Lady of the Knight

Chapter 7 - Sharp

I barely spoke for the first part of our journey. I had so many thoughts running around in my head. Noticing my silence Brienne attempted to lighten the mood.
"So...have you named your horse yet?"
"No, I thought you could name her" I said.
"Why me?" she replied a little puzzled.
"I named yours, so you can name mine".
She sighed and shook her head, "fine. How about...Umber?"
"Hmm that's more of a boy's name".
"Cedar?"
"Boy's name".
"Marianne?"
"Too fancy".
"Patch?"
"Too simple".
"You're doing this on purpose aren't you?"
"Maybe..." I teased.
Brienne rolled her eyes, "what about Penny?"
"Aww that's cute, Penny it is!"
"Thank the Gods" Brienne mumbled.

"So where are we going exactly?" I asked.
"I suggest we head to The North. The Queen will let us stay at Winterfell for as long as we need. It's heavily fortified too so we should be safe there".
"'We'?"
"Yes, the Red Riders will probably be after me now too".
"Oh you're right. I'm so sorry Bri".
"Don't be, I'm here to protect you my lady".
"What if the Queen refuses to let us stay when she finds out what I did?" I said, concerned.
"She won't, trust me".
"How do you know?"
"She's the sister of the young assassin I told you about".
"Oh" I was surprised and impressed, "how long will it take us to get there then?"
"About five or six days".
It was going to be a long trip but I was quite excited to be spending this time travelling with Brienne, I just wished that we weren't on the run.

A few hours later we stopped off to feed Sable and Penny. As they ate and drank, Brienne sharpened her blade with a small whetstone.
"Shouldn't I be doing that?" I said, remembering my new role as her squire.
She seemed reluctant to let someone else handle Oathkeeper, this blade obviously meant a lot to her.
"Don't worry I know what I'm doing, I am a Forester after all" I reassured her.
She handed me the sword and the stone. As I went to start I noticed she was standing over me, observing me closely.
"Bri..." I said, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh sorry. I'll...go see to the horses" and she went off to Sable and Penny, fiddling with straps but occasionally glancing over to make sure I was doing it right.

"Here you go" I said proudly, giving her her precious sword back a while later.
She examined it closely, running her finger along the edge and pricking it on the tip.
"Not bad" she said with a little smirk.
"Anything else I can do for you Ser Brienne?" I said playfully.
She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by the sound of bushes rustling and sticks snapping.
"Stay here" she whispered.
"Hell no" I whispered back, pulling out my daggers.
"Fine, but stay quiet" and we crept towards the spot where we heard the noise. The only thing I could hear was my blood rushing in my ears as we got closer...I held my breath...
Suddenly a large elk burst through the trees and ran off further into the forest. I yelled with fright and stumbled backwards dropping my daggers.
"Are you alright?" Brienne said completely unphased.
"No! I nearly had a heart attack!" I exclaimed.
"Oh stop being dramatic" she scoffed.
"Well excuse me if I'm a little jumpy!" I said very sarcastically.
"Let's just go before the sun sets, or a rabbit attacks you" and she walked off to get back onto Sable.
"Sharpen your own bloody blade next time" I muttered under my breath.

*

Later that night I had another nightmare. This time I saw a hooded Red Priest holding a knife to Jacob's throat as he screamed and cried for our parents. He was a helpless child desperately reaching out for someone to rescue him. I tried to get to him but I realised I was just running in place.
"LET HIM GO!" I cried out and the hooded priest looked up at me, his eyes in shadow but a toothy grin and white beard on full display.
A deep evil cackle filled the air followed by the slash of a blade...
"NO!" I screamed as I sat bolt upright at our camp, startling Brienne and the horses.
I couldn't catch my breath and for a moment I thought I was still in the dream.
"No! Get off me! No!" I said trying to resist whatever was trying to get a hold of me.
"Shhhh" Brienne shushed me as she held me against her, one hand around my back the other stroking my hair.
My breathing steadied and I stopped shaking, I melted into her arms and fell into a more peaceful slumber.