The Sworn Sword

It's a wet day for a ride"".

""I might say the same to you"".

""Egg told you?"" I owe him another clout in the ear.

""Be glad he did, or I would have sent men after you to drag you back. It was cruel of you to try and steal away without so much as a farewell"".

She had never come to see him while he was in Maester Cerrick's care, not once. ""That green becomes you well, m'lady"", he said. ""It brings out the color of your eyes"". He shifted his weight awkwardly on the crutch. ""I'm here for my horse"".

""You do not need to go.

There is a place for you here, when you're recovered. Captain of my guards. And Egg can join my other squires. No one need ever know who he is"".

""Thank you, m'lady, but no"". Thunder was in a stall a dozen places down. Dunk hobbled toward him.

""Please reconsider, ser. These are perilous times, even for dragons and their friends. Stay until you've healed"". She walked along beside him. ""It would please Lord Eustace, too. He is very fond of you"".

""Very fond"", Dunk agreed.

""If his daughter weren't dead, he'd want me to marry her. Then you could be my lady mother. I never had a mother, much less a lady mother"".

For half a heartbeat Lady Rohanne looked as though she was going to slap him again. Maybe she'll just kick my crutch away.

""You are angry with me, ser"", she said instead. ""You must let me make amends"".

""Well"", he said, ""you could help me saddle Thunder"".

""I had something else in mind"". She reached out her hand for his, a freckled hand, her fingers strong and slender.

I'll bet she's freckled all over. ""How well do you know horses?""

""I ride one"".

""An old destrier bred for battle, slow-footed and ill-tempered. Not a horse to ride from place to place"".

""If I need to get from place to place, it's him or these"". Dunk pointed at his feet.

""You have large feet"", she observed. ""Large hands as well. I think you must be large all over. Too large for most palfreys. They'd look like ponies with you perched upon their backs.

Still, a swifter mount would serve you well. A big courser, with some Dornish sand steed for endurance"". She pointed to the stall across from Thunder's. ""A horse like her"".

She was a blood bay with a bright eye and a long fiery mane. Lady Rohanne took a carrot from her sleeves and stroked her head as she took it. ""The carrot, not the fingers"", she told the horse, before she turned again to Dunk. ""I call her Flame, but you may name her as you please.