AN :
Hey everyone, since the novel just got re-published, I could really use your Power Stones to climb the rankings again. If we can make it back into the Top 40, I'll release another chapter tomorrow. Desperate times call for desperate updates.
( Jaime Lannister POV )
"Aww…" Jaime sighed. He'd been enjoying their sparring even if he was spending far more time on the ground than he preferred. Oh well, it wasn't as if there was nothing to do in the Red Keep. "Alright Uncle, I'll return to our quarters then."
"You best." Uncle Tygett nodded, leaving to put their padded weapons back in the armory, as Jaime headed back up towards the Tower of the Hand.
...
The Red Keep was, in Jaime's estimation, a very small castle to house a king. He knew, intellectually that it was probably just Casterly Rock being so large that it made him think that, but still. The towers were thin and short, and there were few sweeping grand balconies. The godswood was only a couple of acres, and the servants numbered no more than a few hundred. The castle had no internal dockyards, no mines, and so few steps… all that and it smelled, like everything in King's Landing.
Why, the walk from the yard to his quarters in the Tower of the Hand wasn't even a quarter mile. How on earth did they ever fit so many important people in such a small place?
Of course, part of that was that they shared the space. In the Hand's suites, Jaime and Callum had been made to share the same room, while Cersei had her own just across the hall. Jaime had never lacked for his own room at the Rock, and neither had Callum, so the two were not used to sharing space. Callum did not like that Jaime threw his dirty clothing about the place and waited for the servants to clean it up, and Jaime did not particularly enjoy that Callum stayed up far too late into the night reviewing and adding to the notes he took during the day.
Honestly, Callum must be the only boy in the whole of the seven kingdoms who spent more time reading and writing when he wasn't being supervised by a Maester.
Fortunately for him today though, Callum didn't seem to be around. He must be out visiting the Dorneish again, or bothering the alchemists. That suited Jaime just fine. He dragged off his training clothes and dropped them to the floor, sighing in relief as he worked his shoulders free.
The thick padded gambeson that young men were expected to wear for the Prince's cup (Plate Mail and Chain were far too expensive to have fashioned for children, even the Lannisters wouldn't do it unless they were going to war.) was burdensome and uncomfortable. It sat far too heavy on his shoulders, and far too stiff on his arms. He grunted as he stretched, letting loose the tension in his body so he could be free in his movement once again.
"Jaime, are you back from your- eh…" Jaime turned to find his sister, having walked into the room unannounced. "Your training?" she said a moment later. "Are you doing well? Do you think you'll win the tournament?"
"Oh!" Jaime nodded cheerfully. "Yes, Uncle Tygett is working me hard, but I think I'll do well enough against the other boys. How about you? How have you been enjoying the Red Keep?" He honestly wasn't even sure what Cersei had been getting up to these last few days, only that their father had been keeping her in his office for many hours at a time for some sort of lesson.
"It's been going well." She smiled, though Jaime thought he heard a little bit of nervousness in her voice. "That is, Father's been telling me about a great many things… to prepare… oh Jaime." Cersei rushed forward and hugged him, her silk dress with its elegant embroidery felt strange on his bare chest. "I… father means to make me a Queen!" she said, quite excitedly. "He says… oh he says that at the end of this tournament, he'll ask King Aerys to betroth me to Prince Rhaegar."
"Prince Rhaegar…?" Jaime felt a bit dumbfounded by the revelation, not really returning his sister's embrace. He had seen the silver-haired man before, standing on his balcony overlooking the courtyard, and he had recognized him in the great hall as well. Jaime tilted his head… he supposed it was a good thing that his sister was being betrothed to the prince, but it also felt… off somehow, like it was a terrible thing too. It was strange. "That's a good thing right?" he asked, feeling unsure himself.
"I… yes, it's wonderful, I'll be queen of all the Seven Kingdoms." Cersei nodded, pressing her chin against his shoulder. "I'll be the most powerful woman in Westeros, with the finest of things and everyone will love me." she sounded as if she was as unsure in her answer as he was, despite the strength of her words.
"That's… good, I'm glad Cersei." Jaime smiled, even if it still felt strange to him, he loved his sister, and he smiled at the thought of her fulfilling her dreams. "I hope that everything goes well."
"And why wouldn't it?" Cersei stepped back from their hug, looking him in the eyes. "Our father's the King's Hand, and the most powerful man in Westeros save for the King himself. I'm quite a beauty too, or so you've told me." Cersei teased, leaning forward and placing her hands on her hips. "Isn't that right Jaime?"
"Yes Cersei, you're the most beautiful girl in the Seven Kingdoms." Jaime rolled his eyes, but he really did mean it. His sister was certainly prettier than the current queen. He'd seen the gaunt woman with the silver hair twice already, and while she was fair-skinned and pretty like all the Targaryens, she lacked that color of life and adventure that Cersei carried with her wherever she went. "I meant that I hope King Aerys doesn't say no, or… what if Prince Rhaegar doesn't like you?" he asked honestly, not noticing the slight color of hope in his tone.
"Why shouldn't he like me?" Cersei asked. "I'm the best!"
"Well, you're a lot younger than him." Jaime cautioned lightly. "Callum says that Princess Elia dislikes him because of his age compared to hers."
"She does?" Cersei asked, blinking, and then her face took on a more rightful look. "If she speaks badly of Callum to me then I'll punch her!" Cersei threatened.
"I don't think- that's probably not the right way to handle things." Jaime giggled, imagining his sister getting into a fistfight with the Dornish princess. It was a strangely plausible idea given his sister's behavior, and what people said about Dornish women. "Besides, Callum seemed like he didn't hate her for it when I spoke to him."
"Callum wouldn't hate a fly if it landed in his soup!" Cersei said angrily. "His heart is softer than butter. That's why we need to ensure he's not mistreated." Jaime blinked at the fury in her tone, he hadn't actually been aware that Cersei cared that much about Callum.
"Er… I think he could hate someone if they really deserved it." Jaime replied, walking over to his bed and sitting down. Though come to think of it, Callum really didn't speak badly of others very much. While Jaime had servants and the like that he disliked in the Rock, and Cersei disliked basically all of her teachers, he couldn't actually remember Callum being rude to anyone. "Well… I can't actually remember him hating anyone, now that you mention it."
"Callum is like me," Cersei said, and Jaime couldn't help himself snorting at her words.
"I've thought the same thing before," he admitted, though they were also so different, it amused him.
"Really?" Cersei asked, her eyes widening, before she nodded hurriedly. "You understand right? He has a woman's heart like I have a man's. We were born wrong."
Jaime blinked, that wasn't… that wasn't exactly what he had been thinking. "I meant that he was just doing things to keep father happy Cersei. You know he's told me that he doesn't even want to be a knight. He's just doing it because he should." Jaime scratched his head. "I don't know anything about this heart of a woman business." he gave her a smile. "And I don't think there's a single thing wrong with you."
"Tch, Jaime." She punched him in the shoulder but reflected his grin. "But it's obvious when you think about it. What kind of man doesn't want to be a knight?" she asked, her eyes focused as she leaned in, like it was some great conspiracy. "And I love swordfighting, just as much as you do, way more than Callum does. If I were a boy I would want to become a knight even more than you."
Jaime very much doubted that anyone could want to be a knight more than he did, but maybe Cersei could manage about the same. They were twins after all. He supposed she was making a bit of sense. Still… "I think there's a bit more to being a man or a woman than whether someone wants to be a knight."
"It's everything else too!" Cersei insisted. She'd clearly given this far more thought than Jaime had any intention of ever doing. What business of it was his whether someone had the 'heart' of a woman or a man. "He's so quiet and demure when we're with Father, you wouldn't even know he's there until Father calls out for him. It's the same at dinner, we might be yelling at each other about some silly thing, but he's quiet as a mouse." Cersei continued brightly.
"He spends all his time reading books in the castle and he loves it, and when he goes into the city with Ser Ilyn, who does he visit but Septas of all people?" Cersei nodded her head vigorously as if her argument was utterly irrefutable, and Jaime decided it might as well be. Cersei had always been better at arguing than him, so it wasn't as if he could contradict her.
"Our souls must have been mismatched in mother's womb. I was clearly supposed to be a boy and he was supposed to be a girl."
"Whatever you say Cersei, I like you perfectly well as a girl," Jaime smirked, especially when he saw that she blushed slightly at his compliment, right before she pouted and punched him in the arm again.
"That's easy for you to say, Jaime." She smirked right back. "You were born with the right heart for your body." Cersei nodded, "Well, I should be born with a man's heart than a woman's anyway since it means I take after father. No one else in the seven Kingdoms can say as much." she grinned now. "Certainly not you Jaime."
"If by taking after father you mean being grumpy." Jaime replied teasingly, "Then I'll leave you to it."
"Pssh." Cersei giggled, waving him off. "I'll not hear your slander. I'm famously sociable" his sister's words had no heat in them as she turned to walk towards the door. "I've a tea party with Queen Rhaella this evening I'll have you know."
"Oh, very good then." Jaime chuckled, waving his sister out the door. "Remember that she's Prince Rhaegar's mother, if you want to marry him she has to like you too. Don't be too grumpy"
"Oh Piss off Jaime," Cersei replied in annoyance, walking back across the hall to her own room and shutting the door behind her. Jaime could only smile as she left.
Having a sister like Cersei was exhausting at times, and embarrassing at others (Particularly when he had to wear her clothes), but all the same, he wouldn't trade her out for anyone else.
Come to think of it, that was true for everyone in his family. If he had his way, Jaime Lannister wouldn't change a thing.
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