Jaime kept guard of Sarah's door for one part of the night before Beren came to take over from him. Nodding, Jaime moved back down the inn and out to the camp. He looked up to the moon in the sky above him as he heard the snores of his men enter his ears. He kept quiet as he saw a light coming from the room at the end of the mill.

He looked up to see the little stag sat on the window ledge, a candle on the other side of the seat. She was writing on a piece of parchment against the book which she had brought with her. Her eyes were firmly set on the paper as she did her best to concentrate on the words she was writing.

Jaime wondered what she was writing about, and who she was writing to. He could only assume that it her father, or perhaps her sister. She seemed close to the little girl. Not that it would be unfathomable. Jaime was close to Cersei and Tyrion. Obviously he loved one more than other.

Something stirred inside of him as he thought of Cersei and all that she had said to him before. He couldn't help but think of her flowing blonde hair and her beauty. Jaime looked back to the little stag in the window, wondering how she would fare in Winterfell. If they said that Robb Stark was growing to be a handsome man then he would most certainly be put out by his older bride.

...

"My Lady, did you sleep well?"

Sarah looked up as she finally moved past Beren who had been standing guard. She held the letter in her hand for her father as she looked to the man who was on guard duty in her room. She nodded softly, smiling at him as she motioned back into her room.

"Very well, I am sorry that you had to sit out here and guard my room."

"Don't mention it," he waved a hand. "Lord Stannis would have my head if I did anything other than my job."

Sarah pursed her lips in the smile, nodding as she began to walk down the corridor.

"My belongings are in my room. The trunk is on the bed. Would you be able to bring it down for me?"

"Of course, my Lady," he told her. "The men are outside eating breakfast. The inn's rather quiet so now is the time to break your fast."

"Thank you, Beren," Sarah spoke and moved down the stairs.

She looked around the inn before her eyes spotted the innkeeper's wife. She was stood behind a wooden bar, polishing the goblets and doing her best to make them shine again. She stopped her action as soon as she saw Sarah approach.

"My Lady," she curtseyed.

"Please," Sarah said to her, rushing to her side and holding her letter out to the woman. "I heard the sound of ravens from the barn last night."

"I hope they did not keep you awake, my Lady," the woman said, the thought of that happening seemed to scare her senseless. Sarah had no idea why.

"No," she shook her head. "It did nothing to bother me, I assure you. I was wondering if you could have a raven send this letter to Dragonstone. It is for my father and mother."

"Oh," the wife said, nodding with haste, her hair falling from her small bun as she nodded with haste. "Of course I can, my Lady."

"Thank you," Sarah said as the door opened again.

Jaime strolled in at a leisurely pace, his armour covering his body and his hand on the hilt of his sword as per usual. Sarah wondered if he was already poised for attack. He saw the innkeeper hold the letter and his brow arched.

"What is that?" he wondered from Sarah.

"Nothing," she told him. "It is a letter for my mother and father. I thought that they would like to know of our progress."

"I shall need to read it before you send it," Jaime told her and Sarah's eyes fluttered open and closed multiple time, annoyance coursing through her veins as she took in his words.

"Whatever do you mean?" she asked him. "It is private for my mother and father. I do not wish for you to read it."

"Have you mentioned anything about yesterday?" wondered Jaime, finally standing next to her. The innkeeper's wife kept quiet, the letter in the pocket of her apron as Jaime and Sarah glowered at each other.

"No," Sarah truthfully said. "And you know why I haven't. If my father found out that I had been close to losing my innocence then your head would be on a spike."

Jaime regarded her with caution. He didn't know whether she was telling him the truth or not. She smoothed out the gown she wore, her cloak covering her and keeping her warm. Jaime noted that it was the same dress she had worn the night before; the one that his sister had given her.

"And why would you care whether my head was on a spike or not?" he wondered from her.

"Because there is nothing for me to gain," Sarah replied to him. "Your head on a spike is not something that I care to see, Ser Jaime. You need to trust me on this matter. I would not lie."

A small part of Jaime told him that he should believe the girl. She'd never given him cause to doubt her yet. She'd always seemed quite happy to admit the truth to him. Nodding, her ground his teeth together and jutted his chin out.

"Fine," Jaime told her. "I trust you this once."

"Thank you," she replied. "Now should we not be leaving?"

"Have you eaten anything?"

"I was just about to ask if my Lady wanted any food," the wife spoke, doing her best to stay on side with Ser Jaime.

"I am not hungry," Sarah assured him.

"You did not eat much last night."

"I was not hungry then," Sarah promised him, slowly moving to push past him. He grabbed hold of her arm, his fingers curling around her bare skin as he held her tightly in his fingers. She looked down at his hold and then back into his green orbs.

"You need to eat," Jaime told her. "I do not want to be delivering your corpse to Robb Stark."

Sarah kept silent for a moment before turning her eyes to look at the woman behind the wood. Her orbs were firmly set on Jaime and Sarah wondered if she intended to drool soon enough.

"Can I have an apple for the journey?" Sarah wondered, snapping the woman away from her staring at Jaime Lannister.

The Kingslayer looked down at the girl, his glare still on his face. The woman nodded and scurried away before Sarah moved her gaze back to look at Jaime. She did her best to pull her wrist from his hold, finally getting free before she looked around the room, cheeks blushing as the touch of his fingers lingered against her skin.

"Don't do that again," she warned him. "I am old enough to look after myself."

"Evidentially not," Jaime sneered at her. "You need to keep your strength up. This journey isn't supposed to be easy."

"Here you go, my Lady," the wife said and she rushed back in with a red apple in her fingers.

"Thank you," Sarah replied, taking the apple from the woman and chewing on it delicately. She looked back to Jaime, her brow arched as she chewed on her apple.

"Shouldn't we be going?"

She walked out of the inn at a leisurely place before Jaime heard Beren whistle lowly.

"I didn't think she was going to be this much of a handful for you," Beren admitted. "I've seen her a few times before when Stannis kept me on Dragonstone for a while."

Jaime began to walk besides Beren as the two of them left the inn. The younger guard had Sarah's trunk in his arms as he went and Jaime began to question him;

"What was she like?"

"Timid," Beren replied. "She did everything that her father asked of her with no complaints. Spent most of her time with her little sister. The poor girl's mother didn't want to know her when she was born...but...Sarah...Lady Selyse always had time for her. Lord Stannis thinks that the girl got her through all of her miscarriages."

"I assume she did not react well to the news that her daughter was being taken from her then," Jaime spoke, his voice low as he saw Sarah stood in the midst of the camp, her hand on her horse's mane.

"Well would be an understatement," Beren chuckled, dumping the trunk on the cart. "She yelled at Lord Stannis for a while. She calmed down when he told her there was nothing to it. The woman cares as much about duty as her husband does."

"Complex family," Jaime commented and Beren scoffed.

"You have no idea, Ser Jaime."

...

Sarah remained quiet as she sat on a log, her book in her hands before she took a moment to look up. She had been fed rabbit again that night, slowly chewing it before she heard the men decide to spar with each other. She looked up, the clashing of their swords drawing her attention from the words on her page.

Apparently it was all in good spirits, the duelling. Sarah struggled to see how; considering most of the men sulked when they were bested.

Sarah had to admit that she was intrigued. She wondered how to use a blade. She wondered if it would be possible for her to even learn how to duel. She never knew what would happen in the future.

"You've been quiet today."

Sarah looked up as Beren took a seat next to her. She vaguely remembered seeing the man with her father sometimes. Of course, she never really noticed him. She supposed she rarely noticed anyone on Dragonstone.

"I suppose there is nothing to shout about," Sarah replied. "I was just watching the men duel. How difficult is it?"

Beren scoffed before laughing loudly at her sentence. "Don't tell me that you're thinking of having a go." He urged her. "Your father would have a fit if he had any idea, never mind your mother."

Sarah frowned as she saw Jaime sat on the other side of the camp. Beren followed her gaze and sniffed, running his hand under his nose.

"And I wouldn't think about taking on Ser Jaime," he told her. "He's the greatest swordsman Westeros has ever known."

"I do not doubt it," replied Sarah, turning her gaze back to her book. "He's quite rude though."

"Has he said anything to offend you, my Lady?"

Sarah thought for a moment and shrugged.

"It matters not," she told him. "I suppose it is just the way he is. I can see why my father didn't really like him."

"Your father is a man of duty and justice. He doesn't see Ser Jaime has having those values," Beren told the girl. "Of course, he's one of the best on this journey, hence why the King sent him."

"I do not doubt it," she replied, bowing her head and running her fingers through her hair. "How long do you anticipate it will take until we reach King's Landing?"

"A while, my Lady," Beren said, a small moment of complaint shining through in his voice.

"I see," she replied. "All of this for a marriage. It seems a bit extreme to me."

"Aye," Beren agreed, pushing himself to stand up. "The Starks are a noble family. They'll treat you as well as your father ever did."

Beren moved off from her and she closed her book, unable to read anymore of her tale. She stood and wandered through the tents of the camp, contemplating having an early night and gaining some rest.

Jaime did nothing as he saw the girl enter her tent and Beren sat next to him, asking which one would spend their time watching her that night. Jaime had groaned and agreed to take first watch.

...

He was almost asleep when he heard her shouts and mumbles. Jaime had been sat outside her tent, his legs outstretched in front of him as he looked to the sky, thoughts of his twin consuming him. He'd closed his eyes, willing for some peace to find him, but it came to no prevail.

Jaime did nothing for those few moments, deciding to allow his mind to wander off. It was until he heard the screams from her tent did he stand up and move. The tent was dark, but Jaime couldn't see any sign of an intruder.

He moved to her bed and saw that she was still on the surface, her body shaking as she squirmed around and moaned;

"No...please...no...don't...I don't want to...my dad...he'll..."

She was evidentially having a nightmare. Jaime sighed in relief as he saw a gleam of sweat drop down her forehead. Her entire nightdress was drenched as she wormed around on the mattress.

"Sarah," Jaime spoke to her, his hand moving to shake her shoulder. "Sarah, you need to wake up. Sarah!"

The girl's eyes shot open and she began to panic, worrying who had spoken her name before she began to hit at Jaime with her fists. The knight looked confused as she slammed her fist against his armour covered body and injured herself instead of him.

"It's me," he hissed at her. "Calm down, you insufferable girl."

She finally recognised his voice and his hands caught her wrists as she took deep breaths and he sat on the side of her bed. She slumped forwards, her body resting against his side as her breaths came out in short pants, the heat of them hitting Jaime's neck.

"Dear Gods," he complained to her. "Whatever were you dreaming about? You were screaming for the entire Seven Kingdoms."

"I...he..." Sarah blathered as Jaime released her and she pushed her sticky hair behind her ears.

"I can't truly remember," she replied in a whisper. "It was about yesterday, but without Beren being there."

Jaime pieced her words together and nodded in understanding. He supposed he understood where she was coming from. She moved her hand through her hair and looked back to Jaime.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to alarm you."

"I'm not worried about that," he told her. "I thought that someone was hurting you. That's the bit that worried me, Sarah."

"No," she replied. "Just my vivid imagination, I suppose."

"I see," he replied. "Will you be okay now?"

"Yes," Sarah said, pulling at her nightgown to readjust it on her body. "Thank you, Ser Jaime."

Jaime nodded before backing out of the tent and leaving Sarah to flop back onto the bed, her arm over her forehead as she winced.

She looked at her knuckle and saw that it was red. Perhaps Beren was right, she wasn't best suited to combat at all.

...

Stannis stood in his own chambers of King's Landing after hearing the news.

Jon Arryn had died.

Stannis looked out of his window as King's Landing was plunged into darkness. His pulse began to race as he wondered what would happen now. He wondered how he would find himself able to get out of the mess he was in. Surely is someone knew what Jon had been doing then they would know that Stannis was involved.

Stannis assumed that the Lannsiters had taken Jon's life for him because of his snooping. Robert had no idea how his old friend had come to die so suddenly. Stannis had his suspicions.

But he didn't intend to stay around for too long. He knew that he had to take refuge in Dragonstone. It was the only place safe for him.

...

A/N: Thank you very much to those who have reviewed so far! It means a lot to me and I do hope you will continue reading!