King's Landing 299 AC.
Brienne.
For the first few days, she walked around in a daze unable to believe that he was gone. It seemed impossible to her, unbelievable, incomprehensible that someone had managed to take him from this world. When the king, Oberyn, Arthur, and Loras had arrived back, she'd not noticed that he wasn't with them at first. Then when she had, she'd assumed he was doing something for the king and would be along to speak to her as soon as he was finished. It was only when Lord Jaime and Ser Barristan called for her, Erryk, and Arryk to join them that she began to feel something was wrong.
So she had made her way to the Tower of the Hand and waited. Erryk and Arryk joined her a few moments later and seemed to know as little as she did about the reason for this meeting. The moment that Lord Jaime and Ser Barristan entered the room though she knew something terrible had happened, she just had no idea how terrible.
"I've asked you all here to speak to you about something that happened when his grace was Beyond the Wall. Something terrible that I know his grace would wish to speak to you himself about if he was able." Lord Jaime began and Brienne felt her chest tighten "While helping the Free Folk evacuate, his grace, Prince Oberyn, and the Kingsguard came under attack, there was a battle, many lost their lives, and those who survived were lucky to do so."
She looked to Erryk, to Arryk, and could see they looked just as worried as she was. Had Ser Walder been hurt? If so where was he? Surely they'd have brought him straight to the Grandmaester? Perhaps he was too hurt to travel and was resting somewhere? No, she knew the king too well, he'd not have left without him. Brienne felt her worries increase and as she looked to Ser Barristan and Lord Jaime for a sign that she was worrying needlessly, she found none.
"While they were in retreat, a spear was thrown at his grace, a spear that he had not seen and had no way of avoiding. Ser Walder seeing the danger moved in front of the spear and took the blow that would surely have killed our king, even though he knew it would and did cost him his life." Ser Barristan said his voice full of pride and yet there was sadness there too she felt.
Brienne felt herself almost shrink in her seat, her eyes torn between looking to Ser Barristan or Lord Jaime in order to see they were japing at her expense and between Erryk and Arryk as she saw they too seemed to be almost smaller somehow. It was her that found her composure first, despite the intense sadness she felt and the disbelief that lay beneath that sadness, it was Brienne who asked the question.
"His body, My lord, Ser Barristan, his body, may we pay our respects?" she asked unable to believe her voice sounded how it did, emotionless though she was anything but.
"When the attack came, his grace, Prince Oberyn and the Kingsguard were on a bridge, Ser Walder fell from the bridge into the sea and due to the weight of his armor…" Lord Jaime said and she closed her eyes, her emotions now trying to get the better of her and she worried that in her anger that they'd left him there she would explode and say things she should not.
"I know his grace wishes to speak to you all, his own efforts however have taken much from him and so it'll be some time before he's recovered enough to do so. We felt it for the best that you were told now." Ser Barristan said before he and Ser Jaime turned to walk from the room.
After they had left it was Arryk who gave into his emotions first, Brienne seeing the man grow angry for the first time she could ever remember. His shouts were angered and full of pain as he promised to see those responsible dead. Erryk went to his brother and eventually calmed him down, Brienne seeing that his own feelings were more a mirror of hers. There was some anger there, at the fact he was dead, how he'd died and that he'd not be given the hero's burial that he deserved. She felt proud of him too, he was a Kingsguard, a man who served a true and good king, and twice he'd saved that king's life. The second time at the cost of his own. There was incredible sadness as well, his loss not just one as her mentor, friend, and kinsman but as someone she'd miss every single day.
