They hadn't expected to see a well-formed army in their path. The Freys were not known for their organizational strengths or appearance, and Brienne had anticipated being able to avoid them altogether. But when she had spotted the tops of the tents from a mile away, she knew that was no longer an option. This was not a desperate Frey assault, it was a Lannister siege. The color of the tents had given it away from afar but until they'd reached the top of the hill, she'd held out hope that it was some other collective of bannermen. But once she beheld the full scope of their numbers and spied the lion banners, that hope was gone, replaced by a familiar tightness in her stomach that she'd so often suppressed.
Oh you're in my veins
"It looks like a siege, my lady." Podrick. After all this time, an astute observer of the obvious. "You have a keen military mind, Pod," she'd said in a voice laced with irony as she scanned the camp, wondering whether she would be able to spy a familiar face in the melee. She'd spent time with some of Jaime's troops while recovering in the capital - it was possible that she would know someone down there whom she might press for admittance to the castle.
Lord Tywin, she knew, had been killed by the imp when he had escaped the city over a year ago. She thought it unlikely that Lord Tyrion had escaped on his own, and on hearing the news she had suspected the elder Lannister brother of being involved. Tyrion had run out of friends in the capital quickly after Joffrey's death, but his brother could have been persuaded if the situation were dire. If he had been, that would also mean that he'd been complicit in the death of his father.
And I cannot get you out
She had thought back to the night Lady Catelyn had released him to her custody at Riverrun; he had been all but resigned to his death at the hands of the Karstarks, and had spit in the Lady's face, going on about honor and duty. Brienne knew him well enough now to observe that he hadn't been taunting the woman to be cruel as she perceived in the moment - he'd done it seeking a quick death, to avoid a more violent one at the hands of her son's bannermen. In the midst of it, something had clicked for Lady Stark that altered Jaime's fate - a point that he'd made had changed her course.
Oh you're all I taste
He'd said that one could make vows to one's king and family but once they're at odds, honor meant choosing one over the other. In the end, Catelyn would betray her son and king in an effort to save her daughters by letting the Kingslayer go home. It was not impossible to imagine that Jaime could have made a similar choice, but at what cost? And with Lord Tywin dead and Jaime serving on Tommen's Kingsguard, who was leading this siege?
At night inside of my mouth
She didn't have to wait for an answer. The rider cantered from the muddy gates of Riverrun into the camp. He was far enough away still to not be able to make out all the details of his face in the early morning light, but she knew his stance on a horse and the way his armor broadened his shoulders. And as he dismounted she was pleased to see that he had perfected that motion without the use of a right hand. It had been two years, plenty of time to practice. Or perhaps time to change.
Oh you run away
So focused on his arrival was she that she didn't hear her squire's warnings; before she knew it, they were surrounded by a small host of Lannister scouts who'd ridden up the hill behind them. Finally tearing her eyes from the camp she glanced at the scouts, all unfamiliar to her, and gripped her reins, resisting the urge to grasp Oathkeeper, a move which might have been deadly. Straightening her back and lifting her chin Pod observed that she looked like the noblewoman she was but so rarely embodied.
'Cause I am not what you found
"My name is Brienne of Tarth. Please inform Ser Jaime Lannister I've come to speak with him." Pod was startled, unsure whether she was bluffing. Catching her eye he could see that she was dead serious - the effect of Ser Jaime on Lady Brienne was a consistent one. "Tell him I have his sword." The scouts looked skeptically at one another as Brienne stared down the hill. Pod hoped that her words would be enough to grant them safe passage.
Oh you're in my veins
She hadn't expected to see Jaime after all this time, especially not back here where they'd begun. His name in her mouth tasted like tears and wine. As they trotted down the hill flanked by the scouts, she prayed to all the gods that he would still be the man that she had left in King's Landing - if so, he would be the one to ensure that she got access to the Blackfish and fulfilled her mission. The captain of the scouts rode ahead and made for Jaime's tent. If he wasn't the same man...the knot in her stomach tightened.
And I cannot get you out
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.