Thank you all for your continued comments. The story still has a little more to go. Sorry it has been so long for an update!

CHAPTER 21

Tyrion's Apartments

Sansa felt her lip tremble. Instead of the load roars of men joking outside of her room, she only heard a few voices, from the courtyard festivities were most likely winding down by now. She ran over to window again, hoping to see Cersei's figure in the shadows of the torches.

She should have been here hours ago. If any of those men outside were still breathing, they'd been awake in a few hours. As would the children who wouldn't be near as quiet then as they were now. And Jaime and Theon were still in the dungeons. She didn't have time to wait around anymore.

Perhaps Cersei was unable to escape from her rooms or had been caught afterwards? She heard the door open and felt her breath catch as the chairs and a moved lightly. There would be no way Cersei would able to open that door. It had to be a man..or men.

She reminded herself to breathe as her hand reached into the waistband of her pants. The knife she'd tied there was still secured.

The Gardens

Theon watched as Jaime slipped into the darkness, heading to find Sansa and the children. The dwarf had left several minutes before headed towards the western towers. He saw a figure move towards a bush close to him. His heart raced as he slowly crept towards the bushes. He drew his sword and quickly stabbed at the branches several times.

He heard a screech and moved backwards. A moment later a green dress poked out followed by an odd figure holding something in its hand. He saw the dagger in enough time to jump back. The veiled figure came further out of the bush and tried to stab him again. It was then he grabbed the figure and pulled off the veil.

His eyes recognized the woman. She was older than he remembered her looking, but still beautiful. "Cersei Lannister...uhhh Your Majesty?"

She looked at him for a moment before he put his hand up to his chest to identify himself. "Theon Greyjoy."

She looked at him, her head cocking to one side in a familiar glance.

They'd met before, at Winterfell. But that had been years before. Back then, he'd been a warden of the North, a brother to the Starks, and stranger to his own people. Of course back then, she'd been Queen to her drunken king and a lover to her twin brother.

He'd known she was at Casterly Rock when he was a prisoner but she'd never paid him a visit during her stay. They both seem to take a few seconds, lost in a wash of emotions and memories. She brushed the dirt and sap from her dress. "How did you get out of the dungeon?"

"Jaime. He rescued me and your brother."

Cersei rolled her eyes. "Of course he did. Okay, where is he now?" When Theon didn't answer her directly, she looked towards the Red Keep's walls. Her eyes squinted with a question. "There is a great feast in the Hall. Do you know what the celebration is for?"

Theon's eyes grew wide. Oh gods she doesn't know yet.

The Red Keep

Jaime slid along the wall, knowing he needed to be as discreet as he could be. He could see the south corridor wall no longer had lighted torches. Good. The Lannister men were following the orders he'd given earlier.

He peeked around the corner, surprised to see no guard around the corner. What a bunch of pussies, leaving their posts for some town whore and soured wine. Knowing Baelish, it was probably his whores and his idea to give the guards the night off.

He hurried down the corridor, then came to the steps that lead to different hallways. He took the one to the left and hid behind a column. The front door to Tryion's apartments were beyond the breezeway, lit by torches. He squinted, not spotting a single guard standing near the door. As he walked closer, he saw the guards armor shinning off the floor. He counted five men, their limbs overlapping each other's torsos. Two were dead, their skin turning translucent and their eyes were wide open. The others weren't dead but weren't moving either. There were several pools of blood several feet away from the group of men. Jaime quickly grabbed their swords and threw them off the breezeway into the dark night below. He ran to the door and tried to open it, finding the door appeared to be jammed.

He knocked softly than more loudly. He leaned closer into the door and whispered Sansa's name, trying to get the door to budge. He only found resistance from the other side. Jaime strained to push the door open for several minutes before the door buckled and finally gave.

Margaery's Chamber

Tyrion waddled into the solar, the fragrance of lilies and rose petals causing his nostrils to flare. Finally, Margaery appeared dressed in a golden monstrosity of a gown. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun, with pieces coming out in several places. Her face was a mixture of green and sickly yellow bruises, and her eyes were half swollen from crying.

"My lady," he bowed.

She nodded, acknowledging his presence before asking her ladies to leave her alone with Tyrion. "I am sorry about your brother."

Margaery didn't seem to acknowledge his words. Instead she asked why he was here.

"We have to get you out of here. Now."

Tyrion's Apartments

Sansa held onto Jaime's neck whispering words he didn't understand. Her hair was messy and hidden under a hat. She looked small and scared, in his and Tyrion's clothes. Her cheeks were stained pink. She'd been crying. He knew she wanted to ask about the men outside so instead he told her that they didn't have a moment to waste.

"Sansa, where are the children?"

She quickly lead them to children's sleeping figures, bundled up. "Cersei was suppose to bring a rope and help get the children down through the window in the solar." Jaime shook his head, "I had a similar idea. Theon…" His voice trailed off looking at the oddly hidden body part under the bed.

"Sansa what happened?" It was then he noticed the rip on the side of the shirt Sansa was wearing and the deep stain on the pants near her knee.

He looked further under the bed and gulped again. "Is that?"

"Yeah" she said weakly.

"Petyr was here and he tried to um…" Her hand shook. "He was drunk and he called me a whore. He said he knew what we were planning. He said that…he just kept saying that he'd convinced Joffrey to stay married to Margaery. And that now that he was Hand and married to my aunt and he grabbed me and…

Jaime's face became an angry red with worry. "Did he?"

Sansa shook her head violently. "No. I had the knife and he um…I cut and he yelled and so I cut again."

Jaime looked back and asked where Petyr was now.

"I don't know. I cut... and he ran out. There was a lot of blood and he was bleeding and yelling."

The Mud Gate

Tyrion grimaced as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He stopped for a moment, knowing he was near the Mud Gate. Despite the darkness of the hour, the torches carried plenty of light for the gate to be visible. His neck craned until he saw it. Not it, him.

The great and wise Tywin Lannister sat straight on the iron stick. Tyrion let out a ragged breath. It was a sound of both sorrow and relief. Tyrion gave the head one more moment before he turned, looking for the guards he knew would be positioned somewhere nearby.

Lannister guards. Guards whose loyalty now lay with Jaime.

Outside the Stables

Jaime felt himself breathe a little easier when he saw the shadow of his brother getting closer.

"The Tyrell girl would rather be a Queen for a week than live as a Lady of one of the most noble families for the rest of her years."

Jaime shrugged; it was truly no great loss. They wanted to take Margaery with them to ensure Willis Tyrell would help their escape. Currently, Tommen and the new Tyrell heir were in Highgarden now. And considering Cersei's delightful demeanor they couldn't be sure how much Willis would want to help his wife out.

"Theon was to get Cersei but according to Sansa she was planning to escape on her own."

Tyrion huffed and asked if everything else was okay. Jaime nodded, "We've got to get going soon. Oh and Sansa castrated Petyr Baelish." Tyrion's eyes grew larger as Jaime continued, "I don't actually know if castration is the correct word but I've certainly seen more of Baelish's manhood than I ever hoped to."

Tyrion looked around, ensuring they were still alone. "I spoke to Pyser Hill. He has assured me all eighty Lannister men under his control were accounted for and would leave out of the mud gate within the hour."

Jaime nodded, "Good. Martyn Clegane's troops have already left, the torches were out when I went get Sansa."

The Red Keeps' Garden

Cersei shivered as the guards surrounded she and Theon. There had to be a dozen of them. Most were young and drunk but they all had swords. Big swords. She saw Joffrey walk towards them. He seemed sober, his walk steady and his eyes boring into hers.

"Mother, whatever are you doing out this late at night?" She opened her mouth to say something but was stopped as Joffrey's large hand grabbed her mouth and begun squeezing it her jaw. He warned her to choose her words carefully, "for I would hate to cut out my own mother's tongue."

"Joffrey, please listen to me. I am worried about you and…"

Cersei winced as she felt the slap across her face. She felt the sour taste of blood her mouth and stood there frozen. "Mother you have seen the way Grandfather behaved at his beheading. He was trembling, I truly thought he would wet himself. For a brave lion, he put on a poor display." Theon steadied her with his arm.

Cersei's eyes grew wide. "I killed him for knowing what you and Uncle Jaime did. And what my whore of a wife and Uncle Jaime did. Tell me, dear mother. What would you have me do to you knowing what a traitorous whore you were to my father, King Robert?, and what a traitorous whore you were to me."