A L M O S T

a l m o s t   ✘ ✘

My first attempt at a Jamie and Brienne photo tribute.  I think it turned out well.

Losing It.  Jaime and Brienne

Podrick was tending the fire.  They had ridden as hard, and as long, as they dared.  The horses were exhausted and so were they.  He hoped that no one was following them, that the Brotherhood without Banners would feel that pursuing them was not a priority.

Jaime realized that Brienne had been gone a long time.  When they stopped to make camp she had gone off by herself.  He thought she just needed a moment of privacy, but she had yet to return,  He decided to look for her.

Jaime found her a short distance from the camp.  Her back was against a tree, facing the river.  Just the faintest glow from the fire reached this spot.  She was all shadow and shape.  Her arms were wrapped around her legs, and her head was bowed over her arms.  It looked like she was crying, but that couldn't be right.  Brienne didn't cry.

He sat down beside her, and touched her shoulder.  She looked at him for a moment, with a face ravaged by tears.  Then she looked away and wiped the tears from her face.

"Brienne ..." He said, but left the thought unfinished because he didn't know what to say.

"She saved my life once, you know."  She was talking about Lady Catelyn.

"No I didn't know"

"When Renly died do you think anyone wished to hear about a demon shadow. I cut down two of his guards without thinking, but Renly was on the ground bleeding out.  I was lost.  It was Lady Catelyn that brought me to my senses. She made me a part of her travelling party, and snuck me out of the camp in the middle of the night.  If it wasn't for her I would probably be a prisoner. or dead.  And now I've... "  Her voice trembled and caught as her eyes filled with tears once more.

"Brienne, listen to me.  That woman, Lady Stoneheart, she wasn't Lady Catelyn.  She may have had her body, but it wasn't truly her.  Lady Catelyn would have never harmed you.  She would have never asked you to do anything dishonorable.  You have to know that."

"Oh Jaime, I don't know anything."  She sighed.  "When I made that vow it seemed quite simple. I had no idea how much it would cost me.  I have killed more men than I like to think about.  Multiple men have tried to rape me.  I was thrown into a bear pit.  Biter tried to eat me alive.  I almost perished from fever, and they hung me from a tree to die."

"Why did they try to hang you?  You had done nothing to deserve that"  She gave a short bark of laughter.

"Because I lay with lions.  Or one lion in particular"  She said looking at him.

"Me?" She nodded.  "Shit, they were going to hang you because you associated with me?" 

"Yes. it now seems that I am universally known as the Kingslayer's whore." Jaime cringed.  He knew how much she would hate that.

They sat there quietly for a few moments.  Jaime thinking about all she had said.  Then Brienne got up, undid her sword belt, and handed him Oathkeeper.

"What are you doing?"

"I am giving it back to you"

"It was a gift"

"A gift you gave me to fulfill a vow.  I no longer believe I can fulfill that vow.  You once said that it wasn't possible to uphold every oath.  I didn't want to believe you, but now I see that you were right."  

Jaime felt something shift uncomfortably in his chest.

"Brienne, please don't say that.  You are the one person in this life that gives me hope"

"I am sorry Jaime.  I failed you, and I failed myself."

"You didn't fail me.  You could never fail me.  You are the one person that I know is truly good and selfless."

"Jaime your a fool, and so am I." And, she walked away. 

A03

Roose Bolton’s (sort of) loving feelings about this wife Fat Walda