Brienne was carefully sharpening the edges of her sword in her chambers. It was dark, and everybody was down in the great hall to have dinner. But she needed some time to herself. She eventually would grab a piece of ham later in the kitchen. At the moment, she needed peace and quiet.

She had not seen Jaime for the rest of the afternoon. One hour before the sunset, she had to give his sword-fighting lesson to Pod. But her heart was not into it. For the first time, her squire managed to touch her knee, then her shoulder with the tip of his sword. Podrick was smiling in triumph Frustrated, she waited for him to raise his hands up for the next attack. Suddenly she grabbed the handle of Podrick's sword with her left hand and punched him hard in the stomach with her sparring sword, before pulling him down to the ground.

"Aouch" Arya and Gendry gasped in a single voice. The two of them were now inseparable, and they would not miss a chance of training with the famous lady warrior.

"Aouch" Podrick echoed.

"I think that's enough for today Podrick" Brienne said. And she went straight back to her room.

Podrick could not agree more. He had seen the ground too close too many times in the day.

"Don't worry Pod" Arya said, petting the young man's shoulder. "You are getting better at this. And don't take it too personally. Her mind is elsewhere".

Brienne's mind was definitely elsewhere. Jaime's presence in Winterfell was obviously the reason of her confusion. He had left his sister. He had kept his word to her and to the North. She had made all the details of their relationship public to save his skin. Not all the details of course... her thoughts went to the bath they shared in Harrenhal. How vulnerable Jaime had seemed. How strong her anger had made her... she had felt so strong that she had not been afraid to show him her naked body...

Focusing on her sword was helping her to sort out her thoughts. It was part of her daily rituals : sharpening Oathkeeper, polishing her armour, getting her cloths ready, brushing her boots. Be ready everyday for battle! Since nobody really knew when the dead would be at Winterfell's doors, she thought she might as well be ready all the time. She was starting to relax and felt almost ready to go to sleep when she heard a knock on her door.

"Who is it?" she asked loud enough for her voice to get through the thick door.

"It's Jaime".

She rolled her eyes up, ignoring the bump her heart had made in her chest. She just wanted to be alone for a while.

She opened the door and looked at Jaime suspiciously.

"You know, lots of people were looking for you downstairs. The tale of our adventures together has inspired a lot of comments".

"That is precisely the reason I did not come down" she said coldly.

"Can I come in? I need to talk to you".

Brienne nodded and opened the door a little more for him to come in.

Jaime took a moment to look at the room. It was a small chamber with just a bed, a chair, and a little chest in the corner. He noticed Oathkeeper, left on the bed next to a whetstone, and the armour he had given her, carefully cleaned and tidied on top of the chest. "A warrior doesn't need more", he thought.

Without a word, Brienne sat on the bed, took her sword and the whetstone, and started to sharpen the blade again. Jaime sat next to her, which made her a little uncomfortable. But she didn't say anything.

"Brienne, I know it was a lot for you today. I know you don't like to attract attention to yourself. So, again, thank you for saving my skin".

"Yeah, I promised I would keep you safe. You know I always keep my word" she said, still concentrated on the blade.

"I know you do. You've always been a true friend".

"Friend!" she thought. Somehow, the word was tearing apart something inside her. She had once denied her friendship to him, in front of the Blackfish. She felt she had to justify her relationship to Jaime with only ties of honour and oaths. Weirdly enough, the only one who had been able to see through her heart had been Cersei. She wasn't even aware of it at the time. "I don't serve your brother, your Grace". "Yes, but you love him" the Queen had said. Brienne had been so struck by the revelation she wasn't able to reply anything. Maybe Cersei was only being paranoid or manipulative, but this conversation had weighted a lot in her heart. Yes, she was in love with him. The feeling had been even harder to fight when Jaime decided to give her Oathkeeper and her armour. No man had understood her character that well except from her father. It was as if Jaime was seeing her soul directly, behind the body she abhorred. So, yes, friend! The word was hurting her. All she could do as an answer was shrugging her shoulders.

"Listen, they are doing a meeting tomorrow morning, to talk about the defence strategies. I have a few ideas but I would like you to be there".

Brienne stopped her whetting and breathed loudly. She was easing up a little bit. Maybe because she was now feeling hungry. The hunger was somehow taking over the tension.

"I can't, I have to train Pod. Besides, I don't think I would be very useful. I'm a fighter, not a leader" she said softly.

"Maybe you are, but you don't know that yet. Anyway, you are the only person I can really trust here".

Brienne paused to look at the edges of the sword. Enough sharpening for the night, she thought.

"I'm glad to see how much care you put into this sword", Jaime said with a smile. "Did you know mine was made out of the same steel?"

Jaime could see the surprise in her eyes.

"You told me Oathkeeper had been made with the valyrian steel for Lord Eddard's sword".

"Yes, but that sword was so big there was enough steel to make two swords". While speaking, he stood up to take Widow's Wail out of his scabbard. He sat back next to her and handed the pommel to her. Since he could only hold the sword with his left hand, Brienne slightly touched his hand when she delicately took the sword from him. She felt a shiver down her spine. But quickly her whole attention was turned to the beautiful sword. The decorations on the pommel were much simpler than on Oathkeeper but quite tasteful. A huge Ruby was set on each side of the pommel between the stag antlers. She also examined the blade. As sharp as the other sword, and with the same dark grey-blue reflection.

"Why a stag, and not a lion?".

"Actually, Oathkeeper was meant to be mine. This was Joeffrey's sword".

"I'll come with you to the meeting tomorrow. I will just move my training with Pod a little earlier in the morning" she said, handling him the sword back. Jaime smiled and took the pommel of the sword, closing his hand on Brienne's in the process. She soflt slid her hand away, looking uneasy. Jaime felt something he had never felt before. He had never really noticed how uncomfortable she was every time they touched. For Gods sake, they had been tied together, they had shared a bath, naked together. She had seen him at his weakest, there should not be anything more uncomfortable than that between them. Or maybe that was precisely the reason. They had been more intimate than a man and a women generally should be when they are not in a sexual relationship. And what a woman she was. He thought about her naked body, standing in front of him in the candle light. Broad shoulders and muscles. Hardly any breasts but her body shape was still harmonious. She was, above all, athletic. Somehow he admired that. Jaime put the sword back into the scabbard and turned to Brienne again. He quickly caught her hand, willingly this time, and more firmly, in fear she might try to pull it out. What was he thinking about, doing this to her? She looked shocked. Even afraid. Her eyes kept going from their hands to his face. Her innocence was almost arousing him. Jaime lifted her hand to his lips and put a gentle kiss on her knuckles, without breaking eye contact.

Jaime had no idea why he felt compelled to do that. Maybe something had changed in their relationship. Maybe that was because he was finally free from Cersei and he felt able to have feeling of his own. Although he had felt attracted to Brienne from that night in the baths of Harrenhal, he had never really acknowledged it in fear it might endanger her. Her reaction to this kiss confirmed him she was also feeling something towards him. The thought of courting her suddenly formed in his head.

"Thank you, my Lady. I will see you tomorrow then".

Brienne nodded. Her lips were trembling and she was afraid that if she spoke, her voice would not come out right.

Jaime released her hand, got up and exited the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts.