Sapphires

"My lady, do you realize what day it is?"

Brienne scrutinized her lord husband warily out of the corner of her eye. Jaime only ever called her a lady when he meant to make some jest of her. As expected, a suspiciously devilish smirk curled the one corner of Jaime's mouth.

"'Tis the third day of the week. Why?"

Jamie's green eyes sparkled as he gazed at her. Brienne's mistrust grew. She had been married to the Lord of Casterly Rock long enough to know she should be worried when he looked at her with such a glint in his eyes. Many did not know it but the former commander of the Kingsguard had a mischievous streak. Although he no longer called her a wench or viciously mocked her for her appearance and swordskills, she was still Jamie's favorite target. No vows of matrimony or mutual love would ever change that. Although it often vexed her, Brienne had come to secretly appreciate Jamie's wicked sense of humor and his playful teases endearing - at least as long as he taunted her while in the privacy of their own rooms away from other ears.

"True. But you mean to tell me you do not know what day it is?" Jamie persisted, his expression morphing into a wounded pout of disappointment. Brienne did not believe it for a second. Jamie's eyes were still sparkling with mirth.

"It seems I do not. Please, pray, tell me so that I am no longer left wondering."

Jamie strode across the room to sit beside Brienne at the table. They were alone in their solar, enjoying the waning light of the setting sun before they went down to the great hall for supper. A warm spring breeze blew through the room from the open windows.

"It is our anniversary, Brienne. I would have hoped even you would have marked this day as one to remember. It has been three years to the day that we stood together in the holy sept and I made the warrior Maid of Tarth the Lady of Casterly Rock." He reached out and gently brushed the side of Brienne's hand with the tip of one finger, his touch fleeting and coy. "I still fondly remember that night… I believe it was my favorite part of the day."

Brienne froze in her seat, her face heating with embarrassment. She had completely forgotten what day it was. She had been so busy the last few days mediating a dispute between two of Casterly Rock's largest banner families that it hadn't even crossed her mind what time of year it was. How could she have forgotten? She and Jaime had exchanged wedding vows only a few weeks after the end of the War of Dragons. The anniversary of the Targaryens' new reign had been celebrated only the week before last. How could she have forgotten?

"I confess I forgot what day it was," Brienne murmured, refusing to meet Jaime's eyes. She was too embarrassed to look into her husband's eyes.

"Usually it is the woman who remembers such an important date," Jaime pointed out. His outstretched hand continued to gently stroke the side of her hand resting on the armrest of her chair. The smile on his face only made Brienne's embarrassment worse. It made her feel like he had been expecting her to forget.

"When have I ever done what was considered normal for a woman?"

Jaime rewarded her with a dazzling smile. "Never," he agreed. His amused grin lightened the sting of the admission. "But that's exactly why I took you as my wife three years ago. I love your disregard for social expectations and your complete determination to break all previously held views of a woman's place."

Emboldened by her husband's praise, Brienne looked up to meet Jamie's eyes. "I did nothing to prepare a celebration for today. The feud between the Fyres and Lannistons have stolen all my attention as of late and-"

"Have no fear," Jaime reassured her with a grin. "I have a present for you to mark the day, and I think it will prove to be a suitable anniversary gift for the both of us." That said, the Kingslayer got up and went to the desk sitting against the wall between two of the solar's main windows. Brienne looked on with furrowed eyebrows as he opened one of the desk drawers and withdrew a wooden box from its depths. He returned to his seat beside Brienne and pressed the box into her hands. Still trying to figure out what Jaime was up to Brienne studied the box, suspicion still heavy on her mind. The box was oak and stained a handsome shade of brown, but was without any ornamentation or carvings. It was a little more than a hand's width wide and long and only several inches high.

"Open it," Jaime urged. His voice reminded Brienne of a child too eager to hold in his excitement.

Brienne did as her husband bid. Undoing the clasp, she pushed up the top. She involuntarily gasped at what she saw inside.

There, laying on a bed of black velvet was arguably the most beautiful necklace Brienne had ever seen. Sapphires the color of calm, deep water shimmered in the brilliant light of the setting sun, nestled in dazzling beds of smaller strands and circles of pure cut diamonds. The necklace was multi-tiered and thickly set. Brienne guessed that when worn, it would cover everything from the middle of her throat to the center of her chest in a glittering cascade of precious stones. The central drop of the necklace was a sapphire the size of a robin's egg. Smaller sapphires hung from the main necklace in a way that would make them drape over the shoulders and draw the eyes downwards towards the chest, adding to the already dramatic, jaw-dropping extravagance of the necklace. It had to be worth at least three kings' worth of ransom.

"Jaime… wha… why?" Brienne was too stunned to form a better reaction.

Jaime smirked. "Do you like it?"

Brienne numbly forced herself to nod. "Yes. Of course. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. But… Jaime, I never wear jewelry. I'm more likely to don a suit of armor in the yards than ever wear such a necklace to a ball."

"I had thought about buying you a new set of armor, or maybe even a new sword to celebrate our annivesary," Jaime admitted. "But it seemed like such an expected thing for me to get you. Then I remembered that you are from the Sapphire Isle, and it seemed only right that I bought an anniversary gift to celebrate the land from whence my lady wife came from."

Brienne could not bring herself to remove the shimmering chain of gems from its case and hold it up to the light. It seemed too extravagant to even touch. Instead, she stared at the necklace of sapphires in awed admiration. "Jamie… as I've said, this is the most beautiful necklace I have ever seen, and I appreciate that you feel me worthy of such a gift, but I will never wear it. The only gown I own is Lannister red and gold - the one I wore to your Aunt Genna's wedding after Lord Frey died and she remarried and she commanded that I dress like a proper woman to the ceremony. Even one as fashion senseless as me knows sapphire blue and Lannister red will clash. I fear your present is wasted on me…"

Jaime answered her concerns with a sly grin. He stood from his chair and awkwardly lifted the sapphire necklace from its case between his hand and stump. The necklace glittered in the dying sunlight as he stepped behind her chair and gently draped the dazzling piece of jewelry down in front of her against her chest.

"Then it is lucky that I did not buy this to match your dress, but rather your eyes."

Somehow, Jamie managed to clasp the necklace around Brienne's neck and rested his hand and stump against her shoulders. The necklace sat heavy against the front of Brienne's tunic like a bejeweled gorget, the largest focal sapphire resting firmly between her non-existent breasts. The entire piece spanned from the middle of her throat to the dip of her chest, and flared outwards almost to the point of her broad shoulders. It was without a doubt the single most beautiful thing Brienne had ever worn. It made her almost feel like a proper woman. A princess. A goddess, even.

Behind her, Jaime leaned down until his mouth was right beside her ear. "I was actually hoping you might wear this tonight."

"But I have nothing to wear it with," Brienne weakly protested, fingering the largest sapphire that hung between her breasts. How could she ever properly present herself to the rest of Casterly Rock with such a beautiful piece of gems and metalwork hanging from her neck? They would all mock her for daring to wear such finery.

Brienne felt Jaime smile against her ear. His hand rubbed up and down the side of her arm through the sleeve of her tunic. "You misunderstand me, Brienne. I have no intention of sharing my anniversary gift with anyone else. If you would do me the honor, I would be most pleased if you wore my gift later tonight after dinner when we're alone and getting ready for bed. I think such a fine piece of jewelry would be best showcased with no other competition to outshine its radiance than my lady wife's eyes, and nothing else…"

Brienne felt her face involuntarily flush with warmth. Jaime's breath was hot against her neck, stirring in her her most base needs and desires.

"Will you wear my gift tonight?" Jaime asked, his voice soft and needy. His hand continued to coaxingly rub up and down her arm. She could feel the strength of his touch through the heavy fabric of her shirt. She knew that touch. It was the same way Jaime touched her when he most acutely felt the need to be near her in the privacy of their bedchamber.

Brienne did not immediately answer, her sense of propriety making her hesitate. But as she gently fingered the sapphire hanging between her breasts she felt herself involuntarily succumb to her husband's plea.

"Alright…"

Fin.

Oh, Brienne… you kinky thing you.

I design and make jewelry and have always been enamored with impressive pieces such as the one described in this fic. My motto - at least for earrings - has always been that if another person can't see your jewelry from thirty feet away, why bother wearing it? Brienne's anniversary gift is loosely styled after Indian kundan wedding jewelry. Google it! I wish I had money to buy such a piece of pure awesomeness myself. (Here's to one day winning the lottery!)

-LAXgirl

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