This chapter was written as part of the Facebook challenge "Sur Votre 31":
- Invite : ''Bath''.
- Number of words: From 100 to 1000 words.

All the universe of Game of Thrones belongs to GRR Martin, DB & DW.

Enjoy reading !

When she closed the wooden door behind her, coming out of King Robert's apartments, Cersei sighed, feeling tears coming to her eyes.

She had held them back, her tears, all the while the pig that called himself king had slumped all its weight on her, stinking of wine, as usual.

She was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing that he had hurt her in any way.

She was a lioness. He was a deer.

Did the predator bow to his prey?

She wasn't going to cry.

Not in front of Robert.

Cersei moved quickly through the maze of corridors in the Red Keep.

Robert's semen, mixed with the blood he had made her lose when he forced himself inside her, was still on the top of her pale thighs, running down her alabaster legs.

She was almost running now, with only one thing to look forward to: being alone, and above all, thinking about something else.

She wouldn't forget.

She would never forget.

But she had to try not to think about it anymore.

Cersei hoped that the knight guarding her door would not ask any questions.

Or better yet, that it would be Jaime.

The gods had obviously not listened to her prayers, and it wasn't her brother who was at her bedroom door.

Barristan Selmy bowed respectfully as she passed by, and looked at her with a worried look on her face, but said nothing.

Once she was alone, she didn't even have the strength to strip off her torn dress, and sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly into the void, a lonely tear rolling down her cheek.

She didn't hear the door open and close behind her back.

Jaime knew.

He knew that Robert had demanded that Cersei be with him tonight.

He could not protect Cersei from Robert.

The prerogatives of the Kingsguard were to protect the King and Queen.

But not to protect the queen from the king.

However, it was not the oath made to the Seven on the day he received the white cloak that kept him from giving Robert what he deserved for daring to hurt his Cersei.

It was the oath made to his twin sister.

She had made him promise not to try anything against Robert.

Cersei.

Which he wouldn't do for her.

He loved her with all his being, from their first breath, before their first breath, more than words could ever describe.

In a way, it warmed his heart to know that if she had asked him to do nothing, it was because she didn't want him to suffer the consequences. Because she loved him too much for that. That's what she had told him, and even without her saying it, Jaime knew it.

Because she loved him, she let herself be abused.

But if Jaime couldn't protect Cersei from the boar, he had to be there for her afterwards. He always would be.

Just like he was going to be now.

He had told Ser Barristan that he would replace him for the night, and the knight agreed without question.

After the other man left, Jaime opened the door gently, so as not to wake Cersei if, by some miracle, she had managed to fall asleep after what she had just gone through.

She wasn't asleep.

She was sitting on the edge of the bed, with her back to him.

He approached her and, sitting beside her, took her in his arms.

When she leaned against him, her face buried in his chest, she finally let out a sob, letting all the tears she had held back flow freely.

Jaime said nothing. He just hugged her tightly, swinging with her gently, rubbing slow circles on her back with his hand, hoping to soothe her a little, and kissed her on the top of her head, stroking her hair.

When she had calmed down, she gently pulled herself away from the embrace.

With his thumbs, he wiped away the tears from his sister's beautiful pale face. Still without a word, he moved back a little and then made her stand up.

Seeing that the bathtub was still full of warm water, he gently undressed her, taking the opportunity to note every mark he could see. To one day put Robert through as much as he had put the love of his life through.

He kissed her on the purple bruises and then, taking her by the hand, helped her into the bathtub.

Once in the water, she sighed deeply.

Jaime grabbed some soap and began to gently rub the sticky liquid mixture on her thighs.

Seeing that she was gradually relaxing, he continued to rub her whole body, kissing her from time to time on her temple, cheek, shoulder or neck.

When the water became cold, he helped her out. Neither of them had spoken. They didn't need to.

He dried her, and then led her to his bed, where he lay down beside her.

She came and huddled close to him, and he hugged her, bringing her even closer, hoping to make her feel loved and protected, always rubbing her back, watching her eyelids get heavier, dragging her little by little to a place where Robert never touched her, where she married Jaime, where they were happy.

Together.

Jaime kissed her on the forehead, and swore for the umpteenth time that if he couldn't protect her, he should at least be there for her. Always.

After a while, Cersei moved in her sleep, and Jaime was afraid it was because of a nightmare, but she moved even closer to him, resting her head on his chest.

He smiled tenderly, and even though he wasn't sure she could hear him, he said the magic words to her again.

I love you.

If he could not be her husband and king, so be it.

But he could be her knight, her lover, her protector.

And he would be. Always.

Thank you for reading!
Please take the time to leave a little comment, it's always a pleasure ^^
Don't be too hard on English, it is not my mother tongue.