Rebellious silver locks fell on the princess's face. Her purple eyes set upon the man standing before her, in disbelief at what had just transpired. He had embarrassed the princess in such a way that did not warrant the Death penalty, but one that made her cheeks burn from being exposed as an illiterate princess in public. When she was still enslaved, she had no use for being literate, so her master never bothered with teaching her. Her beauty and dancing skills were more than enough for him, and she grew up thinking that she would never need to learn. That changed when Daenerys liberated Meereen, and Baahal became a princess. Suddenly, it became improper to be illiterate, and she became self-conscious about it but could not bring herself to request a Maester's help. So Tyrion had a system when they were in public together. He would secretly repeat every message sent to her so she would not need to read in public, and based on his words, she could form her opinion.
Today, however, things have been different. The nobleman who stood before Baahal tricked her in public through a gift he gave her. It was a jewel with an engraving on it. It was a clever insult, one that flew over her silver head since she couldn't read it. So when she thanked him for his gift, he laughed in her face and turned around to the other noblemen in the room. He pointed out that she could not read for fucking shit and that she was ridiculous for it. Tyrion warned him to watch his tongue unless he wanted to be harshly punished, but he did not stop. Jaime was standing a few feet from the man, his green eyes alight with anger as he heard the insult directed at his betrothed. Very few men dared to insult the daughter of King Aerys II. Very few tried to mock her openly, especially not in her face. Baahal, however, was shocked.
"And pray tell, why should I stop talking, Ser Tyrion?" -He chuckled and lifted his shoulders and arms- "Why should I pretend to respect this princess? She is an illiterate illegitimate daughter..."
"Careful!" Tyrion still hoped he could stop the man from digging his own grave, but the nobleman refused to back down. Instead, he pointed his forefinger at the princess's face-
"She is a whore! She used to lie on her back and take fat cocks for a low price. I bet--"
He did not finish his sentence. Jaime did not wait and drew his sword to cut the man's head off. It was a clean cut, and the head rolled on the floor before aghast guests. Baahal's face remained stoic; she swallowed a hard lump. Her hands held onto the rim of her dress as tightly as she could, and the princess pinched her lips together. What she had always feared happened; they brought her past back in a way to humiliate her in public. Baahal could not help what happened to her; she could not deny or reject the circumstances of her birth, but no one until now had ever mentioned it publicly, and even less in front of her. Suddenly, she was no longer worthy of being a princess because she was born into slavery and was used by countless men while she grew up. Suddenly, the brand on her shoulder started to burn, and Baahal tightened her fists into her skirt. She held her head high when Tyrion reminded the rest of the court that they should mind their words when they talked to the princess and that any slander and insult would be met with death.
She left the room in a hurry, quickly followed by Jaime, who ushered her into an empty room. He knew the princess needed to vent. He knew that she was upset, and as soon as he closed the door behind him, the princess started to cry. She cried hard, so much so that the only thing Jaime Lannister could do was wrap his arms around her shoulders and pull her into a hug. The silver princess put her soft hands on his chest and cried hard. Jaime stroked her hair and whispered in her ear that everything would be alright, that he was there with her, and she could stop trying to be brave now that he was there. Baahal relaxed against him.
"I did not know what to say when he started to insult me. Jaime... I usually know how to defend myself, but back there... I did not know what to say." -She sobbed harder-
"His words were vile, princess. His insults aimed at your heart. He spoke of you as if you were not worthy of being our princess, but he spoke out of ignorance and disdain." She shook her head and kept crying. It broke Jaime's heart to see her like this, but he had already dealt with the source of her pain, so there was not a lot he could do except talk- "You are not what happened to you. You are not what he said you were, and I certainly do not look down on you. Your subjects don't either. What they know about you is that you saved them when no one could. What they know is how kind and how loving you are. What they know is how brave and how strong you are. You lost your dragon, but that never stopped you. I know some of these assholes think like the man I have just killed, but they will always get what they deserve. They will always get what they deserve."
"Jaime.... I don't want to embarrass you or my sister, the queen. I don't want people to look at me and only see my shame. It hurts so much.... I'm so sorry."
"Don't apologize, princess. You are not responsible for what that asshole said. He paid the price, and any other person who tries to do the same thing will meet the same fate."
His words offered some comfort to the princess, but Baahal felt nauseous. She knew her past could not be easily forgotten, and some would accuse her of something she had no control over. She did not ask to be born a slave. She did not ask to be raped by her master and clients, and frankly, by any men who could lay their hands on her. It was a dark chapter of her life that had ended the moment she killed her master, and Daenerys liberated Meereen. Today, Baahal had full control of her life. She was a beloved princess who was doing her best to help her people. She did not look down on them and instead always made sure they were protected to the best of her abilities. Baahal the Brave. Baahal the resilient. Baahal the champion of the people. She was so much more than what she endured in her childhood. Jaime held her as tight as he could, hoping that his warmth would bring some comfort to his beloved. It would take some time for Baahal to calm down, but Jaime had the right intuition. He found the right words. He did the right thing.
-TBC-