Lady of the Knight

Chapter 4 - Blades drawn

I awoke the next morning to the sound of birdsong and the smell of burning wood. White clouds filled the sky today and the air was significantly cooler. I looked over to see the campfire smoking away and an unconscious knight lying next to it holding her sword close to her chest.
As I got to my feet the leaves beneath me rustled noisily. Brienne bolted up from her position and in a flash unsheathed her sword, pointing it at my throat.
"Relax! It's just me!" I said, holding my hands up.
"Oh, s-sorry" she said groggily and put Oathkeeper away.
"And a good morning to you too" I said sarcastically.
"Did you sleep well?" she asked.
"I did, Sable was a good pillow. What about you?"
"I kept watch for most of the night but I managed to sleep for an hour or so".
"Sorry if I disturbed you" I said sheepishly.
"You didn't, I'm just a light sleeper. By the way do you know you talk in your sleep?"
"Do I? What did I say?"
I cringed at the thought I may have unconsciously said something embarrassing.
"Just names mostly. Mother, father, Jacob, Garrin...me" she said shyly.
"Oh shit " I cursed in my head.
"I-I don't remember dreaming about you" I said and it was true, I didn't remember anything from my dreams now I was awake.
"Oh" she almost sounded disappointed, "well we should move out soon".
She marched over to the campfire and stomped out the last few embers, aggressively breaking many of the sticks in the process.

*

"So did you always want to be a knight?" I asked as we continued our journey.
"Yes, from a young age. I wasn't cut out to be a Lady despite my heritage" she said.
"Your heritage?"
"I'm the daughter of Lord Selwyn of Tarth, he's practically the King and rules the land" she said casually.
"Wait so you're a knight and you're nobility?!"
"In a way yes" and she looked up at me with my mouth slightly agape, "what?"
I blinked, "you really are fascinating you know that?"
She smiled that coy smile of hers.
"You know I-" she stopped walking and whipped her head to the left side of the road. Sable also stopped in her tracks.
"What's wro-" I started but was quickly shushed.
Brienne crept over to where she heard a noise, ready to draw Oathkeeper. I squinted through the trees and my heart stopped when I saw a glimpse of a red cape.
"Brienne! We have to run! Now!" I whispered to her.
When she turned her head a streak of silver flew towards me and a small knife sunk into my right shoulder, knocking me off Sable.

I cried in pain as I hit the ground then I heard yelling and the clanging of swords. I looked over to see Brienne taking on not one, not two but three Red Riders by herself. They surrounded her with their weapons drawn, two with swords and one with daggers. She made easy work of one of the swordsmen cutting him down as he stumbled back from being whacked by Oathkeeper's pommel. As she fought with the other the rogue tried to outmanoeuvre her but his blades could not penetrate her sturdy armour as much as he tried. She growled in frustration every time he hit her, like he was an annoying fly that needed to be swatted.

I pulled the knife out of my shoulder, covering my mouth to muffle my cry. I crept around Sable, reaching up to grab her reins as she neighed in fear. I held the knife by the tip and took aim at the second swordsman, my aim was true and it landed right in his head. Brienne and the rogue turned around to see where it had come from but as the rogue lunged towards me Brienne grabbed him and Oathkeeper's blade burst through his chest. She tossed his body to the side and came running over to me.
"Are you alright Imogen?"
"Not really" and I looked down at my now heavily blood-stained shirt.
"Come on, we need to get out of here" she said.
She sheathed her sword and lifted me up onto the horse then got on in front of me.
"Hold on to me" she ordered and I clung onto her waist.
With a sharp crack of the reins Sable galloped through the woods, taking us far away from the bloody scene.

*

We were still about a day or so away from Berxley but we found shelter in a shady grove. Brienne, being a woman of many talents, managed to stem my bleeding and stitch me up. Again she was so delicate that I barely felt a thing.
"Who were those people?" she asked as she tended to me.
"No idea" again she could detect the deception in my voice.
She looked me in the eye and said firmly, "tell me the truth Imogen".
I sighed, there was no point in hiding it from her any longer.
"They're called the Red Riders. They're just a jumped up group of mercenaries that think they're something special because they work for the Red Priests".
"Is that who you were really running from the day I found you?"
I nodded, "I'm sorry I lied to you".
My apology was met with silence, I couldn't tell what she was thinking but she wasn't angry which was a relief.
"So what do they want with you?" she asked.
"I killed one of their leaders" I said and she stopped stitching, now she looked angry!
"You did what?!"
"It was revenge! The Riders killed my parents on his orders!" I could feel myself getting worked up, but I stood by my reasons for doing what I did.
Brienne threaded the last stitch then sat next to me with her arms on her knees.
"Tell me what happened," she said softly.
"The leader's name was Arkin. He and my father had history, something to do with rival families. Anyway Arkin joined the Riders and quickly rose through the ranks so he could have the power to do whatever he wanted. His first order was to have my father killed as he was the head of the family. They attacked the forge and my mother sacrificed herself protecting me and Jacob, we'd be dead now if she hadn't hidden us away in a cupboard".
I swallowed the lump in my throat and carried on, "I hated him and all I thought about for a long time was how I would end him. I trained with daggers obsessively so that one day I could avenge them. A few nights ago I snuck into their Keep and watched him get drunk in the tavern. He was awful, singing loudly, bragging about the people he killed, boasting about how he did it, groping every tavern girl that walked by.
I followed him back to his quarters posing as a servant. I snuck into his room and he was passed out...so I stabbed through his cold heart and took great pleasure in twisting the blade".
Brienne didn't say anything for a while and I realised I sounded like a monster. If she walked away from me now I wouldn't blame her.
"So how do they know it was you?" she eventually asked.
"I don't know. I must have been seen as I tried to escape because the next thing I knew they were chasing me and...well you know the rest".
She exhaled deeply as her head fell back against the tree we were sitting at.
"Revenge is never the answer Imogen. It only leads to more pain. But I understand why you wanted to avenge your parents".
"The thing is...I don't regret it. Does that make me a bad person?"
"No, you're just human" she said assuredly. In that moment I would have given anything for her to just put her arm around me, but her words were the only comfort she was offering.
"Your mother sounds like a brave woman, you must have inherited that from her" she said with an affectionate smile.
"Thank you for protecting me Brienne. I would definitely be dead by now if it wasn't for you".
"It's my duty...my lady", my insides fluttered whenever she called me that.