When Jaime Lannister opens his eyes, the first thing he sees is the glimmer of muted candlelight on tresses of auburn hair. Auburn. Not blonde. Before, the sight might have alarmed him. At the very least he would have considered the idea of Tyrion being behind it, as part of some form of practical joke.
Now, though, things are different. He still does not fully understand it, or how it came to pass, but they are different. And now, when he runs his fingers through those auburn locks, he is not alarmed. He is not suffering even the slightest hints of doubt.
He is relieved.
That does startle him, somewhat. Whatever else people thought of him, he'd always held some measure of pride in an unflinching ability to remain faithful to a single woman. That was one oath he'd never broken, and at one time he'd sworn he never would.
Yet now, here he is. Remaining still while the woman in his arms curls closer, the smooth skin of her cheek pressing against his bare chest, just above his heart.
If anyone had told him, years ago, that he would be here—that the woman sharing this bed would be of any importance to him at all—he would have gladly proclaimed that they were mad…
Then again, if anyone deserves that title, perhaps it is only him.
A laugh escapes in response to the sudden thought, prompting the woman to shift even closer, and Jaime finds his own arms tightening around her frame while her hair tickles the underside of his chin. For the second time, his fingers card through those locks, eliciting a sleepy hum. And even if he had not intended on waking her, Jaime would be the first to admit that the woman had always had a rather stubborn mind of her own.
"What are you thinking, Jaime?"
"Who says I'm thinking of anything? My mind could be a complete blank; gods know Tyrion always thought it was—"
"Ordinarily, I am the early riser, between us. Try again."
"You know, you were sleeping rather peacefully a moment ago," Jaime quips, shifting to look down at the woman who seems so determined to torment him, the corners of his mouth pulling up just a bit as a result of her own rather mischievous smirk.
"I was. Until someone woke me with their incessant thoughts."
"Ah. Well perhaps I ought to smother you with a pillow, and let you get back to your rest."
The light swat against his chest is predictable, to say the least, but it is the laughter that spills from the woman's mouth that Jaime truly wants, warm, and given freely, whether he finds himself truly deserving of it or not. In these stolen moments, the sound is something he has almost come to need, no matter how he may have tried to stop it.
Stolen moments are all they've ever known. Regardless of his own best attempts at keeping his distance, the unlikely connection forged between them had not been easy to hide from the prying eyes in King's Landing.
Once the idea of it all had taken hold in his sister's mind, Jaime had lost all hope of being able to protect Sabrynna from her ire. But even he could not have foreseen Cersei's decision to send her here.
Here, to be the lady of a house ruled over by the man responsible for the murder of her aunt and cousin, both. And all thanks to the will of a spiteful queen, and a father who only sought to enhance his own gains, even if it came at the cost of a daughter's will to fight for another day.
Sabrynna did not know it, but Jaime had already vowed to kill her father, should he ever have the misfortune of seeing him in future...
"You are doing it again—"
"There are some thoughts, Sabrynna, that you do not wish to know."
Jaime is not blind to the frown that pulls at Sabrynna's lips, nor does he miss the flash of something in her gray-green eyes that is not all that far from open frustration over his sudden refusal to come clean. But even with the pull of regret he feels as a result, he cannot help but give in to some amusement at her expense, as well.
This is the Sabrynna he used to know. The young woman who used to always suffer more annoyance at his presence than pleasure. Though he still enjoys goading her, back then, it had been different. The barbs and taunts had actually been intended to cause harm.
Feeling the beginnings of her efforts to pull away, Jaime seizes at Sabrynna's wrist, fingers snaring it gently, so that he might tug her back to where she was resting before. She resists, but only just, a soft sigh of exasperation escaping as she levels him a look from beneath her eyelashes.
Jaime knows that look, as well, but this time he manages to suppress his amusement, the pad of his thumb caressing the inside of her wrist for a moment before he finally persuades himself to speak.
"You could come with me, you know."
"And go where, Jaime? Back to King's Landing?"
"Obviously not."
"Then where?"
Unable to provide a suitable response, Jaime remains silent, the idea of leaving Sabrynna behind—leaving her here with the enemy who had slaughtered her family at a wedding feast—bringing the burn of bile to the back of his throat. He might have eventually forced himself to admit there was no other choice, and he certainly knew that Sabrynna would see that reality even if he could not. After all, having returned Riverrun to the proper side in this incessant game of war that they all played, he had little reason left to remain at The Twins. His current delay in departure certainly had nothing to do with wanting to spend more time with Walder Frey.
And like always, with just a look at him, Sabrynna seems to pick up on the direction of his unspoken thoughts, or at least she does if the slight softening of her expression as she frees her wrist from his grasp is any sort of indication at all.
"You know more than anyone that we must continue to play a part, here," Sabrynna murmurs, lifting her newly freed hand to place her palm against Jaime's cheek, "And I will not have you dying for me."
"I wasn't aware you intended to start giving me orders."
"It is not an order."
"It certainly sounds like one," Jaime remarks, the words hardly carrying any true irritation, even if he would be a fool to pretend he does not feel such a thing at all, "This is the second time you are forcing me to leave you."
"I believe the first time, I rode away from King's Landing. How does that qualify as you leaving me?"
"You know what I mean."
"I do. But that does not change what must be done."
"Stubborn woman."
"Did you truly believe I would behave in any other way?" Sabrynna questions, a sad smile pulling at her lips as she takes in Jaime's obviously worried frown, "This is the only way—"
"The only way to keep Jon safe. I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it."
He doesn't like it. In fact, Jaime can say for a certainty that he hates the idea of simply leaving on the morrow, knowing the truth of what Sabrynna will face when he is gone. But he also knows that she has the right of it. That in order to protect these moments they've found together—to protect the result of those moments—he can do nothing but comply.
A part of him yearns for the man he used to be. The man that would welcome the journey back to King's Landing. Back to Cersei, and their own stolen moments that had once succeeded in making him feel whole. But as quickly as the thought comes, Jaime forces it away. His fingers once again find their way into Sabrynna's hair.
She responds almost desperately when his mouth moves to cover her own, her arms sliding around his neck as though she is attempting to convince herself this is not the last time they will see one another. As though either of them have a chance to survive.
Even if he cannot exactly see a way through whatever lies ahead of them, Jaime needs to believe that they can survive. He needs to believe that there is a way to have both Sabrynna, and their son at his side.
Shifting so that Sabrynna rests beneath him, Jaime does what he can to reassure her of that belief without ever saying a word. Sabrynna meets him, every step of the way. And even if both of them are well aware that this moment between them cannot last, it hardly stops them from proceeding as though it can.
It does not stop them from clinging to the memory, to get them through the days to come.
…
Hello there, darling readers! And welcome to the introductory prologue of this tale! I have to say, I am beyond excited to delve back into the world of Game of Thrones, so it is my sincerest hope that at least some of you will be along with me for the ride? I know things may be a little muddy, here at the start, because we still don't really know who Sabrynna is, or what her role may be. But I promise, as we delve back into the start of season one (and a small bit of time before those events), everything will start to become more clear! There really is a method to my madness, I swear!
My heartfelt thanks go out to each and every one of you that has taken the time to read this story and give it a chance! I truly do appreciate the support, and of course I cannot wait to hear what you think!
Until next time, dear ones…
FireAndBlood1415