Hear me Roar - English version

CHAPTER 41 - "Brienne of Tarth"

"They will die for it!" I scream and drop to my knees.

               I slowly lower my head towards my hands. They are blurred, my vision is obstructed by my tears. So, with no other way to express my suffering, I start screaming again. I free myself from this sadness that paralyzes me.

               My heart contracts on itself, I have trouble breathing. The horrible images that Joffrey liked to describe to me scroll before my eyes. It is said that my mother had her throat cut before her body was thrown into the river, that Talisa was stabbed in the stomach while she was pregnant, and that Robb... That Robb was beheaded, and his wolf's head was attached to his body.

               None of my brother's crimes deserve such punishment. Nothing will ever excuse this behavior and Walder Frey will pay.

               The door of my room opens without I can see who enters. I only hear a few steps before two warm hands land on my cheeks. Tyrion.

"Diana, I'm sorry..."

               I cling to the little man and let myself cry against him. I no longer scream; his caresses calm me. Tyrion lets me see for a few seconds a new ray of hope. Illusion. I kept the hope, I cultivated it, so I did not sink. And, as you can see, he returned it to me.

               I was framed, Tywin Lannister played me. He made me believe that marrying my sister to Tyrion and giving him an heir would be enough to protect mines. He made me believe for a few moments that a peace was possible. All this before sinking an arrow into my brother's heart. Before destroying our last hopes.

               Well, I killed his heir. Except I'm not happy about it. Of course not, I killed my child before he was even born. Did it occur to you that I wanted to be a mother?

"I hate them all" I talk between two sobs.

"I know..."

               I start sobbing again against the Lannister's chest.

"My... My mother... My father... My brothers and Arya. They are all dead..."

               Sansa and I are the last survivors of the House Stark. One of the oldest and most illustrious lineages of Westeros stops with us. My children will be Baratheons, my sister's will be Lannisters. Our name ends here.

"This is not the time to give up" whispers Tyrion. "You must be strong."

               His voice reassures me even if his words have the opposite effect. It is difficult for me to see the end of the tunnel. For months I took on my role. I shut it and accepted it. All this to see my sister marry the man I love and my family die.

"Hold on... For Sansa..."

"I can't help Sansa anymore..."

"You are the reason she has held on so far. You carry her at arm's length, and I know she is grateful."

               I slowly wipe away my tears as I listen to him praise me. I'm glad to know that Sansa finally saw that everything I did, I did for her. I knew she would eventually understand.

"Grieve" says Tyrion. "It's natural that you take all the time you need. Once you've recovered, remember we need you."

"We?"

"Your sister. The people of King's Landing and... Me..."

               I put a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you."

♐︎

               I returned to my observation post, on the bench facing the Blackwater Bay. When I am here, no one dares to disturb me. Especially since I sent flying a Lannister soldier. He came to fetch me under King Joffrey's orders. The poor man did not ask for anything, but he didn't seem to understand the meaning of the word "no".