Wolfpack
Prologue
299 AC
Brienne
With a final knock of her sword, the Kingslayer tumbled to the ground and panted on his back. She snatched her sword up off the cobbles of the bridge and whilst her face displayed nothing but utter contempt, she had only one thought circling through her mind. I just beat Jaime Lannister in single combat. He huffed as she reattached the ropes around him and tiredly jutted his chin up.
"It wasn't fair… my hands were tied…" Lannister wheezed. Brienne glared at him in response.
Any retort that was forming was cut off by the thundering of hooves behind them. Brienne quickly pivoted and raised her sword at the commotion. We must have been caught by someone, but was it the Lion or the Wolf? She certainly hoped that no banners of crimson would be flying.
Mounted riders broke through the treeline and slowed to a trot as they neared the bridge Brienne and the Kingslayer stood on. She let out a sigh when she saw a few of the riders holding banners displaying the grey direwolf of House Stark. They weren't Lannisters, thank the gods. Surely they'll listen knowing she was carrying out the orders of Lady Stark? Amongst the snarling wolf banners, there were a few banners with other sigils on them: A white tree on red, two blue towers, and a white direwolf on black. There's only one person that could belong to.
Jon Snow's horse cantered up to the front of the group. The boy was built leanly and was tall in his saddle. She'd never actually spoken with the bastard son of Ned Stark, mainly because she served Catelyn, and she avoided her stepson like a plague. She had spoken to his brother however, and looking at Jon now, she was amazed by the difference. King Robb was stocky and favoured his mother's colouring, with blue eyes and thick Tully red hair. From what she could tell Jon Snow was all Ned Stark's son, down to his dark brown hair and eyes so grey they were not far from black. The boy smiled a bit once their eyes met. What was Jon Snow doing with a hundred riders at his back.
"Lady Brienne, you're a hard woman to find." The riders took their hands from their swords but made no inclination of getting down from their horses. She lowered her sword in response.
"What are you doing with these men, Jon Snow?" She asked through narrowed eyes. Had her lady been correct in mistrusting him?
"I'm under orders from my brother." He replied coolly.
"Well, I'm under orders from Lady Stark to escort the Kingslayer to King's Landing," She noticed a look of disdain form on many of the faces of the men behind him. "In exchange for Lady Sansa and Lady Arya." The bastard of Winterfell shot them a warning glance before turning to a boy beside him. The boy was thin and wore a cloak of black feathers.
"Lucas, give me Lady Catelyn's missive." Lucas nodded and produced a scroll, before handing it to Jon. "King Robb has commanded that the Kingslayer shall resume his captivity-"
"Just my luck." Lannister muttered; Brienne tightened her grip on her sword.
"- at Riverrun, and Lady Catelyn has ordered you to stand down." Jon handed her the scroll and true to his word, written in her ladies' hand was what the boy had just said. A small amount of anger swelled unexpectedly at that. What had been the point of me dragging the Kingslayer across the Riverlands?
"I see." She said simply. Jon Snow's stormy eyes softened slightly.
"If there was ever a just reason to free Jaime Lannister, it would be for my sisters my lady. But Lady Stark undermined King Robb when she released him. If it were any other person, he would have beheaded them. My brother sent me t-"
"It's such a shame, I was starting to enjoy your company wench. It seems Lady Stark has taken up my previous proposition." Lannister laughed. The men had got down from their horses and were taking Jaime to a spare horse.
"Proposition?" Jon Snow asked. Now that he was down from his horse, she could truly get the measure of him. He was tall, not as tall as her, no, but still tall for his age, around equal to his companion in the feathered cloak.
"You see, I imagine Lady Stark is quite cold on these lonely autumn nights. I offered to help warm her-"
Thwack!
Before Brienne could defend her lady's honour, Jon Snow had beaten her to the punch. Quite literally, as the Kingslayer's head recoiled sharply after Snow's fist had connected with his face. She saw the blood cascade from his nose and the way his nose had shifted slightly in a sickening fashion.
"I've never been hit by a bastard, tell me, did your father do the same to your mother when he took her?"
Thwack!
"Or did he simply pay her?"
Thwack!
"Or did your whore of a mother come for free?"
Crunch
Crunch
Crunch
"Jon." One of the men said quietly. The boy looked up from Lannister and she saw the fury in his steely eyes for a moment, before it cooled. He got off of Lannister.
The Kingslayer looked a mess after Jon was done with him. The blond hair of his unkept beard had turned clay-red with the amount of blood and mud it held. His nose was not straight, it was at an odd angle now, and scarce could you see skin not stained red below it. A gash had opened up along his cheekbone and she could see the bruises starting to form all across his face. Gone were his sarcastic slights, he only groaned into the mud.
"Not so proud now, are we lion?" Jon said, holding his ruined knuckles, his breathing was uneven, and he took ragged breaths.
"Your sister won't find you so pretty anymore, Oathbreaker." Another man added.
"By what right does the wolf judge the lion?" Jaime spluttered in a feeble attempt at asserting himself. Jon grabbed him by his chains and threw him at some of his men, who dragged him to a horse. Brienne watched as Jon leant against a tree trunk in an attempt at controlling his temper.
"Some might say the Lion is more powerful, but you'll never see a Wolf in the circus." Jon said to himself, but everyone could hear it.
And Brienne didn't think she'd ever heard anything so true.