Jaime stood on the battlements of the captured castle. All was quiet below. that was a good sign.
Oh you run away
He'd looked for her as he rode into the castle, but she wasn't in the yard, nor in the great hall, nor was she there on the battlements. The castle had surrendered to them but Edmure Tully had sent his men in search of the Blackfish before the drawbridge had hit the bank. If she was with him and the oaf fought back...he didn't dare think on it. He took a deep breath, remembering her words to him, trying not to blame himself for whatever had befallen her. On entering the castle, Bronn had asked after the location of the dungeons and had disappeared without even a glance at him. Good man. If she and Pod were there, Bronn would recover them.
'Cause I am not what you found
His thoughts were interrupted by boots on the stairway. A Lannister captain stepped into the near dark and greeted his commander. The Blackfish had been found. Jaime breathed a sigh of relief. "Good," he said, "bring him to me." He looked forward to seeing Brienne's face when he told the Blackfish to take the black and leave with her.
"He's dead, my lord. He died fighting." Jaime's heart sank. He looked up at the captain, silently preparing himself for news of Brienne, his chest tightening. But the soldier said nothing else. Surely if she had been fighting alongside the Blackfish that would not go unmentioned. Then again if she'd been there, he had no doubt that the Blackfish would still be alive and she would have been the one to make the report with a dozen defeated Lannister, Frey and Tully soldiers behind her. Jaime nodded to dismiss the guard. Where was she?
From her low position in the boat Brienne could see that they had finally moved out of sight of the camp, and sat up. So long as they were quiet, the marshes should protected by the marshes. She sat up and nodded a silent warning to Pod, and he returned it, in sync.
Jaime's body felt weak with worry. He held onto the stones for support and walked to edge of the parapet, looking down at the swirling river below. The sky was clear and the full moon was shining on the rusty surface of the water. He was lost in his worried thoughts, entranced by the rippling reflection when it was suddenly split in two and brilliant tawny diamond of light seemed to sparkle from within it, catching the moon. A small boat was being rowed against the gentle current, away from the castle, away from him. She had walked away from him many times - he would know the back of that head anywhere.
Oh you're in my veins
He exhaled audibly, the tension that had been in his body for what felt like years dropping away. He imagined himself melting, his body rolling languidly down the stone walls, slipping silently into the muddy waters and getting caught up in her wake.
And I cannot get you out
He chanced a glance back to where the captain had been standing only moments before and found it empty. He offered a silent prayer of gratitude and turned back to watch her leave yet again, willing her to turn around.
As Jaime had turned back to watch them go, Pod had caught the glint of his armor and recognized the him. He met Brienne's eyes and silently urged her to look back. With a quizzical brow, she did. Every time had felt like the last, and this was no different. Her breath caught in her throat and she swallowed a sob straight from her core as he raised his golden hand to wave farewell, catching the light like a beacon calling her back to him. She raised her hand and held it in the air, conjuring a promise, begging the Warrior to keep Jaime safe from his own self-doubt.
There they remained, posed in silent prayer, until Podrick guided the boat around the bend.
No, no, I cannot get you out
No, 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.