Oathkeeper

Chapter 68: Rickon's Promise

Brienne barely made a sound, only occasionally grunting as she effortlessly wielded her sword to the left. It slapped the back of Gabrin's armored tunic. The material was dark green and black, a lovely gift he received from his brother, Ser Galvin of the Queensguard in the hopes that he would be wearing it when he was finally knighted by the Lord Commander. Gabrin had been wearing it for the last few days, and still not luck.

Gabrin and Brienne had been at it all morning. The bellowing thud of Brienne's mighty sword striking the shield would have awoken the entire castle had they not already risen. He was meant to block ten of Brienne's blows in a row with his shield. But each time he arrived around the sixth, he'd lose his ability to predict where her next strike would come from. Forcing them to start over for the seventeenth time.

He threw his sword and shield down in complete frustration, causing his curls to fall over in his face. Brienne watched as he bawled up his fist and cursed whichever God he was addressing this time around. Normally she'd correct his outburst but instead, she approached the boy in support. She placed her right hand over his head, ruffling up his hair before bending over to pick up his sword.

"You've got to keep your shield up," She noted as she slipped the sword back into his hand, "Pick it up, and we'll do it again,"

Although Brienne would never admit it outloud, she had grown quite fond of her squire. Now that she was no longer distracted by his pining over Ilizabeth, she was able to see that he was a decent young man. One with ambition and a great deal of will power to reach it. They'd spent plenty of time both hailing their swords at one another and conversing as he learned to equip armor, ready horses, and quickly act on the commands given to him by their designated phrases. In just another few short weeks, the boy will have reached seventeen years of age and a full year of squireship. All he needed to do in order to win his knighthood was block ten of Brienne's swings with his shield in a row.

"I don't think I can do it," He declared.

"You won't be able to do anything with that attitude," She responded, "Shield and sword up, let's go again,"

Gabrin obeyed the woman's command, slightly huffing as he bent over to pick up his shield. He slid his arm back into the slots, and held it over the left side of his body. She could see that the boy was in desperate need of a break as his eyes became spaced out and his stability swayed slightly. Instead of allowing him to lift his sword up, she dropped hers back by her side.

"Go and grab some water," She said before slipping her sword back into its sheath.

"Thank you," He sighed in relief, "Your Grace,"

Gabrin quickly dropped his sword and shield to the ground again. He lugged his tired body through the courtyard, and towards the kitchen. Just as Brienne went to grab a seat on one of the barrels she heard someone calling for her. The high pitched rattling of the knight's chainmail armor came from the North end of the castle, where Brienne was now facing. He walked at a quick pace, his arms swinging at his sides as he seemingly fought the urge to shout the words from across the courtyard.

Her mind completely skipped past Rickon and immediately went to Lady Greyjoy. Although she loved her son and would love nothing more than to have him back behind the castle walls, she hoped it would be an update on the whereabouts of their Master of Ships. No one heard a word from Yara, and after the small council noted that the journey should have taken just under eighteen days, when the sun rose this morning, on day thirty, worry grew over them like a dark cloud. It had been nearly an entire month since she was sent to White Harbor, and nine days since they sent one of their most trusted knights sleuthing through enemy territory to locate her. Still no one knew a thing.