Chapter Thirty Two : The Hard Truth
Raya couldn't say that the warmth of an actual castle didn't feel good, honestly, she'd been outside for the last year and a half soon to be two years, Harrenhal was cold in its own way though but at least it wasn't outside, outside.
Raya had never been to Harrenhal but she did remember the tales about it. What happened to it; Dragon Fire. The conclusion of refusing the Targaryens. At that thought she found herself remembering how Daenerys Targaryen was to be killed by Robert's orders, recent reports that she heard about before leaving camp and her title was that it didn't go through and she survived their assassination attempt... There were other rumors, rumors that seemed unbelievable. That she was able to bring Dragons back to life. That she has three of them, only babies from last she heard, honestly if that's true they are in trouble.
But really why focus on a future problem, right now moment Raya's biggest problem is the Boltons. Although there was respect between Raya and Roose Bolton, she wasn't dumb, she knows about their history and what they are truly like. The Boltons were not the heroes in the stories. Back in the time of the Kings Of The North, they rebelled against following the Starks. Well until they finally gave in. But now, Roose Bolton may seem loyal, but how much does loyalty cost these days?
Raya was honestly happy to let down her hair and brush it finally, what she knew she needed was a well-deserved bath to wash away the dirt, and luckily she was actually granted that.
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Raya entered the baths of Harrenhal, she picked one of the farther ones from the door, slowly she took off her clothes letting them drop to the floor, once she was nude, she got inside of the bath. It was hot, kind of made her skin tingle, which honestly was really soothing after everything that had gone down this last few months.
The bath was nice obviously, soaking on her skin, she thought about her family. Her twin brother who she had betrayed for her mother and little sisters, her sisters; Sansa and Arya who she was supposed to guide through life but now she has no idea how to even just do that, her brothers; Bran and Rickon, gods its been so long since she has seen them after Theon took the castle, they have no idea if they are living or dead she prays living, and her father... Who was beheaded by the Lannisters...
Raya gulped as she grabbed the scrub from the floor next to the bath, she started to scrub the dirt off, hoping to not think about her father. She scrubbed and scrubbed, she wasn't paying attention to how much she was actually scrubbing just one spot until...
"Not so hard," Jamie Lannister's voice popped up, of all people, she glanced over not expecting him to be here, "you'll scrub the skin off."
Raya just took a deep breath as she crossed her arms, "what do you want, Kingslayer."
"I need a bath," Jamie complained.
He started to remove his clothes, and had the guard help him, she just looked away going gentler with the scrubbing because he was right. She'd rather not have her skin peel off.
When Jamie ordered the man to leave, Raya took a small glance over but when he started to take off the cloth over his parts, she looked away again. A lady is a lady, so she had never seen... Yeah, she just bit her lip uncertainly. But once the Lannister reached her tub she went into panic as she put the scrub back on the floor, "there is another tub, you know!"
"This one suits me fine, you know," Jamie mocked her.
As he got into the tub, Raya just moved her knees onto her chest keeping herself hidden from the man who has been constantly saying grotesque things throughout their entire trip.
He noticed Raya's hidden posture, "don't worry, I may be interested, but I won't try anything."
Raya just sent him a glare.
"If I faint pull me out," he ordered continuing the conversation even though she didn't want to, "I don't intend to be the first Lannister to die in a bathtub."
She just looked at him, "and why would I ever do you that kind favor?"
"You need me to get your sisters back, remember?" he told her matter-a-factly, "you can't do that if I am dead in a bathtub."
She just sighed, she wishes she could watch him die, for everything he has done. Or she thinks she does, she doesn't know how she feels... That only makes her resent for him worse, she hates the way he makes her feel, things would be much less complicated if he was just dead.
"Are you always this mute?" Jamie continued, "you've been mute this entire trip so far, only a few words and usually its not words but a fist," he just chuckled shaking his head, "I guess Ned Stark's death really did it in for you, didn't it-"
Raya felt her blood boil at that as she cut him off by standing up, her fist clenched, her anger issues were a bit of a problem and a family thing, she was blinded by this and forgot she was completely nude.
"If you don't shut your mouth," Raya hissed practically shaking, "you can still be in a hell of a lotta pain and be alive, you know-"
"Okay, okay," Jamie stared at her eyes, "that was unworthy forgive me, you've protected me better than most, even though the protection hasn't been short of punches and beatings-"
"Don't mock me, Lannister," Raya growled.
Jamie just shook his head, "I'm apologizing, you Starks have a bit of- a lot of anger problems you know," he added, "I'm sick of fighting," he whispered as if he actually meant it, "its all you and I have done since that day outside of Little Finger's brothel, lets call a truce."
Raya was confused, a truce? Is he serious, "you need trust to call a truce," she told him.
"I trust you," Jamie suddenly told her making her freeze for a second, "believe it or not I always have. Since the exact day I met you."
Raya just gulped, her anger dwindling as she sat back down in the water, she felt a bit flushed as she had just totally shown her body to Jamie Lannister, but that wasn't the biggest thing on her mind. It was the trust thing... He trusts her? He trusted her since the day they met. That's... A lot. That small bit of hope for Jamie to be a good person, it won't last, no matter how much she wanted it to. He is the Kingslayer.
"There it is," Jamie spoke up again, "that's the look, I've seen it for 17 years, face after face after face... You all despise me," she looked at him as he said this, "Kingslayer, Oathbreaker, Man without Honor," she finally looked away to the side.
She remembered what her father had told them about Jamie Lannister, about how he killed his King, how he is everything he had just listed... What kind of man does what he had done was always the thought the Stark children had because they had Ned Stark as a father. The once most honorable man in the Seven Kingdoms...
"Have you ever heard of Wildfire?" His new question made her look back a bit confused on the question itself.
Raya just nodded, "of course I have."
"The Mad King was obsessed with it, he loved to watch people burn, made their skin blackened and blistered and melt their skin off their bones," Jamie explained thinking on this, "he burned Lords he didn't like, he burned Hands who disobeyed him, he burned anyone who was against him... Before long half the country was against him. There were traitors everywhere so he had his Pyromancer place caches of Wildfire all over the city," she looked at him her mouth parted as she had never heard this before, "beneath the Sept Of Baelor, the slumps of Flea Bottom, under Houses, Stables, Taverns," he shook his head, "beneath the Red Keep itself!"
He looked at her pausing for a second, her face was full of confusion as if it was searching for any memory of being told this... Which it hadn't. Raya was never told of this and her father swore he told Robb and Raya everything because they were old enough.
"Finally the day of reckoning came," Jamie continued, "Robert Baratheon marched from the calves of his victory at the Trident, but my father ride first, the whole Lannister army at his back promising to defend the city against the Rebels. I knew my father better than that, he's never been one to pick the losing side, told the Mad King as much. I urged him to surrender peacefully but the King didn't listen to me, didn't listen to Varys who tried to warn him, but he did listen to Grand Maester Pycell... That grey haired sunken cunt... 'You can trust the Lannisters' he said, 'the Lannisters have always been true friends of the Crown'. So we opened the gates and my father sacked the City."
Her heart fell, she had heard this story, yes she had... It still gets her everytime, she closed her eyes breathing in before opening again her eyes on him as he just gave a tight fake smile before frowning again tears in his eyes.
"Once again I came to the King begging him to surrender, he told me to..." He hesitated his eyes full of pain, "bring him my father's head... And then he turned to his Pyromancer... 'Burn them all', he said, 'burn them in their homes, burn them in their beds,'" he looked at her finally as if to finally speak to her directly, "tell me if your precious brother; Robb Stark ordered you commanded you to kill your own father and stand by while thousands of men, women, and children burned alive would you have done it?"
Raya finally shook her head tears finally falling at the thought, she shook her head, "I-"
"No, would you?! Would you have kept your Honor as a Stark and done it?!" Jamie pushed further red in his eyes, she didn't know what to say, her words were stuck on her tongue as she stared at him, "first I killed the Pyromancer, and then when the King turned to flee I drove my sword into his back," the new side of the story was making her heart beat faster and more tears threatened to fall, "burn them all he kept saying burn them all," he shook his head, "I don't think he expected to die, he meant to burn with the rest of us and rise again reborn as a dragon to turn his enemies to ash. I slit his throat to make sure that didn't happen. That's where Ned Stark found me..."
Raya gulped, thinking over her words as she looked at him, "why didn't you tell him? My father? He would've listened-"
"Your father, Stark," Jamie said the name with venom, "you think the Honorable Ned Stark wanted to hear my side? He judged me! Guilty the moment he set eyes on me! But what right does the Wolf judge the Lion?" He met her eyes his voice getting dangerously low, "by what right do you," he started to stand, "judge me-" he fell suddenly!
But before he could really fall Raya Stark grabbed Jamie Lannister, holding him above the water, "help! The Kingslayer!" She yelled for help.
"Jamie."
Raya looked down at him when he spoke.
"My name is Jamie."
//Oh wow its been a long ass time since I've updated but I'm glad I'm back, I got my computer working again so I'm gonna start updating more often, I love this chapter so much, by the way, its off of probably one of my favorite scenes in the entire series! So I hope you enjoy it! By the way, I changed the format of this because my format of writing has changed a little bit so yeah, enjoy~