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"We have to go North, she said," Jamie grumbled, trudging through the two-foot snow, "It makes the most sense, she said." Hefting his shoulder bag an inch or two higher, he resented the cold the motion brought through his clothes, "Arya and Sansa would have headed to the wall to meet their brother, she said."
He stopped a moment, squinting ahead of him and only seeing a canvas of snow-whitened trees topped by grey skies…
Jamie huffed and continued his mission, "A brother who is fighting one of the deadliest wars in the seven kingdoms and happens to hate me!" Then again, he wasn't that keen on himself at that point either…
He should have known better than to let Brienne out of his sight.
The wind kicked up a pace, spraying him with tiny shards of snow, stabbing into any exposed skin and making Jamie hunker-down into his furs before pressing on.
Jon had directed him to the most likely place the Wildling camp would be and opened the gate… Jamie left his brother at The Wall to prepare for the inevitable… another attack.
The faint smell of warmth was in the air… a camp fire? With roasting meat?
Smelled like hog… Gods, he loved roast pig! Juicy, fatty meat and sweet vegetables with a good, big glass of wine…
Jamie smiled; of all things to imagine…
But if there was a camp fire, he was nearer to Brienne.
He checked the sky-line, spotting a distant curl of smoke and finding the strength in him to break into a jog against the harsh terrain and it didn't seem like very long before he was gaining on the thickening scent and stared to hear the murmur of voices…
There was no surprise; this Wildling Army was meant to number in their hundreds, so the sound of horses didn't concern him either.
In fact, there was nothing untoward about the situation until Jamie was met, mid-stride, by a body impacting his and forcing them both into the snow covered ground.
Reeling and spluttering at the mouthful of snow, Jamie wrestled with the unknown assailant, registering they were more nimble than him and had already climbed over his body and had him pinned.
Fuck! He thought, Stupid, stupid mistake! Charging in like a bloody Knight in Shining Armor… not taking the time to check who was watching…
"Jamie!" A familiar voice urged above him, "Stop struggling!"
"Brienne?"
The grip on his arm tightened slightly, "Yes."
The sound of her voice should have brought him comfort… but squashed into the freezing ground, as he was, he protested, "Get the hells off me!"
But he was pressed a little more urgently, "Quiet… they're sending out scouting groups…"
Jamie felt his body instantly still at the information and, while he waited for Brienne to decide on releasing him, he asked, "The Wildlings have scouting groups?"
Slowly, Brienne shifted her weight so he could wriggle from beneath her and stay low enough that they both hid in the snow while she silently directed his attention to a horseman passing through the area.
"That armor… it's from Bravos…"
Brienne huffed an acknowledgement, "They're collecting the Wildlings…" then she crawled to the edge of a ditch and slipped in side; Jamie following before joining her at the wall, careful to watch over the top without being sited…
Collecting Wildlings? Jamie couldn't help his head shake, "Why?"
"I don't know yet."
Looking to his wife, Jamie noted the concern and fierce determination etched on her soil, streaked face; she was in her element, entirely electrified by fighting and fucking and hiding and hunting… her blue eyes sparkled and drew him into her passion; it was addictive and he would never tire of it.
"It's good to see you, by the way," Jamie whispered, hoping to see a smile cross her lips.
He was rewarded with more than that as a blush rosed her pink cheek and she fluttered her lashes… "It is good to see you too Jamie."
Though this wasn't the time… he admitted he liked that reaction, slightly curious as to what she was thinking… But, they were still in danger.
"We should get back to castle," he suggested, knowing the answer would be…
"No," Brienne nodded in the direction of the scout, "follow his trail back to the camp and find out who they are and what they are doing here."
The scout seemed to be looking about frantically; did he sense they were near?
"Perhaps we should linger a while… he seems a little too keen to me…"
Brienne considered this, "Agreed."
Jamie relaxed into the soft snow, shivering and wondering if he was starting to resemble the ice itself…
"What's wrong?"
"Just loosing the feeling in my legs…" Jamie lay back in the snow… "Gave up on my feet a few hours ago."
With a gruffness that displayed her annoyance, Brienne shifted to the side of him and hefted an unnoticed bag from her shoulder, removing furs and wrapping Jamies feet within as he watched her. Whatever the skin had belonged to, it was large and its pelt made Jamie feel as though he were sitting at a fire-side…
"Give it some time," she grinned wryly, "you will be well."
"Have any of that for my knees and above?" Jamie asked, hopeful.
Brienne scowled, "I wasn't expecting company…"
"Pity," he conceded… but was surprised when, moments later, his wifes hands roughly rubbed at his winter trousers, in short, friction-causing swipes…
She's only increasing circulation, Jamie reminded himself… but the dedication Brienne was displaying was only succeeding in spreading warmth and flushing blood to an entirely different part of his anatomy…
Think of something else… he willed as Brienne, roughly, moved the motion over his lower legs and to his thighs, making him quip, "While you are doing such good work rubbing things down there…"
It earned a spark of irritation in Briennes eye that was almost enough to harden him; he grinned widely.
Her scowl melted into a fond shake of her head; "Nymph," she said.
Jamie laughed, rolling a little to reach for his own abandoned bag, almost jumping out of his skin when he felt Briennes hands on the fastenings of his trousers.
It was her turn to laugh as she steadied him back against the snow…
Thrilled and a little abashed, Jamie shook his head to say, "Brienne… I was only joking…"
But her hands pushed up to his chest as she leaned in and bent to kiss him into silence…
It worked; all Jamie could do was relax into the caress as Briennes fingers danced back to their original activity, loosening his trousers and taking hold of him.
Jamie juddered and sighed into her kiss as she smiled, "There are certain parts of you I would hate to lose to the cold…"
He frowned, "But there are other parts you wouldn't mind losing?"
"I think those parts are mostly in Kingslanding…" her hands quickened pace, clearing his head of any further questions as she excused, "If you will excuse me, I have a vested interest in assuring you stay warm…"
Then he was in her mouth.
Jamie restrained the urge to scream… biting down on his hand and whimpering at the sensations pulsing through him.
Gods but how he loved this woman!
And as she brought him to heart-pounding, body-shuddering ecstasy he vowed he would repay her…
He never thought of sex as something only for himself; but his wifes love brought him so much more joy than he could describe.
And though he hated to spill into her in this way, she seemed focused on that goal, even bringing her lips to his once it was done…
They found a joy as he fell back down to earth… even slept a while.
But it was a short rest.
()()()
The morning came with the icy realisation he was alone… though he found his wife further up the ditch observing the enemy.
"There's a banner," she whispered under her breath… "If only Podrick were here…"
Jamie felt an unfamiliar sting of jealousy… "Why is that?"
Brienne turned her wide, ocean eyes to him, "He squired for your brother and knows all the house sigils."
The simple explanation made him feel slightly abashed, "Of course."
But his bride frowned, "Why else would I want Pod with us?"
Gods, she could be so innocent at times… "It matters not… let me look."
Poking his head above the ditch, Jamie made out the satellite camp, a single tent and fire with a number of men milling about, feeding themselves or feeding horses, seeming unaccustomed to the cold of the North as they returned to the fire in a desperate attempt to heat themselves.
The wind caught and Jamie squinted against the snow; they flew a familiar banner… and Jamies heart sank when he finally caught the sigil on the unfurled flag; the image of a stag aflame…
"Can you see it?" Brienne asked…
Why would the Gods choose now of all times to tighten the noose?
Jamie sank into the ditch, bracing his back on its wall, feeling an absurd laughter bubble out of him he looked to Briennes confusion and couldn't help but reach out a hand and cup her face.
Clearly unsettled by the motion, his wife pulled back and cautiously asked, "What's wrong?"
Jamie shook his head, "Baratheon…" Jamie laughed again, "the sigil of my children."
The confession caused a burst of expression to wash over Brienne as she grimaced, pitied and jerked toward him in a split-second of solace before the next feeling crashed into her mind and she filled will rage, spitting, "Stannis," between her grinding teeth.
Jamie felt his lungs swell as he took in the wonderful incandescent rage in her eyes… she was always tantalizing when angered, which could have been the reason Jamie delighted in provoking her. He wondered on how he might steal a kiss… perhaps even press her into the bank and fall himself into her, letting her expel that brilliance in the passion they shared rather than risk her life by charging into another fight.
After all, he was coming to appreciate how alike his wife and he truly were… and the cloth they were cut from was only truly appreciated on the battlefield or in the bed chamber… There were no two better exploits in which to loose oneself.
But he had ruminated too long and Brienne began to move up the bank.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to track them back to Stannis," Brienne explained.
Of course she was… "And then?"
The Lady of Casterly Rock turned to him, expression as fierce as any lion, "I will kill him."
Jamie sighed, "Of course you will…" he followed her, "I had hoped ours would be a long and happy marriage, but I will accept short and exciting…"
She shot him a sideways glance, "Long and happy?"
He shrugged… "When you finally accepted the idea."
A smirk marked her lips, "You never do things by halves."
"Life isn't lived by halves, my Lady…" he glanced over the ditch once more, "at least we should wait for a change in the watch. They will leave fresh tracks."
Brienne nodded, "Agreed; dusk is when we strike."
The intensity in her words meant he couldn't help himself… he had never managed to remain sombre for long; it was a failing and the words came before he examined them… "Why is it the watches are always replaced at dawn and dusk? Could it not be noon to midnight? That would be far more reasonable for those wishing to spy upon you… they wouldn't have to awaken so early after the previous night's exertions…" Jamie teased and looked to Brienne for reaction but she didn't reply; unwilling to break her surveillance.
He turned his back to the camp and rested against the ditches wall; no amusement to be had for him at the moment, "Have you ever met Stannis Baratheon?"
Without flinching, she replied, "Only when he killed Renley."
Nodding, Jamie knew not to broach that particular topic… "He's a very fine warrior…" he explained, "strategic and strong… and, if the flag is any indicator; quite devoted once a cause rises…"
"This banner is not so impressive," Brienne tried to hide the sneer on her face, "it's only a corruption of values… Ours is the Fury…" she snorted.
Jamie supposed it was just as pretentious as Hear Me Roar but remained silent as his wife fixed her eye on the target of her hatred…
"Does Tarth have a motto?" He asked, wondering if he had forgotten…
This, of all comments, caused Briennes eyes to drop as she sighed and shifted uncomfortably, "House Tarth will not pass the last generation now I am Lannister."
He felt her loss… almost tasting it in her words.
What was there to say; Tarth had no heirs.
The golden lion had long been a treasured symbol of the Lannisters; most families chose an animal to best represent them, but Jamie recalled his wifes crest… quatered with rose field and white crescent moons in blue skies with the sun gleaming bright at the centre. It appeared to matter as much to his noble woman as with any true high-borne.
"I think the lion rampant would look regal enough on the azure background before a sun in splendor…" he pondered aloud, imagining the way their new family sigil might be over the hearth of Casterly and Evenfall respectively… "Or is that too much gold?" He wondered, "Perhaps the crescent moon instead…" Blue, white and gold… hmmm…
The more he thought of how the colours would suit and contrast, the more the thought blossomed and his wife slowly turned to him, astonishment etched in her expression.
Jamie smiled, "We shall have to think on it and ask for an audience with the King… but that shouldn't be a bother… I happen to know him," he joked, thinking he could write Tommen as soon as they reached a castle with ravens and request an adjustment to his personal banner...
That deep was he in thought, the touch of her hand on his breastplate was a surprise, so he readied a laugh about how soft she was on the cusp of battle but the comment and each thought died as he met her eyes and saw them brimming with tears.
At once, her was captivated by those large, sapphire pools and instantly recognized that the source of those unshed tears was not pain or sadness but gratitude and joy.
Still he tried and failed to pass a comment, frozen as she leaned forward and kissed her lips to his.
When she withdrew from the gentle gesture he saw her smiling…
Oh yes… Jamie thought to himself, as soon as we find a bed or a hay bale, she's going to knock me to the ground, rip my clothes off and…
"They're on the move," Brienne informed him, distracting the prophecy unfolding in his head.
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