Gwen watched on as the ship docked at the Free City of Braavos. Never before had she seen such a place. The sun beat down on her pale skin, warming her through thoroughly and causing her to sweat. Sansa had a hand on her forehead, squinting as she looked into the distance. The Captain had offered the girls two silk dresses to wear for he knew the climate would not favour their large gowns. Gwen had accepted willingly, wanting nothing more than to get out from the red dress which had kept her prisoner for such a long time.

Sansa had been more reluctant, and Brienne had openly refused not to wear one. She stood in her armour and Gwen wondered how she was managing to stay upright in the heavy clothing. Gwen took a deep breath before she looked around, willing for something to happen as they docked. How much easier would her life be if she managed to find Lady Arya as soon as she set foot on the shore?

Brienne helped Sansa down from the ship as Gwen spoke with the captain. He told her that she had one week to find the girl before they set sail again. Gwen agreed quickly with the terms, wanting to do nothing more than go and find her before time ran out. The captain grumbled, saying he couldn't believe he was sailing back to the Saltpans when there was nothing there. Gwen shut him up when she said that there would be coins waiting for him when he returned.

He harrumphed at hearing her. She rolled her eyes and moved off the boat. She stood by Sansa's side, offering her an arm. She took it quickly as Gwen's eyes scanned around her.

"The young girl may have changed in appearance," Brienne declared. Gwen nodded in agreement with her, walking slowly past the men who moved to their own ships. Barrels and cargos were slung over their shoulders as they went. Their eyes moved to Gwen and Sansa, the only two females in the port as they did so. Gwen held Sansa's arm tighter then, forcing an encouraging smile on her face. The young girl was scared of any man that so much as looked at her. Gwen couldn't pretend that she didn't feel disgusted. But it was not in her place to be the one showing fear.

Gwen looked back over her shoulder, the statue of the Titan of Braavos in her vision as ships sailed in and out of the channel taking them to the ocean. The city's only link was the bridges which moved from isle to isle, moving over canals which glittered with blue waters.

"What do you suppose that is?" Sansa wondered as she looked above her head. Gwen looked up, her eyes narrowing in the beaming sunlight as she did so.

"It is an aqueduct," Brienne declared. "The Sweetwater River lies in there. It brings in fresh water from the mainland because there is no other water to drink which isn't contaminated."

"I've never seen anything like this," Sansa whispered as they took a bridge over the canal. She looked around with wonder evident on her face. Men and women roamed around, looking at everything which was happening. Everyone seemed so much different in comparison to Westeros. The clothes they wore were mainly of fine silks, gold's decorating their outfits.

"It is very different to the Seven Kingdoms," Brienne admitted to them. She was the one attracting most stares as she still wore her glimmering armour. "Where do you think we should begin to look for the Lady Arya?"

"She knows no one here," Gwen admitted simply. "She will not be among the ranks of nobility, I do not think. She may have had to find a living somehow. I do not know how, but she is a smart girl. She will be around here somewhere."

"You don't think she would have travelled to another Free City, do you?" Sansa wondered. Gwen shrugged in response, wishing that the sun would stop shining so much. She looked down a row in between buildings where women and men sat, their bodies limp and tired, their clothes in tatters. Gwen inhaled sharply at the sight of the beggars, shaking her head and determined not to think of Arya as one of them. She would be fine. She had to be fine.

"We keep looking for her," Brienne said. "I doubt anyone would be willing to help us. It's up to us to find her."

Gwen gulped loudly at hearing that but nodded. She closed her eyes, thinking back to Jaime and hoping that everything would end up fine.

...

Jaime sat in a bath later that evening. His head was tipped back, looking to the ceiling as he did so. He had stayed in the castle longer than he had anticipated. A raven had been sent from Peck and his other squires that they were on the way to Casterly Rock. Jaime decided to wait for them before returning to the Saltpans. He would make it back in excellent timing for Gwen to be back.

And then he would see what had happened. Jaime rolled his eyes at his behaviour. Since when had he been willing to wait for someone? Since when had he cared enough to wait for a girl? And a maid at that. He scoffed in disbelief of his situation. The woman certainly had managed to get under his skin. But he didn't mind. He quite liked it.

He could barely manage to tell her that he loved her like she had told him. He knew that he did love her. He thought that he could only love Cersei, but, he had been wrong. He loved Gwen more than he had ever loved Cersei. He still cared for his sister. He cared that she lived and managed to keep on doing so. But he didn't care about her enough to help her. She wasn't his problem anymore. She had brought all of her misfortune on herself.

"Ser Jaime."

Jaime opened his eyes and turned his head to see the sound of the female voice. For a moment he thought he had been dreaming and Gwen had called him. But she had dropped the Ser from his name, choosing to be so much more relaxed with him.

"Pia," Jaime spat out her name as she stood where she was in the doorway, her arms folded and her body completely relaxed as she watched him. "When did you get here?"

"We arrived half an hour ago," she informed him. "I thought I should tell you."

"And you couldn't tell me when I'd finished bathing?" Jaime arched a brow. She smirked and chuckled, shaking her head before turning her back to him.

"Better, Ser Jaime?" she wondered and Jaime ground his teeth together. He knew that the girl had always been cocky, but he didn't know just how much so. "Besides, you have nothing I have not seen before."

"Pia," Jaime warned her and he heard her giggle under her breath. "Tell Peck that I shall be there momentarily. Wait in the Small Hall. I trust everyone made it here safely?"

"We do have Ser Ilyn," she reminded him. "I don't think anything else could happen."

"True," Jaime said to her. "Now go."

She left with a quick curtsey and Jaime sighed, running his hand over his cheek. He stood up quickly, grabbing a towel and rubbing it over his wet body. He changed into his nightshirt and breeches before moving to his own room and grabbing his boots, sliding them onto his feet. Jaime ran the towel through his blonde hair, drying it off slowly and then he grabbed his jacket, placing it over his shoulders. He had to admit that he had become a master of dressing with one hand.

Jaime walked through the corridors purposefully, the only light coming from the lit candles on the walls. He finally made it to the Small Hall where all of his previous entourage sat. He looked at them with wonder. Ser Ilyn Payne remained in the corner of the room, his jaw set and his eyes looking at Jaime. The knight looked at Peck and Pia, the pair of them wrapped up in each other. He looked at Lewys Piper and Garrett Paege along with Pod.

"And where have you all been?" Jaime wondered from them. "We went to the Eyrie but you were nowhere to be seen."

"We were going to," Peck spoke up, his arm still wrapped around Pia's shoulders as she leant against him. "But the weather turned. We didn't make it one day in the snow. We turned back around and waited for you. You never came and so we roamed around, looking for you. The next thing we know we end up in Harrenhal again and send a raven here. It's just luck that we managed to find you, Ser Jaime."

"Luck," Jaime repeated the word and poured himself a goblet of wine. He took a seat at the head of the table, the rightful place for a Lannister and drained the alcohol. "We rest for this evening and then we head to the Saltpans."

"Where is Lady Gwen and Lady Brienne?" Garrett wondered. Jaime looked at the boy and poured himself some more wine.

"She rode to the Saltpans," Jaime whispered. "She took a ship to Braavos."

They all looked at each other as Jaime glanced into the depths of his wine, shaking his head back and forth before looking to the ceiling once more. His mind was constantly stuck on thinking about Gwen. He could not allow it to de-clutter and think about something else.

"Why?" Pia wondered.

"She looks for Lady Arya," Jaime admitted simply to them. They all looked at each other, wondering what would happen. Everyone knew that Arya Stark had been married to Lord Bolton's bastard. She was not in the Free Cities.

"The Starks are traitors, my Lord," Peck said. "Lady Arya is married."

"That is not her," Jaime said. "I saw Lady Arya, and the girl in Winterfell is not her. She has supposedly travelled to the Free Cities. We travelled to the Eyrie to bring her sister back. Lady Sansa has been found safe. Lady Stark is dead. The girls are the only remaining Starks that we know of."

A silence came over the congregation again. Ser Ilyn Payne was the one who continued to glare at Jaime, knowing that the knight had managed to let love cloud his duty. He should be returning those girls to the capital and sentencing them for treachery. But he wouldn't.

"The girls are still wanted, Ser," Peck informed Jaime who scoffed. Did he think him stupid? "I thought that we were helping Lady Gwen to find Lady Sansa for Lady Stark. We thought that you would apprehend them...not actually let them go back to her...we thought you only helped to save Lady Brienne..."

"I did," Jaime said. "But those girls are as innocent as any of you are. Piper and Paege both fought for the Starks. I doubt they will be the ones to inform the capital of their location."

"No, Ser Jaime," the two boys spoke in unison. Jaime turned his gaze to Peck and Pia then. It was the girl who shrugged nonchalantly.

"They don't deserve to suffer," she spoke, a hand covering her mouth as she did so. "They're both little girls."

"I know," Peck agreed. "I just know that what we are doing will be against the word of the King."

"What the Kings doesn't know won't kill him," Jaime said simply and then turned to look at Payne. "I can trust you, can't I, Payne?" he checked and the man gave a curt nod.

Jaime looked around before arching his brow at Pod. The young body agreed unanimously with what had already been discussed. Jaime took a moment to drink some more wine.

"When Lady Gwen returns then your services shall not be required. I have done my duty and have lifted the siege. You may return to wherever you want."

"You mean to say that we cannot stay with you?" Peck checked and Jaime nodded. "Where will you go?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Pia was the one to ask, looking up at Peck as she did so. "He's going to become Lord of Casterly Rock. It's the only way he can marry his maid."

Jaime felt shock move through his body as Pia deduced what he longed for. He kept his emotions guarded, his brow arched as he did so. The girl clearly was not as stupid as she looked.

"Is it allowed?" Peck wondered.

"Peck," Jaime drawled, "do you know who I am?"

The squire looked down to Jaime as he swirled the wine in his goblet and Peck coughed awkwardly. Jaime arched a brow, a look of amusement on his face before he stood up.

"I suggest you all get some rest. We leave tomorrow morning at sunrise. No one is to know of this plan, and if I find out anyone has spoken then I'll have Ser Ilyn Payne behead you."

He left his threat in the room and left them to dwell by themselves as he longed for the next day to come.

...

She heard her name. She knew that she had heard her name. She hadn't been called it in a long time. She couldn't remember the last time she had heard someone speak that name. No one in the Free Cities knew who she was. She lived in Winterfell. That was a distant place to them.

But she had certainly heard her name.

Arya.

She had looked to the side, wondering where the voice had come from. Her vision had been taken from her so cruelly. It had been removed and she continued to remain scared about what would happen. She moved down the small pathway between the buildings, her hands in front of her as she moved. The voice had sounded so familiar. It had sounded so much like the woman who had sung to her when she was little. The woman who had held her when she needed comforting. The one who had offered her advice and guided her.

But she had been snatched from her.

The Queen Regent had seen to that.

She wandered out, the sunlight hitting her skin as she whispered the name.

"Gwen."

She waited for someone to say something but nothing happened. She stood where she was; not knowing which way the voice had gone. She shook her head. She must have been wrong. It wasn't her. She must have heard what she wanted. She sank back to the ground in the hidden street, a stick by her side as she waited for something to happen. Little did she know that the Kindly Man would be gracing her with his presence.

...

Night fell over Braavos and Brienne had secured them somewhere to stay during the night. Gwen stood on the balcony, her fingers resting on her lips as she looked into the distance and over to the sea which she needed to sail back on in a week. One day had passed and they had not found Arya. There had been no sign of her.

It was almost like she was invisible.

"We'll find her," Sansa promised Gwen who forced herself to smile. She looked down at Sansa as she stood beside her. "She'll be somewhere."

"I only hope you're right," Gwen whispered to her. "Anyway, get some rest, Sansa. It has been a long day and we need to be up with the dawn tomorrow."

"Do you intend to get any sleep?" Sansa wondered and Gwen nodded.

"In a moment. I just need time to think."

Sansa looked weary for a moment but she did as she was told. She moved away from Gwen and sat down on the bed. Brienne had seen to it that she had her own room next door to them. She had retired early, her body tired after pulling around her armour all day.

Gwen remained stood where she was, the cool breeze from the small balcony nice on her skin. She had no idea how Brienne had managed to secure payment for the room, but she had been thankful. Apparently the knight did have ways to get her own way.

She looked down onto the street and waited patiently for her body to tire. But that didn't happen. She wanted to be back on the street and look for Arya. She didn't want to waste time sat in a room when she could be looking for the young girl.

Gwen waited for a few moments and sunk down onto her own bed, willing time to pass and the sun to rise.

...

Jaime rode in front of the congregation the next day. There were two boxes of golden coins on a small wagon which Pia and Peck were in charge of. Jaime often turned his head back around to make sure that the money was still there. He knew that if it disappeared then he would be in deep trouble. And he didn't need that.

They reached the Saltpans in record time. The entire congregation had looked around, fear taking hold of them. Jaime had demanded that they go and find some form of resting place for the night. He took to moving to the port, looking at the emptiness of it before he glanced onto the sea in front of him. He inhaled sharply, remaining where he was as the sun slowly set over the Saltpans. He could make out the Quiet Isle in the distance, completely cut off from the Saltpans due to the high tide.

"How convenient that I find you here."

Jaime took a moment to let the voice sink in. His hand reached for the hilt of his sword out of instinct before he turned around. He saw him stood there, a hand on his stomach and the other holding onto his sword. Jaime quickly drew his own weapon, holding it in his hand as he stared at the boy opposite him.

"I thought you dead." Jaime commented and the boy smirked, shrugging nonchalantly.

"So did my men," he admitted to Jaime. "They left me behind in a bed in the tavern. They thought that the bleeding wouldn't stop."

"I'd hoped for that to happen," Jaime said to him. "How did you survive? I didn't think a young pup like you had it in you to keep going."

"If the Lady Stark survived a slit throat then anyone can survive a sword in the stomach. I was lucky, apparently. The maester told me no organs had been damaged. You need to work on that aim of yours."

"Don't worry. I'll see to it this time that I don't miss." Jaime smugly said and the boy chuckled, running a hand through his hair before looking to the sea.

"I've been following you for the past two days," he admitted to Jaime. "I was initially concerned when you stopped here. The Saltpans have been destroyed. I wondered what you'd want here. But then I thought about it. She isn't with you, so she must be the reason."

"Oh, how clever you are," Jaime sarcastically spoke. "Did you manage to work that out by yourself?"

"You're forgetting a small point, I'm afraid," he said. "She's a maid. She can't be with you."

"I am the heir of Casterly Rock," Jaime snapped back. "I dictate what happens. You certainly have no say in this, farm boy."

"So where has she gone?" Beren wondered from Jaime with a shrug of his shoulders. "Where is the loving Gwendolyn?"

"None of your business," Jaime spat back. "You'll get nowhere near her. I will make sure of that."

"I will," he challenged Jaime. "She is mine. Gwendolyn always was mine. When I was banished then you have no idea what that did to me."

"I'm sure you managed in the brothels of other places," Jaime replied in a clear voice. "Anyway, I'm afraid I don't have much time to talk. I do have to kill you and I would like to rest for the evening."

"As the knight wishes," Beren mockingly bowed in front of Jaime. The knight tried to remain calm as he lunged forwards, his sword hitting against Beren's quickly. The young boy moved away from Jaime as he moved with skill and haste. Jaime saw that the boy was in pain as he allowed his sword to rest against his. The sound of clanging metal should have been enough to draw out his entourage. But they didn't come. They were too busy looking around.

Jaime moved as Beren swung at him, ducking underneath the silver blade as he kept his feet balanced. Anger flared up in his eyes as he blocked another blow, moving back defensively down the length of the port. Beren continued to fling his sword at Jaime, urging himself to hit harder all the time.

"You fight like a boy," Jaime said as he twirled and avoided the point of the blade. "Your anger gets the better of you."

"You have no idea," Beren said. "I want what was promised to me."

"She is no possession."

"She will be when I get my hands on her."

"I don't intend for that to happen," Jaime said back to Beren and the boy shook his head, their swords resting against each other, the pair of them pushing each other in the opposite direction. Jaime stood back, flinging his sword at Beren once again. The boy was caught off balance, the blade running straight through his own stomach. He looked down as Jaime rested a hand on his shoulder, steadying himself. The sword remained lodged in his skin whilst Beren felt blood gurgle through his throat. Jaime hadn't missed that time.

"Rot in the Seven Hells," Jaime urged him.

Beren felt a sudden surge of annoyance enter him before he moved his sword in his limp hand. It struck Jaime in the upper thigh, running through the muscle and bone. Jaime yelled out in pain, releasing his sword and falling to the ground. Beren fell without Jaime's hand balancing him, collapsing to a heap as he took his final breaths.

"Peck!" Jaime yelled out as his leg continued to burn, the pain unbelievable as blood trickled down his breeches. "Peck!" Jaime roared again, pushing his body forwards as he crawled. He could feel the blood running out of him and it sickened him. He continued to move in a slow pace, urging his body to move faster as he called out for his squire.

He couldn't die there. He couldn't die without her.

He wouldn't allow it of himself.

...

A/N: just a shortish chapter today. Anyway, thank you to chen, meri, Sarai Hawke, starrysky7, Guest, Undertaker's Hattress, Jofrench22, Miss Lori MacManus and Slayer's Angelus for reviewing the previous chapter. Do let me know what you think.