Rosalie woke the next morning with a slightly heavy head, though she was more focussed on how her stomach rolled when she first stood, groaning quietly and Margaery who was sprawled across the bed to her left, moaned, rolling over and clutching her head.
"What in seven hells was in that flask?" Rosalie hissed out, scrunching her eyes as the sunlight glanced off of the sill into them and the cold of the ring on her finger startled her, she had forgotten Jaime's gift. It was a slim band, for a Lannister's ring, simple yet beautiful and for once, no roses in sight. She didn't hate roses, but her house's sigil got old pretty quickly, when you'd had 16 summers of it decorating everything you owned. Margaery just groaned instead of replying, flinging covers over her head and several handmaidens entered the room, giggling a little at the two girls who looked a tad worse for wear as they began to set up a bathtub for Rosalie, who sank into it when the water was still cold, submerging herself long enough to startle to handmaidens. They of course, would not have known that Rosalie spent much of her time away from Highgarden, instead choosing to spend her days down the Ocean Road and even down to Old Town, swimming with Loras in the deep bays and rivers. A thought occurred to her, something she needed to ask the handmaidens.
"Would I be allowed in the bathing pools?" She asked and though they all exchanged brief looks, the resounding answer seemed to be yes, so Rosalie tightened a robe around her waist and padded barefoot down to the pools. They were empty when she reached them, steam sifting out of the three bigger pools though the smallest was bubbling and when she dipped her foot into it, it was hot, unlike the others which were merely warm. Rosalie shed her robes and the sheer nightgown she had put on at some time during the previous night and pulled out the few stray pins that still clasped her locks before she stepped forward, completely submerging herself in the water and then she reemerged on the surface, skin flushed and her nipples peaking as they came into contact with the contrasting cold air. Then she lay back, allowing the water to swill over her as she relaxed into the warmth.
Jaime found her nearly an hour later, head tilted back, hair sprawled in wet dark gold curls and water lapping over her entire body. She had no clothes on, though he noted they were folded close enough for her to reach if she needed and though he felt the urge to move them back so that he could see her in all her glory as she got out from the tub, the humiliation any other woman would feel would be wasted, Southern women were notably blaise about nudity, it was not as much of an issue as it was in the capital and it was warm enough that it needn't bother them at all.
Instead, he discarded his armour as quietly as he dared before he walked to stand behind her head, cupping his hands and pouring the water that remained in his palms over her head. She did not start, nor was she surprised by his presence, her ears were close enough to the ground that she had probably been aware of his presence for sometime, his footsteps would have echoed and reached her eventually. The bathhouse was also notably usually quite echoey, especially with the pools, that reflected sound as they did light. She opened her eyes, liquid topaz fixing on him briefly and a soft smile, the first real one he had received from her, drifted across her features, lighting her entire face up and he thought then that she was truly the most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms, and even more so than any who resided across the narrow sea. A light flush decorated her cheekbones, which he noted on close inspection were fleck with tiny freckles, reminding him of the sky at night over Casterly Rock. There was too much light in King's Landing to see all of the stars but if Jaime looked hard enough, he could recognise constellations that his mother had taught to him when he was little. Now he could find constellations in her freckles as they seemed to be just as numerous as the stars themselves.
"Are you going to join me Ser Jaime or will you persist in staring at me?" There was a teasing note to Rosalie's voice and Jaime smirked, more to himself than for her benefit and began to slip from his clothes. Once he was bare, he entered the pool, slowly enough to give her a good show but quickly enough that he noticed the sudden change in temperature upon entering the pool. Certain appendages felt the full brunt of that effect and if it were any other woman, she would have been blushing though Rosalie watched him with only a faint amount of interest staining her gaze. She simply turned her head upwards again and loosened her shoulders in a quick ripple of flesh, one that sent a small wave of water in Jaime's direction. She was closer to him than he had first realised, from above there seemed to be significantly more room within the pool but now that he was in it, he could have reached out and brushed the wet hair back off of her forehead. He refrained though, allowing himself to relax as she did and soon he found he would have liked to sleep in the pool, but his body warned him against, for surely he would drown if he succumbed to slumber.
The lightest touch on his chest and Jaime was suddenly very alert. His eyes opened slowly and met with Rosalie's, she had moved closer and was now treading water as she investigated the scars slicing through his flesh. She then moved over slightly, her fingers encircling his golden hand and Jaime tried not to wince as she inspected it, as gently as she could it seemed.
"It's an insult. That hand, though gold, will never ever be as your true hand was. However made it wanted you to remember that." Rosalie's tone was barbed and Jaime was surprised by the anger in her voice, she had not been slighted but he wondered if she was angry for him, in that way some people reacted to injustices that they could prevent.
"It makes me feel more whole than I do without it." Jaime said, his voice quiet and he saw sorrow flash through Rosalie's eyes, a pain that she kept from her features but it was displayed clearly in her gaze. Her fingers grasped the hand again, moving her own so that she could lace their fingers together briefly before she moved backwards, back to her spot on the opposite side of the pool. He didn't realise what she was doing until she turned her back to him, the muscles cording her arms seizing slightly as she pushed herself out of the water. He was given a clear view of her back, ass and several other parts of her that he had previously not been particularly intimate with and he wondered he she felt his gaze scorching her body. She didn't comment on it if she did, instead padding over to where her clothes were piled and with a flash of a smile over her shoulder, she dressed.
"I'll see you at the feast tonight Ser Jaime." She called, her voice a song as she slipped out of the bathhouse and then Jaime was left in silence.
