After her long trip to Highgarden and its surroundings, the princess finally returned to the Red Keep. As soon as she set foot in the palace, a maestre took her to a royal chamber near the throne room so she could get an official portrait done. That was a first for Baahal, who had never had to pose before. It took some time for the princess to select a pose and even longer for her to get used to the tiresome process. Sitting still was not something she was used to doing. As a dancer, she was accustomed to being in constant motion. She was always expected to move, to perform, to speak, so to sit still for a portrait was difficult for the silver-haired princess. She shifted on her seat and took a deep sigh. Her hand was slowly becoming numb, so the princess pinched the bridge of her nose and rolled her head. The painter accepted for them to have a break, and the princess finally left her chair to stretch her legs.
"I can't believe the princess has not ditched Jamie Lannister."
A maid said. Baahal blinked and slowly closed the distance between her and the two maids who were having a little chat while cleaning up a room. The princess felt her heart beat fast and hard against her ribcage. Should she intervene? Should she say something?? She wanted to. She took a step forward and then decided against it and leaned against the wall. They were talking about her, and specifically about Jaime Lannister.
"I thought she would have opened her eyes already. He is not suited for her. The whole Lannister family should have hanged at the end of the war."
For a brief moment, Baahal felt insulted. Did they really think that the princess was stupid? Did they really think that she did not know how to defend herself? Did they really think that she was easily manipulated? The lack of faith in her ability to protect herself bothered the princess. She wanted to step in and say something. She wanted to protect the knight and would have if she had not known better. Westeros and King's Landing had their own customs and rules. She could not storm in and act in a way that would cause trouble to the queen. It made her swallow a lump and hold onto the skirt of her dress.
"Our queen is too generous. I understand why Ser Tyrion was spared. After all, his family wanted nothing to do with him. However, Lady Kyra and Ser Jaime should have died. They will bring nothing but pain to this world." -The young maid almost spat on the floor. Her disdain...No! Her hatred for the Lannisters was proudly on display for her fellow maid to witness. He lifted the right corner of her upper lip and worked her broom faster-
"Oh Seven Hells! I hope you are wrong. I thought that with the death of the Usurper, maybe the Lannisters would stop trying to get on top of others. I thought they would crawl back to the hole they came from." - The other maid matched her energy and shrugged at her own suggestion. She was disappointed in the queen for extending the olive branch to one of the most wretched families of Westeros, but there were rules and rules were made to be followed. The queen had her reasons,s and who were they to criticize her? -
"I don't have anything against Lady Kyra. I heard she was the best of them all, but we never know with bad seeds like the Lannisters... She could become just like Cersei."
"Oh, by the gods old and new.... I hope the queen won't come to regret her decision. I would be worried sick about my sister if I were her. Jaime will never be able to love anyone else but Cersei. She is sorely mistaken if she believes that Jaime loves her."
Baahal's patience was wearing thin. She wanted to say something, to defend her best friend, Lady Kyra. She could understand the people being hostile towards Jaime Lannister, but why would they be angry at Kyra? If anything, the poor girl was a victim of her family, and it was well-known that the Lannisters were the least favorite of the siblings. It was already a lot to deal with. She already had a lot to deal with, between the lords who refused to be commanded by a woman, but she also had to deal with the fallout of Jaime's actions. It was unfair, but she had to rein in her feelings. She had to be careful and control her anger. Easier said than done.
"Yes! I agree with you. I think he simply did not want to die, and he used her. She is so naive, our princess, so kind and just... It hurts me to see her lose her mind over a liar like Ser Jaime."
That was it! She had to say something! Baahal took a deep breath and ended up walking into the room where the two maids were chatting up. She did her best to appease her features and to appear calm and collected. After all, she needed something to drink after so long posing for her portrait. The maids gasped and bowed in front of their princess, worried that she might have heard their little chatter.
"Excuse me, we are on a break, and I would need to have something to drink. Since it is going to be a long day today, I would like to have some water to drink."
"Yes, of course. Right away, princess." -They rushed out of the room and left the princess on her own-
Baahal finally took a deep breath and ran her fingers over her chest. She tried to get herself together and covered her face with her hand. She knew she had to know that Jaime was not loved by the seven kingdoms. He was hated, his reputation destroyed, and the little bit of honor he had left would require some hard work, perhaps the hardest work he would ever have to do. The silver-head knew that she could not expect people to welcome Jaime the way she did. She could not expect them to understand why he did what he did or that Love influenced his very decisions. They would never understand, not when the wound was still fresh. Not when they could still remember how life was when the Targaryens were ruling the world. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and walked back to the painting room. It would be a long fight, a tremendous effort of her part to help the people of Westeros, her people, understand why she chose the man. She wanted them to understand how rich and full of love this man was, but she knew that there was a chance this world would never be ready for them. She made her peace with it, but that did not make it easier for her. It did not make it easy at all.
-TBC-
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