"Are you mad?" She questioned as tamely as she could, a hint of frustration evident in the curl of her lip. They were draped in a coating of dust, blood and dirt. Cold and alone. "You want us to head towards the enemy?"

"Cersei." He warned, holding his abdomen gingerly with his one good hand, with each step he was grimacing with pain. "Where do you suggest we go? Hm?"

"South, East-" She paused, wanting him to jump in and say yes. "Anywhere but North. That smug little bitch Sansa will have us killed the moment she lays eyes on us." She halted all movement as he stopped suddenly. They were fumbling through the Kingswood, the city destroyed and what remained was now merely ash. The twins were relieved to hit soft earth as they entered the woods, they'd escaped death and neither could explain how. They'd embraced one another, ready for impact, ready for certain defeat yet here they were. Although alive, they had come away with injuries. Jaime in particular. He'd taken a nasty blade wound during his combat with Euron, knowing he'd cut the Ironborn letch down made his battle marks sting a little less. Cersei was bleeding too, thankfully not as badly as her lover and as for the baby, who knows if an unborn babe could endure such stress and trauma.

"Be still." He whispered lightly, his free arm moved up in order to prevent her from walking on further. The tree they'd stopped beside was large and looming, an eeriness clinging to it's wise, old age. Cersei could see nothing through the darkness but she trusted her brother nonetheless. The moonlight was hazy, beaming down as best as it could through the thick clouds of ash and smoke still littering the air. Soon enough she could hear it, the sound of feet marching and no small amount either. "Unsullied." Jaime murmured, more to himself than anything. His eyes glistened in what little light the evening was offering them. He heard his sister's breath hitch in the cold breeze, her hands gripping at his arm.

"What do we do?" She breathed, a shake in her words. From fear, pain or the cold, or all three combined he did not know.

"We stay quiet and hidden." He turned his head toward the hungry forest, the closeness of the trees and their thick trunks swallowed all air and light. "We go through the woods, as quietly as we can. If we're caught here, by her men, we'll definitely be dead before the morn." The pain in his middle was growing worse by the second, the adrenaline clearly wearing off until he suddenly came to remember her state. "Do you think you can keep going? You're not hurt?" She could feel his eyes scanning her in the dark, assessing her for injuries even though he'd see none in such lighting.

"I'm fine."

"The baby?" His words softened, the sudden thought of losing a fourth child twisting his insides cruelly. The three they'd lost already he barely paid attention to, but this one he vowed to be a present father. A proper father. Her silence was deafening, he could feel her holding her breath before answering.

"I don't know." She whispered so delicately, he almost missed it. "I don't feel anything."

"We'll be okay." He reassured as best he could not quite realising that his words were needed until he heard her sniffle. She was as close to him as she could humanly get. "Listen to me." Cupping her face with his only hand, she felt the warmth of his blood marking her cheek. The metallic smell was stark in contrast to the smoky winds they'd been breathing in for the last couple of hours. They'd awaited the cover of nightfall before leaving the red keep, making their way tenaciously through the rubble, ash piles and dead bodies. So many dead bodies. "I won't let anything happen to you, either of you."

"You need a Maester, Jaime-" What started off as a whisper nearly grew into a sob before he could calm her.

"I'll be fine, I've had worse wounds and survived." He smiled, she knows this because the little moonlight they had flashed across his teeth and the warm air of his breath fogged the space between them ever so slightly. To feel a chill in the South was most uncommon. It was true, Winter really was here.

"But why are we going North? We have no allies there-"

"In case it's escaped your notice, we have no allies anywhere. All the years we said we are the only ones who matter in this world, well this is it now. It really is just you and me." He paused, thinking on their dire situation. He was entirely responsible for her now, they no longer had the gold cloaks or the mountain or an army. They were all gone. "When Tyrion sent me to find you, he'd left a boat for our escape. The plan was to make way to Pentos and start over." He grimaced, moving his hand back to his waist to apply pressure. "But a wooden boat doesn't fair well when faced with dragon-fire."

"So we find another boat and head to Pentos like he intended us to." They still spoke in soft whispers, despite the marching now long gone into the distance. The group of Unsullied were headed back into Kings Landing, killing off any of the remaining Lannister army no doubt.

"It's not that easy, Cersei. Blackwater Bay is surrounded, the city is swarmed with Unsullied and they continue to march the surrounding areas. Daenerys and her Dragon will be close by. We need to move as fast as we can whilst it's dark, as soon as day breaks we need to be far, far away from here."

"Why North?" Growing impatient with his inability to answer her one simple question she finally shattered their soft conversation, her voice breaking the air between them.

"Jon Snow." His one lined answer drew a small scoff from her. "Say what you will, sister-" He started his defence but as anticipated, she interjected.

"His loyalty lies with that Targaryen whore, what makes you think he wouldn't execute us the moment we step foot in the North?" Her lips wrapped around the word whore as eloquently as they could given the meaning of the word. His sister had that ability, her soft, gentle voice could make even the most foul of sentences sound delicate and poetic. Even in deep anger, she'd utter her responses in a controlled and calm manner. If she ever roared, best believe she was riled beyond pacifying. Not a position anyone would want to be in.

"You said it yourself, he's Ned Stark's bastard. He's an honourable man." He continued, completely unaware of Jon's newfound identity. "The bells rang, regardless of whether you ordered that, they think you surrendered yet their Mad Queen still burnt the city to ash. If I know him at all he'll be doubting her." He shifted his weight, growing restless. They needed to move further into the woods and away from any roads.

"We have many enemies in the South, dear brother but the North? We wouldn't last a day." She sounded truly defeated.

"We're not heading North." The moon finally managed to pour through the ash clouds, illuminating their powdered hair and faces. Their expressions quickly relaxed, some relief coming from being able to see one another clearly again. His palm smoothed over her cheek once more as she nearly melted into him, seeking only comfort and reassurance. "We're going home."


To his relief, they made it farther into the woodlands, the density of the trees surely masking them from danger. At least for now. His abdomen wasn't looking good, the reason they'd now stopped in fact. She'd been silent since the revelation of his plan to move towards Casterly Rock.

"No, just the binding will do." He protested once again at her suggestion for a fire. His wound needed burning and Cersei was freezing, part of him wondered if she was in shock still. A fire would have been enjoyed by both undoubtedly, but it was far too risky. She finished ripping off the under-lining of her tattered gown, using it to wrap tightly around her brother's waist. He winced as discreetly as he could but she'd felt him shudder under her touch, despite how gentle she was being. Worry plagued her already fretting mind.

"Please, do not leave me here." She whispered with almost a threatening tone. "I will not live without you, don't make me do it." They were nestled at the base of a warped and angry looking tree, it's branches nearly bare and it's roots deep and winding into the ground. He was slumped against the trunk, his body spent from battling on despite his injury as she knelt beside him.

"How many times, I'm not going anywhere." Their eyes connected, the sadness shared between them. Pulling her into him softly, he shifted over to make room for her between the roots he'd sat himself between. "Get some rest, I'll stay up whilst you sleep." He'd resigned himself to the fact that he was going no further this evening, his body wasn't cut out for it. He could tell Cersei was exhausted too and there was still the question of whether the baby was alright, he desperately hoped so. For her sake. Losing another baby, her fifth in total would most definitely be the end of her. He didn't have to tell her twice, only confirming his earlier suspicion that she was shattered. Curling into his side tightly, she gripped at the clothing over his chest and settled her palm over his heart. Hers beat in time with his, just as it always had and always would.