Chapter 166: Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death
Jaime's face twitched, his right fingers instinctively tightening around the hilt of his sword.
He wanted nothing more than for Cersei to live a life of freedom and joy, but above all, he wanted her to stay alive. What was the right path?
Jaime was no longer the green, impulsive boy of sixteen who had first donned the white cloak. Robert was not the Mad King who had driven half of Westeros into rebellion. And most crucially, the elite host of the West led by his father was not currently outside the gates of King's Landing... Should he make a humiliating choice, or take the fleeting satisfaction of killing or being killed, dragging his entire House into the abyss?
After a moment, Jaime realized that his current cunning and experience were simply insufficient to handle this situation. Only by getting out alive and finding a way to inform his father of the situation inside the Red Keep—allowing Lord Tywin to apply pressure from all sides—could Cersei truly be saved.
The logic held, but for Robert to tell him to choose the location of his own house arrest—was that not the ultimate insult? If he actually made a choice and allowed himself to be locked away until Cersei was forced to bear Robert's child, would he still be the proud Jaime Lannister?
His sword arm trembled under the weight of his internal struggle. Myrcella, clinging to that very arm, sensed the vibration through the steel of his bracer. She tightened her small arms around him, looking up at her uncle with tear-filled eyes, pleading with him to endure this one slight.
"The rumors are true. Jaime is my lover—the first and last boy I ever loved, and the first and last man to ever be inside me." Jaime's fraying sanity was struggling to suppress the beast within, but Cersei, kneeling on the floor, gave him no further chance for internal debate. After a moment of silence, she spat the words out coldly. "Kill him, Jaime. Either he dies, or we die together here. If you dare leave me here to be his breeding sow, I will hate you until I am in my grave!"
To be kept a prisoner in the Red Keep, forced to bear children for the man she loathed, while her father sat idle out of fear for her and Jaime's lives? Such a life was worse than a gamble on death. In the game of thrones, you win or you die... and even in loss, she would choose her own end. This was the final shred of Lannister dignity and pride.
"Father, Mother is speaking in anger!" Joffrey finally found the courage to speak, seizing the excuse his sister had used earlier. If the room had merely been a domestic spat before, the Queen's words were now a direct threat to his own life as a prince. "No matter what, you are my father!"
"She is speaking in anger, Your Grace." For the first time in his life, Jaime could find no recourse other than parroting the children. Goosebumps broke out across his back as he silently begged the gods to make his twin sister shut her mouth. Yet, his voice came out as a hardened threat: "If you dare lay a hand on her again because of her 'anger,' see if I just stand here and watch."
Cersei was indeed speaking in anger, but who said angry words couldn't be true? Robert was tired of guessing. He resolved to follow his Hand's advice to the letter. "Enough. I've heard you. A King should not strike his wife. I am waiting for your answer, Kingslayer. The Red Keep, or Dragonstone?"
"You did manage to get me pregnant once, Robert." Cersei gave Jaime no room to maneuver. She looked up, her words sounding like a curse, determined to use the children to force her brother's hand. "But I had Jaime find a woman to help me get rid of it. That was your only chance for a legitimate prince, and you didn't even know he existed. I quietly killed him in my womb with medicine and poured that unformed little prince into the sewer... the feeling was truly exquisite!"
"How can you remember so clearly?" Robert wasn't provoked—or perhaps he was, but he suppressed it so deeply it didn't show. The latter was far more terrifying. He gave a disdainful laugh. "I climbed into your bed at least a hundred times."
Cersei gave a chilling smile. "Indeed, those dozens of times when you couldn't find a whore after drinking and stumbled into my chambers. But I always found a way to satisfy you in other forms—my hands, my mouth, my breasts... you couldn't tell the difference anyway. You were always dead drunk and forgot everything by morning. Except for those two times when I was half-asleep; I woke to find you already pinning me down before I could use my tricks. I scrubbed myself for a long time afterward, but alas, I didn't escape that misfortune."
"Is this also 'speaking in anger'?" Robert's body shook as the words aligned with his own hazy, half-forgotten memories. His eyes turned to fire as they locked onto Jaime.
"Do you wonder why I hate you so much? On our wedding night, our first time sharing a bed, you climbed on top of me, entered me, reeking of wine, and whispered 'Lyanna'—your good brother's sister, that man-stealing bitch!" Cersei gave Jaime no chance to defend her. She bared years of accumulated resentment in one stroke, adding the final blow: "From that moment on, I swore you would never have a prince of your own! Thank the gods, I succeeded!"
It was true. There was no logic needed; Robert knew it by instinct. Cersei could not have invented such a thing. The sober, calm King of a moment ago vanished, replaced instantly by a beast of wildfire-like fury. To hell with Eddard Stark; to hell with the foolproof plan. All Lannisters deserved to die! He gave an explosive roar and swung his hammer at the Queen. "You wretched woman, go to hell!"
"You dare!" Jaime roared as well. He swung his arm, tossing Myrcella aside like a ragdoll, and lunged at Robert like an arrow released from a bow. To hell with the House, to hell with honor. He only knew that if he could stand by while another man beat or harmed his twin sister, he would no longer be Jaime Lannister.
"Kill him, Jaime!" Cersei had achieved her goal. She screamed, rolling away to dodge the first hammer blow and crawling toward the cover of a table. "If you cannot kill him, we die here today and remain siblings in the next life!"
A warrior's instinct saved Robert's life. Though he was enraged to the point of losing his mind, he had no intention of trading his life for Cersei's. He abandoned his pursuit of her and spun around, swinging his hammer in a massive horizontal arc. The weapon that had slain Rhaegar Targaryen whistled through the air with terrifying force toward the Kingslayer, forcing Jaime to retreat a step and raise his sword in a parry.
CLANG!
It wasn't even a direct collision, but a mere deflection to bleed off the momentum, yet the impact of the two weapons produced a deafening roar. The strength of both men was staggering.
"Jaime!" Arys Oakheart barked. Seeing the King attacked, he swept back his white cloak and moved with reluctant but firm resolve against his former sworn brother. Behind him, Boros Blount hesitated for a heartbeat before gritting his teeth and following suit.
"Stop, all of you!" Robert forced Jaime back with a hammer blow. He saw his daughter, who had been shoved to the floor, weeping as she scrambled back up to try and stop the fighting. His heart twinged. Cersei and Jaime's infidelity was now a certainty in his mind, but he had watched these three children grow up. If he accidentally killed one that actually turned out to be his, the regret would be unbearable.
With two Kingsguard and Robert himself, even the Sword of the Morning reincarnated would have to submit or die in a 3-on-1 fight. But the Stag was too proud to win by numbers. "Take the Prince and the Princesses away! I will deal with this fellow myself!"
"Your Grace!?" Both Kingsguard looked on in shock.
"Do as I say!" Robert gripped his warhammer, his blood beginning to boil. It had been far too long since he'd had a proper fight. "Kingslayer, let the gods above judge whether your sister speaks truth or anger. We shall have a fair trial by combat. If you win, it proves you and your sister are innocent. But if I win... go to hell and regret not getting on that boat to Dragonstone today!"
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