Author's Notes: Hey everyone I hope you liked the last chapter and that you like this one as well. As always I own nothing.
Sansa rushed to where Brienne lay in the sand, she was holding her wounded cheek and biting back tears of pain. Sansa was the first to reach her downed bodyguard, Sir Oakheart lay still and unmoving on the ground. Sansa took her dagger from her belt and sliced a strip of silk from her sleeve and pressed it to Brienne's wounded cheek. Blood quickly soaked through and onto Sansa's hand. She soon heard the sound of hoof beats and the sounds of people dismounting.
Trystane was there, shouting for the servants to bring bandages, rags, towels anything. Nymeria and Elia were there as well. Nymeria looked furious while Elia was yelling at the other guests to get after Sir Dayne, her words seemed to shake Trystane out of his rambling state.
"It would do no good," he said; "He has too great a lead. Even if they were to catch him, he is a far too good a swordsman and would most likely kill them." Elia looked at him furiously but Nymeria nodded her agreement.
"Trystane is right, we need to see to his victims, then he hunt the bastard down and teach him to rue the day he crossed our family."
The servants rigged a makeshift stretcher and placed Brienne on it. While several servants were sent to retrieve Winter Wind Sansa mounted Sir Oakheart's horse. The knight himself was dead and was being carried on a second stretcher. The horse was bigger than what she was used to riding and it was used to a firmer hand than what she had had to use with Winter Wind but she was determined to manage it.
Hampered by the wounded and dead the party's progress was slow and it seemed like they would never reach the Water Gardens. During the ride back Sansa found herself riding next to Myrcella. The princess, now that things had calmed somewhat and she had time to think, seemed to be realizing how close she had been to being killed and was starting to shake. Sansa felt her heart go out to her niece, she had been forced to become used to violence and threats to her body and life. However; this had been the first time Myrcella had experienced it.
"Are you alright?" Sansa asked her. Myrcella nodded.
"Yes," she replied in a low voice, barely more than a whisper. After a moment she spoke again; "Why did he do it?" She turned to look at Sansa, as if she could produce an answer. "He seemed so nice and then he…" She stopped and shuddered. "Poor Sir Oakheart, he was always so kind to me and now he's gone." Sansa nodded her head. He had been nice to her and even when Joffrey had ordered him to beat her he had not hit her as hard as the others had.
"Yes, he was very nice."
"And what of Si…I mean Lady Brienne?" Myrcella asked; "Is she badly hurt?" Sansa looked down at her blood stained hand and found herself fighting back tears herself.
"She will be fine." She declared, trying to convince herself as much as her aunt. "She is strong, a little cut like that will not keep her down for long." They rode in silence for a while after that. Finally, with sundown less than an hour away they came in sight of the Water Gardens. A messenger had been sent ahead to tell those there what had happened and Sansa could see a party of Martell soldiers riding out to meet them. Seeing them as well Myrcella, who had calmed down considerably though she was still unhealthily pale gave a hallow laugh.
"It's funny, Uncle sent me here to be safe. It looks like he was wrong." Sansa said nothing.
She remembered what Lord Baelsih had told her; "Life is not a song, sweetling. You may learn that one day to your sorrow." He had been right and it had been a hard lesson and now Myrcella was learning it as well. Having been exposed to a taste of the horrors that the world held she would either shatter or be tempered and grow stronger, like Sansa had. Yes, she had grown stronger, though a cost she did not want to contemplate and she wished it had not happened to Myrcella too. Though she was now a Lannister she also had Tully blood in her and remembered their words: Family, Duty, Honor.
You hurt someone dear to me Sir Gerold Dayne. She thought savagely; And threatened a member of my family. You will regret that. I swear it on my honor as a Stark, Tully and Lannister. You will die and it will not be a pleasant experience.
Author's Notes: Hey everyone I hope you liked this chapter. I will be trying to make these things a bit longer in the future. Till next time please pray that justice be done in the case of Lindsay Sandiford the woman under death sentence in Indonesia, the Nepal victims the Americans held in Iran and all who need prayers, bye and may Jesus bless you.