Ah, we're finally here! I'd just like to talk about my inspiration for this chapter and how I envisioned writing it far before I began writing the fan fiction. I have no idea why but every time I listened to Frank Ocean's "American Wedding" I thought of this so I kept it on repeat. Enjoy.

Jaime

How ludicrous, he thought as he heard the sudden pitter-patter of rain come down around the Sept. It had been dry for weeks, but as soon as he looked out of the window after waking that morning he knew the weather would not be kind to them today. On my wedding day of all days, perhaps the Gods are laughing.

He had not seen Lorraine at all since last night, as she explained it was bad luck for him to see her the day of their wedding. He then asked her if it was bad luck for him to kiss her the night of their wedding. And judging by her slow and attentive return of his feverish kiss, he thought not. He wondered, then, would his bride think this coming storm was a good omen? He almost scoffed; he admired a great deal about Lorraine but her strange superstitions were not included on that list.

The thunder roared then and he quickly scanned those gathered for a reaction. Elaine stood adjacent to him with her arms folded and seemed to be the only one in the sept wearing her anticipation so obviously. Addam was standing by his side, impatient as always to the point where Jaime doubted he had even noticed the rain. There were a great deal many staff members gathered at the back of the sept as well, which Jaime found curious since he had not remembered seeing all that many during the two other weddings that had occurred in this same sept. The old septon looked bored, he could not blame him -weddings were hardly exciting nowadays.

As he glanced once more at Addam he finally registered his tired expression and thought it quite strange he would look that way during his own sister's wedding. But then he remembered what Lord Marbrand had told him a week ago and Jaime had to stop himself from falling prey to Addam's gloominess.

It turns out that the Lord Marbrand is not as well as he has lead on, and his health is failing him -albeit slowly. Initially, Jaime did not understand why he was being told this or why it was so important he knew, but then Lord Marbrand had gone on to explain that he needed Lorraine to be taken care of and that as his liege lord he entrusted Jaime with the smooth handing of Ashemark down to Addam when it was time and plead him to take care of Duncan as well as he could as well.

"I fear King's Landing may become too unstable for his safety. If it does, and I feel terribly indebted to you to ask, it is my wish for you to take care of him and find him somewhere else to squire or be stationed -even if he were to come to you. If not for this old man's sake then for Lorraine's."

He remembered him saying as Jaime's legs stood glued to the floor of his study. He never knew or thought Lord Marbrand would be one to plead, he had always stood tall and proud; especially judging from the way Addam had turned out. But it stunned Jaime how far the man would go to ensure his piece of mind that his children would be taken care of. Jaime could not yet respect that, as he did not fully understand it -but he could understand doing monstrous things for the one you loved. And he supposed pleading your liege lord was not quite as monstrous as some of the things he himself had done.

He tried as best he could to find it him to remain respectful of the man and his choices, but could not help but feel resentment at the fact that he was being forced to keep something from Lorraine. Especially something that he knew would hurt her and cause her grief. Would you have me start my marriage by keeping a secret, my Lord? But then he was quick to remind himself that there was no shortage of secrets he was still more than willingly keeping from Lorraine and had firmly planned on never telling her.

Finally, the staff parted at the doorway and Jaime gulped down at the sight that he had been patiently awaiting to see.

She was beautiful, and he was more sure of it than anything else. Her gown glowed against her skin and the bright orange cloak around her clung about her sides -making her look like she was somehow on fire. The lace on her gown rose up from her long sleeves to her corset, and Jaime registered the thin sheen of lace attached to the middle of her head and flowed over her hair like a thin mist. Her hair was set loose -he imagined Lorraine fighting her handmaidens on that particular point, and it seemed far darker than he could remember it being as it dangled over her white dress. She looked shy, painfully aware that she was being watched by everyone -people she had known her entire life were about to watch her give herself away to him.

The walk down the altar seemed to take far longer than Jaime had expected it to, and in the displaced time his thoughts whirled through everything from the loss of his hand to the words his brother had spat at him before leaving him forever. Somehow, strangely he thought of the Wench, he thought of Brienne. He wondered where in the Seven Kingdoms she must be at this point, and imagined she would have a silly smile on her face at the scene unfolding.

Lorraine had finally reached him and was but a foot away - and Jaime Lannister was nervous.

The septon asked who would give her away and her father answered him with no hesitation. Just the same as he had done with Reina, he kissed Lorraine's forehead gently but lingered a little longer and placed her hand in Jaime's.

At the septon's demand Jaime removed Lorraine's cloak and replaced it with the cloak he had in his own hands as the rain's steady rhythm sped up and a silent bolt of lightning flashed though the stained windows. The deep scarlet draped down her back heavily and stood out against her dress. Finally turning to him, he held her hand in his and waited for the septon to say whatever he needed to say before asking him to recite the words. His eyes flickered to Elaine, who looked positively terrified. She only has a sentence to say, he complained to himself, it's not like it's for life.

The septon turned to Lorraine then and asked,

"Do you accept this man before you, Lady Lorraine Marbrand?" And she nodded in response, smiling for what seemed to be the first time to Jaime.

"Very well. In the sight of the Seven, I hereby seal these two souls, binding them as one, for eternity. Look upon one another now, and say the words."

Now was the time, this is what it all came down to -a few choice words and that would be it. It was a new life, and he kept telling himself that it would be leagues better than anything he had left behind in King's Landing. He was the same man with a new title, and a new wife. And he was glad for it, and glad for the time that he had given Lorraine and himself in order for this to have a chance of working. He could almost taste how close he was, he could almost taste how willing he would be to do anything for her.

He looked deep into Lorraine's eyes, and hers bore into him in return as he heard his voice speak the same words he had heard a thousand times -but now they had new meaning. In unison he heard Elaine's voice come from behind Lorraine saying the exact same thing he was, but that somehow did not exist.

"Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger, I am hers and she is mine from this day until the end of my days." She pursed her lips slightly as he said it, did she believe him yet?

Pushing all those thoughts aside, he leaned in to kiss Lorraine once he had noticed her moving forward. It was to be a chaste kiss, she deserved to be kissed that way at least once -to see if she liked it or not. But once his lips met the electricity in hers he could not move away. He did not deepen it, but he merely held her there by her cheek and kept his lips firmly against hers -hoping she would not forcefully break away, for this was a sensation even he had never known. He had not realised how badly he really wanted to not hide his want for someone any longer -for he believed he had suffered enough of that. Once more, he thought back to the circumstances that had led him exactly to where he now was.

If he had not lost his hand -if his hand had not been taken away from him, would he still find his way here kissing the sweetest lips in front of anyone that cared to look? In that moment of pure liberty Jaime thought he would give away another limb just to turn back time and do this sooner.

It was done now, in the eyes of the Gods and anyone that cared to look, Lorraine Lannister was his and he was hers. If only he had the good sense to cease kissing her right now he could imagine living in some semblance of happiness with her.

Lorraine

How fitting it is to have a storm befall us on my wedding day? We had planned to make great use of the outer dance hall -but I suppose we'll have to make do without it now. Elaine kept going on about how a storm or rain on one's wedding day was a good sign, but all it meant to me was that the Gods did not wish for me to revel in the Western breeze today. I do not believe that good fortune in one's marriage can be given by something as inconsequential as rain. Perhaps a good kiss is a better indicator of the way things will go.

I am not so naïve, I know things can change. But it seems like lately all I can think about is kissing, and kissing Jaime. I flourished whenever he held me close to him and I suppose out of all the things I could practice kissing is what I currently enjoyed practicing the most. Granted, I did not usually award him with too many over the last fortnight, it had only been a handful of times. But I made sure that both he and I found something new in each other every time our lips met. I enjoyed exploring where my hands would go, it was not even a fully concious feeling. Sometimes I would thread my fingers through his hair, and other times I would let my hands rest on his shoulders. He always bent down slightly to meet me, and I noticed that he executed much caution in not pressing himself too close to me -or for too long. I wonder why? It was not like we needed to be especially careful.

Even with my growing appreciation towards Jaime and I's slow physical pursuits I could still not fully tell how I felt walking down to meet my groom. My head was empty, and I simply could not think of anything past breathing. When I finally reached him and the ceremony proceeded I found myself forgetting my self; the only thing I could think of was how Jaime was feeling. He looked focused, like this was a task that needed to be fulfilled, and I suppose it was. But when he kissed me I felt like he was trying to tell me something, like he was trying to show me something. He held me to his face far longer than I had expected our wedding kiss to be, and in my head everything and everyone around us was muted. There was only him in that moment, I was not even sure if even I existed. No, there was only him and he looked to me so handsome that to me it was a wonder that no one had fought a war for him. Wasn't it a funny thing? How one's physical comeliness only grows further along with one's dearness to a person. I would have readily admitted to anyone that Jaime Lannister was a handsome man when I first met him; I'm a mute not a blind woman. But he looks to me now like some sort of God, like there is something that radiates within him -and I can not stop the pull that draws me to him.

We sat on the raised dais now, this time in the middle of it. We had already graced it twice before as guests and now lo and behold -we were the main event. I strangely noted that as of yet, excluding the vows at the Sept, Jaime had yet to speak to me. Look at me, a mute girl complaining about the silence -how grand.

As if reading my thoughts he turned his eyes away from the crowd and looked at me,

"Would you like some wine, wife?" His grin was a wide and wolfish and I decided to let him have this moment by acting as the sheep. I nodded and he went ahead and poured the wine to the brim of my goblet, I have a feeling this will not be the last of the wine I have this evening.

As I sipped my wine carefully I eyed the remnants of the burning tree as the flames slowly burned on -albeit far more gently than they initially did. It was by now unremarkable, the lighting of the tree, it must have lost its appeal. Would that be me? Or would Jaime be that to me? Would this be the best we have, is this our peak? I refuse to believe so.

I could feel Jaime keeping his eye on me, though it was not done with much hazy affection but instead curiosity. It was then that I finally realised that my thus far consistently bank expression must have made me look detached. I looked back at him and gave him a quick smile and swiftly placed my hand in his in reassurance. My hand had found a comfortable home in his, and I hoped that would mean I would find a comfortable home in Casterly Rock.

His thumbs softly grazed over my fingers in a gesture to calm me, but the idea had found its way to mind and I indulged myself a moment away from the all the merriment to consider what had just happened. I had married, and only the Gods knew what would await me now. If it was a mistake, there was no one to blame but me. Yes, Jaime had asked, but I had accepted. I knew what this would be, what this would entail. I knew that at some point tonight I would lose my maidenhead and know a man in the most intimate way, and I still accepted. I could not ignore that I wanted this, and playing hard to get or playing at all would not serve me -even if Jaime did enjoy it from time to time.

And so I stood up suddenly, accidentally almost spilling Jaime's wine from his goblet as he had began sipping.

"Come dance with me."I motioned to him, and taking a rather large gulp Jaime finally set his goblet down and got up.

"As you wish, Lady Lannister." he whispered to me as I led him down.

I figured it would not bode well if the celebrating couple did not have at least one dance during their wedding celebrations, even if I did not particularly feel like it. If I was being honest my legs felt heavy and the long train of my dress did not help my movement. But still, I would have this dance with my golden husband, if not for anything else than for the sake of him knowing I was still there with him.

This song seemed quieter than all the rest, and I tightened my grip on Jaime's neck once we were in place. His hands, I noticed, did not hold me the same place I had now gotten used to them. Instead he grabbed my waist lazily, holding me to him closely and moved the hand he was holding to his other shoulder so now both his hands were on my back. We swayed closely to the music, and all thoughts on what was deemed proper left me. His hands moved around my back like they were searching for something that he knew he could never find, and his neck cradled my head almost like a mother did to her child. He did not say a word the entire time, and I could feel his heart, if he had one, and I could hear him breathe even with all the noise. For the first time since I had met him, Jaime Lannister seemed intoxicated.

Neither one of us seemed to care at all if we were being looked at. My face remained blank and my eyes were wide open, looking at nothing, but it felt like I was asleep. And when the song ended and Jaime placed his hands on my hips to move me away it jolted me back to reality, what a rude awakening indeed.

He took my hand once more and led me back to the dais, where we would sit for Gods know how long. I did not want to sit. Sitting was the last thing I wanted to do. But I did not yet want to go. Going upstairs would mean too much has changed. I was not scared, and I had to keep telling myself that. Then what was I feeling?

I realised, that all this time I had been worried what Jaime, my husband, was thinking that i've probably forgotten that he was probably doing the exact same thing. No doubt he was sizing me up, analyzing me, wondering what I was feeling.

We were like strangers now, sitting next to one another with nothing to say. After he dared freeing his hands from whatever spell they were bound to before this day while we were dancing we now sat in silence pretending to be distracted by the evening. I took this time to think long and hard, for I had been keeping the idea of the level of intimacy I would find myself in later on tonight at bay.

"If he's good to you he'll finish it quickly." I once heard a Septa say to Janyne before she had wed long ago. Have things changed now? I have always been fond of the more exact sciences and I have a feeling consummating a marriage is not one of them. What if I do something wrong? What if I don't do anything at all? Is it like kissing? Where do I put my hands?

I did not notice that I was breathing rapidly now and Jaime had in the mean time redirected his attention to me and looked at me in worry,

"Are you alright? Lorraine?" I forced a thin smile and pointed at the goblet in front of me.

"Too much wine." He nodded at that and I could tell he was not convinced. Have I become that transparent to him so soon?

Once his gaze returned to stare out at no one in particular in the crowd I reached over without even a wisp of caution to the accusing goblet and lapped it all up. I contorted my face in response to the bitterness but nevertheless reached for the chalice for a refill. My lack of stealth roused my husband's attention it seems and his head whipped back to me quickly, was he not getting dizzy from all this back and forth? He cocked his head slightly and raised an accusing eye brow,

"Have you not had enough wine, my lady?" My head shook defiantly, I would not let him scare me tonight. He seemed unconvinced still and leaned in to whisper,

"Lorraine, are you sure you're alright?" I kissed his cheek confidently in reassurance. I will be soon Jaime, I will be soon.

To be continued...