What Was Left

Chapter 23

The weeks at Evenfall flew by as preparations progressed for the wedding of Ser Brienne of House Tarth to Ser Jaime of House Lannister. It felt to the couple involved that they were merely observers to the spectacle that was being made of their nuptials. Brienne begged her father for a small and tasteful affair. However, the Evenstar would have none of her bashful pleading, deciding instead upon a grand celebration that would rival any wedding ever seen in the Seven Kingdoms. At least that was how he described the entire event.

"Don't be too hard on the old fellow." Jaime cajoled Brienne one late evening as the two lounged in the privacy of their chamber. "This is the only wedding of one of his children with which he shall ever be privileged." Jaime reminded his betrothed as he drew her into his arms. "Let him have his way." He chuckled, as Brienne sulked in defeat.

"I suppose you have a point." She conceded, her tone conveying disappointment as her soft expression eluded to the esteem and affection in which she held her dear father. "I simply cannot bear the thought of being the center of attention to so many eyes." She reddened in dread.

Jaime squeezed her even tighter. "And why should not the entire population of Westeros behold my beautiful bride?" He asked, burying his face in Brienne's neck and sighing whimsically. She could not help but smile at his eagerness and nestled back against him.

Suddenly, Jaime gasped and regarded her with wide-eyed amazement. "You did not cringe." He exclaimed. Brienne only stared at him in confusion. "I used that word, and you did not admonish me." He said in disbelief.

"What word?" Brienne shook her head questioningly, unable to follow his inference.

Jaime stared at her with worship in his eyes. "Beautiful." He smiled, and caressed her cheek.

Casting her eyes demurely downward. "Oh, that." She nodded, and shrugged her shoulders. "It sounds different now, when you say it." She looked lovingly at him, taking his hand in hers. "Perhaps it is because I know you speak of all of me, not just my outward appearance." Brienne gazed back at Jaime, and it took his breath away.

He brought Brienne's fingers to his lips and kissed each one on the hand he grasped tightly. "It is all of you that I find immensely pleasing." He narrated as he went. "Your sweet, kind heart." He said as his lips brushed her skin. "Your bright intelligent mind." Was his next observation, and with it another finger was kissed. "Your deep astonishing blue eyes." He listed at his next stop. "Your strong warrior's body that brings me to my knees." He continued along his route, humming in delight. "And last, but most certainly not least." He affirmed. "Your lovely elegant beautiful, beautiful face, which even as I sleep graces my dreams." He told Brienne, studying her features as if the Gods themselves had chiseled them from the finest of Tarthian marble. At last, after resting his lips against her final knuckle, Jaime reached for her mouth and found her ready reply awaiting him. Settling down into the pillows of the bed they shared, they began their almost nightly exploration of the wonders of each other's needful and accepting bodies.
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The small council had taken up residence at Evenfall as they awaited the completion of the second rebuilding of the Red Keep. The business of the realm continued undeterred, as if the Capital had never been sacked by marauding invaders from the East. As it were, Tarth made the perfect refuge for the King and his Court. The walls of the Evenstar's ancestral home provided all the protection necessary to ensure that the continuity of Bran Stark's reign was never in question. Lord Selwyn's library became a temporary Small Council chamber. Evenfall's courtyard hosted the recruiting and training of a new force of soldiers and guards to protect an even more heavily fortified Red Keep, as young men and a few brave women, inspired by the legend of Brienne of Tarth, arrived on the island's shores.

Within the castle walls, The King's advisors were kept comfortable and well tended in their lavish chambers and salons. Their every need was tended to by an army of servants, and Lord Selwyn saw to it personally that no one was ever in want of any of the finer pleasures. The Great Hall was nightly abuzz with dining, celebrating, and conversation as the counselors discussed and planned the future of Westeros. Evenfall's lush and beautiful gardens provided The Three-Eyed Raven with the peace and solitude needed to commune with the many layered dimension he inhabited.