ᴀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ꜱᴏ ɢᴏʟᴅᴇɴ, ᴀ ꜱᴜɴ ꜱᴏ ʙʀɪɢʜᴛ

xiii. is it still justice, or already vengeance?

cw // explicit descriptions of hanging

a/n: this is part two of "the brotherhood arc"

┌─── ∘°❉°∘ ───┐

It had taken her all but two days to find out about their location, and another three to actually locate them.

She had heard much and more about the Brotherhood Without Banners. They seemed to occupy a similar role to her, though went about it in a more violent way - which was exactly what she needed now.

Starlight slowly wound around the trees, the foliage getting increasingly thicker, pulling at her hair, getting stuck on her clothing. But she was headed in the right direction.

The trees gave way to a clearing, and she knew she was not alone anymore.

Leaves and bushes rushled, a branch broke, and sunlight reflected off a surface.

She dismounted her mare and walked into the clearing, where she made a grand gesture of drawing her dagger, laying it on the ground before her, and raising her hands above her head.

"I need your help."

A second passed. Then another. Then a single man stepped out of the trees before her.

He was almost repulsive to look at. His skin was ashen, cheeks sunken in, hair half-fallen out, with an eye patch over his right eye. Wounds littered his body, some of them would have certainly been deadly. He looked more corpse than man.

"And what would someone like you need help with?"

His voice sounded rough and hoarse, like he had lived a dozen lifetimes already.

"A friend of mine was murdered. I need help pursuing his murderers."

"So you want revenge."

"I want justice."

Oberyn had taught her the difference. Revenge was blinding, a one-way track down which once departed, there was no turning back from. A person who gave themselves to revenge would dedicate their entire life to seeking it, eventually forgetting the reason for the quest itself.

Justice was light itself - a guide, a companion, a friend. Seeking justice meant adhering to the laws of both gods and men, and changing the way things are done on a fundamental basis. The Father acted as a guiding hand for those who pursued justice, while the Stranger waited at the end of the road to revenge.

The man looked around the clearing, likely making eye contact with the others hiding in the bushes. "And who is it we are helping?"

"I have many names. But you may call me the Golden Paladin."

He laughed out. "I didn't expect you to be this young."

"You don't believe me?"

"No, no, I do." He chuckled still, but gave a short wave with his hand, signalling the men still in hiding to join them in the clearing.

She counted nine in total. Two of them still had arrows knocked into their bows, while the rest of them were in the act of sheathing their swords and daggers.

"I am Beric Dondarrion," the man introduced himself. "So tell me - who is it that has provoked the Golden Paladin like this?"

- -☆- -

She stood in the middle of the path, alone. The others were hiding amongst the trees and bushes lining the tight road.

"And you are sure this will work?"