The little stag was one of the first to rise the following morning. Jaime had been awake for a while, thoughts of his sister haunting his gaze. He wondered what she was doing. He wondered how she was faring in King's Landing.

He also wondered of Jon Arryn. The man had turned ill as soon as Jaime had left. He hadn't asked any questions, deeming it unnecessary to do so. Besides, asking questions never got anyone anywhere. He remained sat on the log as he saw the girl walk past some of the sleeping men to the cart. She found a piece of bread and began to chew on it delicately.

Jaime stood up, her book in his hand as he moved over to her, wondering if he should bring up what happened the previous night. He decided against it. What she felt was no concern of his.

"I found this on the floor last night."

Sarah turned to look at him, her eyes moving down the armour he wore to the book in his extended hand.

"I assume it is yours considering most of the men here can't read," he told her.

She nodded once, wondering where it had gotten to when she had searched for it the previous night.

"Thank you, Ser Jaime," she replied. "I was searching for it last night. I thought that I may have forgotten to pack it."

She took it from his hand, holding it tightly against her stomach before finishing off the final bite of her bread. She looked up to Jaime as he observed her for a moment or two. Her eyes widened as she pushed her hair behind her ears, completely uneasy with him staring at her in such a personal manner.

"I trust you slept well," Jaime said, trying his best to be polite towards the girl. It would make his life easier if she was content in his company. She'd have to get used to it for the next few weeks.

"Quite," she replied.

Jaime watched as she pulled her hair from behind her ears and his brow furrowed.

"Why do you do that?" he asked from her.

She arched her eyebrow as she cradled the book against her side now.

"Do what?" she wondered from him, waiting for him to answer.

But he didn't answer first. No. Jaime decided to move his hand forwards, his fingers running down the length of her black curls, his knuckles scraping down the material of the gown she wore. He felt the softness of her hair and the shudder of her shoulders. He'd learned to read people at an early age. It was a trait which never went against him.

He pushed her hair back behind her ear, tucking it over her shoulder and leaving her neck exposed along with her ears.

"You push your hair behind your ears when nervous, only to push it back when you realise what you have done. I assume it is a nervous trait." Jaime told her.

She gulped once and shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, not too sure what she should say in response to him. She kept quiet for a second. Jaime did his best not to smirk at her nerves.

"Mother taught me not to flaunt that what was unattractive if I could hide it," Sarah spoke. "My ears aren't particularly attractive. I suppose I have done it my entire life."

"Not everyone is perfect," Jaime told her. "Besides, I thought that I told you to ignore what people said? You're a Baratheon. They don't tend to care about people's opinions."

Jaime walked away from her to begin to wake the men, leaving her with his words. She moved her fingers to pull her hair back down her chest. She froze as soon as she felt her hand on her ear and she watched as Jaime nudged a man in the ribs.

She rocked back and forth on her heels as she walked back to her tent, not bothering to hide her ears as she packed her book away.

...

Sarah had the hood to her cloak on top of her head, hiding her face from view as the wind roughly blew against them. Jaime remained in the middle of the men, allowing them to bear the brunt of the elements as some of them crowded him from the full force of the wind. The girl rode besides him, her head down as she felt her eyes water at the breeze.

"Ser Jaime!" a sudden voice called out.

Jaime looked up, lifting the visor to his helmet up. He said nothing, waiting for an explanation as to why he had been snapped out of his thoughts.

"I think that there is something following us."

Jaime said nothing. How many men had said something similar? Jaime was pretty sure that no one was following them. Some men just ended up being more scared than others because they had never left the walls of King's Landing.

"I am sure it is nothing but your imagination," Jaime said to the man who he assumed was one of Stannis's guards. He'd never seen him before. "We keep riding until nightfall and then we find the nearest inn."

"But, Ser-"

"-No buts," Jaime interrupted. "I have no time for your petty worries. Besides, you wouldn't want to worry Lady Sarah, would you?"

The guard went quiet at hearing that, bowing his head as he thought for a moment.

Sarah looked up, her eyes meeting Jaime's orbs before she turned her attention to the man who had just made himself known to her.

"No, apologies, Ser Jaime." He inclined his head in Jaime's direction before catching Sarah's eyes. "Apologies, my Lady."

Sarah bowed her head back out of politeness, but Jaime chose to ignore the man. He lowered his helm again and rolled his eyes. He didn't need distractions. He needed to get North and then back to King's Landing as soon as possible. That was the aim

"Ser."

"What now?" Jaime snapped, frustration coursing through him.

But this time the man had no time to answer. Men burst onto the Kingsroad, making themselves known as they held blades in their hands, along with bow and arrows. Jaime allowed his horse to rush away as soon as he had climbed down from the creature. He drew his sword from its sheath as the unsightly crew of men began to attack.

"Get her out of here!" Jaime snapped, his sword clashing with another man's blade. He ducked down, ramming his sword through the man's stomach before he glanced to some of his men.

Two of them had taken hold of Sarah by her arms, aiding her off of her horse. They shielded her with their bodies, rushing into the woods by the side of the road as Jaime continued to fight.

Sarah was bent at the waist as the men rushed alongside her, their arms over her body and shielding her from anyone who came her way. They stopped by a tree, the two men in grey cloaks about to draw their swords. One man managed to get his sword from its sheathe in time, the other failing as two men descended on them.

One of her guard's throats was slit with ease, blood rushing out of his skin as Sarah shrieked and backed away, coming to a tree as the other man turned to look at her, his sword still fighting two against one.

"Run, Lady Sarah!" he commanded her.

The girl's eyes widened as his sword was knocked from his hands and another one chopped his head off in one clean swipe.

Sarah's eyes widened with fear as she saw them advance towards her. She panicked, her hair flailing everywhere in the wind as she bent down to grab onto a disregarded sword. She looked into the distance, wondering if anyone was coming for her.

"Do you know how to use that, girlie?" one teased of her.

Sarah held the weapon with both hands, keeping it pointed at the two men as they advanced towards her and her breathing quickened. One man nodded to the other in a show of understanding. Sarah's confusion didn't last long as one of them swung the sword against the weapon she was carrying.

She yelped at the impact, doing her best to keep the sword in her hand. But the other man moved quicker, his arm wrapping around her waist as he dragged the sword from her hand and tossed it aside. He turned Sarah in his hold and she instantly slapped him across the face.

He repeated the motion, the back of his hand hitting her cheek with enough force to throw her from her feet. She fell to the floor and began to crawl, hoping that was enough to get away. One of them had other ideas though.

He grabbed hold of her by her hair, hauling her to her feet and pressing the front of her body against a tree. Sarah groaned in pain as he turned her head to the side, pulling her hair away from her neck as his lips latched against her skin.

She felt a sob well up inside of her as she continued to fight, doing her best to get away from their grip.

"You're a fighter," he whispered in her ear as the other man drew his blade and set about cutting the fabric of her dress away. "Much like our own kind are. Nowhere near as pretty though, are ya?"

Sarah continued to squirm as she felt her dress fall from her shoulders and the man ripped it from her body to leave her in her smallclothes.

"I am Sarah Baratheon," she spoke, doing her best to sound full of authority. "My uncle is King...my father...Lord of Dragonstone..."

"Fancy titles," he informed her, his hand snaking around her front to grab her breast through her clothes. "But we don't have much care for the King here, you see."

"No...he'll pay you...anything..."

"No doubt," the other man said, "but we'd rather have a good fucking."

"No!" Sarah screamed as she felt herself being pulled to the floor, firm hands on her hips as she began to try and crawl away. The man made busy, trying to get through her small clothes as she continued to fight every movement he made. The other one watched on as the girl fought uselessly.

That was until he felt nothing at all. A sword rammed through his stomach and he collapsed to the ground. The other man with him looked up, loosening his grip on the girl as she fell to the floor and looked to the side, peering through the leaves on the ground to the dead body next to her.

The other man was soon dead too, a sword slicing through his chest as his weapon remained too far away to reach.

...

Jaime Lannister rushed through the woods, following the guard who he had just sent in pursuit of Lady Sarah. Some of his men followed whilst some stayed behind to question one of the attackers. They'd been outnumbered, that had been true, but they had the skill needed to win. Jaime was the youngest member in history to join the Kingsguard, of course he could destroy a few untrained men.

Beating an unskilled man with a rough blade was easy for him.

He rushed through the trees, finally coming upon the sight which made him worry for his own life.

If they've had the little stag then Robert will have my life, he thought to himself as soon as he saw the dark haired girl on the floor.

Beren, the guard Jaime had sent after her, had his sword through some man's chest, slowly pulling it out.

Jaime saw the two dead men and knelt down besides the shaking girl, his hands helping her to sit up. He knelt down next to her as he felt her cold skin and trembling form. Her underclothes had been dirtied by the mud, and covered only just her upper thigh to the top of her breast.

"Did they rape you?" Jaime asked of her, his words blunt and harsh to her ears.

"No," Sarah replied, trying to hold back the sobs that wanted to escape her.

"I found them about to," Beren informed Jaime. "He had his cock lined up with her arse."

Sarah winced again at his words and Jaime unclipped the cloak from his shoulders, knowing that he had to get her somewhere safe. If word broke out about this then Stannis Baratheon would have his head on a spike, Jaime did not doubt that.

"You're okay," Jaime told her, doing his best to keep her calm. He wrapped his cloak around her shoulders, pulling it tightly around her thin body. She did nothing for a few moments as she watched him try to get her warm.

"Take the bodies further into the woods," Jaime demanded Beren as more of his men huddled around, whispering about the sight in front of them.

"All of you gather the horses. Where is the man we spared?"

"Here, Ser Jaime," one man piped up.

Sarah looked over to Jaime as he strode over to the man who was knelt on the floor. She took in his appearance as he quivered on the floor. Sarah did nothing for a moment, wondering what Jaime was going to do to him.

"I had no idea that they'd try that...I didn't know..." he spoke, pointing at Sarah as she remained huddled in a ball on the floor.

"Silence," Jaime demanded. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm Gurn," the man spoke. "A free folk...I didn't know that they were going to hurt them...I didn't know that they were going to attack. Honest truth. We were going South...needed to escape from the things beyond the Wall."

"And do you think I believe you? You're a wildling. You drew a sword."

"I was protecting my-"

"-I've heard enough." Jaime declared, cutting the man off.

Sarah saw the panic rise in his eyes as Jaime had him bow his head, his men holding his arms and stopping him from escaping. She saw Jaime unsheathe his bloody sword and she spoke, her voice stern;

"No," she snapped at Jaime.

The Kingslayer turned to look at her with an arched brow, wondering what she was doing. All eyes turned onto her as she forced herself to stand up, Jaime's cloak covering her body.

"What do you mean no?" Jaime wondered from her. "This man-"

"-He was not part of the attack. He said so. Did you see him kill any of your men?"

Jaime looked at her with wide eyes, wondering what she was doing. She kept her head held high, her hair behind her shoulders as she jutted her chin out.

"He has done no harm. You have killed everyone who he knows. He is alone now." Sarah said and Jaime wondered where this compassion had come from. "Everyone who attacked has died. Justice has been done. Killing an innocent man is not the right thing to do."

Jaime regarded her with caution for a second.

"I won't hurt anyone, m'Lady, I promise." Gurn promised her.

"Do as I say." Sarah demanded. "I am the niece to the King, am I not? Release him and let him go. He won't be causing us anymore harm, will he?"

Jaime knew that defying the girl would have repercussions. Repercussions that were not worth his time. He sheathed his sword again and looked down at the wildling.

"It seems the Lady has saved you," Jaime said, nodding at his men to let him go. "Leave here. If I ever see you again then I promise you won't be as fortunate next time."

"Yes, m'Lord," he promised Jaime and scurried away, bowing to Sarah as he ran past her.

The men said nothing as Jaime continued to stare at the girl. Her shaking had ceased and he noted how her cheek was growing inflamed.

"Go and ready the horses again. Bury the bodies well," Jaime said. "I want no one to know of their existence."

Mumbles of agreements rang through the group as Jaime walked up to Sarah again. She remained stood where she was, Jaime's cloak tightly held to her body.

"You're finally living up to your House's words," Jaime told her. "And their legendary stubbornness."

"He'd done nothing to deserve death if his story was good and true."

"And did you believe his story?" Jaime asked from her and she shrugged.

"A bit of faith in some people never hurt," Sarah said and Jaime shook his head as he pressed his fingertips against her cheek.

"Did they strike you?" he wondered from her.

"One of them did," she nodded in response. "I tried my best not to let them have me without a fight."

Nodding, Jaime ran his hand down the length of her neck and fastened the ties to his cloak around her body, his blonde hair falling in his face as he concentrated on the movement. Sarah kept quiet, allowing him to complete the motion before he quickly moved his arm around her shoulders and the other under her knees, tipping her into his arms.

"I can walk," she informed him.

"You've begun to tremble again," Jaime said to her. "We'll find an inn as soon as possible and stay there for the night. You can get cleaned up and rest for the evening."

Nodding, Sarah allowed her own arms to wrap around his shoulders.

"Thank you," she said.

"I was not the one who stopped the men from having their way with you," Jaime told her. "I came afterwards. I did nothing to deserve your thanks."

"Well, you have them anyway," Sarah shrugged.

"Save your words for a man who deserves them, little stag," Jaime advised her. "They'll serve you better that way."

...

A/N: Thanks to anyone reading and to those who review! I hope you'll let me know what you think so far!