2. Bonding
They had been walking for hours now. He really needed to pee, plus his feet were sore and his legs were cramping. He looked at his companion. She wasn't doing much better, either. She looked flushed, her hair was damp with sweat and she was breathing heavily. Her face was rigid and her jaw was set.
"Are you alright, Lady Stark?"
"Of course I am. My companions are all dead, I have been kidnapped and I'm being forced to walk for miles on end tied together with you. Why wouldn't I be alright?" she replied sharply.
"I see your tongue is intact. Were you hurt in the fight?"
"No. Were you?"
"One of the advantages of being a dwarf, I make a much smaller target. I never thanked you for saving my life. That man was about to slice me in half. I would have been a half-half-man were it not for you"
"You had saved my life just seconds before. We're even now. Please forgive me, my Lord, but I'm very tired and really have no wish to converse with you."
"As you wish, my lady, but this could be a very long trip"
.
After a seemingly endless walk they came to a clearing by the river where they settled for the night. Before being tied to a tree Tyrion and Lady Stark were allowed to relieve themselves. They were brought food and ale and were left alone for the rest of the night.
.
"If you didn't send that assassin after Bran, then who did?" she suddenly asked after a very long uncomfortable silence.
"I have no idea, Lady Stark."
"He was pushed from a window and then somebody tried to kill him with a dagger. Why? He's just a little boy. I wonder what he saw in that tower"
"And most importantly, who he saw" added Tyrion
"Did you know that the day Bran fell, your brother Jamie did not join the hunt with my husband and the rest of the men? He was at the castle all day, but I never saw him. I never saw your sister, either, that day. At the beginning I was suspecting your brother and sister may have had something to do with Bran's accident and assassination attempt, but then Petyr said the dagger was yours, so I started to believe it was you."
"You shouldn't believe everything Lord Baelish says."
"I know that now. How long has he been spreading lies about me?"
"For as long as I have known him. I have heard him go into detail about the intimate moments you and him shared"
"There were no moments!" she cried indignantly.
"I know, but that never stopped him from talking about them"
"It's not your dagger, is it? How could I be so foolish?" she sighed.
"I have no reason to want your son dead, my Lady. But if he saw something he was not supposed to see, those people might still want him dead"
"Do you think it could have been your brother and sister? What could they be doing in the tower they didn't want my son to tell?"
Tyrion raised his eyebrows and took a deep breath "That's not for me to say"
"Oh, gods" said Lady Stark disgusted "You don't think they were … and my son saw them. Oh, my poor Bran. I'm sure he didn't even know what he saw. He probably thought they were just playing. There was no reason to push him out the window. Lannister or not, if I see them again, they are as good as dead" she said venomously. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry I kidnapped you, Lord Tyrion" she added softly looking him in the eye. "You are different. You are not like your brother and sister".
"If there's a lesson to be learned here, never cross a grieving mother, they tend not to be very rational."
"Ha! I'm very rational now, you should have seen me back at Winterfell" she laughed mirthlessly. "After the assassin was killed I burst into a hysterical laughter, they had to sedate me"
"You? Hysterical? No!", he mocked her.
"Be glad my hands are tied, Imp." she replied with a smile and they settled into a comfortable silence this time.
.
"I can't sleep. You are a mother. You must know many lullabies. Sing me to sleep" Tyrion asked his companion.
"Let me sleep. I'm tired. I do not need your constant blabbing" came the tired voice of Lady Stark.
"Yes, let's sleep. We'll need our strength for tomorrow."
"Lord Tyrion, how much longer is it to your father's camp?"
"We'll probably be there in two days. One if we had a horse."
"I can't walk that long"
"What, good old Ned never took hiking in that vast empty North of his?"
"I lied to you earlier today. I don't feel so well. I'm sure it's nothing, don't worry"
"How bad?" asked Tyrion.
"I told you, it's nothing. But I'm afraid I won't be able to walk for very much longer"
"Were you hurt during the fight? We should tell the men" Tyrion offered. "Maybe they can…"
"No!" she interrupted "Do not tell them. If they see I'm not feeling well they may just leave me behind. Not that I will miss your company, but I really do not want to be left alone in these mountains."
"Then you should rest. I promise I won't keep you up".
TBC
