The Finding of Lya Stark

Silent corpses

Jaime had been quiet for about an hour but he wasn't one who could stay quiet for long. The sting of my words had worn off quickly and instead he was teasing both Brienne and I. Brienne keeps telling him to shut up but I don't bother. I know all the words in the world won't keep him quiet for long. It's in his nature. We are walking a road going hopefully towards Kings Landing, as I have no sense of direction. We all smell at this point, none of us bathing in a while, some longer than others. Winter might be coming but it sure didn't feel like it as the sweat started to drip down my face. I allow Jaime's and Brienne's words to just wash over me not bothering to really pay attention to their stupid little squabble. I still wasn't talking to him though I knew he wished I was and oh how I just wanted to talk to him again. "Hey!" I interrupt them to draw their attention towards three corpses hanging from a tree in front of us. They both stop talking and walking to stare at them.

"They laid with Lions," Jaime reads the sign attached to one of them. "This is the work of the North, the Freedom Fighters." I sense Jaime's eyes on me.

"We have to get them down," Brienne says. She walks by me handing me Jaime's rope.

"What would good old Robb, the great King of the North say if he saw that his people were killing tavern wenches." I try not to answer. But his next comment gets to me, "you know that he could have easily lain with a woman and she would be killed, hung with a sign reading she wanked a wolf."

"Shut up," I say yanking on his rope. "Robb is promised to a Frey."

"And he's flirting with that pretty woman I see walking around taking care of the wounded."

"Robb knows what he's doing. He knows that he has to marry the Frey girl and he will do the right thing."

"But what is the right thing? Following his heart? Or what his duty is?"

"We both know what you would do."

"Hey what's your business here?" I look from Jaime towards the new male voice. Three men dressed in light armor stand there cheeky grins on their faces. Neither of us move, "we're escorting a prisoner," Brienne speaks up first.They all start laughing, "you two are escorting a prisoner?"

"She's a pretty one over there," one of them starts forward. "Is that the Kingslayer?" he bristles slightly at the name.

"Of course not," Brienne says but her hand remains on the hilt of her sword.

"I think that's the bloody Kingslayer."

"We could get the Kingslayer and some fun with the other girl," one of them says as they all draw their swords. Before I can process it Jaime has shoved me to the ground and started running the opposite direction screaming unintelligible things. I scramble to my feet and start to chase after him the clang of metal ringing behind me. He veers to the left and I go diagonal hoping to head him off. But then he's running past me back towards the fight which is still going on. He runs right into one of the guys knocking him off his feet pinning his sword down on the ground. I keep running back towards them as Brienne shoves Jaime off and plunges her sword into him.

"What do you think you were doing?" I demand breathing hard hunched over. "You're unarmed and tied up!"

"I still took him out."

"I think Brienne just saved all three of us you better be thankful."

"Whatever," he says as Brienne yanks him back to his feet. He looks proud of himself and I just want to slap the stupid smirk off of his face. "Let's go," Brienne says and we set off once again quickly falling into what has become our rhythm of walking with the two of them arguing and my silence.

It's been several days since the incident with the bodies we found, and I still haven't spoken to Jaime but I'm not really talking to Brienne either. I haven't been sleeping very well either the dream I had of Jaime having his hand cut off playing over and over in my head. No matter how hard I tried to focus on something else on seeing Arya, Sansa, or the boys that was all I could see."I'm going to bed," Brienne says. "Wake me up when you go to sleep." I nod as she rolls to her side looking away from the fire. I stare into it wishing it to just take away the dreams, to engulf them and make them go away.

"Is it the dreams again?" I look up at the sound of Jaime's voice. He's lying lazily against a tree though I know he's probably extremely uncomfortable.

"You know that they come true."

"Tell me about them?"I sigh and stand brushing myself off. I move around the fire as quietly as I can so I sit next to him. This whole time I had wanted to want myself to kill him but sitting next to him I just want to seek his comfort.

"It's the one where you lose your hand."

"It's not going to happen unless either of you are planning on doing it."

"I have it multiple times every night, you know that they come true," I repeat.

"You're right but we've done things to change what you saw. I'm sure what we are doing now is going to stop it from happening," I don't respond just lean my head on his shoulder. He leans his head on mine and we sit like that in silence except for the crackle of the fire. "She's a really good fighter," he says quietly.

"I know I've seen her."

"I thought I might be able to distract them in the hopes of her beating them but I'm sure now that she would have been able to beat them on her own."

"You're just stupid, and want to show off."

"No I don't."

"Who else but you would decide to tackle a man with a sword when you have no way of defending yourself?"

"I didn't die did I?" I roll my eyes.

"No. But I think you succeeded in distracting all of us from the fight. Next time just let us handle it."

"There's going to be a next time?"

"Possibly, we're going to Kings Landing with just the three of us. Who knows what we're going to come up against," we get quiet again.

"You know I do listen to you?" I don't know what to say. "I've been practicing with my left hand."

I smile, "and how is that going?"

"It's terrible, but I'm getting better at it."

"Thank you," I say closing my eyes starting to fall asleep, completely forgetting to wake up Brienne like she had asked.