Streaks Of Silver (Game of Thrones)

Chapter Eleven: Someday...

By the next morning, Ned had made his decision and when Sansa pleaded her case to go south, Arya would ask the same with Litha present and think of something to help her as well...

"And Litha could come, too! She could compete in tournaments in the south and be Sansa's Queen's Guard one day! Have a white cloak and everything, if she wanted!" Arya insisted upon her coming with them as Litha perked up in shock.

"Arya, you don't have to-" Ned would cut off his eldest daughter.

"If you're to guard Sansa, then you'll have to start with Arya. She'll need her own protection in the Capital that's actually capable of keeping an eye on her," their father declared as Litha deadpanned, "You will escort her to and from her lessons, you will train every single day and by no means will you ever set foot lower than the Street of Steel without me, do you understand?" he demanded this of her, to which she nodded.

"Yes, father," she agreed to these terms, utterly overwhelmed before he gestured for his daughters to go off.

"Run along then! Go pack your things!" he urged them and just like that, his daughters took off running for their chambers...

***

That afternoon, Jaime would be packing his things. Wondering what the fuck he was going to do if Bran woke up and remembered what Cersei did in a fit of peak. It wasn't exactly a Queenly thing to do...

Then, there was a knock at the door of his guest room. One which he was content to leave unanswered in his brooding until a voice called out, "Are you decent, Ser Jaime?" and his heart warmed as it sped up against his will.

Swallowing his guilt, knowing he couldn't hide from her forever even if he tried, Jaime went to the door. Thinking it could be one of the last chances he'd have to speak with her in private before departing for King's Landing, "Well..." he'd observe her as he opened the door. Seeing her dressed for travel, "Going to accompany the King back to the border?" he wondered as Litha looked far too smug to be staying within the walls all day.

"To King's Landing, actually," she corrected him and his smirk dropped.

"...What?" he wondered if he'd heard her wrong, blinking widely in an odd mixture of amazement as well as fear.

Litha came to rest her hands on the pommel of her sword at her hip then, "My Lord father accepted the position of Hand of the King, and since he's taking Arya and Sansa along? He asked me to be Arya's personal guard to keep an eye on her. So, we both won the wager," she informed him of the plan and a grin found its way to his face.

Not knowing what to do with himself, he scanned over her armor for a moment. Searching out any imperfection, any weakness as he stepped closer to her. Checking the straps of her chest plate before taking a look at her arm guards, "I saw your brother this morning...having a sword made for Arya, I believe. He's taking the Black," Jaime told her, earning a nod as he checked the straps on one arm, then the other as Litha only watched his expression.

Gaging him as he made adjustments and checked tensions, "I know," she concurred, "I told him I'd visit the Wall after Sansa was married. To see it for myself and maybe venture beyond it with Jon some day. See what the real North looks like," she reasoned as Jaime sighed.

"He's your brother...it's understandable that you wouldn't want to lose him forever," he mused over this idea, thinking of the way Cersei had screamed at him for rejecting her. Taking Litha's hand in his and noting how different it was from his sisters. Hard and smooth as polished wood while Cersei's were always delicate and frail, "I told Cersei I'm finished with her...being used by her," he said then as he brushed his thumb over her palm. Pressing that feeling to memory and taking a moment to ruminate over it. How comforting it felt, to hold the hand of another warrior.

"But...your history- you-" Litha couldn't believe it. Reeling at his words, "What reason did you give her? Does she blame me...?" she paled at the thought of that woman's anger as Jaime shook his head.

"I told her that I'd wasted my life chasing someone who doesn't love me...and that I wanted to start making my own choices," he told her the truth, "Naturally, she's furious and blames everyone but herself. Though, I don't know if that could ever be avoided. She's..." he trailed off as his guilt bubbled in his chest. Forming a knot in his throat as Litha furrowed her brows, raising her free hand to his cheek.

Meeting her gaze then, he hummed nervously, waiting for her to speak, but Litha for once, found it difficult. Brushing her thumb back and forth, studying his eyes and found they were different from Cersei's. Green mixed with blue in a hue of tidewater and spearmint as opposed to the Queen's muddy emerald, "Your eyes are different," she told him then, "When I look at Cersei, I see a dark forest. Greens and browns no one can ever really see through...but when I look at you, I see frost in sunlight, melting away from moss in the spring," Litha described what she could see, "Whatever paths you choose, whatever choices you make, I know you'll always try to be a better man than you were the day before. That's worth something, Jaime. More than gold," she finished as he softened against her touch.

Closing his eyes, he settled into it. His own hand coming to rest over the one that touched his face, "Why couldn't I have met you when I was young...?" he inquired with pain in his voice, "I could've had your father make you a Stark, make you my Lady of Casterly Rock and had you boss me around to the end of my days," he mused over a future he'd likely never see, making her laugh quietly.

"You're a very strange man, Jaime Lannister," she stated this fact with fondness in her voice then as she pulled him into a hug. The knight melting into her, hauling her close as he buried his face in her black and white hair.

"Says the one with badger hair," he remarked, having to ruin the moment for fear of his own impulses. Receiving a jab to his side as she snickered and he feigned a groan in pain. The girl shoving him with a playful glare.

"Rude!" she exclaimed while they both snickered.

"You love me," Jaime said then, his grin returning as she gave him a bored look.

"Grow a beard and I might," she remarked then and stepped back from the doorway, "See you on the road south," she farewelled and left while Jaime stared after her with half-lidded eyes in thought of how well she'd tied her straps. Fastened everything perfectly and wore the lot of it well. Her frame carrying it better than some seasoned knights he knew.

Though, few knights came with weight bearing hips or the legs to hold up an ass like that, but this was neither here nor there...

All he knew was that he'd do whatever he could to keep her and her sisters safe...