Chapter 165: Showdown
Jaime was furious.
Early that morning, he had received an urgent transfer order to Dragonstone on official business. He had ridden through half of King's Landing to the River Gate, only to stumble upon the City Watch arresting his brother. Sensing something was wrong, he immediately raced back to the Red Keep, and as he feared, trouble had found its way here too.
Cersei was not only his twin sister but his first and only love. Seeing her kneeling on the floor, clutching her face in a display of frail helplessness, Jaime's rage was fully ignited.
"Robert Baratheon—" Jaime's voice trembled with fury as he drew his sword for the second time that day. Hampered by the two sworn brothers behind him, who watched with unsheathed weapons and predatory intent, he did not immediately put his blade to the throat of the King standing a few meters away. Instead, they locked eyes in a distant standoff, as if Jaime sought to kill Robert with his gaze alone. "You had best explain what is happening here, or I will show you why men call me the 'Kingslayer'."
"Are you threatening His Grace?" Ser Boros Blount, the stoutest of the Kingsguard, was the first to follow into the room, his footsteps displaying an agility that completely belied his bulk. "Jaime Lannister, you are overstepping your bounds!"
Arys Oakheart followed close behind, gripping his weapon and reminding the intruder in a cold voice: "Lower your sword, Jaime. Do not forget your station. This is the King you are sworn to protect!"
Because they had not received an explicit order from Robert to kill on sight, the Kingsguard had failed to stop Jaime at the door. However, that did not mean the other five White Cloaks would stand by and watch him run wild. The knights guarding the entrance had also bared their steel. While two crowded into the room, their swords pointed at Jaime's back, the three outside remained tense, facing off against the restless Lannister red cloaks. With the return of the heir to Casterly Rock, the morale of the Lannister guards seemed to surge instantly.
"I know why they call you Kingslayer, Jaime Lannister. We both have nicknames we aren't fond of; you won't scare me with that." Robert was the Usurper who had overthrown the Dragon Dynasty, a slayer of dragons—not some lowborn wretch like Janos Slynt. He didn't panic in the least. Instead, he gave a cold laugh and reached for the warhammer on the low table, weighing it in his hand to find that familiar, lethal balance.
Jaime was an exceptional warrior, but according to the Kingsguard, he lost more often than he won in daily sparring against Barristan Selmy; and Barristan had been no match for Rhaegar Targaryen... yet Robert was the man who had personally slain the Last Dragon on the banks of the Trident.
While there was no direct logic to guarantee he was stronger than Jaime now, facing the subordinate of the subordinate of his defeated foe—and a brother-in-law suspected of cuckolding him—Robert felt no fear, only a mounting, searing rage. "Do you know? You and Cersei should thank our Hand, Eddard Stark, for the fact that you're seeing the sun today. He argued with me half the night to convince me that 'living Lannisters are more useful to me.' So, I held back all night and didn't move yesterday. To think you left the Red Keep only to come racing back to your death... you truly don't value your life at all. I almost feel sorry for you, Kingslayer."
"Uncle Jaime!" Seeing the atmosphere in the room shift from a marital cold war to a high-stakes standoff between men, with the situation spiraling out of control, Myrcella rushed from Robert's side to Jaime's. With tear-streaked cheeks, she grabbed his sword arm. "My Father and Mother are just quarreling! They do this all the time! Please don't make it worse! I beg of you, Uncle Jaime!"
Jaime could never bring himself to hurt his own daughter. The impulse that had almost driven him to a second regicide when he burst through the door began to fade with the passing moments. His right arm slowly lowered, the killing intent dissipating until the tip of his sword pointed toward the floor.
"Jaime, kill him! He wants to keep me caged in this wretched castle, to make a Lannister breed for him like a sow!" Cersei lowered her hand, revealing a flushed, swollen cheek as she looked up at Robert with pure loathing. "I would sooner die than live like that! Kill him!"
"Mother, please say less, I beg you!" Myrcella realized how little her words weighed. She began to sob again, clinging tightly to Jaime's arm. "Uncle, don't listen to her! Let us all sit down and talk; everything can be explained!"
The rumors are true; can this really be 'explained' by sitting down? Jaime doubted it, but in front of the children and with the steel of two Kingsguard brothers at his back, he was forced to be calm. Robert was not the Mad King; killing him would bring ruin to House Lannister. Even setting aside his family and looking at it personally, he truly did not wish to be an oathbreaker a second time. "You sent me to Dragonstone today. If I had gone quietly, what would have happened?"
"Nothing would have happened. That was the idea of our good Lord Hand," Robert said coldly. "He said that I could not kill or arrest you without cause, but neither could I allow you to wander the Red Keep trampling on the King's dignity. Nor could I let you return to Casterly Rock to ease your father's mind... he said I needed to 'limit your freedom in a safe and secure place'." Robert paused. "It was a clever plan, but it seems you didn't take the bait. Now it's my turn to ask: why did you leave the Red Keep only to come back? Unless your conscience is guilty, is there any other logical explanation?"
"I encountered Janos Slynt at the gate. He was arresting my brother, Tyrion." If he hadn't received some critical intelligence or a hint that gave him confidence, how would a mere Commander of the Watch dare touch a Lannister? Jaime knew the words sounded weak; he only knew that he had sensed something wrong and raced back, only to witness this scene. "Was that also Your Grace's command?"
"No. Why would I arrest a dwarf?" Robert gave a disdainful snort. "Only a fool would touch your brother. If something happened to Tyrion, it wouldn't break Tywin's heart, but it would give him an excuse to go to war. I have you and Cersei; that is more than enough to ensure your father doesn't dare move a finger. Since you're back, fine. Second question: do you admit to the contents of the rumors?"
"I do not." Jaime was impulsive, but he wasn't stupid. "It is nothing but malicious slander. Aside from the fact that the children have golden hair, there isn't a word of truth in it. If Your Grace wants me to explain why the Prince and Princess aren't black of hair, I'm afraid I cannot. If Your Grace likes black hair so much, you should have chosen a Queen from Dorne."
"Very well. Since neither of you admits it, my coming here with such a fuss was for nothing," Robert sighed. "Kingslayer, for the sake of your father, Tywin, I will give you a choice. Decide before the City Watch enters the Red Keep—will you pick a room in this castle to stay in until my next child is born, or shall I send men to escort you to Dragonstone for a long holiday under my brother's 'protection'?"
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