𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐄 | Game of Thrones

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄

~͓̽~͓̽~

𝐉𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄
KING'S LANDING: THE RED KEEP
THE SACK OF KING'S LANDING: 283 AC

      𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐊𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓. The red of it was a near comfort to him. It had been ever since he was a young boy of just one and five, and he crossed swords with the devilish Smiling Knight, taking the head of Big Belly Ben - a sworn man of the Kingswood Brotherhood.

      Jaime used to prefer a soft blue as a mere boy, but now, a man of one and seven, no longer could he cuddle in the cerulean dreams of a young boy. In a world of red - red castles, red dragons, red lions, and red blood - one had to become accustomed to it to survive.

      And survive he would. For her.

      Midnight wind brushed their fingers through his golden hair, burrowing themselves deep within, sending chills to his bones through his scalp. His chest heaved in struggled breaths and his mission determined eyes searched frantically, bloodied hands still clutching his longsword - ready to dip itself into more of the red at any given moment.

      The metallic smell of red washed up his nostrils, threatening to pull bile from his bowels. No matter how many men he robbed of their lives, the aftermath would never get any easier. The sight. The smell. The sound. All of it red. Red as his sword. Red as his heart.

      Jaime could hear the ringing of the bells. They made him think back to the red on his hands. The red from a red man. The red king. The Mad King.

      But Jaime could not stop to think on it. He kept running, the clanking of his golden armor echoing through his ears. The screams of people, of women and children, drowned out by his own need to find her.

      Many years, he'd seen the red from hundreds of people. But he could not bear to see hers. He could not bear to see her red bleed into the castle's red, leaving an invisible stain as it blended with the red of all the others. He would sooner die.

      Jaime turned quickly, running down the hall of the royal wing. "RHAELLE!" He called, looking in every corner and every door. Her bed was empty, but the linens were unkept.

      She had been there.

      "RHAELLE!"

      He pushed open another door with force, breathing even heavier when that room was empty as well. His fear was steadily creeping, threatening to cripple him if he let it.

      Jaime cursed under his breath and continued searching.

      He knew what he should have done. He had been afraid. Afraid for his life. For what could a mere golden knight to do a red king? A red dragon?

      But now, he knew. After the Silver Prince had fallen at the Trident, he should have gotten them both to safety, no matter to the cost. Damn his own life. He only cared about theirs. Hers.

      "RHAELLE!" Jaime called into the night, now standing at the dock of Blackwater Bay.

      A single ship floated, ready to depart. It had no sigil on the sail, but still, he needed to search it. He would search every inch of King's Landing and far beyond it for her.

      Jaime's feet carried him onto the slippery deck of the ship. "RHAELLE!" his shout resonated through the night. "RHAELLE!"

      "Keep your voice down."

      Jaime whipped his body towards the whispered voice, eyes taking in the sight of The Spider. "What are you doing here?" he pondered, hand still on his sword.

      The bald man shrugged, purple sleeves moving as he crossed his arms over his fat belly. "What we all do in times like these. Watching the red tide drown us all." His eyes glanced up at the silver moon. "A shame that such a night as beautiful as this one won't be appreciated." A sigh left his lips. "Though I suppose it's better that way. Secrets are best kept when others are blinded by distractions. Wars are great distractions. You know that best I figure. Hiding secrets in the midst of a raging red war, in plain sight."

      Jaime's lip twitched in aggravation at his fancied words. "I grow tired of your riddles quickly Spider. Get to the point."

      Varys chuckled. "Such a young man with very little patience. You will need to work on that if you are to survive these upcoming, unprecedented years."

      The eunuch walked off below deck, and Jaime didn't let him escape his sight for a mere second. He could feel that, as always, there was a deeper meaning to his words. One that related to him.

      Jaime followed him into a small living quarter, a quiet sob immediately leaving his mouth when he saw her.

      His hand relaxed from his sword, and his eyes watered with tears. The fear in his bones, still there but lessening. "Rhaelle." The whispered word was a comfort to him as it left his tongue.

      "You'll need to work on that as well if you wish to keep her safe."

      Upon hearing Varys' words, Jaime ripped his eyes away from her sleeping figure, gulping down his tears. "W-why would you help me?" he struggled to make sense of Varys' actions. "What do you gain?"

      The spider only smiled smally. "I gain nothing but self-contempt, knowing that I saved another innocent of the realm." Varys glanced down at her in pity. "I wish you, and her, good fortune, Kingslayer."

      The name made Jaime stumble back a few paces as Varys left quietly from the ship, leaving him alone with her.

      His sword still dripped with the king's red, yet Varys already knew. Normally, he hated the eunuch and his little birds, but no doubt they were responsible for bringing her safely to him.

      He would not be able to thank The Spider enough. But he would be able to keep her safe. And loved. He cared not for his own life any longer. She was his life, and he would protect her. From all foes.

      Jaime swallowed his cry as he glanced out of the ship's round window. Soldiers lie limp on the shore, blood trickling from their armor and into the waves as they rolled in, washing the tide red. A red tide the night was indeed. Red as the dawn.