Brienne of Tarth
And now she understood more and more clearly that Jaime had become something more than just a traveling companion or the man who had saved her life. She despised him for his past, for his sarcastic manner, for his arrogant bastard pride. But at the same time, there was something else—no less important—that stopped her from looking at the Lannister as she did other warriors.
Despite the fact that many of his actions seemed to deny it, she understood that he had honor.
She rented a room at the Good King Robert Inn. It took her two days to purchase all the necessary clothing and weapons, including armor. Her money was running out, but she didn't worry much. A letter had already been sent to Tarth, and sooner or later her parents would send funds, allowing her to repay her debts.
Then she went to see Sansa—who was now called Lannister.
She was allowed into the Red Keep. It seemed Jaime had given orders to the guards and the Gold Cloaks not to stop her.
Of course, she would not be admitted into the royal chambers. But by asking one of the guards for directions, she managed to reach the chambers shared by Tyrion and Sansa.
Sansa lived with her husband in one of the castle towers, on the top floor. Brienne stopped in front of a wide door studded with rivets and iron bands, raising her hand to knock—then hesitated and stepped back.
She settled on the windowsill around the corner of the corridor and decided to wait.
And she did the right thing. After a while, she saw Tyrion emerge from the door, accompanied by a swift, though already graying, warrior whose very posture radiated danger. A broad-shouldered young man followed them.
Brienne stepped back, and hidden by the wall, they did not notice her. She could hear them perfectly well—the sound carried easily through the empty stone corridors.
"I need to get fuck urgently. Care to join me?" the man asked. Brienne was skew by the tone and the familiarity with which it was said. But Tyrion simply chuckled and replied:
"I'm a married man, Bronn! Have you forgotten? Better take Pod instead. Pod, go with Bronn. That's an order."
The dark-haired, broad-shouldered young man hesitated at these words and surely blushed, as if he had seen a naked woman.
"My lord…" he tried to object.
"That's an order," Tyrion repeated, his voice serious now. The lad, apparently, still hadn't realized he was being teased.
"Take my advice, lad! Your first sex is like a holiday—you should remember it for the rest of your life, however many the Seven grant you. For your first time, I'll hire you a man—an experienced and vicious Dothraki or a summer man with a cock down to his knees! He'll teach you all you need to know. And the pain in your ass will fade eventually," Bronn declared and burst into laughter like a horse.
Tyrion laughed as well. He said something else, but they had already walked away, and Brienne couldn't hear the rest.
She lingered a little longer, idly tapping her thigh with her glove and watching the courtyard, where several grooms were scraping down a pair of jet-black horses. Two girls stepped out of the chambers—one dark, one fair—and hurried off giggling to their chores.
Brienne approached the door, knocked, and waited for permission before entering.
After a few steps, she halted in front of a very beautiful, tall girl with an intelligent yet slightly sad expression. The girl looked at her with a faint touch of confusion.
"Lady Sansa, I am Brienne of Tarth!" Carefully, so as not to frighten her, she drew her sword and knelt on one knee. "Allow me to serve you! I swear by the Seven that I will never fail you, and I am ready to give my life for you!"
"Stand," Sansa said, momentarily taken aback before motioning her to rise.
At first, the girl looked wary. She asked Brienne who she was, where she had come from, what she was doing in the Red Keep, and so on.
Brienne quickly realized that after Lady Sansa heard of her adventures and with whom she had shared them, she had little desire to take her into her service. Moreover, she was not only embarrassed by Brienne's story—she was clearly afraid of something.
Yet she did not dismiss her. On the contrary, she listened a long time and pondered intently.
Of course, she did not like the part about Brienne being captured by mercenaries, her escape, and Jaime Lannister's role in all of this. It all sounded suspicious, and Brienne understood that well.
Finally, having come to some decision, Sansa Lannister said:
"Well, Lady Tarth, I am ready to accept your service."
For the first few days, Brienne accompanied Sansa everywhere. Until people grew used to her, her appearance provoked—not outright laughter, but certainly hidden smirks.
The other knights looked on her with contempt. For some reason, all these swaggering braggarts believed that no woman could ever be their equal in battle. Brienne couldn't help but smile at their naivety—she could defeat most of them without even breaking a sweat. She knew how to observe: how people stood, sat, walked, moved, held their weapons—and from these dozens of signs she could judge very clearly what they could do in a real fight.
The man who had seemed so dangerous to her turned out to be Bronn of the Blackwater, a knight in Tyrion's service. He quickly took a liking to teasing her. She could tell right away that he was really something in battle.
Pod, Tyrion's squire, proved to be a shy and timid but perfectly decent young man.
Tyrion himself did not particularly like her, and Brienne quickly understood why. When she accompanied Lady Sansa, Tyrion—if he happened to be nearby—looked even smaller in contrast to her immense height.
Three days later, Sansa gave her a first assignment: to learn everything she could about how and when Arya Stark had disappeared. Brienne understood it was a test. Lady Sansa was being cautious, and all this activity could easily be explained by concern for her sister. And how she managed this task would determine how her new mistress would ultimately regard her.
And Brienne of Tarth set about fulfilling her charge. The first person she went to question was Jaime Lannister.