Of Captive Hearts

Chapter 5

Brienne slept for good part of the next day after she had delivered their son. She woke to feed Galladon when he was hungry and would then hold him close to her, delighting in her child, until fatigue and soreness would again overtake her and she would drift off once more. Although Brienne was exhausted, she was fitful in her sleep. Jaime did not want to imagine what horrible visions plagued her dreams. He wondered how much of her weakness had been caused by giving birth to their babe, and how much was the remaining result of her time in Cersei's dungeon.

Jaime was surprised and elated when Brienne gave him charge of their infant. She allowed him to take the child while she was sleeping. A sure sign that the trust they had once known was emerging anew between them, he hoped. He would sit next to Brienne while she slumbered and hold their son close to him, grateful for the time to bond with his child. He remembered bitterly that it was a privilege that had never been afforded him before. Brienne had given him a beautiful child and his joy at that was something to which he could cleave, although worry for the boy's mother shadowed his thoughts.

Even when Brienne was awake and tending to Galladon as best she could, Jaime did not stray far from their side. He left them that day, only a few times, and even then only for slight moments. He checked and tended the horse, taking the animal deeper into the woods to further avoid detection. He emptied the saddle bags he had stripped from their mount the evening before, and used them to fetch water from a nearby stream. Although nearly half was lost on his return to their makeshift sanctuary and he was sure what he did manage to save tasted like leather, it quenched Brienne's burning thirst and she did not complain. Late in the afternoon, Jaime managed to snare a good sized rabbit not far from their door, and roasted it on the fire he had kept burning in the hearth. He was eager for Brienne to eat to keep up her strength, and she knew that if she did not nourish herself she would be useless to do so for her babe. Brienne noticed that Jaime did not help himself to their feast until she had eaten her fill. It was the most food she had been given in months, since she had been pulled from her horse in the North and taken prisoner. In her near starvation she was certain it was the best thing she had ever eaten.

Brienne licked the flavorful juice of the meat from her fingers and laid the bones aside on the a rag Jaime had used to serve her meal. Jaime had held Galladon while Brienne was eating, and he softly returned the babe to her waiting arms once she had finished her feast of roasted rabbit. She moved her garment aside to nestle her child to her breast. As Galladon nuzzled into his mother, Jaime fetched his portion of the game from the roughly carved twig skewer over the fire. He settled down near Brienne and stared at her lovingly while he ate. Her eyes rested sweetly upon their tiny baby. The child was the only thing she had smiled at since they had been reunited. Jamie was thankful that Brienne no longer scowled or trembled in his presence, but he longed for her to gaze upon him once again with love.

Finally, Brienne's whisper pierced the heavy silence between them. "I believe you." She looked intently as he raised his eyes to her, almost shocked to hear her addressing him at last.

Barely able to speak, Brienne forged ahead, afraid that if she did not continue she would be unable to say the words that formed in her throat. "Those terrible things Cersei told me about you." She began, hoping that with her realization the viscous cruelty of the Queen would be erased from her memory. "They were lies. I see that now." Brienne raised her eyes to Jaime, the promise of a forgiving smile floating just below their blue depths. "Perhaps I should have known you would not say such things about us." She admitted, pulling Galladon tighter into her embrace.

Her solemn words, shamed Jaime. How was it that Brienne, after all she had endured was trying to apologize to him, to forgive him? He cast his eyes downward. "I gave you precious few reasons to count me sincere." He lamented, remembering her face as he had left her at Winterfell.