authorsnote: newww chapter! I wanted to get the edits done before I posted this and they are now done! I have edited previous chapters for spelling/grammar/flow/sentence structure - no plot changes! and here is a new one. I do hope you enjoy.

let me know what you think, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'd also love to hear what you think might come next, I have planned it, and am starting to give hints!

as always pls fav/follow for updates, review if ya like, and most importantly enjoy.

songrecs: graveyard - halsey

It was hours before they stopped, and Sansa knew they only did so the horse could rest, she felt like they needed to.

For hours they charged forward, her arms wound tightly around Jaime's waist, his thighs digging into the horse's sides, his hands on the reigns urging the mare forward, urging him to go faster and faster. The wind had whipped at her hair and skirts as they flew away from Harrenhal, away from the market and away from the danger.

They flew like birds … 'a pretty little talking bird' she'd once been called, and now she flew like one, with Jaime, flew away from the place they had almost been captured, flew away like a dove.

The hours passed by as Jaime urged the horse forward, as she clung to him tightly, as the countryside and road flew past them.

Once they stopped, they quickly walked into the forest, Jaime placed a hand on her back and they walked quick through the trees, the sky darkening with each minute. They went in deeper than usual, much deeper, and yet as she turned to Jaime, he just shook his head and urged her forward.

Fifteen minutes of walking and Jaime finally bought them to a stop.

"Here's fine" He said, tying their exhausted horse to a tree, giving the mare a pat before the horse began to greedily drink at the small pond near it. He grabbed the blankets from the back and placed them down on the floor, as well as the provisions they had stolen, she hoped there was some food.

"What about wild animals?" She asked, for they had always avoided going too deep into the forest for that very reason, and she shuffled closer to Jaime as she spoke her concerns out loud, could there be cats and bears here? Again, she shuffled a little closer.

"We'll build a fire" He said with a nod and Sansa looked up at him bewildered.

"But didn't you say that's dangerous?" She asked, her voice shaking a little now.

"I know what I said" He snapped then, and Sansa didn't respond, just dropped her gaze to the forest floor, it was only when she looked down did she realise her hands were shaking too.

And she didn't even realise there were tears on her cheeks until Jaime was wiping them away.

"It's okay, I'm sorry" He was gentle then, "I know you're scared" She was scared, they had just barely got away, and even though they had escaped, word would soon reach the Capitol of what had happened, that they had been seen together, and for some reason that terrified her even more.

For the ride she hadn't been able to process her fear, but now in the middle of the forest she felt that anxiety, that horror that she'd almost been caught, that Jaime had almost been caught … that she'd almost been parted from him.

"They wanted to take me away from you" A little sob left her lips then and when Jaime pulled her into his arms she went willingly, wrapping her arms around his neck, burying her face into his chest. He stroked her hair gently down her back, soothed her, and Jaime's words did more as well.

"I won't let them" He said, his voice ever so gentle and kind, and that made another little cry leave her lips.

"They know you're with me now" She hiccupped then as the tears continued to trickle down her cheeks, stain Jaime's tunic as she clutched him, "They'll try and pull us apart"

"I won't let them" He said again, and she nodded into his chest, but the tears didn't stop.

It was only when he pulled back, and she could see him looking at her, expression fierce, as he cupped her face with his hands, thumbs gently wiping away her tears.

"I won't ever let them take you away from me" It sounded like a vow, and Sansa let out another sob, her hands moving to circle Jaime's wrists to hold onto him. "I won't Sansa"

"You promise?" She asked then, unable to stop herself. "Promise me"

"I swear" He then leaned in, placed a gentle kiss to her forehead and Sansa allowed herself to breathe as she tucked herself back into his embrace, back into his arms. For several minutes she just stayed there, her breathing calming, her trembling coming to a stop, reassured, reassured by Jaime.

She had been so scared they'd take her from him, rip her from his side and march her back to Kings Landing, and now? Now she was terrified they'd be ripped apart, her back to Kings Landing, Jaime perhaps to the Wall or the block (or Casterly Rock, she doubted Tywin Lannister would ever see his eldest son exiled or killed).

Her fear had now gone from simply being scared of the Lannister's and being back in their clutches but to losing Jaime as well. The first frightened her, but loosing Jaime? That was terrifying as well, she didn't want to lose Jaime, not now … not ever.

"I don't want to lose you" She said it out loud, so he would know, she wanted him to know.

Once her biggest fear had been the Lannister's, now she was terrified of losing one.

"You won't" He promised, and she nodded, as his hands rubbed her back, as her fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck, it soothed her in an odd way, they soothed each other.

"Why do you want to build a fire?" She asked, stepping back then, but she didn't move completely out of his embrace, she couldn't, not yet.

"To keep watch" He said then, and she could see he debated not saying anything but he continued on, "We have to be on extra high alert now Sansa, they know our general area, a raven will be at Kings Landing before dawn, they will comb through this area to find us, we have to be more careful than ever before"

"Okay" She said with a nod, she trusted Jaime, trusted he would keep her safe, trusted he knew the best way forward. "I trust you" She said, and the smile he gave her at those words gave the most reassurance of all.

"I will keep you safe" Another vow … once she had called him an oathbreaker, but now? Now she trusted him to keep every vow to her, to honour them, to honour her.

"I know" She said, and his smile made her smile, made her a little less anxious, as he leaned forward again to plant a kiss on her forehead, which she leaned into, taking a deep breath, Jaime's touch calming her fears.

"Come on" He said with a smile then, and she nodded, for they needed to set up for the night, to eat and build a fire. "How about you have a look through the bags whilst I build a fire?"

At that she nodded, it would be good to be useful, to be distracted, and so as Jaime went about building a fire, she went about sorting through the satchel bags.

"Jaime, thank you" She said, unable to stop herself, turning to him and giving him a smile.

"Don't thank me Sansa" He said, giving her a smile too, "I can't lose you either"

Night fell and after a reasonable supper of bread, cheese and apples, Jaime would have loved to settle down to sleep, even on the hard forest floor. Sansa had already settled down, tucked in under the blankets. Of course, Jaime wanted to join her, to settle in, take her hand and fall asleep with Sansa by his side, but his thoughts stopped him.

By morning, his family would know, they'd all know.

He'd turned traitor.

In a way once he had decided to take Sansa home, he'd known his old life was closed to him, but he hadn't fully understood it, but now? Now he knew, there was no going back. Cersei, his father, Tyrion … it was all gone. He could never go back, not once the inevitable raven reached them, that he was helping their little bird fly on home.

But that wasn't even what kept him up. Yes, he'd mourn the life he'd left behind. His sister, as done with her as he was part of him still loved her, always would, his father, stern and unforgiving but his father all the same, and Tyrion, his little brother he'd always love, but who thirsted for power same as the rest of them. He'd miss them, but the thoughts that stopped him sleeping ran somewhere else.

What was next for him?

Yes, he'd return Sansa home, keep his vow, but then what? Leave her? He didn't want to do that, and yet Robb Stark and the men of the North would never accept him, not in this lifetime. Sansa had said she didn't want to be parted from him, and he believed her, but he doubted that would hold up when she returned to her family.

If she had to pick, he knew she wouldn't choose him, and more importantly he wouldn't want her to.

And so, where would that leave him? Alone? Would he go into exile in Essos? Try and blend in as a commoner? He didn't know, but he knew his old life was lost to him, and his journey with Sansa ended once she was back with her family, as much as he didn't want to leave her, he knew he'd have no choice. And so, what would he do?

He was faced with two problems, what came next, and the reality that his time with Sansa had an end date in the near future.

He wasn't sure which was worse … but then he thought of Sansa's smile, her laugh, her utter and complete trust in him and he knew … leaving Sansa would be worse, much, much worse.

It wasn't even that he wanted to, but how else would it end? Her brother would never accept him, nor her mother, not the North. He'd never be welcomed there, never allowed. And he would never allow Sansa to choose him over her family, not that he flattered himself she would, but if she even tried, he'd stop her.

He knew he'd want to be weak, to accept her choice and just be with her, but no, he'd see her reunited with her family, and he'd make sure she stayed there.

"Jaime?" Her voice roused him from his rather morose thoughts, and he turned to look at her, with a smile, even if it was slightly sad, but of course Sansa caught that. "What's wrong?"

"Just thinking about what happened" She seemed to buy that at least, he didn't want to burden her with his worries, not now, for now he just wanted to bask in what they had, not think about the near future that would see it end, he didn't want to weigh Sansa down.

"Come here" She said with a smile, and his smile turned happy then, at how confident she'd become by his side, how the insecurities she'd shown when he first found her were shedding away, but as proud as he was, he had to refuse her request.

"I've got to keep watch" He said, even though it left him out in the cold, and he was rather tired.

"No" She said with a shake of her head, and he laughed then, he remembered again how quiet and timid she'd once been, he liked this, liked seeing her come out of her shell. "You need to sleep, and no one will find us this deep in, the fire will smoulder and keep away predators"

She was right, though it would be safer to keep watch, but one last look from her and with a roll of his eyes he relented, though he couldn't help but comment.

"Quite bossy nowadays my Lady" He said with a teasing lilt and her giggle was more than a reward for his cheek.

"Well we said we'd take of each other, didn't we?" She challenged, and he nodded then.

"Indeed, we did"

And with that he moved forwards, pulled the blankets over both of them, and Sansa immediately took his hand. They settled down facing one another, side by side, a little closer than the night before, and as he watched Sansa drift off with a smile, he was smiling too, but sadly again.

He didn't want to leave her, but he knew when she was home, he would have to.

As he drifted off, he thought that at least he could enjoy the journey, and remember it when he figured out what came next.

In Kings Landing, what came next was on his mind too.

He'd heard Pycelle hurrying through the corridors, fresh letter in his hand, unopened, which surprised him, usually the old coot tore open anything he received. Perhaps, his father had instructed him to bring everything directly to him?

"What do you have there?" Tyrion asked as the lecherous old Maester went to move down the corridor, but he came to a sudden stop upon Tyrion's question, the old man still remembered his stint in the black cells, especially when Bronn stood near.

"Just a letter from the Riverland's my Lord" Pycelle said, with a bow of his head, "I haven't read it, I'm taking it to the Lord Hand"

"I'm on my way there now" A lie, but he wanted that letter, a note from the Riverland's could ony mean one of two things.

Information on Jaime, or information on Sansa, and Tyrion wanted to know.

"I'll take it to father" He said, "Help you avoid all those steps" When Pycelle still looked doubtful Tyrion levelled a glare, that seemed to do it.

"Of course, my Lord" He fumbled, and Tyrion resisted the urge to roll his eyes before taking the note from the Maester who worried off in fear.

"Old man won't stay scared for long" Bronn counselled, and Tyrion nodded before ripping open the seal, his guard and friend was right, they'd need to do something about that. The Grand Maester had no loyalty to him, fear would need to continue.

But then, any thought of his next move with Pycelle, or what he had been planning to have for breakfast, or the plan for his day was gone from his mind as he read the note he had taken from the Maester, the note he was very glad Pycelle hadn't read, and as he scanned over it twice, three times, he hurriedly placed it in his pocket, and took a second.

His blood ran cold, panic infiltrated his veins and his mind worked fast, faster than usual to figure out what he was going to do with this information. What could he do? For he had to do something. He thought over the letter as he stood still, ignoring Bronn's concern, as he remembered the script.

'Word has come from the local market town of a disturbance during a guard inspection.

During the inspection two individuals in the town made a fuss and were revealed. A guard positively identified them as Ser Jaime Lannister and the Lady Sansa Stark of Winterfell, Ser Jaime then slew the guards, absconded with Lady Sansa, and fled the market.

It was also reported witnesses saw a kiss between the Ser Jaime and Lady Sansa. They were seen heading North into the Riverland's on the King's Road

We hope this information will be of use to you and will further show our loyalty to the Lannister's. We here at the Harrenhall guard are loyal to King Joffrey'

Jaime was okay, that was a relief at least, but that was the end of the good news. He was okay, but he was also with Lady Sansa, she was okay, also a relief he supposed … but, as okay as Jaime must be, he was also a traitor.

A traitor? His brother? It didn't seem possible, and yet if the note were true (and why would anyone fabricate that?!), then Jaime had turned his back on his family, for some reason.

"Back to my rooms" Tyrion ordered then, and turned on his heel, walking as fast as his little legs could carry him, "I'll order food there" He resisted the urge to run, but walked fast. This news would not be contained for long, and for Jaime's sake he needed to figure out what to do, and he needed to figure it out quickly.

His brother had turned his back on his family, but Tyrion didn't care about that, he wanted to know why of course, but more importantly he wanted to keep him safe, and to do that he needed a plan.

A plan to ensure his brother was not labelled a traitor, even if this intelligence suggested he was.

sooo thoughts?

I know this chapter was slightly shorter but I have a big section that didn't fit here that will come in the next chapter, and I wanted to end it here.

so, what did we think? the angst is coming! I did warn, this fic may have a lot of fluff but it does have angst too. lemme know which d'you prefer? I'm a big angst fan myself, even if I am a sucker for a lil fluff.

anywho, I do hope you enjoyed, lemme know if you did, fav/follow for updates

speak soon