The Wolf and The Lion || Jaime Lannister

Sixty Seven

Jaime

Rayna is quiet as she leads me down the hall which concerns me even more. I know her well enough to know that she is as unhappy about this as I am.
Ever since I received her raven I've tried to figure out why she needs to come here but as soon as she stepped through the door I didn't want to know. I just wanted her in my arms, I wanted her to stay with me.
Now we are off to gods know where and I don't know what she's going on about. She wants me to convince Cersei to agree to an armistice, that I understand but I don't know where she is taking me.
It's clear the armistice wasn't her idea, she would never want me anywhere near Cersei, so who came up with the idea to send me south to my sister who tried to have me assassinated.
"Where is Bronns room?" she asks nervously
"Just around the corner but what does Bronn have to do with anything?" I ask honestly confused.
She doesn't respond and when we reach Bronns room I grab her by the arm and she stops walking.
"Rayna, sweetheart whats going on", I ask her one more time and she can barely look at me.
"Is this Bronns room?" She asks feebly and I nod. She looks at the door and back to me.
"Forgive me", she says as she opens the door.
She stands aside as I walk in and I see him.
Tyrion.
Now I understand.
"I'm sorry Jaime", Rayna says quietly and I understand why she looked so guilty. Because she is guilty "I didn't want to lie but you wouldn't have agreed to meet with him"
"You're right, I wouldn't have", I say stiffly.
"Bronn and I will leave you two to talk, please come back to bed once your done", she asks quietly and I know she did this with a heavy heart.
Her and Bronn leave the two of us alone.

I can hardly look at him.
"I needed to see you and I knew you'd never agree to meet", he says, I remain silent as I force myself to look at him "Don't be mad at Rayna, she never wanted to have to come here and she lied to me as well, I thought you knew I was coming but she's right you know"
"Don't", I warn, I don't want to hear how my wife lied to me. I don't want to hear about how she went behind my back even if it pained her to do so.
"You wouldn't have agreed to see me and she knew that", he says despite my warning "What she did she did out of love for you, she thought that it's time we saw each other"
I know it's true. She knew this would hurt me but I know what she was thinking. She thinks that Tyrion and I can make up, she thinks this is what's best for the both of us. I refuse to speak but Tyrion's always been good at talking so he manages to find some words.
"I was surprised when I heard you were in the North but look at you now, a married man. Imagine the look on fathers face knowing his heir is married to the Queen in the North"
"Don't talk about our father", I warn coldly remembering everything that happened. Everything that happened because I loved my little brother and helped him escape.
"Listen to me-", he pleads
"I once told Bronn that if I ever saw you again I'd cut you in half", I grit between my teeth feeling the weight of the sword on my waist.
He glances at the sword and I can see that he recognises it. Joffreys old sword, one of the two made from Ned Starks sword. The other one is with Brienne in Winterfell.
"Please don't", he asks quietly "I'd only be a quarter of a full man then"
I shake my head not wanting to hear his jokes. I don't want to hear it.
"He was going to execute me. He knew I was innocent. He didn't hate me because of anything I did, he hated me because of what I am. The little monster sent to punish him. Do you think I wanted to be born this way? Did he think I chose-"
"What do you want?", I ask not wanting to hear the excuses. Yet I know he is right. Everything he's told me is everything Rayna said when she was pleading his case with me before leaving Winterfell. He may have been hated by our father but I can't forgive what he did. He killed our father and left the Lannister's open and as Cersei said 'exposed for the vultures to come and tear us apart' and they did. Myrcella and Tommen are dead. The Dornish never would have poisoned her if father was alive and the fucking high sparrow would never have gained so much power.
However I'm not Cersei, I know Tyrion loved the children, it's not his fault.
"Daenerys will win this war. You're a military man. You must know there is no way around it", he says and I know that's also true. I saw the Dothraki and the dragons. "Daenerys is not her father. She's even willing to suspend hostilities if Cersei agrees to certain terms"
"You want Cersei to bend the knee you can ask her yourself", I mutter knowing she would die before surrendering, she has too much pride.
"I don't. Daenerys doesn't. Not right now anyway. She has a more important request", he says but I already know it.
"You were the one who suggested I go south and ask Cersei for an armistice", I realise and he nods.
"So Rayna did mention it" he says somewhat nervously.
"She would never ask me to go south", I say remembering the hesitation in her voice and the pain in her eyes.
"She was the only one who argued against it but Cersei won't listen to any of us and chances are she would assume any letters were forged"
"Do you know she tried to have me assassinated?" I ask him and I see the look in his eyes. He knows.
"Rayna did mention it", he admits
I lift up my shirt and he gapes at the wound. It's healed enough to ride and fight but I'll be scarred for life.
"I remember Rayna screaming for me when the assassin tried to kill me, he missed my throat but got my stomach. I almost died. Death is coming for us all, I've never feared it but I fear leaving Rayna. I was attacked the day after my wedding and I'd promised to never leave her again. I'm not going to ride south just to be murdered. I am not leaving my wife a widow, she is too young to be a widow", I say not thinking of myself but her. She begged me when I lost my hand to live for her and that is what I will do "I want to be a good husband and a father soon hopefully, Rayna can't lose anyone else"
"Jaime, if you want to survive long enough to have children you need to convince Cersei to agree to an armistice. According to Jon Snow the dead are coming and if we are at war with each other the dead will kill us all if Cersei and Daenerys don't burn down Westeros first"