Author's Note: Oh my gosh! 100 reviews? So cool! Thanks for commenting! I love it:) Since I was mean enough to leave y'all with a cliffhanger I'm updating for you two days in a row! And I should have mentioned this earlier but if you haven't read the books my story does follow them fairly closely. So be warned, there are MASSIVE spoilers for Jaime's storyline in this fic. Seriously, there are pretty big spoilers in here. I just wanted to give a heads up on that so no one would be spoiled who doesn't want to be. Anyway, if that doesn't bother you then read on!
Amarah opened her eyes and let out a bloodcurdling scream. The ugly creature that held her looked startled by the noise and promptly dropped her back on the ground. Her head hit the dirt with a hard thunk and she almost passed out again. After looking at the creature's face that bent over her she wondered whether or not it wouldn't be a bad idea to let unconsciousness overtake her. Gods, he was an ugly son of a bitch. His face was nothing pleasant to look at, but the hole where his nose should have been was what drew most of her attention. His look of surprise quickly vanished before being replaced by a thundercloud of anger, and he bent down to grab her once again. He moved his hand as if to hit her, and she braced herself for the imminent blow before his action was interrupted by a harsh order.
"Don't harm her! She's too valuable in this war to do any permanent damage to that pretty face. Any of the three kings would gladly pay a large ransom to have her."
It was a true statement. Joffrey, Stannis, or Robb would pay a hefty sum to have her in their hands once again. She silently said a prayer of thanks to the seven that one of these men possessed the necessary intelligence to see that fact. Amarah looked to the man who had given the order but did not recognize him, and she was certain she would never forget a face such as that. He appeared almost as a corpse with his eyes sunken back into his bald head and blue spidery veins creating small trails across his skin. Though she did not know him, he undoubtedly had recognized her just by sight. Sometimes, being one of the famed beauties of the seven kingdoms had its advantages.
She turned her gaze from the death-like visage back to the man holding her in his tight grip. The angry creature didn't seem to like the order, but he obeyed it and reluctantly lowered the hand he had used to threaten her. Amarah was tempted to give him a superior look at his thwarted attempt but decided against it. She might be outspoken in most circumstances but she wasn't stupid. Whoever these men were, they were not friendly, and she did not mean to antagonize any of them unnecessarily. The ugly creature did not release his hold on her but turned her around so that her back was to him and marched her toward the river where most of the other men in their party stood looking at a pair of figures struggling in the water. As they came closer, Amarah tried valiantly to hide her dismay. Instead of defending themselves against these bandits, Amarah and Jaime had apparently decided to fight each other.
Jaime must have managed to procure the sword from Amarah's horse after pushing her to the ground. The sword now lay shining in the rays of the sun beneath the clear, cool water of the shallow river where he and Brienne stood. Actually, it appeared that Brienne was the one standing while she shoved Jaime's head beneath the bubbling waters shouting at him to yield. Jaime simply laughed at her angry order once his head surfaced again. However, the mirth on his face quickly died when he saw the men that surrounded them. Brienne followed his gaze and all the color drained from her face when she saw that they were hopelessly outmanned. There would be no getting out of this.
"Well met" Jaime shouted at them trying to appear as harmless as possible. "You just interrupted me chastising my wife."
Despite the dire situation, Amarah snorted in amusement at his explanation for the scene they had all just witnessed. Noseless obviously did not share her amusement as he gave her a rough shake to make her be quiet. Brienne caught sight of his action and her face went from hopelessness to fury in the blink of an eye.
"Release her!" Brienne shouted at him reaching for her sword before realizing it now lay in the river beside Jaime's borrowed weapon. Her face showed her frustration as she searched for a different tact. "We have a hundred golden dragons…" she began before Noseless cut her off.
"We'll take those. And I'll be havin' that cunt o' yours as well I think. It can't be as ugly as the rest o' you."
One of the men laughed at his crude remark. "Maybe you just take her in the arse. You wouldn't have to look in her ugly face then."
"No" he rejected the offer. "I wouldn't deprive her the pleasure 'o lookin' at my face. Maybe I'll even let you watch, beauty." He said stroking Amarah's face with his filthy hand. Amarah flinched at his offensive touch as she felt bile rise in her throat at the ugly picture he painted with his disgusting threats.
"Keep your hands off of her!" Brienne ordered him once again as she began to charge the riverbank.
"Brienne, don't!" Amarah shouted at the lady knight in an attempt to save her. With Jaime's hands tied and both him and Brienne without weapons, they had no chance in the seven hells of getting out of this mess. In fact, Brienne would not be in this mess at all if Amarah hadn't asked her to come along on this fool's errand to return Jaime to the capital. She should have known something like this would happen, and now Brienne would pay the price.
Brienne ignored Amarah's command and continued to struggle against the four men who tried to hold her down and beat her into submission. By the time the brief struggle came to an end, Brienne's face was swollen and bleeding, and she walked up onto the shore with a pronounced limp as the four men pushed her along. Jaime was wrestled from the waters as well, but he was wise enough not to put up a struggle. Once he and Brienne joined Amarah on the riverbank, Jaime asked to see who was in command of these men.
The corpse answered that he was their leader. "I have that honor, Ser Jaime. Urswyck I am. Called Urswyck the Faithful."
"Faithful to whom might I ask?" Amarah questioned him in a derisive tone.
The man gave her a condescending smile before replying. "We've had to trade in our lion skins for wolf pelts. The Kingslayer's father lost too many battles, I'm afraid."
"And men say I have shit for honor" Jaime spat drawing the corpse's gaze away from Amarah.
Without a word the corpse gestured to one of his men who promptly hit Jaime in the stomach. When Jaime gave no reaction, two men took the chance to punch him this time until he finally fell to the ground clutching his middle with a pained expression. Amarah appreciated his spirit but wished he had been smart enough to keep his mouth closed. She had finally realized who these men were, the Bloody Mummers. Killers for whoever offered the highest price, and the Lannisters must not have been as appealing employers as they once were by the look on Urswyck's face. He was not afraid of Jaime Lannister or his threats.
"Where is Vargo Hoat?" Amarah asked the man trying to draw his attention away from Jaime who was slowly standing up from his curled up position on the dirt covered ground. Jaime Lannister might not be her favorite person in the world, but he was infinitely better than this band of refuse.
"Lord Hoat is a few hours ride from here" Urswyck responded, his leering gaze traveling up and down her figure in an insulting manner. She held her tongue at his rudeness as she didn't fancy having these brutes beat her as well. "We'll be taking all of you to him."
With this statement, he turned back to the horses and motioned for them to follow. Noseless pushed Amarah along until they reached her black stallion which had miraculously escaped the earlier assault unscathed. Jaime and Brienne's mounts were there as well and they were both ordered to climb into the saddle so they could be off. By this point Noseless had taken the opportunity to roughly grope Amarah's breasts through her dress, and she felt a spark of fury at his presumption to fondle her and smacked his hands away. This time there was no one to stop the blow that came towards her face.
His hand connected with the bruise already forming at her temple from her previous fall, and she almost blacked out again from the force of blinding pain. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to hold back the tears that burned her eyelids once she had absorbed the full shock of his hammering fist. She would not give these monsters the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
"I told you not to touch her!" she heard the corpse yell at him, but she was still in too much pain to open her eyes. "If I see you lay a hand on her again I'll be cutting it off to match that nose of yours. Do you hear me?"
She knew the man did not defend her out of a sense of honor. They had clearly not yet decided what king to sell her to, and at least two of them would not appreciate her being returned in anything less than pristine condition. His reasons were selfish ones, but if they kept that brute away from her she would welcome his protection most whole-heartedly. She cautiously opened her eyes again once she was sure no tears would fall and saw the awful creature stalk away to his horse several paces away. She breathed a small sigh of relief at the unexpected reprieve before turning to mount her own horse. She looked to Jaime and Brienne who had already sat atop their horses and were looking at her with wary gazes as if expecting her to faint again.
"Don't look at me as if I'll drop over dead at any moment" she chided them before swinging into her saddle.
"Just be careful, Princess" Jaime returned in a serious tone she rarely heard him use.
She gave him a hard look. "I could say the same to you, Ser Jaime. You should not have antagonized them like that."
"Well at least I'm not in danger of them raping me" he answered back.
"No" she responded fiercely. "Just of them killing you!"
Their glaring match was interrupted by one of the soldiers who approached Brienne with a lecherous look on his face as he took in her battered appearance. He muttered something about them all having fun with her that night when they made camp, and Amarah was surprised to hear Jaime interrupt his sickening remarks.
"Did you all know Lady Brienne comes from Tarth?" he questioned loudly enough for Urswyck to hear. "Someone told me once it was known as the Sapphire Isle. How much do you think her lord father would pay for her safe return?"
The corpse wandered over to them then with a speculative gleam in his eye as he looked up at Brienne. Amarah was grateful that the woman held her tongue in the face of Jaime's lie. His falsehood might be the only thing that would stand between her and a round of brutal rapes by this band of horrid lechers. Urswyck looked at Brienne for a moment contemplating Jaime's words before giving an order for the men to leave off touching her as well for the time being. They would decide what to do with her when they reached Lord Hoat. Once he left to mount his horse and they were alone, Brienne looked at Jaime with a disapproving frown.
"Must you always lie, Kingslayer? The Sapphire Isle is called so because of its blue waters."
Jaime glowered at her in return. "I'm sorry. Might you just repeat that last part a bit louder? I don't think they all heard you."
"Brienne" Amarah hissed at her as the lady knight opened her mouth to speak once again. "Ser Jaime just did you an immense favor to keep them all from raping you like a common tavern wench. Do you think they would spare you if they though you weren't worth your weight in ransom money? I would suggest you accept the rare kindness and stay silent."
Brienne did not look as if she appreciated the gesture as much as Amarah had recommended but she complied with the request to remain silent. Amarh sighed inwardly at Brienne's innocence. She might be able to cleave a man in two with her sword, but Brienne still didn't understand the ways of the world. Honesty was certainly the preference for Amarah, but sometimes lies were necessary in order to survive. It couldn't be helped. Uncle Ned had been honest to a fault and look where it had gotten him. Amarah needed to ensure that Brienne learned the hard lesson that her uncle never had.
Moving her gaze from Brienne to Jaime, Amarah looked at him with a small amount of confusion. She had always told him how selfish and dishonorable he was, but in a small space of time he had gone out of his way to save her life and had also lied to protect Brienne from a brutal rape. Making sure to keep her voice low enough for only him to hear, she leaned over slightly to catch his attention.
"I take it back" she muttered under her breath.
He regarded her with a curious expression. "You take what back?"
"What I said before. You are full of surprises after all."
By the time they reached Vargo Hoat, dim twilight had settled across the land. Amarah was thankful for the near darkness when her eyes met the sight that greeted them. Hoat's men had attacked a sept and were looting the contents and inhabitants of the structure in the wake of their conquest. One large Dothraki sat on the chest of the Mother gouging out her eyes with a rusty dagger while a skinny, bald man, who must have been the septa, hung from a tree acting as a target for practice. The men shooting at him had rather good aim as two arrows protruded from the empty sockets that used to house the dead man's eyes.
Vargo Hoat sat at a cookfire in the center of the melee as they rode in. He was just as ugly as the rest of his men, tall and thin with a long goatee that dripped with juice and blood from the half-cooked bird he was eating. Amarah had heard stories about the man. He was known for being a particular breed of sadist which was not surprising in the least considering the men under his command. He was revolting, but she saw a shrewdness behind his gaze that was not to be underestimated.
"Ah" he crowed in delight at their arrival. "The Kingthlayer. You are my captifth." He had a large, swollen tongue that cause him to lisp as he spoke. The lisp was also accompanied by a large, unattractive spray of spittle. Amarah tried not to wrinkle her nose in distaste at the sight. She didn't want to give him any reason to notice her, but the effort was for nothing. He noticed her anyway. His delighted gaze went from Jaime to her and he did not bother hiding the blatant lust there.
"My lady" he greeted her with a mock bow. "Your uncle Thtaniss hath been looking all over the theven kingdomths for you. How fortunate I could find you firtht."
"Ser" Brienne spoke up before Amarah could stop her. "You must let us go on to King's Landing unharmed. We have sworn to return Ser Jaime to his brother in an exchange for Lady Amarah's cousin."
Hoat simply waved off Brienne, ignoring her completely. "Thilenth her" he commanded his men before Noseless pulled Brienne off her horse and began to kick her.
"Don't!" Amarah tried to stop them but Hoat only laughed. Amarah was frustrated by her helplessness. She could do nothing but stand there as they beat Brienne to a bloody pulp.
"Be careful not to break any of her bones!" Urswyck said with a malicious laugh. "She'll be worth her weight in sapphires." Amarah thanked the seven that at least Jaime's well-timed lie would spare her knight an excessive beating, but she felt a sickening wave of nausea at each thud of Rorge's foot into Brienne's ribs while she lay on the ground helpless to defend herself.
"Bring them here" Hoat commanded his men.
Both Amarah and Jaime were shoved forward ungraciously to the fire where Hoat and some of his other men sat. As they approached, Amarah remembered Catelyn's words to Jaime that he was a man without honor. It appeared her aunt had been wrong. These were the men who had no honor. As bad as Jaime was, she had never seen him treat a woman as these men had treated her and Brienne. He might say nasty things, but he would never act on them. Partly because he only wanted to fuck his sister, but also because he seemed to possess the most basic sense of honor that these men were completely devoid of. The longer they spent in the company of these bastards, the more appealing Jaime looked by comparison.
Hoat stood and approached Amarah with a gleam in his eye that made her sick. "You don't seem pleathed my lady" Hoat said as he ran his greasy hand down Amarah's exposed neck leaving a trail of blood and grease behind. "Maybe you can apprethiate my charmth after you get to know me better."
Amarah wanted to vomit at his offending touch but held strong. Now would seem the perfect time for a lie of her own. "Do you know what happened to the last man that wanted me to know his charms?" she asked with a cool smile. "My Uncle Stannis cut open his throat without a second thought. If he knew you had tried the same and succeeded, I doubt he would be as friendly."
It wasn't really a lie since Renly had charmed her with his friendly nature during their time together. She just let the goat think that she had been referring to something of a more unsavory nature. She chose to threaten him with Stannis since most of the men in the seven kingdoms had a healthy fear of the eldest Baratheon. It would not be wise to encourage Stannis's anger, and she counted on this fear to save her from Hoat's unwanted attentions.
Before Hoat could respond to that threat, Jaime took the opportunity to address him with an offer. "You were foolish to leave my father's service, Hoat. But you can still correct your ways. My father would pay any sum to have me returned. You know this to be true."
Hoat turned his slithering gaze on to Jaime at these words and assessed him with a wicked gleam in his eye that made Amarah very uneasy. "Oh yeth, Kingthlayer. I will have half the gold of Cathterly Rock. But firtht I have to thend a methage."
To Amarah's horror, Urswyck then shoved Jaime very hard knocking him to the dusty ground. Once he was on his knees, one of the other men yanked on the chain around his wrists to hold his arms stretched out in front of him. All the while Urswyck kept his knee on Jaime's back holding him down. Amarah could tell from the stubborn look in Jaime's eye that he thought this some empty threat meant to scare him into submission, but she did not share his cavalier view of the situation.
"Oh gods" she murmured in a half whisper as the large Dothraki approached the kneeling Kingslayer with a dangerous looking curved sword. Jaime glanced at her for a moment, and whatever he saw in her gaze caused his eyes to loose their confident light from before as he looked back at the man approaching him. This time he had real fear in his eyes. It was something Amarah had never seen before. The Kingslayer afraid. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the awful sight as the Dothraki raised his sword over his head, and it gleamed silver in the last rays of light that fell through the trees. In the end, she wasn't sure whose scream was louder as the blade came down quicker than a flash of lighting. Hers or Jaime's.
Sorry if you wanted me to let Jaime keep his hand, but I felt that losing such an important part of who he was started the change in him that made me finally grow to love him as a character. It had to go. But what will Amarah's reaction be to all this? Let me know what you think! Thank you for reading!