, he thought of one thing. Touching his chest, he vowed he would never meet anyone at their hall or table. He had enough of people violating guest rights. He will try to help people here, as he promised himself many moons ago. Skyrim was rotting slowly but she could be healed, in time.
Wolves began to howl in the distance and he smiled softly. "Sounds like we are not the only ones feasting tonight!"
They all laughed around the table. He then placed a figure in the north of Skyrim.
"Gentlemen, forget about Krev. Tell me about Winterhold."
Tell me what you think, and to clear everything out, the dragonborn will be from Tamriel. Hope you all have a great week and a great thanksgiving coming up!
Stay safe. Adios!