"Come on, ya dumb count!"
Those are the words you hear as you are pulled forward, Meryn Trant leading you. You had heard of his violence before, but being caught in your escape attempt was sure to bring you much more grief to come.
As the rough voice echoes among the trees, the chain around your neck is violently jerked backwards, sending you flying forwards onto the earth below. Your knees collide with the dirt first, smacking against it as they buckle beneath your dead weight. Your hands attempt to break your fall, palms spread out to catch yourself, but you are too weak to significantly lessen the damage. Lastly, your face lands at an awkward sideways angle, bouncing up along with small patches of dirt. You closed your eyes just in time, but you can feel the mud splashing across your cheek.
You try to get your bearings but the horse continues trotting, which means the man is pulling you along with the chain gripped in his hand. You desperately bring your hands up to try to hold the chain and help your breathing, but it is in vain. You kick desperately as your grip tightens, your airway closing quickly as you gasp out for air loudly.
You can hear vague laughing, which continues to grow silent the longer you are being pulled. You scream as your hands grab the chain to hoist yourself closer, and you feel yourself about to go unconscious.
Suddenly, the horse stops moving.
You look up to see the man above you, holding your chain in front of you like a toy, teasing you.
"You going to play fair, bitch?" The man asks aggressively.
He has black hair peppered with bits of gray, relatively short, along with a mustache and light beard. His dark eyes pierce you, and his large, mean face is enough to haunt you. It's as if he has no conscience.
You haven't answered and he quickly lifts and throws the chain in a whipping motion, the end of it hitting you and sending you back down to the earth.
You hold the right side of your face with your palm, your cheek red from the slap of metal.
"Speak, ya stupid cunt!" You hear his menacing voice yell out in front of you as you gather up enough courage to lift your chin up towards him.
"No." You angrily spit.
He walks towards you, agitated.
He quickly grabs you and throws you into a tree, your chest taking most of the blow as your momentum carries you harshly into the bark, shards of bark cutting your skin like glass. You turn around to see him directly in front of you before your head is sent harshly to the right, the sting of his slap on your cheek. You feel your lip throbbing as a metallic taste fills your mouth. You quickly lift your hand to your mouth and see a pool of red.
You angrily kick out at him, hitting him square in the stomach.
His face turns to a state of shock before anger, as if both surprised and astonished at your revenge.
He suddenly grabs your long hair and yanks it upwards, and you struggle to keep up. He suddenly grabs your neck and holds it tight, choking you. You try to cry out for help, but to no avail. As you feel lightheaded, your body lurches forward as he aggressively throws you. He throws you face forward into a large, low hanging branch from a tree, basically clotheslining you as your head snaps back from the force of hitting it.
You feel your knees crumple under your body and your head hit the ground inches from your feet, your body awkwardly bent backwards as if folded.
Before you know it, he is once again above you, grinning evilly. You scream internally as he pulls out a sinister looking knife, kneeling so that your body leans on his thighs. Suddenly, they are shouting as he holds it up, glimmering in the light shining through the trees.
"Maybe if I cut ya a little bit, you'll learn to play nice." He seethes, bringing it to your cheek.
You gulp as you feel the iciness of the metal against your skin before a shout breaks you all from your trance.
He looks around in confusion before his eyes settle on something and furrow in aggravation.
You strain your head to observe what is stopping him to see a tall, large man standing before you all. He holds a large sword, and is decked in full armor. The right side of his face is burnt, but it does little to distract from his handsome features.
"Get out of here, dog." Meryn harshly commands before he attempts to bring the knife back to you.
"Let the fucking little girl go." The other man practically seethes.
"Go, or I'll bring you back to Joffrey. He quite misses your presence. I'm sure I'll have a great reward with your head on a spike." He coldly scoffs before returning to you.
Suddenly you hear a fast crunching sound. You turn to see him approaching the two of you, angry steps stomping loudly.
You gasp as you can feel the knife at your throat, below your chin. You cry out just as you feel the stab of pain before you feel yourself being knocked over.
You roll over on the ground once before looking to see that the man jumped on Meryn, and is now wrestling with him violently. He is bashing his head on the ground before a crack can be heard. You look closer to see blood pouring from his nose.
"Is... is he... dead?" You feel yourself whispering before you can stop yourself.
"No, but the fucker's head will hurt when he wakes up, and his nose is broken." The man calmly explains.
You look at the man, confused and scared until he starts stomping towards you.
You trip and fall backwards, the hem of your yellow dress causing problems as you attempt to step backwards. Your long, brown hair hits your face as you fall straight on your rear, landing with a small "oh".
"You think I'm gonna hurt you, girl? Hurt you like he would have? Do I scare you?" He aggressively questions, practically peering over you.
You desperately shake your head as you try to form words.
"Do I? Do I scare you, little girl?" He snarls.
"N- no." You struggle to say as he leans towards you, face only inches from yours.
"You think I'm a monster?" He loudly berates.
"Please, stop!" You desperately cry out to him as he leans closer to you. You attempt to push him away but it only encourages him as he puts his hands on both sides of you, trapping you.
"Please, don't send me to Joffrey! I'll do whatever you want, just don't send me back!" You cry out desperately.
This seems to stop him from whatever he is thinking.
"Back? What do you mean?" He asks, voice riddled with confusion.
"Meryn was bringing me back to kings landing... I..." you drift off as you think back to your plan.
"You what?"
"I... was supposed to be entertainment for Joffrey. I'm a contortionist. Joffrey wanted me brought to his room... and I know what happens to the women that go to his room. I've heard about the whores, servants, and common people that are his 'entertainment'. I'm not going to be his target practice..." you finish apathetically and look up to see him looking at you with a poker face.
"How'd you get out?"
"A girl helped me. She was my age. If met her a few times. Sansa."
At the name he flinched.
"I tried to convince her to come with me, but she wouldn't. She hid me in her room until she could distract the guard outside for me to escape." You finish your story and look up to see his face pondering something.
"The girl, Sansa, she saved you?" He questions.
"She saved my life, yes..." you nod your head to him.
He processes your story before standing up and offering his hand to you, which you accept.
"Alright, come with me." He nonchalantly adds before handing you a small cloth handkerchief.
"Are... are you taking me back to him?" You question, shaking with terror.
He turns around and notices your demeanor, and he softens.
"No... the cunt can find another toy to play with."
You run towards him and give him a big hug, enveloping as much of him as you can, eyes closed with happiness.
"Thank you." You cry into his chest.
His grip on you tightens as he embraces you as well.
"I will always help a friend of Sansa." He calmly whispers to you.
