Of Captive Hearts

Chapter 18 - Epilogue

Jaime lay holding Brienne as the last remains of a lazy dawn faded from the sky, and was replaced by the golden rays of sunshine that lit their bedchamber with the promise of another beautiful day together. He wanted to keep all the moments spent with her preserved in his memory. They had been now married for so many glorious wonderful years, that everything before seemed but a bad dream which had long ago faded. It was strange to Jaime that each time he gazed into a mirror, the face of an old man stared back at him, while Brienne was still as ethereal and breathtaking as when he had fallen in love with her all those years before. Jaime would gladly relive the bad he had suffered before her, if only the Gods would grant his one wish, to live the years passed with Brienne as his beloved wife all over again.

All but one of their children were grown and following their own paths. Their youngest, Selwyn was now a boy of four and ten and would ,within a few years, begin squiring for Ser Podrick Payne. Pod had years before, resigned his post as the commander of the guard at Casterly Rock, to assume the duties of the Lord Commander of King Bran Stark's Kingsguard. The King had removed the oath of celibacy from the Kingsguard, and Pod had married in Kings Landing, raising his own happy family. Jaime thought proudly of how the young knight had helped him see Brienne and their infant son to safety. Jaime knew he owed Podrick everything. It was one debt he doubted a Lannister could ever repay. There was no one else in the realm he would entrust with the training of his youngest son.

Although Galladon remained at Casterly Rock with his mother and father, he had assumed more of the role of Lord of the Manor. As the first born male heir, it would be Galladon who would acquire the title of Lord Lannister from Jaime when the time came. Both father and son hoped that would be in the far distant future. Jaime was exceedingly proud of the man his eldest son had become. He marveled at how far the boy had grown from his birth on that cold stone floor of the abandoned hovel in which he and Brienne had taken refuge as she labored with their child. That tiny babe who had filled their hearts with such joy, was now a confident self-assured knight, and was still bringing immeasurable happiness to his loving parents. Galladon was the image of Jaime in his younger glory days, except for the brilliant blue eyes and slightly taller build that were gifts from his mother. He was a fine scholar, and brilliant in ways that always seemed to elude Jaime. Like his Uncle Tyrion, Galladon was a voracious reader. Jaime counted that another quality the boy had inherited from Brienne. Like both of his parents, Galladon was a talented swordsman, and skilled in military tactics. Along with all the rest of their children, he was Jaime and Brienne's greatest legacy.

Galladon had been a boy of five and ten, when he had traveled to Winterfell with his parents and siblings. Queen Sansa had requested their presence to discuss trading between their lands, and an agreement of greater importance. She proposed a union, between the eldest son of House Lannister and the eldest daughter of House Stark. An alliance between the North and the South.

Queen Sansa had given her Lord Consort husband, Sandor Clegane, four children who she insisted would carry his name. He was a man once thought lost but somehow returned to his true love. Theirs was as much a story of the triumph of two hearts bound to one another as was Brienne and Jaime's own. The Queen in the North could imagine no one else's heir a fit match for her dear child.

Upon learning of the match made for him by his parents, Galladon raged in fury. He swore he would never be made to marry one he did not even know. That was until he was finally introduced to his betrothed. Catelyn Clegane was two years his junior. She had her mother's sublime beauty, and her father's sardonic wit. A perfect match for one raised to be a lion. Galladon fell instantly as in love with her, as she did with him. They were married in the Godswood at Casterly Rock, upon Catelyn's eighteenth nameday. Their first child was born the next year.