Game of Thrones - One Shots/Imagines: Part Three

Jaime Lannister X Reader - Angel on Fire

A/N - This chapter is based on the song 'Angel on Fire' by Halsey. I kind of started writing this with no plan other than to represent the way young women have been treated like objects by society throughout history, and then it became something bigger as I worked. I hope you all enjoy it.

A few years ago, you would have been dying with the excitement of an upcoming celebration. Feasts had always been tantalising when you were a maiden in search of a husband. You would have men showering you in attention, and women drawing you in with the most delicious tidbits of gossip. It had actually been fun whilst it had lasted. And then you had married Jaime, and the attention had been taken away, like a rug pulled out from under your feet. 

The first celebration you had attended after your wedding had been a different world entirely. The men had moved on to their newest conquests, and the women were too busy fighting for their attention to notice you. You had never noticed how they tended to herd themselves around the room, gaggles of women shifting themselves into the sight of the wealthiest bachelors in the hopes that one of them would catch their eye. You had hovered on the edge of the Great Hall, watching the mating rituals with a sadness sitting in your chest that you had never felt before. As a woman barely into adulthood, you had already begun fading into the background, and it left you with a sick feeling in your stomach. 

After that, you had made yourself at scarce at the parties as you could manage, only attending when Jaime would promise to keep you company through the night. You had never confessed your thoughts to him, too afraid of hurting his feelings with the way you so blatantly longed for more than your life would allow. But he would make his promise to stay at your side, and he would keep it, softening the blow that you could no longer recognise the woman you had become. 

This evening, he had made his promise again, and you were standing as close to his side as you could get as he spoke with one of the Knights he had known from his youth. You had attempted to join the conversation, only to fall silent again when their topic of choice had shifted into an area you had no understanding of.

You felt Jaime's hand shift to run up your spine, his eyes landing on your face as you continued to watch the young women, talking, and drinking, and laughing together so effortlessly. 

"What are you thinking?" he murmured, his hand finally finding its perfect spot on your hip, his thumb making gentle circles through the fabric of your dress. 

You remained silent for a moment, considering your answers. "In the next year or so, those girls are all going to be forgotten," you uttered, blinking away tears that you hadn't noticed brimming in your eyes. "They'll be wives and mothers, and no one will care what they think anymore," you added, shaking your head slightly. 

"Their husbands will care-"

A snort of laughter broke out of you, silencing him. "No Sweetness," you corrected softly. "You care about what I think, but most of them won't be so lucky. Most women are just expected to just fade into their husband's shadows."  You remained silent for a moment, hoping that Jaime would say anything, do anything, to lift your spirits, but he stayed completely still at your side. "I'm sorry," you finally murmured, shaking your head. "It's a party, I shouldn't be so mournful."

Jaime's hand shifted away from your hip, taking your hand in his and drawing it up to his lips. "Don't apologise," he uttered, his lips brushing against the skin of your knuckles. "I asked what you were thinking and you told me," he added. You nodded slightly, your eyes dropping to fix on the ground. "Do the other Ladies feel this way?" 

For a moment, you couldn't quite think of the right answer to his question. "I don't know," you uttered, your brow furrowing slightly. "If they do, they would never dare say it out loud." 

Your husband hummed at your comment, and as you glanced up at him you could practically see the cogs turning in his head. "We should do something about it," he started, the suddenness of his comment, causing you to jump slightly. "I can speak to some of the Lords, figure something out-"

"Nothing would change," you stated, giving a small shrug. "The best we can do is lead by example and hope that some of the younger Lords learn to treat their wives the way that you treat me." 

Jaime nodded slightly, straightening up and clearing his throat. "Well then, I would quite like to dance with my wife, and show everyone that she is more than deserving of the attention of every individual in this room." He held out his hand, watching as a small blush rose in your cheeks, a smile spreading across your lips. 

"You're ridiculous," you uttered softly, shaking your head as you slipped your hand into his and allowing him to pull you close. 

"And you are as beautiful in this moment as you were the first time I met you," he murmured, leaning in to press his lips to yours in a long, drawn-out kiss, as he moved you in time to the music.  "These people have no idea what they lost when they stopped watching you," he continued, watching as you shook your head at him.

"Stop talking," you grumbled, lifting your hand to touch his jaw ever so lightly. Your smile faded for just a moment as you stared up at him, your thumb shifting to brush his bottom lip. "If I had to do it all again, I wouldn't change a thing. Your love is worth far more to me than their attention ever was." 

Jaime stilled for a moment, the dancing forgotten as his hands moved to take your face and draw you into another kiss. For a moment, you completely forgot about your surroundings, allowing him to pull you closer, your hands roaming up over his shoulders to clasp behind his neck. He pulled away from you with a soft chuckle, releasing your face and wrapping you close to him as he began to sway to the music again.

"They've certainly taken notice now," he murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of your head as you released a snort of laughter at his comment. 

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