How did you end up serving Renly?
When I was a girl, my father held a ball. I'm his only living child, so he wanted to make a good match for me. He invited dozens of young Lords to Tarth. I didn't want to go, but he dragged me to the ballroom. And it was wonderful. None of the boys noticed how mulish and tall I was. They shoved each other and threatened to duel when they thought it was their turn to dance. And whispered in my ear, how they wanted to marry me and take me back to their castles. My father smiled at me, and I smiled at him. I had never been so happy...'till I saw a few of the boys snickering. And then, they all started to laugh; they couldn't keep the game going any longer. They were toying with me. "Brienne the Beauty", they called me. Great joke. And I realized I was the ugliest girl alive. A great, lumbering beast. I tried to run away, but Renly Baratheon took me in his arms. "Don't let them see your tears," he told me, "They're nasty little shits, and nasty little shits aren't worth crying over." He danced with me, and none of the other boys could say a word. Renly was the King's brother, after all.
But, wasn't he...Lord Tyrion said he was...
Yes, Pod, he liked men! I'm not an idiot. He didn't love me, he didn't want me. He danced with me because he was kind, and didn't want to see me hurt. He saved me from being a joke... from that day, until his last day. And I couldn't save him, in return. Nothing's more hateful than failing to protect the one you love. One day, I will avenge King Renly.
But you said a shadow murdered him. How do you fight a shadow?
A shadow with the face of Stannis Baratheon. I know it was Stannis. I know it in my heart. Stannis is a man, not a shadow, and a man can be killed.
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