Thanks to PriscilaOrglene (hopefully the chapters will get longer from this point on) and syi24 for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing of ASOIAF you recognize.
"Now here we are. So close yet so far. Haven't I passed the test? When will you realize, baby I'm not like the rest?"-Give Your Heart A Break, Demi Lovato
XIII. JAIME
Lucia Stark was standing in front of the window when he entered the room, softly shutting the door behind him. Her hair was still twisted up, the pins glittering in the moonlight. The red cloak was lying on the bed and the long sleeves of the dark blue dress fluttered around her in the breeze. Jaime hesitated a moment and the walked over to her, reaching up to gently slide the pins from her hair. It fell down in a dark brown wave, drifting down past her shoulders. She stiffened slightly and glanced over her shoulder, relaxing after a moment as if she had been unsure who it was. He offered her the pins and she shook her head slightly, turning back to the window with a slight smile on her face. "They hurt after a while," she admitted.
"Throw them into the courtyard," Jaime suggested and she was strangely pleased when she laughed.
"So the horses could step on them?"
"Someone will notice them. It isn't as if they're not extravagant." The pins were silver with tiny flashing sapphires on them that matched the shade of her blue dress.
"Put them on one of the tables," Lucia replied, waving her hand in the general direction of one of them. Jaime shook his head and placed them on the indicated table before returning to her. He hesitated a moment, not wanting to scare her off, and then placed his hands on her shoulders.
"You looked beautiful today," he told her softly.
"I was cold," Lucia told him flatly but when she glanced up at him slightly he saw the hint of a smile on her face. "The cloak was pretty but thin." There was a pause and she blushed slightly. "Yours was better."
"I think that was the point," Jaime told her, trying not to laugh at the expression on her face.
"To make me freeze and then thaw under the new cloak during my wedding feast?" Luce asked and Jaime nodded once, slightly fighting down laughter. "That strikes me as exceptionally foolish."
"It works better in the south where it's warmer," Jaime informed her and she shook her head, smiling slightly. Slowly he slipped his hands down to where the laces were tied, keeping the dress on her slim frame. He hesitated there, watching her hair blowing slightly in the breeze.
"Are you going to stand there or undo the laces?" Luce asked. Jaime chuckled slightly and carefully began to untie the laces. The dress dropped down to the floor with a slight whisper. The whiteness of the chemise underneath clung to her skin and she shivered slightly.
"Come to bed?" Jaime asked and she hesitated a moment before following him away from the window, leave the dress laying alone and forgotten on the floor.
Jaime woke in the morning before the sun had fully brushed the sky. It was a habit of his, still left over from the days when he had only been learned swordplay. He glanced over at Luce curled up under the blankets. Her dark hair fanned across the pillow and all of her skin was covered save a hand that lay lightly under her cheek. For a moment he was tempted to stay with her but the men he sparred with daily would take no excuses from him; not even that of being just married. He dressed and left her a brief note before descending into the courtyard below, leaving his young wife to sleep.