AN- Hey guys, another chapter here. I am so grateful for all the support this fic is getting. Anyways, remember to R&R, and I hope you enjoy!
Get Out Alive
Riverlands- Tywin Lannister was in his tent, preparing to skin a dear he had killed. As he pulled out his knife, one of his guards popped their head in.
"My Lord, Ser Jaime is here." He says. Tywin nods
"Send him in" He says. The guard nods, and Jaime walks in, wearing a set of Lannister armor.
"Father." Jaime says.
"Jaime, it's good to see you out of your usual glorified body guard armor." Tywin responds. Jaime sighs and pulls out a letter.
"Ned Stark has stripped The Mountain of all land and titles, and he wants you, in his words, to come to King's Landing and answer for the crimes of your bannerman, or be branded an enemy of the crown." He says. Tywin looks at the letter and scoffs.
"Attacking him was stupid. Lannisters don't act like fools." The old lion says, pushing his knife into the stag.
"I didn't attack him, Cersei did." Jaime says, surprising Tywin, who begins the process of gutting the dear.
"Why would she do that?" Tywin asks, as he throws the innards of the buck into a bucket . Jaime sighs and shrugs.
"Because Ned Stark is the biggest threat to her power." He responds honestly.
"She should be less concerned with her power and pay more attention to our house." Tywin says, as he skins the leg of the animal. Jaime nods and thinks for a moment.
"Father, why are we in the Riverlands?" He asks.
"To teach the River lords that they can't take a Lannister captive." Tywin responds as he makes his way to the middle of the deer.
"Then why aren't we in the Vale? That's where Tyrion is being held captive." Jaime says. Tywin looks at him, and stops what he is doing.
"How do you know that?" He asks.
"Arya Stark told me." Jaime replies.
"You take the word of a girl of, what is it? Twelve?" Tywin says.
"Well, being that the girl has known her mother for all twelve of those years, I think it is safe to assume that her word is true." Jaime says. Tywin thinks for a moment before speaking.
"I will send a five hundred men to raid the lands of the Vale and to be scouts. They are to be disguised as the Hill Tribes. I want you to take twenty thousand men and lay siege to Riverrun I will command the other thirty thousand." Tywin says. Jaime nods, but then a thought occurs to him.
"Wait, shouldn't we have sixty thousand men in all?" He asks. Tywin walks up to his son.
"They are in the Westerlands for now. Atticus will send them to us if we need them, or perhaps he might lead them into the Vale. We all have a part to play in this war. You, your sister, Atticus, me, even Tyrion. Be the man you were meant to be, and show the Tullys a Lannister always pays his debts" He says. Jaime nods and leaves the tent.
King's Landing- Eddard Stark was in his daughter's room, and to say he was furious would be an understatement. His little girl Arya had been assaulted by the queen, and was lying on the floor, her brother and betrothed both trying to calm her. Bits of Arya's hair were strewn around the room, and the poor girl couldn't stop crying. Atticus suddenly stood up and pulled a dagger out.
"Jon, do you know any names of the guards who were with the queen?" He asks, grabbing a scrap of paper. Jon thinks for a moment.
"I think I heard the name Mark." Jon said. Atticus nodded and went over to the window.
"Good, only one Mark in the Lannister guard that's in the city. If anyone asks, I am in this room still." He says, as he climbs out the window before anyone can stop him. Ned sighs.
"This has gone on long enough, Jon, go get Sansa and bring her here" He says. Jon nods and pulls away from Arya reluctantly. Ned takes his son's place and kneels down to his daughter, having a hard time due to his injured leg.
"Are you hurt, Arya?" He asks. She slowly shakes her head.
"No, I don't think so." She says, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"She didn't cut your skin, right?" Ned asks, and Arya nods.
"No, just my hair. She said such, horrible things about me. She called me a whore, and said that Atticus won't love me without my hair." She says between sobs. Ned hugs her as she cries into her shoulder.
"That's not true, he cares about you because of who you are." He says. He glances at the ground and sees a beautiful necklace. He picks it up and shows it to Arya.
"What is this?" He asks. She immediately recognizes it.
"It's the pendant that Atticus gave me." She says. Ned smiles and refastens it around her neck.
"Now, would he give this to you if all he cared about was your hair?" He says. Arya shakes her head. Ned kisses hid daughter on the forehead. Arya smiles up at him, her tears finally having stopped flowing. Jon returns to the room, with Sansa in toe. Sansa immediately gasps when she sees Arya.
"Arya! What did you do to your hair? You look like a boy!" She says. Arya can't even manage to shoot a glare at her sister.
"Sansa, Arya didn't cut her hair. The queen attacked her with a dagger and cut it off." Ned says. Sansa doesn't want to believe him, but then looks at Arya's face, and can see that she was obviously just now crying. She looks around the room, and notices how Arya's hair is everywhere. She also notices the broken wine glass on the floor, and the flagon that has been spilled.
"Why would the queen do something like that?" Sansa asks.
"I don't know, but things have gotten out of hand. Arya, I am sending you and Jon to Casterly Rock with Atticus. Sansa, you are to return to Winterfell." Eddard says.
"What? But what about my marriage to Joffrey?" Sansa screams angrily. Arya stays quiet as her sister screams all the reasons why she has to stay.
"Sansa, three Starks came from Winterfell to King's Landing. Two of them have been attack by members of the royal family, your little sister now more than once. Do you see a pattern here?" Jon says.
"I don't care if father and Arya can't get along with them. I love Joffrey and I'm supposed to be his queen." Sansa says.
"Seven Hells." Arya mumbles, causing Jon to chuckle.
"This isn't a punishment Sansa, this is for your protection. When you are older I will make you a match with someone more worthy of you. Someone kind, gentle and brave." He says, but Sansa shakes her head.
"I don't want someone brave and gentle and kind! I want Joffrey! He is going to be a great king, a golden lion, and I am supposed to have his beautiful blond babies!" Sansa says. Arya and Ned both share a smirk at Sansa.
"He's not a lion he's a stag, idiot. Just like his father." Arya says.
"He is nothing like that old drunk king." Sansa says. Ned's eyes widen for a second as he realizes something.
"Jon, help Arya pack. Sansa, go back to your room and do so as well. You are to be gone by noon tomorrow." He says, going off to investigate his hunch. He stops, and turns to Jon and motions for him to come over.
"What is it, father?" Jon asks. Ned smiles at his bastard.
"Four Starks came to King's Landing," He says and walks out with his cane, leaving a stunned Jon.
Cersei's chambers- Cersei sits at a small table near her window, sipping wine gingerly. She twiddles the small dagger in her hands as she thinks about her latest course of action.
"She is such a tiny thing, so weak and helpless. Well, the wine might have helped with that" She thinks to herself. Arya had fought strong against her grasp. If the girl wasn't drunk, she may have been able to. But, fortunately for Cersei, a drunk twelve year old who was less than five feet tall and weighed around ninety pounds soaking wet wasn't much of a fight
pry herself away from the queen. Cersei is broken from her musings when a body, its chest bare, falls in front of her.
She gasps at it and backs away, noting that it is a Lannister guard she recognizes.
"Guards!" She yells. Two Kingsguard member rush in.
"Your grace, are you hurt?" One asks while the other inspects the body. Cersei shakes her head as the knight pulls a dagger from the guards chest, and with it a small piece of paper.
"What does it say?" She asks. The knight hands her the letter, and she unfolds it. In large letters, it reads "A Lannister Always Pays his Debts." Cersei angrily crumples the letter up and throws it in the fire.
"My queen, what are your orders?" The Kingsguard member asks.
"Clean this up, and don't talk about it." She says, turning on her heel and leaving the room.
"I will not let this go. All I need if for my cousin to do his part of the plan" She thinks to herself.
Next day- It was early in the morning, only a little past dawn, and Sansa was hurrying through the palace. Last night, she had told her best friend Jeyne, who was following her at the moment, what had transpired. The advice she had gotten was sound, at least in her mind.
"You should talk to the queen, she can clear everything up." Jeyne had said. Sansa had agreed, and now found herself at the queen's door. Sansa knocked on it and waited patiently for the queen. Cersei opened the door, and was honestly surprised to see Sansa.
"Sansa? What are you doing here?" Cersei asks.
"Your grace, I desperately need your help." She says. Cersei nods and leads her in.
"Take a seat child. What seems to be the problem?" Cersei says. Sansa sits next to her.
"My father is going to send me back to Winterfell, and Arya to Casterly Rock. He says it is too dangerous here, but I don't want to leave Joffrey." She says, not even mentioning what had happened last night. Cersei gives the girl a warm, but fake smile.
"Do not fear, little dove. I will talk to your father. I will also talk to Atticus, I should be able to convince him to leave Arya here." She says. Sansa nods appreciatively. Unbeknownst to them, a certain loyal dog had hear what was said.
Courtyard- Atticus was making the preparations for his departure. His betrothed was still in her room packing, along with Jon. As he was directing his guards, a panting Sandor Clegane ran up to him.
"Sandor? What is it?" He asks. Sandor takes a moment to catch his breath.
"The little bird tweeted everything to the Queen. She knows your leaving with the girl and the bastard." He says. Atticus's eyes widen.
"Seven Hells, what was she thinking? Dammit, guard, go inform Lord Stark of what has happened. Sandor, can you stall my aunt's guards?" Atticus says. Sandor nods.
"Aye, I can buy you some time, but you ain't walking out of the Red Keep." Sandor says. Atticus nods and walks towards the Tower of the Hand.
"Fine, if they threaten to fight just let them pass, we should be gone before that point. Oh, and thank you, Sandor." He says, and leaves.
Tower of the Hand- Arya was packing her bags, making sure she had everything she needed. Jon had been helping, but had stopped after he found his way into her small clothes on accident. Both of them were spooked when Atticus pulled himself through the room's window.
"Atticus? What are you doing here?" Arya asks, running over to him.
"Jon! Bar the door!" He says. Jon nods and pushes a cabinet in front of the door.
"What's wrong?" Arya questions, a bit scared. Atticus stands up and paces.
"Your damn sister blabbed that we were leaving to the Queen." He responds.
"Why would she do that?" Jon asks.
"Doesn't matter, we just have to get out of here." Atticus says. They all go quiet when they hear voices.
"I don't believe you heard me, dog. The queen has ordered for us to escort the Stark girl to her." One voice says.
"And as I already said, you can go fuck yourself." The Hound says. Atticus slowly makes his way to the window, as Arya straps Needle to her waist.
"Can either of you climb?" He whispers. Jon and Arya shake their heads. Atticus curses under his breath.
"What do we do?" Arya asks. Jon sighs.
"Atticus, carry Arya out on your back. I'll hide in here." He says quietly.
"But, of they find you they will kill you." Arya protests, grabbing his arm
"I'll be fine, just go!" Jon replies sternly. Arya reluctantly lets him go. She climbs on to Atticus's back, as he turns to Jon.
"Could luck, Jon Stark" He says, emphasizing the last name. Jon nods, and goes to hide, as Atticus climbs out the window.
"Just don't look down, sweet wolf" Atticus says as the begin the long descent down.
"Then what do I look at then?" She asks, a bit irritated by the situation.
"I don't, my face maybe. You seem to like it a lot." He teases. Arya resists the urge to punch him.
"Shut up and climb." She says. Atticus chuckles as they get closer to the bottom. At about half way a stone give out under his foot, causing him to slip. Arya wraps herself around him tighter.
"Don't worry, I got you sweet wolf." He says, regaining his footing. He slowly makes his way down, and eventually gets to the bottom. Arya climb
"Hey, how did you get to the roof in Winterfell?" He asks, recalling their chat a few months back.
"Oh, the window in my room was only a four foot drop from it." She answers.
"Wait, so when I was looking for you, instead of climbing for twenty minutes, I could have just walked into your room?" Atticus asks.
"Yes." Arya says, giggling at Atticus's expression, as he mutters about "kicking Rebel's arse." The two make their way to the front gate, but are confronted by two guards.
"Stop now, in the name of the Queen!" One shouts, as they both draw their swords. Atticus curses himself for leaving Brightroar in the wagon. He looks over at Arya, who has her own hand on Needle's grip. Suddenly, they here a growl and turn to see Ghost, Jon's direwolf. One of the guards hits the other in the back of the neck with the pommel of his sword, knocking him out. Arya and Atticus look at him confused. The guard takes his helmet off, and reveals himself as Jon. Arya runs at her brother and hugs him tightly.
"Jon? But how?" Atticus asks. Jon smiles as they make their way to the wagon, putting his helmet back on.
"When the guards came in, I hid in the wardrobe. When they left, I was able to pick one off and choke him out. I took his armor and went to the kennels, and got Ghost." He says, as they sit in the wagon, Ghost jumping in. Atticus nods and throws a cloak over himself and Arya so they aren't recognized. He looks over and sees that Brightroar is still safe.
"I can't believe its over" Arya says. Atticus shakes his head.
"No, all we have done is gotten out of the viper's layer. There is more to come, sweet wolf." He says, kissing Arya on the cheek. She smiles and lays her head on his shoulder as they begin the trip to Casterly Rock.
AN- Another chapter done! Be honest, who here thought I was having Jon get separated from the group? Anyways, the chapter's title is a reference to the song Get Out Alive by Three Days Grace.
Well, I hope you enjoyed, and remember to R&R!