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TRIGGER WARNING: CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
THE only good thing the Bolton men managed to do for Laila was wrap her bloody hand in some dirty gauze. She'd rather it just bleed, but one of the soldiers had a problem with "the stench of blood."
They strapped Brienne to the back of a banner man, allowing her to sigh away at the situation they had gotten themselves into. Laila sat on a horse with Jaime tied to her own back. Her hand ached sporadically, and she wanted nothing more than to bathe. She was starting to smell.
The men sang as they crossed a path in the woods. "He lifted her high in the air!" They sang along to a tune. "He sniffed and roared and smelled her there. She kicked and wailed, a maid so fair. But he licked the honey from her hair. From there to here, from here to there. All black and brown and covered with hair. He smelled that girl in the summer air. The bear, the bear and the maiden fair ..."
Jaime spotted Brienne and her horse galloping beside his and Laila's. He sighed tiredly. "I hope you're both pleased," he sneered, glancing to Brienne. "If you had armed me, they never would have taken us."
"You were armed when we were taken," Brienne argued, the man on her horse moving faster then theirs.
"I was in chains, if you recall." He snickered. "Our little match would have ended quite quick if my hands weren't bound."
Laila looked over her shoulder slightly. "Enough, Kingslayer. It's not going to get us anywhere. We're already captured." She huffed, turning back around for a droplet of water to fall on her face. She wished she could reach up to wipe it off. "You know, it's funny –"
"I highly doubt it's that hilarious," Jaime interrupted.
"All everyone ever talks about in this bloody realm is you. 'Jaime Lannister,' they swoon, 'what a brilliant swordsman, and quite the charmer.' What I have come to find out these past few days is that neither of those are true. In your fight, you were a lot slower, and more predictable on Brienne's end."
Jaime scoffed. "How would you know? You weren't even involved in the fight and somehow, you were the one who ended up with a wound." He rolled his eyes. "Also, I've been sitting in a muddy pen wrapped in chains for the past year. Excuse me."
The horse galloped over a few rocks, causing the seating to get bumpy. Laila found herself instinctively grabbing onto Jaime's leg for support, but quickly removed it. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, Lannister." She then replied. "Maybe you were as good as people said – at one point. Or maybe people just love to overpraise a famous name. Probably the latter."
Jaime went silent. The birds in the trees whistled loudly as they strode through the clearing. Laila was able to lift her hands slightly to rub the itch on her nose. She thought of Catelyn then, wondering if she was okay without her. Sometimes Laila wondered if the reason she put her on this mission was because she didn't need her anymore. She hoped it wasn't that.
Jaime then turned his head, his stubble hitting her neck. "I hope you realize when we make camp tonight, both you and Brienne will be taken advantage of. More than once."
Laila swallowed hard. Gods, she realized, he was right. Jaime Lannister had never been more right. Tears began to prick at the corners of her eyes. It wasn't as if she hadn't been with a man before in that way – in fact, it was with the blacksmith's son at Winterfell, but she had left that part out of the story. She had just never been forced into a situation like that, and she was terrified. It was still daylight out, but the thoughts of what would to come tonight made her whole body shake.
"None of these fellows have ever been with a noblewoman, such as Brienne. And when they find out you're a Ryswell, they'll force themselves on you more." Jaime continued in a grave voice. "You'd be wise not to resist."
Laila stared ahead, feeling a tear fall down her cheek. "What will happen if I resist?"
"They'll knock your teeth out. Throw in a couple punches."
She sniffled softly. "I think I can handle that."
He shook his head. "No, you can't." His mouth moved closer to the back of her ear, and his voice became softer. "If you or Brienne fight them, they will kill you both. Do you understand?"
Laila answered truthfully, "No."
"I'm the prisoner of value, Laila, not you or Brienne." He explained. "Let them have what they want. What does it matter?"
"Everything!" Laila whispered loudly. "It means everything. You do not know, Kingslayer. Why do we treat things such as assault as a normal occurrence?" Laila swallowed down a lump in her throat. "It's not normal. It's horrifying."
Jaime didn't reply. He leaned on her back more. It didn't comfort her at all.
"Jaime," she called, "may I ask you something?"
He nodded silently.
"If you were a woman, would you resist?" She paused before continuing, "Would you let them do what they wanted?"
Jaime chuckled the tiniest bit, which was a foreign sound to her. "If I was a woman, I'd make them kill me. But I'm not, thank the gods."
•••
Catelyn sat on a window's ledge in Riverrun. The peace of staying inside your childhood home was comforting to her in such trying times, but there was still a nagging feeling inside of her that nothing would ever be alright again. Maybe it was the war; maybe it was something else. Catelyn wanted to feel at ease, but that was like asking for a blessing.
She was reminded of times with her father. When he would leave for the capital or to fight in a campaign, she'd watch him from the very window she sat in now. The scenic view of the river below never changed. This was when she realized that she had done the same to her children: she left them to watch and wait, and now she'd never see them again. Catelyn allowed the tears to fall down her cheeks.
Her children were lost. Some were taken hostage. Her husband was dead. Her eldest son was fighting in a war he wasn't prepared for, fighting alongside a woman who is the sister of his enemy. It was too much for Catelyn to bear. She was a bystander in this war – not a soldier – but she seemed to be fighting for some sort of life within her.
She thought of her handmaiden, Laila, as she sat on that ledge. She thought of Brienne too. Of all the things she'd done for this war, she did slightly regret that decision. Catelyn knew she was doing it for the right reason, but she feared she sent the two women she trusted the most on a suicide mission. She'd like to think that she could spot their tiny bodies in the far off distance, but that was lie. Especially, with Catelyn's aged vision.
Catelyn knew little Laila since she were seventeen, and still, at twenty nine, she was almost like a child to her. She couldn't believe the way the Ryswells abandoned Laila and father, and it still hurt to think that she had to result to the job they'd given her. It was her only option, and Catelyn knew she didn't deserve it.
Laila Ryswell had a heart of gold after all these years, and Catelyn was hoping that she hadn't sent that heart to her death.
