Author's Note: Sorry for the long absence. It has become increasingly difficult lately to keep up with all my writing projects, and this story suffered as a result. However, I had a creative kick with this one lately and had to set all my other projects aside to advance this one forward. I know I've said before that I appreciate all the follows, favorites, and reviews, but those really are the incentives that help me continue Jaime and Amarah's story even when it gets difficult. Read on!
Eyeing more empty bottles of wine than he would care to count, Jaime shook his head in a gesture that was as fond as it was disapproving. "You would drink the whole kingdom dry if you were capable of it."
Tyrion shifted his slightly bleary gaze in his brother's direction with an equally fond smirk on his lips. "It does escape my comprehension how you don't share my fondness for nature's sweetest substance."
The tension between the brothers had disappeared somewhere between the third and fourth bottle, but rather than consciously acknowledge the fact that both had fallen into their old habits of conversation, Jaime chose to simply appreciate the familiarity. No doubt Tyrion's thinly veiled disdain for his brother would return in the morning along with his wits.
"I like it as much as the next man," Jaime explained, lifting his goblet to drain the last of its contents. "I just take care not to enjoy it at the expense of my mind."
Tyrion let his head slip from the hands holding it up to land on the table with a dull thump and issued a muffled reply. "I've never seen the need for that."
"Clearly," Jaime muttered under his breath.
Tyrion lifted his head to pin his superior sibling with a look of censure. "Thank you for the sound of your disdain. It has been duly noted."
His head dipped back toward the table before shooting up again as if another cutting remark has suddenly occurred to him. "Do you know who you remind me of, glaring at me in the candlelight like a disapproving septa?"
"A disapproving septa?"
Tyrion chose to ignore his brother's sarcasm and continue with his thought. "Amarah would give me that same look often enough when she thought me to be overindulging. She would never speak her disapproval out loud, but it was always there in her eyes."
"At least she cared enough about you to disapprove," Jaime answered softly. A wistful glint had entered his eye at the mention of his princess that Tyrion didn't fail to notice.
He had resumed his early posture, head reclining lazily at the back of his chair rather than slumped on the table. "We've talked of dragons, white walkers, kings, queens, and all other manner of things. Perhaps it's time we talked of something else. How is she?"
"Well enough when I left her," Jaime answered honestly.
By this point, he had risen from his chair and moved to the flap of the tent, looking out over the vast frozen landscape. He would rather face the threat of the white walkers than his brother's perceptive gaze.
The sound of chair legs scraping across the frozen earth met Jaime's ears, but he kept his gaze where it was. He heard Tyrion move beside him moments later, sharing in the same eerily silent view.
"She's a difficult one to forget isn't she," his little brother spoke in a tone laced with fondness.
Jaime didn't reply at first, imagining the face of the woman they both discussed. "Yes," he finally answered, "she is."
"Perhaps you should marry her then."
Jaime finally chanced a look at his brother's face. It didn't bear the faintest trace of his inebriated state. Instead, he was met with the clear-eyed intensity of the wickedly sharp mind he had been acquainted with for so many years.
Letting his guard drop just the slightest, Jaime reached out to give a faint squeeze to his shoulder. "I've missed you, little brother."
If he was surprised by the change in topic, Tyrion didn't show it. "As well you should have."
Jaime couldn't help the smile that tugged at his mouth in response to an answer so typical of his brother. Leaving his station by the entrance of the tent, he resumed his seat before broaching another topic that both brothers would most likely prefer left unexplored.
"Speaking of family, what do you intend to do with us should your ludicrous plan to defend the kingdom by dragon fire prevail?"
"Well, I doubt you could succeed in wedding Amarah if I let my queen shorten you by a head," Tyrion answered, though his smile sobered at the thought of their sibling who wasn't present. "As for Cersei, she will meet the consequence she deserves."
Jaime waited for a feeling of pain at Tyrion's words but was only met with a faint flicker of regret. "So be it."
"Interesting," Tyrion spoke the single word aloud before commencing to drink another bottle of wine. "I never thought I'd see the day when your face didn't cloud with emotion at the mention of her name."
"It would seem that while you were off in foreign lands gaining power, I was gaining wisdom instead."
Tyrion raised his glass in salute to his brother's good judgment. "So it would seem." Draining the goblet in almost one gulp, Tyrion slammed it down before wincing slightly at the sound. "Speaking of wisdom, I think it would be best if I returned to Winterfell with you after this business with white walkers is done."
Jaime was tempted to remark on his brother's naïve assumption that their business with the walkers would be "dealt with" so easily but chose to ignore it. "Thinking of resuming marital relations are you?"
"The opposite," Tyrion should his head in denial. "What business do I have being married to a beautiful, young woman like Sansa Stark? She deserves better than me."
Though it was on the tip of Jaime's tongue to reveal what Sansa Stark seemed prefer to his brother, he quelled the impulse. It wasn't his business to interfere, and he didn't wish to. "Well, once this business is 'dealt with' as you say, send her a raven from the Wall to inform her of your arrival. I'm certain she would appreciate the warning."
"Once again," Tyrion replied with the sardonic raise of his glass, "your disdain is duly noted."
I know it was pretty short, but we'll be checking in with Winterfell in the next chapter. I just wanted a nice scene between the brothers before they have to go risk their lives to save the kingdoms. Also, I have been tempted to include the storyline with Jon, but I think that would just take away too much from the main story and characters, so that particular mystery will have to remain in the show/books instead of here. Anyway, next chapter will be a bit of a time jump because we have to get towards the end here! Thanks for reading and stay tuned!