RoWE - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Cersei and Jaime

"After wandering around for so long, you picked this 'great spot'?"

"Dear sister, we've been all over Winterfell, and this is the only place without people."

"But there's someone downstairs. He saw us, and you even spoke to him! Are we really just going to come in and leave?"

"Don't worry. If he dares to come in, I'll snap his neck." Jaime snorted, "And don't you think it's safer with a Night's Watchman 'watching'?"

"It's so dirty here!"

"Just take off your coat and lay it on the ground. Hurry up, stop hesitating."

"Damn it, let go of me!"

The woman struggled, but ultimately couldn't resist the man.

"You're always so reckless. One day, you'll die because of your own impulsiveness!"

"Maybe, but who can resist the charm of my dear sister?" Jaime said nonchalantly, "People have to die sooner or later, but before that, we should enjoy life to the fullest."

"Don't spout nonsense!"

"Alright, alright, I won't say anything more. Since you're worried about the man in black downstairs, let's go take a look at him."

"What are you planning to do?" Cersei was pushed towards the window, greatly surprised, "You're crazy!"

"Don't be tense. He can't see us."

The two of them pushed and shoved their way to the window. Below, in the old inner courtyard, the Night's Watchman was still practicing his archery on the target, one arrow after another, showing no intention of looking up or entering the First Keep. In fact, since the First Keep was built before the two walls of Winterfell, with a focus on military function, the windows were extremely small. Even if Aeg looked up from below, he could only see the queen of the Seven Kingdoms standing by the window looking down at him, with Jaime Lannister, a member of the Kingsguard, standing behind her. As for what they said or did, it was impossible to judge, as it was all obscured by the window sill.

"Are you relieved now?"

"You're such a bastard." Cersei angrily cursed. Today, she hadn't just come out to fool around with Jaime, "Don't spend all day thinking about these nonsense things. I'm asking you, do you know if Stark agreed to that guy Robert's request?"

"Do we even need to ask? Knowing our king's temperament, if he was rejected, would he have the face to stay in Winterfell for over ten days and still go hunting enthusiastically?" Jaime's hands didn't stop moving, "Soon, there will be a pure-blooded Northerner in the small council."

"I don't like this," a hint of worry appeared on Cersei's face, "You should be the Hand of the King."

"Spare me. I don't want to take on such a tough job. There are plenty of other things I want to do."

"Can't you see the danger lurking behind this?" Cersei turned around and pushed him angrily, of course, without success. "Robert treats that guy like a brother."

"'Treats' like a brother? If I remember correctly, Robert doesn't even get along with his real brothers." Jaime sneered, "But I can't blame him. Having a brother like Stannis would make anyone sick."

"Don't be foolish. Stannis and Renly are one thing, Eddard Stark is another. Robert will listen to him! These two should go to hell. I always thought Stark would refuse him."

"Why hate Stark so much? Although I don't like these wolves either, this is already considered lucky," Jaime began to unbutton his coat. To make things easier, he hadn't worn his Kingsguard armor today, "The gods above, if Stark had refused, who knows if the king would have called on his brother or that Littlefinger to be Hand. I'd rather face an honorable enemy than an ambitious one with no scruples."

"We need to keep a close eye on him."

"Suit yourself, but I'd rather take a good look at you," Jaime showed no interest in the matter, "Come here, let me."

"There's a noise downstairs!" Cersei suddenly stopped her brother's next move by pushing against his shoulders and moved closer to the window again.

"What's wrong?"

Jaime also leaned over: in the old inner courtyard below, the Night's Watchman in black was still in place, but a child was sitting on the wall next to him, appearing to be one of the Starks, but he had forgotten the name.

The Night's Watchman was shouting something at the child, seemingly trying to persuade him to come down, but the boy not only didn't leave the top of the wall but stood up, stretched out his arms, and walked like a tightrope towards the southeast direction. Before long, perhaps out of concern, the Night's Watchman also left the old inner courtyard, probably to chase after him on the other side.

"They're all gone. Are you relieved now?"

"Relieved?" Cersei's gaze left the window, still looking serious, "How can I be relieved? Lord Eddard has never interfered in the affairs of the south, never. I'm telling you, he's definitely going to deal with us, otherwise, why would he leave his power center?"

"You're just being paranoid. There are plenty of reasons for him to leave the North: a sense of duty, honor, an inability to refuse his good brother Robert, or a desire to become a wise Hand of the King and be remembered in history, or perhaps marital discord, or even just wanting to find a warm place to live for a while and recuperate."

"His wife is the sister of Lady Arryn. It's already rare that Lysa didn't come here to greet us with her accusations."

"You're overthinking it. Lady Arryn is just a scared cow."

Cersei turned her head and glared at Jaime, "This cow slept with Jon Arryn."

A cow is still a cow, no matter who she sleeps with, Jaime thought, not hiding his disdain, "If she knew, she would have gone to Robert to complain before leaving King's Landing."

"When he had just decided to send her useless son to Casterly Rock as a ward? I don't think so. She also understands that her son would become a hostage, threatening her not to reveal the truth. Now that she's back in the Eyrie, I'm afraid she'll grow bolder."

"Mothers are all the same. I always think that childbirth burns out the brain. You're all crazy." Jaime had almost forgotten what his mother looked like. He smiled bitterly, making the word sound like a curse, "No matter what she knows or thinks she knows, she has no evidence." He paused, "Does she?"

"Tell me, do you think the king would need any evidence?" Even without the hypothetical enemy in sight, Cersei couldn't hide her anger, "He doesn't love me at all!"

"Dear sister, whose fault is that?"

"You're as blind as Robert!"

"If you mean I agree with him, there's no mistake," "In my eyes, Eddard Stark is a man who would rather die than betray the 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 inherits the throne? The sooner Robert dies, the safer we'll be. My husband has been increasingly restless lately. Having Stark by his side will only make things worse. He still loves that dead sixteen-year-old sister of his. Who knows when he'll throw me aside for a new Lyanna?"

"Don't always worry about the future. Think more about the present."

"Stop saying such things!" the woman scolded.

The room fell silent, and then, the shouting of the Night's Watchman could be heard outside the window again.

"Dear sister, talking about such depressing things, I'm getting tired of listening."

"Damn it, it's cold on the wall"

"What's happening again, Jaime? Stop, go see what's going on!" Cersei pushed her brother away in a panic, nervously directing him.

"Damn it." The Kingslayer angrily walked to the window, swearing to make the Night's Watchman pay if he had the chance.

He leaned out of the window and looked down at the bottom of the First Keep, where he saw the black-clad man who had been training earlier return to his spot and look up, waving at him, "Come down quickly, it's too dangerous!"

What the hell? A mere soldier, daring to boss him around?

The Kingslayer was baffled by the senseless remark, hesitating for a moment, unsure how to respond, then quickly realized: he wasn't talking to him. The boy had been climbing the First Keep!

He stuck his head out of the window and searched the walls around the window, finally finding his target. The boy who had been on the top of the wall in the old inner courtyard moments before was now on the gargoyles outside the wall of the floor he was on, swinging from one to another, approaching the window where he was!

Jaime was shocked. Cersei was still inside, and they couldn't be seen!

"What are you doing there? Get down!"

The boy had been planning to show off a few stunts to the annoying Night's Watchman on the ground who kept urging him to come down, completely unaware and unprepared for the fact that there would be someone inside the long-abandoned First Keep. When Jaime's face suddenly appeared from the window and locked eyes with him, he was startled, lost his balance, and his flailing hands couldn't grab onto anything. He screamed as he fell from the outer wall of the First Keep.

"Hey"

Jaime had never expected things to develop like this. He reached out to grab the boy, but it was too late. He stood by the window, stunned, with his mouth half-open. Watching the boy's small figure fall towards the ground, the man suddenly remembered his name.