Chapter Text
The castle dissolved into chaos as Jaime ordered the men to ready the horses and head back down into the city. Genna was frantically instructing the castle staff to go into lockdown until further notice. No staff changes were to occur until they found Tommen and Theon.
Arya watched on as Sansa begged Jon to help find Theon. Her big brother, their king, held Sansa close and promised he would find Theon. Surprising to Arya was Daenerys’ presence at Jon’s side.
“I’ll do what I can to help. I can fly over the port and look for any departing ships or signs of retreating captors from the city.” Her violet eyes were filled with concern as she looked at Sansa and Jon.
“Aye, I would appreciate that. Sansa, stay here with Arya. I’ll be back soon. I promise.”
Jon walked over to Jaime and informed him of his and Daenerys support. Arya watched the panic in Jaime’s face as he spoke rapidly with Addam before turning to Jon and Daenerys to take in Jon’s words.
“Thank you. We could use all the help we can get.” Jaime looked around frantically and called out to Brienne.
“Brienne! Brienne!” Taking rapid strides towards Brienne, Arya watched as Jaime reached out and grabbed her hip. Brienne turned to face him and abruptly halted her conversation with Pod.
“I need you to stay here with Addam. He and his men will guard you.”
Brienne’s eye widened. “No! I want to help look for Tommen.”
Jaime shook his head adamantly. “It’s not safe! I can’t risk you and…” with a fleeting look to her belly, he turned to look around and ensure no one heard him. “Please. Stay here with Addam. I’ll be back soon. They can’t have gotten far.”
Brienne grabbed Jaime’s arm as he turned to leave. “Jaime, wait! Please. You know I can fight better than most of your men. Take me with you!”
With a beseeching look, Jaime pulled her close and placed a kiss to her lips. “I need you to stay here, Brienne. Please. I can’t risk losing you too.”
Arya watched as Brienne’s face fell in defeat. “Fine. Please, be careful.”
Bronn stormed through the castle entrance and up to Jaime. “The horses are ready. Lets go find ‘em.”
With a nod of his head, Jaime took half the household guards, Jon, Jon’s men, and Daenerys with him. Arya looked around to see Addam and his men, Genna, Pod, Sansa, and Brienne standing in bewilderment as the noise died down in the entryway.
The household staff were busily sealing off all the secondary doors to the castle and going through whatever their standard lockdown procedures were. Turning to Sansa, Arya grabbed her arm. “Theon will be fine. Jon will find him.”
Sansa offered a small smile, but the worry was evident in her eyes. Leaning into Arya, Sansa spoke in hushed tones. “I agree with Ser Jaime. Cersei is behind this. I don’t think Tommen and Brienne will be the only ones she comes for. Rickon is at Winterfell. I shouldn’t have left him.”
Arya rolled her eyes. “I think Cersei can only handle so many abductions at once. Don’t act like you would have missed this wedding for anything.”
With a resigned sigh, Sansa conceded the point. “You’re right. I just wish we weren’t so far form Rickon.”
Genna encouraged everyone into the great hall as the staff set out some tea and snacks. “Well, I suppose we can eat the lemon cakes now. If they don’t find those boys soon, there won’t be much to celebrate on the morrow.”
Moving to the sealed windows overlooking the yard, Genna sighed and popped a lemon cake in her mouth. Arya watched as Daenerys mounted her dragon in the distance and took to the skies. Gods. Unreal.
Tyrion strode into the hall with a wine cup in hand. “Quite the homecoming. My brother is already wed and my nephew has been abducted.”
Genna rolled her eyes at Tyrion as he approached the table and shoved a lemon cake in mouth. “Where is my goodsister anyway?”
“Hallway with Addam and the men. Knowing her, she probably plans to ride straight into the city once Jaime has gotten far enough away.” Genna’s tone sounded weary as if she had expected Brienne’s behavior well before Jaime left.
Tyrion snorted and turned to look towards the hallway. “Of course, it’s Brienne of Tarth that finally saved Jaime from Cersei. Gods, I knew the look in King’s Landing, but I never thought he would actually leave Cersei.”
Sansa smirked and looked to Tyrion. “At the feast the day before Joffrey’s wedding. That’s when you saw it.”
A sly smile spread across Tyrion’s face. “My lady, observant as ever.” The pair nodded at one another and chuckled.
Tyrion shook his head and sighed. “My brother’s heart is easily read in his eyes. I saw it clear as day at that feast, but I didn’t think he would really do it. That he could leave Cersei.”
Sansa hummed as she moved closer to Tyrion. “You should have seen him pining after her the entire way north to Jon when they rescued me and Arya. Gods it was horrible. Painful really.”
Arya snorted and grabbed a lemon cake. “Tell me about it. The only thing worse was when he finally worked up the courage to kiss her. Ugh. It has been torturous.”
Genna guffawed. “Yes, well imagine living with them.”
The group groaned and threw up their hands in defeat at Genna’s comment. The sound of Addam and Brienne conversing in the hallway caught Arya’s attention. She moved quietly towards the door and peered out through the crack between the door and where it met the doorframe.
“I just think something is wrong. This must be Cersei. She must be trying to draw Jaime out. She wouldn’t hurt Tommen, but she would use him as bait.” Addam spoke the words urgently and peered out the entryway windows towards the city below.
“Gods. I knew I should have gone with him! Do you think they have enough men?” Brienne’s eyeline followed Addam’s as they crowded the window.
With a heavy sigh, Addam shrugged. “I don’t know. I have a bad feeling about this.”
Brienne looked around the hallway and turned to face Addam. “Should we take some of the men and join them?”
Addam’s eyes darted around the entryway. “I think so. The men are standing guard outside. Lets get them.”
“I’m going to just tell Genna. I’ll be right back.” Brienne turned to leave, but Addam grabbed her arm.
“She’ll never let us leave. She probably expects you’ll leave anyway.” Arya chuckled inwardly at Addam’s words. If only he knew. Genna just finished saying that.
With an uncertain glance towards the great hall, Brienne slipped out the door with Addam. Arya took the opportunity to slip out from the hall and follow them. I’ll be damned if they go on an adventure without me!
Sliding into the hallway and quietly opening the front door, Arya stared out into the yard. It was dark and the Lannister soldiers were finishing mounting their horses alongside Brienne. Looking to the left, Arya slipped out and ducked behind one of the large shrubs which decorated the castle entrance.
Fuck. How do I join without them knowing? Arya looked around and saw three more horses tied off at the post. Waiting until they took off on horseback, Arya crawled towards one of the steeds.
Looking back towards the castle, Arya smiled at the lack of movement. She loved using he size to her advantage; easily slipping in and out of rooms unseen. She slowly untied one of the horses and peered down the hill to ensure Addam, Brienne and the men were far enough along that they wouldn’t immediately stop her and force her back to the castle.
When the seemed far enough away, Arya mounted her horse and took off after them. She moved the horse at a slow enough pace that the mount didn’t kick up too much dust or make too much noise.
The evening sky worked to her advantage as she was more easily concealed riding away from the castle. Keeping her eyes on the group in the distance, Arya’s brows furrowed as she considered their direction.
Why are they headed west? The city is southeast of the castle. The group soon disappeared into the woods in the distance and Arya spurred her steed faster.
As she approached, she slowed her horse and heard a struggle off in the distance. Arya dismounted and tied her horse a tree at the clearing. Crouching low, she moved stealthily through the woods.
She moved forward for some time until she got close enough to see what was happening Arya moved behind a large rock and could scarcely make out the top of Brienne’s head in the moonlight.
She’s fighting them!
Brienne had Oathkeeper in hand and slashed away. There were roughly half a dozen guards with Addam and they were attacking her. Gods! What are they doing!?
Arya reached to her hip, but realized her weapons were not on her. She had left them off for the evening’s feast at Sansa’s request. Seven hells!
Brienne had managed to fell half of them, but Addam moved quickly behind her and knocked her hard across the head with his sword hilt.
He yelled something to the remaining men and Arya felt panic set in as they chained Brienne’s hands and feet. Then Arya felt her stomach drop. Addam reached to his head and removed his face.
What the fuck is that! Instead of the redheaded knight, Arya watched as a slightly shorter, slender man with long brown hair stood in Lannister armor. He dropped the face to the ground and spoke in a heavy accent to the other soldiers.
They removed their faces to reveal a woman and two men. How did they do that!?
Arya moved closer to a tree just ahead and watched as they dragged Brienne’s unconscious body to a covered wagon. When they pulled back the cover, Arya saw Theon and Tommen in chains with their mouths bound. Tommen’s eyes were wide in fear and Theon was unconscious next to him; his head bleeding heavily from an impact wound.
Arya quickly covered her mouth to muffle the gasp forcing its way through her lips. The leader of the group looked around and Arya ducked down quickly; praying to the seven that the man didn’t see her.
She heard footsteps begin to approach and peered around the tree at man. His brows were furrowed as he looked in the direction of the clearing, but the group soon shouted out to alert him of their readiness to move out.
With a racing heart, Arya forced herself to hold still until the sound of the horse drawn carriage was far enough away. They left behind two of the horses they took from the castle. Arya grabbed one of the free horses rather than make the long walk back to hers.
Darting back into the clearing, Arya veered the horse towards the city rather than the castle. She rode hard and prayed to the seven she could find Jaime in time.
Lannisport was massive and roughly half the size of King’s Landing. Arya could see the soldiers’ horses tied off at the stables near the city entrance. Leaving her steed with theirs, Arya ran through the streets of Lannisport.
Unlike King’s Landing, the streets were narrower and drunken revelers were stumbling in and out of taverns. Arya urgently asked anyone she came across if they had seen the direction the soldiers and Lord Jaime went.
Eventually she caught up to the group near the harbor and saw Jaime; his short golden hair and crimson doublet standing out in the moonlight.
“Jaime! Stop! Jaime!” At his name, Jaime spun on his heel and away from the man he had been urgently speaking with near the docks. His brows furrowed as he squinted in her direction.
“Arya?” As she neared, his eyes went wide.
“What happened!? Why are you here?” Jaime ran to Arya; Jon hot on his heels.
“Brienne! They took her! Tommen and Theon too! They had Addam’s face!” Jaime shook her shoulders and bent down to her eye level.
“Arya. Calm down. What are you saying? Who took her?” His eyes were imploring as he looked at her.
Taking a deep breath, Arya forced herself to speak slowly.
“It was a trick. Someone was wearing Addam’s face. And the guards too, but it wasn’t them! They had thick accents and they took them west through the woods. They’re chained in a covered carriage.”
At Arya’s words, Jaime’s face twisted in confusion. Jon moved urgently beside them; his eyes wide and heavy with panic. “The Faceless Men.”
Jaime looked to Jon and then back to Arya. Desperation was thick on his tongue. “Arya, please. Where did you last see them?”
“I can take you there. Follow me.” Arya ran through the city streets as Jaime and Jon called for their men to follow. Gods, we’re losing too much time!
It felt like an eternity before they reached the horses. The group quickly mounted, and Arya led them back to where she saw the men take Brienne. Her original horse was still tied off at a tree which served as a marker for where she entered.
She led them through the woods and to the area where she saw Brienne fighting the men. Three dead guards and the discarded faces of Addam and his men littered the ground. “They were here when they took Brienne.”
Jaime hopped off his horse and ran to something in the middle of the forest floor. Dropping to his knees, he reached out and picked up Brienne’s sword. Oathkeeper.