"I'm going to joust tomorrow." Jaime Lannister said as he sat across from his sister. She raised an eyebrow over her emerald eyes.
"No you are not." She said simply, taking a drink of her wine. He always wanted to dispute the similarities between Cersei and his father but right now that all Jaime could see.
"Yes. I am." Jaime and Cersei's relationship had been nothing but strenuous since the official betrothal between the Lannister and the Stark girl. Jaime had to admit that he had been trying to keep distant, worrying what would happen to his fragile friendship with Lya.
"You'll be going against the Mountain and countless other dangerous men. You'll get killed. The answer is no." Cersei moves from her seat, standing next to her twin brother. When she moves her golden hair bobs, making her seem almost young and innocent. But Jaime knew she was not an innocent woman.
"I wasn't asking your permission, Your grace." Jaime says and rolls his eyes. "I'm doing it and my Queen isn't going to stop me." Cersei sets her cup down and sits on his lap, grabbing his face and making him look at her.
"I'm not coming to you as your queen. I'm coming to you as your sister." Cersei leans in, hovering her lips above his neck and up to his jaw. "As your lover." She kisses him hard and Jaime doesn't resist. She pulls away slowly, looking him in the eyes. "You're not jousting."
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Jaime glares, pushing her away and standing up. She looks at him, her eyes wide in shock. Their relationship always seemed to be this way. Fighting and fighting till they fuck their guts out afterwards. But Jaime didn't want to live the rest of his life in secret doing this everyday.
He doesn't say anything else as he walks out of the room. Jaime lets the anger stir inside him as he walks down the hall. When he turns the corner he is met with two of the Stark girls. Lya and Arya stand hand in hand, skidding to a stop at the sight of Jaime. Lya's bright smile disappears and she straightens her back, pulling her sister closer. "Ser Jaime." She nods in greeting, walking around him.
Jaime watches the pair go, walking slowly and calmly. Once they turn the corner he can hear giggling and running down the hall. A small smile pulls at his lips when he hears Lya's echoing laugh. He prays for a moment, to the Gods he did not believe me in, that that sound would grace his ears more often.
♤
Lya sat next to Sansa with a grim look on her face. She didn't look foreword to the second day of the Hand's Tourney. This time Eddard Stark joined them but to Lya's dismay, Arya had dancing lessons. When her father had approached her to join Arya in these "dance lessons," Lya refused. She wanted to find her own sparing partner. A good fighter. She just wished Ser Rodrick had accompanied them to Kingslanding.
"Who are the competitors now?" Lya asked lazily, looking around at the tourney. She didn't know what her eyes were searching for but they didn't find who or what that was. A frown pulled at her lips but she instead drew her attention to the two knights standing before the king. One man held silver armor with thorns and roses bursting out of the breast plate, he was easily recognized as the Knight of Flowers. Ser Loras Tyrell. The boy took off his helmet and even Lya found him handsome. His curly hair messy from the mask.
The other knight was angled so that all Lya could see was his golden armor. The Stark strained her neck but could not see the man. He took off his helmet, revealing golden hair. Lya's throat turned dry when he turned so that she could see the roaring lion on his breast plane. Damn you, Lya thought. Damn you Jaime Lannister.
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"Ser Jaime Lannister against Ser Loras Tyrell." An announcer called as the men took their horses. Both beautiful Dornish mares. Lya watched as the two men went in the same direction. It didn't take long for her to notice they were coming towards the small Stark group. First was Loras, he reached out a red rose and Sansa smiled. But his words betrayed her.
"Lady Lyanna." He spoke in a soft tone that didn't match the normal knight. Lya cursed him silently for using her full name. One that even those who barely knew her refused to say. She was Lya. Just Lya. The king was the first in many years to call her by the name. Lya took the rose after a long moment of silence. She smiled but even Loras could tell it was feigned.
Jaime Lannister was next, a stern look on his face. He reached out the rose, smirking at his betrothed. "Lya." He said simply, showing all that he did not need to use formalities for the woman he was courting. Courting. What a funny word to use, Lya though, especially since the man barely sought her out to court her. Not that she was complaining.
But Lya took the rose anyway, immediately noting that it was not a normal rose. A winter rose. For a second she swore her heart stopped. The stories of her Aunt played through her head but those were pushed away when the two men glared at each other before moving to their spots. They adorned their helmets and lances. Jaime's held a red glow around a yellow lion while Loras' sported the Tyrell sigil.
For a second Lya wondered who she was rooting for. There was no real knowing. But she still sat at the edge of her seat as she watched. "100 gold dragons on Ser Jaime." Petyr Baelish's words rang. Lya looked back to see Renly Baratheon laugh.
"I'll take that bet." Renly said confidently. Lya wanted to shut them both up.
"Now what will I buy with 100 gold dragons? A dozen barrels of Dornish wine? Or a girl from the pleasure houses of Lys?" Lya looked to her father and sister who both looked at the match intently. Sansa caught her sister's eye and she glares. Lya could understand her anger. As the second oldest daughter, she wasn't the first pick. Even as a proper lady, unlike Lya, she wasn't the first to be chosen in anything.
"Or you could even buy a friend." Renly remarked as the match begins. Lya stares, gripping the stems of the two roses in her hands until she felt them prick her fingers.
The men take off, aiming their lances. Lya had never saw the appeal of watching a tourney let alone jousting in one. It was a brutish sport that even little Lya, the young tomboy that Lya was, never seemed to enjoy. But as she watched the men barrel towards each other it was all she could think about.
Jaime Lannister's lance makes contact with Loras' shield, sending him tumbling to the ground. The lance broke in half and for a second Lya feared the first days events had happened again. But Loras rolled to his feet, unharmed and defeated. He takes off his helmet, throwing it to the ground angrily.
"Imagine that, Littlefinger. It will be so nice for you to have a friend." Renly says bitterly as he watches the match.
"And tell me, Lord Renly, when will you be having your friend?" Lya rolls her eyes at Baelish's comment, instead focusing on Jaime. As he gets off his horse everyone cheers for the man. He takes of his helmet and his eyes never leave Lya. Her face heats when she realizes how closely she holds the blue rose.
"He's a good fighter." Ned Stark says as he watches the man, a scowl showing despite his words.
