Oaths and Vows {Jaime Lannister}

Chapter 4

Readying for a fight against who was said to be the greatest and most feared pirate to ever sail the seas was one thing, doing it alone with the fate of your family and your people on your shoulders was another. Megara knew she could win against Euron alone, but he was a pirate and they weren't known for their honor. He could easily appear to be ready for a one-on-one with his whole crew of mongrels as spectators, but they might just be waiting to see if Euron would need help.

She was a good fighter, even in close-quarters, but to fight a crew of mongrels at sea... Furthermore they were her only transport across the sea, and if she were to defeat all of them – by some miracle, she'd be stranded in the middle of the ocean surrounded by cadavers.

It's not a duel to the death; she reminded herself, just one to the yield. But will The Crows-Eye even yield at all? She could not be certain, Euron was mad and unpredictable – that much was clear by the way he talked to himself and had made all his crew to mutes. She lost the cloak and fastened her hair into a braid to keep it from her eyes, and out of Euron's reach. Her hair would've been a weakness, and so would the cloak have been. She fastened her arm guards, the fur of the old bear giving her pause, then grabbed the scabbards and slid the swords in place on her back.

Her runes were clearly visible, shinning brighter in the dark room with only the foreign orange light. The Golden Tree seemed to be brighter than even air, which for a normal mage would be the brightest. Why could air not just be the brightest? She thought begrudgingly, why did I have to be like Merlin? Her own mind did not hold her answers however.

The door was thrown open violently, and Hard Hound stood with his arms crossed, scowling. He growled at her and nodded to the deck. She glared and brushed past him, making her way in that direction, thinking about how interesting conversations between two people with no ability to talk were. She was right about the crew gathering to watch, and hoped it was all she'd guessed well.

Euron stood in the middle of the deck, at the center of a circle made by his muted mongrels. In his hand was an axe and in the other a shield. A smirk came onto her face, good, she thought, shields are encumbering, he will tire quickly. She glanced about. The circle of mongrels cut off the stables and the water, but nothing cut off air – they were too far from any land for earth to be of use. Air is my only tool, and my blades. Gods guide me.

Euron was a man of words and long winded speeches when it came to feasts and talking, but when fighting it was clear that was not the case at all. He charged as soon as she was in sight, leaving her to roll out of the way. This made him stick mast and lodge his axe into it. With a moment's respite, she drew out her short swords and spun them in her hand, ready to fight.

He freed his axe. She dodged most of his blows and deflected the rest with her blades, every once and again advancing on him with her own strikes. By the time the end was nearing, Euron was having trouble holding his half splintered shield and his swings were feeble. It was then that Megara knew it advance.

She kicked his legs from under him, aided by the rocking of the ship this knocked the pirate to the ground face first. She jumped over him and placed one foot on his shield and the other on his axe, he was not getting up. She held the blades over his head and neck and waited for him to yield.

To her surprise, she did not need to wait long. "So it's true, you are a mage. And you can fight as well." That took her by surprise. How did he know that? "Hard Hound, tell Bitter Sausage to make some food – the good kind. We feast like kings tonight!" And so they did, though Megara couldn't stop wondering how Euron knew of what she was. Had her father told him? Surely not...