章 36: Arthur XIII
292AC
The feast at Evenfall hall was a fairly sedate affair. There was a good bit of meat and bread around, but Tarth was poor even in relation to Dragonstone, due mostly to its small population and lack of royal connections, not to mention it was a vassal rather than a holder of vassals.
The conversation was pleasant, however. Lord Selwyn seemed greatly impressed by the ships, quizzing me on them relentlessly. I was glad that Aurane was there to take some of the burdens though he, unfortunately, would be sleeping aboard the ships with the men, and thus had to depart shortly after the meal finished.
Eventually, the talk turned to our prospective betrothal, however, and Lord Selwyn suggested that we take a walk through the gardens to talk.
I had been quite surprised through the night at how nervous Brienne seemed to be far more nervous about the whole thing than I had thought she would be, and I worried that she might fear for her house should this fall through, or some other silliness.
We walked the gardens in unproductive silence for a while before I spotted a stone-carved bench.
"Would you like to sit for a while?" I asked plainly, and the tall woman nodded, sitting just to my side, but not touching me. Though she had thankfully taken her armor off to eat, replacing it with a blue cloth riding outfit.
The silence lasted a while longer before I turned to her, the setting sun behind us, just as it had been at kings landing. "Alright Brienne, is it alright if I just ask you?"
"Ask me what?"
"Do you want to marry me?"
Even in the setting sun's red light, I could see the color drain from her face as I hit her with the sledgehammer of a question. It cracked and shattered whatever she had been holding back for a moment.
Brienne the bold, lady knight of Tarth sat there stuttering like a puppy for a moment, before collapsing onto me in a half-hug half lean. It was difficult holding up her weight even as she rested her head atop my own.
"I don't know. Arthur. I don't know." she got out between halting breaths. "I haven't known since my father suggested it, I haven't known this whole time. What am I supposed to do? The Seven-Pointed Star says nothing about this."
She released me after a moment, and I could swear there were tears in her eyes. "I want to be a knight, Arthur, a real knight, not some pretend warrior, but then I can't be a wife. It's not fair… it's not."
I saw her sniff her snot in, recovering some composure, and I reached out, placing a hand that seemed small on her shoulder. She was just a sixteen-year-old girl after all, and with more baggage than most. "You don't have to marry me if you don't want to Brienne, that's why I'm taking this trip, to see if things will work."
"But-but I… the Seven...My Father…" she managed to get out, and I looked her in the eyes, which were large and blue, just like my own.
"The Seven don't want you to Marry if you're set on being a warrior Brienne, and your Father isn't going to make you Marry me either, certainly not if I tell him no to our betrothal. If you want to be a warrior more than you want to be a lady, then I certainly won't force you to be the latter."
Despite my attempts to calm her, the tears came out again, and I honestly wasn't sure what I was doing wrong.
"This is… This is," she choked out as I tried reaching around to pat her back but found my reach to be too short at this distance. "This is why it's hard… you don't treat me badly, you're probably the only man who might ever marry me that won't, but, but, I can't. I just can't be a warrior and a lady." she let out a wet laugh as she wiped her tears from her eyes. "Not that I know the first thing about being a lady, to begin with."
I nodded at that as she finally seemed to have calmed down properly, and offered her a hand to stand up. She took it firmly, almost pulling me back down onto the bench.
"You alright now?" I asked, turning back towards her, and she nodded.
"Yes… it's just… yes, I'm alright now. I just had to decide my path."
"So a Knight it is then?"
"Yes." She said, her tone becoming firmer and more confident with each step, returning to the Brienne I thought I had remembered from the books. "Thank you for being… well, considerate."
"I wouldn't think of being anything else. Your feelings on this matter too Brienne."
"Still, thank you." she brushed her hair from her eyes. "That was embarrassing. Please don't tell my father."
"What, that you broke down and rejected our betrothal the minute I got you alone in the garden? Wouldn't dream of it." I grinned at the girl, no, woman. "Then again, if you're so set on being a knight, or whatever it is you've decided to be, then perhaps I can offer you a job instead?"
The Maid of Tarth turned to me, before sighing into her hand.
"I'll see what Lord Renly and my father say."
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット