From the yard, Brienne could hear the shouting at the top of the wall. She and Pod had positioned themselves to be ready to aid Ser Brynden whenever necessary, hopeful that he might still change his mind. As the Blackfish descended the great stairway, she could see that his cool demeanor had evaporated. The yard suddenly burst into life around them, men scattering into position. The call to open the gate rang clearly and the chain for the drawbridge began to move. That's when Ser Brynden spotted them. "Meet me at the end of the hall, near the maester's chambers," he whispered before starting up another staircase.
Podrick leapt up, but Brienne delayed. "What does he mean to do?" She said aloud. The bridge sank lower and she peered over it to see who was on the other side, hopeful. She could see only one man who, as soon as the bridge had leveled, walked into the castle. The guards raised the bridge behind him as he stopped and seemed to take in his surroundings. Podrick bent over and whispered, "My lady?" Brienne took a deep breath as Edmure looked around, clearly searching for one face in particular with a murderous look. She assumed more than knew that to be Lord Edmure. If he had come, that must mean that Jaime was at least trying to seize the castle bloodlessly. Edmure approached one of the guards, "find the Blackfish. He belongs to the Freys." And with that he rushed up the steps that the Blackfish had descended not long before.
"Go, Pod!" They bound up the steps that led into the yard and turned down the dark hall. "This way!" Pod led her down another longer hall where, at the end, the Blackfish waited with a torch. "Stay close," he said, "but mind yourself, these step can be a bit damp." As he turned she could see that he'd been standing in an archway with steps that led down further than she'd imagined the castle could go. Brienne could feel humidity rising up behind him. She looked at Pod who simply nodded before following the knight ahead of her into the dark, dank air. As they descended, they could hear marching from above that got quieter the deeper they went. Jaime must be marching on the castle. She could feel that rock settling in her stomach again.
Oh you're all I taste
After several minutes of endless slippery steps, she spied a bright orange hue ahead which turned out to be Ser Brynden's torch reflecting off of the reddish water and the moss-covered stones in the bowels of the castle. A rowboat was waiting in the water and Podrick had already climbed into it. Brienne looked to the Blackfish who nodded, "Go on." She suddenly realized that he wasn't planning on running from the fight - he hadn't rushed down these stairs to save himself, but to save them. "Come with us," she urged him. "I've run before. From the Red Wedding. I'm not running again. This is my family home." She could have hit him - was this what her stubbornness was like to other people, she wondered. "Your family is in the North. Come with us. Don't die for pride when you can fight for your blood."
The Blackfish raised his eyebrows at this, taking the measure of her. "You'll serve Sansa far better than I ever could." Brienne froze. The old knight was complimenting her and preparing to run off to his death almost in the same breath. Brienne could only respect him for that. She nodded just as a shout rang out from up the long stairs. "Go on, now!" he hissed. The Blackfish drew his sword. "I haven't had a proper sword fight in years. I expect I'll make a damn fool of myself." And with an arched brow, he was gone.
She watched him go, knowing she had failed. She could hear the boat creaking behind her as Pod struggled to hold it in place, she could hear the water flowing slowly beneath the castle, churning up the red clay, and could hear it dripping from the stones, and now she could hear the clash of swords in the stairwell. Everything seemed amplified. She was torn between two honorable things - staying and fighting, or living and fighting. Yes, she had failed this mission. But they could still live. If the Blackfish died fighting and took anyone with him, the Freys' thirst for blood might not end there. They couldn't stay here, even if Jaime succeeded, the Freys were not known for doing things any way but their own. To live, they had to leave.
At night inside of my mouth
She climbed into the boat and helped Podrick push them away from the stones. If they followed the current, they'd wind up in the west, near Casterly Rock. They would need to row against it in order to go North. Podrick found his pace and began moving them ever so quietly to the mouth of the cellar. The river scouts they'd encountered that morning had just returned, Brienne thought, so with the armies focused on the siege, they should be able to slip away in the little boat unseen. With any luck, they could get far enough away by dawn that the boat could be abandoned and they could cross the trident.
As they approached open water Brienne listened. She could hear the sounds of the camps, but realized that she couldn't hear any sounds of battle. The castle appeared to be eerily silent. No screams, not even any more marching. Jaime had to have succeeded. She thanked the gods, and sank low in the boat so as not to be seen.
A/N: I do not own Game of Throne or these characters; some dialogue may be taken verbatim from HBO's Game of Thrones or George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Lyrics used are directly from Andrew Belle's "In My Veins" (C) 2010.