It took longer than Arya wanted to admit for the world to come back into focus. She remembered being in someone's arms and that person was running through the city. She had flashes of someone swearing up a storm and then the world would go black again. All Arya knew was that she was not familiar with these arms and that meant the man carrying her wasn't Gendry. Then she remembered that Lannister soldiers were the last ones to handle her husband and she panicked all over again. The world tilted, went out of focus, and the next time she opened her eyes she was in a tent.
"Easy there little wolf," a familiar voice said and she turned her head to see Sandor sitting near her. "You got blown up by wildfire so you're not entirely healthy right now."
"Where is he?" Arya asked and her voice sounded like she swallowed rocked and it hurt to talk but that didn't matter because she needed to know where he was.
"Arya, you can't-" Sandor said and then she panicked again because he was calling her by her first name and he never did that. That could only mean something terrible had happened and it was clear he wasn't going to tell her what it was. She scrambled out of the bedroll she was in and stumbled to her feet. She could hear Sandor telling her to lie back down but she didn't care. She needed to find Jon because he would tell her what was going on. Jon would tell her what they were going to do to fix this.
When Arya stumbled out of the tent the sun was so bright it nearly blinded her. She hissed at the sun and even though it was clearly late in the evening it was still too bright. Arya ignored the pain and began to make her way toward Jon's tent nearby. It looked like they had set up camp right outside of King's Landing and she could see soldiers moving around but Arya ignored them. She heard a dragon in the sky but she didn't look up to see if there was one or two. She stumbled and fell into the dirt and tried to force herself to stand.
"For fuck's sake, is being a stubborn git a Stark thing?" Sandor said and before Arya could comment he swept her into his arms and carried her to the tent. Arya mumbled thanks after he set her down and she walked into the tent trying to hold her head high as possible. Her blood ran cold when she realized that Jon wasn't there. Danaerys was there and she was extremely pale. She was covered in black soot and it also looked like she might have fallen into the ocean at some point. Davos was there and one of his arms was in a sling and one side of his head was covered in blood. Missandei, Jaime, and Edmure both looked up when she entered but there was no sign of Jon or Gendry.
"Please, where are they?" she whispered and she knew she didn't have to specify who. Danaerys held a parchment in her hand and she looked very sad.
"This is from Cersei. She has Jon, Gendry, and an entire group of men held hostage. She said if I don't surrender to her she is going to kill them. My men tell me she is using the soldiers as human shields outside of the Red Keep and Jon and Gendry have not been seen."
"She knows you won't use the dragon on the Red Keep if she's holding hostages," Jaime said and Arya realized that he said "dragon" as in one. She blinked and Danaerys seemed to realize that Arya probably had no idea what was going on. She nodded to Davos who filled her in. It seemed that the battle went fairly well but as far as they could tell Jon and his men were surrounded and taken prisoner. Arya already knew what had happened to Gendry and everyone else did as well. She assumed that Sandor must have filled them in. Over in Blackwater things didn't go as well. Danaerys explained that while she destroyed a good portion of the Iron Fleet Viserion was killed. She had been knocked off of Drogon and Viserion managed to get her out of the water. However, that gave the remaining ships the shots they needed to kill the dragon. So now they were down a dragon and Cersei had two hostages that she was going to allow to live.
"I cannot surrender," Danaerys said softly. "There is more at stake here than the lives of King Jon, Ser Gendry, and those good men. We are fighting for the future of Westeros and we cannot surrender to that woman."
"If you move to attack the castle she will gut them," Davos said. "We would be condemning two good men to death."
"Two men who are my kin," Danaerys snapped. "Please do not think I make this choice easily or without thinking of the consequences. I would be losing the only family I have left but I cannot surrender to Cersei. We all know what she would do if we surrendered and how many more people would die."
"There has to be something we can do," Arya said. "Please, Danaerys, they are the two people who mean the most in the world to me. I can't lose them. I can't lose more family either."
"She won't release them without a surrender," Danaerys replied softly. "She is attempting to use the fact that I care against me and I cannot give in to that. Even if I surrender she won't let them live; we will die regardless." Arya was trying not to panic, she really was, but the idea of Jon and Gendry dying felt like it was breaking her and she would do anything to prevent them from dying.
"What if I went in alone?" Arya asked and everyone stopped to look at her. "What if I went in alone and tried to kill Cersei? If she was dead and we got everyone out we could attack the Red Keep without having to worry about it."
"You aren't an assassin, little wolf," Sandor said. "My brother guards that bitch and he wouldn't let you near her. He won't let anyone near her."
"She'll let me near her," Jaime said. "She would believe I would come back to her because I always have. It's more than believable. She would let me nearby and if I had you as a prisoner, Lady Arya, that would get you close as well."
"You're talented Lannister but my brother would split you up the fucking middle," Sandor said. "I'm the only one who can stop him so I have to go with you."
"Ser Jaime gets me close enough and I can be the one to kill her," Arya said and she was not above begging. She would do it in a heartbeat if it meant keeping Gendry and Jon alive. "Please, if we fail we're dead anyway and you can attack the Red Keep and kill her." She took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. "You're right that we can't forsake all of Westeros for two men but please let me try to save them before we attack." Danaerys looked a little unsure but she glanced at Jaime and Sandor who both nodded.
"I wish you all the luck in the world, Lady Arya," Danaerys said. "The letter from Cersei says we have mere hours to surrender. I will be attacking the Red Keep at midnight and if you haven't escaped by then there is nothing I can do to help you." Arya nodded and walked out of the tent without a word. The sun was nearly down and they didn't have a lot of time before time ran out and Gendry and Jon's lives were forfeit.
Jon didn't know what he was expecting when he woke up but this seemed a little odd even for him. There were chains around his wrists and ankles and he appeared to be chained to the floor. He wasn't in a cell like he thought he would be. Instead, he opened his eyes and realized that he was chained to the floor of the throne room in the Red Keep. They had taken all of his armor and weapons and there appeared to be only one other person in the room with him. Gendry was also chained to the floor and he looked like he'd been through hell. He had burns and his clothes were covered in soot and torn. Jon's vision swam a bit but he needed to make sure that his friend was still alive. He pressed a hand to Gendry's neck and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a heartbeat.
"Wake up my friend," Jon said softly as he shook Gendry gently. "Arya will kill me if I don't bring you back in one piece."
"I think that goes double for you," Gendry mumbled as his eyes slowly opened. He blinked a few times and winced as Jon helped him sit up. Gendry looked at the shackles on his wrists, around the room they were sitting in, and groaned. "Fuck." Jon was inclined to agree with that sentiment as he looked around. The Iron Throne was both bigger and smaller than he imagined and he still couldn't believe that so many people lost their lives for a seat that didn't even look comfortable. Jon could vaguely hear the dragons outside but that didn't mean much. There was no way of knowing if they were winning or losing or what happened to the other men who were taken, prisoner.
A door opened and they both turned to see Cersei walking into the room. There was an older man with black robes following her close behind with a Hand of the Queen pin and a massive human being in armor. Jon could only assume that this man was Gregor Clegane. Cersei looked nothing like the woman he remembered from Winterfell a lifetime ago. Her long golden hair was short now and matted. She was extremely pale and had dark circles under her eyes. She looked sickly thin and when she saw the two of them her smile was nothing short of manic.
"Oh, this is even better than I thought," Cersei said as she looked the two of them over. "I wanted to get my hands on you" she gestured to Gendry and he looked like he wanted to bare his teeth at her "but I didn't think I would manage to get the bastard, King of the North, too." Cersei tilted her head to the side as she regarded both of them. "You both look so much like your father's." Jon tried not to react to that because it meant that while Cersei no doubt had spies she didn't know about Jon's real parentage. He didn't really know if that was a good thing or a bad thing because she was going to kill them both regardless.
"Are we really going to play this game again?" Gendry asked and Cersei glared at him. "Queen Danaerys knows who I am and who my father is so you can't use me as some sort of bargaining chip to her for mercy."
"Oh you dear boy," Cersei said with a smirk. "I had a little blue-eyed black hair babe like you when Robert and I first got married. I imagine he would have looked a lot like you if he had lived. You are going to die, boy, but your Queen can't attack the Red Keep if I'm holding you and the other men hostage. I've already sent her a raven telling her that she needs to surrender or I'll kill you. She cares and I will use that against her."
"She might care," Jon said. "But Danaerys isn't stupid and neither of us nor the men you're holding would ever ask her to put the good of all of Westeros ahead of our lives."
"You're going to lose," Gendry said and he was smirking. "And you're going to die and there isn't anything you can do about it." Cersei was many things but Jon didn't think she was the type to get her hands dirty. So it was a surprise when she stomped up to Gendry and backhanded him hard enough that the rings on her fingers tore skin. Gendry spat some blood onto Cersei's shoes and smiled at him with red teeth. He looked very much like a wolf at that moment and Jon was so proud to have this man as his good brother.
"Say another word bastard and I'll cut your tongue out. I never promised your Queen to keep you in one piece," Cersei threatened.
"He's not a bastard," Jon said and Cersei glared at him. "And neither am I. Queen Danaerys and I knighted Gendry and named him Ser Gendry Stark and Queen Danaerys legitimized me as Jon Stark."
"He's a threat to my rule and I will see his head mounted on a pike before the day ends," Cersei snapped. "As for your precious North once this dragon queen is dead it won't take long to kill all of you remaining Stark's. You won't be the last great house I will destroy." She stood a little taller as she looked down at the two of them. Jon could see the way she was looking at Gendry and it made his stomach twist uncomfortably. He was glaring back and Jon had heard about the infamous Baratheon fury. "Such a shame that two men so beautiful must fight against me. Your Queen has until midnight to surrender to me. Until then I believe Ser Gregor could use some entertainment while we wait." Cersei walked up the stairs to the Iron Throne and sat down with a smile on her face.
There were plenty of rumors about Ser Gregor; that he was dead but still walked like the wights. The little bit of skin and the eyes that Jon could see looked like a corpse that had been left out in the sun too long. The Mountain might be a corpse but that didn't make the punch to Jon's face hurt any less. He tasted blood and he could hear Cersei laughing as she watched. Gregor kicked Gendry hard enough in the stomach that Gendry was left gasping for breath on the floor of the Red Keep. Gregor was here to beat him and Gendry senseless for Cersei's amusement and the sun was only barely down. There were hours before Danaerys would attack and until then Jon just hoped that he and Gendry could endure the pain.
They had the city under their control so getting into the Red Keep shouldn't have been a problem. That was very much not the case as Jaime pointed out. Cersei could have spies all over the city and if she got any indication that he wasn't on her side she wouldn't let him get close. Arya knew that if they were shut out of the city then they had no hope of saving Jon and Gendry. The sun was down now and the night was getting colder. Blackwater was a grave of ruined ships but Jaime said that coming in over the water was still the best way to sneak into the Keep for now. Sandor grumbled about the entire thing, said that they were both mad and going to get themselves killed, but still followed nevertheless.
"You know that even if we surrendered she wouldn't let them live," Arya said.
"She might let Jon live but she is obsessed with your husband," Jaime replied. "If she thought she could get away with legitimizing and marrying him herself to solidify a claim on the Stormlands I think she would. Then she'd probably murder him in his sleep. I know my sister, all too well, and I know how she thinks." Arya wanted to comment about how long it took Jaime to walk away from Cersei but then she thought about Sandor and how long he guarded Joffrey. She wasn't in any position to judge these two men that were helping her.
They landed on the shores of the Red Keep and the first thing Jaime did was pull out a line of rope.
"Sorry princess but you're a prisoner from now on," Jaime said. Arya really didn't want her hands bound but they couldn't risk someone running into them with her armed. If word got back to Cersei that Jaime wasn't taking her prisoner they couldn't get close. There was too much on the line. Arya offered her hands and let Jaime tightly tie the two of them together. He also helped her slip a knife up her sleeve so she could break out of the ropes at some point.
"What about Sandor?" Arya asked. "Cersei knows that he left. She can't think he's still loyal and if anyone sees him then we'll have a problem."
"I have my own job to do little wolf," Sandor said. "Like I told you my bastard brother would split the two of you in half. I need to lure him away so you can get to the throne room without any problems."
"Can you beat him?" Arya asked because that was the real question when it came to the fight between these two brothers.
"I'll buy you the time you need one way or another," Sandor said with a shrug. "Revenge, justice, or maybe a little of both, but either way my brother will not leave this Keep after tonight." Arya wanted to tell him to be careful, that he needed to come back from this because Sansa needed someone to look after her in Winterfell, but she said nothing. Sandor wouldn't appreciate something like this and even more so in front of Jaime. Sandor explained to Jaime exactly where he was going to be hiding so they could send Gregor that direction. She nodded and the two of them split up as Arya and Jaime began to make their way through the Red Keep. Soldiers were running around everywhere but none of them seemed to be paying much attention to Jaime. They nodded or saluted him but they didn't stop him. It seemed that the people in the Lannister forces still trusted Jaime; now they needed to find out whether Cersei did.
The Queensguard let Jaime into the throne room and Arya decided it was time to put on a show. She bared her teeth and struggled against the tight hold he had on her arm. Cersei looked up when they entered the room and smirked. Arya wanted to yell but the words got stuck in her throat as she realized there were two bodies on the ground and they weren't moving. She got closer and realized that it was Jon and Gendry and they looked like they had been through hell. They were bloody and covered in bruises and Arya could see some of that blood on Gregor's armor. She was no longer faking it as she struggled to get away from Jaime so she could tear Cersei apart with her bare hands.
"You fucking bitch, how dare you touch them," Arya snapped but Cersei didn't look like she cared very much. If anything she was smiling like she was seeing the sun for the first time in a year.
"My Jaime, you returned to me," she said. Arya could see that Gregor was the only member of the Queensguard in the room and Qyburn was nearby smirking from the shadows. "I thought you were dead when you didn't come back to me."
"It was not for lack of trying on behalf of our enemies," Jaime said as he walked up to where Gendry and Jon were lying on the ground. He nudged Jon with the toe of his boot and Arya had to watch as her brother slowly woke up. He blinked when he saw her and Jaime looking down at him but she was grateful that he didn't say anything. "What happened to them?"
"Oh I let Gregor have a little fun with our prisoners of war," Cersei said flippantly.
"The Hound is here," Jaime said. "I caught him and the Stark girl trying to sneak into the keep but the dog got away."
"I'll send my men to go kill him," Cersei said but Jaime shook his head.
"No, he'll cut them all down. The only person who can kill the Hound is the Mountain," Jaime said as he gestured to Gregor.
"You're suggesting Her Grace send away her best fighter during a time of war?" Qyburn asked and Jaime raised both of his eyebrows.
"The Hound will make his way here eventually and do you really want to risk him coming along and cutting all of us down? I can still fight but I don't think I can win in a fight against Sandor Clegane."
"My brother is right. Ser Gregor, go kill your brother for me," Cersei said. The giant man nodded and walked out of the room without saying a word. His eyes, which Arya could barely see through the helmet he wore, reminded her of wight eyes. He was dangerous and she didn't know if Sandor could beat him. She was distracted which Arya used as her excuse as to why she called out when Jaime kicked the back of her legs so she fell to the ground. He tied another length of rope to her hands and attached it to the same hooks that Jon and Gendry were locked into. Gendry groaned but didn't wake up.
"I heard an interesting rumor," Jaime said as he walked up the stairs toward the Iron Throne and Cersei. "I heard our brother is dead, is that true?"
"I hope so otherwise, I paid those Faceless men for nothing," Cersei said as she smiled. "Our brother was a traitor who was working for the Queen that wants to destroy our House. He would have seen me killed for taking the Iron Throne and he needed to die."
"But if there was anyone we should have shown mercy to wasn't it him?" Jaime asked. Arya wasn't listening to the conversation as she slipped the knife out of her sleeve and began to cut the ropes from her wrists.
"Mercy?" Cersei said as if the very word tasted vile in her mouth. "He wouldn't show me mercy. He would have gutted me himself if he could. Not like you, my golden lion, you are here because you love me and only me. You are loyal." Cersei stood as Jaime finished climbing the rest of the stairs. Arya got through the first few ropes but there she felt like she was running out of time.
"Our children are gone, Cersei," Jaime said softly enough that Arya could barely hear him. "Our father is gone and now our brother is gone. What future of our House could there be?" Jaime reached forward and placed a hand on Cersei's stomach. "I feel no babe here, was that a lie?" The next rope gave away but there was something about the way that Qyburn was moving that made Arya's hair stand on end. She needed to get out of these ropes now.
"Of course it was a lie," Cersei said and she was smiling now and it was a smile that didn't look happy. If anything, it was the smile of a woman who knew she had won. In the blink of an eye, several things happened at once. The ropes around Arya's wrists gave away and she was free with a knife in her hand. Jaime pulled his sword from his hip and drove it into Cersei's stomach without a second of hesitation. Cersei pulled a knife from her own sleeve and slashed it across Jaime's face. Jaime stumbled back as he ripped Widow's Wail from her stomach. Blood spilled down Cersei's black dress and over the stairs of the Iron Throne. Qyburn was pulling something out of his robes but Arya couldn't let that happen. She took the stairs two at a time and slashed the throat of the Hand of the Queen before he could react.
Arya took little pleasure from that as she stood over Cersei who had collapsed next to the throne as she struggled to keep herself from bleeding out. She wasn't worried about Jaime, a wound like that would scar but he wouldn't die, but Arya looked up when she heard him drop his sword.
"Dear brother," Cersei said and there was blood on her lips. "You should know by now that if one of us dies the other must follow." Arya wanted to stand over Cersei and watch the life drain from her eyes but Jaime was collapsing to the floor and needed help. She struggled, she wanted to see this woman die, she had earned that and now fate was taking the simple pleasure of watching Cersei Lannister die away from her.
"Arya, he needs your help," Jon said from the floor. Arya closed her eyes, released a breath, and walked away from Cersei as she bled out. She knelt down next to Jaime and she could see the veins near the wound on his face turning black.
"She poisoned the blade," Arya whispered and the only person who might know how to fix it was Qyburn and he was already dead.
"I can't keep a promise to that woman," Jaime said and it sounded like it hurt to speak. He was gasping for breath and Arya reached over to take his hand. "I promised Brienne that I would watch over Podrick and the boy died. I promised her I'd come back and I'm not going to do that. I need you to ask her to forgive me Stark, I need you to ask her to forgive me for breaking my promise to her."
"I already know that she'll forgive you, Ser Jaime," Arya whispered and Jaime laughed a little to himself.
"Now I'm a Kingslayer, a Queenslayer, and a Kinslayer. It sounds like a bad joke," he said and Arya could tell that it was getting harder for him to breathe.
"I see a man that saved Westeros from tyranny twice," Arya replied as she squeezed his hand. Jaime opened his mouth to say something else but the air left his lungs and he went still as Cersei's blood soaked into the stones of the Red Keep.