A Rest of Swords

Part fifteen

Brienne looked divine in the sunlight that sparkled on the waterdrops that had got caught in her hair. Jaime marvelled at the play of her muscles as she swam a bit deeper into the lake she had brought him to, one of those she had used to play in as a child.

It was a warm, sunny day, the light breeze moved the grass at the shore and produced little waves over the thorough surface of dark blue water. Brienne stopped and turned around to him, and maybe he was just imagining it, but even though everything around her reflected the sunlight in a mesmerizing glitter, her face still seemed to beam so brightly that it outshone everything else. She was gorgeous - tall and pale and white and without any dark bruises marking the body that had been so accustomed to wearing them. But not anymore.

The world was light, but she was glowing somehow, radiating something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Something deep. A feeling, maybe. An emotion. An atmosphere.

"You look happy, my love", he observed, contently watching how her smile widened even more.

"I am happy."

"Any particular reason?" He came up to her, casually drawing a line from her shoulder to her collarbone with his index finger, delighting in the little shiver he could see running through her body.

"Yes." He smirked, expecting this reason to be in his favour. He rose his hand to her cheek, stroking it with the back of his fingers, then down her neck and slowly heading lower, when Brienne suddenly caught his hand in both of hers. His eyes darted up to her face, puzzled for a second, but he was immediately captivated by her features that displayed nothing but - he wouldn't have found any other words for it - love.

"Jaime", she said then, smiling calmly. "Jaime, I'm pregnant."

He was glad the water was shallow enough for him to be able to stand.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

"Both are in wonderful health, as far as I can say." The old man straightened up after he had just finished his examination of Brienne's belly, rounded by now.

"Thank you, Maester", Brienne said, shifting a little to sit more comfortably against the headboard. "I'm also feeling very well."

"Oh", the Maester chuckled slightly and Brienne exchanged a slightly amazed look with Jaime in a corner of the room. "Yes, yes", the man went on, "you're in a perfect state concerning your condition, Mylady. But I wasn't talking about you", he added with meaningfully raised eyebrows, gesturing towards the sheets she had covered herself with. Brienne's mouth opened in astonishment.

"But you said-" Both. She looked at Jaime who had started to move as well, hesitantly taking a step forward with wide eyes.

"Does that mean-?" He trailed off, staring at the Maester, who smiled in his calm, soothing way.

"Oh yes, Mylord", he confirmed. "Your wife is going to have twins."

o~o~o

"Is it dangerous?"

"Giving birth does always bear some risk, Mylord", the Maester answered calmly, but didn't seem concerned in any way. Very unlike Jaime.

"Yes, but I mean with two, does it aggravate her chances?", he asked and the Maester shook his head.

"She's strong and healthy, I don't see why it should."

"Are you sure?"

"Jaime..." Brienne reached out to him, smiling reassuringly when he made the distance with two big steps to take her hand.

"I know you're just concerned about me", she said softly, "but that's no excuse to penetrate the poor Maester like that." Jaime's brow furrowed even more if that was possible.