Chapter 1

Aeryelle woke up screaming as she had done often in the years since the sacking of King's Landing. It had been 17 years and the nightmares were as vivid as when she had fled aged 14. Of course that the upcoming visit of Robert Baratheon, she couldn't bring herself to think of her brother's murderer as king, had intensified her nightmares.

She knew that there was no point in trying to fall asleep, so she got up and washed herself. Maybe Micken was up and she could give him a hand or head to the Lost Forest.

As it were Micken wasn't working yet, so she did the rounds checking with the guards.

She was the only woman in Lord Stark's household guard but her fighting abilities had gained her the respect of her fellow soldiers. It had gone so far, that she had been named Jory Cassel's second in command, a fact she was quite proud of. Of course nobody knew who she was and all believe her to be Alexandria Sand, as bastard from Dorne.

When the sun was rising she admitted to herself that she wasn't afraid of Robert, but of two men within his entourage: Ser Jamie Lannister and Ser Barristan Selmy the only two members of the Kingsguard that had served under her father and knew of her existence.

„We should remove Richard from the southern gate. He has been throwing up all night and has a fever. If we face a threat he won't be of much use and he might infect the others. I suppose we could wake Mason. The boy has been eager to prove himself."

A voice behind her said and she recognized Tom.

„Of course. Do whatever you seem fit." She replied lost in thought.

She had finally admitted to herself the truth about the king's visit. She didn't fear Robert, actually she would have welcomed the chance to avenge Rhaegar. She feared the truth as much as she longed for it.

Ser Barristan had been more like a father to her than anyone she knew. He had been named her tutor but had been so much more. And Jamie… She didn't know what Jamie had been but they were both teenager when they trained and it had felt special. They also shared a secret, not even Ser Barristan knew about.

She feared they might recognize her and still she longed to see them, only to escape the loneliness of her fake identity.

She didn't expect Ser Barristan to betray her, after all he was the epitome of knighthood but she didn't know what to expect from Jamie. He had kept her secret so far but for how long? His sister was the queen after all, wasn't it logical that he was loyal to Robert?

She shook of the thoughts away as Winterfell began coming to life and continued the rounds.

The king's party was larger than expected and surely much larger than required. Aeryelle shook her head of such unnecessary extravaganza. She stood to attention with all the other guards, as the pary passed by her heart pounding heavily against her ribs. She had asked Jory to be allowed to man the east tower, which was the farthest point from the main gate but he had insisted on her being part of the guard of honour. He had intended for it to be a commendation, so she couldn't refuse.

As they rode by she flinched at the King's appearance. How could that fat man have beaten her brother? She pushed the thought aside and tried to mimic the look of admiration her mates were showing.

Ser Barristan rode right behind the king. Aeryelle looked down a little too late and saw the tiniest flicker of recognition in his eyes. But the old knight immediately looked at the other guards as if nothing had happened. Maybe she had imagined it?

Then she saw him, Jamie. He was older but still had the same mischievous look in his blue eyes she remembered and the same handsome face but his bearing was very difference. He seemed arrogant and didn't even look at her direction and this filled her with anger and relief alike.

After the King and Lord Eddard had greeted each other and gone to the crypt the parties dissolved.

"Double the guards on all towers and shorten the shifts. I want all guards to be fresh at all times. The king's safety is of the outmost importance." A man wearing the red Lannister armour instructed Tom.

"And who are you to instruct my men?" Aeryelle shouted angry at him.

"Your men? But you are woman! Stark put a woman in command?" The smug Lannister man replied.

"And you are smart to notice that. And that is Lord Stark for you!" She snapped at him.

"Careful Castor! This one is a feisty one!" Jamie said from behind her. His voice had gotten deeper but she still recognized it and wanted to punch him for his smug tone.

She turned around and lowered her head slightly avoiding his gaze.

"Ser Jamie, what an honour to meet you." She muttered making an effort to appear intimidated.

The look on his face changed, as he tried to figure out why she looked familiar but then he regained his arrogant look quickly.

"You are Alexandria Sand. I have heard of you. The northerners say you are the most brilliant sword fighter in the seven kingdoms." He said sarcastically. "Let us see, how about a little sparring?"

Aeryelle felt disgusted, who was this person? This man had nothing in common with the boy she remembered. She realised she wanted to fight him and humiliate him in front of his men and wipe that smug grin of his face but she contained herself.

"I feel honoured but I believe this wouldn't be appropriate. You are a knight and a member of the Kingsguard and I am barely a foot soldier." She replied nearly choking on her false modesty.

"Don't be so modest. I want to know if what they say is true and I could use a little workout." Jamie snickered. He was starting to annoy her seriously.

"What is the meaning of this?" Robert Baretheon's voice came thundering from a few yards away.

"Ser Jamie and Alexandria are thinking about a sparring fight, your Grace." Mason explained eagerly falling to his knee. Aeryelle rolled her eyes.

"You want to fight a girl? Is that what my Kingsguard has come down to?" The king snarled at Ser Jamie, who did his best not to look humiliated.

"I wouldn't discard her that fast your Grace! She is one of the finest fighters I have seen in the long time. Or don't you trust me to choose a proper household guard?" Lord Stark interrupted him. He hated sparring fights, which usually were only good for the fighters to show off but he liked the idea of Jamie Lannister being beaten by a woman. Ned was confident that she would give him a proper run for his money.

"If you say so Ned. How about a wager then? Let's make things more interesting! I bet you 500 golden stags that Ser Jamie will beat your little girl!" Robert shouted amused and Aeryelle grew even more disgusted. How could people bow this man? Her father had been mad and dangerous but at least he behaved like a proper king and not whoring sailor.

"As you wish your Grace." Ned replied and Stark and Lannister guards alike broke into cheers.

Everyone made a circle and left a large space in the middle of the courtyard for the fighters. The Stark children Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and even the youngest Rickon took their places next to their father. Lord Stark's bastard son Jon Snow joined them in some distance. Queen Cersei looked grave, as did Lady Catelyn. Prince Joffrey snickered when he realised that his uncle was fighting a woman.

"Are you kidding? What is all the fuss about? He will be done with her in the blink of an eye! Why not give him a proper opponent?"

Aeryelle had trouble keeping calm. She was used to men mocking her but this was unbearable. This was the family that had stolen her family's throne. She was so mad she couldn't think about the risk of Ser Jamie or Ser Barristan recognizing her.

"Shall we use bland swords? I wouldn't want to hurt you!" Jamie said and Aeryelle would have been touched if it hadn't been for the mocking tone in his voice. That brought her over the edge.

"I don't fear you sword but maybe you want me to use a blunt blade. We wouldn't want a scratch on that face of yours, wouldn't we?" She finally gave into her instinct to join into the banter.

He grinned in response, the first honest smile she had detected.

"I'll take the risk." He said and both prepared.

He was wearing his armour but removed his cape and helmet. Aeryelle on the other hand only wore the Stark leather doublet and also removed her helmet. Her long black braid fell down to her shoulders and Jamie was surprised as the thought popped into her head that she was surprisingly pretty.

"Get on with it!" The king shouted already drinking heavily and so they began.

Aeryelle tried to remember how he fought, which was harder that she thought. Since she had fled Kings Landing, she had travelled a lot and trained with many fighters. She had spent two years in Braavos with a dancing master, she had been in Dorne training with the master at arms that had taught Prince Oberyn. She had even been to Qarth after fighting side by side with the Dothraki. She had learnt a lot from all of them but now their attack patterns were all mixed up in her head.

Jamie swung his sword a few times to warm up and then she remembered. He used to attack her from above because he was significantly taller than her. Although she had grown since their last fight he still towered over her by more than a foot. They were both fighting with their right hand, although Aeryelle felt just as comfortable fighting with her left.

Suddenly out of nothing he charged forward as expected from above but Aeryelle had been prepared and stepped sideward quickly, diving under his sword and blocking him with her own blade. He hadn't expected this but the surprise wasn't unwelcome. Jamie hadn't been in a challenging fight in years and he realised that what had started off as banter was going to be real fun.

They exchanged strikes for a while, none of them ever gaining the upper hand. Jamie was stronger but Aeryelle was quicker and that evened the odds. Jamie's grin had faded, not because he wasn't enjoying himself but because he had to focus very hard in countering Aeryelle latest string of strikes. Each of them landed precisely where she wanted them, always finding the least guarded spot. They were both panting heavily. During a small break the smiled at each other acknowledging each other before going at it again.

Then Aeryelle made a childish mistake, when she realised she was pushing him hard, eager to end it. She stroke upward and but he caught her sword hand and put her just in the position for an upper disarm. She knew there was only one way out of it, as move she had invented and called dragonfire. She dropped her sword and shifted her weight, so that he shook Jamie off balance quick enough for her to drop to one knee. While he still held her right hand, she caught her sword with the left hand just before it hit the ground. Jamie let go of her in shock. She spun round and charged again this time with her left again, when she noticed the look on his face.

This time there was no doubt. He starred at her and she was seen for the first time in 17 years for who she was. She finally realised her terrible mistake. She had invented the move but she had been training with him when she did.