The Lions and the Wolves

Chapter 4: Out of the Woods

The pair hadn't spoken a word yet. They were still by the river, Cersei stood at the foot of a tree staring blankly into the night whilst Jaime tried to calm the dead Dothraki rider's horse. The beast had struck at him a handful of times now but he remained determined to placate the distressed animal. It'd be far quicker and safer on horseback than travelling on foot the rest of the way. Progress was being made, slowly but surely. Over by the tree, Cersei was doing her best to avoid landing her eyes on the decapitated head only a few feet away. But she couldn't help it. His eyes were still open, no light left in them anymore. Not even a reflection of the night's moon, yet they were wide as though still seeing. At first she felt sad, distraught even but now only anger filled her chest. This man, this savage had defiled her. The growing desire to look at his severed skull and revel in his downfall was rippling through her at great speed like a crashing wave.

"We can't linger here any longer." Jaime finally broke the silence, the horse in his grasp at last. The crazed stallion was still skittish but seemed to have calmed considerably. "There'll be more riders out there, it's only a matter of time before another one stumbles upon us." He was removing any items from the animal that could be distinguishable as being Dothraki. He turned to look at his sister, worried for her current state. "Cersei? What are you doing?" His voice elevated in pitch as his eyebrows pulled together in the middle, shocked at her actions. She didn't answer. Moving towards the headless body, she pulled a knife from the holster on his loosened trousers before standing graciously and approaching his wretched head. Silently but furiously she chopped his long braid from his scalp. It took a bit of hacking at but eventually she stood again, his long, wiry hair wrapped around her hand. Jaime was wordless the entire time, his eyes fixated on her strange actions. "A souvenir? Really?" Her brother was taken aback. "This man raped you-"

"Yes." She interjected. "And now he's dead, you killed him. Let them find him this way, shame will be upon him and his braid-less head. A fallen Dothraki warrior with nothing to show for his last fight." Her words were soft but cold. Dripping with a deep anger that he feared would take hold of her completely. She pocketed the hair, like a prized possession before salvaging the Dothraki's hooded cloak from his limp body and headed towards her twin. He studied her gait, her movement seemed affected by the horrendous events of the night.

"Ashford isn't far from here, we'll stop there for the night and get some rest. It'll take us at least a day to reach Highgarden if we have a smooth journey." He spoke gently as he helped her up on to the saddle-less horse. She'd cloaked herself in the hood, offering herself some form of protection from staring and curious eyes, her head of blonde hair concealed. "And I pray we have no more encounters with Dothraki men." He muttered to himself. Securing her first, he mounted the stallion once she was up on it's back. She hadn't been on a horse since she was a young girl at Casterly Rock. She'd always found something strangely liberating about galloping through fields, the wind whipping through her hair like she hadn't a care in the world. How different things were now. Positioned behind, his arms rested around her holding the reins firmly in front of them both. They'd ditched the saddle next to the slain body, their journey resuming again as the darkness engulfed them riding into the night.

They took it slowly and silently. It was far too dark to take off at speed through the woods, truthfully they were both just glad to be off their feet. Jaime had kept all manner of complaints to himself for the time being but the wound he'd sustained from Euron Greyjoy was still burning painfully beneath his dark heavy clothing. He would utter no word of this in front of his sister. Not tonight, not after what she'd just endured because of him. He'd failed her. He was brought back to the moment by her warm palm wrapping around his wrist reassuringly. As though she'd heard his thoughts and was telling him he was at no fault. She'd been resting on him for the majority of the ride, his frame supporting her from behind. His arms guarding her from all else. She could have nodded off if not for the horrifying flashbacks. Every time she closed her eyes she could see his face. No matter how hard she attempted to blink it away, it kept reappearing. They'd been riding for at least an hour when Jaime's voice sounded in her ear.