Jacqueline took the long way back to her chambers, avoiding well trafficked areas. The news would get out soon enough, if it wasn't already, and Jacqueline didn't want to face the judgment and pity of others. So, she walked the narrow halls of the eastern wing of the keep, letting her anger and dread ferment along the way. She wanted to return to the Tower of the Hand and throw things at Tywin Lannister. She wanted to beg for his mercy. Beg him to give her to a different lord in a different place. Beg him to allow her to join the Silent Sisters instead. Beg him for anything he was willing to give.
But the largest part of Jacqueline wanted to run to the stables, saddle a horse and flee the city altogether. Supposedly her brother was no long there but surely Stannis had kept a garrison on Dragonstone and she could seek refuge on the island, as she should have months earlier. But Jacqueline knew she wouldn't make it out of the Red Keep, let alone the gates of King's Landing. The Lannisters would be watching her now, much more than before. Someone was always watching. She should have remembered that.
Tywin had known everything. About Jaime and Dorne. Secrets were impossible here, she knew, but Jacqueline had never had any secrets to hide and so the failure to keep any was a new disappointment for her. Sooner or later the whole city would know about Tywin's plans for her. How soon until her brother learned, she wondered. Would he care? Even if Roose was the new Warden of the North, House Bolton would be considered a step down for the sister of a king. Three kings now, Jacqueline reminded herself bitterly. Stannis would certainly see it as an insult to their house and to him, personally. But would he care what it meant for Jacqueline? How her life would change.
Marriage. The word had always carried a strange weight for Jacqueline. It was something that had been out of Jacqueline's reach and in her ignorance she felt as though her life would have been better with it. Ellaria and her had talked about marriage numerous times over the past weeks but none of that was real, no matter how much Ellaria insisted Jacqueline be open to the idea. No one had ever asked for her hand in marriage. Robb Stark had come the closest when he asked her to stay with him but she had shut that door before it was even opened. She had thought no one would want her, or that no one should want her. She had been so blind.
The halls were empty as she stomped her way down them. The royal wedding guests were out enjoying the yellow summer sunshine and the cooling breeze that blew over Blackwater Bay. The only way one would cross paths with Jacqueline at this point would be if one were looking for her. And when she turned a corner to see Oberyn Martell walking in her direction, Jacqueline knew it was not a coincidence. She stopped in her tracks, letting the Dornishman close the space between them. Any question about Oberyn's knowledge of current events was answered with the look on his face. She was sure pity was not an expression the prince wore often and it made him look older.
"Jacqueline," the man started as he came to a stop before her, dressed in the colors of his house and foregoing any pleasantries. "I am truly sorry."
Once again, Jacqueline's anger flowed over as she looked at the tall Dornishman and his apologetic look. "What exactly are you sorry for, Prince Oberyn? That Tywin was able to sell me off before you could?" The anger was not meant for him, she tried to remind herself.
If the prince was offended, he showed no sign as he looked down at her. "The rumors say you are to be married but no one seems to know to who."
Jacqueline didn't want to say, twisting her fists in her lavender skirt before walking towards the nearest window. That piece of information would be known soon enough as well. "Is it true your brother planned to marry me off for my claim to the throne?"
There was no hesitation in his answer. "It was originally my idea. And never against your will, my lady."
"Since I asked to travel with you to Dorne? Or before that?" How long had Jacqueline been a pawn in other people's plans? Had she unknowingly walked into it?
"Before."
From the window, Jacqueline could see the majority of King's Landing, from the Great Sept to the city's main gate which she would cross through on her way to the North. To Roose Bolton. Jacqueline was certain that name would cause her to vomit sooner or later.
"Did you have a man in mind? Or was I free to choose? All those men Ellaria has mentioned, none of them seem like suitable options if you mean to act on my claim."
Jacqueline heard Oberyn take a few steps closer to where she stood gripping the window ledge. "Ellaria was just trying to get you comfortable with the possibility of marriage. Of course, my brother hoped you would like his son, Quentyn. That would be the easiest path but nothing could be certain until we got you to Dorne."
Jacqueline wanted to ask what would have happened if she didn't like Quentyn but decided against it. No need to wander down paths that were closed to her. The ridiculousness of the situation made her chuckle softly. "Unfortunately for the both of us, Prince Oberyn, Tywin has other plans." As she looked out at the city where she had spent the majority of her life, Jacqueline could feel the tears growing in her eyes. She was thankful to have her face hidden from the Dornishman's view. Jacqueline doubted he was a man who cared for crying.
Oberyn's voice was soft once again when he spoke. "Lady Jacqueline, I never intended to force you into anything against your will."
The small rings adorning Jacqueline's fingers pinched her skin as she curled her hands into fists. "I wish you had been honest with me." Jacqueline was almost yelling now, her face growing warm and her breathe coming quicker. "I never would have entertained the idea of going to Dorne if I knew your intended to put a crown on my head."
"And why shouldn't you have a crown on your head?" Oberyn spoke quickly but quietly, taking another step closer to her. Jacqueline whirled around to glare at the man, forgetting about the tears she wanted to hide. She was beginning to realize that the rumors were true: Prince Oberyn was half-mad. Perhaps all the Martells were.
The man was close enough now she could reach out and touch him and his silk robes. Over the short time she had known the second prince of Dorne, Jacqueline had not been alone with him, not since their brief time together as he escorted her out of Littlefinger's brothel. Ellaria had always been there. Jacqueline wondered how much the presence of his lover tempered Oberyn's underlying anger. He was upset that Jacqueline didn't want her claim, upset that she didn't want to be a party to his conspiracy.
But it wasn't any of his business, she thought to herself as she took in the passion simmering deep within Prince Oberyn's dark eyes. "Because Stannis is the right - "
"And what about when Stannis dies?" He huffed out, cutting Jacqueline off. "He is still fighting a losing war and his daughter is just a child. Someone will need to take her place, even if just for a short time. That person is you."
Between her breakdown in the Tower of the Hand and her furious march through the halls of the Keep, Jacqueline's hair had turned into a dark dishevelled curtain. When she shook her head, the long strands danced carelessly in the air. "No one wants me for their queen."
"Are you so sure? The people of King's Landing like you well enough. Especially since Joffrey made his dislike for you so public during the Battle of the Blackwater." Jacqueline didn't miss how his eyes glanced over the scars on her neck. "Between the Lannisters and you, their pick is clear." But I am in love with a Lannister. No one would like that. Not the small folks or the Martells. And certainly not her own brother.
Jacqueline shook her head again. "You're being ridiculous." The Baratheon woman made to step around Oberyn and his insane ideas but she was stopped by the prince taking her by the shoulders and steering her backwards to the wall.
"Is it ridiculous? That you are such a non threat that Tywin Lannister insists you leave the city to marry a man of his own choosing?" Oberyn spoke quickly, but he managed to keep his voice down. "He knows of the danger you pose should you remain in the capital upon the death of your brother." There was too much talk of Stannis's death for Jacqueline's liking.
Jacqueline could feel the cold red stone through the thin material of her dress from where Oberyn held her against the wall. His grip was firm but not painful. There was almost no distance between them now. If someone was to turn the corner and spot them, they would certainly think they were embracing each other. Jacqueline would prefer to let that be the impression rather than the truth of plotting treason against the current, so-called king. Jacqueline couldn't keep her voice quiet when she spoke again. "None of that matters now! I am to marry Roose Bolton, not your nephew!"
A moment of confusion flashed across Oberyn's face at Jacqueline's admission. "Roose Bolton?"
Her frustration was reaching a breaking point. "Yes. So, please forgive me, Prince Oberyn. But I will be unable to join you in Dorne because I will be at the Twins, getting married to Lord Bolton, Warden of the North, and enduring gods know what. Whatever you and your brother had planned doesn't matter now. It's too late."
A small smile appeared on his lips, temporarily easing the tension in the air. "A simple inconvenience." As if rain had delayed an outing. Nothing more.
"I didn't ask for any of this!" Jacqueline attempted to shove the man away from her but he barely moved. "I don't want any of this."
"And my sister did not ask for her husband to abandon her and her children in favor of the young Stark girl. But it happened nonetheless." His voice was low now and almost threatening.
But Jacqueline wasn't in the mood to discuss history or pull back her own anger. "If this is about getting revenge on the Lannisters then there are other ways that don't involve me." Still, Oberyn would not let her go, not matter how much she pushed against him.
"No, I like this way," the prince responded, undeterred as always.
The air seemed to rush out of her then and her legs stopped supporting her body. Jacqueline's fall was slowed by Oberyn's grip on her but they both still ended up on the floor: Jacqueline with her legs stretched out beneath her dress and Oberyn bent down with his weigh resting on a knee. "You're going to get me killed," Jacqueline said once she found her breath again.
Prince Oberyn's hand was warm where it graced her chin, tilting her face up to look at him. "No, Lady Jacqueline. You're going to get yourself killed if you don't start acknowledging the reality of your position."
Jacqueline was terrified, but not of Oberyn with his heated tone and imposing posture. The things he was saying were spinning around in her head. Jacqueline had wanted to remain separate from this game of power but Robert's death had pushed her forward and now it was threatening to drown her. Everyone seemed to have plans for her and Jacqueline now had none of her own. The tears began to fall again. "I don't know what to do."
A thin smirk crossed the prince's face as he looked down at a defended Jacqueline. "Start by ceasing your tears."
Jacqueline found the energy to balk. "That's your advice? Stop crying."
He nodded. "You can't let anyone see you cry. Not Joffrey or Tywin or Roose Bolton. Guard your feelings, always." His calloused fingers wiped a tear from Jacqueline's face.
If only things could be that simple. "How does a woman survive a man like Roose Bolton?"
"Give him what he wants." Jacqueline frowned at that. "Roose Bolton is an ambitious man. He killed his king to become Warden of the North and now he's being given an heir to the Iron Throne. If there's anyone most likely to put a crown on your head, it's Roose Bolton." Prince Oberyn stood then. Jacqueline paused a moment when he extended his hand but eventually concluded that there was nothing dignifying about sitting on the floor, crying. "Your future is out of my hands now, my lady." If it was ever in your hands, Jacqueline thought as she dusted out her skirt. "But you will always be able to call me a friend."
With a farewell and a comment that she should get some rest, Oberyn disappeared once again down the corridor. None of the Viper's words gave Jacqueline any solace. She was no longer an invisible woman with no inheritance. Now she was being viewed as a threat, a potential queen. The world had ceased to make sense when Robert died. Tywin was banishing her to the North in order to protect Joffrey's claim on the throne. Killing her would have been easier, Jacqueline thought. And perhaps kinder.
She thought of the potential allies she had in the capital. The Tyrells were out, with Margerary set to marry Joffrey. They were all kind to Jacqueline, but that would not translate into support. Sansa Stark was powerless and Jacqueline wouldn't want to drag her into any trouble. Any Storm lords loyal to a real Baratheon were with Stannis. Petyr Baelish was an uncertainty, but he was away, having been sent to the Vale to treat with Lysa Arryn. She wouldn't trust Varys to tell her the seasons. The Dornish had really been Jacqueline's only hope. It was a strange concept nonetheless, the Martells supporting a Baratheon. But when the other choice was a Lannister, maybe not so much. And if Jacqueline had married Prince Doran's son, it was a suitable alliance. Not that it mattered now.
Jacqueline was being used and she didn't even realize it. Tywin had been planning this arrangement since before Oberyn Martell made the journey to King's Landing for the royal wedding. She wouldn't be surprised if Jacqueline had been a part of the original deal Tywin had made with Roose Bolton in exchange for his betrayal. Even if Roose already had a wife. Tywin had been biding his time in telling her, making Jacqueline complacent in the meantime.
She took her time getting back to her chambers, no longer having the energy to march down the corridors. If she passed anyone along the way, Jacqueline couldn't recall. The afternoon was still young, but all Jacqueline wanted to do was pull her shoes off and bury herself beneath the blankets of her feathered bed. She wanted to pretend as if this entire day hadn't happened. That it was all a nightmare. But the bad dream didn't end once Jacqueline reached her chambers.
Cersei Lannister was waiting for Jacqueline on the other side of the new heavy door, standing tall by the window with her back to the entrance. Dressed in the colors of her house with her blonde hair shining in the sunlight from the window, the queen turned at the sound of Jacqueline's halted footsteps. Cersei's smile couldn't have been wider. "It is not polite to keep your queen waiting, Lady Jacqueline. You know that."
Over the past weeks, Jacqueline had managed to avoid the Queen Regent. The blonde woman had been too busy with her son's wedding and avoiding her own marriage to Loras Tyrell to harass Jacqueline. The only times Jacqueline had thought about Cersei were those fleeting moments of doubt she felt when Jaime would come to her. Remembering herself, Jacqueline curtsied. "My apologies, your grace. I was no aware you were waiting." And if she had known, Jacqueline probably would have spent the rest of the day anywhere but here.
The older woman crossed the room to where a flagon of wine rested on the small table and poured herself a glass, probably not her first of the day. It was then that Jacqueline saw the guard standing in the corner by the door, dressed in red armor and a black helmet. His hand rested on the pommel of his sword. "Where have you been?" Cersei raised the glass to her lips and took a slip.
"With Lord Tywin, your grace. He requested to speak with me."
The queen took another drink. "Yes, I am aware. As I am aware you left the Tower of the Hand some time ago." She didn't give Jacqueline the chance to respond. "Tell me, was Prince Oberyn as upset about the news as you were?" Cersei's mouth was hidden behind her cup but Jacqueline could hear the smirk in her voice.
As for her, Jacqueline was too tired to play ignorant. She just wanted to left alone. And if Cersei had her killed for rudeness, then it would save her a journey north. "It came as a surprise to the both of us, your grace."
Forgetting her drink long enough, Cersei scoffed, an irritating noise in Jacqueline's opinion, one that grated against her ears. "You've been spending so much time with the Viper and his whore, it came as no shock that you've all been scheming."
Jacqueline managed to keep her own tone light, despite her growing annoyance at the older woman's intrusion. "Your grace, I was doing what I thought the king would want: my absence from the capital. His grace dislikes me, it is well known."
"Don't pretend your plan to run away to Dorne was out of consideration for my son." The queen stepped closer, setting the half empty wine glass down on the table along the way table. "You were doing it for yourself. There, away from prying eyes, you would be free to fuck your way into the Martell's good graces and convince them to support your brother. Or maybe yourself even." Jacqueline wondered if that was Cersei's own observation or just the one she had taken from her father.
The Martells had made plans for her; plans that seemed to be transparent to everyone but here. Still, Jacqueline tilted her head slightly, surprised Cersei was giving her that much credit. Perhaps the queen no one longer viewed her as a clueless little girl. Jacqueline had certainly mistook her position in King's Landing and she had yet to discover what all it had cost her.
The queen's hair shone in the sunshine from the open window. Gold like her brothers'. Gold like Jaime's hand. The other Lannister twin has visited Jacqueline earlier that morning. Before the sunrise. Before the glass box of happiness Jacqueline had composed for herself had been shattered. She could feel herself blush at the memory. If Tywin had shared news about her relationship with Jaime, Cersei made no mention of it. Perhaps Tywin knew his daughter would react poorly. I'm fucking Jaime! The words were on Jacqueline's tongue and they tasted sweet. But deadly. That was her choice: a quick death in King's Landing or a drawn out one in the North.
Swallowing the words instead, Jacqueline bite her tongue."I just wanted away from this place. Nothing more."
"And you have received your wish. You will leave after the king's wedding, promptly, and I will never have to lay eyes on a Baratheon face ever again." Cersei was inches away from her now, looking down at Jacqueline with her gold tinted green eyes.
"Aside from your children's faces, of course." Cersei looked like she wanted to strike Jacqueline, but she held herself back, instead preferring to exist the chambers in a swirl of red skirts, nearly knocking Jacqueline to the side along the way. The guard following quickly behind her.
Jacqueline swiftly locked the door once she was alone. As for the half empty flagon of wine Cersei had left behind, Jacqueline poured herself a glass and drank it all at once. The red wine was sweet on her tongue and it filled her stomach with an aching warmth. Her next destination was the bed and its soft covers.
Another random, overdue update! If I planned this right, only one more chapter before the royal wedding and we can get this story moving. Thanks for sticking around. Love y'all.