Game of Thrones: Of Lions and Roses

Chapter 12 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.

Reviews

Marina Ka-Fai: Yeah, well, that's her nature.
Boris Yeltsin: Not exactly reckless, but she is losing her temper.
canonman89: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)
Cancer-Chris: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, yeah, she should, glad you liked their interaction; as well as that little thing, something I thought would be interesting.
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks.
wazzup11: Thanks, glad you think so :)
Veridissima: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; yeah, it's pretty scary.

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin.

Jaime

Jaime sighed as they continued to ride; their journey through the Reach had been uneventful. They were now just entering the Westerlands; for Jaime it had been a long trip; he had forced himself to stay constantly alert following the first night, having seen the way the men acted.

'Is there not one man of honour amongst them; all of them hoping to guard the Westerlings at night, watching Eleyna Westerling with such obvious intent.' He thought angrily. 'If I didn't know better, I'd think it was deliberate sending those men as the escort; still I've made sure that nothing will be happening, not matter what they think of it, the Kingsguard shall guard the Westerlings at night.'

He hoped that with that, they would avoid any issue; he had ensured that they all understood the arrangements and if they didn't like it, they were free to come and complain to him, providing they had good reason for not liking it. Unsurprisingly, nobody had come forth to complain.

Jaime glanced back to where the Westerlings rode, apart from the time when Jaime had spoken to Lord Gawen, they had been silent, nobody had said a word to them either.

Jaime shook his head sadly. 'They feel they are disgraced, they're treated as if they are disgraced…Worse than that however, they have no means of knowing if the eldest daughter, Jeyne, is even still alive. Any attempts to contact the Starks to ask would be seen as betrayal.'

Jaime shook his head, now was a bad time to think about the Starks, as doing so inevitably led to him thinking about Brienne, who had went to re-join the Starks after they parted at King's Landing.

He instead forced himself to focus on the task at hand as they began to drawn nearer to the Crag. Jaime couldn't help but feel tense; something just felt wrong. Looking around, he was worried. They were currently isolated and just about anyone or anything could be hidden, either in nearby woods or in any of the gullies surrounding them. It was getting late too; already the sun was almost set. One of the soldiers rode up.

"Lord Commander, it is getting late, it will take us some time to set up camp." He stated. "We should make preparations at once."

Jaime shook his head. "No, not here, we should journey on a bit."

The man quirked an eyebrow. "Lord Commander; I don't understand, this place is perfect to rest in."

"Too many hiding places, I fear an ambush, I'd rather not set us up to fall." Jaime replied.

The soldier actually laughed at that. "An ambush, we are in your homelands Lord Commander, we have three Kingsguard with us. There is no chance of an ambush."

Jaime narrowed his eyes. "How long have you been a soldier?"

The man looked confused at Jaime's sudden question. "Ten years."

"How have you survived this long, with that foolishness; there is always danger, even in your homelands." Jaime replied sharply.

As if to prove his point; realizing he was onto them, the hidden army emerged from the very hiding places Jaime noticed, weapons drawn ready to fight.

Jaime called out a warning and soon the soldiers, who had been ready to stop, were hurriedly trying to organize themselves for battle, drawing weapons. Ser Loras, Ser Balon and Ser Osmund were still on horseback and drew their swords at once, already prepared.

Almost immediately they clashed, the soldiers being unprepared took some time to mount an effective resistance. Meanwhile, Jaime noted his fellow Kingsguard were already fighting, besting any who came close to them. He grit his teeth as he drew his sword awkwardly with his left hand; hefting his shield with the false right hand.

'I should have prepared more for this.' He mentally berated himself as he joined the battle.

The battle was bloody, their assailants were attacking with great ferocity; yet surprisingly, Jaime noted, seemed to be staying away from the Westerlings. It wasn't until he got close to one man, deflecting a blow with his shield and impaling him with his sword, that things became clear.

He saw the sigil on the man's cloak; three black pepper pots on a saffron bend, across a field of green and silver stripes.

He cursed angrily as he fought off another assailant. 'House Spicer, of course, they want revenge for Sybell's execution.'

Despite the difficulty of fighting with his left hand, Jaime rode into the thick of combat with the rest of the Kingsguard present.

Jaime fought for breath, it had been a long difficult fight; but finally the last of the Spicer loyalists were slain. Jaime winced slightly at the pain in his right arm, from the jolts through his shield where he had intercepted attacks. He could tell which men had been killed by him; their wounds were ragged, messy, lacking any real skill.

He grimly reminded himself however. 'Still, it could have been worse…I'm still alive at any rate.'

He glanced over at Ser Loras; who was currently kneeling next to a body.

"Anything?" He asked.

Ser Loras shook his head; Jaime noted the man he was examining was the soldier he had been talking to before the attack. Looking around Jaime noted that less than half the escort had survived. As he had suspected however, the Westerlings were unharmed. The assailants had simply sought to get revenge for Sybell's death, which they blamed the Lannisters and Baratheons for.

Ser Balon rode up. "We should ride on, before more show up."

Jaime nodded in agreement and they did so. As they rode he could feel the eyes of his fellow Kingsguard upon him and knew why.

"Do not start, I am fine, you do not need to concern yourself with me." He told them firmly. "Now let us press on."

He mentally noted however that he was going to have to really work hard to increase his proficiency with his left hand, in order to effectively use his sword.

As they continued to ride, Jaime pondered what he had seen during the battle; observing his fellow Kingsguard as he did so.

'Ser Loras has changed, he is more cautious now, he has learned, that is good.' He was pleased to note. 'Ser Balon remains as steadfast and reliable as ever. Ser Osmund however, he is still acting arrogant, he doesn't take this as seriously as he should. Something will need to be done about him before long.'

It was while he was reflecting on this, that Jaime realized they had arrived at the Crag at last, finally his mission was complete.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please