The King of Winters

Chapter 62

Robert

The trumpets made a brazen blare, and cut the still blue air of dusk. Gendry was on his feet at once, scrambling for his hammer and dagger.

The boy has good instincts. Maybe he has not made a mistake by bringing him to war like he thought he was. His wife would tell him otherwise. The way she objected to his intent, he had thought that she was sure that he was taking the boy away from her to kill him. Even the boy's own wife hadn't objected as much. Jon's daughter sent Gendry away with a long hug and a longer kiss. "Enemies in cover don't blow trumpets to herald their arrival," Robert told him. "You don't need your weapon now. That'll be our allies"

The riders were dismounting when he emerged from his tent; half a dozen knights, and twoscore mounted archers and men-at-arms. "Lord Robert," said a tall man clad in a blue mailcoat and a fox-fur cloak. "Hope we are not so late." 

"Not at all," Robert said. Lord Selwyn Tarth climbed down his horse and took off his helm. The tangled yellow thicket atop his head was matted down by the helm he was removing. His cheeks were smooth and clear, clean shaven like Robert had once been long before when Ned was still alive. Below the long, yellow eyebrows a pair of lively blue eyes as clear as sapphires watched the camp surrounding him closely. "Did you have any trouble on your way?" 

"Nothing but the usual." For a man who looked so tall and hard, Selwyn Tarth sounded oddly gentle. Even his gaze was gentle. "The sea was a bit rough as it is always in autumn." He handed his helm to a squire and pushed his fingers through his hair where the weight of the steel had crushed it down. "But nothing that we haven't seen before." He clasped Robert by the arms. Behind him was a knight is blue steel armor, a bit taller than Robert himself. His steel was a deep cobalt, his mount barded in the quartered sun-and-moon heraldry of House Tarth. The Evenstar took a step back and bid the knight come closer. "My lord, my daughter, Brienne."

The knight in the blue armor took her helm off and bowed her head. "Lord Robert," she said, her broad homely face showing no emotions.  The hair beneath the helm was a squirrel's nest of dirty straw. Robert nodded.  A big strong woman to look at her, dressed in mail and plate and wears longsword and dagger, he had not expected to see someone like her there. So this is the girl, Renly spoke so much of.  A thousand freckles speckled her cheeks and brow, and her nose had been broken more than once. Back when Robert had been in the Eyrie with Jon and Ned, a singer had once told them that all maids looked lovely in silks. He pictured her in one of Cersei's silken gowns in place of her blue steel armor but somehow she looked awkward in that unlike the armor. The woman seemed more comfortable in her armor than he thought she would. Robert watched her eyes. Pretty eyes, he thought, and calm. He could hear the murmuring of the men all around him.

"Well met, Lady Brienne," he replied, his voice carrying over the camp. He could see that calling her a lady was making her uncomfortable. "My brother spoke of your skill and valor."

He never knew if what Renly spoke of her was true or not, but to wear a armor and carry a sword against men that act itself deserved respect. Looking at the woman, Robert idly remembered his own daughter. Argella might've worn a sword if Cersei was not so deadbeat on taking it away from her. But even as a girl his daughter preferred her bow over swords or other heavy weapon. He was sure that she would like this Lady Tarth without a doubt. Where other women might look down upon Brienne for her lack of beauty, Robert could not think of a reason why his daughter might do so. She might not, he thought, not his daughter, not the girl who begged him so hard to knight her and passed her knightly trials by clearing all the crabapples from the biggest tree in his woods with her arrows before any his harvesters could clear off the other smaller trees with each tree serviced by four of them. She is likely to ride with Brienne and take that road for her life. 

By then his lords had all come from their tents. All greeted Lord Selwyn with a smile but most of them only had scowls and glares for his daughter but none dared to say anything about the matter when their lord himself had welcomed her to their camp. "Lets go inside," he said. "We need to talk."