Chapter Text
JAIME
The snow continued to fall, making the road harder and harder to navigate. The swirl of it around him gave him pause. He stopped for a moment, trying to get a better view of the road ahead of him, he stopped at seeing what looked to be Lannister forces standing along the road. A panic filled him as he wondered if Cersei really would have him killed. She had every opportunity when he was in front her. All it would have taken was one word from her and the Mountain would have struck him down. Maybe she couldn’t see him killed in front of her, despite her anger and feelings of betrayal. He was the one who should feel betrayed.
He stopped as a figure in dark gray suddenly moved onto the path and he was actually terrified for a moment that she had sent Bronn to kill him.
“Right fucking mess you’ve got yourself in,” Bronn said to him, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Jaime nodded. “Seems to be the pattern.”
“I was sent to kill you. Promised a castle, again. No high-born beauty this time.”
Jaime frowned as he looked at his one-time partner in battle. “So, am I actually allowed to get off my horse to fight for my life or are you not even going to give me the chance?”
“We both know I can take you on or off a horse.” He looked back at the men standing behind him and frowned. “But I’m not actually going to kill you. See, these lads were in the dragon pit and saw whatever that thing was. They’re insistent that those things never make it south to King’s Landing and their families. They’re here to fight alongside you.”
Jaime furrowed his brow, amazed at the cutthroat in front of him. “And you?”
“I told you. No one gets to kill you but me, so I figure I should go with you on this stupid fucking mission you’ve assigned to yourself. You promised me a woman.”
“I don’t know that I’ll be able to keep that promise,” he answered honestly, wondering if that would cause Bronn to change his mind about sparing his life.
“No, but your brother would,” he said with a slight smile. “I think I’ll take my chances with the two Lannisters who don’t already see me as a traitor.” Bronn moved over to his horse and climbed on. “Long way to Winterfell. That’s the direction the Dothraki were heading from Dragonstone, at least.”
“That’s where we need to go. We'll need to inform them that Cersei isn't keeping her word.”
"Don't know that any of them will be surprised by that information," Bronn said, reminding Jaime once more that everyone else saw his sister for exactly who she was. Jaime was the only one who had functioned under the illusion that there might be some part of Cersei that could see reason. Unfortunately, Jaime had learned that lesson the hard way. Bronn followed alongside him as the rest of the men circled around behind them. “What are the chances we actually make it out of this alive?”
“Not good,” Jaime remembered all too clearly the monster that had come screaming out of that box towards Cersei. It was one of the most terrifying things he'd ever seen in his life. The dead were walking and their sole purpose was killing the living. Why couldn't Cersei see that nothing mattered but this war? If they lost here, there would be nothing to protect her, not even the Mountain. Their child would never be born, their legacy truly dead. It seemed such a waste to simply take the Golden Company and use them to reclaim lands. Land didn't matter. Houses and loyalty didn't matter. In some ways, though he thought it was the most ridiculous thing he could do, he respected Jon Snow for being a man of his word, even though everything hung on him telling a simple lie. No one had ever questioned Jon Snow's honor. He envied him for that. The irony of envying a bastard was not lost on him.
Bronn sighed and leaned back on his saddle. “Wonderful. There’s a nice brothel in Wintertown. There's that, at least.”
Jaime smiled and then felt it leave his face. He’d just left behind the woman he loved and their unborn child to fight for a war she didn’t believe in. “How far ahead of us are the Dothraki?”
“A day and a half,” Bronn answered.
Jaime nodded, wondering how long Bronn had been waiting for him and if Cersei had known the entire time that he would leave her. He didn't know her anymore, that was for sure. He hadn't always been a man of his word, but something had changed over the last few years. Something in him wanted to be a man of his word, a man of honor. A man like Ser Arthur Dayne, who had knighted him and who he had looked up to more than anyone before Aerys and life jaded him. He'd always been that way with his family, but too many people saw him as the Kingslayer and nothing else. He hoped, if nothing else, that he could make others see that there was one Lannister who kept his word, despite the danger he was now faced with. “Let’s keep it that way.”
Bronn nodded. “I agree.”