Wife of the Wolf, Husband of The Sun

by DiscordantSymphony

Events changed and the marriage of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell is called off. Rhaegar will marry Cersei Lannister and have gold and silver dragons meanwhile Elia will go north and marry Eddard Stark and from them will spring a great dynasty. Will contain some show elements, slow burn.

33. Chapter 33

Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun

Chapter Thirty-Three.

The grass underneath Jaime's horse's hooves crunched loudly, the rain had been unforgiving the night before and the Sunset Sea had been wild and unforgiving the night before and Jaime had never seen it like that before in his entire life, he would not want to have been a fisherman on the sea that night. Tyrion was riding behind him on his pony, high up on his special saddle that was his own design. Jaime had to admit that despite how much he loved his brother even he had been surprised by his brother's ingenuity, even their father had been impressed at the time and while he had not smiled, he did at the very least seemed pleased which was almost as rare as their father smiling.

They rode deeper into the woods of Lannisport and further from both the city and Casterly Rock, the great stronghold of their family loomed above the city, almost looking like a lion that was about to pounce down on to the city like it was an unaware animal that was practically begging to have it's innards pulled out and chewed on. Jamie had to admit that he had never been overly found of Casterly Rock, he had always been overwhelmed by it's majesty and he had respected the history that it held not just for his family but for all of the Seven Kingdoms.

But that didn't change the fact at night it was as cold as the north and damp and air had rushed through the long corridors, the Rock was warm in Summer and Spring but during the Winter it was almost unbearable. Well, he supposed it would be unbearable if not for the fact that all he had to do was clap and a dozen servants would soon be building his fire and have him buried under a hundred blankets if that was what he wanted.

There was an unpleasant chill in the air at the moment but the rain had stopped all through there was no sign of the sun that morning, it had risen silently and unseen and was now hiding behind the thick blanket of clouds, the colour of dirty snow. Jamie would not normally have rode this far away from Casterly Rock for no reason but he needed to get away from it for a few hours, maybe even an entire day.

Ever since he and his family had returned to the Rock from King's Landing with Elia Martell chained with them, he had become a joke and the stories that the servants and knights of the Rock would not stop spreading stories about what had caused their lord and his family to come back with a Dornish princess, a married one at that. None of them were so foolish as to speak of these things too loudly or to ask any of the family or their guest, directly. Most of them could not read and some of them couldn't even remember to bathe themselves but they were well aware of how dangerous Lord Tywin was when his ire was raised and none of them wanted it directed them.

But they did not stop the stories, even if they were only told in whispers. In it's own way that almost made it much worse, he knew how to deal with a man that mocked him to his face but not one that spoke behind his back. If they were enemies, men in plate and mail and leather armed with swords and axes and maces then he would know what to do but they weren't, they were squires and kitchen maids and stable boys and cupbearers and cooks and pages and lesser lords and ladies all of whom wanted to bring their lord and his family down to their level a little, to gossip about them gave them all a little excitement in their completely predictable lives.

Jamie wanted to stab them, he wanted to stab quite a few things lately.

It wouldn't be so terrible if some of the stories he had managed to drag out from reluctant lips weren't so completely ridiculous. The most conmen one seemed to be that he had fallen in love with Princess Elia at first sight, that he could not stand the sight of her with a husband and he had decided to kill Eddard Stark by plunging his blade through his heart and the king had rewarded him for his act of passion by granting Elia to him, it may have been the most common story but it was also the most stupid one and only the true idiots in Casterly Rock were the ones to believe it.

Another story that was similar and almost as popular and only slightly less stupid was that instead of killing horsefaced Ned Stark he had instead only noticed how beautiful the Dornish princess was and his heart had swelled for pity for the lovely maid and when night had fallen on King's Landing he had scaled a tower that her cruel husband had looked her in and spirited her away from the city with the help of his father, uncle and aunt and brother.

It was nonsense, both the stories worked on the assumption that he found Elia Martell to be a great beauty and in all truth he did not. She was not hideous, to be fair. Her teeth were white and straight and her skin was unblemished but that was truly the only kind things he could say about her. Her eyes were a little too close together and they were a dull brown on top of it, her nose was a little too broad and her lips were too thin. The kindest thing he could say of her was that she was not ugly but she certainly was not a maid that was worth killing her husband for nor was she one worth scaling a tower for, the prettiest thing about her was her brown hair which was so dark it was black and fell down to her neck in the curls but even so that was not enough to call her pretty.

And she had not been a girl worth dying for either, Cersei had been. He would've died for her, he'd have killed for her if she had asked for it and oh, she had asked for it. She had wanted him to take his sword and shove it through Elia's back, to bloody his sword so she could go on with her lovely new husband without having to worry about the princess taking her prince from her.

Looking back, Jaime might actually have done that. It would've been better than this, oh he might have died to be sure and it would have thrown all the Seven Kingdoms into war but at least he wouldn't have to live with the knowledge that right now, in either King's Landing or Dragonstone, his sweet sister, his twin, his Cersei, was most likely laying underneath her dragon prince and being taken again and again and would soon bear him as many children as he demanded of her.

Even the thought of it made his sword hand twitch, it was wrong to think of it of course as Rhaegar was prince but often had he thought of shoving his blade through the Dragon prince's heart. He had dreamed about it the night before, he had shoved it all the way through his back and it had come out through the front. His blade had shined in the light and the prince's blood had looked almost back on the shining silver. He had smelt salt and smoke and heard the sound of war drums in the distance and then his blade had caught fire and the steel of his blade melted like butter in a cook pot and then the hilt had caught alit as well and though Jamie knew that he should have dropped it he wasn't able too.

The flames had taken his hand then, it burnt and was terrible and the smell was terrible and made him want to retch but he didn't, he couldn't even scream. It was as if he had been frozen but he still felt pain. He felt it so much, when the flames began to creep up his arm and burn his face, that was when he finally woke up. He had shot up in his bed, pale and sweating with the sounds of the waves crashing against the stony base of the rock, sounding too much like the war drums from his dreams for him to be able to get back to sleep and when he did close his eyes all he saw were flames.

Still, he was still tempted to do it but he knew that his sweet sister would not forgive him if he did such a thing, if not for killing her husband than for robbing her of her crown, so he had done his best to clear his mind of those thoughts. That was part of the reason he had insisted on this trip and on bringing Tyrion along with him, he wanted to get away from the Rock and he didn't want to be left on his own either, his little brother was truly the only one that he could actually talk too as he was the only one who knew. The only who knew the truth.

His father didn't hold his brother in the highest regard but Jamie thought it was a pity, Tyron was smarter than him and he saw more than most realised, it didn't take him long to figure what he and Cersei had been doing and when his brother had told him that he knew Jaime had been with his sister in a way he shouldn't have been he had been terrified of what his brother would do with the knowledge, he had been terrified that he would've told their father. If their father ever found out the truth about him and his sister than everything would be over. He didn't care much about being the Lord of Casterly Rock so he wouldn't care much at all if he was disinherited but he did care about Cersei. If their father found out then being disinherited and banished was the best that they would be able to hope for as if anyone found out than their father would probably kill them to erase the shame from their family name.

When Tyrion had told him he had been so afraid that he had become painfully aware of the dirk that had been hanging from his side, if Tyrion was going to try and tell their father than Jaime wasn't sure what he would do. He couldn't let him tell their father but the only way he could think to stop him was to slice his brother's throat open but he couldn't do that. Tyrion was his brother no matter what he knew and Jaime wouldn't become a kinslayer, he wouldn't. Cersei would've done it, she would've done it without a moment's hesitation but Jaime wasn't Cersei.

In the end it turned out that he didn't have anything to worry about and Tyrion wasn't going to tell their father, he had even asked Jaime what the point was as their father was unlikely to believe him and would probably only think that he was trying to smear Jaime and Cersei in his eyes so that he might disinherit them and then he would be in line to inherit the Rock from his father.

Jaime had wanted to tell him that there was no chance that there father would think that but he knew that what his brother was saying was the truth and he didn't think that Tyrion would fall for an obvious lie like that. The two of them had than sat down on Jaime's bed and simply talked about it, it was odd to think about it now but Jaime realised looking back that it was actually the first real conversation that ever truly had with his little brother, he had spoken to him before of course but this was the first time that Jaime had ever actually spoken to him like he was an adult, had treated him like he was his equal.

They had spoken for a long time, he couldn't remember exactly how long but he knew that Tyrion had come to speak time him when the sky had turned black and the stars had burned high above the Rock and when the had finally stopped talking it had turned to the colour of a peach and the sun was rising, despite it all Jaime had not felt tired at all, if anything he had felt more awake than he had in a very long time.

There had been some things that he and his brother had not discussed, things that Tyrion had not wanted to hear and things that Jaime had not wanted to tell him but afterwards Jaime had felt lighter, had felt better now that there was finally someone he could talk to about it. Since that talk Jaime and Tyrion had been able to confide in one another more often, had been able to trust one another and get what they both needed.

That was why Jaime had brought Tyrion out with him as his anger and his hate and his frustration and a thousand other feelings that he had no names for were bubbling under the surface and Jaime simply wanted to complain out to someone who would hear him and not run to tell his father that he was fucking his own sister, Tyrion was the only one.

When he had told his father that he planned on riding out with his brother, Tywin Lannister had not looked pleased but then he never looked pleased, he had wanted to send his captain of guards along with a dozen other guards to guard them as they rode out and Jaime had agreed to that.

The only problem was that Jaime told his father they were going to Lannisport and not out into the woods, he supposed that it was likely that poor Captain Vlyarr was still waiting for them at the Lion's Mouth, not realising that Jaime and Tyrion had slipped out through the Sunset Gate and rode along the beach and around the walled city of Lannisport and from there rode into the woods.

"Are we almost there? My legs are beginning to cramp." Tyrion's voice cut through Jaime's thoughts and he looked back at his brother to see him slightly trailing behind, Tyrion could ride a horse well enough thanks to his saddle and the horse itself was small even for a pony but riding, he knew, was not his brother's favourite activity in the world and that it was still painful for him.

"We shouldn't be far away now." At least he did not think that they were, it had been a very long time since he had been to the clearing that he was thinking off but he did think that they were close now. The last time that he had been to this clearing was when he had been younger, Jaime had been smaller than Tyrion was now and his hair had always fallen into his eyes back then due to how long it was, it had almost been as long as Cersei's.

His father had told him that it would need to get cut soon but he never did so for the longest time, simply ruffling the top of his head and laughing. Father did not laugh much even back then but he did laugh now and then, he smiled a lot more back then as well but his mother had still been alive as well. His memories of his mother were faint, he did not spend as much time with her as he should have but she had been busy with looking after Cersei with Aunt Genna while Jaime was left to be raised by his father and his uncle once he was old enough to leave the nursery.

There were something's that he could remember of her but most of it was gone, how she smiled, how she laughed, that was all gone. What he could remember wasn't enough, long golden hair that used to flow behind her like a lion's mane when the wind caught it and he remember a pair of slim arms encircling him when ever he had been cold or scared.

The clearing that Jaime was thinking of was one where he, his sister, his mother and his father used to take picnics on days where the sun shinned brighter than any piece of treasure in the Golden Gallery and the sky had been cloudless and bluer than the sea. The clearing was immense, more a small field in the middle of the forest than an actual clearing and when they did go to the clearing an entire army of servants and knights would follow them. To serve and protect their lord and his family in all things.

But as a child Jaime had barely noticed that they were there, he had been spending time with his mother and his father and his sister, why would he pay attention to anything other than them? His father had used to smile back then, most of them were for his mother and his sister and his Aunt Genna but every now and then his father would have a smile that was just for him.

Once Tyrion was born and his mother died the smiles had stopped like they had never been there. Jaime knew that his mother dying wasn't Tyrion's fault, not really, but even so he couldn't really forgive him for at least being a part of what made their father like this. He was not such a fool as to ever think that Tywin had been a kind man or even a good one but he had never been this cruel before, he remembered one time he had went into Tyrion's room deep in the bowels of the rock because he had wanted to see his baby brother.

The wet nurse had been passed out in her chair at the side of Tyrion's crib so there was nothing to stop Jaime from going right up to the crib and peering down at his brother, he had been confused when he looked down at him. Everyone had said that his mother had birthed a monster and that was what had killed her but he did not see a monster at all. The only thing in that crib was a baby, an ugly baby but a baby.

He had reached down and stroked his fingers across his brother's face gently and nearly fell over when his eyes opened, one black and one green, and he stared up at him. Jaime had been terrified that he would cry and wake up the wet nurse and she would tell his father that he had been down here even though he had forbidden either he or Cersei to come and see their brother.

But the baby hadn't cried, he had simply stared up at him with his mismatched eyes for a few moments before he closed his eyes again and went back to sleep. Jaime had tried to leave then but the door had burst open and his Father was standing in the doorway with the face of a man who was about to watch men be hanged from the gallows, His uncle Kevan had been standing behind him with a disappointed look on his face.

That night Jaime had been forced to beat his whipping boy for the first time and every time he had begged his father to let him stop but the old lion had refused him and Jaime was forced to continue until his arm ached and the poor whipping boy's back was black and blue and was bleeding, Jaime had never seen the boy again and he hoped that the boy had been sent far, far away from Casterly Rock but he supposed that it was more than possible that he had been forced to beat the boy so hard that his wounds had festered and he had died.

It wasn't until later that he had learned that Cersei had been the one to tell their father what he was doing, he had told her that he had planned to go and see their brother, he had asked her to come with him but she had refused and Jaime had not pushed it because only one person could make his sister do something that she didn't want too and that day that person and his sister had been of one mind.

He loved his sister more than anything but it was something that he had not easily forgiven her, but of course he did. He always did.

After a few more moments of riding in silence Jaime and Tyrion finally arrived in the clearing but it had changed, when Jaime had been a child the grass had been soft and green and it had smelt pleasant, now what little grass that was left, and there was not a lot of it, had turned to a sort of yellow-brown colour and it smelt of nothing. The rest of the ground was muddy and uneven with pebbles scattered about along with a few twigs. A large ditch had formed roughly in the middle of the clearing and it had been filled with rain water, making a small pound although it's water was the same colour as the grass.

"I must admit, dear brother. This is not what I was expecting when you told me of this place, it has it's charms I am sure enough of that but I think looking back I would've preferred to go to Lannisport." Tyrion quipped from behind him and Jaime had to resist the urge to knock some of his brother's teeth out, a common urge when it came to his brother he had to admit. To be true he found his brother to be very witty but most of the time he was on the other side of it, watching someone else being mocked. Having to be on the receiving end was never something that Jaime had enjoyed.

"It wasn't like this before." He muttered as he glanced around the almost bare clearing, he had no idea what could've caused this to happen and in truth it did not matter, it wasn't as if they could go back now as their father would not be gentle with them. Jaime was too old to have a whipping boy now but whatever punishment that his father would have in mind for him would not be pleasant, and for Tyrion it would be a thousand times worse, in truth he would be punished regardless for lying to him but they had already gone to the trouble of lying to him and slipping away from the guards he had assigned to them so they might as well have a bit of fun before they were dragged back to the Rock to face his judgement.

And they would be dragged back, he had no doubts about that. By now Captain Vlyarr would've gone to his father and told him that they had not presented themselves at the Lion's Mouth as they should have, his father would then launch a short search of the Rock and when he saw that they were nowhere to be found and that the Sunset gate was open then he would send out a search party for them, assuming that they had only just left the rock then they would first search for them in Lannisport and the city was not small and only when they found that they were not there would they extend the search to the woods and none of them would dare return to the Rock without them as only a fool would want to face Lord Tywin's wrath. So, they had at least a few hours before they were forced to go back.

Jaime dismounted his horse and Tyrion followed suit, the two brothers lead their horses to the treeline of the clearing that was to the north of the lake and made sure that they were secured to the trees so that they would not run off. The two horses made quite a sight when they were standing next to one another, Jaime's was a war horse, the same destrier that he had ridden in the tourney in King's Landing which had caused all of this mess while Tyrion's was a pony that had not been expected to survive very long all though it had, and while it could not run as fast as some other horses not it was it likely to be strong enough to become a plow horse but it was perfectly suitable for his brother to ride and that was truly the important thing.

Jaime retrieved a carrot from the saddle bag that hung at his horse's side and began to feed it, they would need to find a stream in the woods so that both horses could have a drink before they started back as he did not trust the ditch full of rain water and it was going to be bad enough as it was to face his father, if both horses became sick because of him then Jaime would have to shovel horse dung out of the stables for an entire moon.

Tyrion had just finished feeding his horse an apple, throwing the core over his shoulder, before he turned to face Jaime and addressed him. "So, you wanted to talk to me? What was so important that you couldn't speak to me in the Rock? Despite what it may seem at times, Father isn't always looming over our shoulders. He has his spies that can do that for him."

"There are some things that I need to speak to you about." Jamie muttered as he began to unpack the rest of his saddlebags, for a regular horse he was sure that the load would be almost too much to bear however his destrier had been breed, trained and was used to carrying a man on his back that would more often than not be dressed in full armour with at least a lance in his hands, the horse could handle a few bags worth of supplies.

He had brought some food in case they weren't able to catch anything but he did not expect that to happen, he hoped that it didn't as the food he had brought was not exactly the most appetising of fare as he had to grab it from the kitchens quickly, a few hard biscuits that he assumed had been baked the day before, a few bunches of red grapes that the cook had gotten from the Reach, a loaf of bread that had just been baked that morning and Jaime had nearly burnt his hand when he had picked it up, a large wedge of cheese that he didn't want to think about how long it had been waiting in the larders, a pat of butter which had been rolled in salt and wrapped in brown paper and a few apples.

They would not starve but Jaime had wanted them to catch their own dinner, to that end he had brought with him a spear about six feet in length which he could use to get fish from out of the river and a long bow which he could use to hit the deer and boar and whatever else that would call the woods home. In truth he was never a great shot with a bow, he could hit a target if it was in front of him but he was as like to hit a man in armour charging at him in the chest as he was to hit him in the eye. He wasn't overly fond of the spear either but it was better to use that to try and catch fish than it was to use his sword or his hands.

He had also brought an axe with him but he hadn't planned on using that to kill anything, not unless he counted trees. They would need firewood after all, he finally took a soft blanket that was similar to the ones that they had always used to use to lay on the grass when mother was still alive, Jaime unfolded the blanket on the uneven ground, placed the food atop it, and then started to look for any wood that could be chopped.

It was unlikely that he would be able to find any dry wood as it would all be wet from the storm from the night before but Jaime hoped that he might be able to at least find some twigs and logs that might have been sheltered from the worst of it, if not then he had brought some small wooden logs from Casterly Rock that would've been used as wood to burn in the heaths that he could use to build a fire instead.

He eventually found several sticks that looked like they could still burn but there wasn't enough to build a fire so he would have to resort to chopping the logs, thankfully near the edge of the clearing there was a stump of a tree that had been cut clean down which he could use to rest the logs on. He rested the first of the logs on top of the stump and raised his axe high and with a heavy swing downward split the log clean in half.

Tyrion wandered over to him after he had finished feeding his horse and hopped on to the fallen and rotted remains of a tree trunk to watch as Jaime continued to cut the logs as easily as a hot knife would cut through butter. "Be honest with me brother, the only reason you brought me out here was so that you could show off your wood cutting skills. They are quite impressive I must admit but I think that I would much rather be in my own room right now, curled under my furs with a book as a fire blazed in my heath. Speaking of which you do realise that as soon as father realises that you took that wood he is going to make us go without fires for the rest of winter? Well, he'll make me go without a fire at any rate. He wouldn't want to risk you getting sick after all."

"Well, if Father does that you will just need to know how to chop your own firewood, you could learn right now if you wanted too." Jaime said as he stopped cutting the wood and stood at his full height, handing out the axe for his brother to take. "It's a useful skill to have, even knights need to know how to build a fire, so they can cook and stay warm. Not all knights have a squire after all. You're big enough to hold an axe, why don't you have a go?"

"I'm never going to be a knight, do I truly have to point that out to you?" Tyrion said as he hoped off of the rotten tree trunk and took the axe from his brother's hands regardless of his quips. He tested how it felt in his hands and took a few swings before he let out a sigh and handed it back to Jaime. "The truth is, I am nothing like you. I will never need to make my own fire or chop my own wood, I won't be a knight and father won't let me leave the Rock without supervision, less I bring shame on to the name of House Lannister. So, thank you but no."

Jaime took the axe back with a sigh but he did not press his brother on the matter, as much as they disagreed and were as different as night was to the day the one thing that his brother and his sister had in common was that they were both as stubborn as mules. Not that he would ever admit such a thing to either of them as of course Cersei would slap him for even suggesting that she was in anyway similar to their brother and Tyrion would not look well on it either.

He decided not to push it and so resumed cutting the firewood, the clearing was filled with silence aside from the sound of the wood being split by his axe and the sound of the wind blowing around them. Soon enough Jaime had all the firewood that they would need and so, resting the axe against the stump as he realised that he would no longer need it, and began to assemble the fire.

As he was building it, Tyrion spoke up. "Now that I think about it, I must admit that I actually am glad to be away from the Rock. My tower is quite charming, and sometimes on blessed days it is able to keep the rain out, but I admit I grew lonely. The only company that I can comfortably walk to see is poor Cousin Orson and all the other rejects and shames of House Lannister."

"Princess Elia's rooms are quite close to your tower, she seemed quite enamoured with you when you were a baby." It had been a long time since he had thought on the visit of the Martells but it had never been a pleasant memory, he had liked the Martells well enough to be certain but Cersei hadn't and when ever Cersei wasn't happy, Jaime wasn't happy.

It wasn't until later why he had learn why she had been so upset with them being there, their mother and Elia's mother had been planning for them to wed. Jaime's father had put an end to it soon enough, saying that the Martells were too far away to be of any help should they have need of their spears to crush any revolts and Dorne was one of the poorest realms in all of the Seven Kingdoms and they had no resources that would be of any use to them, his father had put an end to the matter by saying that he wouldn't have his son and heir marry a sickly Dornish girl who was just as like to die before she reached child bearing age or marry his daughter to a Dornish prince when she should be a queen just because of a childish friendship that his wife and the princess had formed.

From what Jaime could remember that was only one of a few times that his mother and his father had ever disagreed with one another, it was at least the only time that he could remember that they had argued in front of him and Cersei at the very least. It had not ended well, his mother had slapped his father and taken him and Cersei out of the room and locked them all into her chambers, Jaime hadn't seen his father then for close to a week before guards broke down the door and they took her to speak to his father, he didn't know what happened after only that they didn't fight in front of them again.

But the Martells had still been invited to come and Father could not turn them away, even after Mother had died a few months before they had arrived.

It suddenly occurred to Jaime that he had never told Tyrion this story and yet he didn't seem at all surprised that he had mentioned that Princess Elia had met him as a baby, he looked up at his brother but he was glancing down at the ground and only looked up when he felt Jaime's eyes on him. "What?" He asked before realisation dawned on him. "Oh, yes. Princess Elia told me about this little story on her first night here, I must admit that it was quite a touching little story. I knew that the Martells had come of course but not about coming to see me, why did you never tell me?"

"I didn't see the point of telling you, they didn't come to see you. They came to see the monster of Casterly Rock." And that was the truth, at least a part of it. When Jaime had heard that they had wanted to see his new brother he had been happy, so very few people wanted to see his little brother other than him. Aunt Genna had sometimes come down deep into the Rock to see him but that wasn't so very often and more often than not she only stayed for a few moments, let out a sigh and left the room, telling Jaime that he shouldn't stay down here much longer as his father would be angry with him if he knew.

She still never told him.

When he found out that they just wanted to see if he was really a monster he had wanted to spit on the both of them and leave them too their wondering but Cersei had smiled brightly at them and was more than happy to show the monster off, they didn't take them to see Tyrion until near the end of their visit and every day before that Jaime had tried his hardest to convince his sister to not do it but she would not be swayed no matter what he said, when Cersei had her mind set on something nothing could be done or said to get her away from it. Their father had promised her that she would be queen after all and nothing would change that for her, she would burn all Seven Kingdoms to cinders if she could be the queen of the ashes.

She wouldn't burn him, never him.

He had been quiet when Cersei had lead both the Martells down into the bowels of the Rock, he didn't speak to either of them as they asked questions about what the monster was like and Cersei didn't tell them anything more than she wanted them to know. Tyrion was crying in the darkness and Jaime's heart broke for his little brother, he knew his cries well enough to know that he wasn't hungry, that wasn't the problem. It was just the wailing of a babe that was deeply upset and they had followed those cries to him. When they entered Tyrion's nursery the wetnurse had been awake and Jaime had hoped that would be the end of it, that she would send them away.

Of course it hadn't been, the wetnurse had tried of course but Cersei wouldn't hear of it and with a few words had the older woman running from the room with tears rolling down her face, Jaime imagined that she had gone to tell his father about what they were doing but at the time he didn't have the time to think about that as Cersei and the Martells were already walking over to the crib.

Cersei had reached down to pull the blanket away and for a moment Jaime could remember thinking about reaching out to grab her wrist to stop her but by the time the thought had crossed his mind she had already pulled it away. Jaime had waited for the screams to start, the cries of revulsion and disgust. He had wondered if the Princess would've run out of the room at the sight of his brother, or maybe she would've been sick instead. Jaime had heard that the girl had a sickly constitution and he had seen at dinners and feasts that she would often only eat a few bits in between rough coughs and sometimes even had to be taken away from the table by her mother.

But neither of those things happened, the Dornish girl stepped closed to the crib and looked down at the babe lying with in and her eyes had grown wide and a smile had grown on her lips and a soft coo escaped from her mouth, almost as if there had been a puppy in the crib and not an ill formed babe. Oberyn had not had the reaction Jaime had been expecting either, he only scoffed and said that he had wanted to see a monster, not a baby.

Jaime could have hugged him for that.

Cersei, on the other hand, had not been happy with their lack of reaction. She had called Tyrion a monster and started to pinch him, Jaime had never heard a baby scream before that, he had heard them cry loudly enough that you might consider it a scream but it was a world different to hearing a babe actually scream. Elia tried to make her stop, begging her too but Jaime had gotten to her first and told her to stop it, to not touch him again.

Cersei had pulled out of his grasp and stormed out of the room before anyone could stop her, Jaime normally hated to see her upset. He hated even more to be the cause of why she was upset but at that moment he didn't truly care, all he cared about was making sure that his brother alright. He had turned to check on him only to find that Elia had picked Tyrion up out of the crib and had already been soothing him.

After a few moments Elia had him calm again and pressed a kiss to his forehead before she had put him back down into the crib. She turned to look at Jaime and had smiled at him. "I am sure that your sister didn't mean to hurt him, she was most likely just tired."

He knew that wasn't true, in fact he was certain that before that Cersei had been hurting their brother when ever someone wasn't around to stop her. He hadn't told her that of course, not that he had the time to as the door then burst open and his father was standing there with a grim look in his eyes and all the memories Jaime had of what happened the last time his father had found him in Tyrion's room came flooding back to him.

Tyrion coughing brought him out of his memories. "Are you well? You seemed to be very far away." Jaime nodded and returned to building the fire. "And I know they wanted to see the monster, she told me that was all they asked for while they were staying here. But that isn't the point, she told me what Cersei did to me and that you stopped her. So, again I ask, why didn't you tell me?"

Jaime sighed and didn't bother to look up at Tyrion as he spoke, if he kept focused on the fire pit then everything would be fine. "I don't know, I suppouse I didn't want you to know that Cersei-"

"Hurt me? Hates me?" Tyrion asked, interrupting him before letting out a bitter chuckle. "Dear brother, I am afraid that I have known about that second thing for a very long time and I remember plenty of times that Cersei has hurt me, it was not much of a revelation to me." Despite his brother's words when Jaime looked up he was certain that he saw tears in his eyes, when Tyrion saw him looking he turned his head. "But you protected me, defended me. Just like you always do."

"I am your brother Tyrion, that's what I am supposed to do." Jaime, despite what his father and sister might think, didn't put much stock in being oversentimental. He only spoke the truth, it was his duty to look after Tyrion and it had been his duty since the moment his little brother had been born. "I love Cersei, you know that I do but...you're my baby brother, I wasn't going to let her hurt you."

Tyrion jumped off of the rotted trunk and walked over to Jaime and threw his arms around his neck, Jaime had to admit that he was surprised as he and his brother had never been over affectionate but he didn't begrudge him this moment and so he wrapped his arms around his little brother in return and held him tight. After a few moments he patted his brother on the back and pulled away and returned to building the fire.

The wood was built up well enough and Jaime found a rock which he struck with his dirk, creating sparks which fell down to the leaves and the wood and with two more strikes from the dirk the sparks finally caught something, a thin finger of smoke rising up into the air and soon the rest of the leaves and the wood caught, a fire was blazing in moments.

Tyrion took of his doe skin gloves and rubbed his hands close to the fire, sighing in pleasure as he was warmed. Tyrion turned and walked back to his donkey and came back with a skin of wine and a pair of cups, he filled one up and handed it to Jaime before he poured himself one and sat down next to the fire. "Well, I will admit that I find this to be more pleasant then I would've hoped, I would still prefer a book to read I think. I was in the middle of reading about the Conquest of Aegon and his sisters."

"This is much better." Jaime said as he took a sip of his wine, it had been spiced with cloves and honey and it warmed him from the inside as much as the fire did on the outside and what was once a sip became a gulp. "You don't have to worry about father finding out that you have a skin of wine for example, how did you get that?"

"I had a maid go and get it for me, you would be surprised how often that simply saying I am the son of their lord gets me what I want. Father maybe a cruel bastard, but at least he has some use." Tyrion drank deep from his cup and let out a sigh. "At any rate, that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about. How are you doing at the moment? I imagine that must be difficult."

"I'm fine, I'm just glad to be away from the Rock. To be away from all those fools." Jaime muttered before he took a sip of his wine, he stared down at the red liquid in his cup before he looked up to meet his brother's eyes. "How is Princess Elia? I haven't spoken to her since the night we came back to the Rock."

Tyrion was quiet for a few moments, as if he needed to think before he finally spoke. "She's very upset, she won't say so of course. She hides behind her courtesies like they are more effective armour than heavy plate but it doesn't change the fact that she is upset, anyone with eyes and ears and with the sense to use them can see that."

"To be fair, can you truly blame her? I am the best thing she has for company, and I can't be much of a comfort as I am. Aunt Dorna comes to see her as well but all she does is talks to her about the seven and what a comfort that can be in trying times. I love Aunt Dorna, you know that I do but I can't tell you how many times I want her to shut up. Aside from us all she has is Orson, and his range of conversation topics is rather limited, and Clara and Elia knows that she is a spy for father, or for Aunt Genna, I don't suppose it really matters."

"The problem is she's about to burst, a moon or two at the most and she's going to be giving birth to her child in a place she doesn't know and surrounded by strangers? How happy would you be?" Tyrion sighed and finished off the wine in his cup before he refilled it up to the rim and took a deep drink of it, that seemed to give him a bit of course as he looked up to met Jaime's eyes. "Why did you do it? Actually, I suppose I know why you did it. The same reason that you truly do anything, Cersei asked it of you. Our dear Aunt Genna was right, I just don't understand why you would do something so reckless. Even for her."

"It was better than the alternative." Jaime muttered as he finished off his own wine and held out his cup for Tyrion to refill, and it was a lot better than the alternative. Yes, Princess Elia might be miserable and Jaime wasn't entirely happy either but as he didn't have to kill Elia as Cersei had wanted and that had not lead to war with the North and Dorne so he could live with not being happy, and so could Elia. He had thought that Dornish women were supposed to be fierce, she didn't seem very fierce to him, kind, yes he had seen that when they were both young but not fierce.

All though, she had been the only one brave enough to speak up to the Mad King when he had commanded that her marriage to Eddard Stark be broken and she was to be betrothed to him. Maybe she was braver than any of them. Not that it had changed much of course, the King had still forced them apart even if he didn't officially have the power to break apart their marriage. The only thing that even came close to resembling a silver lining was that the King could not officially end the marriage and that meant that they couldn't be forced to marry one another.

Jaime was glad of that more than anything, he certainly didn't want to marry her and he certainly didn't want to have to be shackled with her child when it finally sloped out of her. In truth Jaime honestly did not think that he would be any good at being a father, his own father had not proved to be a great example on to him. He had raised him, to be fair, had taught him how to be strong and how to handle anything that might be thrown at him and how to deal with any enemies. But Jaime did not love him, he couldn't.

"Was it truly? I admit that I am a wretched little imp so perhaps I simply do not understand but I can not see why this is better. This will have angered Dorne and The North regardless, I would bet all the gold in Casterly Rock and all the mines in the Westerlands that the Starks and the Martells are already raising armies to get her back, I didn't spend long in King's Landing but at the tourney Ned Stark seemed quite fond of his wife. I don't think he will be content to wait for her to be returned." Tyrion muttered as he stared down at his wine, swirling it in his cup. "And what about her brothers? Prince Doran is meant to be a paitent man from what I hear, or a craven one depending on who you ask. He might not launch an attack on us, not an obvious one at any rate. But what about her younger brother? They call him the Red Viper don't they? And from what little I've been able to chisel out of Elia she was quite close to him, only a year between them it seems. Do you honestly expect for him to do nothing?" Tyrion asked with a raised eyebrow. "And you are the reason we are all in this mess, I know you love our sister Jaime but honestly, is fucking your own reflection worth everything you might have cost us?"

Jaime jumped up from where he was standing, causing the cup of wine he was holding to fall to the ground and cause the wine to spill out and soak into the muddy ground below. Tyrion looked up at him with his mismatched eyes growing wide, Jaime saw the terror in them right enough but he saw something else as well, a grim sort of acceptance. For a moment there his little brother that he had always sworn to protect and love even if everyone else hated him though that Jaime was going to kill him.

That moment seemed to last for an eternity but like everything it did finally end, Jaime let out a snarl and stormed past his brother with his head so full that it felt it was going to split open with the force of it all. He stormed over to his horse, even the great beast seemed to be unnerved by him but Jaime paid that no mind. He reached into one of it's saddled bags and brought out a quiver full of arrows and then turned on his feet and walked back to where he had left the bow and the spear and picked both of them up, it was a little cumbersome to carry them both but he made do.

Jaime began to walk into the forest, Tyrion called out after him but Jaime ignored him and soon enough his voice faded away. Jaime had explored these woods a lot when he was a child, true had always had a guard or two following him to ensure that he had stayed safe but he had learned them well enough to know that he would be able to find his way back to the clearing without a great deal of difficulty.

He shouldn't have brought Tyrion with him, he knew that now. He might know and understand more than the rest of his family but that didn't mean that he understood, that he could understand. He should've just come here alone, should've told no one where he was going and just return back to the Rock when he felt like it.

Maybe he wouldn't even do that, maybe he would just keep wondering until he got lost. He could shave his head and grow a beard, find a town near the sea and go across to the free cities and become a sellsword. He couldn't of course, wherever he went his father would send men after him and drag him back home, there was little and less he could do to change that.

After a few minutes of walking he found himself next to a stream and sat down next to it, placing the spear and the bow to the side of him. He reached into the river and splashed the water into his face, shutting his eyes as he did so. Jaime didn't open them after that, he simply listened in the darkness. The world was quiet here, if only it could have always been like that.

But even as all the noise faded away something else replaced, a scent. It was thick and sweet but unpleasantly sour, as if someone had forced him to eat apple tarts until he was sick and he was now smelling the waste. Jaime snapped open his eyes and reached for his sword without even truly having to think about it, it was simple instinct.

He knew that smell.

Jaime got to his feet and picked up the bow, slinging it over his shoulder but left the spear where it lay. He didn't like the idea of leaving it but he wouldn't be able to hold it comfortably and even if he could he had never gotten used to the idea of using two weapons at once, he unsheathed his sword, castle forged steel which only the finest Lannister smiths could make, and began to follow the scent.

It did not take him long to find out what was making it.

It had been a doe but now there was little left of it, the creature was on it's side and an arrow had pierced it's throat. The fur had been skinned off and great cuts of meat had been cut away, leaving only blood stained bone. It's head had been cleaned of it's skin and crows had been pecking at it's eyes and flies were buzzing all around it, all in all it made for an unpleasant sight and Jaime wouldn't deny that the sight of it caused his stomach to turn slightly but at the same time the sight did comfort him a little.

It was just the remains of some hunters, that was all. There was nothing wrong, in the middle of the woods there were always hunters about finding what game that they could. He slid the sword back into it's scabbard and let out a small sigh of relief.

That when the shouts filled the air, Jaime spun and turned around to look back from the way he had come. The voices had come from the clearing.

Tyrion.

Jamie didn't think, he just ran. He ran as fast as he could back the way he came, running past the stream and only barely noticing that the spear he had left was now gone and ran towards the clearing, he began to slow as he approached and hide behind a tree which gave him a decent view of the clearing and what he saw terrified him.

Tyrion's pony was dead, an arrow through it's throat and Jaime's destrier was bucking and screaming and trying to break free of it's bonds. It made sense to Jaime that they would kill Tyrion's pony and leave Jaime's horse alone as even someone with little experience with horses would've been able to see that Jaime's was worth more than a regular pony.

There were four men in the clearing alongside his little brother, the closest one had his back to Jaime and held a bow with an arrow ready to loose if he needed to do so, nearest to him was a bald man with no hair but with a bushy blond beard and a scar running from the dome of his head right down to the bottom of his right cheek, it was an ugly thing, pink and puckered.

He held a grey iron sword that looked it had been dulled somewhat by use but was still sharp enough to cut, next to him stood a youngish looking man, looking closer to Jaime in age then he was too any of his friends, with green eyes and red hair the looked to almost be as long as Cersei's. He held a spear that looked far too familiar and Jaime kicked him for leaving it, that might have just gotten them both killed.

The fourth man was the one closest to Tyrion and Jaime could make nothing out about him due to the fact that his back was raised and he wore a cloak with a hood which he used to cover his head. The one thing that Jaime could see was that he had a sword but this was steel, castle forged and sharp enough to cut an imp's head from his neck.

Jaime had to move.

"Well then, what's a dwarf doing out here all alone? These woods can be dangerous, don't you know that? Mind you, maybe you aren't alone." The man lower his sword so that it was only an inch away from Tyrion's nose and it took all Jaime had not to unsheathe his sword there and then and run right into the middle of it. "I can't think of any reason why a little man like you would need two horses, especially one that's that big. So, how about it dwarf? Where's your friend?"

"I'm alone." Tyrion lied as Jaime unsheathed his sword and began to creep over to the man holding the bow, trying his hardest not to make any noise. "I'm just rather greedy when it comes to horses, I admit it. I couldn't choose between them, I suppose your charming friend rather freed me of the burden, do be sure to thank me for him. Now, if none of you mind I will just be on my way."

Tyrion tried to walk off but the man in front of him pressed the point of the sword into his cheek and Tyrion cried out in pain as blood began to well around the metal and then run down his face as the sword was pulled away. "They say that there is no funnier man than a dwarf, has to learn to laugh otherwise it'll just cry all the time. You seem quite funny to me, I like that. What I don't like, is liars. There was this girl I used to fuck now and then, she came from the summer islands and had the biggest tits that I had ever seen in my entire life. I had the biggest cock that she'd even seen, we got along great. Then, one day I found out that she was fucking my brother. I didn't mind that, it wasn't like I loved her. What I did mind, was that the both of them lied to me about it. So, one night I waited for them to meet in this little cabin, an abandoned thing outside of our village where I used to take her. When they were both inside I moved these wooden barrels in front of the door and set the cabin on fire. It was actually nice, the screams weren't."

Tyrion had gone pale and that only made the red running down his face stand out more, the man laughed and it seemed to make his entire body shake. "Sorry, I know it isn't that funny but you know what? This was years ago, I was a young man then. And do you know what? I am still here! I haven't been turned into a rat, I haven't been stricken by lightning, the septons and the septas like to talk about how wrong kinslaying is but I've never been punished for it, isn't that funny?"

"Hilarious, you should go across the Narrow Sea and become a mummer. They would rain gold upon you, I am sure enough of that." Jaime really just wanted his brother to shut up, they would have his tongue out if he wasn't careful. Jaime was almost in reach of the archer but not quite enough, if he walked like he would normally then he would be able to reach him right there and then but he couldn't risk the noise, an arrow through the throat was a terrible was to die. To drown in your own blood.

He had seen a man die like then when he had still just been a squire for Lord Crakehall, it had been during the battles against the Kingswood Brotherhood and he had been little more than a boy. He had been bright and ready, war had been just one grand adventure to him and he was going into war with the heroes of his childhood, Barristan the Bold and The Sword of The Morning and they would crush the outlaws easily.

He had been foolish, a foolish little boy who didn't know any better. Lord Crakehall had been tasked with leading a scouting party, Jaime had been with him along with his other squire, a Frey boy though Jaime could not remember his name though he would bet gold that it was Walder or something similar to it, that family certainly lacked for originality. It had been a beautiful day, the sun had been high in the sky and the sky was clear. Just the sort of day for the brave knights to go and slay the fiendish outlaws.

And then the arrows had flown.

When ever anyone spoke of Wenda the White Fawn they always spoke of how beautiful she was, how tall and fair and graceful with a voice that could make even the hardest of men weep. No one seemed to mention that she was an utterly ruthless bitch and lethal with a bow and killed dozens of men while laughing about it, she was as much a monster as the Smiling Knight had been but no one wanted to think that a woman could be that cruel, or that a women would be able to terrify them as much as she had done.

It was because of her that she had seen his first man die, he couldn't remember his name, Jaime didn't even think that he knew it all he knew was that he had been a knight and had been in service to Lord Crakehill and one moment he had been riding alongside them and the next there was an arrow in his throat and he was making noises that reminded him of the time that Aunt Genna had nearly chocked on a fishbone. He remembered thinking that it would've been funny if it wasn't the worst thing he had ever seen in his entire life, at least at that point.

And now that might happen to him, he finally managed to get behind the archer and stood up as slowly as he could to make as little noise as possible. Once he was at his full height behind the archer he quickly clasped his free hand over the archer's mouth and shoved his sword through his heart, he made a grunt but Jaime's hand covered that up and he thankfully managed to quickly disarm him before he fired off an arrow in his death throes.

None of the men seemed to have noticed and if Jaime believed in the gods then he might have thanked them. "I don't know about this one Ed." The red-haired man holding Jaime's spear muttered as he stared at Tyrion. "Look at those clothes, the gloves. He might be some High Lord's bastard, do we really need the trouble?"

"I don't normally agree with Rusty but I think this time he might be right." The man with the scar muttered, he stepped forward to get a closer look at his brother and the one he called Rusty followed after him, Jaime frowned as if Rusty had stayed where he was then he could've surprised him and taken back his spear which he could've thrown and dealt with one of the men before he used his sword to deal with the last one but now they were too close together. If he tried to stab one in the back then the other two would see him and kill him before he could pull the sword out of the one he stabbed's back. He wasn't sure what to do.

"Gods." Scar breathed as he stared into Tyrion's mismatched eyes. "I think...I think this is the Imp."

"We can all see that he's a dwarf." Rusty said with a laugh and Tyrion glared at him.

"No, I mean it's the Imp. Lord Tywin's imp." Scar said with a chuckle of disbelief and fear. "I'm right, aren't I? You are a Lannister."

"I am and I am starting to think that you are beginning to grasp the gravity of the situation." Tyrion said and suddenly there was a grin on his face and he laughed. "You know who my father is, do you think it wise to hurt one of his sons."

"Ed, he's right. My pa used to serve old Lord Reyne and when the rose up against him he slaughtered them all, my pa only just got away from it and he wouldn't show his face where anyone could see it ever again." Scar stepped back and Jaime couldn't be sure but he looked like he was shaking. "We should just let this one go on his way, his friend will be back son and if we rob a son of the Old Lion, there will be nowhere to hide!"

"Your friend's right!" Jaime called out, choosing that moment to make his move. Rusty jumped back and turned to face him with the spear held in his shaking hands, Scar took one look at him and cursed but held his sword firmly and Ed simply looked at him for a few moments before he let out a little scoff. "If you know who he is then I think you can make a guess about who I am, your smarter than most brigands I'll give you that much. Harm either of us and nothing will save you from what comes later."

Rusty and Scar looked at one another but didn't say anything but Ed simply kept looking at Jaime, his face a blank mask. The mask slipped a little when he saw that the archer was dead and he raised his sword and pointed it at Jaime. "Quite a big speech, from a little boy with a sword that looks like he barely knows how to use it. I could hold you to ransom, or maybe I could take your brother here. Old Lord Tywin would probably pay us to keep him away."

"He might." Jaime admitted and he couldn't stop himself from smirking and letting out a little chuckle and he couldn't deny that a part of him delighted at the looks of confusion on their faces. "Shame he ran off into the forest while you were talking to me."

Ed's eyes widened and he and his friends turned to look around to see that Tyrion had in fact gone, he had gone the moment his captors had turned away from him. When Ed turned back around he roared and held up his sword. "Kill him!"

"Ed, he's-

"I said kill him!"

And that was that, the battle was on. Scar came first and swung his sword at him which Jaime effortlessly blocked, Scar was big and ugly but he didn't have and true skill and he used his sword like a butcher would use a meat cleaver, he had no true skill and it was easy for Jaime to block all the blows that the ugly man attempted to land on him.

The problem became when the red haired man entered the fray, he had clearly never used a spear before in his life and that was more than obvious due to his form but unfortunately he wasn't an idiot. He knew that the weapon he had was at it's most basic a long stick with a blade on it so he didn't try to get in close, he just tried to stab at Jaime from far away and most times wasn't even trying to hit him, he was just trying to knock him off his balance so that Scar could move in for the kill.

And then finally there was Ed, he didn't just have the finest sword he also had the skill to use it, he had to have been trained as a master-at-arms as Jaime could barely keep up with him, he was a challenge. Jaime had once held off the Smiling Knight but that was different, the Smiling Knight may have had armour and a fine sword but he had also only been one man, and Jaime had not even beaten him, just was able to hold him for as long as he could until Ser Arthur Dayne had come to finish him off.

This was different, Jaime was outnumbered and wasn't wearing any armour and hadn't been expecting to fight, if he managed to survive this then he might just consider wearing his armour for the rest of his days.

Suddenly, there was an opening as Ed and Rusty tried to get behind him and Scar lifted up his sword to swing down at Jaime, Jaime dodged to the side as it came down and with a quick slash cut into the ugly man's middle, opening him up and having blood and guts spill out on to the ground of the clearing, the big man fell to the ground and tried to hold his guts in as he wailed for his mother but Jaime didn't have time to focus on that as he spun around and brought up his blade to block Ed's next swing and then had to jump backwards to dodge Rusty's spear piercing his guts.

His father's guards couldn't be far away now, they had to be coming looking for them and when they found Tyrion he would lead them to the clearing. Tyrion wouldn't abandon him, they had a disagreement and Jaime had stormed off, his brother wouldn't abandon him. He wouldn't.

It seemed that the lost of two of his men had unnerved Ed as he was now forgetting and simply hacking at him, his skin turning red and sweat beading down his neck and soon Jaime was block his blows with as much ease as he had with Scar, soon the man was tired and slowing down and with a graceful swing he removed the man's head from his shoulders, his body crashing down after him.

Jaime would've savoured the victory if he could but it was not over yet, Rusty had come close to him and jabbed at him with his spear and while Jaime tried to jump out of the way that time he had been to slow and the blade of the spear cut into his arm and with a cry of pain Jaime dropped his sword and stumbled back, tripping over a root as he did so and falling down next to the stump.

Jaime tried to push himself back up but before he could Rusty was there, the man had hate in his eyes. He wanted Jaime dead, any fear he had about Jaime's father looking for him afterwards had abandoned him in the bloodlust and he pulled the spear back and shoved it into Jaime's shoulder. Jaime had never felt any pain like it, it burned and for a few moments he honestly thought that he was going to be sick, or he was going to pass out.

It was worse when the man pulled the spear out, Jaime couldn't hold back the scream that time as he looked at the gaping mess that had once been his shoulder, blood running down from the open wound like it was a river. Jaime didn't have much time to focus on that however as soon enough the man was in front of him with the spear only an inch away from his eye.

Jaime tried to reached for his sword but even the slightest movement in his arm caused it to burn with pain and Rusty laughed at him before he drew back the spear but before he could shove it through Jaime's head he let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground, clutching at his leg where a deep and jagged slash had been made into the skin.

Tyrion was standing over him with the axe clutched in his arms, his eyes wide as he watched the blood drip off the front of blade. When he saw that Rusty was going for the spear he did not hesitate, he drew back the axe and with a yell buried it straight into the man's face. Rusty let out a sound that sounded like a mix of a squeal, a scream and a groan as the spear slipped from his nerveless fingers and then fell backwards with the axe still firmly buried into his face.

"I killed him." Tyrion breathed as he stared down at the younger man, as through he could not really see him. This was the first time that his brother had ever killed someone and even Jaime didn't know how to feel about that. "I didn't mean to, he was going to kill you. I just-"

"Tyrion, listen to me." Jaime said with a grimace as he tried his best to hide his pain and used his uninjured arm to pull his little brother close to him into a one armed hug. "He was going to kill me, you didn't have a choice. He could've stayed down but he still wanted to try, you saved us."

"Does it ever get any easier?" Tyrion asked as he buried his head into Jaime's chest and shut his eyes and perhaps it was just because of his small stature but it was hard for Jaime to ever think of him as anything more than that little boy that he used to shower toys on even thought he knew that wasn't fair and his brother had not been a little boy for a very long time.

"You get used to it." That was all that Jaime could say, there were men that enjoyed killing, he knew that well enough but he had never been one of them. But after a while there was only so much blood that you could spill before you got used to look without seeing. With a bit of luck Tyrion would never have to get that far. "I'm sorry that I left you, I shouldn't have."

"It was my fault, and this isn't your fault. I shouldn't judge you for the actions of a mad man." Tyrion glanced around at the bodies in the clearing before looking back up into Jaime's face. "Can we go back to the Rock now? I think we should get that shoulder looked at."

"All right, can you help me up?" Jaime asked as Tyrion stood up and Jaime took his hand when his brother offered it to him, the problem was with his brother being so small it meant that he couldn't really pull him up so Jaime had to lean against him and use his shoulders to push himself up. The movement caused his wound to scream in protest and Jaime had to grit his teeth to stop from screaming, he had never felt anything like it.

They began to slowly walk back over to where Jaime's horse was tied and Jaime could tell that the creature was still terrified though it was no longer thrashing around, with Tyrion's pony dead they would both have to ride back on his horse which wouldn't normally be a problem as the horse was large enough to carry both of them but it was spooked and Jaime wasn't sure how it would react to having to be saddled with a second saddle and carry two riders home.

Still, they didn't have a choice. They could not walk it as by the time they got back to Casterly Rock then Jaime's would have already started to fester and there would be little that the Maester would be able to do for him then, he would be lucky if all that happened was that he lost his arm, in the infection settled into his blood then he would be a dead man. Though if he lost his sword arm anyway then he might as well be dead.

Tyrion had knelt down next to his pony and was trying to take the saddle off of it's body, Jaime would have offered to help but every time he tried to move his arm it felt like someone was cutting into his arm with a knife and he could barely move the fingers of his hand without at least causing a twinge in his shoulder. Still, it seemed as though Tyrion did not need him as soon enough he had the saddle unstrapped from the back of his pony's back and stood up with it in his hands, all though it was clearly a little too big for him to hold.

It suddenly occurred to Jaime that he wasn't sure how they were going to get the saddle on to the horse, in fact with his arm the way it was he wasn't even sure how he was going to climb on to it. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to help Tyrion up and then send him back, he would come across their father's guards surely and he could lead them here.

It seemed as if he would be spared an argument, and Tyrion would argue as he would not leave him alone, as soon enough there was the sound of galloping hooves filling the air and soon enough men on horse back dressed in crimson and gold armour appeared at the edge of the clearing. Vlyarr urged his horse forward and looked down at Jaime and Tyrion from atop his horse. "My lords, forgive me for being blunt but what did you think that you were playing at? Your father is not pleased."

Jaime might have laughed at the look on the man's face if he wasn't in the worst agony of his life. "Just needed a breath of air Captain, that's all. Things did go ever so slightly awry. I would love to tell you more about it but as you can see my shoulder is rather split open at the moment, is there any chance we could save the questions for my father to ask?"

"As you say my lord." And that was the end of any conversation, the men helped Jaime and Tyrion on to the horse and they began to ride away from the clearing. As they left the woods and Jaime spied Casterly Rock a feeling of dread settled into his gut, he wasn't sure if it was because of how he realised how far away the Rock actually was and that by the time they got there his wound would most likely start to be infected or because he was terrified of facing his father.

At any rate they made it back to the Rock soon enough, though Jaime's wound was starting to feel hot and swollen and he was beginning to feel light headed. They rode through the Lion's Mouth this time and all the Rock seemed to come out to witness Jaime's shame, when the noticed his wounds the whispering that he heard grew louder and the desire he felt to silence it was screaming at him.

At least his father wasn't here, nor his uncles or his aunt. He was glad of that, if nothing else. He jumped from the horse as he always used too but his shoulder burned and his legs buckled and Jaime fell to the ground, the muttering grew louder and Jaime's eyes burned and he told himself that it was only due to the pain. Soon Vlyarr was there and was helping him up to his feet as two other men helped Tyrion down.

They entered the Rock and walked so many steps that Jaime didn't even want to try and count them, they eventually reached the Maester's toward as soon as he saw the wound on Jaime's shoulder his face turned pale and he began to mutter before he turned to his shelves and began to collect various herbs and ointments. "Let us hope that I am not to late my Lord. Help him to the table if you would."

Jaime was laid down gently as the Maester crushed and brewed some herbs together to create a thick paste which he soon spread over the wound and it took all Jaime had not to scream. "Tyrion...he's hurt as well." He muttered, his head felt as heavy as a stone and all he wanted to do was to sleep, the Maester came over with some bandages but at Jaime's words he turned to look at Tyrion.

"I will see to that my Lord, but right now you are more important so please be still if you could." And with that the Maester began to bind his wound tightly with the dressings and Jaime wanted to scream as the pressure was put on his wound but he bit his tongue and managed to stop himself from doing so, though only just. The maester then brought more of the mixture and spread it on the little cut on his arm as well. "I've seen great men dead from cuts even smaller than this, best to be cautious I think." The Maester turned and came back with a cup. "Milk of the poppy, drink."

Jaime didn't even have to think about it, he opened his mouth and the Maester simply poured the milk into his mouth. Once the Maester was satisfied that his work with Jaime was done he turned his attentions on to Tyrion. Jaime wasn't sure how long he laid on the table but he knew that the world started to seem so very far away, the table was not a bed stuffed with goose feathers and covered with silk sheets but it was comfortable enough to fall asleep on.

Before he could the door slammed open and Jaime's vision was filled by his father's frowning visage. "I am not pleased Jaime, not at all. Lannisters do not act like fools and this was beyond foolish, Maester. Will his arm heal?"

"It should, my Lord."

"A pity, a part of me hoped that it would fester. You once told me that the best part of your was your sword arm, perhaps losing it would teach you some humility. Regardless you are lucky that the Maester is competent at his work and I have no desire to have a cripple for a son." Tywin's gaze was unforgiving and Jaime tried to say something but his tongue felt too thick and heavy to get any words out. "Did you give him milk of the poppy?"

"Yes my Lord, I think that along with the stressful events of the day have exhausted him."

And that was the last that Jaime heard, he fell and the darkness claimed him.

End of Chapter Thirty-Three.

---

So, there we are then. The longest chapter I have written for this story thus far, I originally planned for this chapter to have a conversation with Jaime and Elia in it towards the end but I felt that it would feel a bit unnatural for Elia to come and see him or to have Jaime have enough strength to go and see her, plus I thought the chapter was getting a little too long. So, that conversation will be in a different chapter and will most likely be from Elia's POV.

The next chapter will be a Cersei one, so we are heading back to Dragonstone to see how she's handling being the princess of it. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and if you could leave a review, a follow and a favourite then that would be just great and would mean so much to me, as always constructive criticism is encouraged.

With much love,

Doctorwhofan12345.