Chapter 24: Cersei and Jaime
"After all that walking, this is the 'perfect spot' you picked?"
"Dear sister, we've prowled through the entirety of Winterfell. This is the only place left without a soul in sight."
"But there is someone downstairs. He saw us; you even spoke to him! Do you really intend for us to just walk around and leave?"
"Fear not. If he dares to stick his nose in, I'll snap his neck," Jaime snorted coldly. "Besides, don't you find it... safer, somehow, having a Man of the Night's Watch 'standing guard'?"
"It's so filthy in here!"
"Strip off your pelt, spread it on the floor, and that's that... Come now, stop hesitating."
"Damn you, let go of me!"
...
The woman struggled, but in the end, she was no match for the man.
"You always act so recklessly. One day you'll die for your own self-indulgence!"
"Perhaps. But who can blame me when my dear sister is so irresistible?" Jaime said with utter nonchalance. "A man must die sooner or later; until then, he might as well enjoy life."
"Stop with your twisted logic!"
"Fine, fine. Since you're so worried about the black-clad fellow downstairs, come, let's have a look at him."
"What are you doing?" Cersei was shoved toward the window, gasping in surprise. "You're mad!"
"Steady now. He can't see us."
The two of them jostled their way to the window. Below in the old inner ward, the Watchman was still at his post, firing arrow after arrow at the target. He showed no sign of looking up or entering the First Keep. In fact, because the First Keep had been built before Winterfell's double curtain walls, its primary design was military; the windows were tiny slits. Even if Egger were to look up from below, he would only see the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms standing by the window looking down at him, with Ser Jaime Lannister of the Kingsguard standing behind her... as for what they were saying or doing, it was completely obscured by the stone sill.
"Satisfied?"
"You are an absolute bastard," Cersei cursed irritably. She hadn't called Jaime out today merely for a tryst. "Stop thinking about these sordid affairs for one moment. Tell me, do you know if Stark has given Robert his answer?"
"Need you even ask? Knowing our King's temperament, if he'd been refused, would he have the face to stay in Winterfell for a fortnight and go off hunting with such gusto?" Jaime's hands didn't stop their movement. "Very soon, a true Northerner will be sitting on the small council."
"I don't like it," Cersei said, a shadow of worry crossing her face. "The Handship should have been yours."
"Spare me. I want no part of such a thankless chore; I have far better things to do."
"Can't you see the danger hidden behind this?" Cersei turned and gave him an indignant shove—though, naturally, he didn't budge. "Robert treats that man like a true brother."
"'Like' a true brother? If I recall, Robert doesn't even get along with his actual brothers," Jaime laughed contemptuously. "Though I don't blame him. With a brother like Stannis, anyone would feel nauseated."
"Don't be a fool. Stannis and Renly are one thing, Eddard Stark is another. Robert will be at his beck and call! Both of them should rot in hell. Had I known, I would have insisted he choose you as Hand... I truly thought Stark would refuse him."
"Why such hatred for Stark? I don't care for these wolves either, but we've been lucky so far," Jaime began to unfasten his cloak. For convenience, he had pointedly avoided wearing his Kingsguard armor today. "By the gods, if Stark had refused, who knows if the King would have called his brother or that Littlefinger to be Hand. I'd much rather face an honorable enemy than an ambitious opponent with no bottom line."
"We must watch him closely."
"As you wish, but I'd much rather look at you," Jaime said, losing interest. "Come here, let me..."
"There's a sound below!" Cersei suddenly pushed against her brother's shoulders, halting his advance, and leaned back toward the window.
"What is it?"
Jaime leaned over as well. In the old inner ward below, the black-clad Watchman was still there, but a child was now sitting on the wall beside him. He looked like one of the Stark children, though Jaime had forgotten the name.
The Watchman was shouting something loudly at the child, seemingly trying to persuade him to get down. However, instead of leaving the wall, the boy stood up, extended his arms, and began walking toward the southeast like a tightrope walker. Moments later, the Watchman—likely unable to rest easy—left the inner ward, presumably circling around to give chase from the other side.
"They're both gone. Are you satisfied now?"
"Satisfied?" Cersei's gaze left the window, her face remaining grim. "How can I be satisfied? Lord Eddard has never meddled in southern affairs—never. I tell you, he must be planning to move against us; why else leave his seat of power?"
"You're only overthinking because you have a guilty conscience. He has plenty of reasons to leave the North: duty, honor, an inability to refuse his 'brother' Robert, a desire to be remembered as a great Hand, or perhaps his marriage is rocky—maybe all of the above. Or perhaps he just wants a warm place to stay for a while."
"His wife is Lady Arryn's sister. It's rare enough that Lysa didn't come racing here to welcome us with her accusations."
"You worry too much. Lady Arryn is nothing but a frightened cow."
Cersei turned and glared at Jaime. "That 'cow' shared a bed with Jon Arryn."
A cow is a cow, regardless of who she sleeps with, Jaime thought, making no effort to hide his disdain. "If she knew anything, she would have gone to Robert to complain before we even left King's Landing."
"When he had just decided to send her useless son to Casterly Rock as a ward? I think not. She knew well enough that her son would be a hostage to keep her silent. Now that she's back in the Eyrie, I fear her courage will return."
"Mothers are all the same. I've always thought the act of birthing burns out the brain; you're all mad." Jaime had almost forgotten what his own mother looked like; he smiled bitterly, the word sounding like a curse. "Regardless of what she knows, or thinks she knows, she has no evidence." He paused. "Does she?"
"Tell me, do you think the King needs evidence?" Even with her hypothetical enemy nowhere in sight, Cersei couldn't mask her fury. "He doesn't love me at all!"
"Dear sister, and whose fault is that?"
"You're as blind as Robert!"
"If you mean to say I agree with his assessment, then yes, I am." Jaime continued, "In my eyes, Eddard Stark is a man who would rather die than betray his King."
"He's already betrayed one King, have you forgotten? I don't deny his loyalty to Robert, but what if Robert dies and Joffrey takes the throne? The sooner Robert dies, the safer we are. My husband has become increasingly restless lately; having Stark by his side will only worsen things. He still loves that dead sixteen-year-old sister; who knows when he'll cast me aside for some new Lyanna?"
"Stop worrying about the future and think more of the present."
"Silence!" the woman snapped.
The room fell quiet. Then, from outside the window, the shouting of the Watchman returned.
...
"Dear sister, I'm tired of hearing these joyless things."
"Damn, it's cold by the wall—"
"What's happening now? Jaime, stop—go see what's going on!" Cersei pushed her brother away in a panic, barking orders nervously.
"Dammit." The Kingslayer stomped toward the window, vowing to give that Watchman a piece of his mind if he got the chance.
He leaned out and looked down toward the base of the First Keep. He saw the black-clad man who had been training earlier was back, looking up and waving at him: "Get down quickly, it's too dangerous!"
What in the seven hells? A common soldier, daring to give me orders?
The Kingslayer was baffled by the senseless comment. He hesitated for a moment, unsure how to respond, before it clicked: the man wasn't talking to him. That troublesome brat was climbing the First Keep!
He thrust his head further out the window, scanning the stones beside the frame, and finally found his target. The boy who had been atop the wall of the inner ward moments ago was now perched on a gargoyle outside the wall of this very floor, swinging from one to the next, approaching the very window where Jaime stood!
Jaime was struck with horror. Cersei was still in the room—they could not be seen!
"What are you doing there? Get down!"
The boy had intended to perform a few stunts to shut up the nagging Watchman who kept pestering him to get down. He had no way of knowing—and had never expected—that someone would be inside the abandoned First Keep. When Jaime's face suddenly popped out of the window slit, their eyes met. Startled, the boy's rhythm broke and he lost his balance. His flailing hands found nothing to grip, and with a scream, he plummeted from the outer wall of the First Keep.
"Hey—"
Jaime hadn't expected things to spiral this way. He reached out to grab him, but it was already too late. He stood at the window, his mouth half-open in shock. As he watched the small, thin figure fall toward the ground, the man suddenly remembered the boy's name.
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