Maud shivered as the cold wind bit at her face, pulling her fur closer.
"How much longer?" she whispered to her brothers, crouching beside her on the hill to the side of the muddy path. "The King and his entourage should've been here by now."
Jonython shushed her. "They'll be here. I promise. Just be ready."
Maud made a face and looked over at the bow and arrow beside her. Soon. Soon, they would get revenge on the man who killed their father. Well, a relative of the man - but from what people had been saying, he was just as bad. A beast!
"They're coming!" Horace hissed.
Maud and Jonython reached for their bows and each nooked an arrow as the king and his men rode into sight. It was dusk, a bit darker than Maud would have liked, but she could still see the outline well enough of the jubilant boy King Joffrey, followed by his kingsguard, and servants hoisting the spoils of the hunt.
"Now!" Horace whispered, his brother and sister instantly letting their arrows fly.
Joffery yelped in an un-kingly manner as Jonython's arrow flew over his head, while Maud's arrow embedded itself in the helm of Joffrey's man, the Hound.
Maud grunted in frustration and grabbed another arrow to try again.
"Guards!" the boy King snarled, although his white cloaks were already galloping up the hill. Maud and her brothers scrabbled to their feet and began to run for their lives. She heard a thump as one of her brothers was ridden down and although it sickened her, she did not have time to turn to see who it was. Instead she kept running, running as fast as she could.
She thought she might have gotten away, until she felt a sudden pain on top of her head and the world went dark.
Maud awoke to icy water tossed carelessly on her body.
She screamed and tried to move, but found herself shackled to a wall.
"About time," a grim looking white cloak sneered. "Time for you and your brother to face your reckoning."
Despite knowing that she may die when she hatched the plan with her brothers, Maud''s heart began to race and she retched, as her captor manhandled her out of the shackles, before snapping a pair of manacles in place, and attaching a metal collar with a chain around her neck.
"C'mon, bitch," the guard spat, pulling the chain so that Maud had to almost run behind him. She desperately looked around for her brother, not knowing which was still alive.
It seemed like hours later that she was finally pulled into the throne room, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. It had been years, not since under the mad King's rule, that someone was executed in here. She may have one more night on this earth at least - and an opportunity to end her own life if the punishment was to be gruesome.
The guard, who Maud now realised was Ser Trant, forced her to her knees, to stare at the boy king who sat proudly on the throne, a crossbow lazily dangling from one hand. Out the corner of her eye (although her captor would not let her turn her head properly), she could make out Jonython's brown curly hair.
"I always hate when my subjects are unhappy," Joffery sneered. "Luckily, my dog put an end to your cohort."
"You bastard," Jonython yelled, struggling against the man holding him.
The boy King smirked and turned to the Hound, standing beside the throne. "What do you think, dog? Is beheading too good for them? I heard the mad king used to burn people alive. I've never seen that. Shall we see how long they scream before they die?"
Maud shuddered at this horrific thought. Surprisingly, she thought the Hound seemed to flinch too.
"Please, my Lord," she begged. "Spare my brother."
Joffrey leaned forward in his throne, the tip of the crossbow gently clanging off the iron throne.
"And why should I do that? Regicide, and attended regicide, is punishable by death. It's my right."
"We weren't aiming for you," Jonython yelped. "We were aiming for him." He stabbed his manacled hands in the direction of the Hound. "That beast's brother killed our father."
The Hound guffawed. "Gregor killed your father? That's none of my bloody business. I'm not his keeper."
"Please," Maud pleaded. "My brother didn't hit anyone. It was my arrow that hit him."
Both the king and his man turned to look at Maud, as if surprised by this news.
A cruel smile played on Joffery's face for a moment before he spoke, wetting his lips.
"Very well. If your brother didn't hit the target it seems he needs shooting lessons. I shall help him out."
Before Maud could make sense of the words, Joffrey raised his crossbow and fired directly at her brother's face. She screamed as he hit the floor, his dead eyes staring up at her as blood pooled on the ground.
"Now, you on the other hand," Joffery said, reloading his bow. Maud dug her nails into the palm of her hands, telling herself not to be sick. "You owe my dog an apology."
"S-sorry," Maud choked out, not taking her eyes off the crossbow.
"Not good enough!" Joffery yelled, his voice bouncing off the walls.
"I'm sorry, Ser Clegane," Maud said louder, venom in her eyes.
Joffery paused, before another vicious smile graced his otherwise good looking face.
"I do believe I know the perfect way you can make it up to us. Dog, how would you like a bitch?"
Both Maud and the Hound stared at the blond King.
"My mother would have you killed, if she wasn't away visiting my grandfather. But I am a benevolent King. As your apology for hitting him with an arrow, you will give yourself to The Hound. You'll be his slave and his whore. And if you misbehave, or try to run away, I'll chain you up in the kennels and let all the men and dogs in Kings Landing have their way with you."
"Please…" Maud whispered, "Just kill me."
Joffery smirked. "Hound, take your bitch out of my sight. I want her trained. I want her broken in. And I don't care how you do it."
Maud began to openly weep as the tall man, at least ten years her elder, stomped towards her. Grabbing the chain dangling from her collar, he pulled her to her feet and out of the throne room, paying no heed to her cries or pleadings.
Note: this is my first story on - any feedback welcome.