"Again" Brienne snapped, crossing her arms on her chest as she watched Pod turning his horse around. Since they had made it back to Winterfell she had concentrated her efforts on readying him for the battles to come. She needed to be sure he would be able to defend the Stark girls in case something bad happened to her.

So here they were : two hours of fighting in the morning, with Arya's assistance, one hour at night, and horse riding practice all afternoon.

Brienne had imagined all sorts of exercises to make him understand how to control the speed of his horse, his direction, but mostly his own balance on the saddle. Her imagination had led to build fences with wooden branches standing on wooden stands with a metal cups that she could move up and down. It was a lot of work but it was helping her coping with idea of what was about to come. An army of dead people. Far from the battles she imagined she would have to fight when she was a child under the sun of Tarth.

Also, keeping busy with her squire's training was keeping her away from the castle... and from that red-haired wilding guy who would not stop giving her strange looks. Every time he did she feigned to ignore him. And every time she was promising herself to beat him down for good with a parring sword if she ever had the opportunity.

She narrowed her eyes to watch as closely as possible her squire make his turn towards the obstacle.

"Come on Pod. Push him. If you don't give him the speed he needs, he won't be able to jump".

Pod pressed his heals against the horse's belly. A little too hard and too late. The big brown horse threw his head upwards, opening his jaw line while increasing the size of his canter steps. The fence was getting dangerously close.

"No, no, no. PODRICK!" Brienne yelled. It was already too late. The horse took his stride too close to the obstacle and made a huge effort to jump. Podrick was already out of his saddle and when the horse hit the ground. He landed on the horse's neck before sliding down on his side.

Podrick left his head up from the snow and he saw his horse galloping away down the hill. And then he saw the hand Brienne was offering to lift him up. Once back on his two feet, he did not dare look into his master's eyes. He already knew what he would find : frustration and disdain.

"Ok, Pod. I know you are tired. But you've got to get over this. Why do you think I'm making you jump over a fence again and again?"

"So that I don't lose control of my horse during battle" Podrick answered, still looking down at his feet.

"Precisely. It has to become natural. When you are in battle you wont have time to concentrate or to avoid the obstacles on your way. There are dead bodies on a battlefield. You have to get your horse through them" she said.

She put a hand on his shoulder and Pod finally risked looking at her. Her gaze had always been so direct. He admired the strength and the resolve of this woman. She had been pretty harsh with him at first. But now that they had grown accustomed to each other, she was easing up when trying to explain something to him. She was the best teacher he could have hoped for. Podrick trusted her with his life. And he knew she was trying very hard to train him.

"Come on Podrick. One more good jump and we are going back inside. Go fetch your horse" she said.

Without a word, Podrick ran down the hill to look for his horse. He had just disappeared from Brienne's eye sight when she heard his voice.

"My lady! My lady!".

She rolled up her eyes. "What again? Don't tell me he is not capable of fetching a good nice horse by his own", she thought to herself.

"What is it now, Pod?" she snapped, running down to meet him.

Then she saw it. A group of riders coming their way. And who was that leading them? No, this could not be.

"Lady Brienne!".

Brienne shivered at the sound of the familiar voice. Yes it was him. But he was not wearing the Lannister banner. And obviously this group of riders was not the Lannister forces promised by Queen Cersei.

Jaime Lannister stopped his ride next to her. Brienne swallowed hard. She was out of words.

"Ser Jaime. I am glad to see you were true to your word" she finally said. Her voice was like ice. She never intended to sound so cold. But so far, it was the only way she knew how to hide her feelings.

Brienne had been aware of how she felt towards Jaime for some time now. But she would not dare to think he might feel the same about her. How could such a handsome man be interested in a beast like her?

"I am glad you noticed" Jaime said with a smirk. But he lost his smile pretty quickly and got off his horse to face her.

"Listen Brienne, you were right. In so many way... you wouldn't even know". He paused. Got caught in her direct blue gaze, once again. Jaime had never found her attractive, but somehow her eyes had such a power over him.

"What happened to your army, Ser Jaime?"

"It's a long story. I have a lot to discuss with Jon Snow and the dragon Queen".

Jaime was losing his self-assurance in front of her. He had so many things on his heart. But he maintained eye contact with Brienne. He was happy she was the first person he encountered when coming up to Winterfell. Gods know what would have happened with somebody else. He would have been spat at. Called names. "Kingslayer! Incestuous bastard!" he could hear it in his head. In any other circumstance, he would have been ok with it. But now he had important news to carry. And he needed to be heard.

"Are you going to kiss, or can we get inside? I wouldn't mind waiting outside if it wasn't so damn cold!"

Both Brienne and Jaime turned their heads, blushing. Bronn was shivering with the cold, but smiling from ear to ear.

"Follow me" she finally said. She took the reins from Podrick's hands and mounted his horse. One look at her squire and he already knew that he would have to go back to the castle on foot. Brienne was hard but fair : had he not fallen, she would have left him the horse and walked beside him.

Brienne was walking her horse silently besides Jaime's. She was fighting the weight that had formed in her chest at the sight of him. She was thinking about the last time she had seen Jaime Lannister. "Fuck loyalty!" The words were out of her mouth before she could realize what it really meant. Everything she had ever stood before. She had seen how shocked he had been. Was it that she dared touch him arm that firmly? Or was it the meaning of what she was implying? And here he was, ready to fight the dead by her side...

She was thrown out of her daydreaming when the side of her horse bumped into Jaime's. Their legs were pressed against each other in the process.

"I'm sorry" she said. "No harm done", Jaime replied with a smile. He thought it might be best to break the ice before reaching the walls of Winterfell.

"Brienne, the news I bring from Kingslanding are not really what the King in the North and the Dragon Queen might expect. I've brought as many men as I could, but..."

Brienne's look was interrogative. Obviously something had turned wrong. No Lannister banners. Just a handful of riders accompanying him... and Jaime Lannister, usually so self-assured, was struggling to find his words. She stayed silent, encouraging him with her eyes to continue.

"I have left Cersei" Jaime said abruptly.

"Wait. What?" Brienne could not believe her ears.

"She was betraying you. The North. Her word. She never intend to send any forces North to fight. She even sent Euron Greyjoy to get the Golden Company from Essos to fight you".

Brienne opened her mouth in surprise. She could see the water forming in his eyes. Jaime had to chose between his sister, his love, and his promise. And he had chosen to keep his word, as he had done to Catelyn Stark and her daughters. Now Brienne was grasping the full meaning of his acts. Did she have any influence on that? "Fuck loyalty", she thought again.

"Listen. I trust you more than anyone on this earth. I will need your support in there. They might have me hanged".

Brienne nodded. "Of course. I won't let anyone harm you" she said.