SINNER ━ Jaime Lannister

SIXTEEN

CHAPTER 16 | INSISTING

JAIME struggled with cutting his slab of pork on his plate. He tried his best cutting it with a fork, but that was of no use. He almost thought of just eating vegetables on his plate, although those looked rather unappetizing. Not even the meat seemed okay, but he was hungry. He continued to stab his fork in the meat.

Laila shift in her seat to his right. She plucked a slice of raw potato that was on her plate, and ate it like apple. Jamie and her eyed each other at least twice already, and even Brienne had caught it, making her suspicious and uncomfortable. She wasn't the only one, for even Laila was confused of what almost happened between her and Jaime last night. When she thought about the encounter, she either got goose-bumps or felt incredibly exposed. She wasn't sure which was the defining factor.

Laila watched Roose with skeptical eyes. He looked at the three from across the table with nothing on his plate, and as Laila continued to eat her raw potato, she deemed that suspicious. "I see my men have finally found you ladies something appropriate to wear."

"Yes," Brienne huffed, "most kind of them."

Laila picked at the frills cornering her own dress, and she scrunched her nose up at the design. "Although, they could've found something better."

Jaime nudged her in the side to be quiet. Laila frowned.

"My men aren't particularly designers, Lady Laila." Roose replied with a hard stare. "Surely, you of all people know that."

Laila smiled falsely as she took another bite of the potato. "Oh, but I do." She had been with Lady Catelyn since the start of the war, and she practically knew all the soldiers. Names weren't always given, but she knew faces and the houses they belonged to. Catelyn said it was a gift.

Brienne cleared her throat, and all heads turned to her. "You're a Stark banner man, Lord Bolton. Laila and I are acting on Lady Stark's orders to return Jaime Lannister to King's Landing."

Jaime tried cutting through the pork with only a knife, but his remaining hand wasn't his dominant hand, so he was struggling more than usual.

"When King Robb left Harrenhal, his mother was his prisoner." Roose explained, lifting his head towards Brienne. "If she wasn't his mother, he'd have hanged her for treason."

As Jaime continued to grapple with his meat, Laila sighed, lifting her fork and stabbing it into the meat. Jaime gave her a soft smile before beginning to cut the pork in a timely fashion. "But, Lord Bolton," Laila then said, "I wouldn't let that happen. If Lady Stark is killed, then my job is done for."

"I'm sure King Robb would find you another woman to serve."

Laila shook her head. "There is none like Lady Catelyn. She is to stay alive."

Roose leaned back in his seat, staring at the three with interest. "I should send you lot back to Robb Stark."

"You should. But instead, you're sitting here watching me fail at dinner." Jaime plopped a piece of pork in his mouth. "Why might that be?"

Roose smirked, just the tiniest bit. "Wars cost money. Many people would pay a great deal for you."

"Not part of the plan," Laila quipped, tilting her chair back and forth. "We have specific orders, Lord Bolton. You should be able to make an exception."

"Lady Laila, do you honestly think you're protected just because you work for Catelyn Stark?" Roose lofted a brow, causing Laila's mouth to open in shock. "Because, you're not, my Lady. Catelyn may have given you orders, but I follow Robb's."

Laila nodded, keeping her mouth shut.

Jaime played with the knife in his hand. "We both know who would pay the most for me." His eyes met Roose's. "Or make you pay the most if he found out you had captured me and sent me back up North for a summary execution."

"You're right," Roose nodded. "Perhaps the safest thing to do is to kill you three and burn your bodies."

Laila spied Brienne picking up her knife, but Jaime set her at ease by putting her hand down. Jaime replied, "It would be, if you honestly believed my father would never find out about it."

"King Robb is keeping your father quite busy." Roose argued with a smile. "He doesn't have time for anything else."

Jaime's eyes went narrow. "He'll make time for you."

The three stared at Roose in agony, anxiously awaiting his answer. Laila sat up and began to bite the edge of her nail.

Roose sighed longingly. "As soon as you're well enough to travel, I will allow you to go to King's Landing as restitution for the mistakes my soldiers made. And you will swear to tell your father the truth: that I had nothing to do with your maiming."

Laila smiled quickly at the response, instinctively laying her hand on Jaime's arm. He sent her a confused look, not quite sure what Roose's answer meant, before turning to the man in question. He picked up the pitcher of wine on the table. "Shall we drink on it?"

When Jaime tried to pour wine into Lord Bolton's glass, he refused, putting his hand over the cup. "I don't partake."

Jaime lofted a brow before beginning to pour wine in his glass, along with Brienne and Laila's. "You do understand how suspicious that is to ordinary people?" He asked, to which Laila nodded with him. "Very well. My ladies, may our journey continue without further incident."

Laila lifted her glass with a gleeful expression, to which Jaime touched her own. The two reached over to toast with Brienne, who stayed still. Laila shook her glass in her hand to get Brienne to do the same, but she would not budge.

Roose cleared his throat. "Oh, they won't be going with you."

Laila's head immediately whipped to the Bolton lord. She furrowed her brow. "Pardon me, my Lord?"

Brienne shook her head. "We are charged with bringing Ser Jaime to –"

"You are charged with abetting treason," Roose interrupted.

"Treason?" Laila exclaimed, much to Jaime's dismay. He sighed at her protest. "On what grounds?"

Roose shrugged, as if the ordeal meant nothing. "Assisting Lady Stark to betray her son's orders. Allowing yourselves to become involved in the plan. Accepting orders of treason."

"Oh," Laila muttered.

Jaime lifted his hand. "I'm afraid I must insist. They've carried me all the way here. You can't just expect them to not return with me now."

Brienne and Laila nodded with his statement.

"You're in no place to insist on anything." Roose said, acting as a reminder. "I would have hoped you'd learned your lesson about overplaying your position."

Laila looked to Jaime, and in that instant, they both felt their souls die.