They walked until late afternoon, but the river never looked like narrowing. The girl could clearly remember a place where fallen earth and boulders from an old landslide had pushed one bank out and created a bottleneck, where the distance to the opposite bank was greatly reduced, but she couldn't remember exactly where it was. She was also wary that other travellers with shady intentions, who needed to keep off the major thoroughfares, would likely be around at a non-traditional river crossing. Seeing as it was pretty much the only safe spot to cross, if bridges were not on your agenda.

At a high point of ground she stood on a ledge of rock that jutted out and looked along the river into the distance, squinting her eyes to try and better make out any narrowing in its snaking shape.

'What's the verdict?' Jaime asked. He was sitting on the ground behind her, using Sooty's body to block the sun. The man and horse appeared to have settled into an uneasy truce. Away from the cover of the trees it was uncommonly hot. Midges hung in a dense cloud near the water.

'Still nothing'. She turned and stood facing the trees, trying to decide whether to keep going, or take another break until it cooled down. Her clothes stuck to her skin and her mouth felt dry even though she'd just had a drink. Of course, the hangover wasn't helping. She was tempted to jump in the water, but the current had become fast-flowing and unpredictable, full of whirlpools. The bank was steep, stony and falling sharply into black pools that she knew were very deep.

She looked over at Jaime. His hair was wet with sweat, and he held his arms out in front of him to keep the metal chain away from his body. The cuffs reflected light as he moved them, stretching his fingers.

'I'm sorry you're stuck with those,' she said, nodding at the manacles. 'I wish we'd reached the Hollow today, and I'd been able to get a hold of something to remove them.' As she said these words, she recognised a shift in her normal view of the world. Beyond her family, it was unlike her to care about other people's problems. Normally she could detach, stay distanced. Jaime had gotten to her. The metal must be burning his skin, she thought, and she could almost feel the burn on her own wrists.

Jaime puffed air out with his lower lip to blow his limp fringe off his forehead, where it was sticking to his stitches. 'Thank you for feeling sorry for me. I feel sorry for you too, being stuck with me. I haven't been very trust-worthy. I'm causing you serious delays. You're no doubt ruing the day we met.'

'Well, yes and no,' she said. She couldn't help smiling, and it gave away her thoughts.

'There have been good moments,' he admitted.

'Yep.' She blushed. Her face was already red from the hot day, hopefully Jaime wouldn't notice. She stammered on, 'I... I figure it had been... um... a while since you... had a good moment. Like the other night. A moment.' Best shut up now, you're making a fool of yourself.

Jaime was gracious enough not to make fun of her. 'Well, yes. It has, had, definitely been a very long time. I only had ever been, previous to you I mean, been with one girl. Intimately. So... it was a bit of a first for me, as moments go.' Jaime paused. The silence between them dragged on a bit too long. 'Look, are we speaking about fucking each other last night? Because if you're talking about the stew, I mean, that was great too - ' he feigned innocent bewilderment.

She burst out laughing. 'You're - ' she wiped at her eyes, trying to stop laughing, unsuccessfully. 'You're really funny. Yeah, that's what we're talking about. Idiot.' She raised her water bottle to her mouth, took a gulp.

'I thought so.' Jaime said, dead-pan. 'I mean, to be honest, your stew really wasn't that great.'

She spluttered into laughter again, spraying water. 'I know. Well. I have other skills.

'Yes. You do.'

'I hope it was enjoyable, even though it wasn't with, y'know. Your girl.'

'It was, very. Enjoyable.'

She took a deep breath, let it out. They looked at each other. She felt soft inside, like when she'd drunk the wine, like little bubbles were fizzing all around her body. 'Thanks. For making me laugh. I... I don't laugh much. It's nice.'

'Hey, it's nothing.' Jaime smiled. 'You seemed a little down back there, talking about your brother. I hope I cheered you up.'

'You have. Thank you. It's hard to talk about him. I feel like I unburdened on you too much, I don't know why. Normally I don't talk about him. It still hurts, a lot. To talk about him.' The girl bent her head, the sun prickling the back of her hair.

'How long has it been? Since...?'

'Over a year, now.'

'Well. Time will make it better.'

'No. I don't think so.' She straightened up. 'C'mon let's keep going.'

'What's that?' she said, as Sooty halted. The girl peered out into the fast growing dusk, the sun now gone and the temperature dropping so rapidly that puffs of steam rose from her lips.

'Did you hear something?' Jaime asked behind her.

'Sooty did. Her ears...' she pointed at the horse's ears which were pricked straight up, her neck raised and her whole body beneath them still.

The girl slid down off the saddle. 'You stay here,' she whispered to Jaime. The sound of hoof beats came faintly up ahead, and for a second she thought of turning back and running, but then the distinct, much closer sound of a man's boots made her freeze.

'Hey!' A voice called, out of sight in the darkness. The figure of a man moved into view on the track, carrying a dim light, then two more. They stared in the direction of Sooty where she stood behind a screen of tangled branches, maybe trying to decide what she was. The girl stepped out away from the horse, so they could see her.

'Hey,' she greeted them. 'We're travellers. There's only two of us, on our way to RedHollow.' She walked towards the men as one of them raised his lantern, stopping when she was close enough in the circle of light thrown by it for them to see her. A fourth man had come up and now stood beside the others, leading a pack horse. She recognised this particular man, he lived in RedHollow and had a large family of unruly kids, who he supported by being an accomplished poacher of game from nearby estates.

'I know you,' a different man said.

The girl held out her hands, palms up. 'I used to frequent these parts often.'

'Not usually this side of the river, though,' the man said. 'These tracks are more for hunters, not travellers. Why didn't you cross at the bridge, if you want to get to the Hollow?'

The girl looked slightly embarrassed. 'I think... I think I got lost. It's been a while since I've been here. We went off the road chasing a goat and then it got dark and, we must have missed the bridge.' She smiled guilelessly.

'Well there's not another bridge for many miles. You'd best turn back. These tracks wander all over, you'll only get more lost.'

'Yes, I think we will do that. We were about to make camp for the night. Tomorrow we'll head back to the bridge.'

'And what is your business there, Delivery Girl? Are you trading goods?' the poacher asked. The back of his horse was laden with the corpses of deer and pheasants, they'd obviously done well for themselves.

'Just passing on messages, mainly,' the girl said, casually. 'Some salt and spices from further North. Maybe buy an axe.'

The poacher looked curious. 'What sort of an axe?'

'Or a broadsword. Cutlass. Hatchet. Anything with a heavy blade, easy to swing.' She shrugged. 'I may visit Cole, if he's still the smith at the Hollow. If the army haven't recruited him yet.'

'Nah, his leg keeps him out,' the poacher said, and the other men laughed at this. 'That leg injury comes and goes whenever it's convenient! Yes, Cole's still there. A good friend of your father's. I'm sure he'll have a decent blade for you.'

She nodded. She hoped they might be on their way without further questions, but the group seemed in no great hurry. The first man who'd spoken leaned on a tree and picked at his teeth, spat, then said 'So, why the axe? Is delivery work so slow these days that you're planning a new career slitting logs?' He grinned at her. 'Or is it an executioner you have your mind set on? I always thought you'd make a fine one. Old Sooty there,' he gestured behind the girl to where her horse still stood half-hidden in the shadows, 'would definitely be an asset in that line of work.'

She kept the smile on her face. 'You know how it is,' she said. 'With the war on. A girl alone can't be too careful.'

'This damned war,' the man agreed. 'With so many men away fighting, the one's left are finding it hard to keep order in the villages. The King, the Starks, the Lannisters, the Baratheons, all at each other's throats. None of them care about us. Desperate times. Crazy times.'

The girl smiled and nodded. 'I try to stay out of politics, ' she said, pleasantly. 'I wouldn't even know who was who.' This wasn't far from the truth. She knew of the boy King and his family and wished them all dead, despite never having laid eyes on them. But that was for personal reasons, and not because she had an allegiance to any House. Who ran the country was of no concern to her. She'd keep on slipping under their notice, skirting the laws, as she'd always done.

'I'd say there's little difference between them all in the end,' the man said.

'Brodrick is somewhat of an expert in the matter,' one of the other men volunteered. 'Being an ex-soldier and all. He's fought for the North many times in minor skirmishes, been to the Capital to talk tactics with Robert Baratheon and his Kingsguard, back when he sat on the Throne. Brod here knows them all.' The man leaning against the tree acknowledged this. 'I've seen the whole Royal Family in the flesh,' he said.

The girl tuned the conversation out. As if she cared who he knew. Unless he was an assassin she could hire to cut the boy King's heart out, she didn't give a flying fuck about his name-dropping. She wished they would hurry up and leave.

'I was sorry to hear about your father,' the poacher said, changing the subject. 'The war has many victims.'

The girl felt herself stiffen. 'He wasn't a war victim,' she said.

'And yet the death of his son was the reason behind his own death. I realise he took his life, girl, but the reason behind what happened to his son was war. A sad yet common tale these days. Yours is not the only loss.'

The girl's heart rate began to increase, she felt a tightness in her chest and her fists clenched. She recognised in herself the signs of a furious rage, and struggled to control her voice. 'My brother wasn't a war victim, either,' she said. 'He was murdered.'

'Yes,' the poacher answered. 'But we all know why.'

The girl gritted her teeth. She forced herself to breathe steadily, to focus; she gripped her hands together as hard as she could. Anything to stop the overwhelming anger inside of her from rising up and spilling over into words or actions she knew she'd regret. Calm down, she told herself sternly. There are four of them, and one of you. These men are not the enemy. The King and his family are the enemy. Calm down.

'Well, good luck in your travels, Delivery Girl,' the poacher said. 'I hope you find your way back to the bridge alright, and if Cole can't help you out, the Innkeeper at the Crossroads always has spare steel.'

'I don't ever go to the Crossroads any more,' she said, a chill settling on her spine at the name. 'But thank you for the information.'

The men nodded and made as if to go on past. The girl moved aside to give them room, and watched as they headed along the track. As they drew level with the spot where Sooty was standing, the man they'd referred to as Brodrick paused. 'Who's your companion up there?' he called back.

'A vagrant,' she said. 'Some unfortunate prisoner of the war I picked up along the road.'

Brodrick stared up at the shapes of Jaime and Sooty, Jaime with his head down and face in shadow. 'His clothes don't look local. Why are you with him? You never travel with others.'

'Turns out I knew him years ago... he's from a town on my route. I'm just dropping him off, as a favour for an old acquaintance.' Please just keep going, she thought.

'Hey, you!' Brodrick shouted at Jaime. 'Got a name?'

'Don't bother, he had his tongue removed by his captors,' the girl said. 'Poor fellow.'

'Come on Brod, we've still got hunting to do,' the poacher urged. Brodrick stared at Jaime a while longer, as if trying to place something, then unwillingly turned away. The girl waited until they'd disappeared around the corner, then whistled Sooty over and scrambled up onto her back. With a sharp tap of her heels, the horse and her two riders trotted briskly off into the woods, breaking into a gallop as soon as they were safely out of earshot of the men.

Finally when she thought she'd put enough distance between them, the girl slowed Sooty to a walk. They weaved between the trees, now almost in total darkness.

'Bit close for comfort, that,' Jaime said.

'Uh-huh. I was worried you might try and say something, or pretend you were a local. That's why I said the tongue thing.'

'I can fake a local accent just fine.'

'Yeah, I don't think so,' the girl scoffed. 'Your voice is way too upper-class.'

'I spent a lot of time around Lords, growing up,' Jaime explained a bit too defensively, she thought. 'Before I turned to crime. Obviously.'

'Obviously.' They continued on through the bush, steam rising from Sooty's coat as the night cooled. The horse was a little spooked from their gallop, and jogged nervously. The air in the girl's lungs felt cold.

'I'm enjoying sitting behind you on this horse,' Jaime said. 'The motion is very pleasant.'

'Nice change of topic,' she said.

'We could talk about my background if you really want,' he said, unconcerned, 'It's not that interesting. Or we could talk about how I like touching you. By touching you I mean, of course, fucking you.' His tone when he said such blunt things was so unapologetic, she had to giggle. She dug him in the stomach with her elbow.

'Shhh,' she said. 'I'm trying to find us a place to sleep. Stop distracting me.'

'And will you be... sleeping in my blankets tonight? Or not? I don't think I can stand the suspense.'

She ignored him, save for an exhalation of breath through her nose.

'Come on.' Jaime wheedled. 'Give me something.'

'You have another girl, who's important to you, back home. Am I right? And I don't really need complications,' she said finally.

'That's not really answering me.'

'You're so annoying. I'm regretting ever... fucking you.' She couldn't help smiling as she said it.

Jaime groaned melodramatically behind her. 'Was I that bad? I promise I can do better.'

Sooty shied sideways and nearly unseated him. He had to grab at the girl's jacket, and almost pulled her off with him.

'Fuck this horse,' he grumbled.

The girl started giggling again despite herself.

'On second thoughts, that's probably a bad idea,' Jaime clarified. 'While your horse does have a certain savage charm... alas I rather think she hates me.'

'Awww, poor Jaime. All the girls hate you.' The girl put on an exaggerated sad voice.

'I don't think this one really hates me. Or else she wouldn't be flirting with me so much.'

'Me, flirting with you?'

'Yep. It's so obvious. Embarrassing really.'

'Oh, you're so full of shit.' She reined Sooty in and jumped off. Jaime slid down after her. She strode determinedly around to the other side of her horse and started unpacking. Jaime caught up with her, ducking under Sooty's neck. She turned to walk away with an armful of camp supplies, and he fell in step next to her.

'Are you right?' she asked tartly. He stepped his leg across hers. Even in the dim light she could have avoided it, but she deliberately allowed her leg to hit up against his. 'Hey, stop tripping me, girl,' Jaime said softly. 'You know I'm chained up. We could fall over.' He used his arm to steady her.

He smelled of smoke and dirt and sweat. She could breathe his scent in forever. Against all her best intentions, and even without the effects of any alcohol to blame, she could feel herself sliding back into some place crazy, some place intoxicating. Some place where rational thought did not exist.

'What about your other girl?' she said, clinging to a last piece of sanity.

'I'm not thinking of her right now,' Jaime whispered.

They were standing so close, legs between each other's legs, the warm vapour from their words drifting around them; she felt dazed. The darkness around them, and Jaime's body heat made her unsettled. Disturbed. She wanted something, more than last night. Wanted it with a desire so fierce, she felt stunned.

'I can't do this,' she blurted, and broke away. He didn't try to stop her, maybe he was too surprised. She walked off, quickly putting a safe distance between them. Her head reeled with half-formed thoughts, none of them helpful. Oh fuck, oh fuck, but what am I going to do about him?