It was still a fortnight before Joffrey and Margaery's wedding, and Brienne had promised to stay in King's Landing until that day. It was a very important ceremony and it would be a grave offense not to attend. Brienne wanted to leave as soon as possible to continue her duty, but she had to admit the past months traveling had been tiring, and enjoying the comforts of the court for some weeks wasn't the worst thing in this world. The company was a little… well, hostile to say the least, but she had Jaime, whom she would walk with often, and even practice her sword fighting with. Jaime was getting better with his left hand each day, which made her very happy and proud.
This afternoon they wouldn't be practicing, though, for they were invited by lady Olenna Tyrell to have tea with her and her niece. Brienne liked the woman, but she wasn't looking forward to the meeting since she knew the Queen would be there, too.
Cersei… she had never met such a venomous woman in her life. The Queen Regent was more intimidating to her than any other knight or fighter she had ever encountered, because her weapon of choice were words, which Brienne herself had little skill with. Her beauty was incredibly imposing too, and it made Brienne feel completely out of place to be even in the same room with her. It was infuriating, because she hated feeling inferior to others. Nevertheless, she remained perfectly civil every time they met, not even a crack of discomfort showing in her countenance.
Later that day, when a servant appeared and called for her to go to the East gardens, she mentally prepared herself for battle. Little did she know someone else would be fighting it for her.
Brienne was the first guest to arrive, which wasn't surprising, since the Queen was famous for her fashionably late appearances. The first thing she noticed was the Tyrell women had apparently built their own Highgarden in the middle of the palace's grounds. They were sitting inside a big gazebo decorated with hundreds of flowers. Even the table and the food were adorned with a spring theme. Brienne smiled, she didn't know much about plants, but she appreciated beauty when she saw it.
As soon as Brienne entered the wooden structure she was greeted by a smiling Margaery, who stood up and guided her to the seat next to hers.
"How lovely to see you, child" was Olenna's greeting. "It's refreshing to have new guests around here, one gets so very bored at my age."
"Thank you for inviting me, my Lady" said Brienne. "This is all very beautiful".
Immediately after she was seated, Margaery started telling Brienne about the many wedding preparations she had been organizing. Brienne appreciated her company, but she was grateful for the interruption when a servant came announcing the Lannister's arrival.
Brienne saw them approaching down the garden's path, arm in arm. She couldn't help but feel her defenses coming up and the tension build in her stomach when she caught sight of Cersei. Then, her eyes wandered over to Jaime, who wasn't wearing any armour and was in its place donning traditional red and gold Lannister clothes. She immediately felt more at ease in his presence.
She got up and curtsied when they arrived, but said nothing. Cersei, naturally, sat at the head of the table, facing Olenna, which left Jaime seating next to her sister and in front of Brienne.
"I barely recognized this place", started Cersei, "I see you've given it your... touch, lady Olenna".
"I have! Isn't it such an improvement?" Replied the Queen of Thorns, without missing a beat.
Cersei just smiled politely and very, very falsely.
Margaery looked slightly uncomfortable with her grandmother's remark, so she quickly jumped to action.
"Willam, would you be so kind as to bring our little present for her Majesty?", she told a servant.
When the man came back, he was carrying an enormous golden vase, decorated with the Lannister sigil on the front and filled with beautiful red flowering quince. Brienne thought they were charming.
"Oh, and what is this?" asked Cersei, smiling still.
"Only a little present to thank you again for your kindness" started lady Olenna, "and you know in
Highgarden it is customary to gift flowers to highborn ladies."
"We thought these would be the perfect fit for you, my Queen" continued Margaery. "They are also known as 'Scarlet Storm' and we think it's the exact shade of Lannister red. Wouldn't you say so, Brienne?".
Brienne felt all eyes on her, specially Cersei's, who was looking at her with a raised eyebrow, as if daring her to disagree.
"Of course, they are astonishing, your Grace." She said, trying her best to smile while doing so.
She bent her neck as if to smell the flowers but was interrupted by Lady Olenna.
"Careful. They're full of thorns." She said, pointedly looking at Cersei while she did that.
"They're also related to Roses, which symbolizes our families' union", added Margaery, trying to atone for the older woman's sharp tongue.
Brienne was happy that the attention was diverted from her. Cersei looked satisfied with the compliment, and she sent the servants to take the flowers up to her rooms. Meanwhile, Brienne brought up her tea to her lips, taking a sip and reassuring herself that she was doing fine. When doing so, she caught Jaime's eyes, who sent her an encouraging smile and helped her to restore her confidence.
"I wish we had known of miss Tarth's presence in King's Landing before, we would have surely picked something out for her too", continued Margaery.
Cersei smiled smugly at hearing that. "I don't think you could ever find a flower befitting miss
Tarth. Maybe an entire tree…" She kept sniggering while looking at Jaime, as if to share the joke. He wasn't paying her any attention, though, for his eyes were cast down to the table and he seemed to be deep in thought.
"Oh nonsense, every woman can find her match in a flower", complained Olenna. "What do you think, Margaery, maybe a blue Delphinium? No, those are pretty toxic, not a good match for her".
Margaery enthusiastically opened her mouth to speak, but it was Jaime who beat her to it.
"Forget-me-nots", said he in a low voice. Everyone in the room looked at him in surprise.
"What did you say, brother?" asked Cersei, clearly annoyed.
"Forget-me-nots. They match her eyes perfectly". He seemed to be much more confident in his choice the second time he spoke.
Cersei was shocked into silence. She took a big gulp from her glass of wine.
"I like that. It's a wildflower, very strong, not at all delicate like other species." Agreed the Queen of Thorns.
"And they grow on very high stems! Which is appropriate for your height, Brienne!" added
Margaery, smiling eagerly.
No one seemed to notice Brienne's shock. She was stock-still, her eyes jumping from Jaime to the Tyrell women, unable to utter a word.
"Aren't those very small? What an insignificant little flower" Said Cersei, that had apparently regained her composure and wasn't about to shut up without a fight.
"I think it's all the more beautiful for that, it's a modest and unpretending kind of beauty". Said Jaime. That gained him an approving look from the older woman.
Cersei was getting redder with anger by the minute, so much so that she started to resemble the flowering quince quite closely. Jaime wasn't satisfied, so he continued his praise.
"Besides, they grow near the water, which seems very suitable since you grew up in an island, surrounded by the Narrow Sea." He smiled to Brienne, who was quite pale, but blushing furiously at the same time.
"What do you think, lady Brienne?", said Margaery, "Do you agree with our choice for you?".
"I… I must admit I know very little about flowers, my lady", answered Brienne, embarrassed.
"So do I, and I wish you'd change the subject", complained Cersei.
"Well" said Olenna, completely disregarding The Queen's comment, "If you know little of them, then I'll tell you one last thing. It's pretty obvious from its name but the forget-me-not is known as a sign of faithfulness and enduring love". She finished her sentence with a smug smile and a very specific look at Jaime.
That seemed to be enough for Cersei, who stood up suddenly, knocking over her glass in the process and staining her dress with wine.
"If you'll excuse me, I'm feeling rather ill and would like to retire to rest, now".
The Tyrell ladies all bid their goodbyes and wished the Queen a quick recovery. Brienne stood up and curtsied once more. Jaime was still in place when he noticed his sister was staring daggers at him, apparently expecting him to go with her.
"Oh… Of course, sister, let me accompany you back to the castle", he said with little sincerity. He quickly smiled at Brienne one last time, bid them all goodbye, and left. Brienne noticed they weren't holding arms this time.
As soon as they left, Brienne could breathe easy again. She had no idea what had just happened, but she felt it hadn't gone well. She stayed with the Tyrells for another hour but, feeling distracted, she retreated to her rooms to be at peace for a while.
When she got there, the first thing she noticed was a note on her bed, and the second thing was a small bouquet of flower sprigs sitting on her bedside table. She approached them, and picked them up. Forget-me-nots. She sat on the bed and grabbed the note. It was Jaime's still shaky lefthandwriting.
"They really do match your eyes. Meet me tomorrow morning in the armoury for practice."
Brienne smiled to herself and, for the first time, felt at home in King's Landing.