He hadn't wanted to return there. He would have been more than content to remain in Casterly Rock for the rest of his days. Wasting away hours in the training yard and drinking the night away with Tyrion. The Red Keep did nothing to aid his mind, nothing for the memories that leeched onto him. Every brick was stained red. Red with the blood of Rhaella Targaryen, blood drawn by her own brother. Red with the blood of Elia Martell, the dear friend he could not save. Red with the blood of his little niece and nephew, Aegon and Rhaenys who would never get to chase after their little cousin Alysanne. The blood of his wife, lovely Shaena, smeared across the walls as she brought Alysanne into the world. Every brick, every stone, painted red by the gods.
Jaime had made every attempt at washing the rebellion and his years in the Red Keep from his life. Banished to a spot in his mind where his mother and Shaena resided, never touched or looked upon. The training yard and drink shielding any light from reaching it.
Until the day a raven came with a letter from King's Landing, and the memories became harder and harder to keep at bay. The game demanding to be played.
A letter from his sweet sister, demanding his presence for the nameday of the crown prince, Joffrey, and a tourney to celebrate. Joffrey, the boy had been only five namedays when he last saw him, Myrcella had been barely two. He had yet to meet her newest child. Tommen, was it?
The farther they traveled from the Rock, the more excited Alysanne became and the more Jaime began to drown. Blood invading his dreams at night where it once hadn't, blood that had been spilled and blood that he feared being spilt. Aerys, bloodied at his feet. Rhaenys and Aegon, bloodied at the foot of the throne. Shaena, bleeding out in front of him. Alysanne, in place of Rhaenys and Aegon, Robert laughing and-
"Papa! Papa! Look!" Alysanne squealed, riding past him on the pony she had received for her sixth name day.
Jaime winced at her shrieking laughter, his head pounding from the previous night. They had stopped over at an inn, and Jaime had favored ale in place of a restless sleep.
"Careful, Alysanne!" He called after her.
Perhaps she should ride in the wheelhouse instead, he thought to himself. Where is her damn septa?
Septa Elswyth, a homely woman, but caring all the same. A bit flighty if you were to ask Jaime, but she kept a close enough eye on Alysanne. She ensured she attended her lessons and didn't starve, and that was enough for him.
On his better days, Jaime would steal Alysanne from her lessons and her Septa and take her down to the beach outside of Casterly Rock, away from the disapproving eyes of his father. She would swim, or beg him to teach her how to use the small wooden sword Uncle Gerion had given her. And he always bent to her will, for how could he not when she looked so much like Shaena?
On his worst days, he would hide away in his chambers or at a small tavern in Lannisport. Ghosts of years past haunting the Rock, namely Shaena. She was a frequent spectre, growing more frequent as Alysanne grew to look so much like her. Her laugh as she chased the cats of the keep around an echo of hers, the smile that lit her face and danced in her eyes as Gerion told her much exaggerated tales of his travels rending a deep ache in his chest.
On those days, in the deepest recesses of his mind, he understood a shade of the resentment that his father held for Tyrion. For how could he not when she looked so much like Shaena?
Jaime looked around and cursed as the Septa was nowhere to be seen, kicking his horse into a trot after Alysanne as she reached the top of the next hill.
"Alys!" He barked out before she could disappear from sight. "Stop there!"
She turned around in her saddle, eyes wide and face full of glee. Jaime caught up to her, his breath catching as he saw the Red Keep sprawling in the distance, a smear of blood on the horizon.
"Papa look! It's the," her face twisted as she tried to remember the name. "The Red Castle?" She turned towards him in question.
He took a breath before replying. "The Red Keep, dear."
She nodded, "I knew that."
He snorted, a smile playing at his lips. "Of course you did, sweetling."
"I did! I promise!" Alysanne paused, hesitating before her next sentence, voice growing quieter. "Maester Creylen says that's where mother lived."
His heart clenched. "Yes," he turned in his saddle, back towards the rest of their retinue and spoke before Alysanne could further question him. "Come now, we shouldn't linger."
He waited for her to start off first, following behind her as she rode back.
Cersei aside, I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing this place again.
He silently cursed the king and his need for yet another tourney.
He had been able to make excuses for his absence for the past few, true that they were or not. Alysanne had been sick for one, a common childhood fever the maester had called it. For another he claimed an urgent matter that needed his attention amongst his bannermen, an excuse once favored by his father.
In truth, his father's presence had been enough to not insult the king in the past. He was the acting Lord of Casterly Rock, not Jaime. The same could not be said for this occasion, the Prince's, his nephew's, name day too important to miss, or so Tywin had said.
His father had left a moon before them, wanting to make sure he was there to offer Lannister gold to fund the tourney. Further indept the King to our family, more like. The fact that Lannister blood was to sit the Iron Throne was not enough to sate the ambitions of his father, it seemed. Better to ensure you control all the strings, right father? A stern warning and a promise of retaliation should he not show, and his father was off.
The rest of the journey to the Red Keep passed without consequence, unless one were to count Alysanne's constant prattling. On and on she went about the different stories she had heard from her Septa. Stories of knights and tournaments and the great dragon skulls that lined the throne room. She'll be sorely disappointed, Robert's probably had those smashed to dust by now.
Her retelling of the stories of the chivalrous knights saving the fair princess grated on him. That belief will get her killed one day. He'd have to talk to the Septa about it.
She chattered incessantly about the tourneys of legend, and he couldn't right blame her. She had been three the last time they attended a tourney, and she had slept through most of it. It was likely that she didn't remember a thing.
Before long they arrived at the Red Keep, and found his father and the hand of the king, Jon Arryn, awaiting their arrival.
He slid off his horse first before helping Alysanne down from her pony, ignoring the raised eyebrow his father sent his way at her not riding in the wheelhouse. He saw her Septa amble out of the wheelhouse, wiping sleep out of her eye. She sleeps while my daughter runs loose, she can't continue this trend now that we've arrived. I won't have Alysanne around the Red Keep unsupervised.
He led Alysanne forward by her hand, thankful she remembered her courtesies and watched as she gave her father and the Lord Hand a curtsy.
He followed suit, "Father," he said before giving a small bow.
"Jaime. Nice of you to find time in your busy schedule to join me in King's Landing." He ignored the jab from his father in favor of greeting Jon Arryn.
"My Lord Hand, a blessing to see you again."
It wasn't, really. He had no love for Jon Arryn, but no hate either, I suppose. He was a stick in the mud, with all of his talk of honor. He had been one of the few to call for Gregor Clegane's head for what he had done to Elia and the children. He has no love for me either, kinslayer that I am.
"Lord Jaime," he nodded in return before turning to little Alys. "And you must be the little Lady Alysanne."
Alysanne hid partly behind his legs, earning a raised eyebrow from Lord Tywin. She's only six namedays, you old sod, and this is the first time she's traveled out of Casterly Rock. All of the bravado and excitement she had shown on the road had seemed to disappear as they entered the city. He didn't quite blame her, the Red Keep and the city surrounding it weren't exactly welcoming, and it was vastly different from the Rock and Lannisport.
Jon Arryn only gave a fond smile in return for her shyness, a kinder man than my father, I must admit, and turned back to Jaime.
"The King awaits you in the throne room."
Jaime paused, not at all eager to return to that room. "Do you suppose we could refresh first?"
His father interrupted, "There will be no need to stop. The King and your sister are quite eager to see you."
There will be no dissuading him, and I haven't the energy to make an argument he'll ultimately win. Jaime gave a reluctant nod, following after Jon Arryn and his father, leading Alysanne along by her hand.
Aside from the Baratheon and Lannister banners everywhere, the keep had hardly changed. The serving staff no longer cowered in fear, but still made themselves scarce. The same pillars, the same bricks, the same arches, and Jaime half expects to find Shaena waiting for him around every corner.
He almost runs into his father's back, not noticing that they have come to a stop outside the throne room. He takes a moment to prepare himself. There is no Aerys, the scorch marks on the floor are long gone, this king is not a mad king.
The doors open, and he walks forward. Alysanne stumbles after him, too distracted by the tall ceiling, the large windows, and the even larger throne in front of them to pay attention to where she is going.
He comes to a stop and sinks into a low bow, nudging Alysanne to remind her of her courtesies. He sees Cersei purse her lips at this, seemingly unimpressed that the child momentarily forgot herself. Her children are lined up next to her, Joffrey looking bored, Myrcella with a polite smile, and Tommen in the arms of a nursemaid.
"Rise! Up with you Jaime!" The King's voice booms out, startling Alysanne as she flinches before rising.
"Thank you, your grace, for inviting us into your home."
Robert waves a hand in dismissal. "I trust your travels were uneventful?" He asks.
"Yes, your grace. We saw no troubles on the road."
Robert turns from him to Alysanne, eyeing her as his demeanor turns slightly less warm.
"So you brought the girl, then? What remains of the dragons."
Jaime doesn't like the way he refers to her, how he sneers at her, a child of only six namedays. The last of the dragons, as if she is something he failed to destroy.
Jaime steps closer to Alysanne before responding. "Yes, your grace, the little lion of the Rock." He says, to remind Robert that she is also a Lannsiter, and not the dragonspawn he so loathes.
He knows Robert had no love for Shaena, receiving nothing more than empty courtesies at her passing. He made no time to visit and offer his condolences in person, instead sending Jon Arryn to do his dirty work for him. He doesn't doubt Robert prefers to forget Alysanne exists.
Robert stares at her a moment more, before he turns back to Jaime with a grin, voice booming again.
"You'll be entering the lists, I trust? I've always wanted to face down the Kingslayer!" He says with a laugh, as if he's just made the greatest jape known to man.
Jaime hesitates, before his father answers for him, "Of course he will, your grace."
He shoots his father a look before Robert carries on, oblivious to the strife between him and his father.
"You must be tired! Go, rest, and we'll all dine together this evening."
Jaime gives a bow, and Alysanne a curtsy.
"Thank you, your grace."
He leaves the throne room with a sigh of relief, thankful for the brevity of the encounter. If there was one thing he could always count on, it was Robert's hate of courtesies. He doubts Robert wanted to be up there, sitting in that chair, greeting him anymore than he wanted to be in that cursed throne room again.
Following a servant to their quarters, he feels Alysanne tug on his hand.
"Papa, where were the dragon skulls?"
He goes to answer, but his father answers first. "King Robert had them all removed after his coronation."
Alysanne frowns, and his father turns to him. "I would like a word with you in my solar."
Jaime turns to Septa Elswyth, who had waited for them outside the throne room.
"Take her to her chambers, and don't let her out of your sight as you did on the road."
Septa Elswyth has the decency to look ashamed as she leads Alysanne away, Alys looking back at him before resuming her excited chatter about knights and princesses and the tourneys of days past.
He follows Tywin to his chambers, entering into his solar and taking a seat across from him, spread out carelessly.
"I shan't be competing in the tourney, just so you're aware."
His father shoots him an unimpressed frown. "You will. It's time you start taking your role as the heir to Casterly Rock seriously."
Jaime snorts. "And that includes prancing about in my shiny armor and poking at men with sticks? I haven't brought any armour, and I've left destier at home."
"Easily remedied. And no, your role includes acting as befits a lord and renowned knight. Winning tournaments held by the King is a part of that. It would do well for other houses to remember your existence and skill, and that you lack a wife and heir."
Jaime froze, his temper beginning to rise. "I had a wife, and I have an heir."
"Alysanne is not your heir."
Jaime rolls his eyes. "Tyrion, then."
He knows that his father would never consider Tyrion, but if his father would seek to raise his ire, then he would do the same.
"That boy, will never inherit the Rock."
"Yes, and I'm sure so many lords would be willing to tie their precious daughters to a man who killed his last good-father, a kinslayer and a kingslayer, what a prize." Jaime sneers.
He watches as his father clenches his jaw. "You're being purposefully obtuse. You know well that any lady would be lucky to be the Lady of Casterly Rock. We'll continue this conversation on the morrow when you've rested and have regained your senses."
His father turns back to his papers, and he takes that for the dismissal it is, shoving his chair back and strutting out of the room.
He makes his way to his chambers, assuming his sister will have had him placed in the rooms closest to hers.
It hadn't taken them long after Shaena's death to resume their… previous relationship. He should have felt guilt for seeking out Cersei, but then again, there was always comfort in old habits. And Cersei never demanded that he speak of Shaena, preferred if he didn't, in fact. She visited the Rock as often as Robert would let her, and visited his bed in truth, never seeing much of the Rock during her stays.
It was okay if he didn't think about it. If he didn't think about the way Shaena would have looked at him with disgust and shame. If he didn't think about the way he dishonored her with how fast he returned to her bed, as if she had never wormed her way into his life.
He shuddered and shook his head. Too many ghosts here.
He stops a young guard in Lannister livery as he passes by.
"You, boy!" The boy froze, looking at him with wide eyes and Jaime resisted the urge to scoff. "Send word to Septa Elswyth, she'll dine with the Lady Alysanne in her room tonight." He pauses. "My rooms are this way?" He asks.
The boy nods and points to the door with two other Lannister guards standing in front, as well as a member of the Kingsguard.
Septa Elswyth would see Alysanne fed. He didn't know if he could handle sitting across from her tonight, when she looked so much like Shaena.
It will be good for her to go to bed early tonight, he tells himself. She'll be tired from the road, and would only be restless at dinner. Better that she eats where she can do as she pleases, and best she stays out of the way of a drunk Robert.
He thought back to the way Robert had regarded her earlier. He had no doubt that had Shaena not been named a Lannister, she would have joined Elia in her fate. If Robert had his way, he was sure Alysanne would have never taken her first breath. If it weren't for the need of Lannister gold, he's sure that nothing, not him, his father, nor anyone else could have stopped him.
He had seen the way Robert had reacted to little Rhaenys and Aegon, their bodies unrecognisable in the crimson banner of Lannister. Jaime had almost been sick, and Shaena had been, rushing out of the room before she lost her stomach in front of her new king.
Not that Robert had noticed, too enamored he was with his victory and Rhaegar's heirs being done away with.
The aforementioned kingsguard standing outside his door gives away his sister's presence inside. She certainly wasted no time in seeking me out.
He pushes his way in to find his sister lounging about, a glass of wine already in her hand. She looks up at his entry, already looking displeased.
"You took your time, brother." She takes another sip of wine.
"Father wished to speak to me, chastise me, more like."
She hums and rises from her seat, setting her glass of wine down and approaching him.
She pulls him towards the bed by the collar of his shirt, "Come entertain me brother, it has been far too long."
Jaime obliges.
It's hours later that they emerge, the late afternoon. Hours later when Jaime learns the real reason Cersei demanded his presence in King's Landing.
She lies next to him, bathed in golden afternoon light, sprawled out like a lazy cat. "It's far too lonely without you here, Jaime."
He snorts. "Is Robert not enough to entertain you, dear sister?"
She rolls her eyes. "With his drink, his whores, his hunts, he has no time to spare for me. He cares not what I do, and I don't seek to change that."
He doesn't say anything in response, turning his head towards the window and paying little attention to what she says.
"You should stay here, join the kingsguard like we always talked about."
That grabs his attention. Join the kingsguard? Has she taken leave of her senses?"
"You must be jesting, surely. A poor jest at that. Thank the gods you're queen, you'd make for a poor fool."
She sits up. "Be serious, Jaime."
He sits up as well, looking at her incredulously. "It's you who should be serious, sister. Could you imagine? The kinslayer, man without honor, the man who slew the last king, on the kingsguard? Have you lost your mind?"
She scowls, "You would leave me here? Alone? Hasn't it been long enough? It's time for you to return."
He scoffs, moving to get out of bed before she pulls him back and continues talking. "We always talked about it as children, Jaime. Me the queen, and you on the kingsguard. We were never supposed to be apart."
"We were children, Cersei. And that was before I slew the last king, or have you already forgotten? That was before- before-,"
She rolls her eyes. "Surely you're not still mourning her, it's been six years."
He can feel his anger growing, his fists clenched at his sides. "I loved her, Cersei, don't speak of her that way."
Annoyance flashes in her eyes before she smothers it down, grabbing his hands and working them out of fists. "You loved me once, don't you remember? You love me still, I know it."
How can he deny he loves his sister? But do I love her as I used to? As I did Shaena? He chooses to avoid that train of thought, it has never led him anywhere that serves him before.
"Still Cersei, I'm the kingslayer, Robert would never want me guarding him."
"But that's just it, you're the kingslayer! The man who slew the last king for him, to give him the throne! You're the man who ensured Elia Martell and the children were exactly where they needed to be!"
Jaime shoots up from the bed, his voice rising louder in his anger. "None of that is true! I had nothing to do with Elia Martell and you-"
She shushes him and looks towards the door, pulling him back onto the bed.
"It doesn't matter what I think, it only matters what Robert does, his ego is bigger than that gods awful hammer he loves."
He rolls his eyes at her. "Robert isn't nearly as stupid as you think he is, sweet sister. He'll never believe such a tale."
"He already does."
Jaime stops, replaying her last words in his head. He does? Surely she hasn't-
He speaks slowly, forcing the words from his mouth. "What have you done, Cersei?"
"Oh come now, it wasn't so difficult. A few nights spent in his bed, stroking that… ego of his, and he would believe anything I told him."
"He won't name me to the kingsguard Cersei, he was just humoring you."
"But he already has, it's done."
Jaime lets out a laugh. "I'm a member of the kingsguard, am I? This is the first I've heard of it. Perhaps I shall find a shiny new cloak in my trunk! Shall I go greet my new brother who stands just outside?"
Her scowl returns. "Don't play stupid, Jaime. He's announcing it tonight. At dinner." She wraps her arms around his shoulders, leaning into him. "It's done. You'll be here with me, like the gods intended it."
"And father agreed to this?"
He hears her scoff. "Father has no clue. But what can he do? Robert's king, and I'm queen."
She really has taken leave of her senses.
"He won't allow it, you know as well as I do that he'll put a stop to it."
Cersei moves to sit in front of him, grabbing his hands into hers again.
"He doesn't get to choose. He's not the king, Robert is. And I'm the queen."
"And what of Alysanne? I can't just leave her at the Rock."
Cersei looks at him like he's stupid, like he's missing the obvious.
"She'll stay here of course, where else would she be? We'll raise her, she'll be ours Jaime. The gods know that she needs a mother, that Septa you stick her with is doing a dreadful job. Did you see her in the throne room?"
When Jaime doesn't respond, she continues. "Perhaps she can even marry Joff, the lion and the dragon will be joined as our houses should have with me and Rhaegar-"
He interrupts her then, voice stern. "They were joined, Cersei, with Shaena and I."
She glances at him and continues on, but Jaime doesn't hear her. He can think only of Alysanne and what would befall her at court. No one here thinks kindly of dragons, and try as I might she will always be seen by those who wish her harm as just that. He thinks of the way Joffrey pulled her hair and kicked her shins during his last visit to the Rock, calling her dragonspawn before leaving her in the dirt. He thinks of the way Robert looks at her, full of contempt and annoyance. Who knows how those feelings would begin to fester, how they would emerge as she grew older and was no longer a six-name-day old child, once she was a woman grown. Another Elia Martell to stain the bricks of the keep.
He interrupts Cersei, "It's getting late, we should ready ourselves for dinner tonight."
Cersei stops speaking and doesn't give him a second glance as she dresses, annoyed that he does not seem as enthusiastic as she.
She turns to him before she leaves the room, not content to leave him with the last word. "Try to be happy, brother, I've won. Father doesn't always get his way after all."
Jaime sits in silence as attendants dress him and ready him for dinner, replaying the conversation with Cersei over and over in his head. Surely this is all a joke? I'll get to dinner, and they'll laugh at having pulled the wool over my eyes. But what if she's serious? She can't be so mad as to take fathers heir away.
He makes his way to the king's private dining room, and looks around before taking his seat to his fathers left. Robert has yet to arrive, but everyone else has.
The table is set with meats and cheeses and stews, food of every kind from all corners of the realm. If there was one thing Jaime appreciated about Robert, it was his fine taste in food.
Father is seated to the left of Robert's seat, and is looking bored and irritated to be kept waiting, a glass of wine sitting in front of him untouched. Cersei across from father, to the right of Robert's seat. She still has a self-satisfied smirk plaguing her face as she sips her wine. Joffrey sits to her left, stabbing at a small portion of meat with his fork. Myrcella next to him, looking intently at a small plate of fruit pies. Tommen is absent, presumably with his own Septa or nursemaid, too young to be up so late.
Jaime takes a seat to his fathers right, and Robert enters not long after he's seated.
They stand as he enters, and Robert laughs.
"Enough of that! This is family, no need for all of that here."
No one says anything as they all take their seats, the children chattering to their father about their days as he pays more attention to his food and drink.
Jaime can't eat, he doesn't touch the food placed in front of him as he waits for the inevitable. If Robert's smart he'll wait until the end of the night for his announcement. I've never known him to be a patient man, however.
He ends up being right, as it's after the first course that Robert sits his fork and knife down and bids everyone pay attention.
"Jaime, lad, how do you like Kings Landing? Better than the last time, I hope." Robert says with a small chuckle at the end.
He grimaces. "King's Landing is fine, your grace."
"Fine? Pah!" Robert takes a sip of his wine. "You'll have plenty of time to grow used to it again, I suppose."
His father looks confused, but Jaime knows exactly what he's referring to. He knows exactly what's coming next, but in a desperate bid that he's wrong, he questions him anyway.
"Your grace-"
"None of that! It's Robert to you."
Jaime grits his teeth. "Robert, then, I'm not sure what you mean."
Robert shifts in his seat, excitement blooming on his face. "It's to you in part I owe my reign. You secured the Iron Throne, what better man to protect me? I'm still filling spots on the kingsguard, and I've appointed you."
The room stills, his father glaring daggers into the king. No one breathes, no one moves, no one dares blink. Cersei looks out over her wine glass as she takes a sip, at his face, his fathers face, and again at Roberts.
His father breaks the silence first. "Your grace, this is an honor, but-"
Robert interrupts, stern voice leaving no room for argument. "It's done, Tywin. I leave you with one son yet."
If there was ever a time that Jaime saw his father struggle to control his emotions, to reel in his anger, it was now.
"Tyrion is a boy. He is not my heir, cannot be my heir-"
Robert seems inclined to let no one finish their sentences. "What, is the boy impotent? A eunuch? I'll find him a bride."
Tywin grits his teeth, white knuckling the fork in his hand. "That is not the issue, your grace. I just had… other hopes for him."
The King waves a hand. "Tommen, perhaps. You can foster him and mould him how you see fit."
This grabs Cersei's attention, but Robert continues speaking before she can get a word in.
"It's already arranged. It will be announced at the start of the tourney."
Tywin and Cersei start speaking at the same time, voicing protests that Robert doesn't seem to have any time for. The whole time, Jaime has sat there in stunned silence. She wasn't japing. What has she done? How can she expect me to stay here? In this place?
"It's done!" His voice booms out, a fist meeting the table, startling the children who had watched on with wide eyes. "It's done! Jaime will join the kingsguard, and Alysanne will foster in the North."
"Excuse me?" All heads turn to Jaime, the first he's spoken since Robert shocked them all.
"The North. The girl will go north. Far away from court, you can never trust a dragon."
"Your grace, perhaps we can send my daughter back to Casterly Rock. My father can raise her."
Robert shakes his head. "Ned Stark is an honorable man. The ice will smother the dragon fire in her, and Ned will ensure she never rises. That none of her dragonspawn relatives will come to aid her."
His father shoots him a quelling look, and he shuts his mouth, instead reaching for a glass of wine.
The rest of the dinner passes in a tense manner, Robert content to regale them with his latest hunting exploits while everyone else pushes food around their plates, waiting for the best time to flee.
His father, silently stewing in his rage, most likely turning over plans of retaliation in his head. Cersei, angry that she had assumed Robert would forget Alysanne, would accept her living in the Red Keep where he swore no dragonspawn would set foot again. A girl. She's just a girl. Not a threat. Joffrey looks around, excited by all the yelling and perhaps the only one thoroughly engaged by his fathers stories. Myrcella, poor Myrcella looks towards her mother, on the verge of tears from all the anger in the room.
The North? Cersei hadn't accounted for that. Madness, complete stupidity. No wonder Robert agreed to appoint me, an opportunity to send Alysanne away into the arms of his best friend, a hostage as he had been. As Elia had been. A head to chop off should the dragons return.
He finds himself following his father to his solar after dinner. He knew his father all too well, and he would be the first one his father would blame.
"You will set aside this folly."
Jaime gapes at his father. "Me? You think I would want to return here? That I would choose to send my daughter away?"
His father stares him down. "You place her in the care of that Septa more oft than not."
He scoffs. "Yes, but I do not want her gone. Really, father-"
"Nevermind that," Tywin interrupts. "He'll name you, you'll swear your vows for the realm to see, and I'll find a quiet way out of this."
That, that wouldn't do. "You have me named a dishonorable man twice over? I'm already a kinslayer."
"You will because I say you will. Now, about Alysanne,"
Jaime jumped in, relishing the opportunity to interrupt his father for a change.
"Yes, about that. The North? Who gave him that idea? Jon Arryn, perhaps? That old sod never liked me,"
"It was my idea." Tywin interjected.
I hadn't expected that. He looks at his father in disbelief. "You?"
"Me. I arranged a betrothal between her and Robb Stark."
His face grew hot and he gripped the arms of his chair. "What right do you have, I am her FATHER-"
"I have every right. You have avoided your duties at every turn, you have not acted the father. So I took the opportunity. The girl will go North, and we will have a foothold in Winterfell. It also serves another purpose."
Jaime seethed, struggling to control the volume of his voice. "And what purpose would that be?"
"Finding you a new bride. Alysanne will be out of the way in the North, not a threat to any future children you have."
"She is not a threat!" He yelled, taking a breath before he could continue. "She is a girl. A motherless girl of only six namedays."
"A girl without any structure as well. It's done Jaime. The contract has been signed and arrangements made. She leaves in two days time."
He shot his father one last glare before storming out of the room. How dare he? First this keep took Shaena from me, and now it takes Alys as well. He really thinks to remove me from the kingsguard after Robert swears me in? I will not marry another. It was only Shaena, and now I have Cersei. No more.
He reached his rooms and found himself in bed, staring up at the canopy before falling into a restless sleep.
The dreams returned in full force that night. It was the usual haunts, his mind plaguing him with memories real and imagined. The mad king, burning Shaena with wildfire on their wedding night. Shaena in the place of Elia Martell, savaged by the Mountain. Shaena, bleeding out on the birthing bed. Perhaps it was the misery that surrounded the Red Keep, but his dreams turned in a new direction that night. Alysanne, grown and just as beautiful as her mother had been, burning in the throne room. Alysanne savaged by the Mountain. Alysanne, bleeding out in the snow with a beast standing over her, a wolf? A lion? He couldn't quite tell. The blood spilling out from her and melting the snow under her, screams echoing in the air-
He woke with a start, his shift stuck to him with sweat. Not Alys, never her.
A plan began to form in his head.
He wasn't fool enough to believe he could stop his father. No, Alysanne would go North. But his hand did not have to stop there.
He sought out his childhood friend Addam Marbrand that next morning, a knight in his fathers service now.
"I need you to go North, with Alys."
Addam looked at him in disbelief. "You would have me go there? To that wasteland?"
He looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please, Addam, I never beg. But this I beg of you. I cannot go with her, and she will be all alone. Who else do I, can I, trust?"
Addam looked at him in askance, playing the words over in his mind. Jaime spoke again.
"You would only need stay until she marries. I won't have her there as a child alone, she needs an advocate. There's not much else I can do once she's married, but until then, she needs someone. I won't have her end up as Rhaella did, or so many women before her. Go with her, teach her enough to defend herself, continue with her sword if she so wishes, but she cannot be alone. Please, I'll be in your debt."
Addam played his words over in his mind, eyes closed in defeat before he opened them. "Alright, but only because having a Lannister in your debt is too good an offer to refuse." He gave Jaime a small smile at the end of his sentence, a good hearted jape to ease his mind.
Jaime sighed in relief, offering a matching smile back. "Good man."
Two days later, he hugged Alysanne goodbye, hardly able to look her in the eyes. The accusing eyes of her mother, how could you send her away? How could you let them do this? He watched as she looked back from her pony, northbound to the wolves, a burning tree by her side.