"Do I look common enough?" Sarah fretted as she stood inside her chamber and changed her gown for what seemed like the hundredth time to Jaime. He remained stood still as she turned to look at him, flattening out the skirts to the gown which she wore. She straightened it down and Jaime eyed her in the blue material which covered her from chest to toe.
"Why do you need to look common?" he asked as she pulled at the sleeves to the dress. "I doubt she cares what are you are wearing."
"I don't want her to think that I look...regal...I don't want to give her that impression, or the impression that I want to think myself above her." Sarah spoke and Jaime stood up from sitting on the edge of her bed. "And is Shireen hidden away? Is she safe?"
"I had Podrick take her down to the serving quarters where the hidden tunnels are," Jaime informed her. "If anything happens...then she will escape. She is safe, Sarah."
"Right," Sarah nodded and she turned around and bumped into Jaime's chest as he stood straight behind her. She steadied herself by resting her hands onto his shoulders and Jaime bent down to sweep her hair from her face and forced her to look him in the eye evenly.
"Nothing will happen," Jaime promised her.
"Have you seen the men which march towards Casterly Rock? If she wants me dead then I doubt it will take a lot," Sarah spoke and Jaime bent down to whisper in her ear, his breath hot and heavy as his hair tickled against her skin.
"She will not have you dead, nor will I allow her to hurt you," Jaime spoke; his voice hard and full of determination. "You are the last thing I have in this world, Sarah. I may be damned for eternity, but I will be damned for an eternity more if she takes you from me."
Nodding, Sarah grabbed hold of Jaime's head in her hands and kissed him squarely. Jaime dropped his golden hand to the small of her back and pushed her tightly against his body whilst his free hand wandered over her shoulder and cupped her breast. She didn't bush him back, merely arched against him as Jaime moved his lips down her neck, sucking tenderly at her flesh.
"It is not the time," Sarah panted to him and Jaime smirked.
"I can't think of a better time," Jaime mumbled as he moved back to her lips and she closed her eyes, forgetting the impending danger which was upon them.
"No," Sarah said, finally remembering that this was not the time or the place. She needed to be focused when she came face to face with the one they called the Dragon Queen. She forced Jaime's body from hers as her face paled and fear overtook her once a knock on the door sounded.
"My Lord, my Lady," a voice called. "The Queen Daenerys has been received. She awaits you in the Grand Hall."
"We shall be there momentarily," Jaime responded and Sarah inhaled sharply, nodding to him before quickly taking hold of his arm. Her grip was felt underneath his leather coat as he wandered down the corridors with her on his arm. The serving staff had holed themselves up in their quarters, no one roamed the castle as they lived in fear. But Jaime suspected he was not safe. He knew that Daenerys would know of his reputation. He knew it far too well. He was the Kingslayer; the man who had murdered the Mad King. Could she forgive him for that? Perhaps if he told the tale only one other knew then she might let him breathe another day.
Jaime opened the door, holding it for Sarah to step through. The Grand Hall was lined with multiple tables; gold ornate decorations lined the room. One wall was missing, allowing for a great balcony to run its length and overlook the sea.
And then there she stood, leant against a post with her arms folded. She had left her guards outside whilst she dealt with the usurper's daughter herself. But Dany should not have been scared. She looked at the girl and she could instantly see the fear inside of her. She was a young girl, not much younger than Dany, but Daenerys had faced multiple threats. This girl was sheltered to a certain extent.
She looked out of place dangling on the Kingslayer's arm. The man was old enough to be her father, but he looked down to her with no sentiment a father held for his daughter. His arm wrapped around her waist suddenly and Daenerys could see the protectiveness inside of him as they finally stood before her.
"My Queen," Sarah dipped into a curtsey and Dany arched a brow.
"You refer to me as Queen?" Daenerys checked.
"I do not wish for the Iron Throne, Your Grace," Sarah quickly blathered out. "Please, do not think that I would take it from you. My father's men who remain loyal to me will know that. I shall pledge fealty to you."
Daenerys didn't expect it to be so easy, but then she considered it in depth. The girl was nothing like her father. She appeared rather meek and mild mannered. Perhaps Daenerys was wrong, but she was not wrong on one thing; the girl appeared trustworthy.
"I had no intention to see your father killed," Daenerys promised her, moving onto the balcony to look out at her dragons. "He would not bend the knee and had ordered for his men to kill me. I did what I had to do to survive. I gave him the option of living out the rest of his life on Dragonstone."
Sarah felt a tear in her eye as Daenerys turned her back on her. Jaime saw Sarah's white face become even whiter and he ran his hand down his back, trying to comfort her. He wanted this girl gone from Casterly Rock. Let her take the Iron Throne and never bother him again; never bother Sarah again.
"But I sense you want nothing more than to stay here and live a life with the man who murdered my father." Daenerys finally snarled and Sarah looked to Jaime, remembering what he had done. She sighed as Jaime placed both of his hands behind his back and wandered onto the balcony.
"Your father was called the Mad King for many reasons," Jaime said.
"And did ramming him through with a sword help matters?"
"I have lived with the name Kingslayer for many years now," Jaime shook his head. "But no one knew what kind of a man Aerys was. No one knew why I killed him. People judged me before I had a chance to explain. People turned their back on me and saw me as nothing but a traitor, but the Mad King could not be stopped."
Jaime found her gaze and held it evenly, refusing to cower under her stare. If he was going to die then she would know the truth.
"Your father was obsessed with wildfire. Have you heard of it?" Jaime asked and Daenerys took a deep breath before nodding. "The day of reckoning came and my father was sent to sack the city. The Mad King ordered for me to bring me my own father's head to prove my loyalty. All of the deaths which had occurred before led up to this day...that one day where he demanded my loyalty."
Sarah's eyes widened as she heard Jaime. She kept one hand against the pillar she stood by whilst Jaime looked out to the sea, unable to look at the two women as he told the tale.
"He was obsessed with wildfire. He buried it under the paths of King's Landing...the Red Keep...everywhere...it was just before my father stormed the city when he ordered for Wisdom Rossart...his Hand...to burn the city. He ordered for the deaths of thousands of lives; women and children. He would have seen the fire burn the city instead of the city fall from his power."
"I killed the pyromancer first," Jaime commented. "I made sure he was dead and the order could not be given. The Mad King ran, of course he did. He ran and that was when I drove my sword into his back. I did it to save everyone in King's Landing. He kept on raging about how he would come back as a reborn dragon...and I slit his throat to make sure that couldn't happen. That was where Lord Stark found me and that was when the rumours began. No one cared to ask for my side of the story. No one was interested in what I had to say...but your father...he was not an innocent man, nor would I take back what I did."
Daenerys remained in awe of what she had just heard. Jaime looked at her and she could see the honesty in his gaze. He was not lying, nor was he sugar coating his words. She took a moment to ball her hands into fists by her side and then look to the skies where he dragons freely roamed. It took her a few moments to think before she turned to stare back at Jaime.
"So kill me if you must," he spoke. "But do not think for one moment that he was innocent."
"I have no intention to kill you," Daenerys assured Jaime. "I never knew my father, but I have heard stories of how you killed him."
"And now you know the true story," Jaime concluded and moved over to Sarah as she held her hand out to him, wondering why he had never said anything of this before to her. She squeezed his hand inside of hers and Jaime smiled sadly down to her. "We have no intention of stopping you from taking the Iron Throne. All I ask is to keep Casterly Rock and have King Tommen sent somewhere safe...perhaps to his sister in Dorne?"
"And Lannister forces would not stand in the way?"
"I would see to it that they would not," Jaime assured her and Daenerys looked at the couple.
"I truly am sorry about your father," Daenerys said. "You seem like a pleasant girl. I only wished he was not foolish enough to throw away his own life when he was outnumbered. I trust he would have wanted to walk you down the aisle."
Jaime snorted at that and Sarah gave a small smile as Daenerys wondered if she had made the right decision. She had no intention of being unnecessarily cruel.
"Stannis Baratheon would have hated to have married his eldest daughter to a Lannister," Jaime informed Daenerys. "The Lannisters and Baratheons don't particularly have a good history."
"Many Houses do not seem to have alliances. I hope to change that as Queen and end this bloodshed," Dany spoke and Sarah curtseyed again as the Queen inclined her head and prepared to make her exit, her simple blue gown sticking to her body in the warm summer sun.
"I am happy that you will not stand in my way," Daenerys said. "I hope we can put our past experiences behind us. I think you could prove to be a very useful ally, Sarah Baratheon. You remind me of myself before I came to power."
"Of course, Your Grace," Sarah bowed her head and watched as Daenerys left the room.
It was only then when Sarah collapsed against Jaime, the fear leaving her body as her arms wrapped under his and he kept his around her waist. She sighed loudly and then ran her hand through his hair.
"She's gone," Jaime whispered to Sarah. "It's over...it's all over...I have you..."
"You never told me," Sarah replied. "You never told me about the Mad King."
Jaime shrugged. "I never felt I had to explain myself to you about it. You saw me as someone other than the Kingslayer. That is all that mattered to me, not what people thought of me. You never cared for that."
"And I never will," Sarah promised him.
Jaime let her go and kept his arm around her shoulders as they watched the dragons fly away from Casterly Rock, the men slowly marching away also. All would be quiet again. All would be as it should be. Jaime kept his arm around Sarah as they stood still and watched the scene unfold.
"Why was he so foolish?" Sarah finally asked. "He could not beat dragons."
"Stannis Baratheon has always done his duty. He is a proud man...always thought he knew best..."
"Not always," Sarah whispered back. "He sent me here because he wanted to see me happy."
"Or because he didn't want my forces to turn against him?"
"I'd like to think my happiness meant something to him," Sarah retorted. "He wasn't a bad man, Jaime. He was proud, dutiful and often foolish, but he was never horrible to me or Shireen. He did what he could to keep us safe. I don't want to remember what he turned into, but who he was before this war."
"Then remember him that way," Jaime whispered and kissed the top of her head as the sun slowly set over Casterly Rock and the war they had fought ended too.
...
A/N: And the next chapter shall be the epilogue which I hope to have out soon!