Jaime Lannister hated his father.
He never wanted to be a husband.
He has never wanted anything in life, except to be with his dear sister Cersei, and to be a Knight. He thought he had it all figured out; he was going to be in the Kingsguard, he would be with his sister and be a Knight. And then his planned was ruined, like all plans inevitably are.
His father came home after a long stay at court, where he is Hand to the King, and informed him that he has made a match between Jaime and Lord Rickard Stark's youngest daughter, and that no, there is no way out of it, and yes, he will have to marry her. So, now, instead of being a Knight for the rest of his days, he will now be Lord Jaime Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West. Additionally, instead of being with Cersei, he is now tethered to a woman who he has never met.
"Father... is this really necessary? You have another heir, why can I not do what I wish and just be a Knight?" Jaime mumbled to his father as they were waiting near the gates of Casterly Rock for the woman to arrive.
Tywin Lannister is a relatively patient man. At least, he is compared to how impatient he believes he could be. Tywin believes that the family legacy is the most important thing, and no one, not even him, should be allowed to affect the Lannister name in a negative way.
"Yes this is necessary. You are my first born. Not that monster you call your brother. I would never give Casterly Rock to that wretch of a being, and you will not forsake your family or your people. Not everything is about you. Think of this girl the next time you open your mouth. You get to stay in your home. She has had to leave her home. Her family. Her people. Everything she has ever known since the day she was born to come here and be your wife. You will be respectful. You will be loving. And you will protect her from everything, including from your selfish person. And you will especially protect her from Cersei. I know you two have had a special relationship, and that she is protective of you, and you of her. But you will not allow Cersei to bully Arya Stark in any way. Do you understand?" Lord Tywin lectured Jaime while staring at the entrance, until the ending. Then Tywin turned to Jaime to stare into his eyes with his piercing green orbs. Jaime was suddenly very uncomfortable, he had never heard his father talk so much at once in his life, and was confused as to why he became so passionate about a Stark woman.
Jaime had never been able to deny his father anything, no matter how much he loathed him. So he nodded, and looked back towards the gate, where he could see soldiers in gray approaching. She was here. Jaime sighed and stood up straight, rolling his shoulders back and wiggling just a bit so that his crimson cloak would fall correctly behind his back. He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it back. He had gotten a trim the day before so that he 'wouldn't look like a wildling' anymore and now it kept falling out of the braid he normally put his long hair in.
The Stark men were still coming through the gate into the courtyard where the Lannister men were standing. Jaime sighed loudly, he has always hated waiting. Tywin heard the sigh and looked over at Jaime sharply. Jaime frowned and took a deep breath in before looking back at the gates, deciding to try not to anger his father any more that day. Jaime stood there for about four more minutes watching the entrance before a carriage finally passed through the gates. Tywin took a step forward so he was slightly ahead of his eldest son and then proceeded to lock his hands behind his back while he waited for the lady to exit the carriage.
Arya Stark wanted to puke. Her stomach had been churning the last four days on their ride from Winterfell to the Westerlands. Her brother Eddard, who she called Ned, had travelled with her to her new husband's house to watch over her until the wedding was over, and confirm that Ser Jaime was treating her with all the care a man is supposed to show his wife.
She loves Ned.
But she would have preferred one of her other brothers instead of him, like her brother Brandon or her brother Benjen. They would at least talk with her, something about Ned had always made him seem very standoffish to Arya, and whenever they were alone he did not speak very much to her. So the entire ride to the Rock was spent mostly in silence, except when Ned would ask if she needed to rest, or eat, or a drink. So she instead spent her time reading up on the history of the Lannister family.
From what she could discover, the Lannisters claimed to be descended from Lann the Clever, who tricked the Casterlys out of their home, Casterly Rock. Once in possession of the Rock the Lannisters ruled as Kings of the Westerlands, known as King of the Rock, until Aegon the Conqueror came for the Lannisters with his dragons. The Lannisters are descendants of the First Men and the Andals, as their blood was mixed in a marriage with a woman from the Vale. It is all very interesting to Arya Stark, as she herself is a descendant of the First Men, who were alive while the Old Gods were still found in the South, and the Children of the Forest roamed.
"Arya, come on, we are here." Ned said gruffly, snapping her out of her reverie. She frowned, and before she could ask for a moment to gather herself, he was already opening the door to the carriage, stepping out, and turning to offer her assistance down. She quickly straightened out her facial features, plastering a small, polite smile onto her face, as she could see people looking at her. People with strikingly blood hair. She shifted her gaze back to Ned, who was still holding his hand out toward her, and grabbed it gently. As she moved out of the carriage she allowed her eyes to scan the people around her. Most of them were Stark men, moving about, taking her and Ned's things off the roof of the carriage, getting the horses settled, and things of that nature. However there were two very tall, very blond men, in gold embroidered tunics, and blood red capes standing almost directly in front of her, about twenty or thirty steps away. She quickly looked at her shoes before they could notice her staring, and carefully set her feet on the ground before letting go of Ned's hand. She then glanced up at Ned, who was looking at the two men. And then her arm was placed in the crook of Ned's elbow, and they were walking towards them.
"Lord Eddard Stark, may I present Ser Jaime Lannister, and Lord Tywin Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West, and Hand of the King." Ned's squire was a sweet boy, who gave the introductions. He was an amazing swordsman, but he had yet to be Knighted. Ned bowed slightly at the waist.
"My Lords. May I present my sister, Lady Arya Stark." Ned said, holding my hand in his as I used it for support as I curtsied.
"My Lords, it is a pleasure to meet you." I said softly, while still in my curtsy before straightening up. As mother always says that a proper Lady should always be soft spoken, it means that people will try harder to listen to you, but you won't seem too bossy. Ser Jaime smiled softly at me before taking my right hand, the one that was free of Ned's grip, and raised it slowly to his lips before placing a gentle kiss on the top of my hand.
"The pleasure is all ours, My Lady. Shall I escort you to your chambers so you may rest before supper?" Jaime asked while straightening up, still not releasing my hand. I looked over at Ned who was frowning, but he nodded and so I turned to Jaime who, using the hand he still grasped, tucked it into the crook of his left elbow and began to lead me away from all the hustle and bustle of the courtyard through to a beautiful room, which looked like it could be used for large feasts, and was probably a throne room in the days of old.
"How was your journey My Lady?" Jaime asked me after a few moments of silence.
"Please Ser, call me Arya, we are to be married one day after all. And it was fine, very long, but I was able to catch up on some reading I had been trying to finish before arriving here." Arya answered sweetly, looking up at him every so often to find him already looking at her as she talked, even though he was supposed to be leading her to her chambers. But maybe he already knew where to go without having to look.
"Well then Arya, there is no need for the Ser Jaime nonsense, just call me Jaime, or whatever you wish, but titles do not need to be added. You like to read then?" Arya smiled at him as he continued to walk, it seemed as if he was walking slower than before.
"Yes I do, I adore history, especially old history, the First Men and the Children of the Forest, even the White Walkers, even though I don't know if I believe in all of that. Do you enjoy reading Jaime?"
"Well I can read, but I normally choose not to. It has always been hard for me, our Maester said I would never read, that I couldn't understand the letters. And of course a Lord must be able to read, so my father spent hours with me every day teaching me. We do have a library here at the Rock, and my brother reads anything he can get his hands on, I'm sure you would enjoy him." Jaime was expressionless while telling her about his father forcing him to read, but Arya noticed that when he talked about his brother, his whole face lit up, so she knew he adored his brother.
"I'm sure I would, I have heard a lot about Tyrion, people say he is brilliant. I would love to see your library as well, you probably will have a larger one than Winterfell, it's hard to get books up there as we are so far away from White Harbor." Jaime had tensed up when she was talking about Tyrion, dreading for someone else to say something horrible about his little brother, but when she didn't even mention anything about him being a dwarf he quickly relaxed, and realized that maybe this wouldn't be too bad after all. When he looked away from her face he realized that they had arrived at her door. He frowned, sad that they would not be able to continue their conversation. He cleared his throat and forced a smile back on his face, and as he looked down at her he realized that the smile came easier all of a sudden.
"Well these are your chambers, mine are through the next door, these rooms connect so when we are married, we can open the door and our rooms will become one. But for now, I will let you rest, and get settled. How about I take you to see the library tomorrow after breakfast, and tonight, at dinner, I'll introduce you to my brother?" A slight blush had appeared on his face when he was talking about the room situation, which Arya found simply adorable, but it went away as he was talking about the plans for that night and the next day. Arya found she couldn't stop smiling.
"That sounds wonderful Jaime, thank you." She said sincerely. He smiled back at her and nodded his head absently.
"I will come get you in a little while for supper, father likes us to dress up for dinners when he is here, just a warning." Jaime said, suddenly looking concerned that she wouldn't like that bit of information. But she nodded, still smiling.
"Okay, well I will see you in a little bit Jaime. Again, thank you." And with that, Arya leaned up, while pulling him down a little bit, because even though the rest of her family is very tall, she somehow wound up being only a few inches over five feet, and Jaime was at least a foot taller than her, and she kissed him on the cheek. Before he could react, besides blushing, she had removed her hand from his grasp and breezed through the door of her chambers, turned to give him one last smile, and shut the door.
As Jaime was turning to go to his chambers a sickly sweet voice rang out through the halls.
"So that is the whore who is going to try to take you away from me? That... thing is the reason you haven't so much as looked in my direction in months brother?" Cersei Lannister almost spit out her final word, saying it with such disdain and hate that Jaime almost flinched. And then he remembered that they were still right outside of his future wife's door, and he did not want her to hear this doomed conversation. He did not want her to know about anything having to do with himself and Cersei, he wouldn't be able to stand the look she was bound to give him if she knew, and for some reason, that hurt more than anything Cersei could say to him at that moment. He turned his head to look at his sister who had apparently been following them as she was a few steps behind him now, but moving closer. When she was within arms reach he grabbed her hand and began pulling her towards the staircase that was a few feet away from his door and led her up several steps before he turned to look at her. She looked furious, every bit the lion of their banner.
"Cersei. She will be my wife. You are my sister. Anything that happened between us before will never happen again. I am loyal to her. You will always be my sister, but that is all you will ever be." Jaime had told Cersei versions of this sentiment several times over the last few months. But today he actually meant it. After meeting the woman who was to be his wife, even only knowing her for a few minutes, he knew she was the best person he had ever met. Period. And he would be damned if he were the reason she ever felt any pain. Cersei was royally furious.
"This was not the plan Jaime! You are mine! From birth! You were meant to follow me to King's Landing where you would protect me, and be with me, and love me!" She was almost shouting now, and Jaime looked around worried. Maybe he should have taken them farther away from Arya's rooms to have this conversation.
"Yes. That was the plan. Past tense Cersei. What did you want me to do? Disobey father? For what? So I could go to King's Landing and follow your future husband around like a guard dog and wait around until you decided you wanted me? No. I want this. I want her. She is my future. I am hers. And you will not destroy this for me Cersei or you will lose me forever. I mean it. If you do anything, say anything, to her that could cause her harm in any way, you will never see my face again." And with that said, Jaime brushed past her, back down the stairs, and was through his door before Cersei fully registered what he had said to her.
Cersei stood in the stairwell in shock for almost twenty minutes before she slowly finished climbing the stairs and continued on to her chambers. When she arrived there, she sat down for a long while. Thinking, planning, wondering what she could do. She didn't want to lose her brother. But she also dreaded losing her lover. But what could she do? She could not talk to Arya in any way except pleasant, because she was sure Jaime would never let his precious new wife out of his sight, especially with her still around, and she couldn't tell father that she loved her brother so he couldn't marry some random slag from the North, he would kill her. So what is there left to do? And then she realized, she would do the same thing she would do if this was a regular man and not her brother, she would be more beautiful than that Northern bitch and make him realize what it is he is throwing away for some common peasant.
After closing his door Jaime sighed loudly, running his fingers through his hair in exasperation. He then proceeded to remove his cloak that was weighing heavily on his shoulders, and then sat down in a chair he had strategically placed to overlook the sea, and was close enough to the door to Arya's room so that he would be able to hear her if she were to need anything. As he was pouring himself some wine he heard a knock at his door. Groaning to himself he moved to the door leading to the corridor and looked out. At first he thought that maybe it was his brother because no one was there when he opened it, but when he looked down he didn't see his brother either. He heard another knock. Oh. It was coming from the door connecting his and Arya's rooms. He furrowed his eyebrows, confused. Maybe she needed help finding something?
He turned around and closed his door again and made his way back over to the other door. He hesitated for a moment before opening it. And there she was. Her hair was out of the braid she had it in when they met, and it was cascading down her shoulders in beautiful waves, and her grey eyes were shining up at him as she smiled shyly.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your privacy Jaime, it's just..." she trailed off, ringing her hands, suddenly very nervous, and she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes, instead staring at the lion pin on his stomach that held his tunic together. Jaime smiled at her, still curious, but amused at her sudden shyness.
"You can interrupt my privacy at any time darling. Did you need help with something? Do you need me to get you something?" He asked softly, trying to ease her back into being able to look at him, because he hated not being able to see her big beautiful eyes.
"Well... I was hoping to take a bath... and I don't know where my ladies are, they were in a carriage a few miles behind us... but I don't want to be late for dinner waiting on them so... I am not sure what to do." Arya's eyes shifted between his and his pin several times as she talked, a blush spreading across her face as she went on. And of course she was blushing over the term of endearment that he threw into conversation so easily.
"Well, how about I go get the water for your bath, and I will see if I can find some ladies to come attend you." Arya looked relieved suddenly that he understood, so much so that he was offering to carry the heavy tub of bath water up from wherever they get it here at the Rock. She nodded gratefully, now looking in his eyes without fear.
"That would be wonderful, thank you so much Jaime." She said sweetly, smiling softly up at him as he looked down at her softly.
"Anything for you love, I'll be back in just a little while, keep an ear open for a knock okay?" And with that, he leaned down and placed a quick kiss on her forehead before turning and walking back out though the door, placing his glass of wine on the table next to the door on his way out. Before he shut the door he looked back at Arya who looked confused as to what to do while she waited.
"Make yourself at home love, what's mine is yours, I know your room doesn't have very comfortable seating, so feel free to use mine, get a glass of wine if you wish. I'll be back shortly." After seeing her throw a smile his way he quickly shut the door before he could get distracted by staring at her. He then proceeded to walk towards the courtyard, hoping her ladies would be there so that she would feel comfortable. When he arrived, they were just climbing out of the smaller, less decorated carriage they had ridden in.
"Ladies!" He called, jogging over to them, forgetting about propriety. The women looked shocked to see a grown beautiful man running towards them. They quickly realized who it was and curtsied deeply.
"My Lord!" The elder one squeaked as he came to a stop in front of them.
"Yes yes hello, Lady Arya is in need of a bath, I was hoping you would go assist her. I will send men out for your things and I will be there shortly with her water." He said briskly, aware that Arya was concerned with timing. The eldest woman nodded quickly.
"And where is her room My Lord?" She asked softly, looking at the floor as was expected of her when addressing someone of Ser Jaime's stature. Jaime looked around for one of his men and saw his father's squire, one of his cousins, standing around.
"You! Boy!" Jaime said loudly, causing the squire to look over, and run over to Jaime when he realized who was calling him.
"Take these ladies to Lady Arya's room, quickly please, and then find men to bring Lady Arya and her ladies things to her room." Jaime spoke quickly, but firmly, and then turned his head to nod at the ladies after receiving confirmation from the squire. Jaime turned away from them and proceeded to go to the well to fetch the water for Arya's bath. After drawing several gallons of water into a large metal basin that could be carried on one's back Jaime set off back to their rooms. On his walk back, with the extremely heavy water strapped to his back, he realized that he was acting like a servant, and if his father saw what he was doing he would surely scold him into next winter, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. Arya wanted a bath, so he was going to help her get what she wanted. And at that moment he realized that whatever that woman asked of him he would do. It scared him. How could a woman who he had known for less than an hour or two able to control him so easily? He couldn't imagine what it would be like after knowing her, loving her, seeing her have his children... he would be hers, wholeheartedly and without question. And honestly... he didn't mind all that much.
When Jaime arrived back at their rooms he found Arya's ladies bustling around her room while she was sitting in the chair he had occupied before she had knocked on his door. He found it endearing that she was already comfortable enough with him to relax in his room while hers looked like a mad house with the ladies walking around trying to find places for all of her things. When he walked in it seemed her head lady, the one who he had talked to in the courtyard, was having a discussion with Arya.
"My Lady, there simply isn't enough room in there for all of your clothes, I don't know where they expect you to put your things." Arya was frowning.
"Well Krystine you'll just have to make due, I don't know what else to tell you." Arya said, still frowning. Jaime found that he hated that frown, especially when he knew something could be done about it.
"I have some space darling, just put whatever you don't have room for in here." He said loudly, as to make his presence known, and hopefully it would bring a smile back to her face. Which it did, as she looked over at the beautiful well dressed man carrying the water for her bath like a servant, she could not help but smile.
"Thank you Jaime. Go ahead Krystine, you heard him." Arya said smiling at her lady in waiting who nodded quickly and went over to Arya's section of rooms and began giving orders to the other ladies. Jaime was quickly realizing how heavy the water actually was as his back started to hurt while he was just standing there staring at Arya.
"I'll go put this in your bathroom." Jaime said quickly, excusing himself from her piercing eyes and moving into her room and then to her bathroom. He quickly removed the basin from his back and began to pour the water into the tub, thankful that it was still warm and had not cooled off in the walk back. He left the metal basin in the bathroom so that when she was finished one of her maids could remove the water and dispose of it.
He then turned around and left her bathroom and walked back over to his bedroom where Arya was still sitting. He looked around the room and noticed that she hadn't drank anything as there were no glasses lying about.
"Are you thirsty darling?" He asked sweetly coming to stand beside her chair. She looked up at him and smiled, with teeth this time, and Jaime felt his heart start to race.
"Yes, but father doesn't let us drink much wine at home so I was honestly worried about drinking any here, he only lets us have one cup at feasts." She was still looking up at him with that brilliant smile and Jaime found it hard to form an answer.
"Well I have other things, I have water, lemon water, I can have someone make you tea?" He asked, running through his mind to find something she might like, as he normally just drank wine, a habit he had picked up from Cersei. He looked back down at her to see her reaction to his offer and saw she was still smiling so he took that as a good sign.
"Water would be perfect, thank you." She reached up and grabbed his hand and gave it a little squeeze before letting it go. He smiled down at her and leaned down and kissed the crown of her head before walking over to a table that had various drinks on it in glass containers, it was a basic assortment as Jaime normally stuck to wine, but he would have to ask his servants to start supplying him with Northern drinks as well so that Arya would feel more comfortable at the Rock, with him. He quickly poured her a glass of water, relieved that it was not too warm, and brought it over to her, picking up his glass of wine on his way back to the small table before setting her glass down in front of her and settling into the seat closest to her. She smiled at him in thanks before she took a small sip from her glass and looked through the door over at her ladies who were still putting away her clothes. After a few minutes some of the ladies started coming into Jaime's room and began putting her items in the open spaces. When they were finished Jaime was halfway done with his glass of wine, and Arya had taken a few more sips of her water.
"Are you ready for your bath My Lady?" Krystine asked Arya, curtsying quickly towards them as she approached. Arya nodded standing up.
"Excuse me Jaime, thank you again for the water and everything else." She said, putting her hand on his shoulder as she rose and giving him a smile before passing through the conjoining door and heading towards her bathroom with three ladies following after her. Jaime could hear them talking for several minutes after they closed the bathroom door, as no one had thought to close the door separating the rooms. He quickly finished his drink, and then decided it was probably improper to sit in a chair facing the door to the bathroom that his future wife, but still future wife was naked in, so he rose out of the chair, closed the door almost the whole way, leaving it open a crack, and then removed his tunic so he was just in his white undershirt and breeches. He removed his boots as well and then untied the strings that were holding his undershirt closed in the front and then proceeded to lie down on his bed and try to take a nap. Which was incredibly difficult as he knew that just a few feet away, Arya was bathing, and there was just a door separating them.
A few hours later, after both Arya and Jaime had a nice nap, Jaime had redressed and was sitting on the end of Arya's bed waiting for her ladies to finish braiding her hair so that they could go to dinner. When the ladies finished Jaime could not help but be awed by their work, it was a braid that he had never seen before, and he could not help but wonder if it was a Northern style braid, as Cersei had never worn her hair that way, and she had done a lot of things to her hair during their lifetime.
"You look beautiful love." Jaime said sincerely when Arya rose and turned to look at him. She blushed profusely and looked at the group, suddenly very shy. Jaime chuckled and walked closer to her, offering his arm he waited for her to look up at him and realize he was waiting on her. After a few moments she looked up and saw his arm and quickly grabbed onto the crook of his elbow and blushed a little more, as she hadn't realized why they were waiting. He chuckled and turned his head to press a soft kiss to her temple before leading her out of the room and towards the grand hall where they would be feasting that night, in celebration of Arya's arrival.
A/N: Hey guys! If you're my normal readers you can probably tell I didn't write this chapter, and just so you all know, I didn't write the rest of this book either, all AGoldenLannister! It's a bit different from my writing style, and some of you may love it, and some may hate it but I don't have time to go through and completely rewrite this entire book and the next few that she finished.
So, I hope you guys enjoy it, and if you don't, well... stick with it and eventually you'll get to parts that I have written!
I love you all so much, and I hope you enjoy!!