Lyanna did not see her husband-to-be until early afternoon. Even they did not speak, but he still wore the same superior smirk on his lips as he had worn during most of her walk with the Queen. In fact he rarely wore anything else. Instead it was the King who chose to acknowledge her, and soon there after he ordered one of his other guards to take over for the Kingslayer so that he 'could escort his bride-to-be on her ride'. She rather he had not, and as soon as the King had disappeared from sight she turned to offer the Lannister his escape. One he did not take it.
"I assure you, Ser. I am a skilled rider. I often ride alone, or with my brothers or sister. I need no escort." She tried to dissuade him as they waited for the stable hands to ready their horses. She rather be alone with her thoughts, if she could not went her anger training with Ser Rodrick.
"You find it strange that I wish to spend time with my wife-to-be?"
"No stranger than your consent to wed me." She said bluntly. It seemed to amuse him, just like everything else said around him seemed to.
"You are young, healthy, and you are very beautiful. Any man would be lucky to have you." He finally said with a nonchalance that got on her nerve. "I am also told you are intelligent, and skilled with a dagger."
"I take it your brother told you of our first encounter." She said, choosing to ignore the first part of his statement, instead thinking of the dagger she hid under her skirt.
"You were about to cut his throat open." He said, clearly amused.
"I thought he was a pickpocket, he needed to learn a lesson."
"I believe that is the first time a Lannister has been mistaken for such."
"I did not see him clearly in the dark." She defended, just as two stable boys came out, leading two horses.
"Thank you." She acknowledged, ignoring Jamie's attempt to help her up on her horse as she mounted it easily on her own, earning her a smile form the stable boy. It was the same one she had had a crush on her pre-teens, he was now married and expecting his first child. Thomas was a good man, and she dearly hoped the child would survive the coming winter. If it was to be a long one, as her father feared, she knew few northern children would.
They had gotten no more than a few paces before Jaime spoke again. "I believe it was our old Septa who once told my sister that as long as you know needle-pointing you need to know nothing else as a lady. Yet you seem to have chosen to perfect your skill with a dagger instead." It seemed they had not left behind the subject after all.
"A dagger may one day save my life, or that of my child. What use would needle-pointing be? I suppose I could stick my attacker in the eye, but I find myself preferring my dagger."
"Then your sisters know how to use one as well?"
"Sansa would never even consider holding a dagger, and my youngest sister is only interested in swordplay and arrows. Though her lady mother is doing her best to keep her away from both. Lady Stark has however shown little interest in my upbringing, allowing my father a freer range."
They spent nearly an hour on horseback before she decided to return to Winterfell. Most of the ride had been spent in silence, finding they had little to talk about other than the little Lannister lord. However, she also found that he had few opinion of his own, a good trait in a guard, but not in a conversational partner. Though he did seem to like mocking things and people as he spoke. The only time he was remotely passionate was when they edged on the topic of battle and warfare. It seemed she would be wed to a soldier, not a conversationalist. Though his easygoing mannerisms eased some of her worries regarding their future life together. She was fairly certain she could learn to live with him, if not love him.
When they reached the outer keep of the castle she was surprised to find her father out talking to one of the horse merchants, having brought with him his favorite stable hand and one of the stable boys. At the moment they were looking at a black mare and seemed seconds away from a purchase. Unaware that her father had intended to buy one curiosity made her unmounts her own mare and make her way towards them on foot. She was not surprised to find Ser Jaime follow suit, walking no more than a step behind by the time they reached the others.
"Looks young enough, healthy. She is beautiful." The Kingslayer commented as he took in the animal, her father seemed to be in agreement. But when the enthusiastic stable boy grinned widely at them, praising the horse's intelligence as well, before the stable hand gave him a disapproving look that sent him running, Lyanna could not help but find the conversation a little too familiar for her liking. Glancing at her husband to be she mentally wondered if would be possible to teach the horse to use a dagger, then it could take over her wifely duties when she did not feel like it. After all, almost all qualities he had assigned to her had now been assigned to the mare in front of her as well. But instead of speaking her thoughts out loud she choose to agree with him.
"She is a fine horse, father."
"You think I should buy her?" When asked for her honest opinion she walked up to the horse, inspecting it more closely. It had a beautiful glossy black coat, a thick mane, strong legs, uninjured knees, and seemed both alert and observant. After a few minutes she turned to smile at her father.
"I do. She is beautiful."
"She is for you. You will need a new horse for the journey."
"We are still going?" She asked, unaware that she had even entertained the thought of delaying the journey to King's Landing until she voiced the question.
"We will be no good to Brann here." He said. "And the King needs to return."
Leaving her father to his purchase she returned to the old mare she had been riding and mounted.
"You know your horses." Jaime commented, as he came to a halt next to her, while she arranged her skirt.
"I once fancied myself in love with a stable boy." She confessed unabashed. "I think I went riding at least thrice a day just to see him, and spent more time in a stable than any respectable lady should."
"A stable boy?" He asked amused. "Not a knight or at least a squire?" He asked his smirk back in place, making her blush as they rode off.
On their last night at Winterfell Lyanna was not surprised to find herself once again sneaking into her brother's room. Nor did she feel as if she was doing anything wrong as she laid down next to him on the bed. She thought he was asleep at first, he hadn't moved when she entered the room or even when she slid under the covers. It was first when he turned to his side and looked at her that she knew differently. He looked troubled.
"You know I would do anything for you, I would break every oaths I ever took or will ever take to keep you safe."
"I know." She did. She would do the same. Their whole lives they only had each other. Oh, they had others who cared for them, but it was different. No one else understood, they were alone, only a bastard could understand what it meant to be one. Even in the house of Stark.
"I want for you to be happy. But there is nothing I can do for you anymore. So promise me you will assure your own happiness. I need your word."
"You speak as though you will never see me again." She didn't like it. "You could come with us to King's Landing. You don't have to take the Black."
"I don't have the King's good opinion or the heir of a noble house as my intended. There is no room for a bastard like me there. All I have is my sword."
"You can never leave the wall once you take your oath. What if I need you?"
"I will come running anyway."
"If someone hurts me?"
"I will give it back to them ten folded." He grinned. He had given her that promise the first time when they were five, and he had always kept it.
"And what of you? What if you need me? What if someone hurts you?"
"Then I will think of you, and I will be all better."
"Liar." She smiled. "What will I do without you?"
"You will have father, and Sansa, and Arya. They all love you. And you will have a husband to take care of you."
"He doesn't want me anymore than I do him." She scoffed. "I think he finds me amusing, but he does not care for me. I doubt he cares for anything."
"He will care for you. Lannister is many things, but he is not a fool."
"I don't want you to leave." There was a sadness in his eyes when she said it, but he just smiled and said nothing.
She didn't know what made her do it, perhaps it was the mention of Jaime, perhaps it was his eyes, or perhaps it was, as her twin would later claim, fear, but she pressed her lips against his. It was soft, sweet, innocent. He did not move so she did it again. This time he returned it, just as sweetly as she. But it did not take long before a hint of desperation made its way into the kisses. And with it, heat followed. It wasn't until her hand slipped under his shirt that he stopped. His hand stopping hers as he pushed back.
"We can't." He said, looking into her lilac eyes, so different from his own.
"We can." She insisted.
"It's wrong. You don't really want to do this. I can taste the wine on your lips. You are just afraid."
"What am I afraid of?" She asked, her hand reaching for him, caressing his cheek. He let her, even leaning into her touch. "I am not the one giving my life away without a second thought and joining the Night Watch. Most are dead within the year. Especially in the winter."
"You are afraid of the unknown. Of being alone. Of leaving Winterfell. Of becoming a Lannister. You are not doing this for the right reason, and neither am I. You don't need a safety blanket."
"I love you."
"And I love you more than anything. You are my sister, not my half-sister, but my twin. We are the same."
"I am fairly certain we are not the same." She said almost teasingly, her hand sliding down his chest, and down. And down. He stopped her.
"Stop it." He said. "You need to bleed on your wedding night. We can not do this."
"I don't trust him, I trust you. And I doubt he has never had a woman." She said, but he could hear the resignation in her voice.
"It's different for men." He said, laying down next to her and pulling her back into his arms. All the heat that had previously been between them, gone, it was as if had never been there at all. She did not fight him. She was safe in his arms.
"It always is." She muttered. He ignored it. Instead, in a purely brotherly gesture he pressed his lips to her forehead.
"Sleep, Lyanna. We have a long journey tomorrow."
TBC…
Ok, so I hope you won't hate me for this little Lyanna/Jon moment, it was necessary. I promise there won't be more of that kind... they don't see each other as the Lannister twins... though they are closer than normal twins & siblings. They have never even kissed before, nor will they again! And I know the Jaime/L moments are a little stiff. But they barely know each other, all she knows about him is what she has been taught and seen. Not much so far. And Jaime has little interest in anyone but his sister at this point.
