The Lannister Wolf Series

Six

Evelyn woke with a start by the voice of Brienne scolding Podrick.... Yet again! The girl pushed herself up into a semi seated position with her elbows supporting her. She couldn't sit up anymore since Robb had rolled in his sleep and fallen asleep on her chest, his chubby little cheek pressed against the white cotton of her chemise and his cute little fists clenched beside his head. Who was so heartless that they would want to wake that up!?

The girl distributed the weight of her body onto one arm so she could brush her hair out of her eyes and rubbed the sleep from them as she looked around. Chance was standing over her, chewing loudly on the short grass that he had been nibbling on since early that morning, Ace perched on his saddle while Zinzi and Lady lay in a circle around Calum who seemed to be enjoying the fluffy bed a little too much for he was grinning in his sleep and stroking Lady's fur affectionately.

"Where are the horses Podrick," Brienne insisted, rather irritated.

Evelyn looked around and sure enough, the other two horses were gone. Great! Cradling Robb in one arm, she slowly rose to her feet and Brienne continued to scold Podrick for not tying up the horses correctly and telling him that he would carry the saddle bags the rest of the way to the Eyrie.

"No," the girl said, still groggy from her restless sleep. "We can put them on Chance... I can walk."

"But my lady," Brienne objected.

Evelyn shook her head and raised one hand, which was enough to silence the female knight, "I'll be fine. Calum rides on Zinzi anyway and it is only a couple of miles."

Podrick opened his mouth to mention that the Eyrie was in fact 30 miles away, but Brienne shut him up with a stern look. Evelyn carefully grabbed her long scarf and wound it around herself and Robb so that he was resting against her side in a little cocoon, the infant not even rousing by the movement and continued to sleep peacefully. Evelyn pulled Calum's coat and blanket tighter around him before she settled him on Zinzi's back and she began to help Brienne and Podrick tie the saddle bags to Chance who seemed much more cooperative in carrying the extra weight once Evelyn summoned Ace down from the saddle.

Walking on foot was not something foreign to Evelyn but she had been hoping to ride that particular day. Calum had taken to snoring in his sleep which was something that may seem usual to Brienne, after all she traveled with Jaime and Podrick at two separate times and both men were snorers but to Evelyn, who was alert to ever little noise during the night, found herself roused once an hour and Robb woke at least twice in the night because he was hungry, had moved and had kicked his blanket off his feet, or needed a linen change. Evelyn found herself exhausted during the day and her only respite was to ride Chance who of course had gotten a perfectly good night's sleep.

Evelyn's keen hearing picked up the noises of grunting and movement up ahead and she lifted her eyes to see that Podrick and Brienne had gotten quite ahead of her. She slowed her pace when she heard voices, realizing that whoever it was, Brienne was talking with them and perhaps the abrupt appearance of a girl with black hair, dressed in black with two massive wolves flanking her would scare the person off.

Brienne looked back and forth between the two unlikely pair that she had come across. The huge man standing before her with a ruined eye was without a doubt, Sandor Clegane, the Hound. And the small little girl with short hair and a needle like sword at her hip was evidently Arya Stark. She had found her!

"Where did you get that sword?" the Hound demanded, eyeing Brienne with suspicion.

Brienne hesitated telling them where she had gotten the sword but then she remembered that Evelyn, Arya's older sister was married to Jaime so perhaps it would not be so bad.