"The Prince is hurting my sister." That was what the girl in front of him had said. The Prince was hurting his own betrothed. Jaime could imagine what the boy was doing. He'd heard rumours about Prince Joffrey, rumours that said the boy wasn't all that charming. Of course, the source of those rumours was Tyrion, and Tyrion didn't like Cersei or her brood.
Still, the way the girl had said it, Jaime had believed her and so he'd told her to lead the way. If Prince Joffrey was indeed hurting his betrothed, well that would cause all sorts of madness. Stark would want justice, and Robert would want justice and Cersei…Cersei would want him to protect her son.
He had already killed one King. What difference would a second King make? Especially a King who was fat, drunk and blind to what was going on around him. Jaime bit back a sigh. Let him see what the Prince was doing first before he made any decisions.
The girl stopped suddenly before a gap in the trees. "Look." She said.
Jaime glanced to his side and saw a direwolf lying on the ground whining. That wasn't good.
He moved forward and looked through the gap.
What he saw wasn't the Prince hurting Lady Sansa, no, what he saw was Sandor Clegane, the Hound getting up off Lady Sansa, dusting his hands, whilst Lady Sansa lay there still as anything.
Jaime frowned. "Stay here." He commanded, the girl stayed, and Jaime walked around the two trees and stopped in the clearing.
"What's going on here?" He demanded.
Sandor Clegane turned around, and Jaime noticed that there was a stain on his trousers. His mind started racing. Had Clegane become like his brother? He looked at the ground and saw Lady Sansa lying there, the rise and fall of her chest showed she was alive.
He looked back at Clegane. "What did you do?"
"What needed to be done." Clegane replied.
Jaime felt his hand clench. Had Clegane done what he thought the man had done? Really? Were all Cleganes just animals? "Where is the Prince?" Jaime asked. If the Prince had done something, surely he should be here?
"He left." Clegane said.
"Left, what do you mean he left?" Jaime demanded.
Clegane repeated what he said without offering anything further.
Jaime looked at Clegane, looked at the stain on his trousers and his mind raced. Had Clegane raped Lady Sansa? A glance at the girl showed that she seemed unharmed, but why was she lying on the ground and why was she not saying anything?
In that instant, Jaime remembered another woman who had been left lying on a bed, unmoving, covered in blood. Jaime blinked. "Come with me." He growled.
Clegane followed Jaime as he walked out of the clearing, passed the Stark girl, who Jaime told to go and stay with her sister. He walked and walked, and as he walked his mind raced.
The girl had said she'd seen Joffrey hurting her sister, and he had no reason to believe that she was lying, but Joffrey wasn't there, the Seven knew where he was. Clegane had been there, getting off of Lady Sansa with a stain on his trousers.
Jaime closed his eyes. This was going to be a complete nightmare. He stopped when they got to the first tent, thankfully, it was empty. "Wait here." He barked at Clegane, he waited until the man had gotten into the tent before he turned and hurried back to where he'd left the Stark girls.
When he got back to the clearing, Lady Sansa was sitting up, with aid from her sister. Jaime bent down in front of her. "Are you well, Lady Sansa?" Jaime asked as softly as he could.
The girl looked up at him and nodded. "I am, thank you, Ser Jaime."
Jaime nodded then asked. "What happened?"
The girl hesitated, she opened her mouth, looked at her sister, then at him, and then said softly. "I don't remember. One moment I was walking with His Highness Prince Joffrey, and the next, I woke up, to find Arya standing over me."
Jaime suppressed a frown. That was not good. "So, you do not remember what happened in between?"
Lady Sansa shook her head.
"Are you hurt at all?" Jaime asked. He could not get the image of Sandor Clegane's stained trousers out of his head. Would the Hound do that? Or was that something else? And where was Joffrey?
"No, Ser Jaime, I am well, thank you." Lady Sansa replied smiling.
The other Stark girl looked as though she wanted to say something, but for some reason she held her tongue. Jaime looked at her, wondering if she had seen it correctly, but then he pushed that doubt of his mind. No girl would ever look as she had done when she'd begged him to help, if she hadn't seen something.
"Can you stand?" He asked Lady Sansa, the girl nodded, and he helped her up. Then he said. "I think it's time we got back to camp." The two girls agreed and off they went.
As they walked, Jaime's mind raced. Clegane would be dealt with. He'd kill the man if needed, but if Lady Sansa couldn't remember anything, then there was nothing that could stick on him. He glanced at the other Stark girl, she still had said nothing, and that made him wonder why.
He didn't say anything though, and they got back to camp. He allowed them to leave back to their own tents without saying anything, then, he walked off to where he'd left Sandor Clegane, he entered the tent, and looked at Clegane.
The man was sat there, looking unfazed.
"What happened?" Jaime demanded.
Clegane replied with his own question. "Is Lady Sansa well?"
Jaime frowned, that was… was that concern he heard in Clegane's voice? "Yes, she remembers nothing."
Clegane nodded.
"What happened?" Jaime asked again.
Clegane opened his mouth to answer when another voice, this one high-pitched and imperious spoke. "Why are you questioning my dog?"
Jaime turned around and saw Prince Joffrey standing there, glaring at him.
"Where have you been, Your Highness?" Jaime asked.
The Prince ignored him. "Dog, come with me."
Jaime turned around and saw a flicker of hate across Clegane's face before he got up. Jaime watched him follow Joffrey out of the tent, then he swore.
What the hell had happened?
