Gwen had to admit to herself that never before had she seen as encampment as vast as the one which Robb had set up. Tents lined the grassy area and men roamed around the entire space. Gwen had ridden beside Robb, the Lord of Winterfell choosing to keep Gwen close to him and keep an eye on her. Theon rode behind Robb, his eyes glaring at Gwen, wondering why she was coming with them.

She then found herself aimlessly walking around the camp, looking straight ahead as men continued to stare at her, clearly questioning her reason for being there. She had been quiet for the majority of the time, staying inside of the tent which Robb had granted her whilst he discussed business along with his small council. Gwen knew she had no reason for being there for she was nothing but a maid.

Longing for something to happen she sunk to the ground by the bed which had been set up, leaning her back against it and closing her eyes. She didn't move for a while, knowing that the men were training and didn't need her there as a distraction. Gwen closed her eyes, willing for the girls to be strong and hold on. Robb would save them. She had no doubt about it.

She yawned loudly, wondering when something would happen before she saw her tent open, the flap swinging behind the woman as she entered the small space. Gwen's eyes widened and she stood up, curtseying quickly as she saw Lady Stark stood before her.

"My son had told me that you were here," she informed Gwen and she nodded in agreement. "I thought he had the common sense to leave you behind and keep you safe in Winterfell."

"He would have done," Gwen defended him. "But I said that I wanted to come. It is my decision, my Lady. I could not sit and wait in Winterfell for the return of everyone."

Catelyn pursed her lips and looked at Gwen, shaking her head sadly when she realised that the girl would never do as she was told. She may have been an obedient maid but Catelyn could see that had changed. She could see that Gwen was slowly finding a voice and it worried her. It worried her what could happen to the maid. But she knew a time of war was approaching them. It was too late to worry about that.

"I see," Catelyn nodded once and she sighed before looking around the tent. "Lord Tyrion chose battle by combat...we had no choice but to see him free. He remained adamant that he did not commit the crimes and so I returned and stumbled upon this on my way back. I now travel to Lord Walder. We need his cooperation for the gates to open so that the Trident can be crossed. Only then can Robb continue on."

"I see," Gwen whispered.

"You would come with me but I do not trust Lord Walder with you in my presence. Especially because of the reward for you," Catelyn said and Gwen sighed for a moment, wishing that she could do something instead of simply sitting around in a tent and waiting for a battle to commence. A battle which she would never be involved in. It didn't bother her. She had no desire to fight against men who could strike her down without a second thought.

"Be careful, my Lady." Gwen urged Catelyn and the woman nodded.

"You too, Gwen. You know to remain out of the way, don't you?" she checked with the maid. "You're the only woman on this camp and men will be men. My son requests that you join him for dinner this evening. I have told him that he has to keep you safe."

"As you wish, Lady Stark," Gwen smiled at her and Catelyn nodded and took her leave, knowing that she had to be quick for the ride would take her the evening.

Gwen moved out from her tent, walking amongst the accommodation until she found the one which Robb was residing in. She was about to announce herself but she had no reason to do so for Robb was moving to it from the other direction. He had just seen his mother off, wishing her a pleasant journey before coming back to his tent, retiring for the evening after a day of discussing the tactics of battle.

"Gwen," he spoke softly. "I trust you are well?"

"As well as I can be, Lord Robb," Gwen said and he nodded, holding the flap to the tent open and extending his arm, allowing her to enter it before him. She did as was told, looking around and finding it to be much grander than the one she resided in. But he was the highest ranking Stark in the camp at that moment in time.

"Good," Robb said. "Mother has told me to keep an eye on you whilst she is gone. Only then do we ride into battle once we have passage over the Trident."

"And you will face the Lannisters?" Gwen checked; her voice quite soft as her thoughts instantly turned to Jaime. She thought of him riding into battle and she wondered how many men he would manage to kill. She did not doubt that the rumours would be true. She knew Jaime was skilled after all the maid's gossip.

"Yes," Robb said, pouring her a goblet of water and then sitting down at the table in his tent. Gwen sat opposite him, staring at him intently and she wondered how Robb would fair in battle. He had never seen a battle. He had been born in a time of peace which was most fortunate. "I assume the main issue will be the Kingslayer."

"Yes...I have heard that he is most difficult," Gwen admitted and Robb chuckled at the understatement. "No matter. We will win this war. We have to win for my father's sake."

"I do not doubt that you will," Gwen smiled. "You are skilled enough, my Lord."

"I only hope I can save my father," Robb informed her. "It is all that I want to do. He should never have gone to Kings Landing...we may not be in this mess if he hadn't gone."

Gwen said nothing, knowing that it really wasn't her place to speak when she had no right to do so.

"We cannot change the past," Gwen said and she sipped on the water delicately before placing her cup down onto the wooden surface. She looked around for a couple of moments and then settled her gaze back on Robb. The boy was certainly like his father. He was smart and kind along with being fierce. She did not doubt that he could be as great as Lord Stark.

"No, we cannot," Robb replied. "We hopefully ride into battle in the next day or so. We do not know what will happen, Gwen. I only hope that we return...but...my mother..."

"No," Gwen replied, shaking her head. "Do not speak like that, Lord Robb. Do not doubt yourself."

"You said that we cannot change the past," he reminded her. "But we also cannot tell what the future holds. You need to be prepared for my mother. She has looked after you, Gwen. She has kept you safe and I need you to help her if anything does happen."

Gwen looked at him and Robb's stern gaze levelled with her and she nodded once at him.

"You should know that I would do anything to help your mother," Gwen whispered. "I will look out for her like she has done for me. You do not need to worry."

"Thank you," Robb said sincerely. "Now, I am afraid the food isn't as grand as it is in Winterfell but it is all we could really muster. You know...time of war stopping us from eating like we do..." he reminded her and she smiled once at his words.

"It matters not to me," she promised him before looking at where the small selection of meats sat. Robb took some first before offering Gwen food and she took it without a moment of hesitance. She waited for him to say something more but they both lapsed into silence, clearly wondering about what would happen in the days to come.

...

Lady Catelyn returned hastily, telling her son that she had secured passage over the Trident. But there had been terms and conditions. Arya was to be wed to one of Walder's sons. That was the condition which angered Robb the most. He could not imagine his young sister being married and he knew that she would protest. And then he had been told of how he had to marry one of the daughters. He admitted that shock had been the initial reaction from his body. He didn't particularly want to marry them but it had been ordered of him. And if it had been ordered then it was obviously necessary. He agreed, telling his mother that he would gather the banner men.

Lady Stark nodded, holding her son tenderly to her as she realised that battle could claim his life. He told her not to give up hope and that he would do his best to return to her.

Gwen had entered then, resting a hand on Lady Stark's shoulder to offer her a small amount of comfort as Robb left her and a small tear ran down her face. She informed her son that she would wait for him as he rode away from her, a nod escaping him and Catelyn inhaled sharply. Rodrik remained stood by her side, telling her that he would saddle three horses and then they would move to the edge of the camp and wait for Robb's return.

"Will you come, Gwen?" Catelyn asked and the maid nodded.

"Of course I shall," she promised her.

"Good," Catelyn smiled, tucking her arm into Gwen's, needing some support at that moment in time. "I do not think I can manage on my own, knowing my son is riding into battle with only Rodrik there to calm my nerves."

Gwen smiled and walked by her side, climbing onto the horse which she had. She failed to believe that none of the men had claimed her horse for their own. Jaime's horse was quite the prize, she did not doubt. Silence was all that she heard as the sun reached its peak in the afternoon, slowly beginning to move back down to its hiding spot as the three of them rode on.

Gwen had never known time to pass by so slowly. She rode slowly by Lady Catelyn's side; often glancing at the woman to make sure she was as well as she could be. Gwen looked around the trees for a second, seeing some odd leaves and branches swaying in the breeze as Catelyn continued to look forwards, willing for her son to come back to her.

"The battle will have only just begun, my Lady," Rodrik informed Catelyn. "We may as well head back and stay in the camp."

"No," Catelyn said defiantly. "I will wait here until he comes back. I shall not move anywhere."

Rodrik sighed, obviously not enthralled with the answer which he had received. Yet he did nothing but stand and watch ahead of him. Gwen did the same, slowly running her hand down her horse's mane to try and soothe her nerves as well as her horses. Time went by and nothing happened. no one returned from the woods and no one made themselves known to the three who had been left behind.

"We should go, my Lady," Rodrik tried to remove Catelyn once more but she shook her head in defiance.

"No." She snapped at him.

"My Lady," Rodrik pleaded with her and Catelyn looked at him, her glare silencing him as her breath came out in short pants.

Before they could say anymore they saw the sight in front of him. Multiple horses jumped out from the trees, riding on the snow covered ground towards the three of them. Catelyn watched with intent, her heart beating ten to the dozen as she never stopped staring at the familiar sight of her son. She broke out into tears then, a wide smile on her face as she rubbed her eyes and saw him coming towards her.

Gwen could not refrain from smiling at the sight of the eldest Stark boy rushing towards them. She watched as his horse slowed and he dared to jump down from it as it still trotted slowly. Catelyn watched as he moved to her and helped her down from her horse. She held onto her son tightly, kissing his cheek before pulling back, her hands resting on his cheeks and she looked at him proudly.

Robb took his turn to help Gwen down, gratefully nodding at her as he set her to her feet. She ran a hand over his shoulder before he turned away and back to a horse which carried two men. Yet one had been bound by his hands and was being treated roughly. Gwen's eyes widened in surprise as she saw him, his blonde hair a mess on top of his head and his eyes glaring at the man who was handling him, throwing him down onto the floor.

"By the time they knew what was happening it had already happened," Robb informed his mother whilst Gwen stood behind the Lord, looking around his shoulder and onto the man on the floor before Lady Stark.

He slowly knelt before them, Robb's sword pointed in his direction and stopping him from making a move. Theon lurked behind him, his glare focused on the man on the ground.

"Lady Stark," he spoke, the usual air of confidence in his voice as Gwen noted the blood trickling down his dirt covered face. "I'd offer you my sword but I seem to have lost it."

"It is not your sword I want," Lady Stark spoke back, her voice cold and harsh in front of him. "Give me my daughters back. Give me my husband."

He inhaled sharply at her request, his gaze coming to rest on the end of the blooded sword in front of him as he spoke;

"I've lost them too, I'm afraid."

"Kill him Robb!" Theon interjected. "Send his head to his father. He cut down ten of our men. You saw him."

Robb looked at Theon and then back to the man knelt before him, his teeth clenched together and he longed to do nothing more than hurt him. He longed to see him suffer for what he had done. But he knew it was not practical.

"He's more use alive to us than dead." Robb declared.

Lady Stark seemed to have endured enough of his smirking face before she commanded the men what to do.

"Take him away and put him in irons."

The men pulled him up to his feet and only then did he note her. His green gaze settled on her blue one and he looked at her intently for a few moments, wondering what she was doing. She remained emotionless, her gaze vacant as he looked at Robb one more time.

"We could end this war right now, boy." He paused for a moment, studying Robb with curiosity. "Save thousands of lives. You fight for the Starks. I fight for the Lannisters. Choose your weapons and let us end this here and now."

Robb looked at him for a second, regarding him with distaste as Gwen studied the back of Robb's head, wondering what was running through his mind.

"If we do it your way, Kingslayer...you'd win..." Robb said. "We're not doing it your way."

The men seemed to realise that was the end of the conversation for they dragged Jaime away from them. Gwen looked to Lady Stark, knowing that she should follow the prisoner.

"My Lady," Gwen said quickly. "I should go with them...make sure they do not beat the prisoner too much..." Gwen quickly said and Lady Catelyn nodded at her.

"I trust you to keep him alive, Gwen," she informed her, knowing that was an easy task and one which would keep her out the way of the men's glances. She did not want them looking at her as if she were a piece of meat. "He needs to suffer but he needs to stay alive."

"Yes, my Lady," Gwen quickly said and jumped onto her horse, allowing it to take her back to the camp.

She reached it quickly, dropping down from the horse and tying it to a post. She placed her hands together, grabbing hold of a cloth and a jug of water, knowing that he would be in bad shape when she reached him. The sun was finally setting and she wandered through the camp, wondering where he could be. She finally saw the sight on the outside of the camp, three men gathered around a wooden post and jeering loudly.

She took a deep breath, walking along the grass until she came to them.

"What is happening here?" she demanded from the men. They each turned to face her, clear disregard on their faces as she studied them, waiting for an answer.

"None of your business, serving wench." One spat at her and Gwen glowered.

"It is when I have been ordered by Lady Stark to take care of him," she said and they all snorted, howls of laughter escaping them.

"And why would Lady Stark want that?" the snapped at her. "No one cares about his life."

"Actually, you could not be more wrong," he dared to speak which earned him another kick in the ribs. He doubled over in pain whilst Gwen looked at the men.

"If you have an issue with my orders then I suggest you take it up with Lady Stark," Gwen snapped at them and they all looked at each other hesitantly whilst Gwen arched a brow.

"I didn't think so," she muttered. "Now get out of here before I have you removed."

They all did as they were told, muttering insults under their breath as they left the serving maid to it. Her eyes followed them, making sure they left back into the maze of tents before she looked down at him. He was focused on her, intent showing in his eyes as she dropped down onto her knees in front of him.

"And when did you learn that you had a voice?" he enquired from her and she rolled her eyes.

"And when did you learn that you're not invincible?" she wondered and he shook his head at her, a smirk still on his face. Gwen dropped the cloth into the water and rinsed it quickly whilst he spoke.

"I never claimed to be invincible," he told her. "One battle win does not make that boy a conqueror."

"No," she agreed. "But he is doing a lot better than you are at the moment."

Jaime frowned at that and she rested the cloth on the side of his face, moving it downwards and washing away the blood from his pale skin. He winced at the contact, closing his eyes for a moment before he spoke;

"What are you doing here?" he wondered from her.

"I came here willingly," she replied. "Lord Robb was on his way to Kings Landing. I told him that I would go with him. I owe Lady Sansa and Lady Arya that much."

"Well...he isn't exactly heading to Kings Landing quickly," he told her and she shook her head.

"He will get there. You Lannisters just seem to end up getting in the way of every plan which we make," she informed him and he winced as she ran the cloth over his forehead, wondering if she could be a little more gentle with him.

"We're good like that," he told her with a smirk. "If I didn't know any better than I would say that you are drawn to danger."

"You're right." She told him. "You don't know any better."

He chuckled at hearing her and she dropped the cloth into the jug again, folding her free arm on her lap as she closed her eyes and she dared to build up to ask him the question which she feared the answer to.

"I was with your brother when Lady Stark took him hostage," she said and Jaime couldn't help the guttural laugh which came from him them. He could only imagine the innocent maid with his not so innocent little brother. "He was accused of pushing Lord Bran from the window. Yet he cleared his name, insisting that he did not do it."

"I assume Tyrion is clever enough to worm his way out of any trouble he finds himself in. If he had never been taken then this would never have happened," he said and Gwen shook her head, watching him and leaving the cloth in the water as he studied her.

"His dagger was found there with a blonde hair," Gwen said to Jaime and he arched a brow, wondering if she would be able to piece it all together. She was certainly on the road to accusations. "But it was not him."

"And you believe him?"

"I do not think him foolish enough to leave evidence which incriminates him," Gwen nodded in agreement. "And that leaves two other blondes...two who had access to his dagger..."

"Is that an accusation, Gwen?"

"Did you do it?" Gwen wondered from him and he sighed, looking away from her and she knew instantly that it had been him. She knew without a moment of hesitation what Jaime had done. He couldn't look her in the eye.

Gwen moved quickly without thinking, her hand racing across the air before making contact with his stubbly face. Jaime grunted once at the shock, his head remaining to the side as Gwen slapped him once more, the feeling of one slap nowhere near satisfactory enough.

Jaime reacted then, his gaze turning to face her as she stood up. He moved quickly, his legs entrapping hers and causing her to lose balance until she tumbled against him, her head hitting his chest as she knelt in between his legs which were squeezing against her sides and keeping her trapped against him.

"Why?" Gwen wondered from him, her back straight as she looked at him. His blond hair hung into his eyes and his stubble was slowly growing on his chin as he jutted it out defiantly. "Why would you do this?"

"I don't even think you are that dumb, Gwen," he snapped at her and watched as horror crossed her features.

"He...he saw you...he saw you and her together..."

"I had no choice," Jaime growled lowly to her and she shook her head, struggling to remove herself from his grip as she moved to her feet. "He had seen us and I couldn't have him go off talking."

"But you could let me?" she checked with him and he sighed. "You did not push me from a window, did you?"

"It could easily be arranged."

"You...you have ruined his life..." Gwen hissed. "You and her! I have to tell Lady Stark...she has to know..."

"You promised to keep it a secret," Jaime reminded her and she looked at him, seeing how truly vulnerable this man was in front of her. "You swore to me when I helped you leave the woods. I helped you escape and this is how you repay me?"

"You pushed a boy from a window!" Gwen snapped back, bending down to pick the jug and cloth up. "You almost killed him...and I thought that maybe there was a shred of decency in you...maybe you had some compassion...but you do not...you are too corrupted..."

"You thought that I had compassion?" Jaime checked with her. "Do not deem to claim you know me, Gwen. You know nothing about me. You think that because I helped you escape that it means something? Was my sister right? Did you have a futile fancy for me all along?"

"How could anyone feel anything for someone like you?" Gwen wondered and then snorted. "Except for your sister but that is because she is as intolerable as you are."

"You didn't say that when I had you begging for mercy," he reminded her. "You change your tune every so often, Gwen. It is hard to keep up with you."

"I could say the same about you," Gwen said, eyeing him with disgust. "But I am not the one who is pleading for my life now. That will be you."

"After all I did to help you..." Jaime reminded her. "I kept quiet whilst you were being smuggled out from the dungeon. I gave you my horse which you still keep. Does it hold some sentiment for you, Gwendolyn?"

"I told you not to call me that!" Gwen roared at him. "And this is completely different. What you did is inexcusable...it is so wrong..."

"And one wrong thing discredits me," Jaime told her. "I saved hundreds of lives by killing the mad King. I saved people yet none of that matters when I push one boy from a window."

Gwen felt herself pale as he looked at her, the intent in his face clear as day to her and she shook her head, a sickening feeling coming over her as she backed away from him.

"I don't fear death, Gwen," he promised her. "So go and tell your Lady Stark. Go and tell her all that I have done and my life shall be on your shoulders."

"Don't you dare," Gwen hissed at him. "Do not drag me into this...you are the one who started this...you are the one who caused this..."

"And you will be the one to finish it then," Jaime finished his speech and watched as she backed away from him and then turned on her heel, her hand over her mouth as she thought of the sudden revelation which had just come her way.