The Lannister Wolf Series

Chapter Fifteen

The door of Jaime's study which had once been his old room (he now slept in the room he and Evelyn had shared) and in stormed Tommen, looking rather frazzled and irritated.

"You never told me that you were a prisoner of the Boltons!" he accused, planting his hands upon his hips and tilting his head.

Jaime looked up from Evelyn's letter which he would read twice daily and spied the tall figure of Brianne behind Tommen, shrugging innocently.

Whenever Jaime told his nephew/son the story of his adventure away from Kings Landing, he would always make it till the day he and Brianne were taken by the Boltons. After that, he couldn't handle reliving it. In that case, Tommen had taken to asking Brianne to tell the story and apparently she had gotten further than Jaime had.

Jaime sighed, "I do not like to think about it."

"But Brianne says that you were saved!" The young prince chirped, eyes lighting up as he plopped to the floor at his uncle's feet.

"By the Warlock," Jaime confirmed, smiling softly at the boy, "Yes, that is true."

"Brienne said the Warlock is a woman. What was she like uncle?"

Jaime glanced at Brianne as if asking her why she put him in this predicament before answering Tommen's question.

"She was something else... almost magical. You could see nothing but her piercing eyes and her stern brow. Her hands were small but she wore gloves. She moved with the speed of the wind and the smoothness of the sea, as brutal as flame and with the strength of a tree. At her side stood a giant horse of pure black oblivion, a protector and companion. And upon her shoulder sat a rugged bird about the size of an eagle, head spinning to see everything... like it was the Warlock's eyes. She was armed with a long, heavy bow of pure metal but only she could bend the bow. The string of her bow was as thick as one's finger, striking the enemy down with arrows as sharp as glass."

By then, Tommen's mouth was hanging open and drinking in the story. Jaime sat back, satisfied that he had done well in describing his savior to the boy.

"And the Warlock saved you and Lady Brianne... for no reason?" Tommen inquired.

Jaime chose to not mention the warning the mysterious warrior had asked them to relay to Cersei Lannister so he just nodded.

"You know uncle... I never met the Warlock," Tommen hummed. "But she almost reminds me of aunt Evelyn."

Both Brianne and Jaime froze but while Jaime froze from shock, Brianne froze out of terror. So much for keeping it a secret!

"Why do you say that?" Jaime asked Tommen.

The boy shrugged, "The way you described her... small hands, fast, swift and strong... and aunt Evelyn was very skilled with a bow.... Robb and Evelyn showed me when we were in Winterfell. The owl and horse are queer though..."

Jaime had blocked out Tommen's voice at the mention of Robb and he was taken back to the day he had laid eyes upon the Warlock for the first time:

"Tell Cersei Lannister that I may not be the one to come and take her down but tell her that she will pay for the things she has done." The Warlock had told him.

The later... the Warlock had commented on Jaime's mention of Evelyn: "Your poor wife. I hope your sister did not try to do anything in those twelve months of absence."

Finally, Jaime remembered the Warlock in the maester's hut... feeding him the herb to help with the pain...

"Tommen," Jaime said, interrupting the boy's ranting. "Could you give Brianne and I a moment?"

The boy nodded and skipped off to find someone else to chat with, leaving the two adults alone in the study.

Jaime turned in his seat to eye Brienne sternly, "Is there something you wish to tell me?"

Brianne masked her concern and instead asked, "What do you mean Ser Jaime?"

"You were awfully quiet around me after the Warlock disappeared from Harrenhal and do not think I didn't notice how close you had gotten to her in the short time she was with us." Jaime rose from his chair and strode angrily to the tall knight, "Is the Warlock my wife? Brienne of Tarth, on your honor as a knight.... Who is the Warlock beneath the mask?"

Brienne swallowed and was taken back several weeks to the stables of Harenhal.

"My Lady! Wait!" Brienne had yelled to Evelyn who was saddling her black horse. "What if Jaime were to find out or ask.... I cannot lie to him."

Evelyn nodded in thought before finishing saddling Chance and grabbed her bag, "Tell him that the Warlock is not Evelyn Stark Lannister. I was never a Stark after I left Winterfell as Jaime Lannister's wife and I lost the right to be a Lannister when I left Jaime and ran from Kings Landing. I am just Evelyn... the Warlock."

And with that, the girl had swung onto Chance and rode out of the stables.

"You wish to know if the Warlock is Evelyn, a Stark, a Lannister and your wife?" Brienne asked Jaime. "In that case, Ser Jaime, she is not. The Warlock is not Evelyn Stark, Evelyn Lannister or Evelyn Stark Lannister. The Warlock is simply the Warlock. On my honor as a knight."

Jaime, who had been gripping the woman's shoulders, released her and stepped back, the fury and terror in his face gone and replaced by misery and pain. Brienne wondered if Jaime was hurt that the Warlock was not his wife... or because he still did not know if his wife was alive.

The man nodded weakly and mumbled something about being sorry for snapping before he left Brienne alone in the room.

The woman sighed, "Where are you Evelyn?"

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the deep forests of the south, Evelyn had finished piling the last of the rocks in the entrance of the cave, leaving only a small exit open for Chance to depart from their new home. Climbing to the top of the little hill which was actually the top of the cave, she moved some branches away and slipped through the hole that dropped into the heart of the cave. At the bottom of the makeshift ladder sat Calum who had been waiting for his mother's return.

Evelyn took down the ladder and set it in a corner before she set about making a small fire directly below the hole, piling stones all around it to make a sort of oven. That would mean that the rocks would warm and offer heat without burning anything or making too much smoke to catch anyone's attention. Lady and Zinzi curled up around the oven and purred themselves to sleep as Ace perched on a small ledge next to Chance who stood nearby, sleeping soundly. Evelyn pulled out her bedding and laid it out before scooping Robb out of the basket. Over the past week since Talisa's death, the baby had put on a few pounds and inches, gradually but surely adding healthy size. Laying on her side, she let the baby curl up against her chest, Calum on the other side of Robb and she wrapped her arms around both boys before drifting off to sleep.

Sometime deep in the night, Ace cracked one large eye open before opening the other and almost sighing at the sight of the familiar black bird that was perched in front of him. Ace wished he could speak because he would have made a sarcastic remark to the nosy bird.

Both the black bird and Ace swiveled their heads to look at where Evelyn lay. The raven tilted his head in surprise but Ace didn't seem shocked at the sight before them. Completely covering every inch of Evelyn, including her clothes which seemed to have dissolved into her skin... were golden scales. Her face was the only thing not covered in scales and her hair had turned to golden scales that protruded from the back of her head like a spike. Calum and Robb were nuzzling close to Evelyn, sighing in their sleep at the warmth emitting from Evelyn's scaly body.

And somewhere far off, Bran Stark snapped from his dream like state with a smile on his lips.

"And now, it begins."

There is the end of part 3! I am presently starting part 4 and it'll take a few months since I am busy with school but if you want to see it in motion, check out my Quotev user: FairyofHogwarts:)