The Long Winter | Jaime Lannister X Stark OC | GOT/ASOIAF

Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken

His mother - predictably - did not take the news well.

In the end, Ren had not had Jaime tell her; he reminded himself that he was a man grown and went to do it himself. Though the knight had been in his mother's chambers when he got there anyway, which was jarring to say the least. There was a moment where Ren took in the scene - the two figures sat far too close together on the edge of the too-small bed (which he suddenly realised both of them slept in) poring over some letter or other - before they noticed he was there and his mother shifted apart immediately.

Although he'd rather not have known that Jaime practically shared his mother's chambers, Ren found himself somewhat glad that someone else was there for this conversation.

"Well?" His mother raised an eyebrow at his silence, though he could see she was concerned by his hesitancy to speak. "Someone must've died for you to be dreading telling me something this much. Or have you got someone with child?"

"No I haven't got anyone with child," Ren pulled a face as Jaime laughed, her remark succeeding in distracting him from the grim news; the horror of his mother asking him such questions made him sound like an eleven-year-old boy.

"Good. I'd hate to be a grandmother at four-and-thirty,"

"Edrick's more likely to make you a grandmother than I," He grumbled. "With a Wildling for the child's mother no less," His little brother had been intrigued by the few girls from beyond the Wall who had stayed at Castle Black, who were equally intrigued by a 'southron' lord who acted as wild as they did. "Hells, Morganna's more likely,"

"Don't speak about your sister in such a way," His mother said, though seemed amused despite herself. "Now, enough delaying - what had you walking in here like you're on the way to your own execution?"

Any trace of laughter left his face immediately. Ren opened his mouth then closed it again, but she would have to find out at some point, and better here in private, from him, than anyone else.

"Daenerys Targaryen is gathering an army on the shores of Essos to cross the Narrow Sea. With her are the Golden Company and twenty thousand Dothraki. Also, freedmen and Unsullied from Slaver's Bay, several Westerosi knights - one of which being Barristan Selmy - as well as her husband, a boy claiming to be Rhaegar's son Aegon. And," He winced, seeing her face growing darker and darker. "Three dragons,"

His mother did not speak a word. She looked as though she was in the middle of a waking nightmare. Likely she was; when he was a boy, he had seen her violently wake from sleep more than once from dreams of Aerys Targaryen, eyes wild like a cornered animal, a silent scream on her lips. When he was very young, before he learned to fight, it was rare that she let him out of her sight at all. At the time, he had often mistaken her tight grip on his wrist as anger, though now recognised that she was terrified to let him go.

"Excellent," Jaime's voice was cutting as ever, though there was a look on his face that Ren had never seen before. "Ice monsters and dead men coming down on us from the north, and fire-breathing dragons to the south. Personally I'd take my chances with the ancient creatures of darkness over Mad Aerys' daughter, but I suppose my case is an exception,"

"Either one is going to try to kill you the moment you cross their path," Ren said. "The choice isn't yours, if that makes things easier. Loreon wants us to go south - "

"We can't leave the Wall guarded by Wildlings," His mother managed to get out.

"I know - that's why me and him will go alone, and leave the soldiers here. By the time they've all travelled to King's Landing it would likely be too late anyway,"

"That's stupid as well. A quarter of the armies of the south are up here,"

"I suppose everyone facing a dragon will be roasted alive in their armour all the same, so perhaps it makes no difference how many men there are," Jaime said with a sharp smile.