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Arya's POV
I grab my new sword, Snow and everyone is ready to fight this beast. However my eyes widen at the sight of the beast, a direwolf is a white walker. Jon is also in shock of what he is seeing of the direwolf. Sansa is behind Benjen as they slowly back away with the Wight Direwolf pinning its ears back, baring its teeth ready to attack at any moment.
Benjen and Sansa back up enough to get to us. I have Sansa get behind me and Jon so the dead direwolf cannot get to her. I immediately tell Gendry to get her inside, and lock the door. Gendry does so but the dead wolf charges at them. Gendry puts himself in front of Sansa, swinging his hammer. The hammer hits it right in the chest, sending it back. The wolf smashes right into a water trough near the horses.
The Winter Fox takes one of their axes, throws it. The blade of the ax manages to take out the tie post to free the horses. The horses all take off running like a stampede and several run over the dead wolf in the process. The wolf gets crushed on its back left leg and rib cage but still stands as if nothing will slow it down or kill it.
Gendry and Sansa manage to get to the stairs and out of sight from everyone. I give an exhale in relief until the direwolf attacks Lord Royce to the ground. Lord Royce is screaming in agony of the direwolf ripping into his leg then his left arm. His armor is useless against the dead direwolf. Lord Royce attempts to stab the dead direwolf over and over again but he has a plain steel dagger.
Suddenly a breeze flash of white strikes the dead direwolf away from Lord Royce. We all look to see it is Ghost. The dead direwolf seems taken back by Ghost. Ghost bares his teeth with his bright red eyes against the icy blue eyes of his direwolf sibling, Summer. Everyone watches the wolves facing each other, growling as they begin to pace stiffly, tails lashing as they wait for the other to make a move.
"How interesting." The Winter Fox says watching the two wolves when grabbing their ax out of the post.
I run over to Lord Royce who is bleeding out. I grab a cloth to try to stop the bleeding. Lord Royce struggles to talk when the Maester comes over to help tend to his wounds but there is so much blood everywhere. The Maester takes over to stop the bleeding, but his arm and leg are gone. There is no way he will live through this. The Maester asks for more cloths and his tools to try to snitch up his wound.
"He needs to stop trying to talk if he wants to live." The Maester tells me.
Lord Royce grabs my hand saying, "The Dragon Queen can save the north. Without her, the North will be lost. Bring the Dragon Queen back to save the North. Bring Daenerys Targaryen back..."
After he spoke these words, he lets out a sort of death rattle, the same kind I heard from Walder Frey after I cut his throat to the bone. His entire body goes limb and cannot help but wonder if he had lived if Daenerys was still here.
I look at the Maester in the knowledge that he heard his last words about Daenerys. If his final words are not enough for anyone to beg for Daenerys to come back, I believe the North is already lost. I let go of his hand as the Maester asks for some help to carry his body but the Winter Fox stops him.
"His body needs to be burnt now. You go write down his final words with his house sigil stamped at the bottom with your signature and Arya Stark's signature as witnesses to his last words." The Winter Fox says however the Maester is hesitating to do so until the Winter Fox forces him to his feet. "Just go! Go! Do it now!"
The Maester runs right when the direwolves leap to the attack. I turn to see Ghost and the direwolf collide in mid air, then fall snarling and biting into whatever flesh they rip into. The dead wolf hurls Ghost against one of the stone walls, Ghost whimpers in pain from the impact.
I see a young boy grab a stone then throws it. The stone hits the dead wolf on the back of the head. The dead wolf turns and gives a menacing roar to the child. The child looks like he is about to shit his trousers until Ghost latches his mouth onto the back right leg of the dead wolf. The Winter Fox grabs the little boy and orders the others who cannot fight to get upstairs and hide.
They follow the order and I cannot help but wonder why these women, children and old men that cannot fight are even here. All of these bodies would be only useful as more bodies to the Army of the Dead; nothing else.
Jon and the Maester help gather the people away from the two direwolves fighting. The dead direwolf jumps on Ghost's back, biting off his ear, clawing up his entire back side. Ghost manages to get the dead wolf off then falls to the ground. His almost glowing white fur is drenched in blood from his wounds.
I watch in horror to see Ghost like this; I never imagined Ghost like this but the undead wolf cannot be hurt like Ghost can due to the fact he is alive. The target of the undead wolf blue eyes glowing set upon Ghost, circling Ghost ready for the kill.
As the dead direwolf attacks, the Winter Fox intervenes kicking the wolf back. Jon and I are both stunned to see the Winter Fox put herself between Ghost and the other wolf. The Winter Fox has the new dragon glass steel forged sword aimed straight at the Dead Summer. Ghost whimpers in the pain he is in. The Winter Fox extends their left hand back to pet on his forehead to comfort him until the Dead Summer attacks first.
A quick dodge saves the Winter Fox then starts climbing up the stairs toward the overlook of the training yard with Dead Summer following. Dead Summer claws viciously at the Winter Fox who maneuvers evasively through the surroundings until she draws out a long whip. The end of the whip has a metal hook to it that Dead Summer holds off as if knowing the end of the whip is valyrian steel.
The Winter Fox uses the whip to reach out of the overlook. It manages to wrap around one of the higher wooden posts far above the overlook. The Winter Fox goes off the edge with the help of the whip to make the landing softer to the ground. The whip uncurls from the wooden post as the Winter Fox waits for the next move from Dead Summer.
It goes silent as the Winter Fox does not see or hear the direwolf anymore as does anyone else that still remains in the courtyard. It is almost as if Dead Summer was a figment of our imaginations. The Winter Fox wraps up the whip and places it back on her back side but keeps her sword out when taking one step out into the training yard.
"Look out!" I scream when Dead Summer springs toward the Winter Fox from above. Ghost intervenes, throwing Dead Summer down. Ghost and Dead Summer fighting at each other's throats again. They fight as Ghost's claws tear through the stomach of Dead Summer. Ghost still has the advantage being over top pinning it down about to sink his teeth to Dead Summer's head. However the dead wolf swiftly wiggles free and slashes Ghost's front chest.
Ghost howls in agony, falling to his side bleeding. Dead Summer uses its two front paws to pin Ghost down, and readies its jaws to kill Ghost. Out of nowhere, a sort of responding howl echoes through Winterfell that causes Dead Summer to look around. That responding howl wasn't from Ghost or Dead Summer. This howl was from another. My eyes go in the direction the howl came from; a massive flash of grey fur and dark golden eyes run right by me.
"NYMERIA!!!!!"
Nymeria and her pack sprints right at Dead Summer roaring. Nymeria leaps onto the back of Dead Summer. The pack of nine smaller wild dogs snaps their jaws into whatever they can. Dead Summer flings wildly to free itself from the attacking pack. Ghost struggles to stand up as Jon runs over to him, placing his hands where he bleeds most to stop the bleeding.
I watch on smiling in happiness as the pack works together to take down Dead Summer. Nymeria tears off the entire top jaw of Dead Summer. The pack remain biting wherever they can that they rip off the back right leg then go for the next leg they can reach. The wight wolf claws a few wild dogs, causing some to whimper away in fear except Nymeria.
I see the Winter Fox on the other side of the fight aiming their sword right at them. I try to make my way over to the Winter Fox knowing what she is about to do. If she manages to get Dead Summer, she could terribly injure or kill Nymeria with one strike of that sword. I scream for the Winter Fox to stop when the sword is thrown.
The sword flies right into the two wolves fighting. I do not see where the sword lands when Nymeria is on the ground with Dead Summer overtop just as they stop moving as if limp, dead by the strike of the sword. Dead Summer is over Nymeria's body. My mouth drops in sheer horror of what happened.
Everyone in all of Winterfell goes quiet like a mouse when the fighting ceases. The Winter Fox starts taking a few steps forward to take a better look. The faded fur of Dead Summer begins to move however Nymeria emerges from underneath the now dead direwolf.
Nymeria stands tall and over the body of the other direwolf where the sword pierced right through the skull of Dead Summer. The pack of wild dogs goes over to Nymeria barking and howling while Nymeria licks a few that were injured from Dead Summer. I gave a warm smile that Nymeria is such an amazing Alpha to her pack. Nymeria and her pack survived just as the last of the Starks did.
I see the Winter Fox stand over Summer's corpse then kneels down almost in sadness, placing her gloved hand over the eyes to close them. She grabs the handle of the sword and pulls it out of the skull. The Winter Fox lightly shakes her head no to the fact she delivered the final blow. But I do not understand why she is sad.
I approach the Winter Fox asking, "What is it?"
"I never understood the symbolism of the direwolves until now. Lady died and when she died, the innocence of Sansa died. Greywind and Robb died together, connected to the end as neither of them changed much. Rickon and Shaggy Dog bonded so much that they died within days of each other. Ghost became a fighter just like Jon even if they are wounded warriors and they are still together. Nymeria like you went off on her own journey. You both became tougher, stronger, and more savage but retained enough of who you are at heart to remain connected. As for Summer, the real Summer died when the real Bran Stark died to the birth of the Three Eyed Raven. Just as the Targaryens and Dragons are one so are the Starks and Direwolves."
"This direwolf was once a symbol of the true North. Now Dead Summer shows exactly what the North has become without the aid and power of Daenerys Targaryen. Summer shall receive the proper funeral it deserves." The Winter Fox rubs her gloved hand on the forehead of the dead direwolf.
I cannot believe this but I agree with the Winter Fox. Summer deserves a proper funeral. The Winter Fox signals for Monsoon Fox to bring some tools. I run over to Jon and Ghost. The Maester tries to help Jon to stop the bleeding from Ghost's wounds. However Ghost is badly wounded and he actually lost his ear.
Ghost whimpers in pain however he fought off the white walker wolf from everyone. If it wasn't for him fighting Dead Summer, many more probably would have died. I see the Winter Fox approach Ghost and she has a sort of case handed to her by Monsoon Fox. She opens the case to reveal fresh clean towels, sort of bandages and vials filled with unknown liquids and herbs.
"King Stark, may I help your direwolf?"
Jon does not hesitate to say yes. The Winter Fox quickly gets to work in opening a few vials, mixing liquid and herbs into a mortar made out of stone. She finishes mixing the items needed when the Monsoon Fox hands a glass bottle filled with alcohol of some kind. The Winter Fox barely lifts up their mask to take a gulp.
"Jon, Arya and Maester whatever your name is, you will want to hold him down. This is going to hurt like Seven Hells however it will help to clean the wound a little before I add the good stuff." We do not waste another second in doing so. Jon stays at Ghost's head to help calm him down if he needs to. The Winter Fox is ready when we are. "Here we are."
The Winter Fox pours the rest of the alcohol all over his wounds. Ghost howls in the stinging pain it is causing him until the Winter Fox starts putting on the sort of mixed cream. Ghost begins to slow his breathing, calms down the more cream is over his wounds. The Winter Fox uses every last bit of cream on him, even on his ear then begins to bandage his wounds.
"What is that cream you put on him?"
"Quite a number of things mixed together however all freshly grown across the Sunset Sea. The mixed cream will help prevent any infections and will help heal the wounds faster when applied every day. I'll make more than enough for him. He should be fine for now. However I suggest he stays inside until the actual fight against the Night King begins. If he gets injured anymore beyond this, Nymeria will be the last direwolf in the world." The Winter Fox tells us when finishing the last of the bandages on Ghost.
Jon pets Ghost up and down his neck knowing that Ghost is not in much pain due to the medicine on him. Jon extends his hand out to the Winter Fox. The Winter Fox stares at his gloved hand that has some of Ghost's blood on it. "Thank you. How can I repay you?"
"No need. I did it for Ghost. He is a warrior that needed tending to just like any warrior when badly wounded." The Winter Fox grips Jon's hand as they shake for a moment. The Winter Fox and Monsoon Fox pet Ghost before leaving us.
Jon smiles at the sight of Nymeria with her pack. I turn to see Nymeria slowly approach me. Her dark golden eyes look right into me just as they did when I was riding back to Winterfell not too long ago. Nymeria sees me walking toward her slowly. Her eyes are fixed on me approaching her. I move closer to her so I do not cause any sudden movements to make her flee.
Nymeria's dark golden eyes gaze into my eyes, standing still when we are barely a foot away from each other. I return my gaze to my once direwolf now alpha of a mighty pack. Nymeria is my height compared to her towering over me when standing on a rock when we first reunited. Nymeria watches me as I take one more step that I reach my hand to touch her.
I hand gently touches her forehead of mixed grey and white fur, the same fur she had when she was a pup. Nymeria lowers her head giving a long sigh as my hand strokes through her thick fur. I smile gently in happiness that Nymeria is here in Winterfell. I can see that she and her pack are here to help in the fight against the army of the Dead.
Suddenly Ghost gives a sort of bark to Nymeria. Nymeria raises her head to look beyond me to Ghost. Nymeria gives a loud bark back to Ghost in response. Almost like a respecting hello and thank you between one another. But that stops when a black wild dog growls, approaching Ghost as if ready to fight him like Ghost is a threat to Nymeria and their pack.
Nymeria immediately steps between them, roaring savagely at the black wild dog of her pack to get back in line in a violent manner. Her roar is so loud that I have to cover my ears and goosebumps go through my body at the sight of Nymeria roaring with the back of her fur standing up, defending Ghost against one of her pack members.
The black wild dog backs down in fear, whimpering like a child cowering down in a corner in fear. I smile in Nymeria taking charge just like she did when defending me when Joffrey pointed his sword at me, ready to gut me. My mouth is open in a mix of shock and amazement of Nymeria.
"How did she do that?" Gendry asks when I see him and Sansa at the overlook of the training courtyard.
"Nymeria is the alpha." I say with pride. Nymeria looks at the rest of her pack that remains in line under her alpha command.
Then Nymeria slowly walks away, her pack follows behind her. They stop and form a circle around the body of Dead Summer while the Foxes gather piles of wood around its corpse, ready to give Summer a funeral almost like he was a king. However in some ways since summer was one of the remaining Direwolves in the world, he was a rare line such as some royal lines are rare to the Crown.
The Maester comes over with parchment and the final words of Lord Royce. The Maester has his signature already at the bottom along with the sigil for House Royce; a shower of pebbles on an orange square surrounded by runes on a white field.
He gives me a quill and some ink. I dip the tip of the quill into the ink and sign my name at the bottom. I exhale handing the quill back to the Maester. However the Winter Fox grabs the quill from him, dips it in the ink, giving her signature on the parchment as well.
She hands the quill back to the Maester and says, "Please read aloud to everyone his last words now. Thank you so much, Maester."
The Maester seems standoffish when it comes to the Winter Fox but he does so. He holds the parchment out for anyone that remains in the courtyard to listen.
"In the final written words of Lord Royce, 'the dragon Queen can save the north. Without her, the north will be lost. Bring the dragon queen back to save the north. Bring Daenerys Targaryen back...' Arya Stark, the Winter Fox and I gave our signatures as proof of his last words." The Maester rolls up the parchment and no one attempts to question it.
"Any words for Lord Royce?" The Monsoon Fox says grabbing a torch then pours some ale on the corpse of Lord Royce while the Winter Fox puts some wood around his dead body.
Not a word was spoken until Benjen stepped forward. "John Royce was head and Lord of Runestone. A vassal for House Arryn and father to Ser Waymar Royce. A ranger in the night's watch who was said to be killed by the White Walkers when they returned. No one listened, including me. I should have listened otherwise they would still be here along with many others. Rest easy, lord Royce."
The Monsoon Fox drops the torch on Lord Royce and his body catches fire easily. The Foxes and Uncle Benjen walk away as his body burns away like it never was. I wonder how the Foxes show more emotion over a dead direwolf than a man dying. But they hardly knew Lord Royce like some others here in Winterfell. We linger around his burning corpse for a while before my eyes go to the Foxes gathering more firewood.
The Foxes finish piling wood around Summer's body while some people gather around to watch what is about to take place. I need to go get Bran since Summer was his direwolf after all. I begin to make my way to the Godswood tree but our uncle is already pushing him in his chair to be here for Summer's pyre funeral.
Uncle Benjen stops him in front of Summer's body. Bran extends his hand out, placing it on his forehead, giving Summer one last stroke of his remaining fur. I do my best to keep my emotions contained as Bran leans back with a small smile on his face.
"Look at you, Summer. I never realized how big you were. When we first found you, you were all such small pups that lost your mother. She was a tough, old beast as my father called her. You never whined or ran away. You always stayed with me like a loyal friend would do. You saved my life and my mother's against the man who was sent to kill me with the very same dagger my sister has now."
I look down at the dagger not knowing that. That explains another reason why Bran gave the dagger to me. Who would want to keep the very same dagger that was wielded to kill him as a boy?
"And the very last act you did for me was dying to fight off the White Walkers for us to escape the Night King when he attacked the Three Eyed Raven's tree. I wanted you to live a long life and die an old direwolf, not the terrible fate you had to suffer. You saved me, boy." Bran actually has some tears in his eyes for Summer.
I feel my chest getting heavy in his words as The Winter Fox and Monsoon Fox come with flamed torches, ready to burn his body. Bran gives Summer one last stroke of his fur before Uncle Benjen pulls his chair back.
"Winter Fox, may I do the honors? The direwolf Summer is of the North. I feel like I should do the honors." Jon steps forward.
The Winter Fox extends her torch to Jon and he takes it in his hand. He stands before the body of Summer and has no ill thoughts toward Summer. He knows that the Night King had a hold of his body. The real Summer never would have attacked Ghost. He would be right alongside Nymeria, Ghost and the pack to fight for the living.
Jon takes one last look before extending the torch to the piles of wood surrounding the body. The wood easily catches fire as Jon backs away with Ghost beside him. Jon kneels down, petting Ghost while many surround the pyre. The flames spread through the wood then the corpse of Summer catches fire.
Suddenly Nymeria, her pack and Ghost lift up their heads with their eyes closed, all letting out howls at the same time. Their howls are long and sad as if mourning the loss of Summer. Their howls echo through the land of the north just as they once did thousands of years ago when our ancestors had direwolves at their side.
Their howls continue on echoing through Winterfell after all of the wolves lower their heads of the flames breaking through the cold weather. We all remain watching until the Winter Fox and Monsoon bring forth items of sorts.
I see that they have incense, a blue wooden bowl with the symbol of a direwolf on the bowl. They fill the bowl with water, and then they both pick up a hand full of snow and dirt on the ground placing it in the bowl. The Monsoon Fox lights up what appears to be some sort of plant. The plant is almost ever-green, needle-like leaves and blue flowers.
They place the incense over top of the bowl and place it before the head of Summer that has yet to catch fire. Then they back away lighting up the plants by the flames; they begin to walk around the circle of the pyre direwolf, giving a sort of ritual to the direwolf. I watch the bowl and incense catch fire as does the head of Summer, the last piece of his body to burn to ashes.
Suddenly the Winter Fox begins to sing but it is a song I never heard before. She lifts her head up, almost as if worshipping the crescent moon that is shining between the snow clouds above Winterfell. She kneels down while extending her arms out and her eyes go from a dead blue to unsettling jet black eyes. Her voice is almost hauntingly beautiful, cold but pleasing to the ear. It is something striking everyone's attention but makes everyone uneasy without immediately knowing why. It is almost like she is helping the direwolf, Summer welcome Death like it is an old friend.
'Wither and decay. End this destiny. Break these earthly chains and set the spirit free. The spirit free.'
My body is sent with cold chills through my entire body of those words. I have seen many unsettling things but nothing as unsettling as this. Her haunting song is no longer echoing through Winterfell when she stands to her feet but her head is still looking up to the sky and crescent moon.
I wonder what she is seeing in the sky until I see exactly what she is looking at. I grab Jon's arm so he can look as well. Jon and many others begin to see what we are truly facing without Daenerys and her forces. It is the Night King riding on the back of a dragon. My mouth falls open at the sight of the dead dragon flying above Winterfell.
I see that holes mark the vast leathery wings of the dragon. The dragon's eyes glow icy blue just like Summer's eyes did under the strange power of the Night King. The dragon is large enough to destroy Winterfell all on its own if he is to attack right now. But I see the dragon Jon rode on flying directly across from the Night King.
The dragon roars in a fury to see what has become of his dragon sibling. The Night King does not appear to care about the other dragon flying right across from him. Neither of the dragons attack each other but none of them would hold back if they were to go head to head in the sky.
However my attention goes to the Winter Fox glaring at the evil dead King and the Night King glares right at the Winter Fox as if they have met before. The Winter Fox and Monsoon Fox draw their weapons in case another attack is about to happen.
"I know you hear me and consider this a warning! I'm coming for you, Night King! Nothing you send against the world of the men will stop the Living! You'll pay for taking the life of Viserion, the dragon you enslave and victory will belong to the Targaryen Queen! Not because of her powerful of her dragons but because of the power of prophecy!"
The Night King shows no fear of any kind in the words from the Winter Fox. The snow clouds begin to cover the entire sky that our eyes can no longer see the Night King on the dead dragon. The other dragon roars in anger as if in anger that his dragon sibling is gone.
The Winter Fox and Monsoon Fox look over to Bran as if wondering what Bran can do against the Night King. Then they both look at Jon. "Those words are filled with nothing but shit without Daenerys."
"What are you talking about?" I question the Foxes.
"In other words, the world of men is fucked without Daenerys Targaryen..." The Monsoon Fox responds to me.
My eyes go to Jon who looks at the burning ashes of the direwolf, Summer. It is almost like a symbol of what the North will become without Daenerys Targaryen. She needs to return to aid the North. The question now is how does anyone particularly Jon bring her back? What can be said to Daenerys?
I exhale wondering what can be done to bring Daenerys back. My mind is racing until it comes to a halt. There is only one major act that can bring harmony together. Jon is the key to all of it. If he won't take the Iron Throne, then maybe there is another way to bring peace without sitting on the throne himself.
"Jon, marry her. Marry Daenerys." I say out loud before I realize I said it out loud.
Many turn their heads to me in anger for even speaking of a marriage between them. The rest have their mouths open in what I just said to him especially Sansa. I grab Jon's hand knowing where his mind must be after all he has just learned. But if marrying Daenerys is the way to save the North, all of these people then he should at least try.
"Jon, listen to me. A marriage with Daenerys can save it all. She can sit the throne and you can be King consort in name only."
"Arya, don't say another word." Sense says in fear that Jon would consider it. But a marriage between the two would make them difficult to defeat especially against Cersei Lannister.
"Sansa, if a marriage act is the only way to save the North now, then it needs to be done. I don't think I need to tell you all of the lives that have already been taken like Lord Royce." I point to his now rotting corpse where the Maester is documenting his final words into his archive of parchment and books.
"I don't think I need to tell you how all of us will end without Daenerys. We need her, Sansa. There is no way around it. Even Lord Royce knew it just before he died. He said that the North needs Daenerys as he held my hand dying."
Sansa looks to the Maester who shook his head yes to confirm the last words of Lord Royce. Benjen stares at her and it appears Benjen had a few words with her. Whatever those words were, it actually broke through Sansa's stubbornness.
"Alright but even if Jon proposes to her, she would never take it at the risk of the North rising to power." Sansa says, still trying to deny the help of Daenerys.
"Shut the fuck up and let someone smart do the talking, Sansa Bolten or Sansa Lannister. I forget which actual name is yours these days. Arya Stark, you are no longer no one. You are the Smart One, keep talking." Monsoon Fox says.
"If marrying Daenerys Targaryen secures the North to live and much more, then marry her, Jon."
"Arya, you know why I cannot-"
The Winter Fox grabs Jon and throws him against the wall. I take a step when her new sword tip is right at my throat as if knowing I was going to try to stop her. The Winter Fox has her left gloved hand on Jon's chest.
"Jon, forget everyone here. Just you and me right now. Think about what Arya just said to you. If you marry Daenerys Targaryen, that could mean several different things. It could save the North, place you in a higher seat than just the King in the North. Arya the Smart One is correct, you would be King Consort. Daenerys will climb the steps to the Iron Throne while you stand next to it, nothing more. And the much more is something the both of you need to discuss further." The Winter Fox tells him.
Jon sinks in the words as the Winter Fox steps away. "Now since your strength is not in numbers, the next best thing to do would be setting up tricks."
"Tricks?" Gendry asks.
"Booby traps. And we have more than plenty to spare. Anyone willing to help set them up, the better prepared all of you will be. The white walkers will be here any minute so let's get this going. Come on."
The Foxes go to a wagon they must have brought in without anyone noticing. They reveal all kinds of supplies; barrels of ale, unused torches, pikes, buckets, a series of thin metal lines and bells. The Winter Fox tells me to put the bells on the knobs of the doors of the main rooms and the great hall. I do not hesitate neither does Gendry to put bells on as many doors we can. When we finish and go back to see what else we can do, there is torches everywhere in the courtyard, all along the wall line of where the archers are setting up.
"What are with the torches?"
"White Walkers can sense anything warm near them. All of the torches and fire going will help throw them off which will help to take more out. And to the archers that end up with common arrow heads, they can light the arrows and still kill then with fire if not Dragon glass during any volley." The Monsoon Fox says planting another torch.
The Winter Fox hand me, Gendry and others with the pikes with some hammers and nails. We immediately head to the great hall to nail the entire doors with pikes. We go as quickly as we can then move to the gates of the godswood tree. The whole lot of us use the rest of the pikes on the gates. We cover the gates from bottom to as close as we could to the top. Some accidentally receive cuts from a pike edge on forearms, and hands. It is nothing none of us can't handle.
We return to see if anything else we can do when we see the nearest gate filled up with barrels. It is enough to take out the gate and entire wall if it was to be lit on fire. Then the Foxes finish adjusting the series of thin metal lines around the courtyard. The Foxes test the thin metal line by allowing themselves to trip over it. They fall to the ground then turn over and get to their feet knowing most of their traps are ready.
The Foxes grab multiple lines of rope then manage to use their surroundings to be on the rooftop of Winterfell. They went around the entire castle, tying off the ropes wherever they could. The Foxes ask any to test the ropes to be secured. Tormund, Freefolks, Night's Watch and several others test them and shout when secured. I check the last rope by climbing the rope then allow myself to slide down the rope to land on the ground.
Suddenly I notice a wet substance that is covered all over the rope. I smell it and know it is covered it more ale. I smile in what the Foxes are doing. They plan to use these ropes in battle then light up any dead walkers that dare to climb the ropes. They have all sorts of going traps, tricks against them. It is going to be interesting to see whenever it will take place in battle.
Suddenly a strange noise echoes through Winter fell that makes everyone stop. Nymeria and her pack of wild dogs are thrown off by this strange noise. It is almost like a vocalization of a scream mixed with a raspy howl from an unknown animal. Sansa attempts to speak but the Monsoon Fox puts his gloved hand over her mouth so she doesn't speak a word.
The Foxes listen to the strange calls then take off running. Jon, Benji, and I follow them. They go onto the wall to see beyond the lands of Winterfell. I begin to bear the sound of marching in the far distance as it begins to become darker like nightfall is taking over. But this is no common nightfall in winter.
We look out into the darkness when the Foxes shout, "Form up!!! Archers to the wall!! All old men, women and children unable to fight need to get inside with a weapon or torch, and bar the doors!! Jon, ask Ghost to go inside with the others who cannot defend themselves!"
Jon and I stare ahead and just enough eyesight to see beyond the snowy field, there is white walkers sitting on horseback while holding a long blade of ice. My mouth falls at the sight of the Army of the Dead extends toward the dark horizon like a plague ready to rid the world of men. The White Walkers gaze at the castle, ready to kill anything that moves.
Our entire worlds become slow while everyone else is moving in the chaos erupting all around. Benjen takes Bran somewhere he can protect him. Davos, the Freefolk and the Night's Watch lead others into their formation, ready to fight. Everything and everyone continues to appear in chaos but it comes to a sudden stop when Jon snaps me out of the slowed down world.
"Arya, go with the archers! They need you with them! And do not hold back, kill as many as you can. They do not tire, stop nor feel anything for the dead. Give those fuckers a fight, sister."
I stare at Jon in terror that this will be the last time I see him again. I hug him real quick as he kisses me on my forehead like he always did when we were children. I try to keep my emotions in check as I take one last look to my brother.
"Winter is here." I tell him.
"Winter is here." He repeats back to me. I walk away as we say the words for the first real time it is meant to be said like it is the words of House Stark.
Gendry hands me a bow and plenty of Dragonglass arrow heads. He has his battle hammer in hand. I notice his hammer is covered in Dragonglass the way the Winter Fox showed how to coat it over common steel. He can use it in battle against them now along with the long knife and sword in case he needs backup weapons.
"Arya, if we do not live through-"
I already knew what he was going to say and I know that now is not the best time so I have a better way to say what we need to say to each other. I grab him by the neck of his shirt and pull him right to my lips. Gendry is surprised but falls right into our kiss. He presses his lips against mine while his right hand rests on the back of my head.
Our eyes look to one another as I tell him, "Yes to everything you were about to say. For now, stay alive and give those fuckers a fight."
He shakes his head yes then kisses me one more time. A few moments pass when we somehow manage to come apart, walking away to our positions. Gendry goes to the small number of men that will be fighting the white walkers on the ground if they breach through. I stand behind the line of archers we have on the walls of Winterfell.
Nymeria walks behind the line or archers which causes some of them to tremble but Nymeria stands next to me and she is my height when having her head held up high. Nymeria truly is here to fight for her once home when she was just a small pup. Her wild dog pack is done below with Gendry, ready for the fight to come into the grounds of Winterfell as they are snarling their teeth, ears pinned back and their sharp teeth ready to tear anything to shreds.
I only imagined doing anything like this as a little girl, yet here I am doing what I always wanted to do; fight as a warrior into battle and glory. However it is not as good as I imagined it to be given the enemy we are fighting against. I can see the fear on every face around me. And that fear will overcome them unless I have something to say.
"Show them no mercy for you shall receive none! Let's give these fuckers a fight!" I shout to all of the archers.
I step through the line of archers ordering them to draw. Their first arrows are drawn back on their bow strings. I draw my first arrow as well and take aim to the marching army of the dead. However I notice they appear to only send possibly ten thousand dead walkers to Winterfell.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jon and the Foxes to my left as they draw their weapons. Jon's sword, Long Claw shines bright like a star in the Long Night from the fire torch by him. It is almost like the sword has been waiting for this fight longer than Jon has. My eyes go back to the dead marching closer that I can smell them from on top of the walls.
It is as they were described, the smell of rotting corpses. And look like death with the thousands of walking bodies missing arms, half their stomachs, heads bashed in, dead hair somewhat on their heads or no hair at all. It is almost like thousands of House crypts walking among the world of men. But we shall send to to their proper deaths. The dead get closer that they are within range of our arrows.
Jon's POV
The Winter Fox grabs my hand holding Long Claw. I wonder what she has to say now. "Jon, you have a dragon up there, urging to burn them all! Rhaegal wants to fight as much as you do! The Night King took his brother! Go to Rhaegal! Do you know remember the word Daenerys said to use?!"
"What word?" I cannot remember with all that is happening.
"Dracarys. It means dragonfire. Go!" She pushes me to get on top of the wall as I hear Rhaegal flying over Winterfell to me ready to fight. Rhaegal lets all hear his mighty battle roar.
Rhaegal hovers at the edge of the wall then grips his feet and the edge of his wings on the wall to get closer to me. I do not hesitate to step onto Rhaegal. I get onto the back end of his neck, ready for him to take flight. My eyes glare at the ten thousand white walkers heading this way. But the Winter Fox gets my attention again. "What is it?"
The Winter Fox dead blue eyes turn into the unsettling jet black eyes and gazes at me like there is a smile underneath her battle helmet when she shouts in a twisted dark, distorted voice, "Jon, do as the Mad King kept saying for hours; burn them all. Burn them all!!!"
The fierce command and final words from my own grandfather, the Mad King comes back in the war against the world of men. Rhaegal takes off ready to burn them all as the Winter Fox spoke in the massive snow storm overpowering the skies above Winterfell.
I grip my hands tighter on his spikes when seeing the Army of the Dead here at Winterfell. I want to rip them apart and kill as many as I can before I am to be dead. And hopefully I can rip out the cold, frozen heart of the Night King myself.
The Dead charge right at Winterfell, ready to kill everything that moves. And so am I.
Hey everyone. I hope the chapter was a good read. Please let me know your thoughts in the comment section.168Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdE1JyQf3zy
I want to give a huge shout out and loving tribute to the short but yet beautiful incantation sang during Summer's pyre.168Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWGE9SP37u
The incantation goes to the Moon Incantation from the tv series, Tangled. The song incantation is below if anyone wants to listen to it. I have much love for this song and found it fitting for this moment. Please no hate for it if at all possible.
I hope everyone is doing well. Please lots of prayers, high hopes I find my own place within three weeks. Need my own place due to my sister having a little girl. The room I am currently living in will be for her little girl when she arrives. Super excited to be an aunt to my youngest sister's first child!
Have an awesome night/day everyone! - Author's Note Faith Hammett ❤️🖤💙 XOXO
P.S - Next chapter coming soon. Internet being weird.
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