The Love We Never Had

Chapter Seven

Arya gasped and placed a hand on her stomach protectively as they hit a particularly rough bump on the road to Harrenhal.

It had been four very stressful months for the new Lord and Lady of Casterly Rock, with a letter arriving from Lord Walter Whent only days after their wedding, inviting all of the high Lords and Ladies of Westeros to attend his great tourney in celebration of his daughter's name day. Apparently the tourney had been in the works for over a year, but the letters were all sent out about six months prior to the day it was to begin. Besides the haste the new couple had to put in to make sure everything was arranged for their travels, they discovered, two months into their marriage, that Lady Arya Lannister was pregnant with her first child.

Of course this doubled their stress levels, as Jaime didn't want her to go across country, even if it was a time of peace in Westeros, what if they were attacked by bandits on the road? What if she had pre-term labor? But of course he also didn't want to leave her alone at Casterly Rock, and he couldn't refuse the invitation, especially as he was the newly minted Lord of Lannister, maybe if it was not the first thing they had been invited to in their new reign, but it was, and so, they were taking the two week journey to Harrenhal.

"Are you alright love?" Jaime asked, looking over at Arya in concern. He had been looking at her like that for the last five days, and the bags under his eyes were starting to give away his concern to the soldiers and servants traveling with them.

"Yes Jaime, I'm fine, and the baby is too. He is still very little, the Dothraki women ride their horses until the baby falls out of them, I am sure a few bumps won't hurt him." Arya had tried all manners of convincing Jaime that a carriage ride was perfectly safe, especially as she was only a little over two months into her pregnancy. Jaime smiled at her, well, he tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace, as he pulled her hand into his.

"Yes they do, and their babies come out dumber than a bag of worms."

"Jaime! They do not!" Arya couldn't help the laughter from bubbling out of her throat and Jaime finally let a real smile escape. He hadn't heard her laugh like that in several months. and he had forgotten how he missed the sound. When Arya finally stopped laughing she realized that Jaime was still staring at her with a goofy smile on his face.

"What is it?" She asked him, feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

"You're just so beautiful, and I love you so much." Arya smiled back at him now, and pulled him into her using the leverage he had given her by giving his hand. She pulled his mouth down onto hers and kissed him firmly for several long moments before pulling back. She only pulled back far enough to breathe, and stayed close enough that Jaime could rest his forehead against hers.

"I love you too Jaime. And this baby will be the luckiest baby in the world, simply because it has you as its father."

Nine days later they found themselves riding into Harrenhal, which, just like Arya had heard, was a complete ruin. But in the center of the castle there was a jousting arena set up, and apparently Lord Whent had repaired some wings of the castle to host his more important guests, the rest were staying in tents that they had been instructed to bring. As the two Lannisters had not been told to bring tents, they expected they were staying in the castle, which Jaime was incredibly grateful for, as he hadn't liked the idea of his pregnant wife sleeping outside for the next month.

As the opening feast wasn't set to happen for another three days the number of guests already present was limited. Jaime was pleased with this as well, as it would give them time to relax before the start of the festivities. Once the carriage had stopped at the entrance, or what the driver assumed to be the entrance, as it was, in fact, a ruin, Jaime quickly exited the carriage, before turning to lift his now almost three month pregnant wife onto the ground.

Before she was even fully upright Arya and Jaime heard a throat clear from behind them. Jaime did not release his hands from Arya's waist as he helped her steady herself, as they had been in the carriage for the last six hours trying to make it before stopping again. He did however look over his shoulder at the person who had cleared their throat. It was a squire, he assumed anyway, as the boy could not have been older than thirteen, standing beside a man, who he assumed was Lord Whent, based on the crest adorning his vest, which showed nine black bats on a yellow field. Jaime decided to ignore them for a moment, as his wife was far more important. He glanced down at her to find her already looking up at him, she was smiling, and she was nodding at him, indicating she was alright, and he could let go of her. He decided to not let go completely, and instead he wrapped his right arm around her waist and turned to face the two men. The entire exchange couldn't have taken more than ten seconds, and yet the Lord Whent was looking like he had just experienced the utmost disrespect.

The squire cleared his throat again, looking nervous before nodding to himself and beginning with introductions.

"My Lord Walter Whent may I introduce the Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West, Ser Jaime Lannister, and his wife, the Lady Arya Lannister, who used to be Arya Stark." The Lord's eyes flashed with recognition at Arya's name and gave both a slight bow, as even though this was his castle, they were above him in the hierarchy of Westeros. The couple gave a slight nod back, trying to be respectful of this strange looking man.

"Well, I had no idea that the two of you were married, I had expected your father when I sent out my invitations my Lord." Lord Whent began to speak, almost in an awkward manner.

"Yes, well I am sure that you were distracted by preparing for your tourney, and so you simply could not keep up with the daily goings on of other Lords and Ladies." Arya said, trying to cover up the stab he had subtly made towards her husband with a stab of her own. Lord Whent cleared his throat slightly and nodded, looking a little flushed.

"Yes, well, as you are here, if you would like I can rearrange the seating so that you are sitting with your family?" Lord Whent asked, trying to be polite to the two lions before him.

"The Lannisters are my family now Lord Whent, but, if it is alright with my husband, I see no problem with seeing my birth family again." Arya said, sounding very much so like a Lannister, and looking up towards her husband for approval towards the end of her statement.

"If that is what you wish my dear, then by all means Walter, rearrange the seating." Jaime said, throwing in blatant disrespect toward the Lord of Harrenhal, officially tired of the word games of the high lords. Lord Whent nodded hastily.

"Of course my Lord, I shall see it done. How about my squire shows you to your chambers in the castle? I am sure you are weary after your long journey." Jaime nodded towards Whent, and unwrapped his hand from Arya's waist to grab her hand. After the two began following the squire, Jaime turned his head over his shoulder to call back to his squire.

"Please make sure that everything we need is brought to the room, along with water for a bath, and food for us to eat, you know what she doesn't want." Jaime waited for the quick nod by his squire before turning back around to face forward, glad he hadn't accidentally tripped over something and brought his wife down with him. Jaime was already exhausted of the politics of being around other lords and ladies, and he still had thirteen days of it. Oh how he wished they had stayed at Casterly Rock. He could feel something was about to happen, something that would change their lives as they knew it.