She hated it but Jacqueline was actually quite thankful for the red riding cloak. The rain continued for three days before the clouds disappeared to reveal the shining, late summer sun. The journey down the muddy Rose Road was uneventful, which Jacqueline was greatly appreciative of. With her Lannister escort in tow, Jacqueline insisted on a faster pace, anxious for a decent bath and her comfortable bed. By the time King's Landing came into view the ground had dried and she was able to hide the dirty red cloak safely away from suspicious eyes.
She made it through the gates of the city and into the Red Keep without drawing too much attention. Her hair was tangled and, despite the best attempts by Jaime's red cloak, her dress was still splattered with bits of now dried mud. Jacqueline wanted a bath and a change of clothes before anyone of importance saw her. And she hoped to put off the inevitable questions about her whereabouts the past number of weeks. She left the borrowed horse in the stables and gave a young stable boy instructions to have her things taken to her room before heading inside. The castle was emptier than she remembered as she made her way to her rooms, but Jacqueline was happy for it. She wasn't interested in running into anyone in her current state.
"Jacqueline!" A voice a called from behind her as she walked down a hallway she believed to be empty. When Jacqueline turned around she saw her youngest brother running towards her. Certain he would criticize her dirty appearance, Jacqueline stopped walking with a sigh and waited for her brother to reach her. She hadn't seen Renly in months but he hadn't changed much. His black hair was cut short and his blue eyes were the same shade as Jacqueline's. He looked like the brother she knew, though the desperate look on his face was slightly uncommon.
Instead of offering her a greeting or even a question, her brother simply took hold of her hand and pulled her back with him in the direction he had just come from. "Renly, what are you doing?" Jacqueline asked. Refusing to be pulled along, she matched his pace as they all but ran down the hallway, hands still embraced. "What's wrong?"
"It's Robert," Renly said in between breaths. "He got injured on a hunt."
The blood in her veins went cold. "Is it bad?" Her brother simply nodded. Tears began to swell in her eyes as the two siblings ran together through the halls of the Red Keep. Renly led her to the king's chambers and when they reached the door, Jacqueline ignored the Kingsguard that stood outside and walked inside without a word, followed closely by Renly.
The large room smelled of blood, sweat and death. Robert lay shirtless in the bed with a bloody bandage wrapped around his stomach. His skin had turned pale and sweat clung to his face. Jacqueline would have mistaken him for a corpse if his face hadn't moved to make room for a smile when she entered the room. "Jaks," Her brother said in a sickly voice. Jacqueline walked further into the room and collapsed to her knees beside Robert's bed; her own disheveled appearance completely forgotten. Renly remained by the door next to Maester Pycelle while Cersei stood tall near the head of Robert's bed. Or deathbed. "Where have you been, Jaks?" His voice was more of a cough than a whisper.
Jacqueline reached out and took hold of Robert's clammy hand. "It's a long way between here and Winterfell, your Grace. But I'm here now." Guilt swirled in her stomach as she said the words. I should have been here sooner.
But her brother seemed to accept her lackluster explanation for he made no more mention of her whereabouts. "I've failed you, Jacqueline." Robert said, squeezing her hand. "I've been a piss poor brother."
With tears now falling down her cheeks, Jacqueline shook her head, not wanting to hear her brother's last regrets. "It's not your fault. You have seven kingdoms to rule, you can't spend all your time worrying about me." Robert laughed at that, but only briefly before his laughter turned into coughs. Her brother spoke no more and his eyes drifted off into sleep.
Jacqueline paid no attention to the coming and going of others in the room. She simply sat by the edge of her brother's bed and held his hand. Soon, it was just her and Maester Pycelle left in the room and Jacqueline only took notice of the old man when he appeared by her side and placed a wrinkled hand on her shoulder. "You should leave, my lady." He said quietly.
The maester's face was just as sad as his voice when Jacqueline looked him in the eyes. She didn't understand why the others had left the room. Even the Kingsguard appeared to have abandoned their post. Robert could wake up at any moment and…The realization hit her like a hammer. She wondered briefly if this had been what Rhaegar Targaryen felt when he was killed at the Trident. A blow to chest that made breathing not worth the pain. Her brother wasn't waking up. He had spoken his final words and laughed for the last time. Jacqueline began sobbing at the truth that her eldest brother was dead. Her cries were so loud that she did not hear Ser Antario Belmore, her sworn shield, enter the room.
The knight gripped her free hand and tried to pull her away from the bed. "Come, my lady." His voice too was quiet and sad. But Jacqueline only tightened her hold on Robert's hand. His dead hand. She thought. Her tears turned from ones of sadness to those of anger. Anger at her brother for dying and anger at herself for not reaching the capitol sooner. Ser Antario was forced to grab the grieving girl around the waist and lift her from her place on the floor. Exhausted, Jacqueline's hold on her brother was easily broken, and the girl was carried from the room.