The Wolf and The Lion || Jaime Lannister

Twenty Seven

Rayna

I may not be inside the walls of Winterfell but I am home. I am with my own blood and my own people and it's time to announce that I've returned to them.
I follow Robb through the great hall at Riverrun where anyone who means a damn thing is gathered. They all now their heads and whisper amongst themselves as I walk past.
Turns out Robb isn't the only Stark who's become a myth. I've gathered that the rumour I was pregnant with Jaime Lannister's child has largely been debunked and forgotten but even so as a runaway bride I scandalised Westeros. Rumours of me attempting to murder Cersei and by apparent death had spread throughout the realm. Four of the Stark children including myself are presumed dead but I have returned.
I take my seat by my brothers side and he stands to address the room.
"My sister Rayna has returned to us after escaping Kings Landing", he announces "She has returned home unharmed and with news of Sansa and Arya"
Applause fills the hall as I stand "I am very grateful to be back with my family and a free woman. I intend to do everything necessary to free Sansa from the capitol, from the Queen Mother Cersei Lannister", I announce which is followed by more applause "However it should also be known that the rumours concerning Arya are true. She escaped the Red Keep during my fathers arrest and has not been seen since. Arya, Bran and Rickon are all unaccounted for however there is still hope for them, in the meantime however we shall revenge against those who took them from us"
Cersei and Joffrey shall pay for everything they have done to this family. Then there is Theon, his betrayal has hurt me more than I would ever admit to Robb.
"I say let's kill some Lannister's", one Lord yells and the cheering becomes even louder. My eyes flick to the back of the room and Jaime stands by the door, hooded and unrecognisable.
"The only Lannister who is our enemy is Cersei Lannister and her bastard son Joffrey", I declare, instinctively protecting not just Jaime, but Tyrion also. Joffreys paternity is widely disputed across Westeros, Kings Landing and those loyal to the crown dispute the claims out of fear but Stannis and others who are unloyal all know the truth. The people of the North and the Riverlands believe the rumours and the truth shall be known. Jaimes face doesn't reveal anything as he watches on and I pray that he won't be furious at me for supporting the claims openly. We both know it is the truth: I just play that truth doesn't harm him anymore than it already has.
"What about the Kingslayer?" another asks.
In my uncertainty I look to Robb and he nods.
"Ser Jaime Lannister saved my life in Kings Landing and I know him very personally andI trust him with mine and my sisters life", I declare as firmly as possible and they murmur over my knowing him personally, I'll let them. The corner of Jaime's lip turns up and relief fills me. I promised I would fight for him and I will.
"He deserves to die, track him down bring him back here and take his head" someone yells and they nod in agreement. If Kings Landing has taught me anything its how to deal with an unruly mob.
"Ser Jaime is the only man who can ensure my sister is safely released from Kings Landing, my brother and I have lost a father and three siblings, we will not lose another, especially not to the crown"
"He's a man without honour", one lord yells out "My lady he will betray us given the chance"
He keeps his head down but I will not stand here and listen to this "You as Northerners find trust a hard thing to give, especially to a man with his reputation. you value honour and he is known as a man without honour, an Oathbreaker", I say keeping a careful eye on Jaime "However in my eyes he has begun a path to redemption, to honour and he intends to keep his oath to bring my sister home"
"What if he doesn't?" another Lord asks.
"Then you shall have his head", I reluctantly declare and even Robb and my mother look at me in shock, I can't bring myself to look at Jaime "But first I plead, let this man return your Kings sister home"
"But she's is engaged to the King and weren't you engaged to a Tyrell", one points out and they begin talking amongst themselves again, I can't help but find amusement in the scandal.
"Both were forced engagements and my sister does not want to go through with the marriage, a marriage to the man who murdered our father, she hates no man more than Joffrey Baratheon. I am Ned Starks daughter, your Kings sister and a Stark Of Winterfell, a Northern woman who wants revenge for her father and so is she"
The Lords finally stop their protesting but they are not rejoicing or agreeing with me.
"What if the Queen refuses to return Sansa?", Robb asks, finally speaking up. He's been loosing support ever since he executed Lord Karstark and as I observe the crowd it's clear that they are losing their moral.They do not care for politics and scheming, they want glory and revenge. They flocked to Robb when he was winning every battle and achieving glory, I need to remind them of that feeling. I need to keep them loyal.
"Fuck the Queen", I yell fiercely and the Lords cheer wildly in agreement "We are at war and if they refuse to return her then winter shall come for them"
Applause and cheers fill the room and like that the Lords have been won over, they rally at my words. This is what I wanted to achieve in Kings Landing, I wanted to have this impact. I didn't have the power to there but now I have power. This is power.
"Will you be by my side and show them that we are the ones who hold the power?" I ask them and they raise their swords for me "We will defeat the sadistic bastard who calls himself King and free my sister and when we are done we will take their heads and put them on the walls of Kings Landing where I was forced to look upon my Fathers. For centuries we have been oppressed by the crown and I declare no more. They imprisoned us and murdered my Father on false charges of treason, the North remembers and by the gods we will take our revenge", I declare, riling up the Lords and it works like a charm.
I look to my brother who gawks at me in complete awe. I give him a nod and take his hand as we stand and raise our joined hands into the air as the hall fills with battle cries.
Through the chaos I see Jaime still standing at the back of the hall wearing a proud smile and watching me with the same look of awe Robb had.
When Joffrey took Sansa and I to the wall to look at my Fathers head I swore to myself that it wouldn't break me it would only feed my wrath, that I would fight against the crown and this is just the beginning.
Then comes the part of ruling I'm most familiar with, what Father would do as Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. Listen to people's grievances and try to maintain law and order. When I was a young girl as the eldest child I always assumed it would be me who would succeed my Father as warden, no one ever thought to tell me that the eldest male would take that position. As I grew older I realised the bitter truth but I never understood what made Robb more qualified. He would train with Jon and Theon while I would sit beside my Father whenever I could at these types of occasions to learn as much as I could and ask him why he made the decisions he did. I learned from Father but Robb didn't, Father thought Robb still had years to learn those parts of ruling but he didn't and the longer I listen the more clear it becomes that he still hasn't learned. The Northerners crowned him and they respect him but he is a brilliant battle commander and a strategist but he doesn't have the patience or the mind for politics and ruling and he struggles to maintain order. Kings Landing crudely enlightened me to the truth of politics and power, Robb is very much like my Father in how naive he is and how he either has blind trust or extreme prejudice. He needs to be smarter than Father was. If he keeps being victorious he will have to become involved in southern politics and he doesn't understand it at all. However when I was in Kings Landing I learned. I listened to Cersei, Tywin, Tyrion and Littlefinger speaking about politics and manipulation. From listening to Jaimes stories of war I've gathered a decent idea of strategy, from my Father I learned how to be just and honourable and from my mother I learned how to look after a holdfast. I know the politics of the North and the South well. It is something Robb certainly needs advising on. He's a strategist, not a politician. He lost the Frey's and the Karstarks and therefore his army has reduced drastically. He needs allies.
When we finish and the lords are dismissed he turns to me.
"When did you learn how to speak like that, to rile the men up like that?" he asks.
"Kings Landing taught me more than I care to admit", is all I say.
"And you know how to deal with the people, how to appease them"
"I learned a lot from Father in Winterfell while you and Jon were off fighting", I remind him.
"The Lords respect you, when you spoke to them and they listened I could tell that they respect you, they trust in you"
"I hope so", I say, if they respect me and trust me then I may be able to accomplish what Robb hasn't been able to. If anything were to happen to Robb I would be the Queen, he's fighting battles on the field and I need to fight the battles inside of these walls for him.
"You offered up your fiancé's head", he says as we stand to leave the hall.
"I did, I knew that the assurance they will have his head if he breaks his oath would get their attention, get them to trust me. If they thought I'd show him mercy then they never would have come to my side"
"You really are one of the smartest people I know Ray", Robb says embracing me and I return it tightly.
"I've missed my brother"
"And I've missed my sister"
We pull away from each other and I take a good look at him. I can't believe how much he's grown into a man in the past two years.
"I haven't met your wife yet", I say noticing she wasn't here "Where is she?"
"She's tending to the injured" he says and I'm pleasantly surprised, she must be a healer.
"Well I hope to meet her at dinner tonight"
"Of course"
I smile and begin to leave but Robb calls out to me "Rayna"
"Yes"
"I'm glad you're back"
"So am I", I smile knowing it's the truth. This isn't the North, this isn't Winterfell but I am close to home. However I won't be going home until Cersei's head is on a spike. That part of the speech I definitely meant. Only then I notice Jaime still hiding in the back and he knows I meant it.