A Month and a Half Later…
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"I'm positive, Lord Tywin," the servant replied. "No one has seen the Lady Maya Lannister of House Stark. Some whisper that she's dead, my lord."
He shifted in his seat, not liking the results he had received. "I'm starting to think that you're not looking hard enough and bad things tend to happen when I start to think that because then there is doubt."
The servant visibly tensed with fear at the mighty Tywin Lannister. "There is…there hasn't even been a spot of her or a sighting or a recognition of her. It's like she's dead."
"Find her," Tywin ordered impassively.
The servant left his studies and not two seconds after did his daughter, Cersei enter his studies, striding towards him with her golden curls flowing in the air. She looked very displeased by something though he already had a feeling who it was she was displeased with.
"Father, is there any news on the Stark girl?"
Almost everyday, he had been asked that same question. He could understand her concern about Maya Stark…she was a greater threat than her twin brother was, but they will take care of him none the less. They should take care of her as well, but she was Jaime's wife and she had the power to give him heirs.
He needed heirs from his eldest son and fast.
"No, there hasn't been anything." He answered simply.
He heard her let a low frustrated groan as she sat in the seat across from him at the desk. "She…they're protecting her."
"Who's protecting her?"
"The people are," she snapped. "They love her."
"Of course they love her because of what she did for them." He reminded her. "Thanks to Lord Baelish we know that she's The Mocking Knight…Ser Dorren Thorne."
"We should threaten them…take away something from them until they tell us where she is." Cersei suggested darkly.
"We will get mobs then if we do. We need her alive. They will rise up against us if we kill her. She's the key to Winterfell as well as Sansa Stark is."
"Winterfell is nothing, but ruins, father." She brushed off. "The Northerners will fall."
"You're foolish to think that. They haven't forgotten what we've done. They will do something and they will use Maya against us."
"Like you've been saying for almost two moons now, she's disappeared and no one knows where she is."
He sighed lowly. "She's very, very valuable, Cersei."
"Any news on Jaime yet?"
"No," Tywin answered. "There is nothing. No one where he is either."
"They must together then…running off into the grey sunset. She's changing him, father and who knows if he would even fight with us since he liked being in between her legs more than the love he had for his own flesh and blood."
"I feel the same as you do."
"You do?"
"Yes, I do."
"Do you feel the same way I do when I feel that we should kill Maya Stark?"
"No. We can't kill her. She may be the only one to bring very powerful heirs into this world, Cersei. If we kill her, we'll lose everything…including Jaime."
"He can find someone else," she dismissed.
He shook his head and moved to a different subject. "It is very crucial that we find the girl. Our family depends on it. She's now a very important person."
Cersei let a soft chuckle loose. "She's just another chess piece in the game of thrones, nothing more."
Catelyn Stark sat on the bench and stared off into the grey distance of the various trees and rivers that led away from Riverrun. Brynden came beside her and sat on the bench then after a silent moment he looked at her.
"This isn't healthy," he told her.
"I keep on thinking that I'll see her beautiful chocolate brown curls bounce up and down wildly through the wind as she rides through those trees over there. That I'll see her smile and those rosy cheeks of hers; she will be back to her troublesome and witty old self again." Catelyn sniffled as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I don't care whether or not if what I am doing is healthy or not, I miss my daughter-my wild little girl. Everyday I pray to The Mother that she will come back…I've already lost three children…Bran, Rickon, Arya…and Sansa is held captive by the Lannisters that we are now related to by laws and the Gods. I want my little girl back, uncle-I want her back in my arms."
Brynden's hugged her tightly to his chest, his hand stroking her hair. "We must believe that they are alive-Robb has to believe it as well if he is to go on. We don't know that she is dead."
She shook her head. "No one has seen her for almost two moons now. She's gone…disappeared into the wind and no one has a clue where she went. There were rumors that she ran away with Jaime Lannister."
"No," he snapped softly and pulled away so that he could look at his niece. "She would never do that to her family. I remember her when she was a wee little girl and she would do all kinds of things just to anger you and Ned and everyone else around her because she said that it was fun."
Catelyn chuckled and nodded. "Yes, I remember those times. Ned would always try to be strict with her, but she would somehow convince him otherwise."
Brynden laughed. "Ned loved that little girl to death. And Maya loved him to death as well…it must've been hard for her to hear about his death."
"Maya was always hard to understand even as a girl. She was too mart for her own good and liked to trick her brothers and sisters as practice for Gods only why." Catelyn told him. "Maya loves Jaime Lannister…she's not afraid to tell anyone that does love him and she certainly wasn't afraid of Robb or any other man who would question her love for him."
Brynden scoffed. "I still don't see why or even how she could love a man like The Kingslayer."
"That seems to be the question on everyone's mind along with her whereabouts. She reminds me of father…"
Brynden smiled and nodded. "She's a stubborn old ox. That explains why he always liked her so much as a child."
"She's not a child anymore, uncle." Catelyn reminded him. "She was going to be a mother."
Brynden bowed his head a little. "I'm sorry for your loss, Cat."
"It was a girl," Catelyn told him. "Maya loved her so much and it just…it more than devastated her when that little girl died."
"What happened after?"
"She was different-I don't know, but she was more like a…like a-"
"A Lannister," Brynden answered.
Catelyn nodded. "Sadly, yes. The Kingslayer would taunt me about that and I thought that he really didn't love her because what kind of man would not bother to comfort his wife who just had a horrible miscarriage and then go on and joke about it like it was some…comical thing to be laughing at right now."
"A man without honor," Brynden answered.
Jaime sat on the chair in front of the supposed master named Qyburn who now sat in front of him as he undid the useless and filthy cloths around his stump. Jaime winced a little as he saw what used to be his right hand. Qyburn looked carefully at it, showing no emotion as he even picked at it which caused Jaime's body to jerk in an enormous amount of pain that shot through him like a blade in someone's body.
"Am I dying?" Jaime asked weakly.
"No. The corruption has spread, I fear it must be cut away…the safest course would to take the whole arm off," Qyburn suggested.
"And you'll die," Jaime practically growled at him.
"Are you a maester?" Jaime questioned. "Where's your chain?"
"I was stripped of it because my methods were too…too bold," he told him. "I can leave your upper arm, make the cut at your-"
Jaime's left hand shot out so quickly to the man's throat and he gripped it tightly enough to where even he was surprised at his own strength. He glared coldly at Qyburn as he said, "I don't need my right hand to give you."
Jaime shoved him off and Qyburn suggested, "I can take away the rotting flesh and try and burn out the corruption with boiling wine."
Jaime nodded slowly, agreeing to his better suggestion. He let his eyes trail to the floor much often now, not wanting to meet the laughing and pitiful eyes of many who passed by him. He would not look weak like a wound animal to them. He was still one of the greatest swordsmen in all of Westeros…his name still caused fear in men's eyes when he told them that his name was Jaime Lannister.
The mighty Kingslayer…
And oh what a king he was.
"You'll need milk of the poppy," he said.
"No." Jaime dare not let himself be put to sleep; he might be short an arm when he woke, no matter what the man said.
Qyburn was taken aback. "There will be pain."
"I'll scream."
"A great deal of pain."
"I'll scream very loudly."
Qyburn nodded then strapped down his arm and told him to try to think of something happy. He thought of Maya immediately and he had heard the rumors of her disappearance which worried and ruined him completely.
Was she taken? Did she escape? Did she run away?
Jaime really wanted to know what the hell happened to her. He had been devastated as much as her when he found out their daughter. Jaime didn't even have the strength to smile because of the pain shooting up his arm right now. Their children would've been beautiful creatures to behold and strong too. Yes, very powerful and kind to many. Maya would be dammed if she let any of them turn out like father or Cersei…or even me.
Jaime would always remind his mind of an image of her just in case he had forgotten. He was afraid that he would forget her…that she would be just a figment of his imagination-
Jaime screamed then very loudly when Qyburn started to pick away the dead skin inside of the stump. With a bowl and a sharp blade, Qyburn cleaned the stump while Jaime gulped almost nervously. The smell of his dirty cloths and skin helped disguise the stench of pus coming from his wound on his stump.
Nothing helped when the time came to pare away the rotten flesh. Jaime screamed again, and pounded his table with his good fist, over and over and over again. He screamed again when Qyburn poured boiling wine over what remained of his stump.
Despite all his vows and all his fears, he lost consciousness for a time, thinking of his Rose.
When he woke, the maester was sewing at his arm with needle and catgut.
"You have done this before," muttered Jaime, weakly.
"I have." Qyburn replied. "I'm no stranger to stumps when Vargo Hoat is involved."
He doesn't look like a monster…though appearances can be deceiving.
"Who's Maya and Rose?" Qyburn asked curiously as he continued to carefully sew his skin together though Jaime could barely keep his eye open.
Jaime gulped, his mouth feeling dry and metallic from the blood that had traveled into his mouth at some point in their journey. "Rose is a nickname I have for Maya…she hates it though tolerates it. I think she secretly likes it."
Jaime smiled unconsciously and Qyburn raised a curious eyebrow. "Who is she?"
"She's my wife," Jaime answered weakly. "She's a stubborn little thing, but has a good heart and she's a challenge when you meet her…sadly, she's a Stark."
"Ah, the Young Wolf's twin sister," Qyburn drawled out. "How long have you two been married now?"
Jaime chuckled. "We've been married for…two years now."
"Do you miss her?"
"More than anything…" Jaime stared up into the broken ceiling of Harrenhal.
"Would you do anything for her?"
Jaime turned his head slowly to him as he answered emotionlessly, "Yes, I would."
Qyburn chuckled softly. "What's she like?"
"Maya's compassionate, hard, strong, brave, honorable and even mischievous most of the time." Jaime explained. "Though it's hard to love her."
"What do you mean, my lord?"
"She very distrustful and doesn't let most people love her…" Jaime smirked. "Except me. I was the first person she said 'I love you' to. It angered her family very much and they tried to tear us apart, but it only made us stronger though."
"I imagine it would since the Starks are at war with your family."
"They now want me dead more than ever."
"And your family wants her dead just as much." Qyburn reminded him.
Jaime laughed weakly. "That's not surprising."
Tyrion mentally groaned as he walked into his father's study with a large book under his arm. He saw his father sit at the head of the large and long tall along with his "sweet" golden-haired sister sitting on one side of the table so he decided to sit across from her.
"You're late," his father said impassively.
"What's she doing here?" Tyrion questioned as he sit on the chair across from her.
"Our business concerns her too." His father told him. "Sit."
I was already planning to sit, he wanted to say, but held his tongue.
"You'll be pleased to learn that I've just saved the crown hundreds of thousands on this wedding."
"We're not here to discuss that. We have something more important to discuss." His father brushed off.
Tyrion blinked at him. "I'm the Master of Coin. Saving money is important."
Tyrion felt annoying eyes on him and he turned to Cersei demanding almost childishly yet sternly, "Stop that. You're. Making. Me. Uncomfortable."
Cersei smiled amusingly and titled her head to the side a little, an amused and almost smug expression was on her face. Tyrion really wanted to wipe that look off her face because it made her look very unattractive. Tyrion could never see what his brother saw in their sister now the Rose in the North was an entirely different story.
"Your sister has learned that your new friends, The Tyrells are plotting to marry Sansa Stark to Ser Loras." His father informed me and that actually relieved Tyrion since she deserved someone like the Tyrell boy or someone like him.
"Very well," he replied. "She's a lovely girl. Missing some of Loras's favorite bits, but they'll make do."
"They jokes are not appreciated," His father told him, his voice filled with no emotion as always.
"It wasn't my best, but as always I like to have a quick wit," Tyrion said.
"I give them a crown and war reinforcements and this is how they pay me. They're trying to take the North from under me," his father said, clearly frustrated and angry at those golden roses.
Tyrion knitted his eyebrows in suspicious and confusion. "Sansa is the key to the North? I seem to remember that she two older siblings. Maya is the eldest daughter and child of the Starks."
"The Karstarks have marched home. The Young Wolf has lost half his army and his days are numbered. Theon Greyjoy murdered both of his brothers. We have to assume that Maya Stark may be dead as well."
Tyrion chuckled. "I know her enough to know that she is definitely not dead."
Both of his family members immediately looked suspiciously at him.
"You know something, Tyrion, what is it?" Cersei demanded.
His father leaned forward a little in his chair and said, "If you know something then you should say so."
Tyrion sighed and shrugged carelessly. "I have spies too, but some are in the Free Cities and there is a rumor that she is alive and well."
"If that is true then what the hell is she even doing there then?" Cersei questioned.
"Well, we all know what she can do…" Tyrion reminded them.
Tyrion looked to father and his father leaned back into his chair with his hands laced together as he eyed him carefully. "She's a girl."
"She's The Mocking Knight, father. She is as strong as Jaime," he heard his sister scoff lightly, but he ignored her and continued, "and she won the tourney, managed to fool everyone, and made a mockery out of us and our forces. She's smarter than you think-why do think Jaime likes her so much and is in love with her."
"Jaime's a fool in love," his father said. "He'll get over it."
"It's been what? Almost two, three years since they've met? And yet here we are…at war with them and where is Jaime? Where is she?" Tyrion inquired. "Trust me when I say that love is a very powerful thing and can make you do the craziest things."
Cersei looked at him and they shared a look, the both of knowing what he was referring to. Tyrion continued, still looking at her when he said, "He's madly in love with her. Love, present tense. Ask anyone."
"What do you mean?" his father questioned curiously.
"Everyone knows that Jaime's weakness is Maya and therefore it is our weakness too."
"And?" Cersei scoffed. "Why should we care about the Stark girl?"
"One, she is not a girl anymore, trust me. Two, because she's use to us alive than she is dead. Three, also because our enemies can use her against us in some way and now our enemies want to find her as well because we want her. She's very valuable-why is that so hard to comprehend, my dearest sister?"
"No reason."
"You know if Robb Stark was to die then technically she would be the Queen in the North and the North would rally to her side after hearing how she fooled us and managed to defeat the Mountain." Tyrion tried to reason with her.
An unreadable look passed over his sister's face as she directed her eyes to something in the distance and Tyrion could have sworn that it was fear for a moment then as quickly as it came, it soon disappeared.
What are you hiding, my dearest older sister? Tyrion asked himself as he eyed her suspiciously.
TBC…
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE REVIEWS, FOLLOWS, AND FAVORITES! YOU GUYS ARE ALWAYS SO AWESOME AND I'M VERY PROUD AND HAPPY THAT YOU GUYS ARE LIKING WHAT I'M GONNA DO!
You know these different POVs weren't supposed to be in here, but then I started to re-watch season 3 and got this idea that this chapter would only be different ones except for Maya's and how everyone is talking about her. I actually kind of cried at Catelyn's POV. So we got Tywin, Catelyn, Jaime, and Tyrion. I wanted to do Robb, but then I saw the scene after Catelyn's father dies with her uncle and I thought that it should be explained about how she's feeling about Maya. There are problems everywhere right now. Yeah, I also wanted to do Sansa and Arya, but they have to have some type of meaning so I may add them next chapter, but don't be surprised if I don't.
I hope that I explained the rumors of Maya better. She's very valuable only because well, do I really need to explain why she's valuable cause I feel like Tyrion already did that for me. I think I loved his POV the most just because of how sarcastic and hilarious he is.
I hoped you all liked this chapter.
REVIEW. FOLLOW. FAVORITE. Until next time…