Author's notes: Like 'From bad... to worse,' this chapter 'KingsLanding' I've decided to split in two parts. Really both the same chapter, but to keep length down I've halved it. I will put the second half up in a couple days, please forgive me.

Hermitt asked if I knew the girl's name all along and I must admit I didn't, and even now I can't pronounce it myself, so it's a good thing it will only be seen in text and I don't have to read it aloud.

Brienne knocked on the back of the wagon, holding a mug of tea in one hand, a stack of folded clothes in the other. In the chill dawn, her boots crunched on the frosty grass and the mug steamed.

'It's me,' she said, not wanting to startle the girl. But she needn't have worried, the occupant of the wagon was already sitting up, alert. She seemed to Brienne to be someone easily woken, who it would be difficult to sneak up on. She's no doubt had to be, in her line of work. If your life is travelling around the country on your own and a different bed each night, you probably can't afford to be a deep sleeper.

Brienne unlocked the gate, then handed over the mug and put the girl's clean clothes down on the floor. After some scrubbing, they'd come up serviceable, asides from a few stains. Brienne peered further into the wagon. 'Is Callem here?'

The girl shook her head. 'No. Why?'

'He appears to be missing. Ser Jaime's horse, too.'

'What? What do you mean, missing?'

'I mean, it appears he decided to go home early.' And a good thing it is too, however it may have happened. At least one commoner has been spared.

'Why would Cal have...? He wouldn't have. He couldn't even get on a horse with one hand by himself.' The girl looked alarmed. 'Brienne, you have to go find him. He could be hurt somewhere!'

If the Kingslayer had wanted to hurt him, he wouldn't have given him his horse, were Brienne's cynical thoughts.

'Maybe he just decided it was time to go home. If he took the horse last night, he'll be long gone by now. But I think he'll be fine,' she assured the girl. 'When you go back through RedHollow next, be sure to check in on him.'

The girl cupped the tea, her expression bereft. 'But Cal was... he was going to stay with me and... maybe head home together.'

Don't fool yourself that you would have been allowed to go home with him, Brienne thought. I'm afraid you're to be a pawn in a game of power that you don't even understand. But I already have enough girls to rescue. And I took no oaths for you.

'Callem leaving is for the best. Now drink your tea, we're leaving ourselves soon. It will be a long day, we won't be stopping until we reach the Capital.'

The girl looked somewhat consoled. She sipped from the mug. 'Are you alright, Brienne? I heard you had some bad news. That your... that a friend of yours died.'

She was more than a friend, Lady Catelyn was a true, honourable person, a mother with a warrior's heart. I swore my sword to her, and now like Renly, I have failed her. I must be cursed. Brienne felt bitterness surge inside at another injustice done, turned away so the girl wouldn't see the pain on her face.

'Her death does not change things,' she said, in a strained voice. I will keep my promise, even if you're dead, Lady Stark. Death doesn't undo the oath.

'Your vow, you mean? What is it you have to do?'

'I have to find and return some...' Brienne paused, not wanting to reveal to this girl that two girls younger than herself were in danger. '... some people to their rightful home. I took an oath to keep them safe, and I will. Ser Jaime is also sworn to ensure this happens.'

'Oh. Well, I hope you find them.'

I intend to. The Stark girls had better be at KingsLanding, or I shall turn Westeros inside out to find them. And Ser Jaime had best aid me, or I'll turn him inside out with it.

'I hope so too.'

'Who are they?' the girl gulped at her tea. 'Maybe I know of them. I know a lot of people in KingsLanding.'

Brienne gave a small smile. I'm sure you do, girl. Traders and bakers, beggars and minstrels. Sellswords and cut-throats and girls in brothels. Criminals and commoners.

'They are no-one you'd know,' Brienne said. 'Now get dressed, it's time for your walk.'

They negotiated the camp, the girl leaning a little on Brienne's arm for balance. The Dreadfort men bustled around them, re-packing provisions and sleeping blankets, feeding their horses. By the end of the walk, the girl was moving unaided. Her shortened foot caused her to list to one side, but it was nevertheless an impressive achievement. Brienne was proud of her.

Back at the wagon, she unwrapped the bandages and cut a strip of cloth from them with her sword. Then she wrapped only the end of the girl's foot, twice around the missing toes, leaving the heel bare. She took the girl's boots that had been sitting to the side, unworn for many days, and gently fitted one onto the padded-out limb. 'How does that feel?'

'It feels... really good.'

'Put the other one one. You're going to need boots to walk in KingsLanding. I can't imagine the streets are particularly clean.'

'No,' the girl agreed. 'There's more puddles of shit than cobblestones.' She strapped on her other boot, stood up to test them. 'Hey, I feel like my old self again. Can we ditch the eye-patch too?'

Brienne regarded the girl's eager face closely. It looked different. Under the material of the patch the swelling had mostly subsided, the bruises faded to just shadows on her cheek. The shape of the girl's face troubled Brienne as she studied it, even with the patches' covering. It's as I feared. You are a beauty. Which will be your undoing unless you are very careful, and unfortunately I don't think you have the first clue about the truth of it.

'No, girl, keep the patch on. Keep your hair back too, and the hood of your coat up, and your head down. Try not to get sunlight on your face, to allow the eye to heal fully.' Keep your village rags on, and put some dirt on your face and hands. Do not attract any attention whatsoever, she wanted to add.

The girl frowned. 'Alright, keep out of the sun. Got it.' She handed the now-empty mug back to Brienne. 'Will I be seeing you at the Capital?'

'I don't think so. Ser Jaime has arranged for suitable accommodation for you, but I have my own problems to deal with.' Brienne took the mug, reached under her coat and pulled out a skinny drawstring bag. 'Before I forget; this is yours. I found it, mixed up with with the packs from the Dreadfort.' She passed it to the girl, who's eyes lit up in recognition.

'My bag. It has medicines in it, not that I need them now. But thank you.'

'I'm sorry I did not find it sooner.'

'It was already too late, by the time I could have used them. Did you... check it for weapons before letting me have it?' The girl looked a little shame-faced.

'I'm not worried about you trying to kill Ser Jaime any more,' Brienne said.

'I wouldn't have killed him - not really. I mean, I was just... just -' she tried to explain her actions, but seemed to be unable.

'Don't worry, girl. I don't hold it against you. Ser Jaime can be insufferable. I've considered it myself many a time.'

The girl giggled, relieved.

Brienne backed away. 'So, I'm going to go ride with the others now. If I don't see you again before the Capital, stay safe, alright? Keep your wits about you. You can walk now. With practise, you'll be running soon.'

'As fast as before, y'think?' the girl asked, hopefully.

'Maybe not. You'll just have to stop getting into those situations that required you to run so fast, before.'

The girl grinned. 'I will. Thank you again for everything, Brienne. You stay safe, too. Good luck with getting your people home.'

Brienne nodded solemnly, and closed the gate behind her as she left. Keep your luck for yourself, girl. You're going to need it.

Brienne rode behind Jaime, on her gelding. Jaime seemed unconcerned with losing his own mount, and restless about reaching KingsLanding. They lagged behind the others a way, the horse unaccustomed to the double weight.

'Does this thing go any faster?' Jaime complained.

'He would, without your weight on his back,' Brienne said.

'You weigh more. Don't fall off, will you? You know what they say about the bigger they are.'

'I'd forgotten how much shit you speak, Kingslayer. Thank you for reminding me, I was almost warming to you.'

'Gods forbid, we can't have that. It will upset the natural order of the universe,' Jaime joked, as the road widened and became increasingly crowded with travellers heading in the same direction. Jaime had donned a long coat and cowl, and none gave him a second glance as they clopped past. ' Are you worried about Loras? He's bound to have some questions.'

Brienne thought she could almost smell the stink of the Capital in the air, although they were still many miles away yet. 'I bested the boy once, I could again,' she shrugged.

'I'll wager you could, but Loras will not stand alone this time. Let's hope he is open to seeing your side.'

'It's the Stark girls I care about, not Ser Loras and his Kingsguard.'

'They're my Kingsguard, wench, not his.' Jaime shifted in the saddle uncomfortably. 'I'll be glad to get off this animal, I don't think it was designed to carry two such lumps as us.'

Your tired insults hardly register with me any more, Kingslayer. They pass over like wind on grass. 'Maybe you should have been more careful with your own mount, then.'

'The Cole boy stole it in the night. Am I to blame for his craven ways?'

'Did he steal your sleeping blankets too? I notice you didn't have any to pack this morning. Stealing a blanket from beneath a sleeping body is quite some feat, with only one hand.'

'Craven and talented, that one.'

Brienne was silent, her thoughts turning again to the deaths of Lady Catelyn and her son. Since she'd first heard the news she'd tried to hide her despair from the men, tried to be strong. But sometimes she was struck with an ache that reached right to the marrow of her bones. After a time, Jaime seemed to intuit what was upsetting her, and he said, 'I haven't forgotten our vows, you know.'

'I wouldn't let you.'

'No, I dare say you wouldn't. Robb Stark was no friend of mine, his mother either. But it was wrong what happened to them. A coward's act. There is no shame to grieve for it.'

Brienne didn't answer, but his words gave her small solace. He is not all bad. Oftentimes he can be surprisingly kind.

'Speaking of weddings, I wonder if we'll return in time for Joffrey's?' Jaime mused.

'If so, I imagine the Capital will be busy. Do you think they're expecting you?'

'Probably. Word would have come from Roose Bolton that I was found.'

'Are you keen to see your family again?'

'Yes. It's been... I don't even know how long. My brother and my sister... ' Jaime's voice trailed off and Brienne couldn't see his face, but he sounded wistful. 'I can only hope they're coping alright without me. I love them both, but when I'm not there to keep the peace, they do tend to tear one another apart.'

'And what of the girl?' Brienne asked.

'I told you already not to concern your pretty head about it. Steelshanks is being paid gold to claim she's his. He'll take her to the servant's quarters, I'll arrange a Septa to attend to her there.'

'And how do you know you can trust Steelshanks?'

'Because he's being paid a lot of gold.' Jaime sounded rather resentful as to the amount. Steelshanks is wily, he will have figured out the girl means a lot to you, and demanded a comparable bribe, Brienne guessed.

'Gold doesn't always buy loyalty you know,' she warned Jaime.

'The girl will be fine, ' he dismissed. 'I need some time alone to see my family, then I'll check on her. By then she'll have had a few hours to adjust to the attentions of Septa, the clean clothes, good food and comfortable bed. Once she's used to the finer things in life she won't want to leave.'

'You don't really believe that, do you?'

'No, not really.' Jaime sighed. 'But. Anything's possible.'

They crested a hill, and in the distance Brienne could see the line of the sea. It would not be long now, she knew, before KingsLanding came into sight. They'd be there before nightfall, the orange and red sun only beginning to drop low on the horizon.

'I could be heir to Casterly Rock,' Jaime went on, conversationally, as if the topic were unrelated to anything they'd discussed before. 'If I wanted.' He fell quiet, and Brienne wondered if he were picturing in his mind some idyllic vision of himself and his commoner girlfriend running around his childhood home, like fawns gambolling in a field of flowers. It would not surprise her. Lust makes men such fools, draws veils over their logic and dulls all reason. Reckless decisions seem to come naturally to the Kingslayer, even without his having fallen for someone so overwhelmingly unsuitable. And with his romantic history, that's really saying something.

Out loud, Brienne simply said, 'Your father would never let you take her to Casterly Rock.'

'I never suggested such a thing. But if I'm Lord of the Rock, I believe I can do as I like.'

'Dream on, Kingslayer.' Brienne refused to even consider his fantasist delusions. 'And you'd have to resign as Kingsguard. You'd never do that.'

'No, probably not.' Jaime sighed, again. 'But, still. Anything's possible.'

'No, it's not,' Brienne snapped, annoyed by his idiocy. 'And while we're on the subject. During the next day or so, in which you may be occupied with Joffrey's upcoming wedding or celebrating its outcome, as well as reacquainting yourself with your... family', one member of them in particular, she thought, 'What, perchance, will the girl be doing?'

'Well it's doubtful she'll be getting an invite,' Jaime said. They reached the top of another hill and he nudged Brienne in the ribs, pointed out to the side. Where the road curved around below them and sloped, the spiky battlements and towers of KingsLanding came into view, black against the bleeding sky. The stench of it rose up to greet them on the sea breeze, burnt and decayed and yet fragrant with sweetness. It was repulsive and alluring, ripe and rotten, all at once. Likewise, Brienne felt anticipation and dread tangle within her, as her horse headed down the road towards the Capital.