The Lions and the Wolves

Chapter 12: Imprisonment

It had been at least four hours since they'd set off from the refuge of the dank cave, their tied hands were joined on the same rope this time and Jaime could feel it pulling as Cersei started to lag behind. It didn't help that every time Brienne felt tension in the rope as one of them slowed, she'd give it a firm tug to speed them up. The rain hadn't stopped, even for a second and as a result all three of them were soaked, the ground beneath them puddled and sloshy. They weren't far off sunrise, Jaime thought to himself as he turned to check on his sister. They were both cloaked, making it hard to see her face beneath the shadow cast by the large, woven hood. The darkness around them was still heavy but the sun was trying to rise in the East, a glow starting at the lowest part of the sky. The hour of the Nightingale.

"Cersei?" He panted back to her, his breath laboured with the nagging pain at his side but she didn't answer. Her steps had slowed even more, causing a strain on his own tied wrists. Brienne still pulling him onwards but Cersei pulling him back. "Cersei, keep up." He coached kindly. "We're almost there."

The terrain underfoot was a rocky, pebbled road. Trying to manoeuvre that in low lighting was a tough quest, especially given their footwear and bodily states. They kept tripping every so often on the oddly placed rocks between deep, rain-filled pot holes. One forgets how much arms balance movement, when they're bound together in front of the body all sense of balance seems to be lost. This was exactly the case with the next looming crater. Losing her footing slightly, she came to an abrupt stop as she only just managed to stop herself from falling completely. Her legs ached with each step and her back throbbed with the extra weight of rain weighing down her clothes. The first few months of pregnancy were the least enjoyable she always thought. The sickness, the fatigue and the uncomfortable feeling of changes happening within. All of these things partnered together made for an extremely unhappy woman. As she steadied her stance, mentally and physically preparing herself to start moving again, Brienne's voiced boomed up ahead.

"We don't stop until we reach Horn Hill, we've wasted enough time!" Yanking the rope roughly as she spoke, she'd kept her focus facing forward as she continued to ride on. Her strong tug caused Jaime to be snapped forward, almost losing his own footing too whilst Cersei wasn't quite as fortunate to catch herself this time. She was too exhausted. Instead, she was jerked forward violently and fell hard. Her tethered wrists and forearms only just breaking her fall on the cold, muddied ground. Finally growing impatient with her behaviour at the sight of Cersei being thrown to the floor, Jaime swiftly moved his golden hand and wrapped the rope around it multiple times before mimicking her actions and heaving it back with as much force as he could muster.

He roared angrily with exertion, the heat of his breath steaming in the cold air. The moment he pulled with all his strength he'd felt the release as she lost her grip. The rope snapped away from her briskly and pulled her arm back with exertion. She panicked the moment he was loose. Sliding from her horse, she retrieved her end of the rope from the mud and moved quickly towards them but her panic subsided when she realised he wasn't fleeing, as she had initially thought. Then another form of panic started to rise within at the sight before her. He was down at her side instantly, trying to aid her back to her feet as she struggled to muster the energy to stand. She didn't get there, instead she barely made it upright to kneel in the drenched and freezing ground.

"Are you hurt?" He questioned quickly, his mind only focused on how hard she'd landed on her front. Brienne felt awful, she hadn't intended for that at all. She'd been riding ahead silently for hours in a cloud of gloom and misery, her mind sinking in her own sadness and bitter feeling. Now look what had happened. Quickly approaching him from behind she tried to remain composed.

"I didn't mean-"

"No but you still did it, didn't you?" He growled furiously, interrupting the start of her cold apology. He wouldn't even look at her. Cersei's arms were coated in thick, glistening mud as it mixed in with the blood from her existing wrist wounds and now the new ones she'd just sustained from falling so hard. Both Jaime and Brienne could see her shaking, her strained breaths hitting the sharp, cold air in bursts of mist. "Cersei, answer me." He pressed but she continued looking down at herself. Jaime turned to look up at Brienne, positively spitting with anger. "What were you thinking?"