A/N: This one posed challenges. It reminded me why I usually stick to one POV per chapter. It is difficult to switch POVs but I got there in the end (after spending a lot more time than usual checking chapters). Thanks for the kind messages. I met my work deadline so I am a little less stressed now hence this chapter getting written
Chapter 92: Jaime and Sansa
Jaime
Jaime Lannister smiled and japed with the mountain clansmen and kept a wary eye on the outlaws. They looked back at him with equally wary expressions but Jaime did not dwell on it any more than he needed to. Other thoughts occupied his mind. He could not stop thinking about his brother.
"I am the monster they say I am. Yes, I killed your vile son."
The memory had become distorted with time. Jaime remembered Tyrion looking gleeful while he confessed. Jaime pictured the grin on Tyrion's maimed face, hideous in the torchlight as he laughed and laughed at Jaime's stupidity. He dreamed of it sometimes.
"Tyrion and I knew nothing of the plan."
He glanced over at Sansa Stark. His good sister rode between the archer Anguy and Shagga. Shagga was telling her something in his booming voice and she wore a gentle smile as she nodded and responded. Light flakes of snow adorned her hair making her look as pure and innocent as the Maiden herself. His missing fingers hurt as he clenched the reins with his one good hand.
She might be lying.
Lady Sansa had proven herself a skilled liar. The presence of the outlaws attested to that. As frustrated as he felt he admired the ploy. She carried it out skilfully and nobody was the wiser as to what she had done. Nobody saw through it except for Jaime. He spent too many years watching Cersei to be fooled again though the memory of his sister dredged up further pain.
The story made too much sense.
Tyrion gained nothing by poisoning Joffrey. Cersei immediately suspected him and the evidence weighed heavily against him. Sansa had ample reason to kill Joffrey too but she did not truly gain from it. Littlefinger held her prisoner. She traded one cage for another though to hear her speak of it one would not know.
She still shows concern for Baelish.
Whenever he tried to question her over it, a wall came up and she replied with tales of Lord Petyr offering her protection. She told them so convincingly Jaime wondered if she truly believed them herself. When he went so far as to ask gently if Baelish forced himself on her she denied it so vehemently that she drew the attention of the others.
"I was his daughter," she protested.
She will never confide in me.
He knew he must count himself lucky that she told him the little she did. Tyrion knew nothing of the plan. The longer Jaime thought on it the more he knew it to be the truth. The Tyrell's gained the most from Joffrey's death. Tyrion said it to hurt me. It prompted Jaime to remember the rest of Tyrion's words. His brother did not just try to wound him by confessing to killing Joffrey.
"Cersei is a lying whore, she's been fucking Lancel and Osmund Kettleblack and Moon Boy."
He might have thought it all to be lies if not for remembering Lancel at Darry. He thought about the letter sent from Kings Landing and the trial. Cersei called me a fool. He recalled her telling him that she and Tyrion had lied to him countless times. It took only a moment to imagine his cousin and to picture her with Ser Osmund on the night the Tower of the Hand burned.
I truly am a fool.
He wanted to go to her still. He wished to tell her that her fears about the Tyrells were warranted. I would have killed them if I knew. Even missing his sword hand he would have ensured they did not profit from the death of Cersei's son. He was our son. Jaime might have left then and there if not for the obstacles between him and Kings Landing.
The clansmen will want their gold.
Lady Sansa might be safe in the presence of the outlaws but Jaime could not be certain. Even if she were safe, even if the clansmen were to let him leave, too many men wanted him dead between the inn and Kings Landing. Even if he managed to arrive there Cersei might not be waiting for him.
She might have heeded my letter.
He could not help but think that no matter the circumstances, Cersei lived. She will not die before me. When he left her she was behaving rashly but Jaime knew she retained some wits. She would not let them capture her. Whatever else he felt, the thought of her head on a spike and of Myrcella possibly beside her gave him the urge to fight. He remained a knight of the Kingsguard no matter how soiled his cloak.
My place is with Myrcella.
He need only see Sansa Stark reach the North and he would go to Myrcella and Cersei. I will return or die trying. He wondered once again where Tyrion was as he urged his horse forward to join his brother's wife. Shagga grinned and made way for him but Lady Sansa's smile appeared rather less gentle upon him joining her.
"It seems that winter becomes you my lady."
Sansa raised her hand to brush the snowflakes from her hair. She lowered her eyes demurely.
"You are kind to say so Ser."
Jaime laughed. "You do not truly think me kind. I am quite certain you have thought about my demise more than once."
Her cheeks were flushed from the cold but she seemed to redden a little more.
"I would never-"
He dismissed her protests.
"You are better at hiding your distaste for me than your lord father and lady mother. I will give you that. "
Sansa fell silent. It seemed she did not have an answer though Anguy smirked at him.
"It is rather admirable. There is so much that is distasteful about you Kingslayer."
Jaime made himself smile.
"Today is not the day I put stock in an outlaw's notions of honour. I seem to recall you making a fortune at the Hand's tourney. Whatever did happen to all that gold?"
Anguy did not embarrass as easily as Jaime might have hoped. He smiled at Sansa.
"We don't all have the riches of Casterly Rock. A man has expenses."
Jaime did not like the attention the archer showed her.
"You mean you showered gold on the street of silk."
Anguy tore his gaze from Sansa and looked at Jaime reproachfully.
"Don't try to tell me that you never visited with whores yourself."
Jaime frowned. "Only the one," he said dryly.
Lady Sansa interrupted them.
"We are approaching shelter."
Jaime followed her gaze and saw that she was right. She seemed rather eager to camp and as daylight hours dwindled quickly others shared her eagerness. The going was slow, the snow hindering their progress and Jaime knew it could only get worse. He watched her as she dismounted, less graceful than Jaime might have expected. There were no shortage of helpers on hand and she accepted their assistance with another smile.
I wonder who truly wields the power.
Lady Sansa accepted Jaime's arm when he managed to manoeuvre to her side once more. Even without the gowns and jewels she was surely accustomed to her admirers flocking around her. They reluctantly allowed him to act as protector whenever Ned Dayne was not on hand. He need only remind them of his relation to the lady, no matter how much it earned him glares. The Lord of Starfall lingered behind this time but Jaime had no doubt he watched closely.
I owe it to her through her marriage even if not for the oath.
She murmured courtesies to him and acknowledged the others as they walked. One of the outlaws took her horse.
"You play a dangerous game my lady," he warned her.
For once she did not play the innocent with him.
"Your warnings are not needed Ser Jaime," she said softly. "Cersei and Joffrey taught me of danger long ago."
Jaime set his mouth in a grim line. "So they did."
The innkeep did not dare refuse them lodgings. Even if the outlaws did not intimidate, the clansmen certainly struck fear in the hearts of men. Jaime kept close to his good sister wanting to be sure she had no unwelcome visitors. He gave Pod guard duty too, asking that the squire alert him to anything untoward.
"Do not try to fight them yourself."
The young man looked as though he might argue, even with his usual stammering. He did finally relent though Ned Dayne joined him within moments. Pod and Lord Edric exchanged a warm greeting, the squire's shyness momentarily forgotten. Ned locked eyes with Jaime.
"One of my own men will help keep guard ser."
Jaime nodded. "If you think it best my lord."
The resentment stayed with him even though he knew it to be a wise course. The young lordling did not trust him, even if he did seem to have thawed towards Pod. He also does not trust the others. The distrust toward the clansmen was only wise but Jaime had qualms over the outlaws too. They might follow Lord Edric's commands during the day but men in their cups were a different matter.
We have reached an uneasy truce.
The night passed by uneventfully and they left early the next morning. Jaime watched Sansa once again. He often compared her to his sister but he now noted the differences. They both have wits he reflected, but Lady Sansa appears to have more patience. His sister was also more ruthless. As the days passed he began to get the uncomfortable feeling that his good sister's kindness might be more harmful than it seemed. The clansmen grew ever warmer to her by the day.
They follow my command only for gold and I might not even have that to give them.
He wanted to curse the gods. He charmed them well enough himself but they needed to move faster. Men had always followed Jaime's leadership but the Lannister name did not hold the power it once did. The clansmen followed him for his brother's sake. They owed Jaime no oath of fealty. He cursed once again over Tyrion killing their father. He could not help thinking that Tywin Lannister would not have let things reach their current state. He then dismissed the thought bitterly.
I am my father's son. I will find the way out of this.
They needed to move faster. It seemed that Sansa was satisfied for now with travelling North. She might look at him with distrust at times but she showed no real hostility. Jaime did not expect her sister to share her restraint. He thought of the tales of the direwolf and remembered the hunt for it after the incident at the Trident. He remembered Cersei asking him to maim or kill the girl.
Mayhaps she was not completely wrong after all.
He shook his head at the thought. It was foolishness to look back. Jaime needed to focus on what was to come. He turned to Sansa and asked the question, even though he expected he knew the answer.
"Do you know anything of where my brother is?"
She looked taken aback. "I do not Ser."
He sighed. "Would you tell me if you did?"
Sansa looked offended. They rode in silence and Jaime mulled over thoughts of the various oaths he swore. I will escort her to safety and find a way back to Myrcella. He did not know where his brother fit in but he thought of his father and clenched his jaw.
A Lannister pays his debts.
Sansa
It became colder the farther they travelled North. Ser Jaime and Ned Dayne always kept close to her though sometimes it was the other outlaws. It is always on Ned's orders. They were not as kind as he was and Sansa suspected they laughed at her. They looked at her in that way men did but they laughed at her nonetheless.
Ser Jaime still insisted on being her shield. He still wants to be Arthur Dayne. She might not have minded quite so much if he did so quietly but he spoke to her often. Every time he did so he reminded her of his family. She no longer felt the urge to react when he called her his good sister. That is mere truth. It was when he spoke of Tyrion and Cersei and of her family that she struggled to remain courteous.
I do not wish him to speak of them.
He did so kindly enough but after leaving Kings Landing she hoped to never see a Lannister again, let alone have to hear them speak of her mother and Robb. He persisted nonetheless but not always unprompted. The outlaws liked to remind him of the Red Wedding and seemed oblivious to any distress it might cause her. Sansa chose to try not to hear them. She focused off in the distance, in the direction she expected Winterfell might be but she did hear Ser Jaime's tone.
He disapproves of what they did.
It brought to mind painful memories of Tyrion. Her husband tried to apologise in his own way but Sansa did not wish to hear it and he stopped trying. He is still a Lannister. Both of them were, Tyrion and Ser Jaime no matter the small kindnesses they offered her. She did not trust Ser Jaime. She could not trust Ser Jaime.
The inns and shelters became further apart as they travelled further. Sansa shivered as the cold worsened no matter that she wore layers of fur over her gown and woollens underneath it. It became more difficult to keep up her greetings to her companions but she persisted nonetheless. She did not forget her lessons that easily, both the early ones from her septa and the later ones learned in Kings Landing and from Petyr.
"I do hope the gloves have eased the soreness in your fingers." she told Anguy.
He gave her a smile. "They help a little m'lady."
He had complained of it to her, stressing the importance of needing to be able to use his bow. Sansa's concern was not feigned. We might have need of his bow. She forgave him looking at her as though he imagined her in her smallclothes as long as he only looked. I have had worse. The memory of one night came unbidden, the smell of wine and the whisper of her mother's name.
That did not happen. I only dreamed it.
She sometimes saw the man by her bed but he looked like Marillion instead and sometimes even the Hound. They did not always let go of her when she screamed. Sansa tried to think of it as a dream Alayne had but it disturbed her still. She wished for the other dreams, the better dreams of Winterfell and snow which fell on warmer days and the laughter of her siblings.
Every day brings me closer.
Sansa did not know what she might do when she arrived. She just kept her eyes trained in the distance. She did not want a Lannister in Winterfell and that weighed on her. I might turn the clansmen against him. She knew it need not even be difficult. She had learned so much now that she did not even feel it to be much risk. An innocent comment would do it.
"I do hope Ser Jaime can find your gold. The Lannisters have lost the war and I fear for him. Casterly Rock might be the next castle to fall."
The words were ready but it seemed she could not say them. Without Ser Jaime there might be war between the outlaws and clansmen. Sansa might offer them something but she doubted Arya or Rickon would be willing to honour it. Something else held her back too. She did not feel certain she wanted to do such a thing, even to a Lannister.
I somehow doubt they harboured the same doubt about my family.
Ned Dayne joined her while she was thinking on it. Anguy retreated with a jape and the young lord took his place.
"I am afraid there will be no roof this night my lady."
The disappointment stung though she did her best to hide it. She expected he saw it still though he might have simply imagined her distress.
"We will have a makeshift shelter," he promised.
He kept his word and Sansa huddled under it shielded at least from the snow. She tried to keep warm by the fire which did not give off nearly enough heat. Some of the outlaws murmured strange prayers before they all repeated the same phrase together.
"The night is dark and full of terrors."
Sansa heard Ned say it softly too though not fervently like the others. He turned his attention back to her and offered her his cloak.
"It is not entirely dry my lady," he said apologetically, "but it will afford you some warmth."
Sansa looked about her quickly but Ser Jaime did not appear with the expected jape. Sansa took the cloak and offered thanks. They sat together for some time in silence.
"I saw you once my lady," Ned said suddenly. "It was at the Hand's tourney. Ser Loras gave you a rose."
Sansa looked at him. He was staring intently into the fire.
"That was a long time ago my lord," she said quietly. "You have a good memory."
Ser Loras did not even remember giving it to me.
He glanced at her and looked away quickly.
"You will not have noticed me but all who attended noticed you my lady."
His pale blond hair hung into his eyes and he pushed it back. Blue eyes she knew after seeing them more closely. They appeared purple at first but they were a very dark blue. He looked at her again.
"You are kind to say so my lord," she said.
Ser Jaime sat down beside her and she wondered how much he heard. Far too much she soon realised when Ned rose and excused himself.
"My brother once gave you a cloak," he reminded her, gesturing at the one Ned had draped around her shoulders.
"I have not forgotten Ser," she told him, trying to keep the bitterness from her voice. Sansa would never forget her wedding, how Cersei and Joffrey treated her. "Lord Edric is simply being courteous."
Jaime laughed. "It is the kind of courtesy aimed to melt a maiden's heart." He gave her a knowing look. "It is a good thing you are no maiden."
Sansa prayed the darkness might hide her blush. Every time I begin to feel I cannot hate him he reminds me who he is. She did not intend to discuss her maidenhood with him.
"Ned Dayne is more chivalrous than that Ser," she told him stiffly. "He knows that I am married."
Ser Jaime sounded bitter. "Ah yes, I know all about the Daynes and their chivalry. I'm certain those sisters at the inn can attest to it too, unlike what they say of me."
Sansa knew there to be a barb in what he said and chose to let it pass given what she had discovered. Why does it bother him so? She knew some of the terrible things he had done. He seemed to feel no shame in them and yet he took every address as Kingslayer badly. She wondered how he told himself it was not wrong.
I would ask him but he is not my friend no matter how gently he speaks to me.
They began to travel slower still as they approached the Neck. Sansa knew it would take longer than it did all those years earlier when she left Winterfell for Kings Landing. This just seemed so very much longer than she anticipated. She heard whispers of food running low and when more appeared she expected it was stolen. She only hesitated a moment before eating it anyway.
Ser Jaime was even more bothered by the slow pace. He wished for them to ride for longer each day but it could not be. Greenbeard, the Tyroshi, scoffed at his impatience.
"If your horse breaks its leg we ain't carrying you."
That settled the matter. Ser Jaime praised the snow for freezing the bogs in the Neck but he spoke too soon. They had travelled two days into the swampy area before the first of the clansmen fell to a dart from a crannogman. Ser Jaime cursed and from then on he wore his full armour, including his gorget. Some wanted to turn back.
"We needed a banner," Ser Jaime muttered and Sansa saw him glance her way. "They would not attack if they knew us to be escorting a Stark."
Sansa breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the ruins with the Stark banner the next day. They lost two more men, both clansmen but the killing stopped when they drew close. Pod rode by her side and he looked happier even than Sansa. Ser Jaime did not share the emotion.
"Moat Cailin," he muttered darkly. "I had hoped to avoid this."
She anticipated what it was he dreaded but it quickly became worse than that. A sentry called down to them.
"Who goes there?"
Ser Jaime motioned to her and Sansa urged her horse forward. She willed her voice not to shake.
"I am Lady Sansa of House Stark. My companions are escorting me to Winterfell."
Men emerged from the ruins but they did not appear as friendly as Sansa might have hoped. They addressed her companions in a downright hostile manner.
"If you move in a way we do not like you will be filled with arrows."
When the lead man turned to Sansa he softened but only a little.
"Will you come with me... my lady?"
Sansa cast a look over her shoulder at Ser Jaime, Pod and Ned Dayne. Anguy looked like he wanted to string his bow and Shagga had one hand twitching as though he might reach for his axe.
"What will you do with them?" she asked. "Do you intend to harm them?"
The man tensed and Sansa saw displeasure in his features.
"I have received orders from the queen. They are prisoners until she puts them to the question."
Sansa followed him into the ruins and to a room. He showed her through and others joined him looking at her curiously. She heard them muttering and one mention "a good likeness" before they took a place guarding the door.
"I must ask you to stay here... my lady." The original man said.
Sansa did not get a chance to ask a single question before he closed the door and shut her in. She did not understand it at first. By the time Ned Dayne knocked on the door and gained entry she felt as though she might cry.
Arya must still be angry with me.
She held back her tears and sat on the bed in her room. It was only a straw mattress and the room was in ill repair but she had larger concerns.
"I hope I do not disturb you my lady," Ned said hesitantly.
She gave him a smile she hoped covered her distress and beckoned for him to sit in a chair. He did so albeit uncomfortably.
"I am pleased they released you my lord," she offered.
Ned looked a little awkward and he darted a glance at the still open door and the guards keeping watch.
"They accepted my explanation for now. I believe they are more concerned with Ser Jaime." Sansa did not feel surprised. It was only to be expected with the war. Ned cleared his throat. "I do hope they are not behaving too uncharitably my lady."
Sansa glanced at the guards.
"This is not the welcome I might have expected my lord," she confessed.
One of the guards made a noise. The other gave him a sharp look. Neither spoke a word.
"They fear you to be a Lannister plot my lady," Ned said quietly.
Sansa recalled the way the first man addressed her and his hesitance at her title. They do not believe I am who I say I am. The unfairness of it stung her but she raised her chin. I will not let them see that it hurts me. Ned rose and for a moment she wished to ask him to stay. She held her tongue instead.
"I was only granted a moment," he explained. "Mayhaps I might visit again at another time."
Sansa said all the appropriate things and watched him leave. He did return each day and Sansa received other visitors besides him, Northmen all of them though she did not know their faces. They offered her food and every comfort available but no matter how much she tried to win them to her cause they never quite gave in. They warmed to her but their courtesies still remained hesitant and the distrust never left.
She had been in the castle for just over a sennight, only leaving her room for brief spells and always under guard, when she heard the sentries calling out. Sansa stood and moved to the window to see and immediately spotted the Stark banner. Moat Cailin buzzed with noise and Sansa knew it must be Arya. She continued to watch but she was unable to distinguish one man from another until a single figure emerged ahead of the others. A direwolf loped along with them.
She found Nymeria.
The men kneeled before her. Sansa strained to hear but could not make out any words. She did see the figure she knew to be Arya shake her head and move quickly to enter the castle. Sansa moved away from the window and tried to tidy herself. The knock at the door came even more promptly than she might have expected.
The door did not open immediately.
"May I enter?" the voice said on the other side.
Sansa hurried to it and her hands shook when she turned the handle. She retreated quickly as it swung inwards. The woman on the other side of it took one look at her and turned to the men around her.
"Please leave us."
Arya showed little expression when she turned back around. Sansa took in her appearance. Her sister was a woman grown now. Sansa had foolishly continued to imagine her as the girl with the scabby knees and dirty face, always underfoot. The woman in front of her still had the long face and dark grey eyes Sansa remembered. The once messy hair remained untidy but her sister now wore it in braids. She dressed rather like her men but was in no way boyish. She moved confidently and with grace.
She does not seem so horsey now.
The silence lasted far too long to be comfortable and Sansa tried to smooth her skirts. Does she expect me to kneel? The very thought made Sansa feel resentful. Just as she decided what she might say Arya beat her to it.
"Sansa," she said, very softly.
Arya's hands fluttered for a moment before she reached up to remove the crown she wore. It was very plain, not what Sansa might have chosen. She set it down on the bed and looked to Sansa again.
"They made you queen," Sansa blurted.
Arya showed the first real expression. She looked a little taken aback.
"I did not wish it."
Sansa almost felt as though some accusation lay beneath those words, even though Arya did not sound accusing. I no longer wish to be queen. She wanted to say it but she did not want to speak of Kings Landing. Her sister must have been thinking of it nonetheless.
"Did he hurt you?" Arya asked.
She had stepped closer, so close that Sansa might reach out and touch her if she wished it. She did not know if Arya might welcome her touch.
"I am unhurt," she replied, evading the question.
I do not wish to speak of it.
Arya reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind Sansa's ear.
"If Baelish hurt you I will kill him."
It did not sound like a boast. It sounded like a promise. Sansa did not quite know what to say.
"It was not me he wanted to hurt," she finally offered.
Arya nodded. "I am sorry about the men. They were supposed to treat you better."
Sansa did not know quite what to do. She thought a lot about what she might say when she saw Arya once again but the person before her seemed changed. Sansa did not know if Arya might welcome contact from her. She did not know what Arya wanted.
"They were not unkind," Sansa replied.
Arya reached out again and this time Sansa took her hands. She noticed the callouses and scarring and it was on the tip of her tongue to ask about it. Arya withdrew her hands before Sansa had the chance.
"I am glad you live," Sansa offered.
Arya nodded again but she moved to retrieve the crown from where she had set it down.
"I will send someone to you. There are some things I can give you to make you more comfortable."
Sansa wanted to respond but Arya did not give her the chance. Her sister retreated from the room with haste and closed the door behind her. It was not until after she left that Sansa knew what she truly wished to say.
"I am glad to see you Arya."
A/N 2: I know the reunion was not all warm and fuzzy but I wrote it keeping in mind what GRRM himself said. The sisters might love each other but they have a lot to work out. The timeline is now almost caught up to events in the West by my estimation. I think I will write the next chapter from Arya's POV then chapter 94 will be Ser Barristan.