I didn't really know when to publish this chapter, I wanted to initially wait for this to get more attention before publishing...and i'm very happy with the responses i'm getting. It feels a little too good to be true.

I've gone back and made slight changes to the chapters "Letters" and "Return" about the Hand of the King as I found a more plausible option and decided to go that route, it's not really such a big difference but after thinking about it I couldn't really sit with myself and leave things the way they were. Hope this doesn't disappoint x

Jaime

He had not touched her the entire journey until their last night. Even then, to Jaime it did not really constitute as touching, but a part of him missed having her in his arms. He was angry that she was sad, but he also had wanted to give her her space to grieve. He couldn't be so compassionate as to start hating himself for taking her away -he was not sorry. He was not sorry that she was his wife and that she, for some reason, made him happy and she was his for all to see. But he did feel his heart clench when he had heard her choked sobs two nights in a row when she thought he was asleep. Hearing her weep in the dark when she thought she was alone was not what Jaime had envisioned his first nights as newlyweds would bring. At least I am not the reason. He said, remembering several ladies at court who had turned to desperate measures just from sheer misery and hopelessness within the first week of their marriage. Eventually she would accept her departure, and Jaime hoped it would come as soon as she saw Casterly Rock.

He tried entertaining her as best he can, tried not to make her feel so alone, but with the journey being so demanding he assumed even the damned kitten was better company to Lorraine than he was -and he silently commended himself for how handy that particular gift had been to her.

He would not make love to her, regardless of how much he wanted to, when he knew she did not want to be comforted in that way. Or at all, it initially seemed. He could not even feel her warmth on the bed those first two nights from the distance between them. It was bad of him, he knew, to pretend to be asleep while she wept but he felt as if somehow she truly bared herself and he wanted some sort of insight. He silenced his growing guilt by reassuring himself that listening to her cry was probably the only way he could hear her voice -besides making love to her. So instead, on their last night in the pitched tent, he held her before she could start crying. She kissed his hand and he tightened his hold on her and somehow they both fell asleep in mutual peace.

He had asked her if she wished to ride with him and to his surprise she had expressed to him that not only did she not enjoy riding but that she had very little experience in it. Something about Lorraine struck him as free, what could be freer than riding a horse in the open air?

He rode behind her carriage now, the sun quickly setting and dusk fast approaching. Something in him drove him to keep an eye on her, he did not want to be the one being watched now. They were very close now, and Casterly Rock had long been in sight, he wondered when Lorraine would figure that out and what exactly her reaction would be.

Just as that thought crossed his mind he spied a dark head pop out of the window of the carriage. His lips perked up slightly as he watched the back of Lorraine's head look up slowly at the greatness of the fortress across the way. His gaze stared down the back of her head, the first time I spied the back of your dark head I was a stranger in Ashemark, he remembered, and now I am your husband. I've kissed your dark head, thought of laurels of flowers upon your dark head, woken up next to your dark head... and now we are at the home I wish to make yours. Who knew?

Casterly Rock seemed to hover over them, its large cliffs blocking their view of the surrounding Sunset Sea. The castle was forged from a great rock, three times the height of The Wall itself extending from the base of the sea. Its caves and caverns extended into the underground of the castle and the Rock even had its own docks and port. He almost smiled to himself thinking of the hidden alcoves by the sea and how him and Tyrion had explored them in their youth before he had left for King's Landing. Before our youth had died along with everything.

Jaime sped his steed up carefully to approach the carriage before him,

"Is it to your liking, Lady Lannister?" He bore his wolfish grin to her as she looked on in amazement, barely giving his comment any acknowledgment. Even for a mute she seemed stunned and speechless. He watched as her eyes scoured the perimeter, trying to determine where Casterly began and where it ended. Unfortunately, there were far too close for her to be able to do that as Casterly Rock stretched about two leagues long.

He looked at her while she continued looking at Casterly Rock and a sudden idea happened upon him. His smirk grew, the new Lady Lannister should have a fitting entrance.

"Stop the horses!" He yelled and all heads including Lorraine's whipped back to him. They were so close, why would they stop now?

He unlatched the door to Lorraine's carriage and she moved back avoiding a fall to the ground, and proceeded to eye him with caution as he extended his gloved hand towards her.

She cocked her head to the side as if saying, "What is this?" her expression still utterly flabbergasted.

"The new Lady of Casterly Rock should ride in with her Lord husband." and he tried not to look as pleased as he actually was of her shock. She shook her head immediately at him and he narrowed his eyes at her, hoping to look slightly menacing.

"That was not a request, wife." Realisation dawned on her then and a small frown came across her across her face as she eyed him with short-lived disdain. True, he was using his position as her husband against her clear wishes not to ride -but Jaime could not have his little wife be so spoilt so soon, could he?

She turned around then, and Jaime was already half ready to jump into the carriage himself and throw her onto his horse himself but calmed his growing imagination when she returned to face him with Amber in the crook of her elbow nuzzling herself right below her chest. Lorraine looked at him defyingly and finally accepted his hand with her begrudging triumph, I would let myself chuckle if I did not think it would cause you some kind of twisted satisfaction.

Taking her by surprise fully he leaned in closer and grabbed her firmly by the hips, giving her no room to argue, and swiftly plopped her onto the space behind him so she was riding in an awkward side-saddle. Rolling her eyes at him as if somehow he did not know what he was doing she leant back slightly and lifted her right leg so now she was astride the horse correctly and a small jolt from the horse caused her to grab the front of Jaime's doublet in fear. Hs insides burned with haughty righteousness and he realised he enjoyed the closeness. Turning his head slightly so she could gain a peak at his triumphant smirk,

"Hold on."

And with a burst of force he ordered his horse forward and the men followed immediately. They sped through the remaining ground keeping them from the grand fortress and Lorraine's grip on Jaime only tightened as she brought herself closer and dug her face into his shoulder. He had a feeling that her dislike for riding may have stemmed from a fear of horse riding, and if that was the case then he knew he would be very very sorry for it, later.

Immediately recognising the banners and already in anticipation of his arrival the gates opened quickly before he had reached them so that he continued to ride in with some speed, only slowing as he reached steps to the Lion's Mouth.

He had seen his father return to this very home in the same fashion, riding tall and proud and the staff would all but bow to him. And now here he was returning the same way, taking the place his father had always wanted for him to have with a nice Western wife. And a kitten.

He did not care that his staff would see him riding in with his new wife and ball of fur, or perhaps he did. Perhaps he wanted Lorraine to make an impression, perhaps he wanted them to have an opinion of her.

Riding up the steps now Jaime thought Casterly Rock looked far larger than he remembered it. Untouched from the War, it still looked quite dead, that did not change in his memory. After his mother had died the castle itself seemed to dull down and most servants attributed it to the lack of a woman's touch. Jaime just thought it was his father's not-so-sunny disposition.

Finally stopping at the covered court Jaime wasted no time in dismounting as he was approached by a short, strangely haired blond man whom he recognised as Damion Lannister, the castle's castellan.

"My Lord, I humbly welcome you to-"

"That won't be necessary." Jaime interrupted as he reached to shake the short man's hand,

"Such formalities. This is my home."

"Of course, my Lord." Damion nodded to him thinly and resumed his view to the woman still sat upon the horse.

"This must be our new Lady of the Rock" He commented as Jaime moved to unmount Lorraine, looking slightly disheveled, from the horse.

"A pleasure to meet you, my Lady." Damion took her hand and bowed slightly with it, clearly taking Jaime's wife by surprise. Her eyes widened in curiosity and she looked to Jaime then in slight panic.

"This Damion Lannister, my Lady. He is a distant relation of mine and is the Castellan of Casterly Rock. Anything you need to know or need done, he will be at your service."

"Gladly, my lady."

Contrary to the confused expression Lorraine had just displayed, the same one Jaime thought she would keep on, Lorraine smiled warmly at Damion and nodded to him and, with his hand still clasping her, she moved her other hand over his and tapped her finger twice on his knuckle.

Now it was Damion who wore an expression of befuddlement and looked naturally to his new Lord for an explanation. Jaime smirked slightly at how Lorraine had managed to turn the tables on him so quickly. It seems i've underestimated you.

"It's your Lady's way of saying thank you." Relief washed over Damion's face and he let out a clumsy laugh at that. Jaime could not help but think he wanted him to shut up.

"Well, do let me show you to your chambers!" He said in a joyful disposition before Jaime could grab the velvet of his sleeve and pull him back from his tracks.

"Like I said, that won't be necessary. I know my way around my own home." He wrapped his free arm around Lorraine protectively, he did not know exactly why.

"Of course, my Lord." Damion replied shakily, "Is there anything else I can do for you my Lord? My Lady?"

"Just let the servants know to bring dinner to our rooms this evening." He felt a gentle pull at his own sleeve then and looked down to find Lorraine holding Amber with some emphasis and her eyes enlarged in the way they usually were when she needed him to understand some sort of subliminal message.

"Ah, and a cot for the cat."

With one last impossibly arse-kissing nod Damion left their presence and Jaime, with his hand still wrapped around Lorraine, made his way into the castle.

Lorraine's head spun in every direction there was whilst Jaime led her through the the castle to their wing. He could not blame her, for compared to the quiet quaintness of Ashemark Casterly Rock did not leave anything out from its grandeur. The drapes were woven with silken gold, the armored statues in the hallways daunted whoever walked past them as their armor was welded a hundred years ago and their height matched the Mountain's and each door or stairway they passed by seemed more elaborate and ornate than the previous one.

Once he had finally opened the door to their rooms, which he hoped were the right ones, he had to hold back his chuckle as Lorraine stood dumbfounded at the threshold taking in the decor of the room.

It opened to a large lounging area, full with a fire place and a small dining table as well as love-seats in the middle of the space. Each end of the room held a door that would lead to two separate bedrooms and one door in the middle of them for the bath.

It just occurred to him that he had not yet thought about their living situation. He had gotten used to sleeping next to her and forgotten that their chambers came with separate rooms, would she not want to share her bed with me every night? For a moment he thought that perhaps he shouldn't mention the other room and just let her think that by default they would share a room but it did not yet feel right; he wanted her to choose. But how could he ever broach the subject?

Deciding to let it come up organically he led her to one of the bedrooms and she looked around excitedly, racing to the windowsill to marvel at the view of the Sunset Sea glimmering under the slow setting sun. Turning sharply back at him, her arms wrapped around her loosely and her smile still alive and engaged, she gestured,

"This is our room?" He was going to chuckle out a "yes" but hesitated at that moment.

"It could be." Her eye brows furrowed in confusion at him, she wanted to know what that vague comment had meant.

"There is another bedroom in our suites. If you prefer it, I can make that my room." He said hoping she would understand the implications of his statement. Still with a suspicious glint in her eyes and her head cocked to the side slightly she responded,

"Why?"

"I don't know. Perhaps you would be more comfortable that way. I don't know."

"What do you want?" She stepped closer to him,

"Don't think about what I want, Lorraine, I just want you to be co-"

"What do you want?" She interrupted and she stood even closer to him, her hands now running up to his collar and her eyes busy piercing his. He was somehow glad she was unafraid to interrupt him. He could only smile in a small surrender, for being honest with his wants has not been a very approachable subject.

He snaked his arms around her hips and pulled her slowly closer to him and she took initiative by wrapping her own arms around his shoulders. Grinning lazily, he relented,

"I would like to sleep next to you. I would like to wake up next to you. I want my room to be your room, especially since my home is your home."

She kissed him then, a kiss full of gratitude and gentleness it almost made Jaime want to be honest with her more often. Amber purred curiously loudly from some corner of the room and Jaime swallowed Lorraine's giggle with his lips, using the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth -something he had surprisingly not done since their wedding night.

Standing there in his bedroom, their bedroom, with the sound of soft waves crashing and her, their kitten purring in complaint to her open kisses and attention, Jaime was under the impression that Lorraine was not incredibly averse to his suggestion of sharing a bedroom.

Lorraine

"I'm sure you've heard of the caverns and tunnels, you'd like it very much. I'll have to show you around it all later, i'm sure you'd like to rest a moment."

"Won't you be resting, as well?" Didn't he just say we would be sharing chambers?

"I have a small matter to attend to, I'm afraid there won't be much time to rest once i've dealt with it. I'll wake you for some dinner later." He barely gave me any time to respond before he made his exit.

I had half a mind to follow him out, to tie a string around his left boot and tether him to this room. It was so large, everything was so large and it only made it seem more lonely. We hadn't even been here for an hour and he was leaving me alone.

But I was being unfair. He has been away from Casterly Rock for far too long, Gods know what mayhem must have gone on without a proper Lord to the castle.

I suddenly remembered then the curious case of the Tullys, the castle hostages. I suppose they are my hostages now too as well, how strange is that? It made me feel a little sick, knowing that somewhere there is a family with an invisible chain around its neck. Despite all this and how it made me feel, I knew it was necessary -at least until they can be moved to King's Landing. At least then I won't have to live with the knowledge that I could prance around in Jaime's home whilst someone sat in a far off end of the castle resenting my husband from taking him away from his. I did not really ask Jaime about the Tullys, and only even spoke about them when he brought them up in the political context. Is Edmure Tully a nice man? Is Roslin Tully nice? Surely their newborn child has no fault to him just yet. But I know all too well that even the innocent can be punished for someone else's misdeeds.

The sun seemed to be setting fast, but I could not yet find it in me to sleep. The new surroundings have jolted me with a waking force and the smell of the sea was far too unfamiliar. Stealing one last glance at Amber, who had found no issue in finding entertainment with a fringed pillow, I left the bedroom in order to further inspect the amenities of my, our suites.

The lounging space was the size of the observatory where Elaine liked to pain, I wonder what Casterly Rock's observatory must look like. And the library! My mind spun at the endless possibilities and rooms I would like to see, but even I had to admit I was too tired to walk around the immeasurable space just yet. I would take it in in parts, and hopefully someday I would be able to be familiar with it all.

I opened the door that stood in between the two bedroom doors and found the bath that Jaime said I would find. When Jaime had mentioned a bath, I had assumed it was a tub of brass -perhaps bronze, maybe even gold! Surrounded by an assortment of oils and soaps. I was only right about the oils and soaps -even then it was still far more than I had imagined. But the bath was different than any I had ever seen, it was dug into the ground and ornate with deep blue and green mosaic. It seems the servants were anything but unprepared as I noted the steam dancing off the water, the closed door must have sealed in the heat -and I noted then that there were no windows.

Why let this warm water go to waste? A large factor in my decision-making at that moment was the case of my aching feet, my sore legs from the ride and my hips that creaked from all the sitting down. Besides, it would not be terribly harmful to greet my husband when he returned all clean and smelling of, I leaned down to look at one of the dark brown bottles, honeysuckle, would it?

I checked that the door was firmly closed and brought the latch down to it -I did not want to risk one of the servants walking in and having their first impression of me be a naked one. As I undid my ribbons absently I stared into the water, and thought of how I had never in my wildest imagination thought I would find myself hear, casually disrobing in the Lord's chambers at Casterly Rock. Once I was fully bare, which was still a strange sensation to me since I had married, I leaned down to pour a good portion of the light brown liquid into the warm bath water.

The heat pooled around my skin as I set one foot in, and for a moment I felt content at just dipping my feet in the water while I sat there in the manufactured warmth of the room. Soon after, I was surrounded by warm wetness up until my neck and moved my sore muscles to remove the pins from my hair. I stood there, in the midst of the bath and without another thought bent my knees so that I could fully submerge myself in the water. Once I had resurfaced it felt like all the filth that accumulated over the journey had been washed away from me. All the dirt, the crying, the guilt and the fear, gone from me and I was a clean slate.

Do you know how hard it is to stay clean on a journey? To take care of your personal hygiene? I had insisted fervently to Jaime that I would not need a handmaiden at Casterly Rock, but the tribulations -as well as the sheer loneliness of the journey got me to have second thoughts, perhaps I would hire a handmaiden only to assist me on journeys, because frankly it was an ordeal I did not want to repeat. You can't stop when they're riding to relieve yourself -oh the impropriety! You barely have any privacy to use the chamber pot in your own tent, and even less privacy when you want to wash up by a surrounding body of water. Yes, this simple bath, was bliss to me. I could imagine this being my favourite place in this giant fortress. At least for now it was.

I don't know just how long I had spent in the bath, I had cleaned all I need to get cleaned within the first few minutes of dipping into it. But suddenly I felt hazy, like somehow the heat was getting to me now that I was trapped in this small room with it. Eventually, finally, I stepped out and wrapped a robe around me, taking another smaller cloth in hand to rub at my hair. Pleased that I was sufficiently dried I picked up my displaced gown and left the heat of the room and was grateful not to be greeted with a bite of cold air.

By the time I had changed into a new gown, a loose one of cream and red, my husband had finally returned, shortly followed by a shy maid to place our dinner on the table as Lewys lit the candles around the room and asked Jaime if he would like a fire. Taking some initiative I made to stand in front of the red haired squire and shook my head at him definitively, but still smiling. His cheeks reddened immediately and he smiled at me in the shyest possible way as it was probably the first time I had ever addressed him. Without looking, I knew somewhere in the room Jaime was smirking.

Wild boar. I could smell it. I had never been too fond of hard red meats, but I was unmistakably hungry, and so I could barely even wait for Lewys and the maid to finally leave me and Jaime alone so that I could advance on our dinner.

Even though my mouth was full half the time, I was glad that me and Jaime's dinner did not pass in quietness. I had a feeling Casterly Rock would be very quiet, and I did not want our chambers to be one of the places where it was so.

He spoke of the docks and how the ships were in a horrible state, how tomorrow he would show me the library and take me on a walk in the gardens if we were not too busy, how on his way to the port he had found a group of cats I was perhaps interested in capturing. I laughed, even snorted my wine once, and he gave in and laughed with me.

That night we slept closely together, much like on our wedding night. I could tell he was too tired to try and engage me in anything physical, I couldn't help but feel some sort of disappointment. It was true that I was in a new place and I was not exactly eager, but I was insecure enough to feel offended that he did not try. Would he wait for me? I think to myself, is he waiting for me to seduce him? If that was the case I hoped he was ready to be disappointed, I have yet to know anything that pertains to such a thing. And even if I did, I would not dare put on a show without being completely sure of my abilities -which I can assure anyone, I am not. He leaned in to me, his firm -might I add naked, body pressed against the back of me, and I wondered if he could smell the honeysuckle. And strangely, I seemed to care a great deal about whether he liked it.

I must have been far more weary than I had thought because when I finally woke my husband was no longer in bed with me and it seemed to be well into the afternoon. Embarrassingly, I thought of what the staff were thinking of me right this moment, lounging around, or even worse, limiting myself to my chambers -too afraid to go anywhere without my husband to take me there.

Deciding to take matters into my own hands, I stood up and dressed quickly, not even bothering with my hair and deciding to leave it loose. It seems that the surge of energy out of my self-directed outrage could only take me so far after I had left the rooms, and I found myself lost. Sticking to my stubborn nature, I just kept taking a left turn -refusing to look lost or ask for directions, until I finally came to an open arch on the ground floor and found myself out in the gardens.

I had to admit, it was far grander than it was back home. But upon closer inspection it became evident to me that no one had taken proper care of the plants and flowers and they had begun to shrivel under the unrelenting sun and carelessness. Then and there, I took it upon myself to make that my first duty as Lady of Casterly Rock: To restore the gardens. It was simple, but I need something to fill my time. I could not just sit around and read and do embroidery all day -I needed to move. I doubt I would want to ride or learn something like archery, but gardening was something I knew I could do. And perhaps the fearful part of me wanted the first thing I did to be something I knew I could accomplish with ease. I walked around the large grounds further, examining all the fauna and making mental notes of how to treat them. In the midst of my walk and muddled in my thoughts I stopped in my tracks at a far off noise I could not make out until I had given it my undivided attention.

A sound so...unfamiliar I can scarcely remember when was the last time I had even heard it. But now that I was standing, dead silent, unmoving in fear of losing the very wind that carried the sound to me, I knew unmistakably what it was: A babe's cry.

Next chapter will be quite...jam-packed. A lot of stuff is going to go down, and I hope it takes life. Won't be publishing for another week. Wait and see.

In the mean time whilst I am working on the coming chapters i'm gonna be thoroughly planning how the story's gonna go and the content for every chapter since I only have a detailed description up to chapter 26. I know where I want to take it and what I want to happen, but I still have not figured out how exactly I want to end it or when i'll stop. Any suggestions? Please review.