When Keaira next woke, her whole body ached. Her eyes opened, and darted around, taking in the small room she now occupied, which was covered in candles and torches. She rolled her head to the side, seeing a woman in a long red dress standing a few metres away from her. She had tanned skin and brown eyes, and seemed to be in her twenties. She was standing unnaturally still and looked at Keaira expectantly.
"Who are you?" Keaira asked, pushing herself up.
"I am a Red Priestess" The girl answered.
"What…where am I?" Keaira questioned.
"You are in Assahi" The woman replied.
"…No, that can't be. I was in King's Landing" Keaira stated.
"And now you are not. Your progress was too slow where you were" The woman exclaimed.
"You…you kidnapped me? What do you want from me?" Keaira inquired, as she pushed herself into a standing position.
"We merely wish to train you. No harm will come to you here" The woman went on.
"The blood on my neck says otherwise" Keaira explained, still feeling the sting from where the dart had hit her.
"You had to be removed as quickly as possible. The Lord of Light commands it" The woman informed her.
"What's your name?" Keaira questioned.
"Ciana" She replied.
"Look Ciana, whatever this is about, you've got the wrong girl" Keaira insisted.
"You have the power of fire. A gift bestowed to you by the Lord of Light. We are not mistaken" Ciana stated.
"You said you want to train me?" Keaira inquired.
"You have a great gift that is not being nurtured. We can help you reach your full potential" Ciana went on.
"You want me to be your soldier?" Keaira suggested.
"A soldier of the Lord of Light, yes. We have seen in the flames that you are very important" Ciana told her.
"Right…do the flames speak to you a lot?" Keaira asked, sarcastically.
"I can understand why you would not believe me. Come, I will show you" Ciana beckoned her over.
She stood her in front of a nearby fire, and placed a hand on her back, gently pushing her forward.
"Look deeply into the flames, and you will see the future of this world" Ciana explained.
After a few minutes, Keaira was beginning to lose patience, she couldn't see anything. Only the everchanging flames that danced near her face. However, as her eyes began to droop and she zoned out, she became fixated on looking out one flame. The flames seemed to diminish in the middle, as she saw a figure appear. He seemed to be a man made of ice, with piercing dead eyes. Keaira looked behind him, fear settling in her gut, as she saw behind him, there seemed to be people who were no longer living. The White Walkers, she realised. She looked in front of them, seeing a large ice wall, and realised where she was looking. She frowned as she saw a figure standing on top of the wall, her eyes widening when she realised it was herself, staring down at the creatures, determination in her eyes. She took a step back, her breath quickening, as she almost fell over.
"What…what was that?" Keaira cried.
"The night is dark and full of terrors. The light must distinguish it. Your light…if not, the darkness will never end" Ciana insisted.
Keaira's treatment, while she was held in Asshai, was more than adequate. She was treated like a God by many of the occupants and given better food and clothing than she had ever received in Winterfell. However, she was forced to train day and night, and not only with her fire. She was small and weak physically, but she was slowly taught to use what she had to her advantage. Still, she would certainly not beat many in hand to hand combat. She was punished when her progress was lacking and was rewarded when she could show improvement. Her rewards were usually being allowed to watch the flames. No matter how much she tried, she always needed a Red Priestess, usually Ciana, there to help her find what she was looking for in the flames. She longed to go home to Winterfell, or even King's Landing and watching the flames brought her as close as she knew she could get.
"What would you like to see today?" Ciana questioned her accent as thick as ever.
"Do they miss me? In King's Landing?" Keaira questioned, having already seen Winterfell on numerous occasions.
"Yes," Ciana nodded.
"Even Ned?" Keaira asked, in a small voice.
"Watch and see…" Ciana trailed off, ushering to the flames, as Keaira tried her best to concentrate.
Slowly the flames turned into figures, and those figures became men and horses. She was quickly able to spot Jaime charging ahead of the rest of his group and saw he was riding towards…Ned.
"Such a small pack of wolves" Jaime announced, as he jumped off his horse, effortlessly.
"Stay back, Ser! This is the Hand of the King!" Jory exclaimed.
"Was...the Hand of the King. Now I'm not sure what he is. Lord of somewhere very far away" Jaime explained, his guards surrounding Ned's men.
"What's the meaning of this, Lannister?" Littlefinger shouted, walking out of his brothel.
"Get back inside where it's safe. I'm looking for my brother. You remember my brother, don't you, Lord Stark? Blond hair, sharp tongue, short man. It seems he had some trouble on the road. You wouldn't know what happened to him, would you?" Jaime inquired, his hand touching the handle of his sword.
"He was taken at my command to answer for his crimes" Ned replied, as Keaira's eyes widened.
"Oh Ned…what have you done" Keaira frowned, her concentration slipping for a moment.
After a few seconds, she was able to see the figures again as she watched Jaime unsheathe his sword, anger in his eyes.
"I'll bring the City Watch!" Littlefinger announced, scurrying away.
"Come, Stark. I'd rather you die sword in hand" Jaime insisted, as Jory took a step forward.
"If you threaten My Lord again-" Jory warned but was cut off by Jaime.
"Threaten? As in, "I'm going to open your Lord from balls to brains and see what Starks are made of"?" Jaime suggested, holding up his sword.
"You kill me, your brother's a dead man" Ned pointed out.
"You're right. Take them alive…but don't be afraid to maim" Jaime smirked, as his men stepped forward.
Ned's men were easily outnumbered and subdued, many being struck in the leg, and falling to the ground. Jory was the man who was injured the most, being stabbed in the shoulder with a dagger by Jaime, causing Ned to shout out.
"Stop! This is madness" Ned insisted, as Jaime pushed Jory to his knees.
"I want my brother returned unharmed, Stark" Jaime retorted.
"I cannot promise that" Ned admitted, as truthful as ever.
"Then perhaps you can tell me something else…where is Keaira?" Jaime queried.
"I don't know" Ned stated, as Jaime grabbed a fistful of Jory's hair.
"Really? Because your daughter recalls you wanting her sent back to Winterfell…and then she suddenly disappears. What am I supposed to think of this?" Jaime pointed out.
"Why are you keeping up this charade that you genuinely care for her? We both know you care for no one outside your family" Ned dismissed.
"You seem to be ignoring my question, Stark" Jaime insisted, tugging Jory's hair for good measure.
"I do not know where she is. But I am thankful it's far away from you" Ned responded, as Jaime audibly gritted his teeth.
"Have it your way…kill his men" Jaime announced, as his guards quickly disarmed and cut through Ned's men.
Before Ned could even react, Jaime had pulled out the dagger from Jory's arm, and stabbed him through the eye, killing Jory instantly.
"Jory!" Ned yelled, raising his arm, about to attack.
However, one of Jaime's guards intercepted him, stabbing him through the leg with their spear.
Keaira watched as the figures dissipated suddenly back into flames, her breathing heavy, after seeing Jory brutally murdered.
"When did that happen?!" Keaira exclaimed, her gaze intense.
"Some days ago," Ciana replied.
"I can't believe he did that…just killed Jory so easily" Keaira frowned, feeling sick to her stomach.
"There is something else you should see…" Ciana trailed off, as she moved Keaira back in front of the flames.
She was able to slip into the trance far quicker this time and realised what she was seeing almost instantly. Winterfell. Her eyes widened when she spotted a familiar small boy climbing the towers and realised that the vision, she was seeing must have been from months ago. He was looking through one of the tower's windows and seemed distressed. She quickly knew why when she saw both Jaime and his sister on their knees. It was clear even to the ten-year-old boy what they were doing. Jaime was on his feet in an instant.
"Are you completely mad?" Jaime asked as he grabbed Bran by his shirt, pulling him back into the tower.
"He saw us…" Cersei trailed off.
"It's alright, it's alright," Jaime told Bran, who was clearly afraid of slipping from the opening.
"He saw us!" Cersei insisted.
"I heard you the first time" Jaime retorted, as he looked down at the long drop from the window.
"Quite the little climber, aren't you? How old are you boy?" Jaime questioned.
"Ten" Bran mumbled, gripping onto Jaime's arm, afraid.
"Ten" Jaime nodded, as he let go of Bran's shirt.
"Jaime!" Cersei cried, thinking he was letting him go.
"…The things I do for love" Jaime said, as he raised his arm behind him, and pushed Bran from the tower.
Keaira watched as Bran dropped to the ground with a sickening thud. Jaime hadn't even looked as he pushed him. Keaira shook her head as she pulled away from the flames, tears beginning to well in her eyes.
"He pushed him…all this time…it was him..." Keaira exclaimed.
"Yes," Ciana agreed.
"He comforted me about Bran, he…he was the one who found him! How could he do it?" Keaira shouted, visibly upset.
"He had everything to lose," Ciana told her.
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm loving Season 8 of the show, and can't wait to see more Jaime scenes coming up soon. Please leave a review:)
Matecito: Aw, thank you! I'm really glad you're liking it:)