Author's Note: So this is a shorter chapter, but it's more of a build up to the next one. The stuff in here with the hound is mostly based on the books, but I changed some stuff around a bit to work with my story. I hope y'all enjoy it! Read on!

"I feel like a prisoner" Amarah muttered grumpily while staring at the cold, empty fireplace. It struck her that the cheerless sight reflected her current mood.

Brienne gave her mistress a long-suffering look but didn't budge on her insistence that Amarah remain abed. "There's nothing to be gained by you moving about before your strength is recovered, my lady. It's best that you agree to Lannister's wishes."

Amarah shot her knight a testy look at that last piece of advice. "Now you decide to agree with the man? He's wasting precious time by keeping us here. We should have ridden for the Quiet Isle two days past."

Brienne returned her testiness with a patronizing glance that did nothing to lessen Amarah's ire. "My lady, you may dislike the order, but it is not a foolish one. The Saltpans are a short ride from here, and we'll not loose a great deal of time by awaiting you to regain your strength. Might I ask why you wish to return there?" she asked then, wisely choosing to alter the course of their conversation in an effort to turn Amarah's mind to something other than her frustration with Jaime Lannister.

She had seen nothing of him since their encounter the previous evening. He had sent word through Brienne that Amarah was, under no circumstances, allowed to rise from her bed until the morning next when they would begin their journey. After being sequestered away for the entire morning with no company but her own, she had been none too pleased to hear Jaime's latest edict. A niggling voice in the back of her mind whispered that her hurt feelings stemmed more from Jaime's neglect of her since their kiss than his high-handed behavior, but she stubbornly ignored the whispered thought.

Instead, Amarah chose to follow Brienne's lead in changing the topic of their heated conversation. Taking a deep, calming breath, she prepared to explain her reasons for revisiting the sight of Sandor Clegane's supposed resting place. "Do you recall when we asked the elder brother about the Hound's death?" she asked Brienne.

The lady knight's brow furrowed in thought as she tried to recall the conversation. "I believe, he said that Clegane succumbed to his wounds and died in his arms. He seemed to be telling the truth."

"But he said that it was the Hound that died that day" Amarah reminded her with a sharp look. "When you asked him again if it was Sandor Clegane that died, all he would say was that he was at rest. I didn't think much of it at the time, but when I was locked away in the darkness with no means of escape but to my own thoughts, I recalled the brother's words once again. What if he meant that Clegane was at rest because he was at peace? No longer a mindless hound who killed for others, but a man free to do as he chose?"

Brienne didn't look as if she was entirely convinced by Amarah's reasoning. "But what reason would the brother have to cause us to think Clegane dead?"

"Because Clegane wants others to think he's dead" Amarah replied quickly. "He's always despised the knighthood because of his brother. What better means to escape what he hates most than death?"

"But even if he is still alive as you suppose, what help could he be in locating the lost Sansa Stark?" Brienne asked, her blue eyes still cloudy with confusion.

Amarah took a quick moment to readjust the lumpy pillows behind her before answering the question. "He was always watching" Amarah said distractedly as she stared off into the distance, recalling the brief time in the capital when her uncle served as Hand.

When she said nothing else, Brienne prompted her to continue. "Watching Lady Sansa?"

"Yes" Amarah's gaze snapped into focus once more as her eyes returned Brienne's. "I thought it strange at first, why he should watch her so closely, but then I recalled where I had seen such a look before. It was the same way Jaime's eyes would follow the queen whenever they were together. He never let it show on his face; his interest in what she did, who she spoke to. But it was there in his eyes. The way they followed her every movement. It reminded me of the way Clegane watched my cousin. If he watched her as closely as I suspect, then I've no doubt he can tell us something helpful in regard to whom she formed connections with at court."

Brienne's eyes widened in surprise as she finally caught on to Amarah's meaning. "If he knew her liaisons at court it could help lead us to discover who orchestrated her escape."

"Exactly" Amarah agreed, giving into her first smile of the day. "If we can discover who it was that helped her escape, we'll fare much better at tracing her movements. We've been going about this wrong from the start. Instead of focusing on Sansa, we should have been focusing on those who helped her escape. No doubt, they've taken her some place that they know will safely shield her from the searching gaze of the kingdom."

"Why would anyone wish to hide the Lady Sansa, though?" Brienne asked, confused once again.

Amarah had to admit defeat at that question. "That I do not know" she answered with a negative shake of her head. "But I suspect if we can discover who has hidden her, we'll discover their reason's for doing so as well."

"Have you told Ser Jaime about these suspicions?" Brienne asked her suddenly.

Amarah felt her ears heat slightly at the mention of Jaime's name. She was grateful that the long curls draped over her shoulders hid the evidence of her embarrassment from view. "We didn't talk a great deal when we were together last" she admitted, her gaze quickly dropping from Brienne's face to study the numerous cracks in the wooden floor.

She waited for a reply, but when no sound came, she raised her eyes once more to find Brienne looking at her with a strange expression. "Is something the matter?" Amarah questioned her, unnerved by the intensity of her knight's gaze.

For a several beats of silence, Brienne seemed to ponder Amarah's words before finally deciding to speak her thoughts aloud. "Did Ser Jaime tell you of his sister, my lady?" she asked, taking Amarah by surprise.

It hadn't been a question Amarah expected to hear. "No" she replied cautiously, as no news regarding Cersei was ever good. "Is there something he should have told me?"

"She's been imprisoned by the high septon in the capital" Brienne replied, surprising Amarah even further.

The great lioness finally fallen into a trap of her own making? she thought with a wry smile. The thought brought a rather pleasant picture to mind. Amarah only regretted the fact that she was not present to witness the bitch's downfall. But knowing Cersei, it likely would not be the end. She'd find some way to survive. Lannisters seemed to have a knack for daring escapes.

Returning her focus to Brienne once more, Amarah wondered why Jaime would have shared such news with her knight. "How did you learn of this?"

"When I arrived at the Lannister camp to tell Ser Jaime of your captivity at the brotherhood's hand, he had a letter from the queen. It begged him to return to the capital to fight as her champion in a trial by combat."

Amarah's heart tripped a bit, faltering in its steady beat at Brienne's unexpected words. "Where is this letter?" she finally managed to ask once her heart had settled into its normal pace once more.

A rare flicker of a smile turned up the edges of Brienne's normally serious mouth before she replied. "He ordered it burned, my lady. We left to find you that very night."

"Why are you telling me this?" Amarah questioned Brienne, her brain lost in a muddle of confusion and pleasure. If what Brienne said was true, then Jaime had chosen her, not the queen. He had come for her. But Amarah's logical mind rebelled against the thought. How could Jaime have abandoned the sister he had loved since birth to save her?

As if she could read Amarah's thoughts, Brienne hastened to reassure her of Jaime's loyalty. "He cares for you, my lady. Perhaps more than you might think. I simply thought you should know."

With those words, she gave a quick, shallow bow before promptly departing, leaving Amarah in an even more baffled state than before. Her confusion persisted into the evening, through dinner and game of cards with Gendry who thought her distracted state merely a sign of her weariness. She was content to leave him with that impression.

That night as she tossed and turned, in vain trying to chase the sweet dreams of slumber, she kept replaying Brienne's words over and over again in her mind. He cares for you, my lady. Perhaps more than you might think. Could he truly care for her as she did him? She knew he lusted for her. Last night had been proof enough of that, but was it possible his regard for her went deeper than mere physical attraction? After what seemed an eternity of restless moving about, Amarah came to a decision. Bolting up from the sheets with a start, she threw the covers away in haste before rising from the bed.

Treading silently across the cold floor on the soft pads of her bare feet, she quietly pushed the door open to find Brienne slumped against the wall outside her chamber, snoring contentedly in peaceful sleep. Tip-toeing past the snoozing knight, Amarah crossed the hall to another door directly opposite hers. At dinner, Gendry had informed her that Jaime had taken the room nearest hers, and she was grateful now for the boy's talkative state. She had questions that needed answering, and if Jaime refused to come to her then she would find him instead.

Without waiting for an invitation, Amarh pushed the door back on its hinges before entering the dimly lit room. By the far wall stood a small writing desk with a single, lit candle flickering in the darkness. Seated before the desk sat Jaime with his back turned towards her. His torso was bare revealing the smooth expanse of his back and lean definition of his shoulders and arms.

Not expecting to find him in such a state of undress, Amarah felt an involuntary shiver of desire as she gazed at him in the dark. He must have sensed her presence, because he turned then with a start, pinning her with his lion's gaze. Every carefully thought out word Amarah had planned to say instantly flew from her head at the sight of him. What was it she had meant to say again?

As she continued to stand there in silence, her back pressed against the rough wood of the closed door, Jaime's golden brows knit together in confusion. "Amarah?" he questioned, rising from his seat and coming towards her.

The closer he came, the farther back she shrank against the immovable door, trying desperately to remember the words she had meant to say. When she did speak, it wasn't the words she had so desperately searched for. In fact, she didn't mean to say the words at all. They simply came tumbling from her mouth before she could stop them, spilling out at his feet like a sinner's confession.

"I... I love you."

Should I let these two finally make sweet love? Hmm… You'll just have to keep reading to find out:) Maybe they will. Maybe they won't. We'll see! Thanks so much for reading! Please review!