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"I don't know which side you're truly loyal to, Lady Mormont, but you know how you attempt to hide how you care behind a cold gaze and venomous words. I see right through you. I see your heart for a Lannister, and I pity the fool who gives their hearts away to that type of a man."
"There are no other men like him, Lady Brienne."
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Rhaella broke her fast by praying to the Gods in thanks of Catelyn Stark for allowing her and Brienne to escort Jaime back to the Capital. It had been rather easy to navigate the darkness for the first few hours of their trip, and then he'd gotten a better look at Brienne and decided to goad her on well into the late hours of the morning. Neither women were foolish. They knew they didn't have the time to waste by paying any attention to his charade and instead needed to focus on not getting caught by the King in the North.
"Oof." Brienne slapped the backside of their other horse and urged them both deeper into their forest, hoping to draw the attention away from their escape and to the horses they'd find instead. Jaime sat upright on the forest floor and squinted as the bag was removed from his head and Rhaella saw him clearly for the first time in over a year. "You're much uglier in daylight."
He winced as she thread her fingers through his hair and gripped it tightly to haul him to his feet. "I'm gonna be the.. what do you call it," She mused. "Bad Cop to the Ladys Good Cop. Which means if you annoy me enough I will take this dagger and cut your balls off with it." Brienne wrenched him from her grasps and motioned to Blackfyre that had not moved from her waist, urging her to unsheathe it. "Don't test me."
Jaime wasn't deterred.
"What's your name?" He asked. "I'm Jaime Lannister of Casterly Rock, son of Tywin. This is Ella Mormont of Bear Island. We're very good friends." His eyes caught hers and reflected the rays of the sun - gold flickering amongst emeralds - before he turned his attention back to Brienne. "She acts like she hates me most of the time, but I happen to know better. She is as loyal as they come."
"I am no more loyal to you Lannisters as you are to your oaths, Kingslayer."
"A captive knight has the right to know his captors identity."
Rhaella played with the bear pendant she'd torn off her cloak when dawn had broken. It had become somewhat of a habit over the days since she'd left the Capital. Brienne had little to share in lieu of conversation, which was welcome, but she couldn't help but wonder if the straw-haired knight saw right through her facade. It had taken a number of years for her to learn to perfect it in front of the Lannisters, but Brienne was a stranger. There was no telling what she knew.
"Brienne of Tarth."
Jaime clucked his tongue as she shoved him along down the dirt path. "Tarth... Cresent moons and starbursts. Lord Selwyn Tarth, he's your father. Do you have any brothers and sisters, my Lady? It's a long way to King's Landing. We should get to know one another. Have you known many men? I suppose not. Ella hasn't either. How about women? Horses-"
He grunted as Rhaella kicked him rather hard in the back of his knee and sent him tumbling into the bank just by the river. "I'm rather glad you left your boat here, Lady Ella." Brienne murmured her thanks. "It will be a convenience for getting us down the river." The slightest upturn of her lips was enough of a reply for the other woman, and so Rhaella set to tucking their belongings in each end of the boat while the middle left open space for the three of them. "Your crime are past forgiveness, Kingslayer."
"Why do you both hate me so much? Have I ever physically harmed you?"
Rhaella could feel the way her blood boiled at his words even from where she laid hidden inside the boat from the patrolling guards. Her fingernails ached as they dug deeper into the frame until the slightest drop of blood trailed down the inside of her pointer finger and collided with the floorboards. It utterly boggled her mind. Was Jaime really that oblivious to the hell she'd been trapped inside since the day he'd forced her to be this?
"You've harmed others. Those you swore to protect. The weak and the innocent-"
She knew that hit Jaime harder then he'd let on even from inside the boat. "Has anyone ever told you that you're as boring as you are ugly?"
"You will not provoke me to anger!"
"Oh, but I already have! Do you think you could though? Do you think you could beat me in a fair fight? Here's what you don't know about Lady Ella laying down in that boat." Rhaella froze, afraid he'd be stupid enough to reveal her real identity. "That sword she's got? Rubbish piece of metal. That dagger is what she's good at, and I'm the one who taught her how to use it. Haven't met anyone better with daggers and knives then Lady Ella of Bear Island."
Rhaella lifted her head from the boat and glowered at Jaime. "Flattery gets you nowhere. I've seen you fight, and I think she could and will easily beat you." Jaime rose a curved eyebrow that was mostly hidden by the fringe that hung on his forehead, and it took everything in her to not swoon at the sight. It was eerily reminiscent of the same boy she'd left on the cliffside before that dagger had been gifted to her.
"Please." He scoffed. "There are three men in the kingdoms who might even have a chance against me, and she's not one of them."
Is that all you are? Just your sword hand?
Brienne was not easily deterred and seemed completely unfazed by Jaimes antics. "All my life men like you have sneered at me, and all my life I have been knocking men like you into the dust."
"If you are so confident, unlock my chains and see what happens."
Rhaella urged them both forward with one hand while Brienne held the side of the boat closest to her against the shore so they could step in. "Do you take me for an idiot? In." She demanded. Jaime complied willingly and sat himself in the boat across from Rhaella, who had taken the smallest space so Brienne could fit herself between them. His eyes drifted down to her hand that laid rested against her thigh. Her fingers twitched against the sheath as they often did when she was nervous or agitated. The sight made him smile. It was a habit she'd picked up after he'd given it to her, but she mostly kept it hidden beneath the gowns she wore in the Capital for extreme use only.
"I took you for a knight, a man. I'd even say a woman of honor. Was I wrong?'' He paused. "You're afraid." Brienne took the oar from beneath her feet and used it to push the bot away from the shore.
"Maybe one day we'll find out."
***
Brienne asked her first question long after Jaime had fallen asleep. They'd made camp further down river, about four hours travel from where they'd been, and settled into the rolled out mats that Catelyn had gifted her. "So tell me, Lady Ella," She murmured against the rather large rabbit leg poised in her fingers. "How is it that a high born Mormont looks absolutely nothing like those related to her?"
Rhaella froze instantly. She'd managed to perfect her performance well up until this point, and it was surely fate that Brienne asked the questions she had to fabricate answers for.
"Why do you ask, Lady Brienne?" She replied. "It is as I told Lady Catelyn, I was exiled from Bear Island after Ser Jorah fled the sword held by Ned Stark. I was so young at the time-"
"Firstly, please call me Brienne. I am no Lady. And secondly, I don't believe you." Brienne interjected. She tossed the bone into the fire and wiped her fingers against the handkerchief she'd been given at the start of their meal, which was when Jaime had still been awake. He'd only been asleep a matter of hours, but she knew from experience that once he was asleep, he wasn't waking up easily unless harm was to come to him. "I've seen the other Mormonts, learned about them in my studies with Septa Roelle. You look nothing of the sort. And that sword you're carrying?" She motioned to Blackfyre with a flick of her hand. "It's Valyrian steel. There's only a handful of them left in the Seven Kingdoms, and they're not easy to come by."
This would've been where she inserted a witty remark or changed the topic, but Rhaella was so awed by how Brienne paid attention to even the slightest detail that she remained silent.
"Your hair is dark but your eyes are bright, brighter then most people I've come across. Your armor is the same. Forged of rare black metal and is missing the House emblem on the breast. You want to know what I think?" She leaned forward on her heels and smiled over the dance of the flames that sat between them. "Personally, I think you're the Lost Targaryen girl. The eldest daughter.. Oh, what was her name. The one everyone thinks to be murdered alongside her father."
She didn't say another word for the rest of the night simply because Brienne couldn't actually prove it, or remember the eldest Targaryen daughters name. Rhaella had seen the way she'd stood tall in the presence of Catelyn Stark and imagined it was the same for whoever she'd served as a Kingsguard, but she knew Brienne of Tarth was a woman of honor and would keep whatever oaths or secrets she was given privilege to know.
Jaime was the first awake that following morning and once again they set off further through their trek in the Riverlands. It was relatively silent for the greater duration of the time, waves lapping against the boat as they smoothly sailed through the water. The air was warm and the sun reluctantly peered from behind the clouds that hung overhead, but she and Brienne were in good spirits.
Until Jaime started talking again.
"You're a virgin, I take it?"
That earned him a well placed slap across the arm. "Jaime." Rhaella deadpanned. His name flowed so easily from her mouth that it didn't occur to her Brienne hadn't heard her say it until that point. "You don't go around asking people questions like that! It's wrong and it's rude and-"
"Doesn't faze me in the slightest, Ella." Brienne replied. "Walk, Kingslayer." The two women walked in sync and shoved Jaime forward, Brienne's hand firmly wrapped around the rope that bound his hands.
"I imagine your childhood was miserable for you. Were you a foot taller then all the other boys? They laughed at you, called you names. Some boys like a challenge. One or two must've tried to get inside Big Brienne."
Her mind flashed back to one of her earliest memories as a young girl with Jaime. Her father had forced her to attend a ball, for what reason she could not remember, but she'd only agreed to go because Rhaegar whispered promises of sword-play and Jaime had also promised to be in attendance. She remembered the way the older boys ogled her. Barely thirteen years old, adorned in Targaryen red, bright eyes and silver hair plaited neatly down her spine as she gracefully moved across the floor of the Great Hall.
"Did you hear about the Targaryen girl's infertility? They say she will not be able to produce heirs. Who will marry her?"
"She'd be lucky to snatch a highborn husband."
She would not be swayed by the opinions of others, but the louder they whispered, the harder she fought to control the tears that burned the back of her eyes. Jaime swooped in at the very moment she was poised to flee. He pressed his hand against the small of her back and took her other with his free one as he straightened his spine and they began to dance in time with the music.
"Don't look at them. Look at me." He'd whispered in her ear. He was only fourteen, but he was the prized jewel of his House. The Golden Lion, heir to Casterly Rock and the subject of all young girls desires. The only difference was they didn't have him. She did. "Father always says that a lion does not concern himself with the opinions of the sheep. Same goes for you."
She had simply smiled and rose onto her tiptoes to whisper, "Targaryens do not answer to the likes of Gods or Men."
Warm fingers around her wrist jarred her back to reality. Rhaella winced as she caught sight of three bodies hung by a rope in the nearest tree, the words they lay with lions hastily scrawled for all passersby to see. A warning. "Tavern girls, I'd say. They probably served my father's soldiers. Maybe one of them gave up a kiss and a feel. That's how they earned this. Glorious work of the Northern freedom fighters." Jaime said. "It must make you proud to serve the Starks."
"I don't serve the Starks. I serve Lady Catelyn."
"Tell yourself that tonight when they swing in your dreams." The older woman snorted as Brienne shoved Jaime into the nearest tree and made quick work of beginning to tie him to it. "What are you doing?"
Rhaella removed Keeper from its sheath and stepped in front of Jaime. "I'm burying them. And while I do that, Lady Ella here is going to take that dagger and cut you up a hundred different ways if you so much as look at her the wrong way. Believe me, she holds the anger towards you to do it well-" All three froze as unfamiliar voices echoed up the hill. Presumably male.
"Untie me." Jaime demanded. "Now."
She pressed her hip into his own and barred his mouth shut with her hand as three men dressed in armor came prancing down the hill. They stopped and snickered at the sight of the two women alongside the scraggly man in their care. "What are you doing?"
"Traveling a prisoner."
All three burst into hysterical fits of laughter upon realizing Brienne was a woman. Rhaella's brow knit in concern as she stepped away from Jaime and unsheathed Blackfyre, fingers wrapped tightly around the hilt as she held the sword with more confidence then most men. "You're a woman! Both of you!"
"If you've quite finished-"
More laughter. She saw the anger flicker beneath Brienne's stoic expression, blue eyes cast towards the ground. Part of her sympathized with the other woman for one particular reason: She very clearly didn't believe she'd ever be loved by a man. Cersei had spent half her young adult years spewing hatred for her affection towards Jaime until she'd finally given up any chance of it and had moved on. Or tried to anyway. It was hard to mourn what you never had when the very object of your desire lives beneath the same roof.
"Alright, we'll be going."
''Woah, okay! You can put the sword down now. Although, I bet you can do some naughty-" Rhaella glowered at the man before her and pressed Blackfyres tip against his chest just hard enough that he could feel the pressure through his armor. "I'll bite. Who do you fight for?"
"The Starks." They replied simultaneously.
They motioned to Jaime. "And what did he do?"
"Apparently eating is now a crime-"
Rhaella curled her fingers and dug her fingernails into Jaimes forearm so hard she thought he'd bleed. "No, but stealing is. We're taking him to Riverrun. If you steal from the Tullys, it's their dungeons you're going to rot in."
"Why don't you just kill him?"
Bright, female laughter echoed across the forest. "I don't give the orders." Brienne interjected. "He must be important to someone."
"If someone is sending him with two women, how important could he be?"
Important to a small man with a large appetite and a love for his older brother.
"Wait a minute. Do I know you?"
"No. I don't think you do. Have you ever been to Ashemark?"
Rhaella barely had time to comprehend the extent of the conversation before Brienne was shouting orders at her, and she watched in awe as the straw-haired knight singlehandedly took down all three men that stood before them. Jaime had pressed himself so close to her that she could practically feel the warmth seeping through his soiled tunic and the frantic pounding of his heartbeat against her shoulder blades.
"Did you just-" She stammered in disbelief, pointing to the nearest man with her sword. "I have never seen another woman fight that well. That was extremely impressive, even by his standards. Well done Brienne." If it was possible, Jaime was sure her words of affirmation had made Brienne blush. Maybe it wasn't so often that someone complimented her skills. "Were those Stark men?"
Jaime nodded. "Indeed they were."
"As I said before, Ella and I don't serve the Starks. We swore oaths to Lady Catelyn. She promised Sansa's safety and I promised to return you to the Capital. That's exactly what I'm going to do."
***
She'd begun to love the sight of the countryside. Brienne had been insistent about taking backroads and fields to deliver Jaime to the Lannisters to prevent being seen by Robb Stark or anyone who associated themselves with him, and so far it had worked out to their benefit. Her pale skin had begun to take on a sun-kissed color and the blues of her eyes seemed to get brighter the more she strengthened her growing friendship with Brienne.
"Do you know how long it's going to take us to get to King's Landing walking through fields and forests?" Jaime asked as the three of them trudged through the treeline.
"Yes.''
"So how should we pass the time?"
"By putting one foot in front of the other."
Jaime watched Rhaella's fingers dance over the hilt of her dagger as she snorted indignantly. "Fair warning Brienne, The Kingslayer here doesn't do patience. He's the most impatient man I've ever met."
"She's not wrong." Jaime retorted. "But in all fairness, it's going to be an incredibly dull walk."
"I am here to take you to King's Landing. Lady Ella will enter the Capital to retrieve Sansa and bring her to me, and I will return her and hopefully Arya to Lady Catelyn in exchange. Dull is fine."
"You know it doesn't matter how loyal of a servant you are, no one enjoys the company of a humorless mule."
Rhaella rose her hand in Brienne's defense. "I do. She's the exact opposite of you and makes for a good companion when there's another person who wants to harass you as mercilessly as I do."
Jaime had spent so many year with his eyes focused in Cerseis direction that he'd come to neglect just how beautiful his childhood best friend had become in the years she'd been living another life. She'd gained a considerable amount of muscle from the grunt work performing for Cersei in both her legs and her arms, which would broaden her ability on the battlefield despite her height. Her hair, despite the lack of proper hygiene on their travels, was well washed from her time in the river and glimmered in the sunlight like that of the gold in the mines at Casterly Rock. Her eyes were brighter, she smiled more, and it was hard to not stare at one so beautiful when they were right before you.
Jaime was insistent to stop and piss, so both women stood on parallel sides of him with their backs turned to allow him the privacy he needed.
"So how did you come to serve Lady Stark? There's something we could talk about."
Brienne crossed her arms over her chest. "It's not your concern, Kingslayer." Rhaella watched from the corner of her eye as Jaime shifted his gaze in her direction, probably wondering how she'd managed to escape the Capital without his sister noticing.
"Must've been recently. You weren't with her at Winterfell."
"How do you know?"
"Because I was just at Winterfell. I would've noticed your dour head smacking into the archways."
Brienne rolled her eyes and adjusted her grip on the rope that bound Jaimes hands. "Lady Ella, behind him, if you would." She called out. "Move."
Rhaella fell in line behind Jaime and kept her hand on Keeper as they continued through the forest. It was better to listen to this particular... ah, banter then take part of it.
"Were you pledged to Stannis, then?"
The guffaw Brienne gave was almost laughable. "Gods, no." She replied.
"Ah, Renly then? Really? He wasn't fit to rule over anything more important then a twelve course meal."
"Shut your mouth."
Rhaella swallowed the knot growing in her throat. If this kept on the way she imagined it would, Brienne would not only reveal her anguish over the death of Renly Baratheon but would simultaneously gut Jaime for harassing her about it. She'd been a part of his Kingsguard, had cared for him, and he was manipulating her emotions for his own pleasure. Idiot.
"Why? I lived with him in court since he was a boy, don't forget. I could hardly escape the little tulip. Skipping down the corridors in his embroidered silks. I knew him far better then you."
"I knew him as well as anyone. As a member of his Kingsguard, he trusted me with everything. He would've been a wonderful King."
Oh.
Oh.
"It sounds like you fancied him."
Brienne's eyes grew dark at the statement. "I did not fancy him." She said sharply.
"Oh Gods, you did." Jaime remarked. "Did you ever tell him? You weren't Renlys type, I'm afraid. He preferred curly haired little girls like Loras Tyrell. You were far too much man for him."
"I'm not interested in foul rumors."
"Unless they're about me." Jaime peered over his shoulder to Rhaella who had not spoken a word during the entire conversation. "Say, dear Ella, what are the whispers about the Capital concerning what happened at Winterfell?" He awaited an answer, hoping she'd snarl at him or bear her dagger, but she kept her eyes locked on the ground to avoid his piercing gaze. That was all he needed to know. She knew about Brandon Stark and his involvement with the boys mutilation. "It's all true about Renly. His proclivities were the worst kept secret of the court. It's a shame the throne wasn't made out of cocks-"
Rhaella jolted forward and stopped Jaime midstep, dragging him backward hard enough that the back of his skull aligned with her right shoulder. Brienne stopped, amazed at her strength, and watched in wonder as she drew the Valyrian steel dagger from its hilt. She didn't have to move a foot.
"Shut your mouth." Rhaella snarled. Jaime could barely stand it. The tightness of her fingers in his hair, the warmth of her skin that radiated through her armor, the vicious glare in the blues of her eyes. "Be honorable for a second, for Gods sake. Honor the dead and don't speak ill of them. Do I really have to tell you this?"
"What I was going to add is that I don't blame him." He replied softly. "And I don't blame Brienne either. We don't get to choose who we love."
Rhaella searched his eyes for any signs of deception, any signs of manipulation or foul play. She'd learned how to read people years ago as a daughter of the King of Westeros, living in the foulest city of the Seven Kingdoms, but Jaime had always been an open book to her. There was no deception in the greens of his irises. Truth and vulnerability and hope was all that was present.
The sight made the walls around her heart begin to crumble.
"Where are you headed then?"
It seemed that during their intense stare down that a rider had intercepted them in the forest, dragging along a horse-drawn carriage with supplies set to be received at Riverrun. "South." Brienne replied.
"Staying off the Kingsroad, are you? They get you no matter where you go. You can't win."
It felt like an ominous foreshadowing, the way he talked. She tried not to pay attention to it.
"Looks like you're safe enough though. Meaning no offense, My Ladies, but I wouldn't tangle with you. Either of you." He laughed heartily and gripped the reins of his horse. "Seven Blessings to ya."
"And you." Brienne called out. The three of them stood still as the lone man continued on down the road, passing them a final glance before disappearing from sight.
"He knows who I am. If he doesn't, which you might be right about, what if you're wrong and he tells someone?"
"We're not doing it." Ah, Jaime wanted them to kill him. What a surprise. "He's an innocent man."
"More innocent then Lady Stark's daughters?"
They travelled mostly in silence after that. The only sound heard to them was the rushing of water from the river at their right, boots padding through the earth at their feet as they approached the bridge that stood between them and the other side of the river.
Jaime had stuck closer to her in the last hour then he had since they'd left Catelyn Stark. Maybe he knew her heart would betray her.
"I don't think there's much a choice. Cross the bridge and risk being seen or cross the great water-"
"Silence, Kingslayer."
"Now anyone could see us on the bridge, but cross by water and the current could take us or I could escape by the river-"
Rhaella laughed quietly. "Because I would absolutely let that happen. Sure. Let's go with that one."
"Good luck. She's not letting you go anywhere." Brienne retorted.
"It's absolutely wonderful to watch you wrestle with these dilemmas." Jaime said. "Which will she choose?"
Brienne ultimately decided that their best bet was to travel across the bridge as it was quicker than wading through the water. "A gamble at heart. I wouldn't have guessed."
"Be quick about it!"
Jaime did the exact opposite and did a dramatic sink to his knees right in the middle of the bridge. "Oh," He moaned. "How one needs rest."
"Get up!"
"How these.. you know how your feet when you walk too far-"
Rhaella grit her teeth behind pursed lips. Someone was going to see them and then that would be the end of it.
"Get up now!"
"Corns." Both women frantically surveyed either side of the river for potential enemies or invaders, completely ignorant to Jaimes incessant groaning about the condition of his feet. "I never used to get corns. I used to ride everywhere, not march around like a common foot soldier wearing the same boots for over a year!"
"Brienne?"
"With pleasure." The straw-haired woman began to heave The Kingslayer to his feet, and before she could react, Jaime had unsheathed the sword at her hip and simultaneously cut the rope that bound him to her.
Jaime smiled - that coy, smug smile she secretly adored - and turned his obtained blade towards them. "I never understood why a Knight felt like they needed to carry two swords."
Rhaella watched in astonishment as they danced around one another. She tried to step in and intervene, but he simply pointed the blade at her torso and clucked his tongue in disapproval. He had no intention of hurting her, but Brienne.. This was a test for Brienne of Tarth. It was up to her to pass it.
"You move well." He remarked. "For a great beast of a woman." The song of metal kissing metal rang in the air as their swords struck one another. "You shouldn't grimace before you lunge. It gives away the game."
Watching the two of them spar was eerily reminiscent of the days he'd trained her in the hidden area by the cliffside when it had just been the two of them. Alone, without prying eyes, just Rhaella Targaryen and Jaime Lannister.
Oh how she missed it.
"Bit of a quandary for you. If you kill me, you fail Lady Stark. If Lady Ella kills me, she fails the promise to whomever snuck her out of the Capital. If you don't kill me, I'm going to kill you."
Rhaella froze at the echo of horse hooves and sped down the bridge to where Jaime was engaged with Brienne, performing the very same maneuver that had downed him years ago. He'd never quite figured out how to deflect from it.
Knee pressed against his chest, Rhaellas eyes snapped upward to the riders at the opposite end of the bridge. There were multiple riders, all men, well armored and armed. "Looks like your woman got the better of you, if you could call that a woman." He gestured to Brienne absently. "Your other companion has far more womanhood to her though. Wouldn't mind taking that for a spin."
"Bite me."
"And she's got spunk! I already like her!"
"We have always enjoyed a good fight, the three of us. It gets our juices flowing." Jaimes eyes shifted to the banner that billowed behind them. "The flayed man of House Bolton. A bit gruesome for my taste."
"Are you sure he's the one?"
Rhaella felt her stomach drop when the same lone traveler they'd encountered on the road appeared. "That's him." He replied. "I saw him at the tourney for Sir Willam Frey's wedding."
"Let us go and my father will pay you whatever you want." Jaime countered. It was a defense he'd used nearly his entire life - the wealth of the Lannisters - to ease himself out of difficult situations.
"Enough to buy me a new head? If the King in the North knew I had the Kingslayer and let him go, he'd be taking it right off. I'd rather he takes yours." The crowd of Bolton men moved forward and surrounded them on all sides, making it impossible for any chance of escape. Rhaella kept her eyes forward and kept to Brienne's side, desperate to draw the attention away from her and onto something else. Someone else. The men of House Bolton gazed at her like she was the newest piece of meat to devour.
She knew the ways of such men. How they defiled women. Left them to fend for themselves, kicking and screaming in hopes that someone will hear them and come to their aid. She'd shove Keeper through the nearest eye before letting any of them touch her.
And then Jaime leaned over and whispered just soft enough for them to hear, "They will not touch you." Lips dragging across the shell of her ear, breath warm against her skin. It was the most alive she'd felt since sneaking out of the Capital to attend to rescuing Jaime and returning him to the Lannisters.
She met his gaze in the dark. He was telling the truth. And if Jaimes eyes told the truth as they always had, she was inclined to believe him.