The Lannister Wolf Series

Chapter X

Jaime stormed down the corridor. He couldn't find Evelyn anywhere! He had searched in the bedroom and then in the garden. It was like she just up and disappeared into thin air. They had been in Kings Landing almost a month! She couldn't have gotten lost.

He was about to call out her name again when he heard a voice up ahead. Picking up his pace, he looked around the corner to see Tommen hurrying out of his room with an armful of things which looked like pieces of cloth, his cat and a handful of his wooden toy men and soldiers that Tyrion had crafted for his fifth birthday that he still kept.

Jaime furrowed his brow. That was a boy on a mission! Deciding that he might as well find out what his nephew/son was up to while he was looking for Evelyn, he followed the boy.

Tommen ran at a rather quick pace all the way down to the beach to the point where Jaime almost lost him. However, when Jaime came tumbling through the undergrowth by the beach, he stared in surprise. Myrcella, Evelyn and Tommen were all sitting in a circle on the sandy shore. It appeared that Tommen and Evelyn were building something out of rushes for Tommen kept getting to his feet and rushing back to the undergrowth to gather armfuls of reeds and twigs before returning to where Evelyn was tying them off into bundles. Myrcella sat amidst her pale pink skirts, searching through a crate that sat between her and Evelyn. Every few minutes she would draw out a pouch or a bottle and would inspect the contents, smell it and then say something to Evelyn who would evidently explain it.

Jaime silently approached the scene, taking in how the setting sun was reflecting off of each of their faces, bringing out the bright smiles that they wore. He noted with interest how happy, free and relaxed Tommen and Myrcella were. Tommen reminded Jaime of the free, spirited Stark boys whenever the boy got to his feet and ran about like a young pup. Myrcella didn't care that she was seated in the sand and would get a scolding from her mother later. Her hair was down and not styled, and she was laughing loudly and chattering on and on, not caring that her mother would perceive it as unladylike.

Jaime slowly walked over, not wishing to startle them and also to take his time admiring the scene. When he did approach, the three lifted their heads and seeing who it was, all three smiled. Tommen jumped to his feet before dragging Jaime over to what he and Evelyn had built. It was a small boat, about three feet in length and four feet wide with a sail that was about the same size as the raft, all of it made of reeds and leaves.

"We're going to see if it floats!" Tommen announced, grinning broadly as he began to fill the boat with his toy men, making sure they wouldn't slip off by placing a few pieces of cloth down first.

Jaime carefully maneuvered his sword so he could sit down on the sand next to Evelyn and Myrcella. He watched as his niece/daughter lifted out a small green bottle shaped like a teardrop, full of a clear liquid. She unscrewed the top and smelt.

"It doesn't have a smell," she pointed out to Evelyn.

The older girl nodded, "That is because it isn't made from a plant. It is a mixture of water and a ground up mineral called Mycadas."
"What does it do?" Myrcella inquired, staring at the jar in amazement.

Evelyn smirked before reaching over and taking the bottle. Searching through the box she drew out an empty jar before heading to the water and filling it with salty sea water. Returning to the group, she sat down and poured a single drop into the sea water. Jaime and Myrcella watched in surprise as something began to form inside the bottle of sea water. After a moment, Evelyn reached in and pulled out what appeared to be a crystal of sorts.

"Taste it," Evelyn said, handing it to Myrcella.
The girl did so and recoiled, "It's salty."
Jaime's blue eyes widened in surprise before looking at his wife, "The salt crystalized?"
Evelyn nodded, "Exactly. The Mycadas crystalizes other minerals. If it is hard and placed in a liquid, it will crystalize the liquid. For instance, if I place a solid piece of Mycadas in wine, the wine would crystalize. However, since the Mycadas is dissolved in the water, it only crystalized the mineral in the sea water: salt."
Jaime shook his head in amazement while Myrcella's face lit up, "What do you use it for?"