Gwen sat and watched Jaime for the remainder of the night, his head resting on the ground and his good arm holding onto his other one which she had managed to put into a sling, tying the straps around his neck. He had allowed her to wash away the blood from his arm with water from the leather pouch and she poured some down his throat, trying to keep him hydrated.

He groaned in pain as her hand wrapped around his sword hand and she lifted it up, allowing it to hang in the sling. She had told him to rest then, moving with him back through the camp, her arm wrapped around his waist as they sat opposite Brienne. The knight looked at Jaime, her eyes widening as she saw his hand was no longer intact with the rest of his body.

"Go to sleep," Gwen whispered to him. He did as she had said, his body overcome with hatred and sorrow as Gwen stayed awake, watching his chest move up and down, making sure that his breathing remained constant.

Brienne had stayed awake then, keeping her eyes on Gwen as the maid remained intent on Jaime. She wondered how much more misery there was to come. She didn't know how much more they could take. The sooner they reached Lord Bolton then the better. She only hoped he would extend them with pleasantries which they had not seen thus far.

Morning came far too quickly and Gwen protested loudly as they pushed Jaime forwards to a horse, placing his severed hand around his neck, forcing him to wear it like some trophy.

"Have you not punished him enough?" Gwen snatched her arm from one of the men and stormed towards Hoat who looked at her with suspicion and Jaime said nothing, shaking his head at her and urging her to remain quiet. She could see his eyes were drooping and she knew he was ill. He had lost a lot of blood and the wound would surely become infected and cause him more pain.

"Don't you think that by now you should know your place?" Hoat snapped at her yet Gwen refused to move back from him. He turned to look at the Kingslayer then, Jaime's lids shutting and opening yet his gaze remained on her. "I didn't realise the Kingslayer needed a woman to talk for him." Hoat said and snatched Gwen's wrist into his hold as his men helped Jaime onto a horse. "And if you don't keep your mouth shut then I'll make sure my men really show you the meaning of pain."

Gwen ground her teeth together as Hoat pushed her onto the horse to sit behind Jaime. She moved her legs over the creature, her hands wrapping around Jaime's waist as she tried to offer him some support.

He said nothing, allowing Gwen to hold him and he looked down at the neck of the horse, his eyes watering once more as he noted the hand which had been placed around his neck. The searing pain still scorched through him even though Gwen had tried to stop the bleeding. He said nothing to her, words failing him as she wrapped her fingers around his waist, the smell of him worse than before thanks to his dead limb.

The horse began to move and Gwen turned to look at Brienne who rode behind them, her eyes fixed on Jaime and Gwen.

"How many of those fingers do you think we could shove up his arse?" one man called out and Gwen winced at hearing them speak about him. The mocking he received made her cheeks turn red in anger. But Jaime said nothing. He remained mute, completely unable to respond.

"That depends if he's had practice," Hoat declared, his horse moving to ride beside Jaime as his gaze found the side of Jaime's cheek, a smirk held on his face as he spoke his vile words. "Is that the kind of thing you and your sister go in for, Kingslayer? Has she loosened you up a bit for us?"

Gwen frowned and increased her grip on Jaime. But he did nothing. The men all begun to laugh as Gwen felt his weight increase on one side and she realised he was losing control over his body and collapsing. She didn't doubt that this would happen.

"Jaime," she called his name, doing her best to move her hands to sit him upright as he continued to fall down the creature. "Jaime...don't close your eyes...stay awake..."

But it was too late for Gwen to save him from the fall. He collapsed to a heap on the ground, the thud of his body on the floor catching the attention of the men as Brienne told them that he needed help.

"Jaime," Gwen whispered, moving her leg over the horse, her entire bottom half protesting at the action which she carried out. She slid down the creature until she hit the ground, her feet taking the impact and she winced before kneeling by his side. She didn't complain of the mud as it dirtied her skirts and her hands. She moved to take his face from the mud, looking at the man who was a shadow of his former self.

The congregation stopped moving as Gwen helped Jaime sit back up, his eyes refusing to look at her as he realised how truly pathetic he was. He couldn't do anything now. His body was failing him and he had lost the most important part of him.

"He needs water," Gwen called out as the men moved closer and one of them rolled their eyes before taking out his flask and handing it to her. Gwen undid the top of it before passing it to Jaime. He drank it quickly, draining it down his throat before Hoat yelled out loud.

"I've never seen a man drink horse piss that fast."

Gwen shook her head as Jaime dropped the flask and he instantly allowed the contents of his stomach to empty. Gwen moved her hand to his back as he wretched and she closed her eyes for a second, keeping her mouth shut before Hoat nodded to the man stood behind her. He grabbed onto her elbow and hauled her from the floor as Jaime continued to heave. She barely noticed Jaime take hold of a sword from a man he had elbowed in the face, holding it with his left hand and swinging it at another man.

The remainder of them took their swords and unsheathed them, pointing them at Jaime as Gwen was dragged back to stand next to Brienne. She watched on as Jaime was helplessly outnumbered, unable to stand on his own two feet as he fell into the mud again.

"Stop it!" Gwen snapped as Brienne tried to push past the guard.

Gwen closed her eyes, wiping her muddy hands on her gown as Jaime was pushed to the floor by Hoat. He tried to get up once more but failed as Hoat kicked him in his back, keeping him down in the mud. Gwen shook her head, knowing that Jaime's attempt had been pointless. There had been no way for him to win.

"You do that again and I'll take your other hand along with your pretty little maid's life. Do you understand me?" Hoat wondered before kicking Jaime once more until he was flat on his back. Jaime groaned, his hand unwrapping from the sword.

Gwen shoved past the guard holding her back and she took her stance back next to Jaime.

"You idiot," she snapped at him, her hand hitting his shoulder and Jaime looked at her, a small tear rolling down her cheek. "I thought you had...I thought they were going to...don't do anything like that again...don't you dare get yourself killed..."

"Why do you care?" Jaime wondered from her as she helped him to sit up, his good hand clinging onto the lapel of his cloak which she still wore. She did nothing as he looked at her and she shook her head, looking down onto his lap as she helped him to stand up once more.

"I don't know," Gwen whispered back to him.

The men dragged him back to the horse and Gwen limped along, covered in mud as she followed him to the creature. She sat behind once more, saying nothing as they began their travels again.

...

Jaime said nothing for the rest of the day, unable to speak before they returned to a camp near a lake. A fire had been set up on the banks of it and the Hoat had left the Kingslayer to his own thoughts, the wench his only company for the evening.

He had ordered Gwen to clean herself up by using the lake which they were beside. She had removed herself from her gown, walking into the water and looking back up to where Jaime and Brienne sat. The Kingslayer had his back to her as Gwen held her breath and moved underneath the water. She felt the dirt pull from her skin, cleansing her once more. She looked down into the clear water at the scar where she had stabbed herself along with the bruising on her inner thigh.

She stifled a sob as her hands ran along the bruises, the skin tender under her touch and she turned around, looking away from the camp which had been made.

Jaime had been inconsolable ever since Hoat had taken away his hand. He had been unable to look at anyone for more than five seconds, his body numb and his mind empty.

She turned her head over her shoulder, looking back as Jaime and Brienne sat quietly, neither one of them speaking.

Brienne turned her gaze to the maid in the water, watching as the water lapped around her waist and she splashed it over her body before going deeper and submerging herself under the cool wetness.

"Eh, lovely!"

Brienne looked around as the men moved closer to the banks of the lake and Gwen remained where she was, the water resting at shoulder level as they looked at her like a piece of meat. Jaime followed Brienne's gaze to the men, his face unreadable as he watched the three of them stand there and taunt Gwen as she remained vulnerable in the water.

Jaime didn't know what to do as she slowly emerged from the depths, completely bare and he closed his eyes a moment after he saw her body. She had lost weight. An unhealthy amount of bruises marred her pale skin along with cuts on the paleness of her curves.

He turned away as she covered herself with his cloak and they dragged her back into the main camp. She was quiet, saying nothing for she knew that nothing she said would make the pain go away.

"You need to eat," Brienne suddenly spoke to Jaime who hadn't touched his food. He looked at it as he leant against the ground with his good arm, his feet outstretched in front of him.

"What are you doing?" she asked him when he didn't respond to her.

"I'm going to die," he said with no emotion, his eyes downcast to the stump on his arm.

"You're not going to die," Brienne spoke back to him. "You need to live. You need to take revenge."

"I don't care about revenge." Jaime mumbled; his eyes closing as he wished sleep would just come and claim him. And he didn't care if he never woke up. The only thing that he had had been taken from him. Jaime had sworn an oath. He had joined the Kingsguard and wielding a sword was the only thing which he had. He had nothing if he didn't have a sword in his hands.

"And what about her?" Brienne asked him and Jaime looked back up to her then as her face remained stern and her teeth clenched together, spit pushing from her mouth as she spoke to him. "People have things taken from them. Misfortune happens."

"I was that hand."

"This is a taste of the real world. People lose important things and they do not sit there and cry about it like you are doing. You sound like a bloody woman," Brienne snapped at him and he regarded her for a moment, his hair falling into his eyes as he did so.

She looked at him in disbelief, shaking her head and looking back into the camp where Gwen was.

"She had her maidenhead taken from her. You have no idea what that means to a woman. She comes back here and she goes straight to you. She comes back and you are the one who holds her and comforts her. She is the woman, not you. She acts like a woman and we both know she will never seek revenge for what those men did to her. She's too weak," Brienne snapped the truth. "But you can have revenge. You can take your revenge on them for what they did to her."

"Why...why would I want to?"

"Because she deserves some form of revenge. They have hurt her in the worst way possible for a woman," Brienne said. "She deserves someone to take revenge in her place."

"Why not you? She does not need me."

"Did Hoat take your common sense along with your hand?" Brienne snapped at him. "Do you think she would forgive you if you decided to die? Do you think she would carry on with this journey? You are the only thing which can bring back the Stark girls. Without you then she has nothing. Or did you think she stuck around to be raped every night?"

"She..."

"What?" Brienne snapped back. "She wouldn't understand. She wouldn't understand anything about this situation. She's the weak one here. I didn't think you were as bad as her."

Jaime did nothing, wanting the wench to shut up more than he thought possible. He took hold of the bread roll and chewed on it quickly, gulping it down and Brienne watched him to make sure he swallowed every single piece.

"She needs you as much as you need her." Brienne said, leaving Jaime in silence as he shook his head, disagreeing with the statement she had made.

"No..." he said simply and Brienne shook her head.

"Do you think me blind? I've seen the two of you. You rely on each other, especially now. You cannot deny it."

Jaime didn't even gain a chance to deny it for Gwen was being pushed back to them. She had managed to grab onto her dress, Jaime's cloak the only thing wrapped around her body as she saw her boots by the fire near Brienne.

"Come along, boys!" Hoat called out as he pushed Gwen along after he had broken up the fun which they had been about to have with her. He'd decided to let the girl have one night off, seeing his men grope and fondle her was surely enough. Besides, he knew that they lacked restraint and the last thing he needed would be a bastard to deal with. And his men needed their rest. They didn't need a woman keeping them awake all night for they had a journey the following day.

And Hoat also knew the Kingslayer needed looking after. He knew that if he died then it was his head at stake. And if the girl was too traumatised to look after him then Hoat was definitely in trouble.

He pushed her down beside the fire, looking at the prisoners before leaving.

"Is...are..." Brienne began to speak but she found that words failed her. She was no good at comforting. She had found that out by talking to Jaime and telling him what she thought of his predicament.

"I'm fine," Gwen lied to her. "You have to go away inside...besides...they didn't actually manage anything apart from a quick fondle tonight."

She looked over to Jaime as he heard his words being used on her lips. His gaze widened as he watched her pull her boots onto her feet and then stand up. She turned her back to them, dropping the cloak and pulling her disfigured dress onto her body, fixing it as best she could before sitting back down.

"Since when did you follow my advice?" Jaime asked her.

"I didn't fully," she admitted. "It hurt me still...everything still hurts...but it is advice I tried to follow."

Jaime continued to watch her as she looked at him, her eyes full of determination before she stood up again and moved down to the lake. Brienne decided to lie down, rolling onto her side as she saw Gwen move closer to them once again, her flask full of water.

"You need to drink, Jaime," Gwen whispered to him as she handed him the flask and he simply allowed it to sit in his lap. She looked at him as he continued to stare into the fire. "You're not giving up."

"I have nothing," Jaime hissed back, turning to look at her and he held his stump up as evidence, the blaze in his arm seeming to increase as he completed the motion. Gwen shook her head at him, her eyes full of determination.

"A hand does not define you," she replied.

"My sword hand does," Jaime said. "It was the one thing I was good at...the one thing which made me who I was...and now...now people will look at me. They will look at me and know that I am nothing. I was my hand."

Gwen tried to understand his pain. She tried to understand how it felt for him to have his hand removed. The hand that had caused so many deaths, no doubt. The hand that had murdered the Mad King. She could see his point in a way. His hand was a part of him that he needed and cherished.

"I know," Gwen whispered and Jaime looked at her, wondering if she did really understand. But he saw her frown, lines forming on her forehead as she thought hard about his words. "But you can't give up. There is always something to carry on for."

"Is there?" Jaime asked her.

"Yes," she replied quickly. "What about...well...you have a sister, do you not?"

Jaime thought about Cersei for a moment, closing his eyes and imaging her there with him. Would she comfort him through this? Would she love him like he loved her? Or would she be disgusted with him?

"You claim to love her." Gwen declared. "What would she say if she saw you giving up easily?"

"I thought you didn't agree with our relationship?" Jaime replied, feeling tiredness take hold of him again as Gwen leant forwards, her hands by the fire in an attempt to warm her body.

"I don't," she admitted, her eyes focused on the orange flames. "But if it is something to keep you going then...well...it keeps you going."

Jaime watched her for a second, his green eyes focused on her blonde curls which were still damp from her time in the lake and he wished he could go in and cleanse himself. Rid himself of the dirt which clung to his body, refusing to come off.

"You only want me to keep going because you want the Stark girls," Jaime said to her and her shoulders tensed. She turned her head over her shoulder to look back at him, her orbs wide and pained. Jaime looked at her, unsure of what she was thinking.

"Of course I want them back," Gwen whispered. "But if you think for one moment that I want to see you die then you're more stupid than I thought."

"Why do you care, Gwen?" Jaime wondered from her, shifting his weight on the grass as he felt his thighs become numb after sitting for a while. "Have you forgotten who I am?"

"No," Gwen replied. "I remember exactly what you've done. I remember how you were the one who pushed Bran from a window. I remember you threatening me countless times...warning me that you would kill me...you did nothing when your sister found us talking...Gods...I even remember the sickening things you said to Lady Stark."

She paused for a moment, looking to the darkening sky as her eyes became teary once more.

"But I remember everything that you did. I remember you helping me escape and I remember you...you giving me advice that night...telling me to be strong...and then last night and the night before...you're the only one who offered me comfort and I know you must think me weak for taking it. I know you think I'm pathetic but...you are not as evil as you think you are. I've seen that. Somewhere deep down there is some good in you. There is something else and you need to remember that. You can't let them win. You told me that I couldn't give up and I'm not letting you give up."

"You think my reasons are selfish," Gwen continued after Jaime stared at her for a moment. "And in a part they are. But they are as equally selfish as they are selfless."

He said nothing to her, taking hold of the water which had sat on his lap and he drained it quickly. She smiled at seeing him, a small tear flowing down her cheek as Jaime sat and watched her.

"You need to stop crying," he told her gruffly. "You'll tire yourself out."

"Don't worry about me," Gwen whispered, crawling back over to him. He said nothing as she sat before him, her hands holding onto the arm which contained his stump as she looked down at it, seeing that it was in desperate need of medical attention.

"It's disgusting," Jaime informed her as he looked down at it along with her, his eyes glimpsing at the hand which dangled around his neck.

"It's not," Gwen promised him. "You've surely seen worse."

"I don't know," Jaime responded as Gwen poured some water of it, trying to clean it slightly. "I can't remember seeing anything worse."

"We'll get you to a maester as soon as we reach Lord Bolton. He can hopefully clean it up..." Gwen trailed off as her fingers continued to rest on the arm in the sling. Jaime looked away from it, his gaze finding her blue orbs as he noted a cut on the side of her face which was hidden by her damp hair.

He moved his hand up, pushing her curls back as his hand rested on the cut and she continued to look down.

"Gwen," Jaime whispered her name. "How badly have they hurt you?"

She sniffed for a second and shook her head, another tear falling from her eye as he saw the red marks trailed down her neck which she had tried to hide from his sight.

"I'm fine," Gwen said to him. "I'll live...I heard Hoat say that we should hopefully reach Lord Bolton before tomorrow night."

"Gwen," Jaime said, sensing she was taking the conversation down a completely different route. "Answer me."

She said nothing as Jaime continued to stare at her and she gasped as she felt his cold finger on her shoulder. He slid the cloak over her left shoulder so that it dangled behind her back as his fingers moved down her bare arm, the sleeve to her gown completely ripped off. He saw the bruises on her skin, his fingers softly tracing over them as she watched him.

"I'm fine," Gwen whispered to him, her lips barely parting as she felt his hand move away from her arm and rest against her waist.

"You're a terrible liar," Jaime informed her simply.

"I always have been," she admitted to him. "My mother used to say I was. I could never look her in the eye and my cheeks used to flush red when I tried to."

"Your mother is right," Jaime assured her.

"She always was," Gwen grumbled before she moved her body. She rested on her side, the same position as Jaime as she looked at him. "She used to tell me that lies were a sign of a sinner. She said that I'd end up rotting in the Seven Hells if I kept on telling them."

"My mother used to tell me the same," Jaime admitted and he moved his good hand then. He brought it up from her waist, running it along her side until he cradled her neck, the wisps of hair tickling his fingertips as Gwen watched him. She placed a hand to the side of her head, keeping her from falling to the ground.

"They say that your mother died during childbirth," Gwen spoke and Jaime nodded.

"She died giving birth to Tyrion," Jaime confirmed. "She was a...I can barely remember her...I have some memories...she used to be an excellent storyteller. Cersei used to love listening to her tales of handsome princes whisking away beautiful princesses."

"I think every little girl dreams of that," Gwen replied in a whisper. "My mother used to change the tale. She used to speak of servant girls finding their princes in the form of a squire...she told me how the pair of them would run off together and go wherever they wanted to. Of course she always finished the story by saying that I should never do that because it would be reckless."

Jaime managed a wan smile at hearing her finish as she smiled back to him, her face kind and pain free for a brief moment.

"Your mother sounds a sensible woman," he informed Gwen and she nodded once.

"She was," she whispered. "Lady Stark said she used to be completely reckless and full of life until she discovered she was pregnant and my father left her. Only then did she become sensible...she would often tell me off for things she considered foolish."

"Father did the same," Jaime spoke. "Casterly Rock was where Cersei and I grew up. There was a cliff which looked straight into the ocean...the water was so clear that you could see straight to the bottom of it. One day I couldn't resist. I just jumped from the cliff and into the water. It was reckless...looking back on it...but I was young. Cersei saw me and told father who was furious. He said the future Lord of Casterly Rock should not act in a disgraced manner."

"I don't think my recklessness spanned that far," Gwen admitted to him. "I hear Casterly Rock is quite something. They say it is as grand as Kings Landing."

"Only the best for a Lannister," Jaime responded, something in his voice tepid and lacking emotion. "I haven't been there in years. Being a member of the Kingsguard kept me away from my home."

"Do you not want to go back? I know that I cannot wait until I return to Winterfell," Gwen admitted sadly.

"But it is so dismal," Jaime replied.

"Not when you call it your home," Gwen said. "I like it there."

"You'd prefer Casterly Rock," Jaime said confidently and yawned, removing his hand from her neck and lying on his back. "Maybe one day you'll see it."

"I doubt it," Gwen responded with a soft snort.

"Never say never." Was all Jaime offered her and she saw his eyes close and she lay flat on her side, closing her own eyes and allowing sleep to find her for the night.

...

A/N: So, another chapter, I hope the updates aren't coming too fast! It'd be amazing if you'd let me know what you think!