Work Text:
Today was an unusually good day for Brienne. She had woken up early enough to have a nice breakfast before school, not the usual protein bar she grabbed while she sprinted out the door in order to keep her perfect no-tardies record. Then her dad had finally let her drive the car to school, instead of dropping her off at the front entrance like an underclassman. Later in English class, Mr. Renly (technically Mr. Baratheon, but he lets the kids use his first name to “connect” with them) used her essay on A Brave New World to show an excellent example of critical analysis. At lunch, Brienne was able to sit with her sophomore friend Sansa Stark, who only had junior lunch in her schedule once a week. So by the time fifth period rolled around, Brienne was totally ready for her almost-favorite class, European History. It would have been her favorite class, except for one tiny, insignificant –
“Hey, Brienne the beauty!”
- obnoxious, loud-mouthed, pig-headed classmate.
Jaime Lannister waved at Brienne, pointing excitedly at the desk next to his. “I saved you a seat!”
Hilarious. It would have seemed like a nice gesture if the class didn’t have assigned seats. Brienne had been stuck next to Jaime all year, and though she loathed it, he knew that Brienne would never disobey even something as simple as a seating chart, especially when it was assigned by her favorite teacher, Mrs. Stark.
Brienne threw her bag over her desk and plopped down with a sigh, “You know, Lannister, that nickname is getting old. You’re going to have to come up with a new one soon or people will start to think you’re getting boring.”
“Oh don’t worry, I’ll think of something soon.” He put his hand under his chin, pretending to think, “Brienne the giant? No, too mundane. Tall Tarth? Not much of a ring to it. Beastly Brienne? I think Ron’s already used that one…”
Luckily for Brienne, Mrs. Stark spoke up before he could continue. “Alright everyone, take out your textbooks. We're starting a unit on the Middle Ages today and we will begin by reading a play set in medieval England. It’s about the life of a knight who assists a lord in his travels. I will assign parts. Please pay attention. Although it is fiction, there are many references to actual events.”
Brienne opened her book while Mrs. Stark went down the rows assigning parts. She had to slide it away from Jaime, who had forgotten his own book and was not so subtly leaning over his desk to read from Brienne’s. When Mrs. Stark came down Brienne’s row, he straightened and put his backpack on his desk to hide his lack of a book. Mrs. Stark didn’t notice.
“Brienne, part fourteen.“ Mrs. Stark pointed at the girl then moved down the row. Brienne flipped to the page number on the board, the looked down the character list for number fourteen. When she saw what it was, her eyes went wide and her jaw went slack. No way. Anything but this she thought. She glanced over at Jaime, who was leaning over his desk again. Once he read the list, his eyes also went wide but his mouth, instead of hanging open, split into a huge toothy grin.
Part 14: Tavern Wench
Brienne laid her head on the desk. Aw, shit.