Will had spent the day avoiding Jaime Lannister like the plague, locked up in either his or Arya's room. His trial before Daenerys, Sansa, and Jon was in a matter of hours and selfishly, Will almost couldn't help but wish the man was to be sent off back to where he came.
The thought of his Lannister blood made him sick.
Arya seemed genuinely concerned.
"Aren't you even a little open-minded about it?" she began carefully as the pair sat by the fire. Will had refused to step outside whilst Jaime roamed around.
The blonde boy looked dazed,
"Nothing could ever possess me to fraternize with one of them. My mother was obviously out of it."
Arya sighed, adjusting herself to be warmed more by the flames,
"Trust me, I'd be the last person to breathe a good word about the... Lannisters, but from what Brienne tells me he isn't all bad. Your mother... may have had her own reasons."
Will shook his head lightly.
"I don't know much about love Will, just that it's not always where you expect it. It sort of just happens, fighting it doesn't do much."
This got Will's attention but he didn't respond.
Arya groaned at his unresponsiveness and rolled over to lean on his shoulder,
"Come on Hart!" she exclaimed, causing him to tilt his head to stare at her with a bemused expression, "Besides, I'm technically fraternizing with a Lannister now." She remarked coyly.
Will shoved her off playfully, trying to hide his grin,
"You better shut it Stark."
She laughed.
---
Will almost felt sorry for Jaime as he stood unmoving in the center of the hall.
Everybody in the room despised the man for one reason or another. Some were probably his own fault but Will knew deep down he couldn't help his reputation to some degree.
He had sneaked in behind some soldiers, his curiosity too great to wait for the verdict.
Daenerys looked tense and angry,
"When I was a child, my brother would tell me a bedtime story about the man who murdered our father," She began, her harsh tone ringing clear in the silent hall, "Who stabbed him in the back and cut his throat. Who sat down on the iron throne and watched as his blood poured onto the floor."
Jaime didn't let his emotions betray him.
"He told me other stories too. About all the things we would do to that man when we took back the seven kingdoms and had him in our grasp. Your sister pledged to send her army North."
"She did."
Daenerys shrugged her shoulders mockingly,
"I don't see an army. I see one man, with one hand. It appears your sister lied to me."
That was true. Will had noticed the golden replica on the man's right hand, shiny and false. He felt very curious as to how it had come about. It was, after all, his sword hand.
Jaime exchanged a look with his brother before speaking, "She lied to me as well." He admitted finally, "She never had any intention of sending her army North. She had Euron Greyjoy's fleet and 20,000 fresh troops, the golden company from Essos, bought and paid for. Even if we defeat the dead, she'll have more than enough men to destroy the survivors."
"We?" echoed Daenerys, apparently ignoring anything else the man had said.
"I promised to fight for the living, I intend to keep that promise."
Tyrion stepped in to aid his brother,
"Your grace I know my brother-"
"Like you knew your sister?" She shot back instantly.
"he came here alone, knowing full well how he'd be received. Why would he do that if you weren't telling the truth."
"Perhaps he trusts his little brother to defend him. Right up until the moment he slits my throat."
Will bit his lip in nervousness, there seemed to be a big disconnect between the allies. First Sansa and Daenerys, now Tyrion and Daenerys. Will watched the trial unfold quietly, to his surprise Sansa actually sided with Daenerys but that was all thrown out of the window when Brienne stepped forward.
She defended the man, even claiming that he'd saved her life. Will didn't know the woman well, but she certainly wasn't a liar.
Sansa trusted her fully and Jon Snow backed his sister.
Daenerys was shocked as she was outvoted by her Northern allies.
Jaime Lannister was to remain in Winterfell for the battle. Alive.
After the main command dispersed, the rest of the lords began filing out of the hall, murmuring and shooting the Kingslayer dirty looks as he remained in the middle of the room, clutching the sword handed to him.
Almost compelled, Will stayed for a little longer, staring at his... father.
He looked for traces of himself in the man and found many. The blonde locks, face structure, even his posture seemed eerily similar. Will forced himself to stand in a different manner.
Eventually, he snapped out of his analysis and shook his head, realizing he was amongst the last stragglers in the great hall. he turned to leave but a voice called to him,
"Wait."
The one word caused him to freeze up, stopping abruptly in his tracks. The tone was all too familiar. Well-spoken and with a natural air of confidence, Will instantly recognized Jaime Lannister's unmistakable voice.
Slowly he turned around.
The chiseled man was stood a matter of meters away from Will, an unreadable look over his features. The man was trying to read him, working him out like some unsolvable problem. Will squirmed under his gaze.
"You're..." the man's voice trailed off in amazement and disbelief.
"Will." replied the boy stoically, "Hart." he emphatically stressed the name, more so convincing himself than Jaime across from him.
Jaime shook the look off his face and nodded quickly,
"Yes, of course." He said, "I remember your family very clearly."
"I'm sure you vividly remember my mother, don't you?"
The words tumbled from Will's mouth before he was able to properly register his train of thought. Jaime looked like he'd been punched in the gut.
"I know." Will remarked after a short silence.
Jaime looked him straight in the eye,
"Will, please allow me the chance to explain everything." he said, tripping over his own words in haste to keep Will standing before him, "I thought about reaching out and helping after the death of your father and... your mother, but I didn't want-"
"You didn't want to tarnish the precious Lannister reputation." Will barked a humorless laugh, "God forbid Jaime Lannister has been sleeping outside of his own family."
The words stung but Will didn't care, his gaze pierced through his father.
Jaime, to his surprise, didn't fight back or try to defend himself,
"I didn't want to hurt you, or confuse you." He said slowly, "I'd never seen you before, I hadn't spoken to Sybella since before your birth. The only proof of your true heritage came from the undeniable resemblance."
"Who else knows?"
"Apart from the two of us, your brother knows, he was always too smart. Your mother obviously, and Ned Stark, I have him to thank for keeping it a secret."
"And yet you still were more than happy to aid in his imprisonment and execution."
For a moment, Jaime looked defeated. He then sadly shook his head, "I regret many things, Will. Including leaving your mother defenseless and alone."
Will paused, "And does Cersei Lannister know?"
Jaime looked horrified for a second, "Gods, no." He exhaled, "Otherwise she would have had you slaughtered in your crib. I would've taken my own life before telling her."
Head spinning, Will could do nothing but look down.
Questions were everywhere. He was confused, distraught, and helpless. The weight of meeting his father hung heavy around his neck and dragged him down. But Will would not give Jaime Lannister any more time of day,
He didn't even bother saying anything, Will just turned on his heel and walked out of the hall, leaving Jaime Lannister completely alone in the gloomy room.
---
Edgar had heard the news of Jaime Lannister's arrival and it unsettled him. And like most people who knew him would know, Edgar Hart was not easily unsettled.
Although not present at the trial, Edgar had talked to Sansa over it and found himself shocked about the verdict. He could hardly believe that the North had welcomed the Kingslayer to fight among them.
Nonetheless, Edgar knew that the development would most likely affect his brother so he set off to find him.
Once Edgar found Will, sitting motionless on the floor of his bedroom, he realized that they had already met.
"So, you've met him."
Will nodded faintly.
Edgar sighed and sat down near his brother, "You look traumatized." he said, "What did the fucker say."
Will had no humor in his voice, "He tried to apologize I think, then tried to explain it but honestly, I was seeing red. I didn't want to hear any of it, it was all too much."
Edgar thought about it carefully, "Do you want to hear him out?"
Will broke out of his staring stupor and bowed his head, burying his face into his hands with a groan of frustrations, "I don't know." He sounded tired, "He's made out to be a bad man, isn't he?"
"Do you think he's a bad man?"
"I don't know him."
"Do you think I'm a bad man?"
Will lifted his head from his hands to stare at his brother, "No." He paused for a moment, "I think you sometimes do bad things, though."
"Isn't that all it is then?" remarked the older Hart brother, "There are no bad people because if we were all judged on our every action, we would all be bad people. And good people, stupid people. You know what I mean."
"Not really."
Edgar huffed,
"Look, Jaime Lannister has done bad things. There's not a single strand of doubt in that, but the man hasn't just been cynical. You heard it from Brienne and Tyrion. And if you don't believe them, then just the fact he's even here proves that he must have a shred of honor."
A short silence, then the dark-haired boy continued,
"You know that I'd be one of the last people to lift a finger to defend the Lannisters but I don't want your view skewed by what everyone else says Will, if you want to know, hear him out, it's your every right."
Edgar stood up and patted his brother on the back.
He walked out, cloak billowing behind him.