"Jaime!" Her panicked voice finally woke him. His eyes opened quickly, blinking a multitude of times as he sat up as fast as he could. His wounds from the previous day still aching through his body. But that was all forgotten as he stared up at his frightened sister. "Jaime there's someone coming this way." Urging worriedly, she kept looking up and around where they sat, still nestled in the roots of the angry tree that sheltered them through the night.
"Don't move, don't say a word." He whispered, sitting up as he tuned his ears into their surroundings too. She wasn't wrong. Getting to his feet, he held his abdomen for a moment, an attempt to gauge how he'd fair in combat if need be. He prayed the oncoming voices posed no threat. It still seemed so dark under the protection of the woods but the sun was definitely up. Beyond the treetops and dusty, polluted air. It was there somewhere, shining down on them. They lived another day.
"No, don't leave me here, please Jaime-" He silently motioned for her to hush her whispered pleas, his brows furrowed deeply. He hated every second of this, the helplessness he felt, the terrified look in her eyes, her tear-stained and dusty cheeks decorated with dried blood. Being a captive of Robb Stark's was nowhere near as agonising as this. Losing his hand was nowhere near as agonising as this. But at least they were together, as they were always intended to be. She watched him quietly, too afraid to even look around anymore. The voices were drawing nearer and nearer by the second, they belonged to men. Jaime gripped at the hilt of his sword, fully prepared to die if it meant protecting her and their unborn child. He'd found it laying next to Euron's dead body as they'd emerged from the rubble of the Keep, still coloured with his Ironborn blood. A sword he'd treasure forever now. Almost unsteady on his weakened legs, he moved around the tree, his feet taking him in the direction of the voices. He determined there was at least four of them, joking and laughing amongst themselves through the trees. He could see them now, armed with weapons but no armour. They were headed straight towards them with no sign of slowing. Not a care in the world between them. Jaime understood, he didn't care for innocents either but yesterday's events left even him feeling empty and numb. Millions burnt and charred in the streets. This Dragon Queen was no breaker of chains. She was a tyrant, a murderer. Mad just as her father was.
"Don't take another step." He warned abruptly, clearly startling the four men. His ears had served him well. They were barefoot, ragged and carrying as much wealth as they'd managed to salvage from the rubble of the Red Keep. Some of it he even recognised.
"Or what?" The oldest of the pack provoked. "There's four of us and only one of you. Warrior or not, you're a dead man." Snorting loudly, his bold comment invited his companions to laugh along. All but one joined in.
"That's not just any warrior." His reddened eyes fixated themselves upon Jaime's distinctive golden hand. "That's the Kingslayer." He swallowed nervously. "That's Jaime Lannister." The remaining three ceased their smiling but not for long.
"Kingslayer, yeah that's what they used to call him." The eldest remarked. "Once upon a time I'd have been afraid, but not now." He smirked, his yellowed teeth only emphasising his haggard complexion. "He's nothing but a cripple now." Not for the first time in his life, Jaime shifted uneasily in response to the comments. He could feel Cersei behind the tree, listening to them all jeering at him. He never wanted her to doubt him, ever again. And that started with killing these four men. Pulling his sword from it's sheath, he offered them a cocky smile. A Lannister trait he'd never shake.
"So what are you still waiting for?" Planting his feet into the ground he moved his weight, positioning himself at the ready. The men were eager enough to cut him down that their prized possessions were dumped onto the dampened earth of the woods, their swords and daggers drawn in a symphony of metal scraping metal. Still facing the opposite direction, hidden by the tree, Cersei could do nothing but listen to the clashing of swords and the grunting of men. Each sharp noise causing her body to jolt with fright. Her hand held at her small bump desperately willing her brother to come out triumphant as he usually did. She couldn't bring herself to move save rocking slightly as she sobbed her silent cries. No knowing of what would happen to her if he fell, what these men would do to her or with her. The unsettling sound of sword-fight grew less vast, only three swords battling now. Then two. Finally, after what felt like a life-time, it fell silent. The rustling of the trees overhead offered her some small comfort, the branches pulled themselves apart high up in the breeze and allowed a thin sliver of light to shine down, hitting her face. It warmed her for only a second as she allowed herself to breathe in this sweet bit of air, if it was to be her last breath she wanted it to be a peaceful one, for she did not know who remained behind her tree, the protector. Her chin quivered at the sound of movement, footsteps heading towards her as she held her breath. Her fingernails clawed at the thick root embedded in the ground beside her.
"Please." She pleaded to herself in a shallow whisper, her eyes closing tightly and forcing tears to fall. "Please."
"Cersei." The very moment he uttered her name she let out an anguished and relief stained cry, needless to say he was on his knees at her side within seconds. Reality was setting in, for both of them. Every step they took, danger lay ahead, behind and to the sides. No matter how far they travelled. Truly, nowhere was safe now. "Hey, it's alright." He cooed softly, his forehead pressed into the temple of her head. "I told you, I'm not going anywhere and I won't let anything happen to you." Breathing in deeply, he gained comfort from her scent. His eyelids fluttering shut as his true hand cupped her cheek and pulled their contact closer, the skin on his brow wrinkling with how firmly they were pressed together.
"We can't go to Casterly Rock, Jaime." Her chest heaved in-between her words, the after effect of such emotional tears being shed. Her body struggled to recover. Pulling away, he studied her side profile. He could finally see her properly in the light. Still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Her gaze was unmoving and fixed ahead as though she was trapped in a trance. Despite her apparently broken state, she uttered no lies here.
"I know." He admitted in defeat. "I have a better plan. One that hopefully won't get us both killed." He got to his feet, hunger and thirst beginning to hinder his body. He knew the same afflictions would be affecting her too, pregnant women needed extra care. He knew this much. "Come on, get up." He aided her in standing before moving around the tree to the slain men. The Lannister wealth littering the ground around them. "Take what you can, anything recognisable we'll bury." Sliding his sword back into his sheath, he began rifling through their collections, as did Cersei. The pair of them found a good hoard of sellable items, enough to gain them food and water on their travels. Where they were going, he had not yet told her. It was a risk admittedly but much less risky then heading back to the Rock. It was crawling with Targaryen followers, as would be their path to the next destination.
"How deep?" She asked delicately, her once clean and regal hands now coated in dirt. Beneath her fingernails and all. The muddy hole she'd dug wasn't actually half bad Jaime thought to himself as he moved back over to her.
"That should do." He began dumping all the easily recognised jewels and ornaments into the small pit including those that had been on her person up until now. "Any adornments too." He glanced at the embellishments covering her shoulders. She showed no hesitation in taking them off and dropping them on top of the rest. Glancing down at his own golden hand, he started to take it off before her cold, dirty fingers stopped him.
"Having no hand at all is more noticeable than a covered one." She got to her feet wearily, crouching down on her knees by one of the dead men as she tore his gloves off delicately. His heart ached at the sight, her shoes bare underneath where the scorched rubble of Kings Landing had melted the soles away. Her skin blistered and pink. His armoured boots were still intact, making him feel even more guilty.
"Your feet-" He sighed before she interrupted gently.
"They've seen worse." Referring to her walk of shame, he felt another wave of guilt wash over him. Twin telepathy kicking in if it ever existed.
"When that happened, I should have been here-"
"No." She cut him off quickly. "No, you were doing exactly what you should have been." Her slight pause made him uneasy about where this was going. "Saving our daughter."
"I didn't though, did I? I watched her die-"
"She died in your arms." Moving back over to him, she cupped his tired face, her fingers brushing through his growing beard repetetively. It felt just as soothing to her as it did to him. "You saved her from a terrifying death. She died in your arms, safe and protected from anything else. The last thing she saw before leaving this world was the love in her father's eyes." Their roles reversed, she now comforted him. Leaning in, her forehead brushed his as she took a deep breath. "This is all I have left of her." She sat back on her haunches, the golden lion pendant gripped in her filthy palm still shining as brightly as it ever had.
"You don't have to bury that one, keep it safe." Their gaze aligned, her brow twitching with the realisation of what he was saying. She didn't have to be told twice, carefully scooping it into a neat palmful she slid the priceless golden piece down the front of her dress into her under clothes, patting her chest gently once it was securely hidden. "We're not losing this babe, I won't let it happen." Laying his hand gently on her abdomen, his whole body warmed at the small rounded bump beneath her rigid and structured gown. A tender moment soon ruined when they felt a cool wind ripple through the trees, their hair blowing as it passed. "We need to keep moving, it's not safe to linger here." Helping her to her feet once more he began kicking the earth back into the the last of their wealth for what he figured would be years and years before anyone stumbled across it again.
"The gloves, you can hide your hand." She motioned to help him on with them before noticing his eyes flickering over the bodies. "What is it?"
"You look like Cersei Lannister." His attention came back to her long red gown, it was totally ruined but still screamed Lannister. "You're not going to like this."
He was right, she hated it. They'd set off on the trek again, her dress buried with everything else and left behind with what felt like her entire identity. She was cloaked in a musty, damp and tattered shirt that'd belonged to one of the thieves. The stench alone was making her feel nauseous. Or perhaps it was hunger. Much to her disgust she was also wearing his trousers. Far too big for her dainty frame but Jaime had cleverly fashioned a sort of belt from her ripped dress to hold them up. Tied around her waist and also covering the fact she was carrying a child. A dual purpose garment. The same material he had wrapped around the bottoms of her boots to protect her feet once more. They walked for a few hours, hand in hand, almost in complete silence apart from the odd cough as the air still lay quite thickly with molten ash and flecks of dust that kept managing to make it's way through the thick branches of the Kingswood.
"I did." She uttered softly out of nowhere. She felt his hand squeeze hers out of fright as she'd startled him from his deep thoughts.
"Did what?" Their pace never changed and their connected hands never lost one another as they twisted and turned through the dense, moss covered trees.
"I ordered for the bells to ring." It fell silent for a short moment before she continued. "Last night, you said regardless of whether I had ordered it." Pausing, she left a gap in her words for him to speak but he didn't. "I just wanted you to know that I did."
"I know you did." He assured sweetly as she nodded to herself sadly. "Tyrion was right, he said you had something to live for now."
"Even if I only came to realise it at the end, when it was too late." Her lip shivered again.
"We're still alive, that's all that matters." He continued to lead them, looking back at her every few minutes to make sure he wasn't pulling her along too quickly.
"Where are we even going, Jaime?" She kept glancing at her surroundings pointlessly as if trying to understand their whereabouts.
"We'll head for the Grassy Vale and take the Blue Byrn road between Longtable and Bitterbridge-"
"Highgarden? That's where we're going?" She halted, putting a strain on their intertwined fingers as he too had to stop. "That cut throat will have us both killed-"
"You mean like you ordered him to Winterfell to kill both of your brothers?" He raised an eyebrow, his tone was indeed accusatory but it wasn't angry. Strangely. They were of course talking about none other than Ser Bron of the Blackwater. A crude and fickle cutthroat.
"I knew Tyrion would make him a better offer in exchange for your lives. I sent him up there knowing he wouldn't kill you."
"And what if he had?" He asked before giving her hand a tug and starting up their pace again. There was no telling of what time it was in these woods. He guessed it was after midday at the least.
"He's a whore for gold and land, something Tyrion knows. I was sure a bargain would be made." She stated confidently. "I've had many chances to kill our beastly little brother, I've tried as many times too but he always got away." Her words cooled. "That day after the dragon pit meet, I had the chance. He was right there." She reminisced through gritted teeth. "Ser Gregor could have broken his little body in seconds." The silence nearly swallowed the air between them before she completed her hateful sentence, a much lighter tone to her voice now. "But I couldn't do it."
"I'm glad you didn't." He never looked back this time, letting her know she'd riled him. "He's the reason we're alive. He saved us, put his own neck on the line to help us escape-"
"I know." She interrupted, her statement surprising him greatly. "I'm thankful, truly I am. And if we ever get to see our dear brother again, I'll make sure to thank him."
"Oh good." He smiled, still facing forwards not wanting to witness her reaction to the end of his sentence. "You'll be able to tell him when we reach Highgarden."
