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A note on updates this week: Hello friends, just as a heads up, I will only be updating once or twice this week. I have a wedding I need to travel to on Friday and that will take up the entire weekend so I won't be updating.
Real life man, it's a bitch, but it happens.

Chapter Sixty-Four: Say It

Brienne

"Up!" Brienne ordered, her voice cracking like a whip in the cool morning air. The maesters in Old Town had yet to send out their white ravens announcing the beginning of winter, but Brienne was not oblivious. They days were getting shorter, the nights felt darker, and there was a cold bite to the air. She had heard her father once, cursing the Starks during one of her childhood winters, the Starks were always right. No matter how long and bright and warm a summer was, winter always followed.

And out there, in the cold world, just out of her reach were the Stark girls. At least one of them. She still had no idea where Arya was, but she knew where Sansa was. And she did not trust the man she was with. She was angry that Sansa had not agreed to come with her, not at the girl. The Seven only knew how much suffering the poor girl had seen in King's Landing. She was suspicious and afraid, as she should be. Brienne only wished that the poor child had placed her trust in a more worthy companion. She only wished that she had done a better job at proving her loyalty to the child. But she had not succeeded and she had herself to blame for that.

And, though she hated to admit it, she took it out on Podrick.

"Lift the sword up, Pod!" she practically yelled at the boy. "How do you expect to fight me with the sword tip pointing down? Am I down on the ground?" She shook her head, "I'm up here. Your sword should be as well."

The boy huffed out a breath, they had been practicing for almost an hour now and Brienne had refused to give him a rest. "It's too heavy," he complained, looking down at the sword.

"It's as heavy as it needs to be," Brienne told him. She was surprised that he had complained. In all the time she had been traveling with the boy he had hardly ever complained. Jaime had told her the truth when he said that the boy was a good boy. He was, which only went to show her how hard she had been on him that morning. "You won't get stronger practicing with a lighter sword."

"Don't squires usually start with wooden practice swords?" Podrick asked her.

She nodded, "Yes," she told him, "boys of seven. Are you a boy of seven Pod?" He shook his head. "Then you will practice with live steel. Now lift the sword up. Higher. There. Now, attack."

This caught the boy off guard, in their daily practices she had been the one on attack so far. This was the first time that she had asked him to be on the offensive. But he knew better than to ask questions and he knew she would not be happy if she had to repeat her order. So he nodded and took a step forward, clumsily swinging his sword in her direction.

Brienne easily stepped out of the way of his sword and swung down, the flat of her sword catching him across the front of his calf. "Your feet are too close," she told him. "Hips distance apart. You'd lose your balance in a moment if this were a real fight."

Podrick nodded and looked down, quickly moving his feet further apart. Then when he moved forward, once again trying to attack her, he slid his feet across the ground, barely lifting them, just as she had once shown him. She had never wanted a squire and she had not particularly wanted to train the boy, but she was pleased to see that he was a decent learner. Very rarely did she need to show him the same thing twice. Most mornings he only needed a reminder. She nodded, silent praise, he had not done well enough yet to earn words of praise, but the nod had the boy smiling widely all the same. "Again," she ordered him, gesturing toward herself.

He charged quickly, with very little care or forethought. He was a bull on the attack rather than a wolf or a lion, stalking its prey.

Lion, unbidden her thoughts drifted to Jaime Lannister and the one time she had fought against the legendary knight. His hands had been chained and he had been weak from the many months he had spent in Riverrun's dungeons. But still, his skill with a sword had been unmatched. She was sure that if his hands had not been shackled he would have beaten her. His movements were beautiful and precise. He moved quickly, just like Podrick tried to do with his attack, but unlike her squire, Jaime was always thinking ahead, always one or two steps ahead of her. He didn't look tired as he quickened his swings. His breathing stayed steady, even as he taunted her.

It had been an honor to fight against him, even when she had thought that he was a man without it. And she had never told him that. She should have told him that.

She should have told him that he had honor, so much more of it than she had ever realized. He had sent her away from King's Landing, to save her and he had given her his blessing to find Sansa Stark and return her to what little family she had left. That was going directly against what his father and his sister wanted. And she had not even told him that she thought it was the bravest thing he had ever done. And now, with her preparing to watch over Sansa Stark and he in King's Landing with his sister and King Tommen she wondered if she would ever be able to. They would be enemies from now until the end of their days.

The thought made her angry and with a yell she brought her sword swinging down to counter Podrick's attack. Too hard. It was unnecessary, a simple step to the side would have been all she needed and they could have kept practicing, but she was angry and without thinking she brought her sword down to meet Podrick's. The boy's grip on the hilt was too loose and the sword flew from his hand.

He looked up at her, watching her with his wide brown eyes before he quickly scrambled forward to grab the sword from the ground and spar again. But Brienne sighed, "That's enough for today," she told him, her voice quiet.

"I can still fight, my lady," Podrick told her, he had a habit of ignoring her when she told him not to call her my lady. "I'm not so tired yet."

She shook your head, "If you lose your sword in a fight then you don't deserve to have it," she told him, repeating the words Jaime had said to her on the bridge that day when he was mocking her for needing two swords. She only carried one now, the Valyrian steel he had given her, Oathkeeper. She sighed again, noticing the hurt shining in the boy's eyes, "Perhaps we will practice again this evening," she suggested to make them both feel better about what she had said to him.

Podrick nodded, "I hope we do, my lady," he told her as he moved away from her. He walked a few steps before he turned to look at her. "I know that you're upset about Lady Sansa," he told her. "But perhaps you don't need to be. You tried to keep your oath to Lady Stark. You found her daughter, you told her who you were, and you promised to keep her safe. You did everything you told Lady Stark you would do. Sansa said no, that fault is not yours to carry. Perhaps she released you from your oath?"

Brienne shook her head. "No," she told Podrick. "I swore to Lady Stark that I would see her daughters safely returned to her. I cannot do that, I do not even know if Arya is alive. But I know Lady Sansa is. And I know that she is not safe with Littlefinger. I cannot see her safely returned to Lady Stark, but I can see her safely returned home to Winterfell, or perhaps to her Snow brother, at the Wall, perhaps he would know what to do with her."

"But she told you no," Podrick murmured. "She said that she did not want to go with us. That she felt safe here with Littlefinger. Perhaps he really is bringing her to her aunt and she will be safe here. You can't return her to her mother, but she has been returned to her mother's sister. Perhaps that is safe enough, close enough."

"Her aunt who never even responded to Lady Catelyn's ravens asking her for help during the War of the Five Kings?" Brienne fired back at him. "Do you think she will keep her safe? Do you think, even there under her aunt's roof she will be truly safe from Littlefinger? You were Lord Tyrion's squire, did he trust Littlefinger?"

"About as far as he could throw him," Podrick murmured quietly. Brienne nodded, she had expected an answer like that. Podrick was quiet for a moment, "Then what will we do, my lady?" he asked Brienne.

"You will stop calling me your lady," Brienne instructed. "And we will wait. Lady Sansa will soon see that Petyr Baelish is no friend of hers. And when she does, we will be here. Where she will know where to find us."

"We wait?" Podrick asked her, my lady on the tip of his tongue.

Brienne smiled, pleased that he caught himself. She nodded. "We will wait."

-.-.-.-.-

Jaime

"Have you chosen your champion yet?" Jaime asked, leaning against the wall and watching his brother with a practiced indifference. It wasn't necessarily that he was indifferent toward his brother, but it was easier to pretend to be then to yell at him for losing his mind at his trial, or telling him how much he would miss him once he was beheaded after his trial by combat. He knew who Cersei had chosen for her champion after all. He wondered, had someone bothered to tell Tyrion?

"I had thought to name you," Tyrion told him his voice soft and teasing as he brought up the impossibility. Even if Jaime had his sword hand, he was King's Guard, he would only ever be able to fight for the crown.

Jaime scoffed and held up his left hand, "Even with all the work Bronn and I have put into it, I still couldn't beat a squire with this hand," he admitted to his brother. Tyrion was the only person in King's Landing that he would ever admit that to. And perhaps part of it was because he knew that it was a secret his younger brother would take to the grave.

Tyrion chuckled, "Lenora would love that," he murmured, shaking his head. "She'd use it as an excuse to get pay back for all those years of training."

Jaime chuckled and nodded, "I'd beaten black and blue," he agreed. "But perhaps I'd come out of it a better swordsman."

Tyrion nodded, "If you could take the insult of it all. Being trained by a girl."

Jaime knew that his smile did not truly meet his eyes at that one. He thought about Brienne, about how well she handled a sword, she had held her own against him the one time they had crossed blades, no easy feat. "There are worse things," he told his brother.

Tyrion's eyes danced around his cell, "You do not need to remind me of that fact," he assured his brother. "I am quite aware." He was quiet for a moment. "I had thought that if I couldn't ask you I would ask Bronn to be my champion, he did so well for me at the Eyrie and I would promise to make him a very rich man once he won, but," he shrugged his shoulders. "a dead man can't pay his debts, Lannister or no. And Bronn knows enough of Cersei's champion that he was smart enough to say no."

Jaime could feel the hatred settling deep in his stomach when he thought of Cersei and who she had chosen as her champion. Even now he could not believe how much his sister hated Tyrion. They were siblings, brother and sister, she shouldn't have hated him like that. He could still picture all the Starks during their trip to Winterfell, the trip that had put all of this into motion. They had stood together, strong and united and loving each other. He could not understand what had gone so wrong with his brother and sister.

Cersei always claimed that Tyrion had killed their mother. But that was as wrong as her hatred for him was. Their mother had died giving birth. Something that happened to women all over the Seven Kingdoms every day. Tyrion was no more guilty of killing their mother as he was of killing Joffrey. But Cersei would not listen to him. She would not listen to reason. At least not when it came to Tyrion.

"Who did she choose?" Tyrion asked when his hints did not gain him an answer. "Tell me, Jaime. Keeping me in the dark does very little to keep me from worrying me. I have a champion, I only wish to know who he will be fighting against."

"The Mountain," Jaime finally admitted, staring down at his little brother as he took in the information and processed it.

"Oh," Tyrion sighed, his brows furrowing. Jaime was sure that he was about to watch his brother sink into despair, whoever he had bribed or paid into being his champion surely stood no chance against a man like the Mountain. But, instead of fretting, or yelling, Tyrion smiled, albeit ruefully. "That makes sense."

Jaime arched an eyebrow, surprised at his brother's response. Because it made no sense to him what-so-ever. He did not know how Cersei had even thought of the Mountain. Or found him for that matter. "Who's yours?" he asked, wondering which poor soul he was going to watch die just so that Cersei would then have the right to kill their brother too.

"He volunteered," Tyrion told him quietly. "Though he would not say why. He told some story about the first time he met me and how I wasn't the monster everyone claimed I was. He said there were real monsters out there, ones he wanted to kill. He told me that he was after revenge, but that I was not the Lannister he wanted. Now I see it, he wants the Mountain. He must have known and that's why he came to me."

"Tyrion," Jaime started, watching his brother underneath furrowed brows. "You're not making any sense."

Tyrion nodded, "It's better this way though," he assured Jaime, still not explaining what was going on in his mind. "He has no attachment to me, no reason to fight his best. He certainly has no care for my life. But he's after revenge for her then he'll fight his hardest. He'll come out victorious. This is better." He chuckled to himself and shook his head, "It's better still that I won't have to pretend we're friends after this. It's a mutually beneficial situation, that is all. That's good, because I find the man insufferable."

"What man?" Jaime asked again, still worried for his brother's sanity.

"Prince Oberyn, of course," Tyrion told him. "I understand it now. Father sent his men into the city and the Mountain scaled the walls of Maegor's Holdfast. He wants revenge on him for what he did to the prince's sister and her children."

Jaime flinched at that, it wasn't a particularly happy story, what had happened to Princess Elia and her children Rhaenys and Aegon. Their father liked to pretend that he did not know who killed them, that if it was one of his men it had not been under his orders. But it was a well-known secret throughout the Seven Kingdoms that it had been Armory Lorch and the Mountain. Armory had dragged Princess Rhaenys out from under her father's bed where she had been hiding and stabbed the small child fifty times. And the Mountain had smashed Prince Aegon's head against the wall in front of his mother before he had raped her and crushed her own.

Somewhere in the tomes that filled the Lannister library at Casterly Rock there was a book that detailed the Lannister's role in Robert's Rebellion. Though it did not name Armory Lorch or Gregor Clegane in their deaths it went into great detail about how the princess and her children had died. He had made the mistake, when Lenora was just learning to read at the tender age of six of letting her have free reign of the library. She had picked that book one day when he wasn't watching, eager to learn all about the war that had put her father on the throne.

He had found her, screaming in the back corner of the library, hiding under a desk, the book thrown away from her as if putting distance between herself and the story would be enough to save her. It had taken her three days to believe him when he told her that no one would ever come and tear her out from under a bed to stab her and kill her. He could still hear her scared little voice when she whispered to him, but that's what they do to princesses, Uncle Jaime.

Jaime shook his head, trying to rid himself of the memory. "Are you sure that you trust him?" he asked his brother. "Can you truly be certain?"

Tyrion smiled ruefully, "If there is one thing that all of this has taught me it is that there is one thing one can be certain of: vengeance and how far some people will go to get it." He was speaking of Cersei as much as he was speaking of the Dornish prince. "He'd gain nothing from losing," he continued. "He'd lose his life and I was a barely a man when that happened. He's not out for revenge on me."

"But Father, perhaps," Jaime pointed out. "Perhaps he thinks that the Mountain would never have acted those deeds out if he hadn't been ordered to by his Liege Lord."

"If he's looking for revenge on father, he'd be trying to get the wrong son killed," Tyrion told Jaime, smiling a bit in his gentle teasing manner. "He'd have a better chance of that by murdering you in your sleep. Anyone that knows father knows that he only has eyes for you as far as his children are concerned."

"That's not true," Jaime tried to assure him. "Father loves you as well."

Tyrion chuckled, "If he does it's buried very deep," he told Jaime. "Somewhere he can't even find." He was quiet for a moment, thinking. "I'm sorry that he tricked you into agreeing to leave the King's Guard," he told Jaime. "Will he still hold you to that even though there is no chance now that I will be allowed to join the Night's Watch?"

Jaime chuckled in spite of himself, it was so much like his younger brother to worry about him while Tyrion was facing down death. "I wouldn't know," he told him. "I haven't spoken to him since he had you removed from the throne room. I'd like to see him try though, to try to force me into holding up my end of that ridiculous bargain after he allowed your sham of a trial to end the way it did. I wonder how he would try to persuade me."

"He could call your honor into question," Tyrion suggested.

Jaime smirked, "We both know I never had any honor to begin with, he'd have nothing to stand on."

"You had honor," Tyrion assured him, for a moment Jaime thought his brother was being serious and then Tyrion smirked wickedly at him. "It was shit. Shit honor. But it was honor all the same."

Jaime chuckled, there were few people in the Seven Kingdoms he allowed to speak to him in that way. Two really, his little brother and his niece. It seemed that Tyrion was going to take advantage of that in his last hours. "Why'd you do it?" he asked his brother with a sigh when his laughter faded away. "You were safe, I had saved you. Why did you lose your temper and shout the way you did? You could be on your way to the Wall by now, safe from Cersei."

Tyrion chuckled, "Black was never my color. And you're a fool if you think for one moment that I would have been safe from Cersei, even at the Wall. She could have paid anyone to travel north to kill me and it wouldn't be that hard. Perhaps I would already be dead by the time her assassin arrived. Can't imagine there's much use for an imp on the Wall, after all."

He was turning Jaime's question into a joke. And ignoring the part that Jaime really wanted to know. He sighed, "But why did you do it?" he asked again. "Why did you throw away your last shot at living? Even if it was in Black, it would have been life."

Tyrion wouldn't meet his gaze. That was how he knew that he was going to tell him the truth. "I couldn't watch it anymore," he admitted after a long, silent moment. "I could not stand there and watch her lie anymore."

"Cersei?" Jaime asked him. "Come now, Tyrion. You knew that she was going to lie and pay off witnesses. You're the fool if you thought she wouldn't. You shouldn't have let it bother you."

"Not Cersei," Tyrion cut in, shaking his head violently. "I expected nothing less from that bitch. No," he sighed, bringing his eyes up to meet Jaime's, "I couldn't watch Shae lie anymore. I could not bear it."

"Shae?" Jaime asked, not quite connecting the dots. "The whore?"

"Don't call her that!" Tyrion yelled at him, quickly jumping to his feet. "I barely allowed her to call herself that. I will not let you use that word when speaking about her!"

Jaime watched his brother for a moment before he cursed, shaking his head, "You fell in love with her?" he asked his brother. "You did it again and you fell in love with a who -" he paused when Tyrion glared at him again. "A woman like that?"

Tyrion nodded, "I fell in love with her. And I thought she loved me too."

"You paid her," Jaime deadpanned, wondering how his brother always seemed to confuse paying a woman to fuck him and having a woman willing make love to him. Were the three Lannister siblings really so far gone that it had come to this? The eldest, Cersei, who would willingly kill the youngest. The middle, Jaime, who had allowed himself to be tricked into thinking that fucking his sister was alright. The youngest, Tyrion, so desperate for someone to love him that he didn't realize paying for it did not make it real. It was a small wonder that Joffrey had not turned out more of a monster than he already was, what with a family like theirs. He shook his head, watching Tyrion sadly. "I've failed you," he whispered to his brother.

"No," Tyrion would not listen to it. "I am the one who will be on trial tomorrow, Jaime, you are not allowed to sit in my cell and feel sorry for yourself. I will not permit it."

"Then what would you have me do for you?" Jaime asked.

Tyrion smiled sadly, "Get me very drunk."

Jaime could not stop the smile that spread across his lips at that answer. "I thought you would say that," he told Tyrion. "You're becoming predictable in your old age, little brother."

"And you're wasting valuable drinking time, older brother."

-.-.-.-.-

Tyrion

Tyrion Lannister had never attended many trials by combat. Until his first trial by combat at the Eyrie he had never understood the appeal of watching two men fight to the death so that another man might live. It had worked in his favor at the Eyrie, he could only hope that the Gods would be as kind to him this time as they had been then.

A small, childish part of him, held out hope that Prince Oberyn would win, that because he truly was innocent in Joffrey's murder the Gods would guide Oberyn's hand and his spear.

A larger, more cynical part of him knew that this would be his last day on earth. That his father and sister had wanted him dead since the day he was born and that no one's luck, especially a dwarf's was good enough to successfully evade death twice by the same means.

Maybe if Jaime had two good hands and was able to fight for him. Maybe then.

Gods, he wished Jaime had brought him a whore along with all the wine they had drank the night before. He did not want to leave this world without having been fucked well before he did.

It was too late now though. The sun had risen, the judges had assembled. And so had the court. When he was led toward the tourney grounds where his trial would be, the lists were the only place large enough to accommodate the crowd he was drawing, Tyrion wondered at the feeling in the air.

If he hadn't known any better. If he had not known that his life was on the line that morning. He would have thought that he was walking to a tournament. The lords and ladies of the court were dressed in their finest. They laughed and they sang, they made merry as they walked to their seats. They were treating his potential death sentence like a celebration. He felt his fists clench and his jaw tighten. Perhaps he should not have saved King's Landing from Stannis, perhaps they hadn't been worth saving. If he died tomorrow for this, he hoped the Gods would at least be kind enough to let him watch while the rest of the monsters were sent to the Seven Hells after their own, well-deserved deaths.

Only then would he be satisfied.

There seemed to be only two people at this affair who were not in a celebratory mood. Jaime, who was to be seated in the king's box with Cersei and the rest of the Small Council, and Tyrion himself. Varys, to his credit, did not seem pleased with what was going on around him, but he had also sworn that he was a friend to Tyrion and he had turned on him during his trial just to save his own ball-less hide.

Oberyn was kissing his lover, the Sand woman, when Tyrion approached him under the tent on the edge of the lists. "That looks like very light armor," he said, his voice flat as he approached them. He had told Jaime that he had faith in the man the night before, but now as he looked at him, he wasn't so certain. Did the man expect to go up against the Mountain and win while wearing almost nothing by way of armor or protection?

If so, Oberyn was a fool for thinking it. And Tyrion was a fool for trusting him.

Both of their lives were on the line this morning.

"I like to move around," Oberyn defended himself as he moved away from Tyrion and toward the table on the far end of the small tent.

"You could at least wear a helmet," Tyrion scolded as he looked out over the brightly dressed, excited crowd that awaited the fight. We both know that Gregor Clegane enjoys crushing skulls after all, he thought to himself as he turned back and saw Oberyn taking a healthy sip of a goblet of wine. "You shouldn't drink before a fight," he added, his heart falling a bit.

He was the fool who had enlisted the help of a drunk champion to fight the Mountain. This could only end one way, and it would not end well for him. That much he was certain of now.

"You know this from your years of experience in the fighting pits?" Oberyn teased, taking another mocking sip from his goblet. The Sand woman laughed.

I know it because I have a brain, you fool, Tyrion thought. He bit his tongue, he did not want to anger Oberyn to the point where the man refused to fight for him. There was no way that Tyrion would be equipped to fight the Mountain on his own and there was no turning back from this trial by combat now. All the lords and ladies of the court had showed up, and they were expecting blood.

"I always drink before a fight," Oberyn explained.

"It could get you killed," Tyrion growled at him. "Which would get me killed."

Oberyn glanced at him, a self confident smirk resting on his lips, "This is not the day I die," he assured him.

The crowd in the stands began to cheer, alerting Tyrion to the fact that his sister's champion had arrived. He had seen the Mountain before, but it had been under completely different circumstances. Now, that Tyrion's life depended on this fight, the Mountain looked much larger than he had the last time Tyrion saw him. And Oberyn looked much smaller. He turned toward the crowd, there were so many of them cheering for the Mountain, cheering for his death.

He cursed them all.

"You're going to fight that?" Oberyn's lover asked, staring wide-eyed at the Mountain.

"I'm going to kill that," Oberyn answered her. He barely looked at his opponent. Tyrion wished that he had even half of Oberyn's confidence in the man's abilities.

"He's the largest man I've ever seen," she told him, still not taking her eyes off Cersei's champion.

"Size does not matter when you are flat on our back," Oberyn told her with a grin.

"Thank the Gods," Tyrion murmured without thinking. Oberyn turned his grin on Tyrion. Perhaps, they could be friends after this. Their temperaments were very much alike.

The court herald blew his horn, calling the audience to silence as Grand Maester Pycelle made his way to the center of the lists. Tyrion groaned, it was not normally the Grand Maester's job to oversee a trial by combat. This was a special gift from Cersei, the last one he would ever receive. She wanted him to stand here and listen to Pycelle slowly, painfully slowly, explain the rules.

His sister, she was kind woman, if he managed to make it through the next two days alive he would make sure to return the favor to her.

"In the sights of Gods and men, we gather to ascertain guilt or innocence of this," the old bastard paused, glancing at Tyrion as if he could not think of the correct word to use, "man, Tyrion Lannister. May the Mother grant them mercy. May the Father give them such justice as they deserve. May the Warrior guide the hand of our champion -" he was cut off by the horn sounding again. Lord Tywin had waved him off, even Tyrion's father was ready for the blood.

It did not escape Tyrion's notice that the Grand Maester only prayed to the Warrior on behalf of one champion, the crown's.

The people cheered as the Mountain walked to the middle of the lists. His sword, the length of an average man, promised a good fight. They were silent when Oberyn walked out, spear in hand. But after half a minute of fancy twirls and leaps and Oberyn tossing his spear from one hand to another to hide his strong arm from the Mountain, the people cheered for him too.

It was then that Tyrion realized they did not all wish for his death. They were hungry for a fight, they wanted blood. They wanted a show. They did not care who bled or who died as long as someone did. Everyone but his sister and his father would be just as happy to watch the Mountain fall as they would to watch Oberyn die.

Has it been that long since the Battle of Blackwater Bay? Tyrion thought as he looked out over the crowd. Have you all forgotten how terrified you were then? Have you forgotten that war and death are not a game?

On the list in front of him Oberyn finally stopped twirling his spear and faced the Mountain, "Have they told you who I am?" he asked, standing still, waiting for the larger man to make his move.

"Some dead man," the Mountain responded as he stepped forward, swinging his large sword.

The crowd gasped, no doubt half of them thought that the fight would be over just like that. That the Mountain would slice Oberyn clear in half. Tyrion thought that for a moment. But Oberyn was still smiling as he stepped easily and quickly out of the way, still twirling his spear.

The next time the Mountain swung his sword Oberyn blocked it with the long handle of his spear. The wood did not even crack.

In spite of himself, Tyrion began to hope.

"I am the brother of Elia Martell," Oberyn told the Mountain, walking around him, just out of reach of the brute's large sword. "Do you know why I came all the way to this shit hole of a city?" he asked. "For you." And then the smaller man lunged forward, first right and then left, smacking opposite sides of the Mountain's helm.

Gods he was fast, no wonder they called this Dornish prince the Viper. He moved quickly, suddenly, he struck like a snake. He moved away from the Mountain again, out of his reach. He was playing with the larger man, drawing the fight out. Tyrion wished Oberyn would be more sympathetic to his nerves and finish the fight quickly. "I'm going to hear you confess before you die," Oberyn teased his opponent. "You raped my sister. You murdered her. You killed her children. Say it now and we can make this quick."

Say it, Tyrion thought, staring at the Mountain. Please Gods, say it.

The Mountain did not say it. Instead he lunged forward, running at Oberyn. The crowd cheered loudly. Oberyn stepped out of the way of the first attack. He met the second, third, and forth head on. Even now, his spear did not break. On the Mountain's fifth parry he walked slowly and casually under the large man's outstretched arm and attacked from behind. He knocked Ser Gregor's helm off.

He was embarrassing the man when he should have been killing him.

Still, Tyrion was feeling even more confident. Oberyn was still alive. That was very promising.

"Say it," Oberyn ordered as the Mountain began another series of attacks in quick succession. "You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children." With each attack the smaller man blocked the Mountain's attack, hit his armor with the flat side of his spear, or stayed just out of reach.

In the king's box Jaime leaned past Lord Mace to smile at their father and Cersei. Jaime was the only one smiling.

Tyrion reminded himself, that if Oberyn won this fight, he would have to tell Lenora all about it when she was finally returned to them. Perhaps he would even arrange for his niece to travel to Dorne and learn from Oberyn herself. She would appreciate it.

"You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children."

The two fighters continued their dance. They seemed equally matched. After a series of failed attacks the Mountain grew tired of swinging his sword and he kicked Oberyn in the chest, sending him flying to the ground on his back. Before Tyrion could even worry that this might be the end Oberyn was back on his feet and facing the giant again.

The Mountain swung his sword and finally, hitting a soft spot, he cut Oberyn's spear handle in half. Tyrion felt his shoulders tense, but Oberyn did not seem worried in the slightest. He flipped and jumped and twirled his way away from the Mountain, grinning as his squire passed him a new spear.

Jaime turned his smile on Tyrion, sure now that his brother would be alright.

Tyrion did not smile in return. He would not smile until he was sure that they had won.

The Mountain attacked again. This time when the Viper struck, his aim was true. The tip of his spear found a weak spot in the Mountain's mail and tore through.

The crowd's cheers got quieter.

Perhaps Tyrion had been wrong. Perhaps they had been cheering for his blood all along.

"You raped her!" Oberyn yelled. "You murdered her!"

The Mountain charged at him. He brought his spear up, knocking the large sword away from him and stepped out of the way. The Mountain was too big, he moved too fast, he was unable to stop as quickly. Turning, Oberyn lunged forward, this time the tip of his spear tore through the Mountain's boot and embedded itself in his leg. He tore the spear down toward the ground, ripping the skin and muscle down to the Mountain's ankle then he stepped away as the large man fell to his knees.

He took a breath, his back facing the king's box before started to run forward. "You killed her children!" he roared. With a leap he embedded the top six inches of his spear blade into the Mountain's chest.

The Mountain fell, the spear still in his chest.

Tyrion allowed himself to smile. Jaime nodded at him as he turned to their father, waiting for Lord Tywin to announce that Tyrion had been found innocent. The crowd cheered.

But Oberyn was not finished yet.

"What?" he asked, walking closer to the fallen man. "Oh no, no, no. You can't be dying. You can't. You haven't confessed." He pulled his spear out of the man's chest and continued to walk tight circles around him. "Say it," he ordered.

He paced, like a caged animal. "Say her name," he ordered. "Elia Martell. Say it."

The crowd did not make a sound. Tyrion was sure that he had never heard so many people stay so silent. The smile fell from his lips. Jaime did not look as certain anymore.

"You killed her," Oberyn told the dying man. "Elia Martell. Say it." He turned, pointing toward the king's box. Pointing directly at Tywin. "Who gave you the order?" he asked. "Who gave you the order? Elia Martell. You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children!" He moved closer to the Mountain now. "Say it," his voice was softer, as if he were begging the man. "Say her name." Then he yelled, "Say it!"

He was too close, the crowd gasped as the Mountain's arm swung out, hitting Oberyn's ankles and knocking him flat on his back beside him. Then he grabbed Oberyn by the neck and pulled him closer, lifting him into the air above his chest. He punched Oberyn with a mailed fist and teeth and blood splattered across the ground. Then he threw the smaller man back down on his back, rolling on top of him and reaching for his face.

"Elia Martell," he growled, sticking his thumbs in Oberyn's eyes and pushing down toward the ground. Oberyn screamed. There was so much blood. "I killed her children," the Mountain confessed. "I raped her. Then I smashed her head in like this!" He pushed very hard and from where he stood Tyrion heard a popping sound. And then there was blood everywhere. On the ground around Oberyn's head, on the Mountain's face and armor, in the air.

The Sand woman was screaming as the Mountain rolled onto his back, still dying from the Viper's wounds, but it did not matter. He had killed Oberyn first.

Tyrion could barely lift his head up to look at the king's box. Jaime looked horrified. Cersei sat, a proud smile on her face. His father stood, glaring down at him. "The Gods have made their will known. Tyrion Lannister, in the name of King Tommen of the House Baratheon, first of his name, you are hereby sentenced to death."

Perhaps Jaime had not needed to bring him a whore. With or without one, Tyrion Lannister was well, and truly, fucked.

Author's Note:

Hello friends, welcome to our first Game of Thrones-less week. How are you all surviving? I'm drowning my sorrows by throwing myself into several Fantasy Football leagues and making my way through a Buzzfeed list of shows that I should watch while waiting for GoT to return.
I'm doing it wrong though. Black Sails was on that list. And if I were smart I would watch an episode a week. That way the four scenes of the show would last me almost half a year. But instead I binge watched it and now I'm already on season four. I'm an idiot.
An idiot who is completely in love with Billy Bones and already working on an OC for him. So if you're a Black Sails fan (which really you should be, I give that show a glowing recommendation) be on the look out.
Anyway, enough babbling. Thank you for stopping by and reading this update. I hope you enjoyed it. And thank you for your reviews on the last chapter. You guys truly are amazing. And this story would not be what it is without you. So everyone, give yourselves a pat on the back or something.

snoowbunnie: haha. And because I'm a bitch I gave you a chapter without Lenora. Suspense! Who is it who found her? You'll have to wait one more chapter to see! (Evil laughter!)

BrittStar1199: Cersei is pretty bitter. And quickly going insane. And I love writing it!

pewpewpewpppp: Hello and welcome! Thank you for giving this story a chance. I'm so glad that you are enjoying the story so far and I hope that this chapter did not disappoint. (Though you will have to wait one more chapter to see if your prediction about Grey Wind is correct.)

DatMatt: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. It took Lenora a while to start to comprehend what Bolton wanted for her, she probably always knew, but didn't want to admit it even to herself. But now she knows. And she had to escape. (Plus it had been a while since anyone had gotten bloody, so I needed to fix that.) I'm so glad that you enjoyed the Cersei section of the last chapter, as much as I loved Len's escape, it was Cersei's section that I was happiest with. I hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much!

writingNOOB: Oh no! And the suspense! I'm purposefully keeping you guys waiting for the aftermath of Lenora's escape. Because I'm a bitch who loves all of you, but also enjoys keeping you on your toes.

salvatoresister887: Thank you! I'm glad that you're enjoying this story. It's nice to hear that the updates are a highlight for you! As for your question, of course there will be a Jon POV, I wrote it today, though it will be another two or three chapters before you guys get to read it. But yeah, it's time to bring him back into the story, he's been freezing his butt off at the Wall for too long.

HPuni101: Thank you so much! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well! No Lenora though, I gotta let you guys worry a bit longer about her.

RHatch89: We still don't know. Maybe it's not Ramsay behind her ... but let's be honest, this is GoT. It's probably Ramsay. The one bit of good news is that like you said, Lenora is not Sansa. He will have a harder time with her.

bellaphant: I'm glad that you enjoyed it! And I hope that you enjoyed this chapter too. I was not ready for the end of last week's episode. I was not prepared at all. And then I almost cried when I read that the new season might not be out until 2019. That was tough to hear.

Kimberley: Of course I left on a cliffhanger. And I purposefully scheduled that cliffhanger ending for my last post of the week. Because I'm a clever, cruel writer who likes to make all of you nervous. How am I doing? Still nervous?

janaoliver: I'm happy that you were happy about the last update. As for who the he is, you'll find out in the next chapter! Enjoy!

North: Thank you for your review! I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter. You are right, it should have been obvious that was Roose's plan, and I think Lenora always knew that, there were hints of it. Hints that she might have purposefully ignored because she did not want to accept the truth. Until she absolutely had to that is.

sltsky96: I LOVE YOUR CAPITAL LETTERS IN YOUR REVIEW! You're freaking out which is exactly what I wanted you guys to do! Still freaking out? I purposefully left Lenora out of this chapter for freak out purposes. As for your wish about who kills Roose. I won't tell you who does it, but I will tell you this ... It's not Ramsay. That's not enough revenge for what Roose did to Robb, you're right.

Lulu14168: Lenora and Robb's chapters are the best. I agree. Which is why after this chapter at least one of them will be showing up in every update until the end of the story (sometimes even both!).

JaxAndCharlieTeller: Well, I am glad that I was able to supply you with an alternative to the Red Wedding. I have always viewed fanfiction, first and foremost, as a way to right the wrongs done to my favorite characters. (Not that the Red Wedding was bad, it was a wonderful, heartbreaking twist, but one that I could not allow to fully exist in Lenora's world.) And the girl from Reign is actually a wonderful example of Lenora's looks, not the one I picture, but a wonderful choice.
And yes ... Dany and Jon!
So my husband doesn't read the books. So he was completely surprised when it was revealed that Jon was a Targaryen (even though I told him so) and he was completely surprised when Jon and Dany got it on (even though I told him they would). Eventually he's going to have to start listening to me regarding GoT. I spend every other week in Westeros, I know what I'm talking about.

Guest1995: I'm not going to tell you who caught Lenora. Not until the next update. But I will say this, we're not quite to the point of season seven where the characters seem to travel across Westeros on fighter jets, so I think it's safe to say that it is not the Hound.
And we're getting close. To where Lenora starts to really fight back. I think you'll enjoy it almost as much as I enjoyed your out of the woods pun.

FairyFelicity: I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter. And I hope that you enjoyed this one as well. I don't want to give too much away, but you are right, Lenora's escape was quick, and relatively easy. Which probably means something is about to go very wrong.

DannyBlack70: I thought about having her escape last longer before someone found her. But it's in the North, and it's cold, and she's only got a thin cloak. If I made it last too much longer she might freeze to death, especially in a stream. So she had to be found pretty quickly. At least that was my reasoning. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!

Cvg: Thank you for your review! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Here is your new update!

Ishouldprobablybedoinghomework: Two reviews. Back to back. I'm honored. I'm sorry that you were so angry at me when Lenora didn't get away. But I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter and are slightly less upset with me now.
As for Dany ... she's growing on me now, but she was never one of my favorites either.

TINABELCHERISMYSPIRITANIMAL: That's another good one! I personally fancast Lily Evans with her dark hair from Romeo and Juliet in London. And someone else has suggested Adelaide Kane from Reign. But I just looked up your girl and she's a good fit too! Well done.

Bella-Macabre: Thank you so much for leaving me a review! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope this chapter was worth the wait!

Pups2love: And I just want to thank you for your wonderful review! I'm glad you're enjoying this story and that you love Lenora. (Between you and me, I sometimes get disappointed when I watch an episode and she's not in it. Then I remember that I wrote her so of course she's not in it! Still disappointment though.)

Gamemaster77: Three reviews. Wow! Thank you. I will try to address all of them to the best of my ability in this response. But if I miss something important let me know.
You are right about Lenora and Robb. They're reunion is very far off. And when they do meet, they'll be happy, but they won't be the same. They'll probably have to learn to love each other all over again, if that's even possible. (But because it's me writing this, they will.) And I'm glad that you're enjoying the Grey Wind parts. (They're probably hardest to write, but I like the challenge and since I don't have the budget issues that GoT has I can keep the direwolves up front and center instead of having to choose between giants and wolves, so that's good.)
I am keeping the story contained inside Westeros. Bran will appear once he gets back from his trip over the Wall, Jon's parts will all be at the Wall or further south. Dany won't show up at all. I like her now, and I would love to take a crack at her, but she doesn't really fit with where I want this story to go. So if I were to attempt a story about her, it would be it's own separate thing. I'm glad you think I kill it when it comes to Cersei's sections. That makes me smile like an insane person!

Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967: I'm glad! Did you enjoy this chapter as well?

darkwolf76: I'm glad that you enjoyed the last update and I hope that you enjoyed this one as well.
Tyrion's point of view in the last chapter was one of my favorites ever. I'm trying to branch a little more away from the cannon or to tell scenes from a different point of view, but sometimes it can't be avoided. And when that happens I try to delve as deeply into the character's thoughts as I can to give you guys something new. And with Peter Dinklage especially it's very easy to do. So I'm glad you enjoy it. (And that it breaks your heart a bit.)
And I'm glad that I made you feel somewhat bad about Cersei. If you guys can't tell ... I love shades of grey (not the horrible book, but people). I hate characters that are completely good all the time (with the exception of Captain America ... I love that goody two shoes) and I hate characters that are completely bad all the time. I like the ones that you want to hate, but it's hard because at some level you understand them. Cersei is one of those characters for me. So I'm delighted when you guys feel sorry for her.
As for Lenora... you'll have to wait one more chapter to find out if you're wrong about who the sneerer is. I'm mean like that.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Stevie Jazz: I'm so glad that you found this story and that you enjoy it! And your gushing was completely appreciated! Thank you so much.
And I'm happy to have somewhat changed your opinion on stories with changing narratives. I'm very careful when I add a new one. I knew from the beginning that I did not want to focus solely on Robb and Lenora, there's too much going on to focus on all of them, but I didn't want to go crazy either. Whenever I add a new POV I have to make sure that there is a reason for it. What is this character going to tell that another one couldn't? How does it help the story? And even though it is not Lenora's point of view, how does it apply to what has happened, is happening, or will happen to her? Lots of questions, but I'm glad that they're working.
I'm glad you enjoy Jaime and Lenora. This story started out because I wanted a paternal Jaime. And I hadn't found any and it broke my heart. So I wrote one. Totally selfish, but I thought if I wanted a Jaime like that, others would too.
And the slower build between Robb and Lenora, I get it. A part of me wanted them to jump into loving each other right off the bat, but when does that ever happen in real life? And how could it feasibly happen with everything happening between their two families? In order for this story to work, they had to feel real. There are so many stories out there where Robb has a love interest, but it happens too quickly, too easily. They don't hold my attention for long. And I wanted this one to be different.
As for my opinion on Jon and Dany ... I'm torn literally in two. I'm pretty against incest. Cersei and Jaime make me feel really gross and squirmy. Jon and Dany ... I mind and I don't mind. I don't mind them because they don't know they're related, and historically speaking and aunt and a nephew isn't that weird of a match. At the same time, I would think it was really gross if someone I knew started dating their aunt. So yeah ... torn.
Though I have a feeling I won't have to be for long. I have a theory that Jon is going to have to kill Dany. Putting that out there into the universe right now.

BehindGrayEyes: Thank you! I'm glad that you're enjoying! And I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

That's all I've got friends! Have a fantastic day!
I'll be back soon!
Chloe Jane.