CHAPTER 10 | THE SMARTEST MAN THERE IS

TRIGGER WARNING: CHAPTER CONTAINS A SCENE OF ATTEMPTED SEXUAL ASSAULT

LAILA was tied against a tree trunk when they made camp. She sat across from Brienne, who was in the same situation as her. Jaime was sat a few feet from them. Laila stared at the bonfire the Bolton men were currently making. Her eyes were entranced with the flames, and she found her vision following them in an attempt to distract herself from what would soon happen.

She sucked in a few oncoming tears. Laila didn't want to go through with this. She didn't want to let them have her in the palm of their hands. Oh, and there it was – she was crying. Laila looked at her hands, letting the tears fall on them. Brienne stared at her in pity.

It was then that the Bolton leader – whom she learned was named Locke – approached her and Brienne's spot. He looked down at Brienne, before glancing to Laila. "I'll take the big bitch first. When she's good and wet, you lot can finish her off." He nodded his head to the side. "Rogar, you can have the handmaiden."

They began to untie Brienne as she said, "My lord, I am Brienne of Tarth. Lady Catelyn Stark commanded me and Lady Laila to deliver Ser Jaime to King's Landing."

"Catelyn Stark's a treasonous cunt," Locke replied.

They hoisted both Brienne and Laila from the tree. Laila was sobbing, unable to give any words. "How do I shut the bitch up?" Rogar complained as he shook Laila. This only made her cry more.

Laila fought against the more arms that tried to keep her still. Locke sent her a menacing glare. "Why are you doing this?" Laila asked, before she started to scream, "LET US GO!"

Locke sighed, but still had the hint of a smile on his face. "Orders were to take the Kingslayer alive. Nobody said shit about you two."

Brienne and Laila met eyes, and then thrust their arms out. Laila kicked her legs out, trying her best to fight the people that bound her. She knew shit about fighting, and that was clear in her movements, but instinct was beginning to get the best of her. One man attempted to lock his hands around her throat, and instead, she head-butted him. "You're only making it worse," Rogar told both women. Laila responded with a kick to his nether regions.

"Take them over there where it's dark," Locke commanded. "I'd like a little privacy."

Laila glanced to Jaime over her shoulder, pleading in her eyes. She screamed at the top of her lungs as the men led her and Brienne away. She pushed and pulled, but it ended with nothing on her part. The men holding her were too strong, and she was nothing but weak.

Rogar shoved her to the grass, making her land on the ground face-first. Her nostrils filled with dirt as she looked over her shoulder, seeing the man try to undo his belt. She screamed again, kicking her legs out just enough to hit Rogar's crotch. He groaned in pain, and Laila tried her best to stand up, but she was pushed down again by another man helping to aid Rogar.

Jaime heard their screams from his spot. Terrified. Horrified. He felt his insides twist. He looked to Locke, who was walking over to him. "You know who they are, don't you?"

Locke viewed at the Lannister with keen interest. Laila's scream echoed around them, and was followed by a punch. "A big, dumb bitch and poor cunt from who cares where." He rubbed his hands together. "Never been with a woman that big. The servant girl isn't that bad to look at either."

"Well, for one thing: that servant girl is a Ryswell. Her family apparently abandoned her long ago so she was forced to work as a handmaiden to make a living, but her name still stands. Dishonoring her would make the Starks even angrier at you than me." Jaime pursed his lips for a moment. "The 'big, dumb bitch' is Brienne of Tarth. Her father is Lord Selwyn Tarth. Heard of Tarth? They call it the Sapphire Isle. Do you know why? Every sapphire in Westeros was mined on Tarth. Sapphires are gemstones. The blue ones."

"I know what they are," Locke replied.

Laila, on the other side of the forest, was currently trying to lift herself up against the hands that pushed her down. Rogar managed to lift up her skirt, but she was fighting with more strength than she thought she had. She cried and cried, though she punched and kicked until the sweat ran down her brow. She was able to finally pull her small dagger from the inside of her skirt. She was lucky to move it there before this happened.

Laila whipped her hand out from behind, slashing her blade across Rogar's face. He yelled at the immediate bleeding, and Laila recoiled away as it poured on her face. "The bitch has a knife!" One of the men screamed, knocking her square in the nose with his fist. Laila's face went back into the grass, and as she coughed from the wind beaten out of her lungs, she thought this was her ending.

"Lord Selwyn would pay his daughter's weight in sapphires if she's returned to him." Jaime continued to lie from his spot. "But only if she's alive; her honor unbesmirched."

Locke had thought for a moment on Jaime's words. He, finally, turned to the screaming that sounded in the woods. He ordered in a loud voice, "Bring them back here!"

When Laila heard this, her eyes flashed open. One man was fondling her bare behind, despite her cries of anguish to stop. Rogar had been trying to get himself off and ready – even with his bleeding face – but suddenly stopped at Locke's call. He scoffed to his other men, who were then hoisting Laila upward again and pulling her skirt back down. Laila coughed and sucked in the rest of her sobs. Her eyes met with Brienne as they guided the two women back to camp. Her expression remained the same.

Locke approached Jaime again, cocking his head to the side. "Unbesmirched," he repeated.

Jaime clarified: "Not defiled."

"Fancy word for a fancy man."

Jaime tried to sit up. "I hated to read as a child, but my father forced me to study the books every morning before I could practice with sword or horse. Two hours every day holed up in the maester's chambers. I learned a lot of fancy words."

"I bet you did."

Jaime's vision went to Brienne and Laila, looking dirty and damaged, as the Bolton men tied them back to a tree. Brienne yelped each time they touched her, but he noticed Laila trying to keep herself quiet. The handmaiden's mouth wobbled with tears, but she was done screaming for no answer.

Locke knelt in front of Jaime then. "Your father," he asked, "he'd pay your weight in gold to get you back?"

"You'll be a rich man till the end of your days. And your sons will be rich men and their sons after them. Lands, titles ... you'll have them all." Jaime looked around and lowered his voice. "The North can't win this war. You're a smart man. You understand that. We have the numbers. We have the gold."

Locke nodded. "Aye, you have both."

"Fighting bravely for a losing cause is admirable. Fighting for a winning cause is far more rewarding," Jaime replied, thinking himself to be quite convincing.

"Hard to argue with that."

Laila lifted her head, watching the conversation between Locke and Jaime with narrowed eyes. She glanced to Brienne, who was just as confused as she was.

"Now that we're speaking together man to man," Jaime continued, "I wonder if you need to keep me chained to this tree. I'm not asking to be freed from my constraints, but if I could sleep lying down, my back would thank you for it. I'm not as young and resilient as I was once."

Locke's eyes formed into slits. "None of us are."

Laila saw some of the Bolton men tending to Rogar's wound, and she frowned his way. Another man knelt beside her, keeping her at bay. He sniffed her, for some reason, causing her to try to wiggle her hand out and push him away.

Locke stood up, ever so slowly. "Unchain Ser Jaime from the tree," he ordered.

Jaime looked at Laila and Brienne, giving them a satisfied expression. Laila rolled her eyes, while Brienne remained skeptical.

The men walked over to Jaime and began to undo his chains and locks. "Suppose you'll be wanting something to eat," Locke said.

"I'm famished, actually," Jaime grinned.

Laila viewed at Brienne again. She whispered, "What is going on?" Briene didn't have an answer.

"I think we've got spare partridge on the fire," Locke stated as his men pulled Jaime to his feet.

"Well, I do like partridge."

Laila and Brienne watched him be carried off to the fire. Laila wrinkled her nose in confusion. Her eyes locked with Jaime's as he passed. She felt something make her shiver. Was it the wind? No, it was a premonition.

"Bring the bird over here and the carving knife." Locke commanded to one of his men. He gestured to the stump before the bonfire. "Will this work as a table, my Lord?"

Jaime's vision muddled with confusion. "Oh, yes." He answered after a moment of hesitation. "Yes, this will do – AH!"

Laila's eyes went wide at the sight of the men kicking Jaime in the shin. He doubled over on the ground. Laila tried sitting up, pushing her body tighter against the chains. The men shoved Jaime on the wooden base as Locke said, "On the stump."

Locke pulled at Jaime's hair roughly. He looked him dead in the eyes as he pulled out a large blade from his cloak. "You think you're the smartest man there is. That everyone alive has to bow and scrape and lick your boots."

Jaime exhaled heavily. "My father –"

"And if you get in any trouble, all you've got to do is say, 'My father,' and that's it! All your troubles are gone."

"Don't," Jaime muttered.

Locke yanked at his hair harder. "Have you got something to say?!" He exclaimed, trying to dig the tip of his blade into Jaime's closed eye. "Careful. You don't want to say the wrong thing."

Laila felt her eyes water again. What was happening to her? Why did she suddenly feel so strongly towards the pain that was being inflicted on a Kingslayer? Her hands tried to grip at the chains around her. She heard Jaime groan and whimper at the blade being so close to him.

"You're nothing without your daddy, and your daddy ain't here." Locke whispered threateningly. "Never forget that."

Locke ultimately moved away, much to Jaime's relief. The Kingslayer opened his eyes, releasing a breath. Locke looked back at his men as he said, "Here, this should help you remember."

Without a moment to decide, Laila watched Locke throw his arm down and use his blade to slice Jaime's hand off from his body. It was like Jaime hadn't felt a thing, because as soon as it happened, his eyes went to the disfigured hand. Blood poured from the wound, and it took Jaime a few seconds to realized what happened.

And finally, Jaime Lannister's shrill scream filled the air.