A/N: All the usual thanks! I suspect you lovely people know by now just how much I appreciate every single one of you!

Bit of a time hop with this chapter, how much is seen below ;)

Warning: This chapter may contain scenes of Tywin Lannister being nice which some readers may find disturbing. ;)

Anyway! Hope you enjoy. Just one chapter after this and part one is over and part two will begin. Basically that means that those of you who are waiting (im)patiently for the Starks will soon be rewarded!

Right-ho! Onwards!

:)

Promised

Two years later

"Not so close Amy!"

His golden little daughter merely giggled uncontrollably in response and moved her little feet two more steps towards the water's edge. Lanette snorted beside him and he didn't need to look at her to know that she was smiling widely in amusement. She was almost as bad as Amy. "You know she only does it because she knows you will chase her," she told him then and he sighed. She was right, he was altogether too predictable and he knew damn well that Amy was testing him, seeing how close to the edge he would let her get before he scooped her up into his arms and threw her up in the air. She would scream madly in delight then and she would have won the game again; he was entirely at the mercy of a two year old but he had no complaints. Amy took one more step towards the water then and he was up off the blanket he and Lanette were lounging on in a flash and pulling her away. As predicted she screamed with mirth as he threw her up in the air a few times before carrying her back to sit with him and Lanette so the game could begin again.

He dropped her down on the blanket before resuming his original position only for her to be crawling all over him in the next moment. "Amy must you?" he asked her, as her foot came dangerously close to stabbing between his legs. She gabbled out some nonsense in return before pressing her hands firmly into his face. "We've created a monster," he told Lanette then as she proceeded to bash at his face, squawking happily as she did so. "I think you'll find you created a monster," Lanette corrected him, "she is perfectly well behaved for me, you spoil her too much." Jaime knew she was likely right but he wouldn't be admitting that to her any time soon, the truth was he rather liked his daughter's gutsy nature; it would serve her well in the future. Thankfully she soon grew bored of bashing his face and promptly crawled off him, moving instead to Lanette and pulling herself up far more gently onto her. "Unbelievable," Jaime breathed, shaking his head as Lanette stroked her hand through Amy's hair as she nestled herself down into her mother's chest. "Told you," Lanette told him with a smug smile adorning her face. He was about to throw a witty retort her way when he noticed company approaching them. After another moment he realised that it was his father and his brow creased into a slight frown.

"Jaime," he greeted when he was close enough, "Lanette," he nodded to her and she smiled.

"Are you joining us my Lord?" she asked him then, only Jaime hearing the trace of worry in her voice.

"I have no desire to intrude," he replied, "but I have news for you"

"What news?" Jaime asked him, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Good news," a satisfied smile spreading across his face; "the King has written to me, it seems he has finally talked some sense into Stark"

"Sense?" Jaime repeated, practically seeing Lanette tense at his side.

"Amella will be formally betrothed to Robb Stark, the eldest son," his father told him.

"I see," Jaime said calmly although inside his blood was boiling.

"I have some conditions," Lanette said then, easing herself up into a sitting position and cradling Amy closer to her chest.

"Go on," his father's attention was on her now and Jaime could see from the look on his face that he was impressed at her boldness despite himself.

"She is not to marry until she is sixteen, I do not care how early she flowers," Lanette said.

"Very well," he agreed.

"If I hear one hint between now and then that this Stark boy is no good then I want the betrothal ended at once," she told him, her eyes fixed on him.

"Very well," he said again and Jaime could see the smile threatening to grace his lips.

"I intend to write to the boy's mother … Catelyn is it?" she asked and he nodded; "I think it best that the children get to know one another, write letters to one another when they are old enough. I'm sure if she is a reasonable woman she will see the benefit, I would not have my daughter marry a complete stranger if it can be helped."

"Whatever you wish Lanette," he really did smile then and Jaime knew he was impressed as ever he was with her, not that he would ever tell her.

"That's all," she said then, bestowing a sweet smile of her own on him.

"Then I shall take my leave," he inclined his head to both of them before turning and walking up the beach.

Jaime watched him, not wanting to utter one word until he was sure his father was out of earshot. He wasn't sure yet whether he had any words. The thought of sending Amy away, no matter how far away the day may be, made his heart constrict uncomfortably. He glanced at Lanette then but her attention was fixed on their daughter. Thank the Gods for her and her quick thinking, his mind had been spinning far too quickly to even think of any conditions.

"He likes you," he finally said and she smiled faintly.

"I knew he'd do it," she said after a moment of silence and he nodded slowly.

"You've had those conditions saved for a while," he concluded and it was her turn to nod.

"She must do her duty as I did mine," she said, "but the least I can try and do is make it easier for her"

"Don't tell anyone I said this but Ned Stark is a good man … if his son is anything like him I do not think Amy will come to any harm," he told her.

"She'd better not," she said, turning her head to meet his eyes; "because I will geld him myself if he harms one hair on her head."

Lanette could barely concentrate on her duties over the next few days, her mind constantly worrying as the letter she had sent to Catelyn Stark kept flashing behind her eyes. She had tried to sound neutral and unthreatening and she hoped she had achieved it and that her words would not put the unknown woman on edge. If she loved her son the way Lanette loved Amy then surely she would agree to the suggestion that the two of them strike up correspondence as soon as they were of an age to do so? It would be a few years yet and likely they would just be short notes to begin with but it was better than them having no contact at all. She put down her quill then and looked over the numbers she had been scratching down. She was sure that they had made sense when she had written them but now she wasn't so sure. Damn it. She couldn't concentrate, it was no good. She pushed herself away from the desk then and swept from the room, she would correct everything later, right now she just wanted her daughter in her arms.

The chambers were quiet when she entered them and she frowned. Usually it would be apparent right away that Amy was present but she could hear nothing. She supposed that her nurse may have miraculously gotten her to take a nap, the thought made her roll her eyes. Amy point blank refused to sleep during the day lest she miss the slightest thing. Perhaps Jaime had taken her off somewhere, she had caught him a few weeks before lifting her up atop a pony and the sight had almost given her a heart attack. He had promised her that he had a strong grip on Amy but she had still been furious with him for putting her up so high. He would be in all kinds of trouble if he did that again and he knew it. She pushed open the door to the nursery then and Amy's nurse rose at once and bobbed into a curtsey for her.

"Where is my daughter?" she asked, her eyes sweeping the room and seeing she was missing.

"She is with my Lord Lannister my Lady," the nurse answered.

"Jaime?" Lanette frowned, usually her husband was addressed as Ser.

"No my Lady," she blushed slightly, "the Lord Tywin"

"Oh," Lanette had no other word of comment as her eyes widened.

Tywin sighed heavily as his granddaughter crawled across his desk, steadily destroying everything in her wake. Her dress was already covered in ink after she had upended the pot of it that he had foolishly left open. He had taken her from the nursery on a whim after he had heard her causing merry hell from out in the hallway. Her nurse had seemed rather flustered when he had gone in to see what was happening and before he knew it he had volunteered to take her away with him for a while so the poor girl could straighten everything up again. Now that she was causing merry hell in his carefully ordered study though he was unsure if he had made the right decision. Her chubby little hands appeared on the missive he was reading through then and he sighed heavily and looked up to meet her eyes that were shining mischievously. "You know your problem is you are very much the product of your mother and your father," he told her and she grinned at him as though she knew exactly what he had just said to her. "I fear you are some kind of deadly combination," he continued and she reached out one of her hands and grabbed his nose. He sighed heavily again and moved his hand to gently prise it from her grip; "I rest my case," he said drily.

Amy giggled at him then and he couldn't help but smile at her, warmth filling him despite himself. Gods she would be a dangerous creature when she grew up and if she were like her mother, as he suspected, then she would hide it well. "Robb Stark will have his hands full with you," he said then and she cocked her golden head to one side. "'Obb," she said and he snorted, pulling her up under her arms as he rose from his chair and settled her on his hip. "Yes indeed," he agreed, strolling towards the table with the map spread across it; "would you like to see where he lives?" he asked her then and she blew a raspberry in response. "I'll take that as a yes," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "Here," he pointed to Casterly Rock, "is where we are … and here," he continued, skimming his finger up and along to rest on Winterfell; "is where Robb Stark lives – Winterfell." He glanced at her then and saw her eyes fixed intently on where he was pointing; "hell," she uttered after a moment and he chuckled heartily. "Almost my dear," he said in amusement and her mouth split into a wide grin again. "It will be very different for you but I have no doubt you will thrive – besides, the bleak North could do with a ray of southern sunshine."

Lanette smiled as she turned away from the closed door. She had pressed her ear up against the door of Tywin's study, part of her worried that her daughter would be driving him to distraction and she knew that that would not end well as he was not the most patient of men. What she had heard had soothed her fears though and warmed her heart. Tywin didn't spend a great deal of time with Amy and she had often thought that it was a shame, thinking that spending time with her would soften him slightly. It seemed she had been right and it made her smile wider as her eyes fixed on Jaime walking down the hallway towards her. She pressed her finger to her lips so he wouldn't say anything and alert his father to the fact that they were just outside. She moved towards him then and laced her hand through his. He drew her closer then and she tilted her head up so that he could claim her lips for a long moment. "Is it true she's with my father?" he asked her quietly when he finally pulled away and she nodded, the smile back on her face. "She has him right where she wants him, playing him as well as she plays you my love," she told him and he slapped her bottom playfully in response. "She gets that from you," he growled at her, pulling her flush against him. "Jaime!" she raised her brows, "Your father's study is only there!"

"That makes it all the more fun doesn't it?" he whispered in her ear before gently biting down on her lobe and teasing it between his teeth.

"You're a bad man Jaime," she almost moaned and he backed her towards the nearest alcove.

"And you are just as bad," he breathed as he backed her right up against the wall.

"Here?" she raised her brows.

"Here," he confirmed and in the next instant his lips were on hers and his hands seemed to be everywhere, desire pooling between her thighs at once.

She parted her lips then so he could slip his tongue into her mouth, her hands dropping to untie the laces of his breeches as his own gathered up her skirts. His hand wrapped easily around her thighs then, pulling them up so they wrapped around his waist and groaning into her mouth as her soft touch found his uncovered hardness. Her hands came to rest on his shoulders then as he shifted himself slightly so he could enter her. She bit down on his lip as he began to thrust deeply into her and he growled out in response and thrust harder. Her hands clung to him, her hips rocking to meet his pace as his motions left her breathless and fighting not to cry out. The last thing she needed was for Tywin to discover them like this, nor anyone else for that matter. They had had near misses over the years but never had they been this reckless. Jaime was right though, it did make it all the more fun. She clamped her teeth into his cotton covered doublet then so she could stifle the moans that she could not hold in. He pressed his own lips to her neck, kissing and nipping at her flesh as he pushed them both closer and closer to the end. Still he could not get enough of her like this. Get enough of how she drove him completely wild. He was whole with her, she was everything and more and he wished he knew the words to tell her but he would have to make do with actions.

She was coming to her end now he could feel it as her warmth closed in around him. He could almost feel her teeth biting through his doublet then, hearing her final, stifled moan of pleasure as he brought her crashing down around him. In the next moment he groaned out against her neck, releasing himself deep inside her, their hips stilling. Her teeth unclamped from around his shoulder then but he could hear her gasping against him just as loudly as he was against her. Regretfully he slid from her warmth then and her legs unwound from around his waist. His hands went to her hips to steady her as she placed her feet back on the floor, her eyes lifting to his and a satisfied smile gracing her lips. "I still can't get enough of you," he told her then, his breathing still ragged and he saw her smile widen and her eyes brighten. "As if I could doubt it when you insist on ravishing me in hallways," she replied and he leant in to brush his lips across her neck again in response to her. "You're irresistible," he murmured against her skin; "you always have been," he continued as her hands came to straighten her skirts. "And you have always been insatiable," she told him, slapping him playfully away from her; "now right yourself husband, we ought to rescue your father from Amy."

"A letter bearing the seal of house Stark came today," Tywin announced as he seated himself down at the head of the table and Jaime rolled his eyes.

"Nothing gets passed you my Lord," Lanette said then and his father's eyes twinkled in amusement and Jaime sighed.

"From Lady Stark I presume," he raised a brow.

"Yes my Lord, a prompt response," she replied.

"Impressed?" Tywin asked and Lanette considered her answer for a moment, taking a sip of wine before fixing her eyes on her good-father.

"She seems eloquent enough … and she clearly loves her children," Lanette answered him.

"Indeed," Tywin said, tapping his fingers lightly against the side of his own glass.

"Must we have this every meal time?" Jaime asked then and Tyrion smirked at him.

"Have what?" Lanette frowned.

"Can you both just admit you impress one another and leave it at that?" he asked.

"But then where would our meal time entertainment come from brother?" Tyrion asked him, "Please don't spoil my fun."

"It's a conversation my love, would you prefer us to be silent?" Lanette raised her brows.

"I hope not since we have many new developments to discuss," Tywin said.

"Such as?" Jaime raised a brow.

"Such as the fact that Lady Stark wants Amy to go to Winterfell as a ward before the wedding," Lanette spoke up before Tywin could open his own mouth.

"What?" Jaime said sharply.

"Really?" Tywin raised a brow, the side of his mouth twitching up slightly.

"I'm inclined to agree with her but I cannot agree to a whole year, I think a few months should suffice don't you?" Lanette addressed her husband.

"I think it will more than suffice," Jaime said darkly.

"Amy will only need a few hours to twist that poor Stark boy around her fingers," Tyrion spoke up.

"I'm inclined to agree with Tyrion," Tywin said, "that girl is trouble"

"Name me a child who was not trouble at two," Lanette said defensively.

"It was not meant as an insult, I rather admire her spirit … she reminds me of her mother," Tywin said.

"Take that as a compliment," Jaime cut in then, "now is there anything else I should know about our daughter's future or is that it?"

"Nothing has been decided," Lanette soothed him, her hand coming to rest on his, "if you are truly against her getting to know her betrothed before she is bound to him forever then of course I will write to Lady Stark immediately and tell her Amy will only go when she's to be wed."

"Of course I don't want that," he scowled, "but a few months is all Lana"

"That's all I am willing to consent to," she agreed with him and he nodded his head in defeat.

"Well played," Tyrion told her quietly and Jaime glared at him.

"Now if I may …" Tywin spoke up again and they all turned their attention to him.

"Of course father, do go on," Jaime said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"It seems the Starks have agreed another match," he began, "their daughter Sansa is of an age with Amy and she has been betrothed to Steffon"

"And here I thought Ned Stark was content to stay put in the North and out of the way," Jaime commented.

"Two children bound to be wed to southerners, Lannister southerners at that, it certainly is a turn up," Tywin agreed with him.

"What does Cersei think I wonder?" Tyrion pondered and Lanette stiffened, Jaime shifted uncomfortably and Tywin seemed to grimace.

"I would tell you what her last letter contained but I am afraid I do not want to offend a Lady's ears," he said, inclining his head to Lanette; "suffice to say she is not happy"

"Robert was always intent to bind himself to the Starks in marriage," Jaime commented then.

"Indeed," Tywin agreed, "and you can imagine how well that went down with your sister"

"Indeed," Jaime said quietly, glancing uneasily at Lanette who lifted her glass to her lips for something to do, hoping the conversation would soon steer away from Cersei.

Lanette was slightly on edge as she readied herself for bed, brushing her hair through slowly as she sat at the vanity, feeling Jaime's eyes boring into her back. The conversation at dinner had not steered away from Cersei for far too long and she was irritated. Even just hearing Jaime say her name felt like nails were being hammered into her skin. It made her tense whenever her name was uttered. It may have been almost three years since they had been anywhere near her presence but sometimes it felt like yesterday. Sometimes she closed her eyes and she could see it so clearly, Jaime's lips on hers. She shuddered slightly and forced her mind not to think of it as she continued running the brush through her hair. "What could I do?" Jaime asked from the bed then; "I couldn't very well ignore the subject, my father was intent on discussing it; you know what he's like …" She saw him run his hand almost desperately through his hair then in the mirror and she sighed heavily before placing her brush down. "I know," she said quietly, "I just hate talking about her, thinking about her … when you say her name Jaime I …" she tailed off, her eyes dropping to her hands as she dug her nails into her palms. "You what?" he asked her softly and she lifted her head again so she could meet his eyes in the mirror, seeing the concern in them. "I see you with her, I imagine you with her and it makes my skin crawl," she confessed and he sighed heavily, rubbing his hands across his face. "Come to bed," he urged her after a moment and she rose stiffly from the vanity.

She discarded her robe as she stood and left it trailing across the back of her chair before she crossed over to her side of the bed. Jaime pulled the sheets back for her and she climbed in, shifting into his arms that he held out for her. He cradled her against his chest then and she breathed him in, his heart beat steady and even in her ear. "I was a fool," he whispered, "before I had you I was the greatest fool in the Seven Kingdom's. You showed me what love truly is Lana, you, no one else. I know I hurt you and that you will never forget it but I swear to you she means nothing to me now, nothing more than the fact that she is my sister. I don't wish her ill but I have no desire to see her, to correspond with her, to be anywhere near her presence. I love you. You Lana. Tell me you know that." He finished, his lips fluttering against the top of her head as he waited for her response. "I know," she finally said and he tightened his arms even further around her, pressing kiss after kiss to her hairline. "I love you too," she said then and a wide smile split across his face. "I will never tire of hearing you say those words," he breathed into her hair and her hand clenched slightly in the skin of his chest before she turned her head slightly so she could place a kiss above his heart. "Good," she responded; "because I will never tire of saying them."

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed that! More soon!

:)