Podrick hastened his steps to match the Evenstar's long stride. Though it was he who was supposed to be leading Lord Selwyn toward Winterfell's Great Hall, the young knight scurried quickly behind the old man, trying to keep up. Without halting, Pod used the necessity of shoving the hall's heavy door aside to dash ahead of Lord Selwyn, and attempted to regain at least the appearance of escort. He would neither have Ser Brienne think him negligent in affording her father the proper cortege required of his station, nor give Queen Sansa cause to find lacking his abilities as an agent of her house. He breathed deep and puffed out his chest as he entered The Great Hall, wishing to announce The Evenstar with grandeur, yet wondering how Ser Brienne would react to her father's sudden appearance.
"Your Grace." Podrick announced over the heads of a small gathering of bannermen and a handful of servants. He led Lord Selwyn through the doorway, his voice echoing within the hall to cover the distance to the modest yet venerable Stark throne.
Queen Sansa turned a distracted eye toward the young knight, from where she had been deeply invested in a conversation with her Sworn Sword, Ser Brienne, seated at her side. She raised a pensive brow at Podrick's disheveled and uncourtly appearance. Ever alert, Sandor Clegane's hand wrapped tightly around the hilt of his weapon and he drew several inches of steal from its scabbard, ready to spring upon any threat to his beloved Little Bird.
It was Brienne who answered Podrick's hail, though it was not he whom she addressed. "Father!" She gasped at the sight of Lord Selwyn sidestepping the boy's best efforts to usher him forward. She rose, springing to her feet as best as her babe-filled belly would allow. Unconsciously, Brienne slid her hand down her side to cradle the stirrings she felt within her.
Lord Selwyn stopped in his tracks, only a few paces before the throne. The image of his daughter carrying her first child cooled the anger in his chest, and stilled the very beating of his heart. His face quickly changed from a grimace of disgust, to the concern of a loving father. "Daughter." He sighed, transfixed at Brienne's approach. All others in the room disappearing from his view.
The Evenstar beheld his daughter as if she were the queen. His heart filled with adoration for his precious child, whom he had not seen in so long. He wanted nothing more than to gather his own babe in his arms and return with her at once to Evenfall. Lord Selwyn did not see the father of Brienne's child, blood covered and bruised, racing into The Great Hall behind him. Jaime's steps ground to a halt, watching Brienne move from her chair and step toward her father. He shuddered, his breath failing, uncertain of The Evenstar's reaction.
Even through the shock of his unannounced arrival, Brienne's surprised smiled beamed. She had not allowed herself to dwell upon how much she missed her father in a long time. It felt good to welcome him. Brienne reached out her hands to accept his grasp.
Lord Selwyn studied Brienne for a moment, a lighthearted and flustered grin on his lips. "My Dear." He proclaimed happily. "You are…glowing." He stammered, discerning the joy which radiated through her. His eyes traveled down Brienne's form to her widening waistline. His fingers lightly moved to hover above her abdomen. "Who do we have here?" He chuckled.
Brienne joined Lord Selwyn in his gleeful laughter. "Your heir, Father." She announced proudly.
Overwhelmed, The Evenstar drew Brienne into his arms and held her as if she were his little girl once more. He wanted only to protect her and keep her from harm. Brienne melted into his embrace. With a contented sigh, she laid her cheek against his neck and squeezed shut her eyes, reveling in the closeness and understanding they shared. It was not until she opened her eyelids dreamily that she noticed Jaime sulking up behind them, his forehead creased with guilt. The blood which soaked his garments and skin had begun to dry, giving him the look of some crazed executioner. Brienne's gaze widened with a stunned mixture of confusion and concern. Silently conspicuous, Jaime lowered his eyes in shame.
After a moment of blissful reunion Lord Selwyn breathed deep and opened his eyes, lost in his relief to at last be able to protect his child. It was then that his gaze fell upon the tender inquisitive face of Sansa Stark. Suddenly remembering his decorum, The Evenstar stepped from Brienne and moved to address The Queen in The North. Brienne spun to face Jaime, a thousand questions in her eyes. At the moment, he could not answer any of them.
Reverently, Lord Selwyn kneeled before the young monarch, the last of her name. "Your Grace." He lowered his eyes respectfully. "Forgive my intrusion." He begged humbly.
The Queen peered at Brienne's father understandingly. "Why did you not send word of your arrival, My Lord." She asked kindly, a welcoming smile upon her lips. "We would have sent a party to meet your ship at the docks in White Harbor." She told him.
Lord Selwyn nodded appreciatively. "My apologizes, Your Grace." He acquiesced. "My concern for my daughter was such that, I confess, I gave little thought to my travel preparations." The Evenstar blushed at his lack of civility in the matter. "I received the raven Brienne sent informing me of her condition and sailed from Evenfall that very day." He replied, his sweet fatherly glance at Brienne turning to a loathsome glare as his view slid to Jaime.
"As you can see, Lord Selwyn, Ser Brienne is quite well." Sansa assured him. "I have myself ordered our Maester to keep special watch over her." She informed him.
The Evenstar bowed gratefully. "I owe you a debt then, that I can never repay." He acknowledged. "I am aware that Brienne is sworn to serve House Stark, Your Grace." He conceded. "However, I have come to collect my daughter and take her home to Tarth." He announced.
Brienne stepped almost defensively toward Jaime, her thoughts still not completely formed around the possible causes for his torn and soiled garments or the bruises forming over his cheek and lower lip. Her heart skipped in terror at the thought that her father might force his hand and order her to return home. He was after all the head of her house. Her life of independence had been granted by his generosity. She realized he may rescind his permission at any time. "I am not leaving here." Brienne spoke up, eyeing her father warily. Her only comfort was the palm Jaime placed protectively upon her back to steady and support her trembling legs.
Lord Selwyn turned to examine the sight of The Kingslayer's paw wrapped around his daughter. He sighed in exasperation, keeping his ire subdued in the light of Brienne's health. The Evenstar's tone was calm and appeasing as he spoke, but left no question that he had already determined his daughters fate. "Brienne Gwendoline Tarth." He emphasized. "I have always given you the freedom to make your way, to follow your own path." He reminded her. "You have more than once proven yourself worthy as a warrior, and a leader." Lord Selwyn praised, his voice faltering with the proud lump in his throat. "You have brought glory to our house. You, my darling child, shall be Evenstar someday." He proclaimed, his posture straightening with the status of his station, and the title which would in due time rest upon Brienne's head. Then in a mere moment, Lord Selwyn's noble demeanor turned to disgust as his gaze traveled to Jaime who stood guardedly by Brienne's side. "And this is what you choose to anchor your life to." Her father seethed, motioning toward Jaime. "This dishonored miscreant who apparently now spends his days brawling in the yard like a common hoodlum." Lord Selwyn charged.
Unable to hold his tongue, Podrick interrupted. "Ser Jaime was defending Ser Brienne's honor!" He declared loyally, unwilling to hear such defemation leveled against the man for whom he felt only high regard, and who had already nearly died to protect his own Lady Master.
Lord Selwyn acknowledged Podricks assertions without removing his blameful stare from The Kingslayer. "If it were not for Ser Jaime, there would be no need to defend her honor." He hissed, unmoved.
Brienne gasped softly. She spun around to behold Jaime, understanding dawning before her eyes. "That is where you went this morning?" She questioned, recalling his eagerness to depart on some unknown pursuit. Gently, she raised her fingers to trace the lines of dried blood upon his cheek. "You did this, for me?" Brienne asked him softly, rhetorically. It was not the first time he had risked life and limb for her welfare. Jaime simply pressed her touch to his skin, the look in eyes swearing to Brienne that he had done far more to keep her safe, and considered himself fortunate for the sacrifice. Brienne began to tremble at the depth of his love for her.
Queen Sansa rose, drawing the attention of everyone in the hall to her. "My Lord." She addressed The Evenstar, eager for Brienne to be removed from the scrutiny of those with no concern in the scene being played out before them. "Perhaps this is a matter best discussed in private." she offered, glancing toward the groups of Northmen and chattering attendants who stood gawking at the participants.
Lord Selwyn snapped to attention, suddenly aware of his audience. "Yes of course, Your Grace." He bowed, gratefully.
Sansa nodded in agreement. "Ser Brienne." She addressed her sworn protector considerately. "You may use my solar to conduct the business of House Tarth." She declared. "Please take whatever time is necessary." The Queen smiled. "I shall have quarters prepared for Lord Selwyn." She said generously.
"My Lord." Queen Sansa spoke to The Evenstar with the respect requisite of his title. "You are our honored guest for as long as you wish to stay at Winterfell." She ensured.
Lord Selwyn lowered his head, accepting the young queen's hospitality. "I thank you, Your Grace." He replied in deference.
Brienne gave Sansa an admiring glance before bowing in acknowledgement of The Queen's assistance. "Father, if you will." She gestured toward the door. The reassurance of Jaime's nearness was the only thought which calmed Brienne's racing of heart as she anticipated the impending conversation with her father.
Jaime strode beside Brienne, steadfast and determined, his hand unmoving at her waist, as they approached the corridor which led to The Queen's solar. If The Evenstar had ordered him to remain behind, Jaime might very well have drawn Widows Wail upon him. Brienne was the woman he loved. She was to be his wife. She carried his child. The matter at hand was as much his business as it was Lord Selwyn's, perhaps more. He would not be dissuaded. Jaime would have his say.
Left in their wake Podrick could only stare after the tense group as they left The Great Hall. He could not help but regret the part he played in the morning's melee. It had been he who imparted the guilt of the perpetrators to Ser Jaime, and he who had been just as eager to join in the throttling of the men who had disparaged Brienne. He was as much a bloodied mess as his partner in revenge, however, he was not the one who now faced the father of his betrothed. Yet, even while he wished Ser Jaime well, he knew full well that Lord Selwyn's presence changed nothing. There was no person alive or dead that would take Lady Brienne from Jaime Lannister. For his part, he stood humbly, awaiting any consequence The Queen saw fit.
"Ser Podrick." Sansa's authoritative summons called Pod back to his duties. "I thank you for your assistance to Ser Jaime." She praised. "I shall see that those who slandered Ser Brienne will be removed from my service, and banned from the grounds of Winterfell." The Queen nodded over his shoulder toward two of her guards. The men hastily left the hall, en route to dispatch Sansa's orders.
"Perhaps you would like to clean up from your skirmish." Sansa offered kindly.
"Yes, Your Grace." Podrick agreed with a smile. He bowed low and grateful as Sansa grinned understandingly, and Sandor Clegane scowled in his usual countenance. Pod rose and spun almost happily on his heels. He took his leave just in time to meet a bewildered Tyrion in the same passageway through which Jaime, Brienne, and Lord Selwyn had just departed.
"First, I round the corner to see my brother looking as though he has just battled the Dothraki army and now you stand before me in much the same state." Tyrion declared. "What in The Seven Hells have you both been up to?" He asked, vexed, and not at all certain he truly wished to know. His answer was the sheepish shrug of Podrick's shoulders.
Never one to be left out of good gossip, Tyrion took Pod's elbow and turned the young man toward his intended journey. "Come." He demanded. "You can tell me an about it over a few tankards of wine." Tyrion's tone gave Podrick no choice but to comply.
"My Lords." Sansa announced, addressing her nearby bannermen who stood watching the last member of the previous spectacle disappear through the main doorway. "Clear The Hall." She ordered. With quick bows of compliance and muffled conversation, the old men filed out of the room as if they were following Podrick like hounds on a fox. From what they had just seen of both Ser Podrick and Ser Jaime, all knew better than to continue the whispers of rumor beyond the aged walls of The Great Hall.
"My Lord Clegane." The Queen directed her commands to Sandor once they were the only two left to hear. "See me to my chambers." She grinned with sly mischief, and more than a hint of seduction.
Rolling his eyes, Sandor would force her games to wait a little longer. "I've told you, I'm not a Lord." He hissed, disgusted.
Sansa eyed him as one would a disobedient child. "You are the last of your house. You have inherited your brother's title and lands as they were your father's before him. Clegane Keep is yours. You promised to take me there someday, remember." She reminded as she sidled up to him, and ran her hands over the leather which covered his chest. "You are a nobleman, whether you like it or not, My Lord Husband." Sansa twittered, and stretched her neck upward for the kiss she knew awaited her, the one Sandor had been aching to place upon her lips. He granted her request hungrily, and enfolded her within his protective arms.
Her body pressed to his, Sansa leaned back into Sandor's embrace to allow her lungs the air for which they begged. Longingly they stared into each other eyes. "When will you allow me to reveal that we were married moons ago, and that I am your wife." She pouted.
Sandor chuckled at her eagerness, his veiled laughter sounding almost like a snarl over his gravel throat. "Once we are certain of the loyalty of all the Northern houses. It won't be long." He promised, and nestled another kiss on her waiting mouth.
"Well." She licked her lips and huffed, turning in his arms to entice him with the feel of her rump against his sensitive mound. "You know you'd better make it soon..." She scolded, grabbing his hands and placing them softly over her flat waist. "Or Ser Brienne will not be the only one around Winterfell with a round growing belly." She cooed, happily. "Do you really want to make me target to those whispers and inuendos, the same ones Ser Jaime just subjugated for her?" Sansa tilted her head to the side, challengingly.
Sandor growled as he bent and buried his face in Sansa's neck. "Imagine what I would do to them." He whispered into her ears. She giggled from the tickle which ran down her spine at the feel of his breath on her skin.
"Do not worry, my love." He promised. "We shall make our announcements well before our babe begin to strain your seams." He vowed, and brushed his lips against her temple. His palms covering their first child protectively.
"Very well." Sansa conceded. She took his hand, and pivoted from Sandor's grasp. "Did I not ask you to escort me to our chambers, Lord Clegane?" She teased with feigned displeasure, this time emphasizing their shared abode as she pulled him along the cobblestones toward the back passageways which led from The Great Hall. Her eyes sparkling with adoration and merriment.
"Of course, Your Grace." He bowed to her wishes, his own gaze heavy with the lustful thoughts of how they would spend the afternoon.
They walked through the corridors of Winterfell in silence, Brienne and Jaime clinging desperately to each other, Lord Selwyn glowering as he followed. The distance between the Great Hall of the ancient fortress and the sanctum of Queen Sansa's solar seemed interminable. The weight of each step echoed off the stone walls, creating a morose and heavy symphony to accompany the tiny group along their path. Through their embrace, Jaime felt the slow ominous breaths which Brienne fought valiantly to control. He could not help the anger which rose up within him at Lord Selwyn, that his arrival did not appear to be the joyous reunion he would have wished for Brienne and her father. Surely, no man in Westeros would wish his daughter betrothed to the Kingslayer, the infamous dishonored sister fucker. He could not blame Lord Selwyn for his caution. However, it now seemed their meeting promised to be far more troublesome than even he had suspected.
Of course Jaime understood that Lord Selwyn's had every right to the fury and apprehension he was undoubtedly harboring. Jaime felt the same hatred toward himself each time he thought of what he had done to Brienne. She had forgiven him, had accepted him back into her life, and her love was all he needed. Brienne and their child were the only things Jaime cared about in the world. He would accept no one troubling his beloved, not even her father.
Brienne's dread grew with each pace that brought her closer to the impending confrontation with her father. Although she was reassured and strengthened by Jaime's presence, Brienne knew better than anyone how formidable The Evenstar could be. The lords of Westeros had often all but ignored Tarth, distanced as the small isle was from the mainland and its struggles. What those powerful leaders of The Realm's various houses failed to realize what that had been exactly how Evenstars for generations had desired it. With meadows for crops, bounty from the sea, and a fortune amassed through the sale of the island's abundant marble as well as trade with the free cities, House Tarth had very little use for the cumbersome alliances which plagued other families. Even their fealty to House Baratheon was sworn as a calculated treaty to keep marauders from their shores. Since the days of the Andals The Lords of Evenfall Hall had kept to themselves, far from the stranglehold of The Capital. They paid proper respect to the monarchies of Westeros when it was necessary, and ruled Tarth as they saw fit. Brienne knew Lord Selwyn would not back down from Jaime simply because House Lannister held a more notable position in the prescribed hierarchy of Westerosi society. Brienne understood all too well what Jaime would surely underestimate. Her father was a King on that island.
Brienne tried to tell herself that surely, once they could speak in private, her father would see the love which she and Jaime shared. Once Jaime explained the reasons for all that had passed, she was certain The Evenstar would give his blessing joyfully to their marriage. At the same time, Brienne knew her father could be a forceful adversary. She recalled the terror which gnawed at the pit of her stomach when it came her own time to face him and assert her desires to devote her life to battle and to the service of others. It had taken all she had to demand her own life. Brienne tried to calm her nerves with memeories that not only had Lord Selwyn allowed the path she chose, he had petitioned King Renly to take her to service. She hoped her father would again see the truth and determination which burned in her heart. Of one thing Brienne was certain, this day would end with her in Jaime's arms, even if her father never spoke to her again.
Unfortunately, demeanors did not soften once the little group was secreted inside The Queen's solar, and the door was shut securely behind them. Lord Selwyn strode past Brienne and Jaime, and stood rigid in judgment, his back turned. His entire manner left no doubt that he had every intention of taking charge. Brienne felt like a small girl as she leaned against Jaime for support, watching her father's shoulders rise and fall with seething anger.
"My Lord." Jaime attempted to gain the upper hand and perhaps calm some of The Evenstar's fears with an opening.
Lord Selwyn turned swiftly on his heels. "Not one word from you!" He pointed at Jaime, silencing him with a rueful glare.
Offended by her father's tone toward the man she loved, Brienne stepped forward defiantly. "Father." She declared. "I will not allow you to exclude Ser Jaime." She reprimanded. "Do not speak to him that way!" Brienne demanded. Her words proclaimed her bravery as a woman and a warrior, though her downcast eyes portrayed her as the girl who once feared divulging her chosen path to the man who had held her world in the palm of his hand.
"Daughter, how can you defend him?" Lord Selwyn questioned incredulously. "This man defiled you." His cold blaming stare moved from Brienne to Jaime once more. "He took your virtue and then left you to the mercy of rumor." The Evenstar's jaw steeled as he regarded Jaime Lannister with contempt.
Brienne sighed, but thought better of the eye roll which almost reflexively followed. "Oh father, he did nothing of the sort." She corrected, recalling but a few days prior when she herself had harbored the same bitter impression. As if to declare her belief in Jaime's love for her, Brienne returned to his side. She grabbed his hand and gifted him with a loving smile, which he returned with an even greater splendor.
"Appearances would seem otherwise." Selwyn answered sternly, eyeing Brienne's swollen abdomen. Raising her chin proudly, Brienne stretched her fingers protectively over her unborn child.
Unwilling to tolerate any further condemnation directed toward the woman he adored, Jaime positioned himself strategically between Brienne and her father. "Appearances can be deceiving, My Lord." He asserted.
Finding himself uncharacteristically interrupted, Lord Selwyn addressed Jaime as if he were some culprit on trial for his life. "Do you deny taking my daughters maidenhead?" He indicted, ignoring the way Brienne's cheeks reddened with embarrassment.
Jaime was all too aware of the awkward and personal turn which the confrontation had taken. He sheltered Brienne in his arm, and gazed at her as if she were a goddess, recalling the night he had come to her chambers so hopeful and enamored. "No." He answered The Evenstar, his eyes never leaving Brienne.
A shy, admiring expression passed across Brienne's face as she too remembered the passion she and Jaime shared on that night when they found themselves still living after the world had gone mad. "It was not taken." She said softly. "It was gifted freely." Brienne declared, her bashfulness gone, replaced by determination.
Lord Selwyn paused, and then shook his head in disbelief. "Daughter, I have always trusted in your stalwart ability to discern the true character in others." He explained. "I could never have imagined that your judgment would falter at the mention of a famous name, nor your innocence be lost simply for the lust of a handsome face." He admonished.
Jaime could no longer hold his anger or his tongue. It was because of him that Brienne was left at the mercy of the judgement of others, including her father. "Forgive me, My Lord." He spoke up. "I shall not remain silent in the face of your insults." Jaime began, choosing his words carefully.
The Evenstar scoffed. "I do not suppose they are the first you've ever heard, Kingslayer." He replied resentfully.
Shaking his head, Jaime's expression was somber and unflinching. "I do not mean those you level against me. I certainly deserve the worst disparagements any could voice." He accepted. "However, I will not abide aspersions cast toward Brienne, from anyone." He emphasized, his eyes narrowing into slits and burning with fury. "She is the most incorruptible and blameless person I have ever known." Jaime pulled Brienne closer as he finished.
"Explain to me then, how it is that she comes to find herself in such a state, unmarried and tainted." Lord Selwyn charged.
This time, Brienne defended herself. "I am not tainted, Father." She protested. "And I do not consider my state as one to be lamented." Brienne slid her hand over the curve of her belly. Her heart thrilling as it always did to the thought of the child she would bear. "Ser Jaime took no advantage of me. My affections were freely given." Her countenance lightened at the affirmation of her love.
"As were mine." Jaime pledged, the cadence his voice falling to match the beating of his heart, always calmed in Brienne presence.
Lord Selwyn sneered hatefully. "I know what they say about you." He chided. "That you bedded your own sister, and fathered her children. That you'd fucked her since you were young." He threw shame at Jaime like a weapon.
"Father!" Brienne interjected, shocked at The Evenstar's callousness.
Undaunted by his daughter's outrage, Selwyn continued. Apparently, Ser Jaime and Queen Cersei had been the only two people in The Realm who thought their sins a secret. He would make the man answer for them now. "It is said that King Joffrey and King Tomen were your bastards." He accused.
Jaime lowered his head in disgrace. He knew better than anyone how true the whispers were, how they had pained him so over the years, and how they had kept him from Brienne much longer than they should have. Now it was he who leaned on her for support. "I cannot deny that is the truth, how I wish I could." Jaime seemed to shrink with each word that passed his lips. "Admittedly, I allowed myself to be led by Cersei's manipulation for most of my life." He conceded. "I do not say this to fool myself into the believe that the fault was not mine. I was as much to blame as she." He admitted. "I gave others the power to determine the course of my life, my father, The King, Cersei." He nodded sadly. "I did horrible things for her, in her name. I committed murder, I lied, and yes I sinned in the most deplorable and heinous way with my own sister." Jaime pulled his grip from Brienne, feeling unworthy to touch her. For a moment, he stood with his arms hanging limp at his side, until her reach found his hand once more, and refused to let go.
"You pushed a boy from a window." Lord Selwyn continued for him.
Jaime wondered that somehow his secret had become known. Perhaps Brandon Stark had condfided their true connection to others who were not so guarded with the sharing. Perhaps the fact had trickled to Selwyn Tarth in some other fashion. It mattered not. King Bran had forgiven him, and Jaime felt renewed in that knowledge.
"And turned a king into a three-eyed-raven." Jaime affirmed, still guilt ridden, but now redeemed.
Reverently, Jaime stepped forward, willing to take whatever punishment The Evenstar might decree. "You must believe me, for all of my regrettable acts, the worst was leaving Brienne." He said somberly, as if the act had been committed but moments before. In his heart Jaime knew he would always feel Brienne's tears like knives through his heart as he had the moment he mounted his horse and rode away. "If I were to live a thousand lifetimes, I could never make up for the hurt I have caused her." He looked mournfully back at Brienne, only to find the love and forgiveness he knew he did not deserve. "I swear to The Gods, my existence did not begin until Brienne of Tarth walked into my cell and my life." For a moment his frown deepened, remembering the crass hurtful words spoken to her upon their first meeting. Jaime would give his left hand to take them back. "If I had known Brienne would be waiting along the journey of my years, I would have strangled Cersei in our cradle." He swore. "Since the moment I first beheld your astonishing daughter, she has filled my thoughts, and my hearts. All I have done since then has been to protect her." Jaime confessed. Again his gaze was lost in Brienne's deep comforting eyes, and he found his redemption in her.
Brienne studied Jaime proudly, and directed her words to her father. "You speak of Ser Jaime's character, Father." She began. "He is the most honorable man I have ever known. A true knight in every sense of the word." She praised. Jaime could only stare dumbfounded at she with whom The Gods had blessed him. He was the luckiest man in the all the world.
Lord Selwyn was not so easily convinced. "A man of character does not get a child on an innocent woman and abandon her to the mercy of the world, a thousand miles from her home." He countered. "A man of honor does not kill his own king." The Evenstar declared.
"And saved a city, Father, millions of innocent people." Brienne appealed. Her voice was rising to such a level, and her breathing coming so rapidly that Jaime began to fear for her health. Without a word, he took her shoulders and guided her to sit on a small cushioned bench.
"And was branded a traitor for it." Lord Selwyn answered curtly. The old man could not help but notice, however, the urgent way Jaime Lannister saw to Brienne's needs and then stood guard over her as if she were a rare and fragile blossom.
"A traitor, perhaps, but I stopped a mad man." Jaime replied. "He would have burned Kings Landing to the ground." Jaime could still hear the almost inhuman voice of the Targaryen king hissing his delusional orders to massacre everyone within the city walls by flame.
"The way his daughter, Danaerys very nearly did." Brienne's voice shuddered to imagine her dear love lost in the ruins and rubble. Almost unconsciously she reached for Jaime's hand. He latched onto her fingers, in silent answer to her distress.
"That Aerys was a twisted son of a bitch. I'll give you that." Selwyn shook his head, and snorted at the distasteful name in his mouth. "His insanity was well known." The Evenstar agreed. "He was a monster, much like King Joffrey." Lord Selwyn's punitive glare narrowed upon Jaime, like an archer setting a target in his sights. "Probably all that inbreeding." He jeered, knowing exactly where his remark would land.
The edge in Jaime's tone softened, though his earnest stare continued to bore through to Lord Selwyn's core. "The rumors you have heard are true." He admitted regretfully. "King Joffrey, King Tommen, Princess Myrcella, they were all my children. But I was never father to them. There was no bond. I gave Cersei what she wanted, my seed, and left as quickly as I could to chase my glory in battle." Jaime's voice held no regret for the past. His details were merely a factual retelling. Then, as if someone had breathed life into him, Jaime looked adoringly at Brienne and sighed contentedly. "They are gone now, and my child grows within your daughter's belly, the child I will raise, the child I will claim, the child who will wear my name, the child that I want." Tenderly Jaime raised Brienne's fingers to his lips, and kissed them, his eyes dancing.
"You do not mourn your sister?" Selwyn inquired,
Jaime turned his face to Selwyn. The Evenstar had never seen a seriousness descend so heavily upon a man as the dark honesty with which Jaime addressed him. "I am the one who sent her to The Hells." Jaime announced.
"A Queenslayer now, too?" Lord Selwyn responded impassively with a raised brow.
"Aye, and for good reason?" Jaime affirmed.
Selwyn crossed his arms over his chest, obscuring the sun and moons of the Sigil emblazoned over his tunic. "Pray tell me what reasons would bring a man to end the life of his own sister?" He begged.
Jaime straightened, his muscles tensing with the memory of the dread of discovering that by riding north and finally giving in to his overwhelming desire for Brienne, he had put her in danger. "Your daughter's safety." He told Lord Selwyn, his manner dire, as if the very deeds he had feared had come to pass.
Lowering his eyes to the floor, Jaime burned with shame at the cost his carelessness had nearly incurred. "I realized that Cersei knew exactly where I was, and for whom I had forsaken her." His eyes begged for forgiveness. "She sent a hired assassin to kill me and my brother." Jaime detailed.
"Yet, here you stand." Lord Selwyn countered.
Jaime nodded. "Luckily, the man was known to us, and was an ally of a sort. He was also an unceasing opportunist." He almost chuckled that it had been Bronn to whom Cersei had entrusted her deadly plan. Had it been anyone else Jaime held no doubt that he, Tyrion, and most certainly his dear Brienne would all by that moment have been long dead. "We simply outbid Cersei." Jaime smiled slyly.
Selwyn leaned his head back thoughtfully. "A stroke of good fortune." He offered, yet knowing things were seldom quiet so simple.
A halfhearted and wishful laugh escaped Jaime!s throat. "Some might think it such. I did not." He answered. "When Cersei's hired killer found us so easily, I knew I could not fool myself any longer." He lamented. "Cersei knew that I remained at Winterfell. She certainly also knew that my heart now belonged to Brienne." Jaime smiled. "In my longing I had unwittingly put the woman I truly loved in grave danger." His sad apologetic gaze traveled once more to Brienne.
"When Queen Sansa informed me of the ambush of Daenarys Targaryen's troops, it seemed Cersei might just survive the impending attack on Kings Landing." Jaime breathed heavy, as if the weight the of realization was yet still seizing his heart. "At that moment all of my hopes and dreams for a life with Brienne crashed in ruin at my feet." He lowered his head sadly.
"Even if the assassins arrow had found its mark, it was only a matter of time, before Cersei's vicious revenge would have settled upon Brienne." Jaime detailed with certainty. "I could not let that happen." He asserted mournfully, and then paused, his heart breaking at what his sister's maniacal obsession had forced him to do to Brienne. "I was the only one who could stop her. So I left my heart and soul standing alone in a freezing courtyard and hastened back to the capital where my fate awaited." Jaime explained, hoping he could convince Lord Selwyn that his only reason for breaking Brienne's heart was to save her life.
"Your fate?" The Evenstar questioned.
Jaime raised a determined eye toward Lord Selwyn. "I made certain that Cersei would never harm Brienne or anyone else ever again." He professed, his voice a low rasp with hatred for the monster who had take him from his sweet gentle lady knight. "I dragged her to where I knew The Red Keep could not withstand the dragon fire, and held her beneath the stones of the fortress as it crumbled." A smile of satisfaction pulled at the corners Jaime mouth remembering how Brienne's name on his lips was the last thing that Cersei heard before the crushing weight of the bricks suffocated her.
Lord Selwyn was quiet for a moment, considering what Jaime had revealed, and what it all meant for his daughter. "You should be dead." He concluded.
With the raise of an eyebrow, Jaime nodded in concurrence. "Aye. My greatest hope was to give my life so that Brienne would always be safe." He squeezed Brienne's hand, and held it tightly to him. "Even in death I would have considered myself lucky to have sacrificed my life so that she would live." Longingly, Jaime lost himself in Brienne's deep blue eyes. She was all he wanted in the world, and he was so woefully undeserving of her love or her forgiveness.
Breathing deeply, Jaime returned to the telling of his ordeal. "My brother found me barely alive in the rubble and saw to my recovery. Somehow The Gods saw fit to spare me." He smiled dreamily. "Now, my greatest wish is a lifetime spent making up to Brienne every moment of my absence, and dry each tear cried over the pain I caused her." He said, hopefully.
The Evenstar dropped his arms to his sides, yet kept his fists clenched in resolve. He stood before Jaime as judge and jury. "So, you think yourself worthy of my daughter?" His tone held both damnation and redemption, whichever would prevail was up to Jaime.
"No." Jaime shook his head as he addressed the man who now held the future in his hand. "I do not." He admitted reverently. "But I swear by The Gods themselves that I shall spend every moment of my life endeavoring to be." He vowed. "I shall go to my pyre hopelessly in love with your daughter. My heart is hers and only hers, it has always been." He swore, sharing a veiling smile with Brienne at the memory of the times he swore his love to her secretly. "She has blessed me by agreeing to become my wife." Jaime continued. "I intend to make that happen, very soon." He annn announced. "We shall not be seperated again." Jaime vowed.
Brienne rose slowly, aided by Jaime, to face Lord Selwyn at his side. "Father, you have traveled far. However if your purpose was to forbid me from marrying Ser Jaime, then your journey has been a fruitless one." She told him. "I love Ser Jaime with all of my heart, and I will be his wife. There is not a soul in the world who will prevent that, I will not let them. Not even you." Brienne held unmovingly to Jaime as she asserted her plans for her own life.
Lord Selwyn's thoughts turned to the day so long ago when Brienne had expressed her wishes to train for battle, and to dedicate her life to the ways of the warrior. Selwyn considered Brienne's determined argument. He wore a wistful expression as he answered her. "You are not my little girl any longer." He said nostalgically.
Fighting the tears which rose in her throat, Brienne loosed her grip on Jaime's elbow and rushed to her father. Her fingers trembled as she laid her palm tenderly against his jaw. "I shall always be your daughter." She assured him.
Selwyn choked back his own melancholy sobbing, and forced himself instead to focus on the pride which burned within him at the woman she had become. "And now you are a knight, a dream for which you always longed." He beamed.
Brienne's joy seem to radiate throughout the room. "A dream given to me by Ser Jaime himself." She smiled back at her betrothed, imagining the moment before the battle that he had knighted her. "And now I shall be wife and mother as well." Her face glowed with elation as she took The Evenstar's hand and laid in atop her waistline, where his heir grew within her.
Lord Selwyn stood before Brienne in awe. "Dreams that were taken from you by the cruelty of other." He lamented, a tear finding its way down his cheek.
Silently, The Evenstar remembered the ball which he threw in Brienne's honor. The intent was to present his daughter, of whom he was so proud, to the society and the young noblemen of Westeros. The result, however, has been devastating for Brienne. Instead, the night had ended with her being the victim of a cruel joke initiated by horrid young men without honor. He never told her he knew.
Shaking off the injuries of the past and already looking forward to the happiness of the future, Selwyn Tarth took his daughter by the arm and returned her to Ser Jaime. As they reached for each other Lord Selwyn pressed their hands together to signify his blessing upon their union. "You have given those dreams back to her." He told Jaime admiringly.
Jaime shook his head, refusing The Evenstar's accolades. "Oh no, My Lord." He smiled at the feeling of Brienne restored to his embrace. "It is your daughter who has brought me back to life, and shown me more happiness than any man has right to." Jaime's directed his words to Brienne as their gazes met.
Lord Selwyn stood back and regarded the happy couple. "It seems your minds are made up." He laughed.
"They are." Brienne and Jaime answered as one.
"Well then, we'd better get you wed before my grandchild arrives." Selwyn joked. Jaime joined in his laughter. Brienne blushed.
Renewed, and inspired, Jaime turned to Brienne. "This night, in the Godswood, if you agree?" He suggested. "I do not wish to wait any longer." He confessed. "Your father is here. Why should another day pass in which we are not joined?" Jaime asked exuberantly.
Brienne smiled tenderly in answer. "I could not think of a more perfect time." She agreed.
"It is settled." Lord Selwyn declared. "I shall see to the arrangements." He proclaimed and regarded Brienne lovingly. "Your happiness is all I desire. My Dear." Lord Selwyn told her as he softly placed a kiss upon her cheek.
"Jaime, My Boy, this is not just any woman you are taking to wife." Jovially, Selwyn clamped the younger man on the shoulder and pumped his hand in congratulations. "She will be quite formidable." He warned in jest.
Jaime beheld Brienne as he had done when she stood angry from the bath at Harrenhal, ready to berate him, and revealed to him the secret wonder beneath her armor. He burned her so deeply into his mind that the steel armor which was made based upon his description of her body fit her perfectly. Jaime watched Brienne as he had done when he gave her Oathkeeper, both knowing it was his heart that was his true gift. His gaze rested upon her as it had when he watched her ride from Kings Landing and he prayed she would be safe, wishing so desperately to accompany her. Jaime stared longingly as on the day he at last saw her again in The Dragon Pit and knew he could not live without her. She pleased his eyes and soothed his soul the same as once he stared at her from the battlements at Winterfell, Tyrion prattling in his ear. Jaime was in awe of Brienne as he was the evening he knighted her and then fought at her side, when he came to her and satiated himself on their passions, and when her face had come to him so clear with his dying breath. Now, she would be his for eternity.
"I have waited all my life for her." Jaime replied to Lord Selwyn. "I would not have it any other way." He asserted, his eyes never leaving Brienne.
"Thank you, Father." Brienne voiced softly her gratitude.
Selwyn grinned, knowing Brienne's future would be filled with love and joy. He took her hand and kissed it sweetly. "Anything for you, My Dearest." He answered proudly. With a bow, Selwyn turned and left the solar, eager to begin preparations for the wedding which would take place that very evening. He would see that all was perfect for the bride and groom.
The door closed softly, leaving the couple to celebrate the anticipation of their wedding vows. It seemed the very air which surrounded them had grown somehow lighter, sweeter. Suddenly the frozen North was warm, so much so that it felt like home, to both of them. For the first time, Jaime and Brienne had not a care in the world. Their only thoughts were of each other, and of their future.
Jaime gently enfolded Brienne in his arms. She felt as though she were falling onto a cloud. Her adoring smile graced him as he tasted her lips softly. No wine had ever been finer. Nothing had ever pleased him more. He breathed a satisfied sigh over her when their revelry had ceased, and they stared deeply into each other's eyes.
"Before the stroke of midnight you shall be Lady Lannister." Jaime promised.
A deep and lusty moan rose from Brienne's throat as she considered her new title. "I like the sound of that." She smiled seductively, "Ser Brienne Lannister of Tarth." She practiced. Jaime laughed heartily in agreement and kissed her again.