[If you're one of the types of people who likes to listen to music while they read, this one is for you. Play 8 by Billie Eilish. I think that might be one of the most perfect songs for this couple.]

Things are going to go down. Happy reading!

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It was fashioned like a scene from a tale of old. The Princess and her Knight, reunited at last.. standing in a field of white before the Weirwood Tree. Part of her didn't want this to be real, she wanted to wake up and break her fast with Cederic and sing the tale of Jaime of Oldstones-

Jenny. Jenny of Oldstones, you idiot.

This was real. He was here, in Winterfell, standing before her with that same stupid smirk he only ever reserved for when they were alone. Rhaella had almost believed that his loyalty to his family and his sister would keep him in King's Landing. So why was he here? And alone?

"Jaime?"

"Rhaella." He breathed. It was hard to not follow his eyes as they swept across her form - her white cloak with the ornamental dragon across the breast, the circlet fashioned perfectly on top of newly cut silver hair at the insistence of her sister. The North agreed with her, Jaime knew it to be true. "I.. you look.."

"Careful, Lannister." She mused lightly. "You're bordering on sentimental."

"I'm sorry." He replied. "I'm just..." Jaime ran his hands over his greying beard. He had suspected Cersei knew about his veiled affections for the eldest Targaryen daughter when she saw them lock eyes at the Dragon Pit, and again when she'd nearly set the Mountain on him for adamantly refusing to remain behind in King's Landing when the North needed their help. The final words of Olenna Tyrell echoed in his mind, "She's a disease." the entire time he was on the Kings Road. He too regretted his part in allowing it to spread. "I have dreamt of this. I believed.. I believed you to hate me."

She tried to ignore that fact. "I said what I said because I had to. Even then.. I don't think I have the capacity for raw hatred anymore, not for you. I've spent too much of my life directing that at your sister." Rhaella replied. "Back to the topic.. why are you alone? Why does Cersei never keep her word?" The words were spoken much harsher then she intended them to be, and Jaime winced at the coldness in her tone. "You're alone, Jaime. Alone in enemy territory where nearly everyone wants to kill you except maybe me. Why did you abandon your family? Why did you come North?"

His conversation with Brienne rang clear in his head as he took another step away from the Weirwood Tree. See her. See her for who she is, keep your vow, love her in which you wish to be loved yourself. "Cersei told me. She told me all of it." Her breath caught in her throat as she subconsciously began walking backward towards the Keep, oblivious to Podrick and Brienne hiding just within the door she'd come from. "Of how she tormented you all those years, made you suppress emotion you so desperately wanted to show.. Why would you not tell me?"

"There was nothing to tell." She murmured. "'Cause who am I to be in love, when your love never is for me? It was always Cersei. Cersei Cersei Cersei. The most beautiful woman in Westeros and the Mother of Madness. Who was I to battle with that?"

Jaime shook his head. "That love is nonexistent now. Yes, she is my sister and yes, I do love her. Not in the way you're thinking." He exhaled slowly through his nose. "I left Cersei and came North. She tried to set the Mountain on me, and when I fled, she let me go. I think she believes I'll die up in the North fighting our war against the dead." He was close now, close enough for her to ghost her fingers over his cloak. "You once told me you don't give your heart away easily. That you are not a fool."

Rhaella nodded. "I'm still not a fool, Lannister. If you want this heart so desperately," She held his hand in her own and squeezed it lightly. "You're going to have to earn it. Consider it making up for everything you did to me."

That was a long list.

"Do you believe me redeemable, My Lady?" His eyes met hers. Wide, vulnerable emeralds that never failed to pierce her very soul -the same soul that had ached for him- and asked a thousand questions in every flicker. He just wanted acceptance from the one person who had never failed to give it to him. Acceptance, security, safety... A home. A home for an aching heart.

"There is no one finer or more worthy of redemption." She whispered. Before Rhaella could continue, someone awkwardly cleared their throat behind them and the pair turned around to face Ser Cederic. "Forgive my manners. Ser Cederic, meet Ser Jaime Lannister."

Cederic flashed a tight-lipped smile and extended his hand, which Jaime shook immediately. There was an air about him that rang warning bells in his mind. "Pleasure, Ser." He said. "Forgive me for interrupting, but the Queen is calling all people to the Great Hall." Rhaella swallowed the knot in her throat and brushed sweaty palms against her cloak.

"Any particular reason why?" She asked.

"Queen Daenerys has been made aware of Ser Jaime's arrival." His eyes slowly moved from The Princess to the Kingslayer. "It is time for his trial to begin."

***

"When I was a child, my brother would tell me a bedtime story." A pause. "About the man who murdered our father and sister. How he stabbed him in the back, and cut his throat. Watched as his blood poured onto the floor and then did the same to his daughter." Daenerys sat at the High Table along with Sansa, Bran and Jon, cold eyes narrowed in on the Lannister who stood before her. "He told me other stories as well, about all the things we'd do to that man once we took back the Seven Kingdoms and had him in our grasps."

This was wrong. This was so wrong.

"Do not move, child." Jorah whispered urgently in her ear. The night she had deemed him The Dragons Protector was also the same night he'd urged her to confess her affections for the eldest Lannister, claiming he dare not breathe a word to her sister about it. Jorah was not the type to lie to her, and so she believed him. Daenerys still knew nothing about her true relationship with Jaime. "This is not the time."

"My sister tells me that your sister pledged to send her army North."

Jaime nodded. "She did."

"I don't see an army." Daenerys replied. "I see one man with one hand. It appears your sister lied to me."

"She lied to me as well. She never had any intention of sending her army North." Dany's eyes snapped over to meet the younger Lannister who was looking more and more embarrassed the longer Jaime continued talking. "She has Euron Greyjoy's fleet and 20,000 fresh troops. The Golden Company from Essos, bought and paid for. Even if we defeat the dead, she'll have more then enough to destroy the survivors."

Daenerys gave the same expression Rhaella had when Jaime had inserted himself into the war. We and our. "We?" She asked.

"I promised to fight for the living. I intend to keep that promise."

"Your Grace-" Tyrion interjected. "I know my brother."

"Like you knew your sister?"

"Daenerys," Rhaella's quiet voice broke into the conversation and drew her sister's attention towards her. "Of all the people in this room, Tyrion and I have known Ser Jaime the longest. He's never lied to me before." Her eyes met his own, and she saw the relief pass through them. "He came here alone knowing every single person in Winterfell would want to kill him. Let me ask.. Why would he dare do such a thing if he were not telling the truth?"

She almost believed Dany would listen to her.

Almost.

"Perhaps he trusts his lifelong friend and little brother to defend him." She snapped. "Right up until the moment he slits my throat."

"Let us not forget, Daenerys," Rhaella said sharply. Everyone noticed the lack of using her proper title. It meant to be cold, calculating, and sharp. "That you were lead to believe he killed me as well for your entire life, and that turned out to be false. It was him who saved my life and it was his influence on Robert Baratheon that kept me alive to this very day. That is one thing you cannot find fault in him for."

"Hm."

"You're right. He can't stay here." Sansa's cool voice interjected. "He attacked my father in the streets and tried to destroy my House and my family the same as he did yours."

Jaime guffawed. "Do you want me to apologize for that?!" He exclaimed. "I won't. We were at war. Everything I did for my House and my family, I'd do it all again."

"The things we'd do for love."

Brienne noticed in the midst of the silence that hung after Brandon Stark spoke how Rhaella and Jaime immediately stiffened at the words. She'd never heard them, but they seemed to be hauntingly familiar to the pair.

"So why have you abandoned your House and family now?"

He cast a glance at Bree over his shoulder. "Because this goes beyond loyalty." Jaime said quietly. "This is about survival."

"Your Grace," She called out, pushing her chair away from the table as she stood to her feet. "You don't know me well, but I know Ser Jaime. He is a man of honor. Your sister and I were his captors once, and when we were taken prisoner and the men holding us tried to force themselves on me and very nearly did the same to Lady Rhaella, Ser Jaime defended me. He lost his hand because of it." Rhaella allowed her eyes to flutter shut as the sound of broken sobs and tortured screams rang in her ears. "If it weren't for him, My Lady.. you would not be alive. He armed me, armored me, and sent me to find you and bring you home. He swore an oath to your mother."

"You vouch for him?" Expecting Brienne to be the one to answer, Rhaella remained silent. "Lady Rhaella, I'm also directing this question at you."

Daenerys glowered as her sister left her designated spot to stand in front of Jaime and beside Brienne. "I do." She and Bree said in unison.

"You'd fight beside him?"

"We would."

No one has ever called Jaime honorable; He's hated by commoners and high borns alike. Has been judged and looked down upon for his behavior. And to have someone stand up and defend him and call him honorable is something far away from anything he could allow himself to hope for. [AUTHORS NOTE: THIS DIALOGUE IS NOT MINE] Having a Dragon Princess and a future Knight of the Seven Kingdoms vouch for him was far more valuable then any of the gold in Casterly Rock or the finest sword his father could give him.

The two most respected people in the room believed in him, in his irreparable honor, and that was enough.

"I have known you both at different times in my life, and I'd trust you both with it. If you trust him with yours, we should let him stay."

"What does the Warden of the North say about it?"

Surprisingly enough, Jon Snow had not spoken a word during the entire ordeal. "We need every man we can get."

Clearly irritated by the end result of Jaime's trial, Daenerys nodded sharply to Greyworm, who emerged from his spot beside the High Table to return Widow's Wail to Jaime's hand. After thanking Daenerys, the Northern Lords and Daenerys' counsel left the room, all except herself and Jorah.

Dany clearly had other things on her mind.

"I did not give you permission to leave, Sister." Rhaella met Brienne's eyes and silently urged her out the main door of the Great Hall. The Lady Knight nodded and clasped Jaime and Sansa's shoulders. Them leaving left her alone with her sister, their protector, and Tyrion.

Tyrion knew that she'd been provoked when Daenerys forced Rhaella and Jorah to remain behind in the Great Hall after Jaime's interrogation. It came as no surprise to him when the Dragon Princess and the Maid of Tarth stood up to defend his brother, but the act didn't awe him any less.

"You defended the man who murdered our father." Daenerys said icily. He'd seen the sisters at each others throats, dragons fighting for dominance, multiple times since Rhaella had come to Dragonstone. Rhaella usually kept her composure remarkably well, but Tyrion had a feeling that her steel composure around her youngest sister was about to change. Rhaella kept her back turned to the three of them as she watched Brienne escort the one-handed Lion and the She-Wolf out of the Great Hall, who were no doubt wondering what the sisters would say to one another. "After the years you've spent waiting for me, fulfilling our Prophecy, watching over my dragons-"

"You do not know." She said it so quietly that Tyrion almost didn't hear her. "You seem to think that only you know what is good, what is right and wrong. That's the thing, Your Grace. You simply do not know. You are not almighty or all-knowing." Tyrion had always been awe-struck by the oldest Targaryen. Left to fend for herself in a world where no one knew of her, hated by his sister, too in love with his brother to tell him.. and yet here she stood in front of one of the people she admired most, her oldest friend, and the sister she was meant to rule with. "Do not presume to know me or the desires of my heart, Daenerys Stormborn." Daenerys winced as she came to stand on the other side of the table. He winced with her. Tyrion thought he'd never see the day where the dragon lurking inside Rhaella Targaryen would waken, but it seemed Daenerys was working towards exactly that. She has only begun to stir. "You do not know Ser Jaime."

"And you, betraying our House by falling in love with a Kingslayer." Daenerys replied cooly. "Hiding your relationship with him from me, swearing yourself as my sworn sword as Jorah has despite your heart being with a Lannister. I must say.." She clucked her tongue. Tyrion tried not to pay attention to the way Rhaella was fuming. "It's disappointing. All these years of hearing these stories about you, I held you as a legend. Now you're just.. this. Lovesick. Pathetic."

She slammed her hands against the table and blue eyes met blue. He'd never seen someone born of fire look so cold. "Better to be lovesick and pathetic then to never know love at all, Khaleesi."

Jorah rested his hand against Daenerys' shoulder to keep her from calling out as Rhaella stormed out of the room.

***

After the Targaryen sisters spat in the Great Hall, Jaime didn't see Rhaella for the rest of his first afternoon. What he did see, though, was Ser Cederic gawking at her when he caught a glimpse of silver hair passing through the yard or sparring with Lady Brienne.

To say he'd been surprised when not one but both women stood up to speak on his behalf would've been an understatement. No one had ever called him honorable. No one. Then a Knight and a Princess had vouched for him, and the world stopped spinning and his heart ceased to beat in that moment. They believe in me, they believe in my honor, they still think I'm a good man.

"Lady Targaryen deserves better then you."

Jaime snorted as Cederic joined him on the parapet overlooking the main courtyard. "Tell me something I don't already know," He muttered, brushing a hand over his beard. Jaime peered at the other man through the corner of his eye. He was definitely lower-born, but not a commoner. Most likely from one of the lesser known Houses of the north. "I see you're a competent swordsman. Care to spar?"

Cederic shook his head. "I may be competent, but no one can live up to your expectations." He retorted. "And either way, we should be saving our energy for the battle. You know.. The Long Night. The one most of us won't survive."

It seemed he was hinting at something.

"Are you insinuating something, Ser?"

"Gods, you're a fool." Cederic muttered. "I'm saying that if you don't pursue your desires, Lannister.." He nodded towards the courtyard where Brienne, Arya and Rhaella were engaged in a three way sparring session. "I might." The younger man winked and disappeared down the walk, waving eagerly to Rhaella who beamed at the sight of him before turning her attention back to Arya as she swept Needle in an arc over her head. Something bubbled in Jaime's stomach, something he had not felt in a long, long time.

Jealousy.

Tyrion joined him a moment later in the place where Cederic has stood. "Maybe after I'm dead, I'll march down to King's Landing and rip her apart. Would be a satisfying ending given that we are going to die at Winterfell." He watched his brother's gaze drift down to the camp outside the gates where Rhaella and Brienne were overseeing the soldiers sparring before them, Podrick at the helm as he adjusted their footwork while they fought. "Have you talked to her yet?"

"No." Jaime said. "That Cederic fellow keeps getting in my way." Tyrion smirked as he remembered the plan Rhaella and Cederic had fabricated long before Jaimes arrival for this very reason, to see if he was as jealous a man as she claimed him to be. "He's.."

"What?" Tyrion asked. "Doing what you never would?" Tyrion waited for the wildfire burning within his brothers eyes to snap back to him, but it never came. Only silence followed, and that was when he knew. He knew in the way Jaime looked to the Dragon Princess below at the side of her closest friend, looking ever the part of royalty as she oversaw her sisters army.

That was when he knew Jaime felt the same way about Rhaella as she did about him. "I'd act soon, brother. We might die on the 'morrow."

Jaime looked down to Tyrion. "I will." He said softly. "I just.. have to find the time. She seemed very angry when she stormed out of the Great Hall earlier." Tyrion swallowed his obvious discomfort. "Okay, you're hiding something."

"Their.. ah, altercation? It was about you."

Jaime froze in his place. Why on Earth would the- Oh. "I'm guessing your Queen was not too keen on her sister being affiliated with the man who killed their father." He said it so somberly, almost as if Daenerys had any actual input on his relationship with Rhaella. "I imagine Rhaella-"

"Disagreed, told her she knew nothing and then stormed out of the room?" Again the Lannister brothers looked down to the pair. "I've seen ice in those eyes and fire in that heart, but I've never seen the dragon more fierce then when she's trying to protect the one she loves. So when I say do something about it, I mean it. Or Cederic will, and she will be lost to you forever."

***

He was always one step behind her. After offering his hand to Brienne in fighting with the left flank, Jaime went off in search of Rhaella to find a moment to speak to her alone. He'd pondered Tyrion's words since the moment he'd parted from the Lady Knight, who remarkably enough had not said a word about her elusive best friend.

But Brienne knew. She always did.

"Has anyone seen my dagger?!" Jaime smirked as Rhaella stormed throughout the courtyard with Cederic on her heels, his words falling on deaf ears as she curved in and out of the people who occupied it in search of her most trusted weapon. "A hefty reward will be involved if someone can find it for me! Valyrian steel, dragon hilt and ruby eyes-"

Gendry tapped the elder Lannister on the