I'm so sorry it took me like forever to get this chapter finished! But I'm quite busy around Christmas, for I'm working on a voluntary capacity at this time for old people who have no family, that's a very relevant time for me, to give those old people a treat :-)
The next chapters will, hopefully, faster done.
In here there will be a major character death, but I hope you like it anyway.
Jaime
It had been a tough fight for Jaime. It was not that he wasn't prepared for that shit. It was his right hand which wasn't there anymore, his fighting hand.
His golden hand was nothing more than a handicap to him, so he threw that golden fuck away as soon as possible. He fought his way through the Death, but he lost his sight of Brienne. They wanted to fight together until it was over.
After a while, he registered that he couldn't see Brienne or Podrick anymore. So he just kept fighting until he would be able to go after her, he desperately wanted to find her, wanted to protect her. But as soon as he was able to, he was attacked by someone he didn't know and lost his sword.
So he fled. Fled into some woods and lost his orientation. To his luck, there was enough snow so he wouldn't die of thirst. He lost his orientation, didn't know how many days he spent in the woods. He found a small cabin, where he tried to live until someone would find him. Jaime knew Brienne was out there, looking after him, she would locate him in time. He just had to make sure to stay alive.
So he'd spent the days with hunting. At some days he found a small rabbit, but it wasn't often. He'd been starving most of the days. Jaime saved wood to make sure he wouldn't freeze to death. These small things kept him running, kept him staying alive. Every day, he cooked water in a helmet he found on the battlefield, so there were many things to do for him.
He'd been in the North only one time and had stopped at Winterfell. Being in the North entirely on his own, wasn't something he wanted to have some experience with.
He didn't know when it was that he was attacked by wolves. Also, he didn't know how to make it out alive, but he did. He'd even killed one of these animals. It was the one which had broken his leg.
Somehow he made it back to his little cabin, he'd been able to gain some of the meat and some fur to keep him warm. Jaime knew he hadn't a good chance to make it out here alive. If the wolves came back, he would be a dead man.
But instead of the wolves, Tormund Giantsbane and a few of his men came.
Jaime couldn't be more relieved to see that man, even if he didn't like him that much. But to hear from him he was out here for helping Brienne to find him made everything better at once.
"So Brienne send you to find me?" He asked him on the first evening they sat together in front of a warming fire.
"Yeah, she couldn't go on her own," Tormund answered Jamie, while he cocked some beans over the fire. Jamie listened to him, he was relieved to know that Brienne wasn't outside here. He knew she was safe and that mattered more to him than anything.
"One fucking dragon burned her back, she's in pain, but will recover."
Jaime nodded, Brienne was a fucking strong woman, no one impressed him more than she did, ever. To know she handled wisely for their daughter, to be there for her if Jaime wouldn't make it out of here, was all he needed to know.
"Glad you sent Brienne back to her father. It's the best place for her."
"Yeah, thought that too. You'll follow her as soon as you're able too, eh?"
"As soon as I can."
Tormund smiled at him. It, for sure was the first time he saw the man smiling with sympathy. But that smile didn't last very long.
Tormund
Tormund enjoyed their rest before they wanted to ride back to Winterfell. One night out there, before they would head back to their new home. But then, everything changed in the middle of the night. It was just one of them outside to keep watch. He was dead within seconds. When Tormund heard a quiet noise, he knew what would happen.
Wildlings had attacked them.
They were only a few man, one of them not able to fight and the Wildlings which attacked them were too many. The fight was lost before it had even started.
Tormund stood in front of Jaime, he knew who he had to protect. "Lay down, let them think you're dead!" He told Jaime. Tormund knew how critical their chance was.
It was over in a few minutes. Tormund had thrown himself upon Jaime, acted like a dead person, and they let him. To his luck, he was covered in blood from head to toe. All of his men were dead.
He felt the Kingslayer breathing under him, but they wouldn't move for a while.
Jaime
Laying under Tormund protective body wasn't as simple for Jaime as the Wildling thought it would be. He had to force himself to not groan in pain because of his broken leg. Also, he had to push himself to breath slow and steady. He couldn't move it would only mean that the wildlings would find out they were still alive.
It felt like hours until their enemies were gone. For real it took only a few minutes. They left most of the dead bodies were they killed them. So it happened to Tormund and Jaime too.
Tormund laid still for another while until he rolled himself from Jaime, cursing under his breathes and looking around when he stood up.
"Motherfuckin' idiots!", he cursed and went to every dead body, caught up all the weapons he could find.
"So, Kingslayer, now we have to fuckin' hurry up to bring you to Winterfell as fast as we can, eh? These Wildlings will come back very soon to catch up the rest of the dead bodies. So I'll carry you the rest of the way, that gives us a better chance. We leave everything we don't need. So come on. Sit up!"
Jaime had never seen the Wildling in this state of panic, so he sat up, ignoring the pain in his body.
"Alright," he managed to answer when Tormund lifted him up to throw him over his shoulder. The pain in his leg was unbearable, but somehow Jaime was able to hide a groan.
As soon as Tormund began to run, he couldn't bear the pain anymore and not far after that his view became unclear, and he fainted.
Tormund
He ran as fast as he could, holding Jaime Lannisters limp body over his shoulder. It was the best for the Kingslayer to have passed out, Tormund thought to himself as he ran into the direction of Winterfell. He was sure the bones in Lannisters leg would be worse if they would reach it. But he wondered if they would make it out of here alive. The Wildlings would come back soon. They would realize that someone was missing. And if they would be smart, they would recognize that it wasn't one, but two people who were running away. Fucking snow would show every move he was about to do, so he had to act as fast as he could.
Almost as he thought he would make it safe out of there, he felt a sharp pain in his right arm, which caused him to stumble for the first time.
An arrow had made it through the fabric of his clothes and hurt him badly. He felt the blood dripping from the wound. To his luck, he held the unconscious Jaime over his left shoulder. If they'd hit his left arm, he would have lost the grip of Jaime. So, he just kept running. A few more arrows nailed him on several places of his body. Some of them didn't hit the flesh of him, some did. Tormund was sure, Jaime got hurt more by that run, he was convinced some arrows would stick in his body too. He just could hope that Lannister wasn't too injured, or, worse, dead until they would make it to a safer place.
When Tormund could see the first village which belonged to the house of Winterfell, he, for almost the first time in his life was begging to the Old Gods of the forest and shouted out for someone to help him. He saw someone moving in this village but then he felt a sharp pain on his right shoulder, then on both of his legs which kept him stumbling before he fell to his knees. He had ignored all of the pain until now, but yet, where he saw help coming, he stopped fighting against the pain in his body. Tormund laid Jaime down when he felt another arrow meeting his body. He groaned in pain and lost consciousness before he fell down completely.
Tormund Giantsbane didn't wake up anymore. He'd made his promise and saved Jaime Lannister.
Jaime
He didn't wake up often for the first weeks. He knew he was hurt badly, his whole body, mostly his broken leg was burning with pain. He had a lot of dreams. Most of them were about Brienne and the daughter he'd never met, and probably never would.
When he felt a cold cloth on his forehead one day, he opened his eyes slowly. Jaime didn't really know where he was or how long he'd been there, believing that Tormund must have found a place for them to hide.
But he didn't see Tormund's face. Instead, a kindly looking older woman faced him.
"Hello, you're awake, thank the Gods," she said, smiling at him with sympathy.
"You made us worry a lot. How do you feel?" The woman asked, and Jaime didn't need to think long about this question.
"Thirsty," he answered hoarsely. "Where's Tormund?" He managed to ask after that when the woman came back with some water for him. There was a man now at her side who helped him to sit up. Jaime at first thought he could make it on his own, but soon, he realized how exhausted he felt and how much pain he had. The woman helped him drinking while her husband held him and answered.
"You mean the red-head Wildling? I'm sorry to say that, man. But he's dead. He didn't make it over the first night you came to us. A bulk of arrows had hurt him, he's been bleeding out faster than my wife could stop all those wounds from bleeding."
Jaime just nodded and didn't respond. He hadn't known Tormund Giantsbane for a long time, but that man had saved his life and Brienne's. Brienne, for sure would maybe sad about this loss, but he couldn't think about that now.
"We buried him outside. Now, that we know his name he will become his own stone out there. We thought his last rest in the North should be honored." The woman told him, and Jaime nodded again.
"Thank you," he said to them hoarsely. But there were many other questions he had, so he kept asking until he knew everything.
"How long was I out?"
"It's been a month. You've been hurt badly. Your broken leg was worse, and some arrows hit you badly. You had an infection. But your fever sank last night, I think you're going to be okay in the next weeks." The woman told him. She seemed to be something like a healer. Lucky him, he thought to himself.
Jaime sighed. He wanted to be with Brienne until now. Seven hells he missed her like no one else.
"Is there someone we should inform, that you're alive?" The man, asked, sensing his longing.
"Yes," Jaime answered promptly.
"Brienne of Tarth She's at the Isle of Tarth and waiting for me," he answered. "I'll have to go home as soon as possible."
Nodding the man went away when he placed Jaime on the bed again.
"You'll have to recover one or two weeks, then I think you'll be able to make your way home," the woman said, smiling at him.
It didn't take long, maybe a few days for a raven from Tarth came back.
Brienne's father had written it and sent a lot of money with it so Jaime would able to pay for everything these people had done for him and find a good ship which would sail him to Tarth.
He couldn't wait to come...home. He'd never thought that of a place he'd almost seen from far away for what felt like a lifetime, but Jaime knew when he would reach it, this island would feel like his home.
It was about time to get some of his strength back.