Chapter 4: Into the Lion's den (4/5)

Jorah Mormont:

The Lord of Bear Island was in a complicated situation. Right now he was sitting on a tavern drinking ale with an Ironborn.

Denys Drumm was his name. He didn't look older than thirty. He was tall and stout, with slightly blotchy skin, very short dark brown hair and dark eyes. He wore an unremarkable outfit composed of brown trousers, boots and a leather tunic. The only thing standing out for Jorah was his sword. It was a Valyrian steel blade, Red Rain if he wasn't mistaken. The sword of House Drumm, which was stolen by them in a raid. Given the name and coloring, possibly the ancestral sword of House Reyne.

The Tavern was simple enough, just a few tables with some of the other patrons drinking and boasting about how they would win the melee. Jorah just wanted to enjoy a quiet drink before the match. He wasn't stupid, he knew about the consequences of what he did at the joust, and he knew there would be retaliation.

But to him, it was worth it. All because of her. The first time he saw her, he thought she was a goddess come to earth, the Maid herself made flesh. Then she married the bloody Kingslayer, a man who in no possible way was worthy of her. Jorah considered the day she wed Jaime to be the worst day of his life. It hurt him more than the day that his own wife died. He thought about Lynesse every single day after that. He drank himself to sleep almost every night and refused any marriage offers he received.

Then he heard that Tywin Lannister would organize a tourney for the Prince's nameday. He decided to enter. He saw her there, sitting beside the Queen and the Prince. She was as beautiful as he remembered. Her son was sitting on her lap, the boy looked like her a bit. Jorah was jealous of that, he wanted that to be their son. But it was the Kingslayer's. He thought about that in the joust, when he came face to face with him. He thought about him touching her, kissing her, and making love to her. The thought filled Jorah with a fury that some may compare to Robert Baratheon's fury when he faced Prince Rhaegar in combat. He defeated the Kingslayer in the joust and crowned her his Queen of love and beauty. As it should have been. The Kingslayer never deserved her, he didn't deserve any of that. He killed the King that he swore to protect and instead of being punished for it, he was rewarded. He was now the heir of the richest family in the kingdoms and had the most beautiful woman as his bride as well.

"What exactly do you want from me anyway?" Jorah asked him.

He spoke with a serious expression. "I need you to hold the fight as long as you can."

"To what purpose?" Jorah asked.

"You'll see after we're done." The man stood up. "I know you don't have any reason to trust me, so I'll give you a token." The man took off his sword and put it on the table. "This is my family's ancestral sword, I'm giving it as a sign of trust."

Jorah didn't know what to make of it. A Valyrian steel sword was not something someone would give off so easily.

"After I accomplish what I'm planning, you will have the woman you desire," Denys spoke with a lot of conviction. "I'm leaving you the sword as a guarantee, but I'm expecting it back when you receive your end of the bargain."

"What exactly is your plan?" Jorah was now very curious.

"It's better that you don't know," Denys answered. "All I need from you is to hold the fight for as long as you can." He explained to Jorah. "Don't worry about the odds. We made sure that the most competent warriors are weakened." He gulped the rest of the ale in his cup. "But the Kingslayer will still have his full strength."

Out of nowhere, a big and powerful looking man with thick arms appeared. "This is Andrik the Unsmiling." Denys introduced him. "He will make sure no one gets between you and the Kingslayer."

"What exactly do you want to accomplish?" Jorah asked him.

"If we meet again, I'll tell you."

Denys and Andrik then turned their back at him and walked out of the tavern.

Jorah just gulped the rest of his ale and left soon after.

Raziel Baratheon:

The Prince was asking about the scar on the face of Sandor Clegane.

"Did it hurt a lot?" Raziel asked, pointing at the scar.

"Yes."

As soon as Raziel came back to Casterly Rock with the others, he was called by his mother in order to introduce his new sworn-shield. Tommen and Joy, cowered behind Raziel and Myrcella grabbed his hand in fear when Sandor showed up. But Raziel wasn't afraid of him, he was actually very curious about how he got that scar. His Aunt Lynesse took Tommen, Joy and Myrcella to get ready for the Melee.

The Queen was taking her son to prepare him for the melee as well. As they arrived in their room, Cersei ordered Sandor to stay by the door and not let anyone inside.

"You need to change those clothes," Cersei ordered her son.

Raziel was just wearing a gray shirt, brown trousers and red shoes. They were more appropriate for playing but not for formal events. Cersei knelt down and removed the shirt off of him.

"What happened to that man's face?" Raziel asked his mother.

"His brother did it," Cersei responded as soon as he asked.

"The Mountain?"

"Yes, now sit down."

Raziel obeyed his mother and sat down on the bed for her to remove his shoes.

"But what happened?" Raziel was a curious child so Cersei was used to him asking a lot of questions.

"The Mountain found him playing with one of his toys, so he shoved the side of Sandor's face into the burning coals of a brazier and held him." Cersei was aware of the story, though Sandor's father explained the burns by claiming that his bedding caught fire. But everyone knew that it was a lie.

"Just because he was playing with one of his toys?" Raziel was shocked at what he just heard.

"Yes."

After answering him, she undid the laces of his trousers. "Don't ask him any questions." Cersei was not exactly sure yet if Sandor was more behaved than his Mad Dog of a brother.

"Okay." and with that Cersei pulled his trousers off, leaving Raziel in his small clothes.

"Why does grandfather keep someone like the Mountain in his service?" Raziel wanted to ask.

"No other knight in the realm inspires such terror in our enemies," Cersei explained.

Raziel stayed quiet after his mother explained. He stood up from his bed and started to put on the other clothes. His mother just sat on the bed watching him change. He started to put on an outfit with the Lannister colors as he did on the feast.

"What's gonna happen to that man?" He asked while putting the trousers on.

"Which man?" Cersei asked.

"The one that gave the crown to Aunt Lynesse."

"If he doesn't die in the tourney, your grandfather will have him killed." Cersei answered as he stood up from the bed. "Do you know why, my cub?" She asked as she knelt down to tie the laces of his trousers.

"Because he disrespected his house," Raziel answered.

Cersei put her hands on Raziel's shoulders. "Our House Raziel." She corrected him while gazing at his blue eyes. "You're a Lannister in blood, remember that." She motioned for him to sit down so she could put his shoes on.

Raziel complied and sat down on the bed. "Why not have him killed before the tourney?" Raziel asked.

"Because your grandfather hopes that your uncle Jaime kills him in the Melee," Cersei told him while she put the shoes on his feet. "It's important to demonstrate our superiority in order to avoid further disrespect."

Raziel just stayed quiet as his mother finished putting his shoes on. He then stood up and she put his shirt on. "I don't think uncle Jaime likes me very much."

"What makes you say that?" Cersei asked.

"Well... a few days ago, I asked him if he could show me some of his techniques with a sword," Raziel explained.

"What did he say?" Cersei asked but she looked a little angry.

"He... Ignored me," Raziel answered. "He's been doing that since we came to Casterly Rock, I ask him something and he just ignores me or pretends that he didn't hear it but I know he did hear me."

His mother stared at him with her green eyes and stayed quiet for a few seconds. "Don't worry, I'll have a chat with him." Raziel hoped that he didn't get his uncle into trouble, because his mother wasn't easy when she was angry.

He finally put his last piece of clothing on. A long overtunic. His mother started to do the laces.

"It appears that you and your cousins are speaking again," Cersei spoke as she continued to do the laces on his tunic. "What was the problem you had with them?"

"Ummm..." Raziel really didn't wanna tell his mother about the kiss he gave them. "I made fun of Myrcella when she fell on the floor, she tried to do something that uncle Gerion taught us." It was half-true. "But I apologized and she forgave me."

"I see," Cersei said while she finished with the laces. "All done."

"Shall we leave for the melee now?" Raziel asked.

"We'll go as soon as you tell me what really happened between you and your cousins." She spoke with a smile that freaked Raziel out.

"Ummm... but I did tell you the truth."

"No, you didn't and I don't like it when my son lies to me," Cersei said with a normal tone that disturbed Raziel even more.

"Mo...Mother, I'm no-"

"Enough!" Cersei yelled. "What happened Raziel?"

"Ummmm..." Raziel froze into place under his mother's gaze. He looked down to avoid her eyes.

Cersei just approached him and kneel down again and put her hands on his cheeks and moved his head up to look at her eyes.

"I... She... We bet that if I was able to do it, she would give me one of Tommen's kittens." Raziel started to talk.

"But you weren't able to do it since I don't see you with any kitten." Cersei pointed. "What did she gain if you failed?"

"I..." Raziel paused a bit until he felt his mother pitching his cheeks really hard. "I had to kiss her and Joy."

After he spoke, she stopped pinching his cheeks and caressed the same spot. "Was that so hard?" She asked with a smile.

"No..." He spoke with a low voice.

"Good boy." Cersei spoke while staring at his eyes.

And with that, his mother approached her face and pressed her lips into his. It wasn't a chaste kiss like the one that he gave Dany, Myrcella and Joy. It was a long kiss and she put her tongue into his mouth. She's been kissing him like that since he was four, he used to find it gross but after some time he grew used to it and even enjoyed it. This one was longer than usual and it felt like her tongue was entangled with his. After some time, her lips finally came off of him and he started to gasp for air.

"Let's go, my cub." She came back to her sweetness of early which made Raziel relieved.

She extended her hand for him to take it. He did without hesitation and the two left the room right away.

The Prince and the Queen quickly got to the arena. Cersei told her son to go to his seat with the rest of her family while she went to speak with his grandfather. Raziel obeyed and went to the family seats where his grandfather, uncle and cousins were sitting.

Raziel got close and noticed both Myrcella and Joy, they noticed him as well and waved at him.

"Hello." Raziel greeted them. He looked around a bit and noticed that Tommen wasn't there. "Where's Tommen?"

"He couldn't find Ser Pounce, so he went looking for him. "Myrcella told him. "Mother decided to help."

"I see," Raziel said. If they did't find him until after the Melee, he would help them look too. Raziel adored Ser Pounce.

The three sat down on the chairs, Raziel stood in the middle of the two. He noticed that Joy looked sad. He quickly wrapped her into another hug. "He will be back, don't worry," Raziel whispered in her ear.

Joy hugged him back. "I know."

The two let go of each other. But there was something that Raziel was curious about.

"Hey, Myrcella."

"What?" She moved her head to stare into her eyes.

"Why... Did you bet a kiss?" Raziel was very curious about it. He knew what he would have gotten from the bet if he managed to do it, but why would she want a kiss?

"Ummm..." She glanced away quickly. "I... always wanted to kiss a Prince." She spoke while looking down. "Like... in the stories."

"Oh..." Raziel understood a bit. "And you, Joy?"

"She said she would give me one of her dresses if I accepted." Joy explained. Now that she mentioned, she's wearing a really beautiful dress which is surprising since she always wore simple ones.

Now Raziel wanted to know one more thing.

"Did you girls like kissing me?" Raziel asked while scratching his head.

Instantly Myrcella and Joy looked away embarrassed.

"Umm... Yes." Myrcella said.

"Me...Too." Joy replied.

Raziel smiled a bit.

Jaime Lannister:

The Kingslayer was waiting for the melee to start with his longsword at hand. All he needed was for the trumpet sound. He just observed his opponent, the Lord of Bear Island. Jaime was hoping to fight him, but if one of the two got taken down before, he wouldn't have the chance. He knew that his father would have him killed as soon as the tourney ended. He was just wondering who he would send if it ever came to that. This was a Melee on foot which should make things easier than on horseback.

He waited a few more minutes until the trumpet was finally blown. All the combatants charged at each other.

The first one to charge at Jaime was a Frey wielding a short sword. He always found that weasel looking family pathetic and the fact his aunt was married to one of them was really annoying. He wondered when his aunt Genna would return to Casterly Rock from the Twins. She had written that she was eager to meet Raziel. Jaime didn't have any difficult taking down the Frey. He parried Frey's attack and hit him in the forehead with the pommel of his sword, knocking him out cold.

He then moved for the second opponent as a member of House Banefort. Jaime noticed due to his dark hood that most members wear. He was wielding a poleaxe. He charged at Jaime just like the Frey did, but Jaime could tell that he was much more skilled. He swung the poleaxe at him but Jaime was able to dodge it. The moment he moved back Banefort stabbed Jaime with the tip of the poleaxe. Luckily for Jaime, it didn't penetrate his armor completely. Though Jaime did feel the tip cut through the skin. The Banefort then attempted to stab him one more time but Jaime deflected using his sword and grabbed the poleaxe slightly below the blade,and then pulled the Banefort close and sliced his face with his sword.

Moving now to the third opponent, this time it was a Payne. Cedric Payne if Jaime wasn't mistaken. He was wielding a longsword and shield. Jaime didn't wait and decided to charge at him first. Cedric did a good job defending Jaime's attacks, but it was only a matter of time until he got hit because Jaime was far more skilled than him. After a few seconds, the two ended up clashing their swords. The moment they did, Jaime raised the hilt of his blade and trapped Cedric's sword underneath his shoulder. He Then put the edge on his wrist and spun out, applying a great amount of pressure on it and making him let go of his sword. Jaime tossed the sword away, leaving Cedric with only a shield. Cedric refused to yield and attempted to look confident. Jaime, on the other hand, started to chuckle at the Knight's attempt to be brave. Jaime just lunged his sword at him and Cedric blocked it with his moment he did, Jaime punched him in the face with his left fist, knocking him out completely.

Now he moved to his fourth opponent. The man he wanted to fight, Jorah Mormont. He was carrying a bastard sword, it was no doubt Valyrian steel. It had a bear's head for the pommel.

The moment Jaime charged at him. he could tell that Jorah was the most skilled one he was going to face today. As soon as they got close to each other, they started to deliver several blows toward each other. Both were skillfully deflecting each other's attacks. Jaime was slightly at a disadvantage in this fight because of his sword. Jorah's sword had a longer reach and the sword being Valyrian steel meant that it was both lighter and sharper. But Jaime knew that the sword was only as good as his wielder and Jorah was a skilled swordsman. However Jorah was also at a disadvantage: Jaime was wearing a full plate armor made of the finest steel while Jorah was in mail as well as gauntlets, greaves, and a flat-topped greathelm of dark grey steel. It gave Jaime an advantage in terms of protection.

They clashed some more until Jorah actually tried to tackle Jaime into the ground. But for Jaime's luck, Jorah dropped his sword in the attempt. Jaime was about to seize that opportunity, but Jorah was stronger than Jaime and predicted the move. Jorah managed to tackle Jaime into the ground, making him drop his sword as well. Jorah quickly drew his dagger and attempted to stab Jaime in the neck, where the armor didn't cover. Jaime quickly grabbed his arms while trying to force the blade back on him.

For Jaime's luck, another competitor ended up bumping into the two, pushing Jorah off of him. Jaime quickly stood up and went to grab his sword. He then took a good look into his saviour. It was another Frey. He then noticed a big and powerful man with thick arms wearing a Greathelm that covered his face, a mystery knight. At second glance he saw the Frey was fighting him and got pushed into them by accident.

"Maybe my luck is finally starting to change," Jaime said to himself.

It wasn't long before Jorah stood up and also grabbed his sword. He charged at Jaime again, and the two engaged in another clash of swords. The pair started to deflect each other's blows again but this time, Jaime landed a hit that made Jorah's helmet come off. He swung his sword at Jaime again, but Jaime grabbed him by the wrist. When Jaime tried to slice him, Jorah also grabbed his wrist. With hands locked, Jaime headbutted Jorah in the face with his helmet. While Jorah is stunned, Jaime grabbed the edge of his sword and flipped around, then swung it with all his strength, hitting him in the cheek with the crossguard of his sword, knocking him out completely.

The Kingslayer then stopped for a second to regain his breath. He took a look at the Lord of Bear Island, he was almost sure that he fractured his cheekbone. But Jaime didn't really care, he just lifted his sword to finish him off.

He turned his head around and noticed that there was only one combatant left in the Melee. The Mystery Knight. Jaime quickly prepared himself for him.

"I yield." The mystery knight said with a very calm voice.

Jaime was confused, but he had to admit he was a bit disappointed he would fight the man. However he did use all of his energy in his fight with Jorah Mormont and that would have given that Mystery knight a very good chance of beating him.

The Mystery knight then grabbed Jorah Mormont and dragged him out of the Arena. Jaime assumed the Mystery Knight was a northman or something.

Jaime was declared the winner of the Melee. He went back to remove his armor and had the maester to treat his injuries. He was pleased, he hadn't had a decent fight like that in some time. His father would probably be pleased that Jaime beat the Northman though he would probably get a lecture for not killing him. Jaime didn't care to be honest.

On his way he heard some noises. It was the sound voices. Jaime was wondering what was going on.

He followed the voices until he found several servants and guards close to a room. He was trying to understand what was going on. Jaime got a little closer and noticed Myrcella crying in Raziel's shoulder. He walked towards them in order to see what was going on.

"Myrcella?" She quickly lifted her head to look at him and ran towards him. Jaime quickly grabbed his daughter into a hug. "What is it? Are you hurt?" Jaime asked her.

Myrcella just kept crying.

"Raziel, what happened?" Jaime asked his nephew.

He just stayed quiet as well.

Jaime quickly let go of his daughter in order to check what was going on. She quickly hugged Raziel again. Jaime walked to the room where the ruckus was coming from. He quickly saw his brother standing close to the door drinking.

"Tyrion, what's going on?" Jaime asked his little brother.

Tyrion just gulped down some wine. "You better see yourself." He sounded sad, which made Jaime even more worried.

He entered the room and saw...

His wife Lynesse dead on the floor.

Jaime was paralyzed by the sight. She was just laying there with her a giant cut on her stomach. His father was standing beside her looking furious and his sister was emotionless looking at her.

"Wh...What...What happened!?" Jaime asked in confusion.

His father just looked at him with his pale green eyes.

Jaime then stared at his sister for answers.

"We don't know who killed her." She answered without changing her expression. "But we have bigger problems."

"What?" Jaime asked.

"Whoever killed her." Tywin finally spoke. "Took your son too."

A/N: I received a few more questions that I decided to answer.

Q: Is Raziel based on someone or a character of a different series?

A: His name comes from the protagonist of the game, Soul Reaver. Most of his character traits are from other characters that I'm a fan of, from several different series. But honestly his entire character is mostly composed of him being the opposite of Joffrey.

Q: Is he gonna go to the Iron Islands?

A: Yes. But he won't go during his years of Fosterage.

Q: What is the order of the Fosterages?

A: I don't wanna spoil. All I'm going to say is that, North will be the last one.

Q: Is Raziel going to get a Valyrian Steel sword?

A: Yes.

Q: Is there going to be any character bashing in the story?

A: No. I hate that shit.

If you guys have any more questions, feel free to message me with it. Special thanks to everyone who's reading my story and a even more special thanks to my beta reader (SpiceHoney)