Author's Note: Wow! Thanks for all the great reviews! I love writing Amarah and Jaime's story so it's nice to know how much you all love reading it. Sorry for the delay on this one but I took a bit of a break from writing for the holiday. Anyway, thanks for being patient with my tardiness in updating:) I should have the next chapter up more quickly. Read on!

Amarah slowly cracked open her heavy eyelids to allow the hazy sunlight to filter through. Giving a groan, she quickly closed them again trying to shut out the offensive glare. Her back felt stiff and there was something scratchy under her cheek. She hated sleeping in the woods as she always woke up feeling confused and disoriented in the mornings. At this point she would be ready to sell her soul to the seven for a bed to sleep in once again. Trying to comfort herself with the thought of a soft, welcoming bed, Amarah opened her eyes once again gradually adjusting them to the light.

Instantly she froze, realizing that she was currently reclining against someone rather than something. Looking down she saw her right hand was sprawled across the person's lap and her head was resting most comfortably on their shoulder. She chanced a cautious glance at the person in question to see if they were still asleep and hadn't noticed her current proximity. To her dismay, she looked right into his mocking green eyes that regarded her with undisguised amusement.

"Good morning, Princess."

Amarah jumped back quickly in startled surprise. She quickly rose to her feet and shot him a fierce scowl while knocking the leaves from her hair and clothes. He just looked back at her with a look of feigned ignorance.

"Why didn't you say something?" she asked in annoyance.

"Well you looked so comfortable I didn't want to disturb you."

She gave an unladylike snort of disbelief at that. "I doubt that."

"Think whatever you like. It matters not to me" he replied with a mocking smile, throwing her earlier words back at her.

Amarah just shot him an irritated frown before noticing Brienne's absence. "Where has Brienne gone to?"

"She went to ready the horses for our departure" Jaime replied.

"Well why didn't you wake me earlier?" Amarah questioned. She could have helped Brienne to get them off to an earlier start.

"Well as I said you looked so…"

"Oh never mind" Amarah interrupted him before stalking off to find Brienne.

As she walked along to the sound of crunching leaves under her feet, the memory of last night came rushing back. He face flamed bright red when she remembered what she had done. Amarah was grateful her back was turned to him so he could not see her expression. She had always prided herself on the fact that she was immune to Jaime Lannister's inhuman beauty because she knew him for what he truly was. But last night something had prompted her to tease him by gently touching his bearded face and softly trailing her fingers across his skin. She had meant to rattle his composure with her behavior as she had done to arrogant men before. However, what she had not counted on was that unexpected moment of searing awareness between them. She didn't want to be aware of Jaime Lannister in that way. He was tainted to her. Tainted by Cersei's corrupting touch and she wanted nothing to do with him. Her sudden awareness of him was as unexpected as it was unwelcome, and she suspected despite his nonchalance regarding the matter, he felt the same. She would just have to do her best to keep him at a distance. And that rule certainly included not sharing wine with him in the late hours of the night.

Shaking off thoughts of Jaime and wine, Amarah found Brienne a short distance away saddling the horses for their ride. Brienne gave her a curious look as she approached before turning her attention back to the task at hand. Amarah joined in to help her without speaking. She had no doubt that Brienne had seen her sprawled across Jaime Lannister, and she wished to avoid discussing that subject.

"How much further to King's Landing would you say?" she questioned the lady knight in search of a neutral topic.

Brienne gave her a knowing look but answered the question. "Several more days, my lady. We'll have to be careful through these woods the rest of the way. I've been told bands of outlaws that roam these parts."

Amarah nodded her head in understanding. "Yes, the Brotherhood Without Banners they call themselves. I wouldn't worry too much about them though. They're said to be loyal to Robb, so I doubt they would do either of us much harm." She looked back at Jaime then who sat still tied to the tree staring into the woods. "I can't say what they would do to Kingslayer though."

"Nothing good, my lady" Brienne answered in a warning tone.

Amarah looked at her with an uneasy expression. She didn't like the idea of her effort on Jaime's behalf going to waste because of some bloodthirsty bandits. They would just have to do their best to keep out of harm's way. She voiced this last sentiment aloud.

Brienne voiced her agreement before both ladies finished saddling the horses. Once they had accomplished their task, Brienne left to untie Jaime and walk him to where the horses stood. As they approached Amarah could hear Jaime teasing Brienne once again. He had held in check the urge to goad her about her looks for the most part since their encounter with the three Stark soldiers a few days ago. But apparently his consideration only extended so far.

"Have you ever noticed a man, wench? Ever had those womanly desires for a man to throw you down and truly make you a woman?"

Brienne maintained her customary silence in the face of his rude behavior. Amarah marveled at her self-control. If she had been in Brienne's position she would probably knock him so hard on that stubborn skull of his that he would not awaken for weeks.

After Brienne shoved Jaime up into the saddle of his horse he turned his cruel gaze on Amarah. "You know all too well what it's like to be a woman. Don't you, Princess? Maybe you can tell her how wonderful it is to have such power over a man."

The friendliness she had seen in him mere hours ago had now vanished and his usual cruelty was in its place. She didn't much care. It wasn't as if sharing a jug of wine made them friends. She would rather deal with his cruelty than the unwelcome attraction she had felt before, but she felt oddly disappointed by his meanness. Without taking the time to analyze that feeling, she shot back at his unkind remarks. Brienne might take his cruel remarks with quiet dignity, but Amarah could never stand for him to have the last word.

"You should know all too well what it's like for a woman to have that power over a man, Kingslayer."

Turning her back on him and whatever reaction her words had provoked, she mounted her own horse without another word. Thankfully, Jaime said nothing else and they began their journey once again. Brienne started her horse into a quick canter, and Amarah and Jaime rode silently behind her both avoiding each other's gazes. They continued on in this manner for most of the morning.

Amarah had been worried when Brienne brought up the possibility that they would encounter outlaws who would possibly do them harm, but as they rode on without incident she felt the worry recede just a bit. She had traveled on the road countless times before without any unpleasant encounters, so she didn't see why this journey should be any different. Besides, she didn't want to entertain the possibilities of what would happen if they did chance across men of a less-than-savory nature. She remembered the attack in Renly's camp and gave an involuntary shudder at the thought of that disgusting creature pawing at her and threatening to rape her. She would rather die than ever endure such abuse again.

"Something the matter, Princess?" Jaime's voice distracted her from the bleak thoughts.

She hadn't been aware of his gaze on her but turned to see him looking at her with a curious expression. Her worries must have been more noticeable than she had originally thought. She knew Jaime was not thrilled at the prospect of encountering trouble along the road with his hands chained as they were. He had given her just a glimpse of that worry when they had encountered those three Stark soldiers on the road before Brienne had slaughtered them.

"I was just thinking how unpleasant it would be to have another man try to rape me" she finally answered him.

She could see from the shocked look on his face that he had not been expecting that answer. "Another man? Tell me. Who would be foolish enough to attack you?"

"The man your loving sister sent to kill me. Cersei wanted all of my father's children dead, most certainly including me. The absence of any true Baratheon children would only strengthen Joffrey's claim to the iron throne. The man she sent most likely would have succeeded if not for Brienne."

Jaime looked momentarily confused by her explanation. "All of Robert's children?"

"Yes" she answered grimly. "Apparently your sister is as fond of killing innocent children as you are."

Surprisingly, Jaime did not answer back with some clever remark but took a moment to think on what she said. "Robert had many bastards."

It made her sad to think of how many innocent children had been slaughtered in Cersei's quest for power. Innocent children, which despite their low place in life, shared her blood. "Yes" she agreed sadly. "He did, but no more."

Jaime opened his mouth to say something more but whatever he was about to say was cut off by an arrow slicing through the air by his head. Instantly alert, Jaime's attention snapped to the hills surrounding them. They had left the cover of the trees and were now in the open plain, susceptible to any attackers. Her optimism that they would make it thought this journey unscathed disappeared. As another arrow flew past, Amarah valiantly fought off the panic that threatened to overtake her. She had to stay calm if they expected to find a way out of this.

"Untie me!" Jaime shouted to her over the thundering of their horses' hooves.

She looked to Brienne for help but the lady knight's concentration was elsewhere as she tried to lead them out of the open to escape from their unseen assailants. Amarah didn't know what to do. She hesitated in complying with his request as she fought with indecision, but she never had the time to decide. As she looked back ahead once again she saw another arrow, but this one was flying right at her.

Stunned into paralyzing fear at the sight, Amarah couldn't move. Her mind screamed at her to get out of the way but her terrified muscles refused cooperate. The next thing she knew, Jaime was reaching from his saddle to push her from the horse. He gave her a mighty shove with both of his bound hands, and she felt herself succumb to gravity as she slid out of the saddle. The world around her tilted on its side, and she heard the arrow whizzing past her ear, mere inches from her head. Once she hit the hard earth, her head was instantly filled with a shooting pain before everything went black.

What will happen next? Thanks for reading! Please review!