BLUE MOON ; Jaime Lannister

chapter twenty-seven ; "the pesky farmer."

Blue M O O N

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-ꜱᴇᴠᴇɴ ; "ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇꜱᴋʏ ꜰᴀʀᴍᴇʀ."

299 AC. THE RIVERLANDS.

"WHERE ARE YOU HEADED, THEN?" asked a voice, thick with an old agricultural accent. 

Jolting, Jenny turned her head to look in the direction of where the question had come from. It did not come from Jaime and it did not certainly come from Brienne. Her eyes glanced towards the woodlands to the left of her and she saw an older man up a small hill, who held tightly onto the reigns of his horse as he walked. 

The horse was a deep brown the colour of mud - it was a workhorse, evident in its enormous hooves and stature. It had no saddle and instead, was wrapped up in bundles of wheat, that either the man had been selling or brought. It was clear the man posed no threat to them, from his chestnut-coloured clothing and the fact that his short and stout figure walked in a limp, propped up with an ancient stick which served as a cane. 

 The pain in her ankle remained, but she was shocked that all three members of the trio had not noticed the man's presence. With no breath in her throat, Jenny was unable to answer and glanced anxiously to Brienne, who stared contently back at the man. Jaime looked to the ground, in an attempt to conceal his face, rising cautiously as he extended his arm forward to offer the young woman his dominant hand. 

Without hesitation, the Daemadar took it, hauling herself up, muttering curse words as she put her weight on it for the first time. She found herself leaning into Jaime and using him as a strong pillar of support, she gritted her teeth. 

"South," Brienne finally replied after the long silence that had impregnated the air. Her hand rested firmly on the hilt of her sword instinctively. "You?" the tallest of the three shot back a question, the tone more aggressive than it should have come across.

Hobbling slightly, Jenny moved to reclaim her spear, which was closer to Brienne than it was to Jaime. The metal had been coated in dirt and it no longer glimmered with the clearness of the moon as it once did. As she went to move forwards, her ankle gave way, but she did not fall into the earth again. Instead, it was the Lannister who steadied her and shot her a light glare, before he crouched down to the earth and picked her up. He tentatively placed it into her right hand, his touch lingering there momentarily as he felt the flame roar under his skin. 

Jenny felt Brienne's steely blue gaze on her, and she shifted away from Jaime. 

The man glanced at Jaime to Jenny and then noticed the chains that were laced around his wrists. "Rivverun," the farmer answered, lips pursed. "Staying off the Kingsroad are you?" Jaime nodded in reply, whilst the farmer shook his head, "They get you no matter where you go. You can't win."