The Riverlands.
Two horses trotted along a muddy path, their hooves clattering against the scattered gravel, creating a rhythmic sound.
It was Brienne of Tarth, acting under the orders of Catelyn Tully to escort the kingslayer Jaime Lannister to King's Landing, in exchange for the two girls of House Stark.
Upon receiving the news of the deaths of her two young sons, Bran and Rickon, the last remnants of Catelyn Stark's sanity were completely shattered.
She had secretly released Jaime Lannister without the knowledge of her son, Robb Stark, or the people of the North and the Riverlands, hoping that the kingslayer Jaime Lannister would keep his word and return her two daughters, Sansa and Arya, once he reached King's Landing.
However, for the sake of security and surveillance, Catelyn Tully had also appointed two people to escort Jaime Lannister: one was Jaime's cousin, Cleos Frey (the son of Jaime's aunt, Genna Lannister), and the other was the Beauty, Brienne of Tarth.
In the dungeons of Riverrun, Brienne and Jaime Lannister each swore an oath to Catelyn Tully, vowing to bring Sansa and Arya back safely.
On their way back to King's Landing, they were first pursued by a party sent by the young wolf, Robb Stark, and shortly after, they encountered bandits.
However, to prevent Jaime Lannister from escaping, Brienne of Tarth never removed his shackles, insisting on overcoming every danger on her own.
In one instance, Brienne killed a bandit at an inn to protect a helpless child, which made Jaime Lannister view her with newfound respect.
What Jaime did not know was that this was the first time in her life that Brienne had killed someone, and she had suffered nightmares for several nights afterward.
Later, the way Brienne maneuvered a boat on the river to shake off Robb Stark's troops earned her high praise from Jaime.
In truth, Jaime Lannister had never initially intended to escape. It was only after his cousin, Cleos Frey, was killed by bandits that Jaime Lannister could no longer endure it and decided to return to King's Landing on his own.
"Tell me, when will we be able to go back?"
Jaime Lannister said, feigning casualness as he slowly approached Brienne.
Brienne of Tarth glanced at him without answering.
Just as Brienne lowered her guard, Jaime Lannister made his move. He suddenly lunged forward, using the shackles in his hands to loop around Brienne's neck from behind, attempting to choke her unconscious.
Caught off guard, Brienne fell victim to his attack. With the sturdy shackles tightened around her neck, she gasped desperately for air while frantically striking backward with her elbows at Jaime Lannister's waist.
Perhaps it was because Jaime had been imprisoned for so long and had little strength left, or perhaps it was because Brienne of Tarth had been incredibly strong since childhood, matching any man.
Regardless, Brienne achieved her goal; she felt the pressure on her neck weaken.
Seizing the opportunity, Brienne of Tarth immediately broke free from the restraint around her neck, instantly drew her longsword, and pointed it at Jaime Lannister, all while gasping for air and clutching the red marks on her throat.
"kingslayer, you really are a bastard without a shred of honor! You are a disgrace to that white cloak!" Brienne cursed angrily.
Jaime Lannister, severely lacking in stamina, could only watch helplessly as Brienne of Tarth broke free from the shackles.
However, at the same moment Brienne broke free, Jaime Lannister ran toward the corpse of his cousin, Cleos Frey, and drew the longsword from his cousin's waist.
Although his hands were still shackled, Jaime was backed into a corner and had no choice but to draw his sword and confront Brienne of Tarth.
"Honor? Hmph. Let me tell you the truth: it is this white cloak that stains me, nothing else."
Hearing Brienne's mockery, Jaime did not take it to heart. He had carried the infamy of the kingslayer for so many years; he hardly cared about this insult.
However, Jaime Lannister did not want to lose his edge, so he laughed and said, "You value honor, so why is your Renly dead?"
The moment Renly Baratheon was mentioned, Brienne flared up.
"Do not dare take King Renly's name in vain! kingslayer, if you want to fight, I will see it through to the end!"
Seeing Brienne of Tarth fly into a rage, Jaime Lannister suddenly felt a twinge of guilt; he knew that rubbing salt in someone's wounds was hardly honorable.
At that moment, Jaime thought, 'Why has my mouth become like my brother Tyrion's? I've started to enjoy mocking people. I wonder if Tyrion can survive with Stannis Baratheon's forces at the gates.'
Because Jaime Lannister had been released by Catelyn Tully some time ago, he did not know that his brother, Tyrion, had already led the soldiers of King's Landing to defeat Stannis's assault just these past few days.
If Jaime had known this, he would certainly have been proud of his brother, Tyrion.
Just as he was thinking this, the enraged Brienne of Tarth charged at him with her sword, and Jaime Lannister had no choice but to block with his own.
For a time, sparks flew on the broken bridge where they stood, the crisp clanging of steel ringing out incessantly.
Although Jaime Lannister's hands were shackled, his swordsmanship was superb. He first used his blade to block Brienne of Tarth's movements, then used a feint to slash Brienne of Tarth's face.
Jaime Lannister wore a confident smile, for he was about to do as he had done before: during the clash and parry, he would pretend to thrust at his opponent's thigh, then, catching them off guard, drive his sword into their chest.
This was a technique Jaime Lannister often used; when he was young and followed the Sword of the Morning, Arthur Dayne, to suppress the Kingswood Brotherhood, he had used this move to take down several enemies.
For this, the Sword of the Morning, Arthur Dayne, had praised him highly, and after the battle, he had personally knighted Jaime Lannister in front of everyone. Jaime was only fifteen at the time.
However, Jaime Lannister only wanted to subdue Brienne now; he did not want to actually kill her.
However, Jaime's plan failed this time, for when he feinted toward Brienne of Tarth's thigh, she ignored the sharpness of the blade and the flesh of her own leg, charging toward Jaime like a madwoman.
Jaime was startled and hastily moved his sword tip away, as he did not want to kill Brienne. From the beginning, Jaime only wanted to defeat her, just enough so that she would not hinder him.
Brienne's tall, strong body instantly knocked the already exhausted Jaime Lannister to the ground. Jaime lay weakly on the broken bridge, questioning life itself.
He irritably tossed his longsword aside and did not move a muscle, even when Brienne walked over with her sword, sat down beside him, and rested the blade against his throat.
"Why?" Jaime Lannister asked Brienne, looking up at the white clouds in the sky.
"Why what?" Brienne of Tarth glanced at him, and after confirming there was no threat, she sheathed her longsword.
"Why didn't you dodge? Don't you want your life?" Jaime turned his head to look at Brienne before him.
"I promised Lady Stark that I would take you to King's Landing. I believe the oath I swore is more important than my life."
Brienne said to Jaime Lannister earnestly, gasping for air as she recovered her strength.
For the first time, Jaime Lannister looked closely at Brienne of Tarth's appearance. Her face was round and coarse, her teeth were protruding and uneven, and her yellow hair was like dirty, fragile, and withered straw. Only her large, blue eyes could be considered beautiful.
Although her face was ugly, Jaime Lannister believed that hidden beneath Brienne of Tarth's ugly exterior was a true knight's heart. Moreover, he saw a confident light shining in her beautiful, sapphire-like eyes.
In his life, Jaime had seen countless formidable knights, but he felt that Brienne of Tarth, who did not even hold the title of knight, was far superior to those who used the name of knighthood to perpetrate fraud.
Brienne of Tarth felt uneasy under Jaime Lannister's gaze, thinking that he, too, wanted to mock her appearance.
Because of her ugly appearance, Brienne had lived her life since childhood amidst the mockery and pity of others; people had even nicknamed her "the Beauty" as a joke.
Brienne's father, Lord Selwyn, had arranged three betrothals for his daughter, but they all fell through due to disdain for Brienne's appearance or objections to her training in martial arts.
Once, Brienne had even broken three ribs of an elderly, insolent fiancé. Since then, no one had been willing to marry Brienne.
However, Brienne's father, Lord Selwyn, truly loved his daughter. Seeing how things were, he no longer forced her. Instead, he let her be and even took the initiative to find a sword instructor to come to Tarth to teach his daughter, Brienne, martial arts.
From childhood to adulthood, Brienne had only experienced unbiased treatment from Renly Baratheon.
When Renly was on his coming-of-age tour and visited Tarth, he did not mock or ridicule Brienne's ugly face as others had; instead, he was polite to her and even invited her to dance.
In Renly Baratheon's arms, Brienne of Tarth felt for the first time that she was as elegant and noble as any other noblewoman. From that day on, Brienne resolved to stay by Renly Baratheon's side.
When King Renly personally draped the blue cloak of the Rainbow Guard over Brienne, she swore to serve him loyally and protect him.
Therefore, to Brienne, Renly's death was not just the passing of someone she admired, but also a source of helplessness and shame for failing to uphold the oath she had sworn. This was why she was so enraged when she heard Jaime Lannister mention King Renly Baratheon's name.
Just as Brienne was about to flare up, she heard Jaime Lannister say calmly:
"I will not run again. I will return Sansa and Arya as promised. This is certainly not to win some bullshit honor, but when everyone in the world thinks I am fickle, I will keep my oath just to prove them wrong!"
Whether Jaime Lannister was just being stubborn or speaking from the heart, he had completely given up on escaping.
Hearing this, Brienne finally smiled; she believed him. In truth, Brienne should not have trusted Jaime; she knew in her heart that Jaime was the kingslayer despised by all.
However, she always felt that the Jaime Lannister before her was not that kind of person, and she sensed a special quality about him that made her unable to help but follow him.
But Brienne still tried to put on a serious face and said, "Hmph, I hope you can keep your oath."
...
A breeze swept across the ground, kicking up scattered leaves.
Just as Jaime and Brienne sat side by side on the ground, recovering their strength, a slurred voice suddenly rang out.
"Look what we've found?"
Jaime and Brienne simultaneously rose, picked up their swords, and looked over, only to see a large party of men emerging from the nearby dense forest.
The speaker was a tall, thin man with a goatee, wearing a necklace made of strung-together coins. He was riding a black-and-white striped zebra, and the helmet he wore was shaped like a goat's head.
Jaime Lannister recognized him; this man was Vargo Hoat.
Vargo Hoat, also known as "the Goat," was the leader of the Bravos Company, from Qohor. The Bravos Company was a mercenary group with a poor reputation in the Seven Kingdoms, known as the "Bloody Mummers." Its "mummers" were criminals and exiles from all over the world.
When his father, Tywin Lannister, went out to engage Robb Stark, he had left the Bravos Company, led by Vargo Hoat, to garrison Harrenhal. However, he soon betrayed them, made a deal with Roose Bolton of the North, and led the Bravos Company to surrender Harrenhal to the Northerners.
"This is bad," Jaime Lannister sighed.