Game of Thrones - One Shots/Imagines: Part Three

Jaime Lannister X Stark!Reader - White Flag

A/N - This chapter is based on the song 'White Flag' by Bishop Briggs. The reader is the sister of Eddard Stark, and has been living in King's Landing since Robert Baratheon took the throne. I currently can't remember if Jaime was in King's Landing when Eddard is executed, but in this chapter, he wasn't. I hope you all enjoy it.

You had never expected that you would be swapping out the comfort of the Red Keep for a damp prison cell. After all, you had always been one of the King's closest friends; a trusted ally to turn to when he needed support, and a companion when he was in need of good humoured entertainment. In fact, your life in King's Landing had been as close to perfect as you thought you would ever get. And then the King had died, and your brother had been executed, and the life you had known had been turned on its head.

Your eyes had adjusted to the darkness quickly, and these days you could navigate your cell with no light at all. In fact, when a light grew in the hall leading to you, it was startling, so bright that you had to shield your eyes from it. 

"Y/N?" Your shield suddenly dropped, revealing Jaime Lannister standing on the other side of the bars. He hadn't been in the capital when his nephew had ordered his guards to arrest you. At first, when he had returned, he had assumed you had fled the city. It only made sense for you to head back to Winterfell in the wake of your brother's death. But when Lord Varys had taken him aside to tell him of your true fate, he had felt sick to his stomach. 

When you had first come to King's Landing as a bright eyed young girl, Jaime had caught your eye, much to the dismay of your brothers. And when they had made you promise never to become romantically involved with the Kingslayer, you had decided that friendship would be enough.

"Are you alright?" he started again, internally flinching at the anger in your features. You had never hated him before. Not when your brothers insisted. And not when the rumours about his lifestyle had made their way around court. But now, you looked like there wasn't another person in the Seven Kingdoms you hated more than him. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm still alive," you hummed out, your eyes dropping away from his face. Even just looking at him was painful now. He had been your closest friend, the one person that you thought you could trust, and he had helped to murder your brother as though it had meant nothing to him. 

Jaime frowned, hooking the torch up on the wall and moving a little closer to the bars. "I didn't know they would do this to you-"

"You knew what they would do to Ned, though, didn't you?" 

"I-" he paused, a sharp sigh slipping out of him. "I hoped that he would be smart enough to confess."

The glare you sent in his direction felt like a knife to his stomach. "He did confess, and that boy killed him anyway. Ned would have taken the black if they had let him; he would still be alive and we wouldn't be at war."

"I'm sorry," he uttered, shaking his head slightly. "I am so sorry."

"It doesn't bring him back, does it?" you bit out. "And it doesn't change what you did," you pressed on, biting down on your lip in an attempt to stop the anger from turning into tears. "You helped to kill him, and I had to lose both of you in one day." You cleared your throat. 

Jaime hated the look you sent him then. He had hurt you beyond repair and now you would never be able to forgive him. "I want to help get you out." 

Your expression softened slightly. "No, you don't," you told him. "Because if you do, I'm going to be as ruthless as they were. I'll kill your sister. And I'll kill that bastard son of hers. And then you'll hate me just like I hate you." Seven Hells, it shouldn't hurt this much. It shouldn't be so painful to lash out at the man who had brought so much harm to your family. 

"You aren't a killer."

"No, I wasn't. But a lot has changed whilst you've been gone, Jaime." You paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "I'm not scared of doing whatever it takes to protect my family, even if that means hurting you." 

He shook his head slightly, shifting to sit on the ground. "You think getting yourself killed will help them?" You brow furrowed at his comment, confusion painting your features; features he had loved from the moment he had first set eyes on them. "You really think you could kill the King and walk away unharmed?"

You shrugged slightly. "You did." 

He sighed as you moved to sit across from him. If it weren't for the topic of conversation, and the rather horrendous setting, it would have been exactly like old times. "The best thing you can do now is run back to Winterfell the moment I get you out of the city. Persuade Robb to bend the knee and keep what remains of your family safe." He shook his head, his breath catching in his throat as he watched frown lines form on your forehead. "I know you hate me, but I hope you know I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted any of this."

You nodded slightly. "Are you going to let me go?" 

"I'm going to get you out of King's Landing," he hummed. "But you'll need to travel quickly. They'll send people looking for you. And you'll want to stay off of the King's Road. It won't be safe for a Lady on her own-"

A realisation struck you in that moment as you watched Jaime trying to formulate his advice for you. He wasn't lying. He did care. He wanted to keep you safe, even whilst you were professing your hatred for him. 

"I went to your chambers," he pressed on, reaching into his cloak and drawing out a small bag of coin. "Someone had already been there, but they clearly weren't very good at searching," he told you, holding the bag out for you. "It should be enough to keep you fed for a while; get you back to Winterfell."

"Robb won't bend the knee, Joffrey saw to that when he killed Ned, and I don't intend on trying to change his mind on the matter," you uttered, watching as Jaime released a frustrated sigh. "If someone had murdered Tyrion, would you give up as easily as you're asking me to?" 

He shook his head. "No," he murmured.

"Do you still think letting me go is a good idea?" 

He paused then, his eyes focused on you. "If I left you here I would never be able to forgive myself." You finally let your eyes meet his. "How could I live with myself knowing that the woman I love is in a place like this?" 

Your breath caught in your throat at his confession, and you quickly shook your head at him. "You couldn't have chosen a worse moment-"

"I don't expect anything from you," he interrupted. "I know I ruined everything, but I just needed you to know." He got to his feet, pulling the key from his cloak and unlocking the cell. "We need to move quickly; get you out whilst it's still dark."

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