Oathkeeper

Chapter 26: Goodbye Dreadfort

The Queen had been in Dreadfort since the beginning of the moon cycle, and now that they were a quarter of the way through it, her business here finally came to a close. Sansa hadn't been feeling the best lately, for the two days the girl grew heavily afflicted with sweats, and unexpected dizzy spells. Occasionally one would hear the Queen coughing, as they passed by the closed door of the chambers she stayed in. To which of course worried those closest to her. She insisted that she would be fine and that after catching up on some much needed rest, she'd be fit to travel to Last Hearth.

Brienne was out on the battlegrounds swinging her sword around with a mixture of Dreadfort men and freefolk women, All who lacked who seemingly lack the skill to wield a weapon properly. Being that the Queen spent more time than planned in the Dreadfort, the men and women found subtle ways to co-exist until their inevitable departure, The rest of the footsoldiers and a few men of the Queensguard were tasked with making sure the freefolk women were housed, figuring out who had experienced in crafting, cooking, and the other necessary elements to keep this castle running strong. Just as Brienne was about to bring her sword down she noticed Faran was watching from the top of the stairs.

"I'd like to train with you," Faran suggested.

Brienne's arms fell back by her side before she slipped her sword back into her weapon belt. She dismissed the few people who came to her for training so she could begin to spar with the newly appointed Lady. Faram disappeared into her castle for a few seconds before returning to the top of the stairwell with her infamous axe in hand. She moved rather quickly down the steps, causing her to miss one and lose her balance. Faran grunted as her bones collided with the wooden steps as she tumbled all the way down the flight. Brienne looked away so she wouldn't be seen laughing at the now angry woman.

"Fucking hell. You highborns and your tall fancy castles" She cursed while rubbing her back.

"I had my fair share of falls too, never been in the snow until a couple years back." Brienne turned to Faran.

"A land without snow, where are you from?" Faran inquired while sitting on a barrel next to the sparring grounds.

"I'm from an island called Tarth. It's east of the mainland in the southern region. It's mainly composed of grass and sand. And the sun. it'll blister your skin if you stay outside too long" Brienne explained while moving towards her.

"Sand?" Faran asked.

"I'm not quite sure how to describe it, Lady Faran. Maybe you'll have to go to Tarth one" Brienne said.

"I can't believe people are calling me a Lady" Faran chuckled.

"The Queen sees something in you" Brienne spoke simply. "So do I"

"Hey, I- I want to thank you. Seriously, I appreciate you both. Probably more thanI'll ever be able to say" Faran grabbed Brienne's arm.

"Are we becoming friends?" Brienne joked. Sometimes Brienne felt awkward with people being overly gracious to her.

"You'd like that wouldn't you, woman lover" Faran poked Brienne's side with the end of the axe.

"Excuse me, I don't love women. I love Sansa" Brienne laughed, swatting at the end of the axe. "There's a slight difference"

"Yeah, I'm sure she's the first," Faran responded sarcastically.

Brienne's mind wandered back to Moira and the painful memories of that stage in life. Faran could tell she struck a sore spot to which she apologized. Brienne shrugged it off and drew her sword.

"You said you wanted to train" Brienne held the weapon out at Faran.

"Can you fight against an axe with that?" Faran gestured her weapon at her sword.