A Vow Without Honor
is a Game of Thrones fanfic by BeyondTheHorizonIsHope, with elements drawn from the books.
Focused around Myra Stark, who is the elder twin sister to Robb Stark, as she travels to King's Landing with her father, her two sisters and her household, when Ned Stark is appointed Hand of the King by King Robert Baratheon.
As she experiences life in King's Landing, which is far different from the North, Myra also becomes acquainted with one Ser Jaime Lannister, whom she interacts with and sees that there is more to him, than just simply the one-sided persona of 'the Kingslayer'.
Jaime on one hand, does not really think much of Myra, other than just being simply a lady concerned with her propriety, until a couple of interactions with her actually start getting him intrigued by her due to the fact that she doesn't judge him like everyone else has, her own father included, and actually seemingly caring about what he has to say.
Eventually, the Seven Kingdoms goes through war once again, when Myra's mother captures Tyrion Lannister.
So, Myra and Jaime eventually, separately, go on an adventure to try and stop a war before it begins. However, when they are forced together by circumstances, the two of them then start to get closer to one another as revelations and realisations come to light between them, in the midst of Westeros being torn apart by war.
Can also be read on AO3 and Wattpad.
This fanfic provides examples of:
- Adaptational Early Appearance:
- Stannis Baratheon, Shireen Baratheon, Ser Davos Seaworth and Melisandre make an early appearance when Myra and Jory Cassel travel to Dragonstone.
- Due to Syrena arranging for Sansa to travel to Dorne under the cover as Princess Myrcella's handmaiden, Prince Doran Martell, Princess Arianne Martell, Prince Trystane Martell, Prince Oberyn Martell, Areo Hotah, Ellaria Sand and the Sand Snakes (Obara, Nymeria, Tyene, Obella, Dorea and Loreza Sand) make early appearances.
- Annoying Arrows: Averted during Chapter Twenty-Seven "The She-Wolf". When Jaime Lannister struggles to fend off a group of bandits hunting him and Myra, Jaime's use of a sword is hindered by the fact that he has two arrows stuck in him, one in the back which leaves his left arm limping and the other in his right thigh. This means that Jaime cannot use his left arm in order to hold his sword with both hands, and he has to extend his right leg out in order to not put weight on it (and even then, it shakes), thus Jaime has to put a considerable amount of effort blocking, to which his opponent is actually seen enjoying how much effort Jaime is putting, in comparison with him barely even trying, and when he takes a boot to his thigh, Jaime collapses to the floor through the sheer pain alone.
- Big "NEVER!": After learning that Walder Frey intends of making her his ninth wife, Myra screams that he will never have her, all while attempting to lunge over to him and kill him.
- Big "NO!":
- While under attack from bandits, and Jaime (who has one arrow stuck in his back) is hit in his right thigh by another arrow, Myra screams one out in Chapter Twenty-Seven "The She-Wolf".
- In Chapter Thirty-Six "The Loss", Jaime is dreaming Cersei, who tells him that all he had to do to get back to her was let Myra die, to which he seems to respond with a small shout of no, before then waking up fully to yell one out.
- During the Red Wedding, after her mother kills Joyeuse Erenford, then has her throat slit, Myra only has a few moments before the Freys pull Robb's body out of her arms, causing her to shriek several times as she attempts to fight them off.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: After the Red Wedding, Walder Frey has Myra brought to him, in which he tells her that her mother has him without a wife, and that fortunately for him, Myra is the ideal one for him. Only for him to end up dead, courtesy of Myra skinchanging into Jinglebell.
- The Bus Came Back:
- After Nymeria flees, due to attacking Joffrey, Myra has Brenna and Lady saved from being killed and sent away, thus they are absent for quite a considerable amount of time, until Chapter Twenty-Seven "The She-Wolf", when Brenna, Lady and Nymeria save Myra and Jaime from bandits.
- Jory, after having left Dragonstone to deliver Stannis' message, in addition to a message from Myra personally, to Robb and then, heading back to return to Dragonstone, disappears for a few chapters, before ending up as a prisoner of the Lannisters in Harrenhal, and losing an eye. There, he is discovered by Arya, who along with Gendry and Hot Pie, frees him with the help of Jaqen H'ghar.
- After his last appearance in Chapter Forty "The After" and a brief appearance in Chapter Forty-Nine "The Return", Jory reappears in full in Chapter Sixty "The Pieces".
- After being resurrected by Beric Dondarrion in Chapter Forty "The After", Catelyn makes her reappearance as Lady Stoneheart in Chapter Sixty "The Pieces", leading the Brotherhood Without Banners.
- Call-Forward: While greeting Ser Arys Oakheart on the boat ready to take Princess Myrcella to Dorne, Sansa greets him, whilst undercover as Princess Myrcella's handmaiden, and after thinking of a name, calls herself Alayne, an alias she uses in A Storm of Swords.
- Campfire Character Exploration: At an abandoned house, and after making a fire at the fireplace, Myra notices that Jaime has a distinct look whenever he looks into the fire, and remembers that he had the same look, whilst he told her about the deaths of Rickard and Brandon Stark, like he was back there. To which, Jaime then tells her about how he saved King's Landing from Aerys' wildfire plot, by killing the Mad King. And when he finishes, Myra shocks him, by telling him that he did the right thing, which shocks Jaime due to her speaking those words, in spite of the fact that she knows about him pushing Bran from the tower, and his relationship with Cersei.
- Death by Adaptation:
- Walder Frey is said to have passed away since the Red Wedding in the prologue. Jaime makes inquiries on how it happened, only for the Freys to give him not much other than "curses and bad luck". It turns out that Myra inadvertently possesses Aegon 'Jinglebell' Frey via skinchanging, who then picks up a knife and stabs Walder Frey. Multiple times.
- In Chapter Forty-Two "The Crossing - Part II", due to Jaime's arrangement with Ryman Frey, Lothar Frey and Black Walder Rivers are killed by Myra and Brienne.
- In Chapter Forty-Nine "The Return", Arya finds, through looking into Nymeria's eyes, that Roose Bolton has been hanged by the Brotherhood Without Banners, led by Lady Stoneheart (a resurrected Catelyn Stark).
- Flashback Nightmare: During a dream in which Myra comes across Robb and Jon sparring with practice swords in the dead of night, the dream changes from Winterfell to the Twins, during the Red Wedding, ending with Roose Bolton shoving her aside and stabbing Robb in the heart.
- For Want Of A Nail: Due to Myra's presence, there are quite some significant changes.
- Due to Myra's resemblance to her aunt Lyanna, Robert Baratheon allows the two remaining Stark direwolves (Brenna, and Lady) to be released instead of killed, after Nymeria attacks Joffrey.
- Jory Cassel accompanies Myra to Dragonstone, when Ned sends her in an attempt to request that Stannis Baratheon return to King's Landing, and thus, avoids being killed by Jaime.
- This also leads to Gendry accompanying him and Arya to Riverrun, instead of staying with the Brotherhood without Banners, which becomes fortunate when Melisandre arrives at the Brotherhood's camp to find Gendry, who she had seen in the flames note .
- Myra's suggestion to her handmaiden Syrena, to watch over Sansa, proves fruitful, when Syrena helps Sansa escape the Red Keep after Robert Baratheon's murder, Ned Stark's arrest and the Stark household in King's Landing is purged by the Lannisters.
- Due to reuniting with the direwolves, Myra notices Nymeria's strange behaviour in Harrenhal, and comes to the conclusion that Arya had been in Harrenhal, so she sends Nymeria to find Arya. This thus, ensures Arya reuniting with Nymeria.
- Instead of Catelyn freeing Jaime, Myra instead is the one who frees Jaime, after learning that Robb intends on executing Jaime, even after learning that Jaime saved her from men sent by Cersei to retrieve him back to King's Landing and kill her.
- Robb does not execute Rickard Karstark, but sends him after Jaime to "give him what justice he deserves". This results in Jaime, Brienne and Brenna fighting a pitched battle with him and his Karstark warriors at a river, in which Jaime himself kills Rickard Karstark note after he rants that it's time for him to die, and Jaime simply responds with;
Jaime: "your son spoke too much as well," he hissed, watching as the man began to cough up blood. "That's why I cut his throat."- As part of persuading his father to allow him to leave King's Landing for the Twins, in order to go and get Myra free, Jaime takes his father's offer to leave the Kingsguard and become his heir to Casterly Rock. Jaime goes so far as to interrupt Tywin mid-sentence and throw his white cloak onto his desk.
- When Jaime visits Dorne with Myra, Brienne, Olyvar and Grey Wind to see Sansa, and he becomes a guest at the Water Gardens, Princess Arianne Martell is alerted of this news and accompanies Oberyn and Tyrion, who has come on his father's behalf to bring a message to Prince Doran as well as bring Jaime back, to the Water Gardens. There, after a discussion, in which, Arianne heatedly asks her father where Quentyn is, and she receives an answer that she knows is a lie, Oberyn convinces Doran to let her in on his plans, reckoning that it is "far more dangerous to keep her in the dark", especially as he notes that Arianne thinks that Doran plans to take Dorne from her. Later, when the disgruntled Sand Snakes (Obara, Nymeria and Tyene Sand) bring grievances to Prince Doran, he then reveals his secret plans to restore House Targaryen and exact his vengeance on Tywin Lannister, thus ensuring that Arianne's plot in A Feast for Crows does not happen.
- During a meeting with his father, Jaime is handed a Valyrian steel sword with "veins of red rippling through it" and a lion head pommel with ruby eyesnote and doesn't reject it in spite of the fact that he has lost his sword hand.
- While Joffrey still dies, the events of his death are not known as "The Purple Wedding", but rather, "the Short Wedding" (not just in that Joffrey died at the altar, but because of his uncle Tyrion, who has been imprisoned for his murder).
- During the trial by combat between Prince Oberyn Martell and Ser Gregor Clegane, Oberyn wins by shoving his spear through the Mountain's mouth and out at the back of his head, thus proving Tyrion's innocence.
- With Tyrion declared innocent, he does not flee King's Landing and kill his father.
- When she leaves King's Landing, Tommen gives Myra Widow's Wail.
- Happy Flashback: Myra has one of when during one of Winterfell's rare storms, Bran, Robb, Rickon, Sansa, Arya and Jon all come to her bedroom and sleep on her bed.
- Heel Realization:
- Myra realises, after Stannis reveals the truth about the parentage of Robert's 'children', that Jaime is responsible for pushing Bran from the broken tower.
- At an inn where Myra and Jaime encounter a group of three soldiers sent by Cersei to look for Jaime, he only realises that they mean to kill Myranote , when he steps outside to where one of the men supposedly went to relieve himself, only to find him not there, and remembers them mentioning "the four of us" when discussing plans to return to King's Landing.
- Sansa, after reading a book on poisons and looking through the characteristics and effects of the Tears of Lys, starts to come to a realisation, that not only was Jon Arryn poisoned, but also that his death was not caused by the Lannisters, and instead, upon looking at the scenario in which Jon Arryn's death from a different angle, realises that someone wanted to bring chaos to King's Landing, by bringing an Hand like her father.
- After having released Jaime from her brother's captivity and her mother learning about what has happened during her time on the run, Myra comes to the realisation (her mother too) that she is in love with Jaime Lannister.
- In Spite of a Nail: Even with Myra's presence, there are still some things that still happen. The details surrounding the events may change, but the end result is still the same, nonetheless.
- Robert Baratheon doesn't die due to Lancel poisoning his wine at a hunt which causes him to be gored by a boar, but is murdered note , with Ned arrested for the crime.
- Ned Stark is still executed on King Joffrey's order, by Ser Ilyn Payne with Ice, albeit for different reasons, in that he falsely confessed to murdering Robert at a trial, after Littlefinger manipulated Ned into doing so.
- Jaime still loses his right hand, only this time, he loses it via amputation due to his wound being infected after having had a knife stuck in it.
- The Red Wedding still happens.
- At his own wedding, Joffrey is still poisoned and dies. Instead of being poisoned with the Strangler at his wedding feast, Joffrey died from a poison known as The Long Farewell by Ros, the whore from Winterfell, whom Littlefinger had sent to 'entertain' Joffrey for the evening after giving her a dose without her knowledge.
- Tyrion is still arrested and charged for Joffrey's murder.
- Even though Tyrion is declared innocent after Prince Oberyn's victory against the Mountain in the trial by combat, Jaime still confesses the truth about Tysha and his role in it to Tyrion (after having confessed to Myra, who promptly told him to tell Tyrion the truth).
- Literal Cliffhanger: After escaping from their cells on Dragonstone, Myra and Jaime eventually find themselves on the edge of a high cliff, pursued by soldiers. The only way for the two, is to jump into the waters, leading to Jaime telling Myra to trust him, to which she responds with no hesitation whatsoever, "I do", then after holding her hand, they both jump.
- Mythology Gag: After Prince Oberyn's victory in the trial by combat against the Mountain, Tyrion, while reminiscing on Shae, muses that when he finds her, he is going to "wrap his hands around her thin neck and squeeze the life out of her", a nod to Shae's canon fate in A Storm of Swords and in the show.
- Patchwork Fic: This fic incorporates events and characters from both the books, and from the show.
- In Chapter Twelve "The King", Ned Stark mentions the death of Lyanna Stark being 'seventeen years ago', which is more in line with the show's timeline, than the books, which Lyanna's death was fifteen years ago.
- Talisa Maegyr, who is Robb's wife in the show rather than Jeyne Westerling from the books, makes an appearance, and Ros, a whore from the North written specifically for the show, has a brief appearance, while Princess Arianne Martell, a prominent book character who was omitted from the show, appears.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Lady and Nymeria appear to save Myra and Jaime from the bandits, they immediately scatter and run away, shoving one another out of their way.
- Shout-Out:
- In Chapter Nine "The Tournament - Part II", Myra asks if Jaime will stay with her, to which he responds "As you wish".
- Spared by the Adaptation:
- In addition to saving her own direwolf, Myra also manages to save Lady from her canon fate.
- Due to accompanying Myra to Dragonstone, Jory Cassel survives being slain by Jaime.
- When arriving at the Twins, when Lady and Grey Wind become a bit unsettled, and Black Walder Rivers suggests locking them away, Myra instead has Lady go into the woods, away from the Twins, and take Grey Wind with her, thus not just saving Lady from being killed again, but also saving Grey Wind from his canon fate of being killed during the Red Wedding, and furthermore, Grey Wind's head is not beheaded to be put onto Robb's body.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Myra Stark and Jaime Lannister. Even before they even get to the point of falling in love with one another, their bond is tested in that, not only both their families, the Starks and the Lannisters, are at war with one another, but that Jaime Lannister also pushed Bran, her little brother, from the broken tower.
- Switching P.O.V.: Like the books, the story switches from different perspectives. Other than Myra Stark and Jaime Lannister, the story has various viewpoints from:
- Ned Stark.
- Catelyn Stark / Lady Stoneheart.
- Robb Stark.
- Jon Snow.
- Sansa Stark.
- Arya Stark.
- Cersei Lannister.
- Tyrion Lannister.
- Brienne of Tarth.
- Davos Seaworth.
- Robert Baratheon.
- Renly Baratheon.
- Barristan Selmy.
- Gendry.
- Talisa Maegyr.
- Jory Cassel.
- Oberyn Martell.
- Myrcella Baratheon.
- Edmure Tully.
- Take Me Instead: During the Red Wedding, Catelyn offers herself to Walder Frey as a hostage in order for Myra and Robb to go free, but Walder refuses, stating that he isn't going to take the chance that "two young highborns" could be free to rally the North against him in exchange for "their old and spent mother". Then, Myra tries to invoke this with her, offering her as a hostage in exchange for her brother's life and that she swears that she'll marry whoever son he wished, only for Walder to smugly state that she already made that vow, and will honour it, "whenever you'll enjoy it, or not".
- Trauma Button: During a dinner held in Maegor's Holdfast, Myra gets traumatised when Joffrey has musicians come in and play the Rains of Castamere, which triggers memories and sounds of the Red Wedding in her, which causes Myra to struggle to keep her composure throughout the rest of the dinner.
- Two Guys and a Girl: Myra, Robb and Jon are described as being 'an inseparable trio'.
- Walking the Earth:
- Myra and Jaime journey through the Crownlands and the Riverlands after escaping from Dragonstone.
- Arya Stark, as in canon, surviving whilst on the run in the midst of war-torn Westeros, traveling from Harrenhal through the Riverlands, to Riverrun, then to the Vale as the Freys prepare to besiege Riverrun.
- Wham Episode:
- In Chapter Twenty-Four "The Vow", after promising to look out for Myra, due to looking like that Myra will be a prisoner in King's Landing after encountering a group of three soldiers Cersei sent to find him, Jaime kills them after realising that they, on Cersei's orders, are intending on killing Myra.
- In Chapter Forty "The After", Catelyn Stark's dead body is resurrected by Beric Dondarrion, days after the Red Wedding, after Jory pleads with Thoros to have the Red God bring her back.
- In Chapter Forty-Eight "The Plans", Myra and Jaime wed in Dorne.
- In Chapter Fifty-Seven "The Trial", Prince Oberyn wins Tyrion's trial by combat by immediately killing the Mountain.
- In Chapter Sixty "The Pieces", Lady Stoneheart finds out about not only Jaime Lannister heading to Riverrun, but his marriage to Myra.
- In Chapter Sixty-Three "The Traitor", After Jaime and Myra are taken by the Brotherhood without Banners, they are brought to Lady Stoneheart.
- Wham Line:
- In Chapter Twenty-Five "The Changes", while holding a devastated Myra in his arms after revealing to her the news that Theon betrayed Robb, joined his father, took Winterfell and killed Bran and Rickon, Jaime says to her;
Jaime: "I made a promise to protect you," he whispered, watching the fire die. "Honor or not, that is one I intend to keep."- In Chapter Twenty-Eight "The Desperation", after having escaped from Harrenhal, Arya tells Jory that she overheard that Myra escaped from Dragonstone with Jaime Lannister, which then leads to him telling her about Jaime pushing Bran from the tower. To which, Arya adds another person to her list of names.
Arya: "Gregor Clegane, Ilyn Payne, Meryn Trant, Joffrey, Cersei, the Hound, the Kingslayer..."- Within the same chapter, Jaime, whilst recovering from his injuries sustained and having suffered a fever dream, wakes up in the middle of the night and answers a question that Myra asked him a few chapters earlier on what did Cersei leave him with as part of the relationship he and Cersei share.
Jaime: "She left me with nothing."- In Chapter Sixty "The Pieces", Lady Stoneheart is not pleased at all, when she finds out about Jaime Lannister marrying Myra. After letting out a feral scream, she only utters out a few words.
Lady Stoneheart: "...kill...him..."- In Chapter Sixty-Two "The Fear", upon Myra and Jaime being taken captive by the Brotherhood without Banners, Myra asks where are they taking them, with a response, "To your lady mother, of course".
- You Can Keep Her!: After Robb's death during the Red Wedding, Catelyn tries to plead to Walder Frey to let Myra go free, stating that she'll kill his wife, Joyuese Erenford, if he doesn't. Walder Frey doesn't bat an eye, and dares her to do it, stating "There's no shortage of girls to find 'round here".
