~*The Kingslayer*~
Jayne knelt to close Royce's eyes before wiping her blood soaked finger knife clean on his crimson Lannister cape. She then quickly wiped off as much of the blood as she could from her dress, hands and face before rinsing them in the wash basin, leaving the water red. She slowly pulled her left hand down over her face to change back to her own, before sneaking 'as quiet as a shadow' out of the room, down the stairs and then out of the inn without the other Lannister guards noticing her.
She quickly made her way back towards The Sword and Crown inn that she had stayed in the previous night to collect the rest of her belongings. The portly innkeeper gave her a strange look as he didn't recognize her but she didn't care. She knew that nobody would suspect her of murdering the Lannister guard but she wanted to be as far away as she could when the alarm was raised. She might not have Jayne Snow's face any more, but she did have matching clothes and they did have fresh blood stains on them.
She quickly left The Sword and Crown and Riverrun behind, heading south along the River Road as she thought about what she had just done. 'Royce had to die' She told herself. 'The other two will have to die too if I'm going to be able to get to Ser Jaime and kill him. They're Lannisters and I hate them all, they deserve it for everything that they have done to my family' She stopped and wiped her eyes, she was crying again. Whether it was tears of sadness or tears of anger she could not say, maybe it was a little of both.
Arya quickly walked away from Riverrun, determined to put as much distance between herself and Riverrun as possible. She followed the River Road until it entered a small wood, constantly looked around for a perfect spot to set up the ambush she had planned. When she came to a narrow stone bridge that crossed over a river she smiled happily, knowing that they would have to cross it in single file. 'This is perfect' She thought to herself.
She walked off the road and scrambled up a nearby slope to hide and wait using some some of the bushes for cover. She had a good view of the River Road from up there and more importantly, a perfect view of the narrow stone bridge. All she had to do now was wait.
Patiently she waited, sharpening her short sword with a whet stone as the hours went by. Several travelers and merchants came and went but there was no sign of the Kingslayer. 'Maybe they decided to go a different way after they found what happened to Royce' She thought to herself, as she started to doubt her plan. 'Or maybe Royce lied?' Was another thought that crept into her head as she waited, still hidden in the bushes. 'Maybe I should go back?' After thinking it over for a few moments she decided to sit it out and wait a little longer.
A few more hours passed and her thoughts turned to her mother. 'Maybe I'll join up with the Brotherhood after I complete my training in Braavos? Or maybe I could stay a little while before going back?' She thought to herself, unsure if she wanted to leave her mother behind so soon after finding her again. 'The only reason I left Westeros is because I thought I had nowhere else to go, but now I have my mother and my sister back!' She shook her head as she tried to put it all out of her mind so that she could concentrate on her ambush. She decided that she would make a decision once she had returned to Hollow Hill and to her mother with news of Jaime Lannister's death.
Feeling a little bored a few hours later and almost ready to give up on her plan, she could hear several horses approaching at walking speed. She spotted three men on horseback. Two were the Lannister guards that she had met earlier at the inn and the other must be Jaime Lannister.
He had much finer looking armour and a white cape of the King's Guard, not a crimson ones like the two Lannister guards were wearing. When they were a little closer she recognized him from when he came to stay at Winterfell with King Robert. His hair was a little different, a little shorter maybe? And he had a golden left hand, it was definitely the Kingslayer, Jaime Lannister. She could also hear the same guard singing The Rains Of Castamere again as they approached the bridge.
And who are you, the proud lord said, that I must bow so low?
Only a cat of a different coat, that's all the truth I know.
In a coat of gold or a coat of red, a lion still has claws,
And mine are long and sharp, my lord, as long and sharp as yours.
And so he spoke, and so he spoke, that Lord of Castamere,
But now the rains weep o'er his hall, with no one there to hear.
Yes now the rains weep o'er his hall...
The singing guard led the way over the narrow stone bridge with Jaime Lannister behind him as the other guard brought up the rear. 'Just a little closer...almost' Arya thought as she notched an arrow into her bow and took aim at the singing guard, making sure that she stayed hidden in the bush. Remembering what Anguy had taught her, she took a deep breath, loosened up and relaxed before releasing her arrow. The arrow flew true, striking the singing guard through the neck. 'I really hate that song!' She thought, satisfied at her shot.
The Lannister guard wasn't singing any more as he fell from his horse, hitting the ground with a thud as he clutched desperately at the arrow in his neck as his lifeblood flowed from it. She saw Jaime Lannister try to turn his horse but there wasn't room on the narrow stone bridge. Quickly she notched a second arrow and shot the second Lannister guard in the chest just above the heart, knocking him off his horse which quickly bolted from under him as it panicked.
Arya stood to reveal herself and stepped out from the bush. Jaime Lannister looked up at her, a look of surprise on his face to see that it was a girl that had ambushed them so easily and taken out two of his guards with such ease.
"Who are you girl? What do you want?" He asked calmly from up on his horse as he drew his sword. If he was concerned he did not show it.
Arya took aim and shot Jaime's horse in the hind leg, making it bolt and throw him off before fleeing into the woods. "My name is Arya Stark. I know what you did to my brother Bran. And now I'm going to find out if Lannister's really do pay their debts." She walked slowly down the slope towards the narrow stone bridge, being careful not to slip on the orange and brown fallen leaves beneath her feet.
"Arya Stark!?" Jaime muttered to himself in disbelief as he stood and dusted himself off. He unclipped his white cape and raised his finely crafted sword towards her as she approached.
Arya could see that the guard with an arrow through his chest was still alive and was really suffering, so she calmly walked up and put another arrow between his eyes, giving him mercy. "Valar morghulis." She said softly as she looked down at his corpse.
Arya looked over at Ser Jaime before throwing her short bow and quiver of arrows to the ground and drawing her short sword.
"You're not going to shoot me? You have honour like your father." He said as she glared up angrily at him.
"I want you to confess what you did to my brother Bran, say it." Although she wanted him dead, she didn't want to kill him by shooting him with an arrow, she wanted the pleasure of driving her sword through his heart. She needed to hear him confess so that she knew for certain he really pushed her brother Bran from the Broken Tower back in Winterfell.
Jaime looked down at her as he slowly backed away from her, his sword in his left hand as he measured her up. "I thought that you were dead. Everyone thought that you had died in King's Landing." He continued, ignoring her request for a confession.
Arya took up a Water Dancer's pose and glared at him, rage in her grey Stark eyes, her wolf blood boiling with anger. "I escaped with Yoren and the Nights Watch disguised as a boy, not that it matters. You're going to pay for pushing Bran from that tower, now confess." She edged closer to him as he took up a defensive stance.
"I don't wish to fight you Arya. I once swore an oath to your mother that I would return you and your sister safely to her." He held up his golden hand trying to calm her.
'As swift as a deer' Arya quickly stepped in and took a swift side swipe at him. He easily blocked her before she nimbly stepped back out of range again. He made no attempt to strike back at her. "My mother is the one who told me about Bran, she's the one who sent me to kill you, now confess." She continued before feinting left and striking at him again.
He easily blocked her strike and pushed her back. "Arya you must listen to me. I did push your brother I admit it, but I'm not the same man any more, I've changed."
'As fast as a snake' She nimbly moved left and then right as she slashed at him, two, three, four times before quickly stepping back.
He somehow managed to block each blow but he was clearly struggling to match her speed and agility and she knew it.
"I don't care! You're a Lannister and you have to pay for what you've done to my family." She shouted at him angrily, lunging viciously at him again and managing to land a small cut on his left thigh before quickly stepping out of range again. A satisfied smirk appeared on her face as she saw his cut.
Jaime grimaced a little as he touched his wound to see blood. He nodded at her to acknowledge that she was more skilled than he had first thought. It wasn't a serious wound but it still hurt, she could tell. "Arya please, you must stop, I don't want to fight you." He told her again, trying to calm the situation.
Arya listened to him but she didn't care. "Why did you push him? Why?" She shouted angrily at him as she dodged and weaved around him skillfully before stepping in to swing at him again and again. "What did he see? Why did you do it?" Sparks flew as steel clashed with steel and he continued to block everything that she could throw at him, not once did he try to strike back at her.
"He saw Cersei and me..." Jaime said as he pushed her back again, a little stronger this time making her slip on some wet leaves. She fell heavily onto her back. It knocked the breath from her, winding her a little as she bumped her head too. She winced and held her head for a brief moment, feeling a little dazed until she saw him approach and stand over her.
She quickly rolled backwards and jumped to her feet, still feeling a little groggy and winded. "You're hurt Arya, stop this, please." He said lowering his sword as he continued to try and reason with her.
It was no use. Her wolf blood was boiling and she had never felt such hatred as she felt right now. She stepped in a little clumsily this time and slashed at him again and again and he blocked her again and again. "No, you have to die." She yelled in rage, trying everything that she could to land another hit on him.
Arya was starting to feel a little frustrated that he was blocking everything that she could throw at him, but at least her head was starting to clear a little. "It was me that killed Lord Tywin. I slit his throat and looked down on him as he died." She said as she slashed at him high and low and then high again, driving him backwards.
He blocked her every move again and stepped back, knowing that she was trying to make him angry. However, he was impressed with how skilled she was, especially for a girl her size and age. "He was a horrible man, he got what he deserved." He replied cooly.
His reply took her a little by surprise and frustrated her even more and she lunged at him again. High and then low, before stabbing visciously at his stomach. "Some day I'm going to kill your beloved sister too." She shouted at him before stepping back and glaring angrily at him with her grey wolf eyes.
Ser Jaime took a deep breath as he tried to remain calm. Arya knew that he loved his twin sister dearly.
She circled around him before stepping in and slashing at him over and over. High, low, left and right. He blocked her every move until she managed to cut him again on his other leg this time.
Without thinking he instinctively slashed back at her, landing a deep cut across her slender stomach.
Arya immediately dropped her short sword and fell to her knees, clutching at her bleeding stomach in agony.
"Seven hells. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." He started to say as he lowered his sword to approach her. "Come with me Arya and I'll get you back to Riverrun and get your wound looked at. I'll keep you safe I swear it by the old gods and the new."
Arya looked up at him, tears of pain and anger flowing down her grubby cheeks as she held her bloody wound. "I don't care what you swear, I'll never go with you. You'll take me back to King's Landing, to Cersei. I won't go, I won't!" She replied angrily, not believing a word he was saying. She would never trust a Lannister!
Jaime stepped closer to her and offered her his left hand, but she shook her head and backed away from him. "Arya please..."
Arya suddenly started to feel faint from the pain as she saw Nymeria suddenly appear from the bushes and pounce on Ser Jaime, taking him by surprise and knocking him off his feet before pinning him down. She watched as Nymeria bared her teeth and snarled angrily at him before tearing off his left hand with ease.
Ser Jaime screamed in agony as he struggled, desperately trying to escape, but it was no use Nymeria was too big and strong. His screams didn't last for long as Nymeria viciously ripped his throat out, killing him instantly.
Arya fell backwards to lay on her back, looking up at the cloudless sky. She held her bleeding stomach as Nymeria lay next to her, nuzzling her. She slowly blacked out from the pain as the last of her strength left her.
