They had spent the evening together; Tormund had sent for food for Brienne so she could eat when she woke. Between sheer exhaustion and the exceedingly long ride she had just endured, she was very hungry. The stew was of much better quality than what she had eaten at Castle Black but then again even stale bread tasted glorious to a hungry man. Tormund had watched her from across the table with a gaze that didn't believe that she was really here, she smiled softly up at him, "Tormund, are you well?" Brienne asked after swallowing a hearty mouthful of stew. The corner of Tormund's mouth twitched up into a smile and his hazel eyes stared deep into hers,

"I don't dare look away, if I do you might not be there when I look back" he said softly as he took her hand in his own. Tormund pressed his lips to her knuckles softly, his course ginger beard tickling her skin.

"I am not going anywhere Tormund, I swear it, by the old gods and the new" Brienne stated with the faintest smirk playing on her lips. Tormund grinned at her,

"Well they smiled on me when they brought you back to me" he said before taking another mouthful of stew. Tormund's mind was plagued with the battle, no matter how he tried to shift the images, they always haunted him. Every night since that day he had suffered ghastly nightmares; seeing the piles of bodies, among them his friends and family. Their bodies motionless but their bright blue eyes followed him as he walked past. Amidst the bodies he could see a lock of familiar platinum hair, panic rose like bile in his throat as he dug through the gore to find Brienne's emotionless face, her eyes glowed sapphire as her hand snatched him by the throat and gripped him with inhuman strength. That was when he awoke, out of breath and sweat beading on his skin.

Tormund needed to speak about it lest he go mad with the nightmares. Brienne looked at him from across the table with a concerned expression,

"Tormund, is something bothering you?" Brienne asked, "Is it about the battle for Winterfell? No one has told me what happened yet" Brienne encouraged, taking his hand in hers. Tormund nodded,

"The Bolton bastard slaughtered men by the hundreds, both ours and his own to create a wall of bodies. The smell-" he curled his lip in disgust at the memory, "they surrounded and trapped us, butchering us like sheep" Tormund spat, "everyone ran for the wall, meeting the Bolton soldiers at the top and adding to the pile. My people were trampled, they were suffocated and they were slaughtered" he muttered, "I should be happy, Jon has been named King in the North, plus you and I are still alive" he said, looking at their hands and smiled softly, "and yet I am haunted by these foul dreams every time I close my eyes" Tormund said barely louder than a whisper. Brienne looked at him with an expression of sorrow and empathy, she didn't know what to say.

"Tormund, I-" she started,

"It is alright Brienne, I will figure it out" he said, "don't worry about me" Tormund stated, giving her a half-hearted smile. "But I cannot thank the gods enough for your safe return" his brown eyes flickered to her hands, a warm smile spreading over his lips as he pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

The door behind them swung open as Jon entered followed by Sansa, both Brienne and Tormund rose to greet them. Jon looked strained, but then he had been named King in the North despite being a bastard and then, there was the ever-present knowledge of the white-walkers and the inevitable Armageddon that they would bring with them. Sansa stepped forward to Brienne,

"Brienne! I am so pleased to see you have recovered from your journey" Sansa sighed with relief, Brienne went down onto one knee and bowed her head,

"Words cannot describe how sorry I am that I could not save your uncle, he was a good man and deserved better than a death at the Lannister's hands" she stated, her brows furrowed together, her crystal eyes widening as she felt Sansa's hand on her shoulder.

"There is nothing to forgive, it was known that my uncle was both stubborn and proud" Sansa stated, "However, all is not lost. The horsemaster you brought with you, Borel is proving to be invaluable. We now have a good bloodline to make strong chargers for our cavalry" she spoke with a smile. Brienne was shaky on her feet as she stood, it had been a hard ride to Winterfell but if it had helped their war effort then it was worth it.