𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋 || 𝐉𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫

Chapter 10

My eyes flew open and I bolted upright in my cot as the sound of shouting arose from outside my tent. Quickly, I threw my blankets back and ran over to the chair I had thrown my cloak onto. Wrapping it around myself, I rushed out of my tent to see what the commotion was. A group of knights were leading a scruffy man in chains to my mother. She stood stock-still as they brought him before her, forcing the man on his knees. When he lifted his head, his eyes met mine and I gasped. The men holding him turned to me briefly before returning to my mother.

It was Jaime. He had a beard now, his normally light blond hair matted with dirt, and his clothes caked in all manner of things. But his green eyes still looked the same - still piercing, still hypnotizing. I knew my mother had said they'd captured him but I had no idea they'd treated him this way. No human being should be treated like this. My eyes turned hard and I glared over at my mother as she reprimanded him for escaping.

He had done nothing wrong, in my opinion. If I'd been treated that way, I'd have fled as well. No, it wasn't right what he done to my little brother and for that, I was angry with him but he still shouldn't be treated like this - like he was some sort of animal.

"Take him back to his cell!" Catelyn ordered the men before they began dragging Jaime away.

I watched them take him away and anger boiled up inside me.

"You can't just treat him like this!" I yelled at her.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she shook her head at me.

"What are you saying, Joan? He paralyzed your brother, killed one of the squires, and what's more, he's a Lannister. He doesn't deserve your sympathy, my dear, I assure you of that," she said, turning away from me then.

I grabbed her wrist in my hand and she shot me a withering glare.

"I'm not saying that what he did was right. But it's not right to treat him like livestock!" I said, my voice rising with my anger.

She wrenched her arm out of my grip and pursed her lips.

"He is a traitor in more ways than you can imagine, Joan-" she started.

"-because he had a relationship with his sister?" I spat and her eyes turned cold.

"We've already discussed this but yes! That is one of the reasons!" she said, before retreated back into her tent.

I rolled my eyes at her behavior before returning to my own tent. I stayed there the rest of the day, avoiding my mother. Night came quickly then as I sat on cross-legged on my cot, staring up at the ceiling out of boredom. My boredom was quelled shortly though when I heard someone talking low outside my tent. Walking towards the flap of the tent, the voices became louder. Grabbing my cloak off my chair once more, I wrapped it around my shoulders and slipped through the flap.

The cool night air hit my face and I pulled my cloak tighter around me. Looking towards the middle of camp, I spotted the cell they had put Jaime in earlier today. He was tied to a pole while my mother stood in front of him, a sword in her hand. The woman who had helped my mother escape, Brienne of Tarth, stood beside her. As I came closer, I saw mother lift her sword high in the air. My eyes widened and I raced over, ducking into the cell quickly.

Just as she was about to bring the sword down, I threw myself over Jaime, shielding him. My mother gasped and looked down at me.

"If you kill him, you'll have to kill me too," I said, my voice muffled.

I lifted my dark brown eyes to look at my mother and saw the shocked expression on her face.

"Get away from him, Joan! He needs to pay for what he did!" Catelyn shouted, ushering me to move.

"No, I won't! This is where the path of hatred has brought us!" I said, watching my mother intently before resting my head against Jaime's chest, "This is the path I choose, mother. What will yours be?"

She gazed up at the sword in her hand and there was a moment of silence that felt like an eternity while I clung to Jaime, listening to his racing heart. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the sword onto the ground and I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

"You're right. This is not our way. This isn't how your father would want us to be. I let my anger over your father's death cloud my judgement... If there is to be more killing, it will not start with me..." she said, tears brimming in her eyes.

Removing myself from Jaime, I threw myself into the arms of my mother and she held me close.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried and I nodded in her embrace.

"I know, mother, I know..." I said softly.

"Release him!" Catelyn ordered Brienne as we broke apart.

Brienne picked up the sword and cut the chains off of Jaime. He stood up then, rubbing his wrists where the metal had been. His piercing green eyes met mine and he nodded to me.

"Thank you..." he said, his accent giving me butterflies like it had when I'd first met him.

I nodded and a small smile lit up my face. Catelyn faced Brienne now and I could still feel Jaime's eyes on me as I watched the two of them.

"I want you to take Ser Jaime back to King's Landing at once. Protect him at all costs," she said and then turned back to Jaime, "And after you arrive, I want my girls sent back to me, understand?"

Jaime nodded silently. Mother looked at me then.

"I want you to go as well," she said, stepping closer to me, "Bring your sisters home."

I nodded and engulfed her in a hug once more. When I finally let go, she sniffled and I blinked away my tears. We'd just been reunited and now we were about to get torn apart once more.

"Tell Robb I love him." I said softly and mother nodded.

Brienne grabbed the chains again and putting them back on Jaime, pushed him out of the cell. I followed them through the camp, never daring to look back. If I did, I knew I would never leave.