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Author's Note - Hey everyone! Finally posted the new chapter! I hope it is a good read. Please give me feedback in the comment section aside from the amount of reads the story has, etc. This chapter begins right around when the storm in the previous chapter begins through other character's point of views. Next chapter to come soon. I hope everyone is doing well. Much love. Have a good morning/day/night. XOXO. :-)24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcNg2xlrl7e
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Lyanna’s POV
The Foxes of the Sunset Sea remain guarding on both ends if the Dead were to get in here somehow. I fear that we could be the only ones living in the North now. I do not know how the world can go on if this is all that is left of humanity in the crypt. What will the world be with this alone and without a King or Queen?
I shake back and forth in the cold when Davos takes off his cloak and wraps it around me. I shake my head no because he needs to be kept warm. Davos refuses and ensures the cloak is around me good. I can already feel some warmth in the simple act of kindness and reassures Davos has shown to me. Davos has a look on his face that the world has not ended and we are all still here.
Davos sits down next to me when I have something I want to ask him and it will be very thin ice to ask him about. However he is the only one to ask since the King in the North is not here to ask. “Ser Davos, may I ask why King Jon banished the Red Witch from the North?”
Davos stares at me like he suspected someone to ask him this question at some point. He takes a deep breath, pressing his lips together and his eyes filled up with tears immediately. I regret asking him this question already by his reaction. Davos takes a few moments before looking at me in a way no man has. It is the look I always imagined and wanted if I was to ever meet my father but I doubt it since my mother always said my father was a bear, nothing more.
“Reach into the left inside pocket of the cloak.” He whispers to me.
I reach into the pocket and feel something made of wood. I pull it out to see it is a craved like a stag but it is blackened with missing parts of its legs and one antler. It feels like it was touched by fire but it never caught. I brush my fingers across it when Davos extends his left hand to me. I place it in his hand and he gently holds it in two hands.
“That evil woman was banished from the North because she burnt an innocent, little girl at the stake. She did it because her so called Lord of Light commanded her to do it. That innocent little girl was the daughter of Stannis Baratheon; Princess Shireen of House Baratheon. She was only kept alive because she had his blood in her, nothing more to Stannis and Selyse Baratheon.”
“But to me, I loved Princess Shireen like she was my own. She was good and kind. If she had lived to be the true princess she was, she would have brought the same goodness and kindness to the world like she did for me. Princess Shireen taught me how to read even though I was labeled as a traitor and imprisoned for saving a boy’s life from being sacrificed by Stannis and the evil woman.”
I smile knowing that he was originally a smuggler before he ever served Stannis Baratheon. It does not surprise me that he does not know how to read. But the fact that she taught him how to read helps me to understand how he felt toward her as a father more than her own father, Stannis. I heard stories of her twisted mother.
“How could a good and kind girl be born from those like Stannis and Selyse?” I ask him in the wonders of how a good person could be born from those that are not good. It is certainly one of the many great wonders of the world that I will never understand.
“I honestly couldn’t tell you. But it made no difference. She died screaming in the flames by a command from the Lord of Light. And I was not there for her like I should have been. I would have stopped them however I could to make sure she lived. Then I would have taken her in as my daughter. We would have read the stories about the Dance of Dragons. She said I would be able to read it myself but I wanted her to read it to me. She would always be the better reader than I ever will.”
“This burnt stag is all that is left of her in the world apart from my time with her. She wanted me to make another so the stag was not alone.” He stares at the wooden stag with tears in his eyes.
“You should make another and read the stories about the Dance of Dragons. It is a way to keep her alive and to hold onto the goodness and kindness she did leave in the world.” I tell him with the hope it will help him.
Ser Davos looks at me stunned to say such words and before he could say a word to me, I tell him, “I am not always harsh, Ser Davos. It all depends on the one I am speaking to and you risked your life for mine. It is the least I can do. And maybe you can make me a craved bear?”
Davos gives a small smile to me and shakes his head up and down in agreement. He sighs almost in relief in what I said to him. He shakes his head then says, “I will, Lady Mormont.”
Suddenly the tunnel starts rumbling violently and the roof of the tunnel cracks. Everyone screams in what is happening when Davos immediately covers me. I see others are being covered in large crack stone falling on the tunnel leading to the crypts of Winterfell.
“Move!” One of the masked Foxes screams when picking up two children, running to the other end of the tunnel.
Without a moment to think, Davos and I run to the other end of the tunnel while we drag two children with us. Every man or woman capable of doing so grab a child and run. The tunnel roof collapses, blocking off the strange door into the crypts with the sound of all the children and babies screaming. Everything is cracking and rumbling like the earth above is being ripped apart violently. Then something shakes underneath the ground as we continue running to the other side.
The flooring of the tunnel is ripped in half with a large ice spike, breaking through any structure made by the living. The cold air breaks through with an ice cold breeze spreading through, causing things to freeze up. We have nowhere else to run that we all huddle together in warmth and prayers that we are not crushed to our death when everything goes silent.
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Bronn’s POV
Everything is turning to complete shit with massive ice spikes bursting out of the ground like it is from the Seven Hells itself. I spin around to see every living man, woman or animal of all kinds running away from the middle of the storm. And in seeing all I have seen here already, the loyalty with the Lannisters has ended with this shitty madness.
The Desert Fox runs past me screaming, “Run, Bronn!”
Podrick, the man known as William and The Desert Fox are running like their asses are on fire. I run with them too. I honestly cannot see more than a foot ahead of me with the wild, freezing winds blowing in all different directions. We manage to stay together running where the Desert Fox is leading us. I imagine it is toward the encampment for the Living army.
I feel the earth beneath me shake like something is forcing its way through to tear apart anything that once stood here in the heart of the North. The sounds of horses and war elephants crying out fleeing this storm; I am nearly ran down by a few horses with no riders but Podrick moves me out of the way in time. I sigh in relief of Podrick saving me but the snowy ground beneath Podrick erupts.
Podrick cries out when an ice spike pierces his left armpit, through and through. I immediately draw my sword, cutting the iced spike to free him. Podrick needs to keep the ice spike in his arm otherwise he will bleed out to death. I take his right arm over my shoulders and keep him moving to safety. He saved my life; I will not let him die.
We continue onward however I realize the storm is doing more than ripping apart the lands of the North. I feel my entire body getting colder by the second like we are going to be frozen solid if we stop moving all together. I notice the sounds of the ice as if the ice is alive, seeking anything that is living. My eyes widen when I see a fully armored man freeze up a few steps away from us.
I am filled up with panic at the sight of the man with his eyes open and mouth dropped in being frozen to death. The panic in me goes over the top when I feel Podrick get weaker by the second but I am not letting this fucker die like this. We are not going to die by freezing the death!
“Come on, Podrick! Stay alive! You have to tell others about what you did to those girls that they gave you the time for free! Keep moving! Keep going, you fucker!” I shout to him.
Podrick nods his head yes to me, doing what he can to keep his legs moving. We do not stop but it feels like a whole lifespan went right by us at the rate it is taking to get to the Army of the Living. I let out a groan massive relief when we finally pass by the forest line to the camp of the Living. Podrick and I fall to the ground knowing we were safe from the storm.
I struggle to sit up as I watch others pass the forest line to safety. They are no longer freezing in the forest unlike they were in the snow storm. I realize that the freezing storm is not able to pass by the forest line; almost like there is something stopping it from going beyond the land around Winterfell.
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Arya’s POV
My mouth hangs to see what is happening all around us while everything living charges back to the encampment. Gendry, Benjen and Bran are seeing all of this happen as well. Gendry goes out to help anyone to cross into the forest line since the storm is strangely not crossing the threshold of the woods. I am not sure why it is not but this must be a fucked up way for the Night King to let what remains of the Dead to flee.
This is nothing more than a last move to keep himself in the Long Night against us. I would do the same if I was in his place. I hear several dragons roar in the skies above and these roars are not threatening and powerful like they usually are. Their roars are filled with trouble getting through the skies in this strange storm.
I look back wondering if I should go in to help but I stop when something unnatural happens before our eyes. One of the Dothraki is struggling to get to the forest line but he stops moving. I witness his body frozen solid like ice in just a few breathes, frozen dead where he is. My mouth remains hanging in shock that the living will die instantly if they stop moving in there. If they cannot become meat in the army of the dead, the Night King will take out more of the living this way, weaken the numbers.
“Stay with Bran! I will not freeze out there like they can!” Benjen shouts to me.
“Tell them to keep moving or they’ll freeze to death!” I yell back to Benjen.
I don’t hesitate to quickly limp my way over to Bran who is on a horse since his wheelchair was left behind in the Godswood tree. Benjen charges into the storm, bringing in as many as he can to the forest line. I watch on while Gendry helps a group of Unsullied, Dothraki and Golden company men to safety. Gendry looks nearly frozen to death himself that he falls to his knees, shaking in the cold.
I go over to him while he is rubbing his chest to get any warmth back to his body when I see the Golden Company solider, Aaron come over with several blankets. He immediately wraps two around Gendry then wraps one around me and Bran. Aaron helped us earlier on the massive crossbow and now he is helping us again.
“Thank you, Aaron.” Gendry barely lets out in between shivering.
“Stay here.” Aaron says to us just before he goes into the storm.
I call out for Aaron but he does not respond to my calls then my attention is drawn to something behind Gendry. It is Ghost, Nymeria and what is left of her pack watching all of this. They walk forward and I cry out to them to stop. Thankfully they do stop at several points of the forest line. I wonder what they are doing until they lift their heads up releasing their songs to pass through the storm. Each one begins howling out into the storm. I smile to see their cleverness in what they are doing. The wolves are howling to anything living to follow their howls to the forest line. I see more and more people coming through due to the howling of the wolves.
Then the Monsoon Fox rides through with two more soldiers on his horse. When he passes over the forest line, the two men on the horse with him fall off the horse onto the snowy ground, nearly frozen to death too. Bran and I look to see anyone that crosses into the forest is shaking due to the freezing cold. The Monsoon Fox turns his horse around, riding right back into the frozen storm to find whoever else he can to save.
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Winter Fox’s POV
I stand up to see the chaos the Night King caused in uprooting all of these lands. He did the exactly same thing to drive the living away for the remaining dead to escape in the Battle for the Dawn. I struggle to see ahead of me until the Night King comes out of nowhere, swinging his ice spear. I immediately duck down then spin around.
I put my forearms together like an X in front of my face and the ice spear is stopped by the spiked armor on my forearms. The Night King tries to pull his spear back however we are locked together. The Night King tries to deliver a low blow to me but it is foiled. I use this to my advantage and hurl him to the ground. He lands onto his backside as I disarm him.
I deliver a low blow to help me stand over him. He grabs my neck but instead he grabs the neck of my armor, ripping it right off like a thin fabric. The Night King stops for some reason, glaring at me when something I had tucked away is now exposed from underneath my neck armor. His icy blue eyes look at the item and it is my necklace pendant. The pendant is the wolf howling at the moon carved out of solid wood from a maple wood hanging from a silver steel chain.
I cannot help but to freeze solid at the sight on his ice, cold face wondering if he is still in there. I follow my instincts turning the pendant over to show the engraving on the back. His hand slowly reaches for the pendant to get a closer look at it. Everything inside me fills up with a wonder I have had over time. His cold, strange fingers brush over the craved words. I cannot resist in saying the words out loud to him.
‘I am yours, my Moon. And you are mine, your Wolf.’
I lightly shake my head yes in seeing his face truly look at me like he is recognizing me under all of the armor. I slowly take a step back from him in the nightmare happening all around. He gets up to his feet standing just a few inches from me with the wind blowing with snow falling all over the place.
The Night King slightly moves his head to the right to really look at me when my eyes move to something approaching him from behind. My mouth barely opens in shock to see it is a wight wolf. This wight wolf would rip Ghost and Nymeria to pieces if they were to fight against this one. The piercing blue eyes and black fur with a touch of white is glowing from the large gashing wound on the front of its chest; glowing blue like its eyes.
This large beast of a direwolf is exactly what direwolves were from the ancient days when Kings of the North ruled. He places his ice cold hand on the shoulder of this beast as if letting me know that this creature is his from the beginning. I remain in shock of this dead direwolf even though hundreds of people and animals running in terror of the freezing storm.
This large direwolf takes a step forward snarling but immediately stops. It appears that they remember me in some way just like the Children of the Forest do. The Night King lets out an ice growl to the direwolf. She does not to move any further but their eyes remain on me.
“It cannot be. Luna…” I barely let out when the ground underneath erupts and sends us flying back.
I am slammed against the stone wall I was impaled on and fall face first into the ground. I struggle to get up as I can hardly see anything in front of me. I spin around searching for the Night King in the hopes I get have another chance but there is no sight of him.
“Damn it! Fuck!” I shout as loud as possible until I hear something coming my way.
I turn my body around at the sound of hooves running toward me. I smile to see my horse gallop right up to me. She stops in front of me when I see my axes and sword within reach. I collect them then grab a hold of the valyrian steel rope to mount up. She neighs ready to go until we hear a familiar roaring cry a few feet from us.
We follow it to find Akar stuck by his back left paw. I instantly grab my whip and use it to wrap around the main crumbled stone on his paw. I hook the end of handle of the whip to the steel rope on my horse so she can help pull the weight off him. I dismount and go to the crumbled stone to help free him too.
I help with all of my strength while she is pulling. It takes a few moments however it works to free him. He lets out a joyous roar that he is not trapped and ready to go. I pat him on his head then jump onto my horse. I look around wondering how we can escape this insane storm. Then Akar growls at something in the distance. My eyes spot an opening of the entrance of Winterfell starting to fall apart but it is the only way out now.
“Go!” I scream and we take off running.
We run as fast as possible when the sounds of ice erupting from the ground is echoing all around along with the speed of the falling snow to freeze anything it can. We get out just in time before the entrance crumbles with ice spikes appearing all around. Akar and my horse are matching in speed of running in the efforts of dodging anything in this crazy mind fucking field.
In the process of all this, many horses with or without riders begin to follow us. I smile in relief to see Freefolk and a few Children of the Forest riding horses too. Many head toward the tree line where the storm cannot pass. I ensured that any magic from the Night King would not go beyond the tree line. However I was not sure if the incantation would work since it has not been done in generations. But I wanted to be sure if the Night King was going to play his hand if or when he was backed into a corner, near death.
The sounds of wolves howling and dragon roars mix in the storm above and beyond the tree line. My eyes look up to see two dark shadows within the storm. Drogon and Rhaegal are struggling to get out of the storm like everyone else. I notice the direction the dragons are trying to fly to so we head that way too. I hang on in fighting our way out of here until I hear something following us.
My eyes look back and I cannot tell what it is following with the raging storm. Akar roars back at whatever it is, more than ready to keep fighting but we cannot fight in the middle of all this. I yell to Akar in Valyrian to keep moving. Akar roars in response to my command and does so. My eyes look back to see one of the War Elephants struggling to make its way through the storm but the elephant manages to see us. He bellows in terror, following behind us as his feet shake the ground with each step taken in the charge to safety.
My eyes look to the saddle of the war elephant and sadly all of the men are frozen solid. My horse neighs when a rider approaches us. It is one of the Children of the Forest riding next to me screaming, “Where can we go?!!”
My eyes look around when I see a clearing into a section of the woods protected by the incantation. I point to the clearing while shouting, “There!”
Then all of those living to see it and ride for the safe opening; the war elephant does the same, charging with his large feet forward. I lean to the right for her to gallop to the opening and Akar does the same but Akar does not stop to growling at something behind us. I look back to see if anyone else has fallen behind and thankfully no one has.
I stop at the forest line to ensure all of those living gets to safety before I ever do. I watch on while all sorts of men, women and animals cross the forest line. I am relieved to see possibly over a few hundred make it through alive. However my relief fades by the very thing that followed us earlier and my eyes widen to see it is the Dead Direwolf, Luna. She is hunting us now…
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Jaime’s POV
Her dragon finally surpasses the storm, reaching where she wanted her dragon to go. When this happens, the entire snow storm falls away. Everything becomes dead silent like a Crypt and it is no longer blinding as before. I hang on for life in the claws of the dragon with the storm fading; never ceased to be. My eyes struggle for a moment to see it clearing from the snow, rain pouring on my face since traveling here to the North.
My sight finally adjusts to see that the dragon flies down so close to the ground and release all of us from its talons. I feel myself fall, expecting the ground to be a hard fall. Instead we land on soft snow covering layers of the ground. I lay on my backside in the shock of what just happened before I sit up to see Brienne next to me.
We realize that the Dragon Queen saved us, saved me of all people. My eyes go to see Theon Greyjoy helping Sansa to her feet to know we should be dead but we are not. I struggle to stand due to the cold however Brienne offers me her hand. I grab it and I am on my feet again. I am standing so close to Brienne and she takes a step back before anyone saw the closeness between us.
Brienne and I remain silent until we hear the wings of a dragon above. The dragon lands a few feet from us that causes the ground to shake, nearly making me fall to the ground. She and the man, Jorah Mormont are on the back of the deadly creature. The dragon lets out a roar while the Dragon Queen looks at me knowing that she saved me for a second time. She is probably thinking she is mad for saving me when she didn’t have to. She could have let me fall to my death instead she saved me. I wonder why she saved my life.
Theon and Sansa come forward to stand beside Brienne; looking at Daenerys Targaryen in shock of what she has done. I am having a difficult time wrapping my head around that whole entire truth of what the Mad King’s daughter did for us and the world of the living. The Dragon Queen did the impossible.
“She saved us…” I whisper out as Daenerys and her beast glare directly at me and the others.
“Yes, she saved us.” Brienne says in agreement while catching her breath.
I turn back to find thousands upon thousands looking to the Dragon Queen. They are acknowledging what she has done in the North. She turns around as something even more impossible happens. One man takes a knee, bowing his head to her then one by one, every man and woman does the same, bowing to Daenerys.
It is all in respect of what she has done against the Dead, supporting her as a Queen. I am unclear if they are supporting her as Queen of Westeros like she aims to be however she has earned their respect if not their trust. My eyes look to see Jorah Mormont even the bastard son of Ned Stark, Jon Snow bending their knees to her. I imagine Cersei will somehow get word of this and this will enrage her.
Then my thoughts stop at Cersei and I begin to wonder if the Long Night is done, completely finished with how the storm ended. I take a step forward to see clear across the lands of the North. I notice the lands of the north are filled up marks of a burning path of the dragon flames scorching the earth aside from the endless bodies from the living and the dead.
And yet the most unbearable sight is the men, women, animals’ dead with their eyes and mouth open. They died screaming for their lives while others fought until they greeted their own death on the battlefield. And there are frozen bodies in the shit storm that happened. The frozen to death men and animals doing everything they could to get to the forest line where the storm did not pass to freeze away anything and anyone with a beating heart.
I have seen several battles; I thought the battle against the Dothraki and Queen Daenerys on her beast was unlike anything I have seen until this is one. It’s unlike anything seen by many others looking over the results of the battlefield. The bastard of Ned Stark was right. Everything and everyone is nothing but corpses for the army of the dead.
I turn away from the dreadful sight when someone shouts at something in the skies and we all look up to see it is glimpses of the night sky with the moon shining, bringing light to the North for the first time in possibly several fortnights. Brienne and I smile to one another at the sight of the gorgeous moon. Brienne grabs my hand in gratitude that I am here. We look back when several people are questioning if it is over.
“Are they gone?” Sansa questions for anyone to answer while shaking in terror.
“I think so.” Theon says before bringing Sansa into his arms in some joy that they are reunited and the possible chance of all of it being over.
Even I feel like it is over but the relief of it being over fades when I step forward in the direction the Dragon Queen is staring down something across the way. The Dragon Queen and Jorah Mormont make their way off the dragon’s back then step onto the ground. I am shuddering in the cold and a bit of fear that I am two paces from her.
She slowly turns away from me to glare at whatever has her eye. I take a few steps forward in the hopes to see what she is seeing. I stop in realizing what it is; not sure how but I see ice, cold piercing blue eyes clear across the way at the woods. There are dozens of the glowing blue eyes for all to see. We understand that the Great War is not finished until every last one of the dead and their Dead king is killed, burnt to ashes.
The daughter of the Mad King, Daenerys Targaryen says loud enough for many to hear her few words while her dragon snarls in the direction of the white walkers that still remain. “It’s not over…”
I see hundreds of thousands of banner men and women look upon the land of the North. It was once a vast land for all to ride through like we did against the army of the Dead. It has now become nothing but a barren waste land filled with snow, ice, frozen warriors and lifeless corpses all around and all over. This is nothing but life being squeezed out of the land. I recall the tales of the Long Night; Winterfell has now become a land of always winter.
I narrow my eyes to see a thick, icy mist surging over the woods where the Dead are. And the Night King marches forward for all to see and I see whatever this thing is locks eyes with someone. I turn to see if it was the Dragon Queen he was looking at. But he was not; it was Jon Snow. Jon Snow takes a few steps forward, locking eyes with the Night King too.
The Night King moves his gaze to the dead bodies littering before him then returns his gaze to Jon Snow. Then he turns his palms upward and raises his arms slowly. Jon immediately knew what that means and tried charging forward to stop whatever it is that is about to happen. But Jorah and a large man that looked to be a Wildling stop him from doing so.
“No! We have to stop him! Dracarys!”
My eyes widen when he said the word I have only ever heard the Dragon Queen say when her dragon burnt the Lannister army to ashes. The second dragon of the Dragon Queen roars then releases a burst of flames onto the corpses within reach of the flames. The bodies begin to burn and the Dragon Queen says the exactly same word for her dragon to unleash their scorching hot flames to burn the bodies.
The dragons violently move their heads to the left and right to burn the dead bodies to ashes. Their flames reach for over two miles, possibly three. However the Night King raised his arms to either side, almost like he is waiting for something to happen. I nearly shit my pants when I see the dead bodies from all across Westeros begin to twitch then the eyes of the corpses fly open!
A few yells come out when others witness their eyes are bright blue irises just like all the others with the already dead; the Night King has somehow created more newly undead bodies to his army. Every man, woman and animal get to their feet as the Night King lowers his hands. His eyes still fixed on Jon Snow and yet everyone at the forest line is taking in the massive army of new made white walkers.
Jon Snow and Daenerys stop saying the word. And the eyes of Jon Snow shine and a few sobs come out of him. Then the new made white walkers walk away from the battlefield, filling in the missing gaps of the Night King’s army. We all realize that any damage done to the numbers of the dead have been recovered by half if not most in this horrific act.
We all watch them disappear into the thick, icy mist of a snow storm and no longer seeing their blue eyes across the way. Jon lowers his head while the two men still hold him back. All watching is in complete silence, far worse than the silence when visiting a family crypt. The howling winds of winter truly let us realize it is nowhere near over.
“What happens now?” Theon asks Jon.
Jon shudders almost in terror that suddenly changes into determination of an answer to give. Jon steps away from the men that held him back. Jon takes a step forward to only see the frozen men and women and the torn apart bodies unable to turn into the new made white walkers remain on the battlefield.
“We need to regroup, see what numbers are left and tend to the wounded. Then all army generals, leaders to discuss the next move against the Night King.” Jon Snow says with hatred I never would have imagined hearing from Ned Stark’s bastard son.
I only ever heard that level of hatred from Robb Stark when he stood in front of me with his direwolf as I was his prisoner in chains. This Jon Snow is not the same young boy I met before he went to the Wall to the join the Night’s Watch. He is something far more of a man than I thought possible.
Brienne and I take a few steps back when the remaining Freefolk and men of the Night’s Watch approach Jon Snow to possibly give a report to him. They come over speechless that they are even alive when Jon hugs a few men that he must know from his time in the Night’s Watch and encounter with the Freefolk.
Then I hear a man of the Night’s Watch ask Sansa Stark, “How are you fuckers still standing here and alive?”
Their eyes go to the Mad King’s daughter who is talking to Jorah Mormont, a few men of the Unsullied and the Dothraki. I can tell right away that Jorah has been her close and personal guard longer compared to the others close to her. And Jorah was sitting to her left which is a sign of closeness at the meeting of the Dragonpit.
However I see how some of the men are looking at me like they want to kill me where I am standing since I am a Lannister and my family fucked over many houses of the North during the passing wars. I need to get out of here before anyone attempts to do something to me or the Dragon Queen does something that her father, The Mad King would do to me.
Before I could leave, I hear a familiar shouting and it is Bronn yelling for Podrick. Brienne and I immediately run over to where he is screaming. We run over wondering if Bronn and Podrick had been injured from the storm but it is Podrick who is hurt. Bronn is not injured at all and he is helping Podrick however he can with Podrick.
He has a large ice spike through his left arm. Bronn did well by not pulling it out however Podrick is in massive pain with some blood coming out from the wound. Podrick is crying out in pain while some of his body looks frozen from the storm. He needs to get warm before the cold may take his body before his injury does.
“Podrick!” Brienne gets to her knees as Podrick cries in agony.
“If this is pulled out of Podrick, he will lose his arm all together.” Bronn tells Brienne.
“And if it is pulled out, he will bleed out and die.” Brienne responds in worry for her fellow man.
“Is there a Maester here that can help him?” I ask however no one else answers me as expected.
“There is this fucker but he says there is nothing that can be done to save him.” Bronn points to a maester standing off to the side, not doing anything to help Podrick. “He says that even if he does not bleed out and living by some miracle, his arm will be of no use.”
I only wish Qyburn was here. I imagine he would know what to do and save Podrick without losing his arm all together. I turn to see if there is another Maester anywhere to help Podrick. Instead I see a few others coming over with blankets and what looks like a cart full of supplies to help with injuries such as milk of the poppy. He is immediately given some to help with the pain but that will not last long.
The blonde haired man that we met in Winterfell kneels down next to Podrick and tells Bronn and Brienne to be ready when he pulls the ice spike out of him. The others have packed blankets under and around his arm with a wrap ready to tie it off so he does not bleed out as swiftly. “We can ensure that he does not bleed out however he may no longer be able to use his right arm at all. He will no longer be able to fight but he will live and be able to kill when he needs to.”
“I like this lad.” Bronn says while helping to prepare Podrick to extract the spike out of him. The man is given leather gloves, putting them on then he grips the end of the spike. Brienne holds Podrick’s left hand while Bronn is going to hold him down at his shoulders so he does not try to move or get up.
I notice another solider from the Golden Company place a slightly thick piece of wood covered in leather before Podrick’s mouth and tells him, “Bite down on this! It will ensure you do not cause extra pain to yourself and when they pull it out!”
Podrick bites down on it immediately and we are ready. Brienne tells Podrick that he is going to be ok a few times while gripping his hand. I can see she is scared and I have only ever heard Brienne this scared when those men who captured us nearly forced themselves on her until I mentioned her father and what his father would pay for her. I see she truly cares for Podrick more than I thought she would.
“On three; one, two, three!”
He yanks the spike clean out of him and blood starts pouring out of his open wound. Bronn struggles to keep him down but manages enough. Podrick screams for all around to hear even with the plank of leathered wood in his mouth. “Ahhhhh!!”
I notice the blonde haired man is looking into the wound of his arm instead of tying him off right away. I actually see the muscles and done to the bone that causes someone watching to throw up at the sight of it.
The man takes his gloved hand out of Podrick saying, “The ice spike thankfully did not harm any of his right major organs! Tie him off now!”
They immediately tie off his arm twice to ensure he stops bleeding and hold his arm together. Bronn still holds him down when Podrick is given a liquid mixed with herbs unknown to us. I wonder if it is more Milk of the Poppy is given to him but it is not. Podrick keeps on letting out cries in agony until it lessens, making him go to sleep quickly.
“What did you give him?” Brienne asks while still holding Podrick’s hand.
“It will help him sleep for now while the bleeding stops and any method to save his arm can be done. That is what matters right now.” The blonde haired man tells her while he waves his arm at others watching around.
A few men come through with a light weight bed to carry wounded. Podrick is gently placed then carried into the tents for the wounded. Brienne follows them while Bronn looks at his hands covered in Podrick’s blood. I have known Bronn for some time now and I’ve never once seen the look on his face. He almost looks ashamed, filled with regret at what happened to Podrick.
“Podrick saved me then he got injured like that. He may lose or no longer use that arm.” He tells me while rubbing his hands together.
I have no words to give to Bronn about the noble act Podrick did for him. However the blonde haired man approaches us with a wet clothe, giving it to Bronn. Bronn starts to wipe his hands clean when the man tells him these words, “Don’t fuck it up. Make it worth it to Podrick, Bronn.”
Bronn nods his head in agreement to him. Then he turns to look at something. We look to see the Dragon Queen still standing at the forest line. She is taking in every inch of those that are corpses for the dead now. She has a look on her face knowing that they were warriors that died fighting for the living and others doing whatever they could to get to the forest before freezing to death. I wonder yet fear what she is going to do next to the Night King then possibly to my sister knowing she gave no help in the battle against the Long Night.
Then I see Jon Snow walking over to her and before a word was spoken between them, I could see it on his face as he walked over to her. The bastard boy from the North loves the daughter of the Mad King. And the second her eyes locked with his, she loved him too. My mouth barely opens in the shock that I did not see this between them at the meeting of the Dragonpit.
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Daenerys’s POV
I cannot help but to feel like I failed. I should’ve said the word so Drogon could burn the Night King to ash. The men, women and animals that would be alive if I did not hesitate; it makes me feel like all I wanted to achieve was for nothing. I lower my head, rubbing my fingers over my forehead in frustration mixed with exhaustion of flying back with no sleep and the failed battle.
I wonder what the losses will be when all of this is truly over. Will anyone want to fight for me against Cersei Lannister if she does not accept my offer? Am I even worth fighting for? Will I ever be worthy to be Queen? Will I be loved, respected and feared as a good Queen instead of feared as the Mad King’s Daughter? I feel my thoughts going out of control and deeper into doubt until I hear the sound of footsteps in the snow.
My eyes met with his and just like the snap of a finger, all of my doubts and out of control fears vanish at the sight of him. Jon walks toward me through the snowy fog and I hold my breath in feeling the same as I did before ever learning who he truly is. Although I suspected he would look at me the same as he did before I left but his look is the same as it was before he learned his real name.
We are face to face; without a second to process, Jon hugs me in relief that I am alive. I sigh in relief that he is hugging me like this. I wrap my arms around him and bury my face into his neck, filling up with happiness that he is alive and unharmed. But most of all, I know he is a Targaryen by blood but to me, he will always be the good man, Jon Snow the King of the North.
We slowly come apart and I feel like we are the only ones left in the world exactly like I felt when we sailed to Winterfell. He places his hands on my face, stroking his fingers against my cheeks and softly saying, “You are here…”
“I am here, Jon.” I say to him while he lowers his hands, grabbing mine into his.
Jon sends shivers through my body just by holding my hands right now. I press my lips together, trying not to feel my body erupt in warmth in his touch. He takes a step closer like he is about to kiss me right here however we both know it is not good. There are beyond thousands that will see he is only with me in order to bring me to fight in the war against the Night King or to reach for the Iron Throne.
“They told me you left with no intentions to fight the Dead. Where did you go?”
“Yes, I did leave however I used my resources along with the Foxes of the Sunset Sea to gather all the remaining houses of Westeros to join in the Great War. And in the process, I set Cersei back months so she does not play any games against us while in the North. I deeply knew what Winterfell was facing against the Army of the Dead. The odds needed to be even.” I tell him.
I embrace my hands tighter around his as our faces are barely an inch from each other when I whisper to Jon, “I gave you my word, Jon and I am a woman of my word.”
Jon nods his head for a moment in remembering the words exchanging between me and him on the boat to Kings Landing to meet with Cersei Lannister in the hopes she would join the battle against the Dead. I gave Jon my word that I would help him destroy the Night King. And I will never break my word to Jon.
Suddenly Jorah approaches us. Jon and I take a step back however his right hand remains in mine. Jorah asks us, “Where are the remaining survivors?”
Jon instantly looks over to the Wolf Woods. I know where he is looking at in the woods across the way. The Winter Fox told me about the hidden tunnel during our council before leaving south to give Cersei the offer. We see that riding out on horses to the survivors would take longer due to the uprooting of Winterfell. Jon and I stare back at one another, thinking the same thing.
We give a small smile to each other then turn to Rhaegal and Drogon. We climb and mount on the back of the dragons while others watch this happen. Jorah joins with me on this flight. I know he is deeply concerned for Lyanna Mormont. Drogon and Rhaegal roar to one another when we lean forward, ready for them to take flight. Rhaegal takes a few steps forward, leaping into the snowy night sky. Drogon leaps into the air where he stands, letting his mighty wings carry us higher.
Drogon approaches Rhaegal just before he circles around us. I see Jon on his back for a second, clear time. I cannot help but to smile in how well Jon is doing. Then something I would not expect right now of all times; he is smiling the biggest smile to me. I cannot resist the urge to smile back at him. Jon sits up and extends his arms outward, enjoying the flight of a dragon alongside me and Drogon.
It truly feels like things are the way they were before learning his identity. I want it to stay like this but I feel like it will not. I need to keep those feelings aside until we talk to one another privately after the next moves are made against the Dead.
I admit how amazing it is to see Jon on Rhaegal’s back. They’re quite the pair for a dragon and a rider. Jon and Rhaegal flew together into battle against the Night King and Dead Viserion while I was gone. I knew they would be safer together than apart if Rhaegal went with me south to King’s Landing. Rhaegal soars overhead of the entire encampment; Drogon flies just a little higher over Rhaegal. I watch Rhaegal with a smile on my face to see the happiness that he has a rider of his own.
I look down to the encampment when I hear something aside from the wind, I can hear a kind of chanting at the sight of two dragons together. It takes a moment to hear the chant more clearly. My eyes widen when I hear the words.
‘Defender of the Living! Defender of the Living! Defender of the Living.”
I feel goosebumps go over my body in those words chanted repeatedly but it honestly belongs to Jon. If Jon never told me about the Dead, I know the world would be with the Dead right now. I want to make sure that title goes to Jon more than me when we return with the survivors. Jon has earned and deserved it. And I already have enough titles as it is.
We fly over to the Wolf Woods and find an area with enough room for us to land Drogon and Rhaegal. Jon, Jorah, and I immediately get to the ground. Jon and Jorah draw their swords knowing the Night King and the Army of the Dead was here before disappearing from our sight. However we hear nothing. It truly was like they were never here in these woods. Jon and Jorah shake their heads yes that it is clear.
We spare no time running over to the whereabouts of the hidden door. The three of us use our hands to uncover the snow until we find the hidden door. We are out of breath from moving several feet of snow. I sigh in relief to see the strange handle the Winter Fox informed me about. I pull the handle and turn it in phases of the moon then reverse it. And when it happens, the door makes cracking noises then opens. Jon goes in first. I go in second while Jorah is behind me to protect me if the Dead were to come back in these woods.
Jon and Jorah still have their swords at the ready the deeper we get. My eyes go back to my remaining children. Drogon is rubbing his head against Rhaegal in relief that they are together again. I will never let them be apart after this. Jorah sees the look on my face to know what I am thinking about as he tells me
I follow Jon while Jorah walks behind me. We walk down the cold, dark tunnel until reaching a dead end. It is terribly dark down here that I step forward with my arms extended. I use my hands against the walls to find what I am looking for. Jon does the same, wondering what is being looked for.
“It is a strange kind of lock and a door handle to open to more tunnels that leads to the Crypts of Winterfell. That is how the survivors made it out. The Winter Fox told me how to unlock it if I ever needed to do so.” I tell him as we continue to search in the cold dark.
I stop when I feel a strange handle like the previous one. I smile as Jon steps away from the dead end. I wrap my gloved fingers around the knob, pulling it out with a sort of metal sound coming from within the door. I turn the knob in the phases of the moon then back in reverse. The cracking of the door grows when I step away. We watch on as the doors come forward opening in the hopes that the survivors are alive and unharmed.
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