Chapter Text
Brienne woke up feeling an enjoyable peace. The sun barely appeared through the window, casting a soft light on the wall across. The day was promising, and Brienne smiled at the though of a beautiful weather illuminating her wedding day.
The day had finally come, a day she’d never thought she could be as happy and willing to live. She’d always though her marriage would be arranged, with a husband who would at best despise her, and at worst mistreat her, so marrying the most coveted bachelor of the Seven Kingdoms for love had never been in her mind.
She stretched, letting sleep seep out of her body and her mind, then relaxed in her bed, enjoying this calm moment before the latest preparations that would lead her to the sept where Jaime would wait for her. That was her last morning in this room, the last time she would sleep alone in a bed, and imagining waking next to Jaime almost every morning excited her. That would be new, but welcome.
During the long minutes she had ahead of her, Brienne thought once again about the last few weeks, that had brought her to this day. What a transformation in her life!
The Brienne who’d debarked in King’s Landing at the beginning of the season was a debutante who didn’t know much about Court life, didn’t have many friends and allies, and felt alone during social events. But a single dance with Jaime Lannister had been the first step of the metamorphose of a shy maiden, uncomfortable in her own skin. A dance, followed by a duel that had changed her life forever, thanks to the Queen’s anger.
Getting to know her betrothed, Brienne had discovered a side of Jaime that not many people knew about. The world saw his appearance and his public acts, but only his family and friends saw the man made for love, the romantic boy who’d grown up with knightly tales and courteous love stories, who cared for his loved ones more than everything. She’d fallen in love with him without knowing it, charmed by his attentions, by the way his mother, his aunt, his uncle, and his brother talked about him. She hadn’t needed much time to know she would commit to this marriage willingly, with one fear: that he would never return her feelings.
The girl she’d been before this season would have never tried anything to know her betrothed’s feelings, and would only have longed after him and hoped just a glance her way. However, her metamorphose had already begun; she had friends to encourage her, and give her great reasons to hope. This new Brienne, with her newfound confidence, had taken the first step, and been rewarded for it.
Jaime loved her, and this love promised a happy life with him.
Brienne’s heart swelled with happiness at the thought, and she laughed joyfully. “I will marry Jaime Lannister, who loves me, and that I love,” she said out loud in the empty room.
Since her first kiss with him, she’d often repeated this sentence, soaking in the truth each time a little more.
She was now ready.
Brienne lolled in her bed until the moment lady Joanna and lady Genna entered the room, followed by a few maids, one carrying a tray with her breakfast, and the others buckets and jugs filled with water.
“It’s time, miss Tarth!” Genna exclaimed with excitement, before hugging Brienne when she rose up. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a worthy addition to this family,” she added, staring at Brienne from toes to head. “Well, let’s get to work and transform this maiden into a bride-to-be.”
While the maids filled the bathtub in the en-suite, Brienne nibbled a few toasts from the tray while chatting with her future goodmother and goodaunt. “Have you seen my father this morning?”
“We’ve crossed paths on the way here,” Joanna replied. “He wanted to speak with Jaime, and will come during the last adjustments before leaving for the sept.”
Brienne smiled. When lord Tywin had forced the engagement between Jaime and her, she’d thought it impossible to have her father by her side for her wedding, but Jaime had shown her in the best way how much he cared for her, inviting Selwyn despite his faltering health. Since her father had arrived at the Red Keep, she’d seen with great relief that he’d recovered from his previous illness.
Her bath went quickly, and soon after the maids began to do her hair as Genna indicated. That wasn’t the most enjoyable moment of the preparations, though at least they were less brutal than Roelle, her old septa, had ever been. They did her make-up, light touches here and there, since according to Jaime “her eyes are the most gorgeous feature of her face, and I don’t want to be distracted by anything else”. Brienne agreed with this; she’d always considered that make-up didn’t suit her, and it was useless to try hiding her features.
Finally, she could don the dress she’d loved the first time she’d tried it. The alterations on it made it perfect, and Brienne felt beautiful as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her cheeks had been painted pink, and that softened her usual scarlet flush. Her eyes appeared bluer than ever, and she knew Jaime wouldn’t stop looking at her once he’d see her. He barely stopped staring at her when they were in the same room, anyway.
She was suddenly moved to tears her when Joanna and Genna stood by her side, the maternal figures that were replacing the one she’d barely known.
“Thank you for being here, for supporting me during this engagement,” she whispered.
“Thank you for loving Jaime, Brienne,” Joanna replied. “And we will be there after the wedding as well.”
“Don’t hesitate to ask any questions that come to your mind before the wedding night,” Genna jested, eliciting a wet laugh from Brienne.
A few knocks on the door pulled her out of her contemplation, and her joy increased at the sight of her father, elegantly dressed, carrying a pink and azure silk cloak, embroidered with suns and moons, on his arm. He embraced Brienne, his emotion bare in his blue eyes.
“Look at yourself, my daughter, my Sunburst. You are gorgeous, and you will make your groom fall head over heels for you.”
“I think that’s already the case,” Genna retorted. “The poor boy had no chance against her. Well, Joanna, it’s time for us to go. I think Jaime will need us to rescue him, unless Tyrion, Tywin, and Cersei get the better of him.”
Both women left, and Brienne and her father took the few minutes they had before leaving for the Keep’s sept.
“You know, I’m not talking about your dress today only,” Selwyn said as they sat on the bed. “I’ve found you already metamorphosed when I first arrived here. You’re so different from the Brienne who didn’t want to leave her sick father behind to live at Court for a season, and I’m happy about it. You have matured, grown, and that will benefit you in the future, an in your marriage.”
“Thank you, father. I’m happy you have insisted that I come here, even if I didn’t like not knowing how you were doing.”
A bell rang after a few minutes into their conversation, and Selwyn rose up, giving his daughter his arm.
“Let us go, future lady Lannister.”