"We are puppets,

dancing on the strings of those who came before us,

and one day,

our own children will take up our strings,

and dance in our steads."

-George R. R. Martin

Chapter Five - The Lady Dances

Winterfell

Jaime Lannister had been looking for her all night, from where he leaned against the furthest wall from where the king was. The King had talked to him after their little rendezvous in the Godswood, telling him that he was being considered by Ned Stark and himself to marry the she-wolf.

Merely a couple of years past, he would have protested at the thought of marrying anyone that as not his sister, though he would have remained silent about that little fact. No one would have matched his sister, but now, the idea of marriage was a lot more agreeable. It wasn't like he was dishonouring his sister. They were no longer partaking in their taboo relationship, and Cersei often found her pleasures in others now and he found it didn't bother him as much as he used to think it would.

Marrying the Stark girl could be a lot of fun. The only part he objected to was no longer being part of the Kingsguard, and he had gotten that fool of a king to agree to letting him keep his post, whilst still marrying the young woman, should he be the final decision. His marriage would make his father happy as his son would be able to become the heir to Casterly Rock.

His eyes searched the room for her again, until he heard a chuckle from his side. His eyes moved reluctantly down, knowing immediately who the chuckle belonged to. His little brother (in every sense of the word) stood beside him, with an all too knowing look.

"You should make it less obvious, brother." Tyrion suggested, and Jaime rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, brother." Jaime said, looking away from his brother's smug face.

"The Stark girl is rumoured to be the most beautiful thing in the North, maybe even the whole of Westeros, with a singing voice that could lure even the most honourable of men to her bed," Tyrion said casually, as he sipped his goblet of wine, and watched his brother's face. "Though, I also heard she refuses any that try to court her. Apparently the last man tried to force himself on her, so she cut off his hand herself."

"I have not heard her sing, but she is a beauty, that I cannot deny. I don't know about her skill with a blade, but she does have a sharp tongue. It could rival yours, brother." Jaime replied, scanning the room for the woman they were speaking of once more.

Then the doors to the hall opened and she sauntered in, her head high and a wide smile on her lips. She was wearing a dress that looked like it belonged in the South, clearly something her mother had made for her in their honor. She did look a vision in the pale blue silk, and Jaime found himself transfixed until another chuckle made him turn his eyes away from her, but it didn't last long, and his eyes were drawn back to her, like every other male's in the room. She seemed happy to have finally joined them, but her smile was a clear lie. He'd seen the same smile on his sister before. It didn't quite reach her eyes, which made him question why. Perhaps she had heard of their potential betrothal and was less than happy about it. Or perhaps she disliked feasts as much as her father seemed to.

And then he caught her eyes, and knew that it wasn't about the feast.

Caryssa glided into the hall, and when she felt eyes on her, she turned to find them. Green eyes appraised her, and instead of that smug, warm feeling she had gotten that morning, she found herself feeling like a prize mare in an auction.

Despite the fact she still lusted over the golden lion, tonight she couldn't bear to look at him, knowing that her harmless flirting could suddenly become an invisible iron chain binding her to him for life. She looked away quickly, but her eyes caught his sister's instead. Cersei managed to quirk her lips at her, but Caryssa knew it was fake. The Queen did not like her, because Caryssa was the living form of the ghost that haunted her marriage. It was not a secret that the King's heart still belonged to Lyanna Stark, and that Cersei hated him for that. Caryssa did not flinch from her gaze, and it seemed that Cersei would not either, until Catelyn pulled her into a conversation.

Caryssa rushed to the table where her siblings were sat, wanting to distract herself from her thoughts. She pushed herself in between Robb and Theon and stole Robb's mug of ale, drinking it quickly without spilling a drop. Robb had made a noise of protest, until he saw his sister's hands shaking as she placed the mug back in front of him. Caryssa's hands never shook, not unless she was angry, and despite her furious temper, she did not get angry often. Which meant that something was terribly wrong.

"Get my sister a cup of wine!" Robb called to a serving wench, and a cup was immediately placed in front of her. Caryssa immediately drained it, clenching her hand around the cup when she finally noticed that her hand was shaking. "Are you going to tell me what is wrong?"

"Gods give me strength," Caryssa muttered, before she looked at her brother and Robb immediately saw the anger in her eyes. He had been right. "Father has been making plans with the King to marry me to…Jaime Lannister or Loras Tyrell. I'm not sure what is worse; my potential suitors or father keeping secrets from me."

"He is only doing what is right by you and by the family. You should not worry so much, sister. I doubt you'll be marrying the Kingslayer at any rate. Father hates him."

"Perhaps you are right, but that does not make me feel any better about it," Caryssa said, snatching Theon's mug of ale, and gulping it down before he could snatch it back. She then rose to her feet, and held her hand out to her brother. "Come dance with me, brother. It should help me forget the mess my life will soon become."

Robb rolled his eyes at her, but took her hand and led her to the only open space in the Great Hall. The music picked up as the entertainers saw Lady Caryssa take to the floor, and it brought a smile to her face. Robb pulled his sister into the circle of his arms, and then they danced, practically flying around the space to the beat of the music. Robb was just glad that his sister was now laughing, instead of angry as she was before.

When their dance was over, Caryssa was practically passed around, dancing with pretty much anyone who asked. She even danced with Theon, but that could have been because of the mixture of ale and wine she had consumed. Still, she did not expect, when she was dancing with her sister, Arya, to suddenly be pulled away into the strong arms of Ser Jaime Lannister. He smirked at her, as he moved her around the room, as though he expected her to pull away and go back to dancing with her sister, but she smiled at him, even if it was a terse, bitter smile, and kept on dancing, even though she tried to escape when a slower song was played but Jaime held onto her.

"You look beautiful, my lady." Ser Jaime said, and Caryssa rolled her eyes at him, being forced to hold in her words as he twirled her in a circle before pulling her back into his arms.

"Oh spare me your flattery, Ser." Caryssa snapped, and Jaime smirked at her.

"I take it you heard about the possibility of our marriage. I'll try to hold off the sting of rejection, until you tell me why you object so much to the idea."

"I object to the idea because wolves and lions do not belong together, and I do not belong in the South. The North is where I belong, especially now."

"'Winter is coming'. You Stark's are a paranoid bunch, aren't you?" Jaime questioned, and Caryssa laughed in his face, but he could tell that it was in a mocking way instead of amusement.

"Not to be rude, Ser, but you Southerners spend too much time giving your attentions to tournaments and feasts and courts. You don't feel and see the changes we do here in the North. The winds get harsher each year, the air colder, and our warm months grow shorter. Winter is coming, and the North will be prepared while the rest of you freeze and complain about your short-sightedness." Caryssa said, her voice low and dark but her smile was one of ease and smugness, until she saw that her words had not had the desired effect upon her dance partner.

In fact, he was looking at her in amusement, and slight surprise, and there was something strange in his eyes that Caryssa did not want to dwell on for fear of answers she was not ready to hear. His stupid grin, however, caused her to scowl. She wanted him to take her words to heart, wanted him to take offence, and maybe even threaten her. She wanted to put him off of her, so that he would rush off to King Robert and her father and take himself out of the running for her hand.

"I think I might enjoy being married to a woman with such a sharp tongue," Jaime smirked, and Caryssa found herself smiling in spite of herself, which the golden haired man caught as he was staring down at her as they danced. "Ah, the lady smiles! My mission is complete."

"What?" Caryssa questioned, and Jaime saw the confusion in her blue eyes, though her lips were still curved up into a smile.

"When you walked in, my lady, your smile wasn't real. Probably because you found out about our possibly upcoming vows. So I made it my mission to get the Ice Lady to smile, and, my lady, it was much easier than I thought it would be." Jaime teased her, and she narrowed her eyes at him, before she noticed a familiar figure behind across the room from them and a wider smile spread across her face. She pushed Jaime's arms away from her, leaving him in the middle of the other dancers, watching as she rushed to embrace another man.

Caryssa ignored her father, practically shoved Robb out of her way, and threw her arms around her uncle, squeezing him tightly as he chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"Uncle Benjen!" She cried, leaning back slightly to take in his face. He had more lines on his face than the last time she had seen him, which had been a couple of years ago.

"Caryssa, my girl, you grow more beautiful each time I see you." Her uncle replied, grinning from ear to ear, as his niece crushed herself to him again and planted a kiss to his cheek. She let him go after a moment more, and leaned into Robb's side, his arm immediately curling around her waist. Caryssa saw her father's eyes twinkle at the sight of them. He was always happy that his two eldest had formed such a close bond. He knew that it meant they would always look after each other.

"I think your eyes are not as keen as they used to be, uncle. I have not changed since last we met." Caryssa laughed, resting her head on her brother's shoulder.

"My eyes do not deceive me, my girl. Your aunt was the same. As she grew older, she only became more beautiful." Benjen replied, his eyes taking on a soft sort of sadness. It was the same look that had been in the king's eyes that morning when he had looked upon her for the first time during their introduction. That raw pain still evident even after all these years.

Ryssa noticed that her father looked like he was going to speak to her, so she untangled herself from her brother's embrace, and turned on her heel quickly. She did not think she could contain her temper at that present moment, should he speak to her about what her mother had told her. So she decided to head towards her two younger brothers, both of whom looked close to falling asleep.

However, instead of the quick escape she had wanted, she found herself staring at the chin of a golden lion. She tilted her head back to look into his eyes, but his eyes were on the man behind her. Her father had followed her, and now she was trapped between the two, with no hope of escape.

"Your pardon, ser." Ryssa said, hoping Jaime would move, but she was promptly ignored.

"I hear we might be neighbours soon. I hope it's true." Jaime said, and Caryssa sighed, and waited for the masculine display to be over.

"Yes, the king has honoured me with his offer." Ned replied, pulling his daughter back slightly by her hip. He was uncomfortable with how close she was to the Kingslayer. They were not married yet, and she was still his daughter.

"I also heard that I might be marrying your lovely daughter here." Jaime said, finally acknowledging her presence. She gave him a terse smile in response, and made to move around him, but he just stepped forward and made sure she was properly trapped. Caryssa sighed in frustration, and looked around the room to see if anyone was paying enough attention to come and save her, but the only person who was watching was Tyrion Lannister, and he seemed to be enjoying her situation far too much.

She shot the Imp a dark look, and he just laughed into his goblet of wine, shaking his head at her.

"That is also true. The King and I have been discussing suitors for her in the capital."

"I'm sure we'll have a tournament to celebrate your new title and my marriage to your daughter, if you accept. It would be good to have you on the field. The competition has become a bit stale." Ser Jaime replied, with an irritating, yet handsome, smirk on his face, that made both father and daughter grind their teeth in annoyance. Jaime noticed that, and his smirk became more pronounced. Caryssa truly was her father's daughter.

"I don't fight in tournaments." Ned stated, much to Jaime's amusement.

"No? Getting a little old for it?" He teased the older man, who just chuckled in return, letting the comment roll right off of him.

"I don't fight in tournaments because when I fight a man for real, I don't want him to know what I can do." Her father said, and Caryssa had to bite back her laughter at the very subtle threat in his words. It would not do well to threaten a Lannister, but her father knew that.

"Well said." The Lannister lion grinned at him, and Caryssa decided that she had finally had enough.

"Now that you are both done with wasting precious moments of my life, I should put Bran and Rickon to bed before they fall asleep in their seats," Caryssa said, raising her voice slightly to really get their attention. Jaime just smirked at her, as he had in almost all of their encounters, and she glared up at him as he made it clear that he had no intentions of moving out of her way. "Move, Ser Jaime, or you can choose which appendage you'd most like to lose."

"She is feisty, isn't she? Could be entertaining should we marry." Jaime said, before stepping out of her way and with a sweeping gesture, allowed her to finally leave.

She just rolled her eyes at him, before sauntering away, well aware that her father and Jaime were still watching her. Caryssa moved quickly towards her little brothers, holding back her laughter as Rickon's head drooped before he jerked upright again. She curled her arm around her younger brother's neck, and he looked up at her with sleepy, child-like eyes.

"Come on, pup, it's time for bed," She said, plucking him up from his seat, settling him on her hip. Rickon immediately buried his face into her hair, nuzzling her neck before falling asleep almost instantly. She cooed quietly to him, before holding out her hand to Bran. "You too, little wolf. You're coming as well."

Bran didn't even bother to protest, knowing that he was tired and that his sister knew it as well. He just took her hand, and let her lead him out of the hall, having to pause every so often as his sister was forced to say goodnight to someone.

Eventually, Caryssa made it outside with the two boys, and unsurprisingly, Robb and Arya at their heels. Arya had flung food at Sansa while the prince had been watching, so Robb was forced to escort her to her room by their mother.

"Sansa is such a baby!" Arya grumbled, as Robb and Caryssa rolled their eyes at her. Caryssa shifted Rickon on her hip, ignoring Robb when he offered to take him. The little wolf pup was already asleep, and Caryssa didn't want to risk jostling him and waking him up.

"Says the baby who still flings food at her sister," Caryssa said, giving her little sister a disapproving glance. "Young ladies do not throw food."

"You always tell me that I'm fine the way I am, so why should I have to act like a lady?" Arya questioned, and Robb snorted at her, making Caryssa glare at him for his lack of support. Arya was so wilful and stubborn, like her, which made it more difficult to be stern with her and not sound like a hypocrite.

"Because you were in the presence of royalty. We must keep up pretences, Arya. Even if we let you run around like a wildling, does not mean that we can allow you to do that in front of the king and queen," Caryssa informed her, and Arya huffed a little, though she knew her sister was right. "You shouldn't have humiliated Sansa like that in front of the prince. They are to be betrothed, Arya, and she is trying to make a good impression."

"She always acts so prim and proper, like she didn't use to join in on our pranks on Theon." Arya grumbled, as they came to a halt outside her room. Bran was leaning heavily against Caryssa's side now, practically sleeping on his feet, and Rickon was almost drooling on her shoulder.

"Every person is different, Arya. Sansa wants to be a lady, you want to be a knight and Caryssa wants to be a blend of both. No woman is the same." Robb said, earning himself a surprised smile from the other half of himself. Caryssa arched a brow at him, before nudging Arya with her foot.

"You understand what your oh so wise older brother said?" Caryssa questioned, and upon receiving a nod from her sister, she nudged her again. "Good. Now get to bed. I'll be checking you're asleep when I return from the feast."

Arya rolled her eyes, and mumbled a goodnight to her siblings, before turning and trudging into her room. Caryssa turned to move, but almost slipped over due to losing balance since Bran had indeed fallen asleep against her, resting his full weight on her when she was not prepared to take it. Robb was the only thing that stopped her from falling over, pulling her fully upright again.

He just snickered slightly, before heaving Bran into his arms, and carrying down the halls to the little wolf's room. Caryssa watched her brothers leave, knowing that she would meet Robb back in the feasting hall. As much as she wanted to just return to her room and sleep off the dancing she had done, she knew that, as the eldest, she had a duty to stay until at least her mother and father retired.

Knowing that she'd rather get the rest of the feast over and done with, Caryssa turned on her heel and carried a slightly stirring Rickon to his bedchambers. He was half asleep when she managed to get him into bed, with Shaggydog (Caryssa almost wished she hadn't let him name the direwolf himself) curling up beside him immediately, but he was awake enough to complain about being too hot under his furs with all his clothes still on.

Caryssa rolled her eyes at him, as he simply lifted his arms above his head and waited for her to remove his tunic for him. She tugged gently at the laces, making it loose enough for her to pull it up over his head, leaving him in a shirt and his breeches. She tucked him in tightly underneath the furs, and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead before turning to leave.

"Ryssa, sing me a lullaby please?" Rickon whined, and Caryssa sat by his side again, smiling gently down at him, running her fingers through his soft dark hair.

"Which one would you like, pup?" She questioned, her heart warming as her little brother snuggled towards her, and yawned. Despite refusing many suitors, Caryssa had yearned for children of her own since she had first flowered at thirteen. She loved her younger siblings so dearly, saw how deeply her parents loved their children, and she knew that someday she wanted that. She just didn't want it to be all she did with her life. She didn't want to be wife and mother, and nothing else like so many other women. She wanted more, she just did not know what.

"The sleep song."

"Naturally. Okay," Caryssa said, clearing her throat, before she began to sing.

"Lay down your head and I'll sing you a lullaby,
Back to the years of loo-li lai-lay,
And I'll sing you to sleep and I'll sing you tomorrow,
Bless you with love for the road that you go,

May you sail fair to the far fields of fortune,
With diamonds and pearls at your head and your feet,
And may you need never to banish misfortune,
May you find kindness in all that you meet,

May there always be angels to watch over you,
To guide you each step of the way,
To guard you and keep you safe from all harm,
Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay,

May you bring love and may you bring happiness,
Be loved in return to the end of your days,
Now fall off to sleep, I'm not meaning to keep you,
I'll just sit for a while and sing loo-li, lai-lay,

May there always be angels to watch over you,
To guide you each step of the way,
To guard you and keep you safe from all harm,
Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay,

Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay."

Caryssa ended her song and kissed her now sleeping brother on the brow, before gently rising to avoid waking him. Her quiet, calculated movements were almost in vain when she turned, and almost screamed at the sight of Jaime Lannister leaning against the open doorway of little Rickon's room. Caryssa managed to slap a hand over her mouth, and bit back the scream, before glaring at him, as he laughed silently.

The she-wolf pushed him out of her way, closing the door to Rickon's room behind her, before trying to storm past him. However, the lion had other ideas and grabbed her arm to force her to look at him.

"I did not mean to frighten you, my lady. I'm sorry." Jaime said, and Caryssa regarded him for a moment, before smirking at him.

"Liar. Why else would you be skulking in the doorway of my brother's bedroom?" She questioned, ignoring how the knight's hand had dropped to her own, and was gripping that instead of her forearm. Despite her irritation from him, and her anger towards their proposed marriage, she couldn't help but think of how nice his warm hand felt around hers.

"Skulking, milady? I merely heard the faint sounds of a beautiful melody over the noise in the feast hall, and decided to investigate. It is true what they say…you truly are the Northern Nightingale." Caryssa felt something strange in her stomach, a slight fluttering, but when she realised that it was due to the Lannister's words, she squashed the feeling quickly. She would not turn into Sansa, and melt over a man because of honeyed words and good looks.

"Thank you, Ser Jaime," She said, with a slight smile, before she gestured in the general direction of the feasting hall. "Would you accompany me back to the feast?"

"It would be my pleasure, milady." Jaime said, bringing her small, dainty hand to his lips. Caryssa felt herself blush involuntarily and scowled inwardly at herself, before allowing a small smile to grace her face as a response to his action.

Jaime curled her arm around his, a smirk on his lips that let her know that he had seen the heat in her cheeks, before escorting her back to the feast, where she instantly untangled herself from him and left his side.

Caryssa cursed herself and Jaime Lannister for the rest of the evening, because even when she was having a stiff, borderline polite conversation with the Queen and her mother, her Tully blue eyes would always find his Lannister green orbs wherever they were in the room.
She cursed herself because she was supposed to be rebelling any sort of connection to him now that she could be bound to him for life, but instead she was like a child staring in awe at a golden knight. She had become no better than her little sister, staring across the table at her betrothed with rose tinted vision.

The Northern woman caught eyes with him once more, after she had retreated from her subtle war of words with Queen Cersei, when she was in conversation with Robb and Theon about the kraken's 'luck' with women. He was watching her while he sat with his brother, talking quietly to each other, and occasionally Tyrion's gaze would flicker to her, so she knew they were talking about her. Caryssa couldn't comprehend as to why the lion seemed so intrigued by her. She was no more or no less special than any other woman in the room. In her opinion, there were far more beautiful women than her, like the Queen or her little Sansa, so she couldn't fathom why he only stared at her.

Maybe it was her words in the Godswood, maybe it was her sharp tongue, or maybe it was because she had shown on the slightest of interest in him compared to the adoration she was sure other women lavished upon him. Whatever it was, she was only slightly sorry for it now. A small part of Caryssa felt slightly smug his attention was only on her, and no other. It made her feel a little bit more powerful that she had that kind of hold over a man.

However, his attentions also irritated her as she found she couldn't concentrate on her brother and his idiot friend while trying to understand why Ser Jaime stared, so she removed herself from the conversation and the feasting hall.

Caryssa wandered outside, until she heard the hard thumps of a blade against a straw dummy. She knew of only one person who would be outside in the cold practising his swordsmanship instead of inside drinking and eating. She rubbed her arms, trying to fend off the chill in the air, as she headed towards the source of the noise, where she found her other brother, who had been missing all night, slashing at the straw filled burlap sack that worked as a test dummy.

"Who are you picturing that as?" Caryssa questioned, as Jon stabbed the dummy again. He spun around, and looked at her, as she shook from the cold.

"As beautiful as you look, you also look like you'll turn into an icicle if you stay out here any longer." Jon said, instead of answering her question. He grabbed his cloak that he had discarded for his training, and draped it around her shoulders as she moved closer to him. She muttered her thanks, grabbing his hand to keep him next to her, the other hand grasping the cloak close to herself.

"I picture Theon. He's the only person I hate enough to make me want to run him through with my sword." Caryssa joked, well half-joked, and Jon chuckled slightly.

"I've never understood why you don't like him. Robb loves him like another brother."

"I don't trust him. Never have and never will." Caryssa shrugged, though it was barely noticeable because she was still shivering. Jon shook his head at her, before tugging her hand, beginning to lead her back to the hall.

"You should go back inside. It's too cold for you out here in that dress." Jon said, and Caryssa shook her head and locked her legs in place so he couldn't move her without swinging her up into his arms and carrying her back inside.

"Only if you come in with me. I've missed you this evening, and you are the only one of my siblings I haven't danced with, so you have to rectify that, brother dearest!" Caryssa said, her voice soft, but with an edge. One that said that she was not going to be argued with and that he should just do as she asked with no complaints.

"Your mother won't allow it. She thinks it would insult the royal family to seat a bastard in their midst." Jon said, and Caryssa could hear the shame in his voice, and a sense of dislike and disappointment welled up inside her towards her mother. She couldn't believe that she constantly made a boy feel so terrible about his own existence because of the mistakes of her husband.

"You would not be seated, you would be dancing," Caryssa teased him, and Jon rolled his eyes at her, shaking his head but still not caving to her wishes, so she tried another tactic. "Everybody is too drunk to care, and if Mother gets angry, I will deal with it. Please, Jon, don't make me beg. It's not becoming of a lady."

His sister smirked at him, and Jon rolled his eyes at her and sighed, letting her lead him inside, smiling at her sweet giggles. She had obviously consumed some wine. It was the only real time she got giggly. His sister laughed a lot, well only around her family, and chuckled, and snickered, but never giggled unless she drunk wine.

As soon as they were inside the hall, the musicians picked the music up, and Jon wondered how they always knew that his sister was going to dance. Caryssa smiled at him, and Jon sighed heavily again, and pulled her into his arms, trying to remember the dance lessons she had given him and Robb.

Jon twirled his sister around the small dance floor, and tried to ignore the burning gaze of Lady Stark. Every time he glanced over at the royal table to see if Lady Stark was giving him the disapproving, hateful stare, Caryssa would force him to keep his eyes on her by stamping on his toes, or punching him in the arm. The people watching would laugh, and he would shake his head at her 'subtle' ways, and gave her his attention again.

After a couple dances, Caryssa finally let him go, but dragged him to the table where Robb and Theon sat, and got him an ale to drink. She forced him into her vacated seat, planted a kiss on his forehead and then sat on his left, sipping from a goblet of wine, her free hand grasping his arm tightly in reassurance.

Jon spent the rest of the night enjoying himself, drinking and laughing with his brother and sister, which brought happiness to his siblings and father. Catelyn Stark, however, was not best pleased that her daughter had defied her wishes and had brought the boy in to the feast, though even if she scolded Caryssa, the girl wouldn't regret it.

Caryssa smiled a genuine smile the rest of the night, something that Jaime noticed. She smiled with her brothers on either side of her, as she ended up, and looked genuinely happy, something that lit up her whole face in a way he had never seen Cersei's. Jaime knew that the two women were different in their looks just from the first glance at the Stark girl, but it was only then that he had realised that the two women he had or used to have a romantic interest in were two vastly different in personality too.

Cersei was a fierce beauty, golden and bright like the sun. Caryssa's beauty was no less magnificent, but it was darker and more gentle like the moon. Yet, he mused, they seemed to adopt the opposite of themselves. Cersei was often grim, unsmiling, cold and what he had observed of Caryssa is that she was light, cheerful and warm (among her family at least). He shook his head, cursing the cold Northern air for making him think like some flowery bard or knight.

They were both complicated women, regardless, and Caryssa frustrated him more than anything. She wasn't like Cersei at all, the only woman he had ever known intimately. Cersei was all passion, hard and rough and very clear in her intentions. Caryssa was a mystery wrapped in an enigma covered in a puzzle. One moment she was staring at him, the next she was pretending he didn't exist. It was infuriating.

Caryssa felt his eyes on her again, and this time she turned to acknowledge him, raising her goblet slightly towards him with a smile, before turning back to her brothers and her conversation. Her actions only left the lion even more confused by her, and she smirked in satisfaction.

Confusing Jaime Lannister was going to be her life's mission, should her father agree to the king's proposal of marriage between them, and she was going to enjoy it immensely.

A/N:

Hey Guys!

Here is chapter five, and the feast scene! I hope you guys like it. So please read and review to let me know what you thought, I promise I won't get offended (or let you know if I got offended :P).

Oh, and I just finished reading this amazing Jaime/Sansa fic (it's an AU like this one) and you guys should totally check it out. It's called The Eyes See True by LadyLannister. It's actually very well written and I just spent the last couple of days reading and found myself disappointed when I reached the last update.

Thank to all the people who have favourited and followed this story, support means the world and encourages me to continue writing, so thank you all.

Thank you to the following readers who reviewed the last chapter:

shipwreck321, LittleNK, Soaring Hawk1, cocoalover1956, Hand of the Alex, Autobot Nightfury (I have no clue where I got it from either, but seriously dude, love the name), StarkStruck11, jezz and winter1990.

Thank you guys so much,

SophStratt.