On My Honor ‣ Jaime Lannister

The Sad Songs of Wolves

JAIME

Traveling the Kingsroad with his brother was perfectly fine. They had done it before and Jaime genuinely enjoyed his little brother's company. Traveling was fine even with the added sellsword that ran his mouth on and on about trivial topics that didn't interest him. However, the one thing that made this trip extremely unbearable was the woman accompanying them. 

Naya Stark.

Her presence was unsettling and the way she carried herself was genuinely frightening him. He thought Tyrion's taunts on the Stark woman scaring him held no weight, but though he did not wish to converse with her, a part of him was begging her to make light banter. To make any form of small talk. But she didn't. She stared straight ahead and said little to anyone which kept him on edge. Most of the time, she was lost in her thoughts. It made him wonder if any were of him.

He couldn't help but notice how her eyes which could hold such fierce anger—of which he saw when she berated her own mother at the Eyrie—were almost doe-like when she was traversing through her thoughts. Her eyes were a deep brown which seemed average to anyone, but he could not help but spare a glance at them now and again. There was something so interesting hiding in them and he wasn't sure what that was. Not knowing was difficult since he was naturally curious, but what disturbed him was that he wanted to know. He liked her eyes. He didn't want to, but he did.

Tyrion took notice of his brother's rigidity. Not that Jaime was ever extremely playful, but he typically had some interaction with him. Surely Naya's presence shouldn't have changed that, but it did. For a moment, Tyrion believed it was courtesy for his brother to be quiet rather than speak out of term with a proper lady, but she had laughed at Bronn's crudeness. That opened the door to be just as improper as the sellsword, but still, Jaime remained silent. 

"Does the Kingslayer typically have a stick up his ass?" Bronn had whispered to Tyrion once during their journey, noticing his behavior. 

"Depends on who you ask," Tyrion replied. 

"Don't tell me the woman has him scared straight," he groaned. 

"Would that be a bad thing?" he asked. "I said it once. Seeing her terrify him would be entertaining."

"Maybe not scared," he murmured in thought. "I mean when a woman's involved, and you see a man stiffen... it ain't always out of fear."

The Imp chuckled. "Seven Hells, Bronn. For her sake, I hope that's not the case."

"Why not?" the sellsword had asked.

"Need I remind you her father is Ned Stark, who is considered one of the most honorable men in the Seven Kingdoms, and Jaime is considered the least. It'd be a disaster waiting to happen."

"Harsh words for a brother."

"Well, I love my brother. But he plays dirty. You'd know better than anyone how that works, I imagine."

Most words exchanged on the journey were between Tyrion and Bronn with the occasional chiming in from Naya, but she would shut her mouth and return to her state of thinking whenever Jaime was involved. It only furthered his suspicions that she knew what he had done or she was going to find out soon.

The party of four did not rush back to King's Landing. Especially with a lady in their company, they paid every expense to ensure a safe journey with frequent meals and stopping at inns which greatly delayed their arrival. They had little coin between them after Tyrion gave Mord all the gold in his purse, but most of the innkeepers were gracious hosts and often gave them a room since Naya was a Stark and Jaime and Tyrion were Lannisters. The great family names could boast of the inn's hospitality.