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Arya's POV
Rhaegal carries us high above the battlefield where we see Daenerys flying Drogon over the fields where white walkers are charging into battle. Drogon extends his wings out, roaring before breathing fire down upon the dead. The white walkers are engulfed in the pathway of his mighty flames. Jon and I notice some of the main soldiers of the Night King throw their ice spears at Drogon.
"No!" Jon and I scream when the ice spear flies right at Drogon.
A sick pit in my stomach is filled when the ice spear hits him on the chest and underbelly. I expected the ice spear to pierce right through him like an arrow through a bird. But thankfully it doesn't. Instead the ice spear shatters when hitting the three headed dragon sigil and armor protecting Drogon's underbelly. Drogon lets out an unsettling roar to the dead that tried to strike him out of the sky before he blanketed them in dragon flame to their deaths.
I feel such relief that the armor protects Drogon from their deadly weapons. I see that Jon's fear of Daenerys's dragon child being killed is lessened. Rhaegal flaps his wings as our eyes see the entire land of the north once nothing but winter becoming charred fields, lighting up the entire long night with the fields of fire. I know Jon tried to make the biggest fire the North has ever seen but Daenerys makes it ten times bigger than I believe Jon or any of the Starks could ever do with or without a dragon.
I look down to see several thousands of men in the armies remaining on the King's Road and the woods as a final line of defense; if the front line does not work in defeating the army of the Dead. I can see unlike others that all of this was more than planned out in how lined up the soldiers and weapons are. It makes me wonder that Daenerys left to assemble the army of the living instead of going south for the Iron Throne like her advisors said she would.
Jon sees an area large enough where Rhaegal can land safely while we can be safe and far enough away from the Night King. Rhaegal flies low to the ground until he flaps his wings, bringing his body closer to the ground. Uncle Benjen hangs onto Bran and Gendry to me when the mighty dragon lands. A blanket of snow comes up from the ground due to his landing. Rhaegal lays his belly onto the ground and tucks his wings inward, letting us know we can walk off his back.
Benjen picks Bran in his arms and manages to get off of Rhaegal without any trouble. Gendry does the same with helping me down. Gendry gently puts me on the ground as I look to Jon extending my hand out for him get off as well. But without a word, I know the look on his face. He does not want to stand by during the Long Night anymore than he already has.
I can understand why when we both know that Dead Viserion has yet to show himself to Daenerys and the army of the living. The Night King is waiting to use him for a certain reason. And there is only one reason I can think of. My eyes go to Drogon hovering above the battlefield, burning more to a crisp. The Night King will use Viserion against Drogon and Daenerys.
But if Jon goes up there, either or both Jon and Rhaegal will die after leaving here. I want to fight with them but we need to survive at the end of it all as the Winter Fox said. The Starks need to endure the Long Night and our survival means something when all of this is over to the North. I reach my hand out further to Jon but he does not move in his seat on Rhaegal.
"Jon, please come down." I beg my brother.
"I'm sorry but the Night King will use Dead Viserion to kill Daenerys and Drogon. I cannot allow that, Arya." Jon leans forward and grabs a hold of two horns. Rhaegal is ready to fly into battle again with Jon as he roars.
"No! Jon!" I scream to him as does Benjen but it is too late.
Gendry rips me away from Jon and Rhaegal. Rhaegal lifts his long neck and head up, roaring to get back into the sky with Drogon and his mother, Daenerys. Rhaegal takes a few steps forward, extending his wings outward then leapt into the sky. Rhaegal ready to fight but I fear Jon will not come back alive from this fight. "Jon! Come back! Jon!"
We keep on screaming for him but now he is too high in the sky to hear our cries. The wind blows in my face as my eyes adjust to the snow storm all around. I look around to see the battlefield and the horses trembling wights while their riders are killing any that can. Some men and animals are being ripped apart until flames burn them up back in the direction of lands of the north beyond the battlefield.
I see Daenerys flying near the Wolf Woods. Rhaegal flies up swiftly and disappears into the dark ice storm. I smile knowing exactly what Jon is doing. He will remain hidden until he finds the right moment to strike just like the Rogue Prince, Daemon Targaryen rider of Caraxes against Aemond Targaryen rider of Vhaegar in the Dance of Dragons.
But Jon dreads and expects Daenerys to see her dragon, Viserion in the dead, enslaved creature he is. Daenerys does not know about her dragon and this will possibly throw her off terribly in middle of the fight. I know this is going to break her heart when she sees him as a slave to the Night King.
However I put my thoughts to what I am going to do in this battle. I cannot stand by and do nothing. I look around wondering what I can do from here. Gendry wonders what I am doing as I try to walk around to see where I can be more than useful. I struggle to walk some due to my injury. It will not stop me for good this round.
"Arya, what are you doing? You shouldn't be walking." Gendry says trying to reach for my hand to help me but I refuse him at the moment. He has done more than enough.
"I wouldn't bother. When she sets her mind to something, she will see it through to the end." Uncle Benjen tells him while carrying Bran in his arms.
I cannot resist in giving my uncle a smile since he knows who I am. We hardly saw each other when growing up in Winterfell but I felt like he knew I wanted to be more than a girl wearing a pretty dress with flowers in my hair in the few times he rode from the Wall to Winterfell.
I stop when I see exactly where I can help. I study what appears to be a massive crossbow, large enough to shot those giants, even the dead dragon out of the sky if it was lined up in my sight long enough. But it is too large for one person alone to work. I'll need some help to load the weapon back to back and before I could even ask, Gendry grabs my arm to help me walk up to the weapon.
A dark skinned man in gold armor wonders what I am doing like he is about to stop us but Gendry tells him, "She is going to shot those fuckers. Are you going to stop her from doing so?"
The man in gold armor looks to me for a moment then grabs a large bag holding the weapons to load in this machinery. He directly asks me, "Where do you want me?"
"What is your name?" I ask him.
"Aaron."
"Keep loading the weapon, Gendry. Aaron, make sure to keep handing him one after another." I tell them as Aaron already hands one of the large weapons to Gendry. Gendry loads and locks it in, ready to fire. Gendry smiles to me knowing I will not miss.
I see the handles on both sides that help in aiming it. I start doing so as the handle give a creaking noise as I turn it to where I want to fire the weapon. I see the entire battlefield covered in snow, charred ground and flames if not with the living running over the dead with their horses as flaming arrows are flying through. My eyes widen at the war elephants giving their own battle roars while their tusks are swinging in all direction to tear apart the lines of the dead.
Then I see a giant chasing down a few riders, using what appears to be a tree ripped out of the ground. The giant swings the tree all around, sending anything in its path flying through the air. I hear the cries of the living that are caught in the swings of the giant. I sight up the giant and do not wait in firing. The weapon is let loose as I feel my body shake when it happens.
It pierces through the air and goes right through the head of the giant, completely taking the head clean off. His body and the tree trunk collapse to the ground and I already love this weapon in what it did. It is quite a weapon to use. I laugh in joy while Aaron gives another one to Gendry. He loads the weapon again. I adjust where I want to aim the weapon this round. I stop when I see the blonde haired bastard, Jaime Lannister. I directly aim for him as he rides his horse through a few white walkers.
Jorah's POV
I ride through the carnage happening all around. When one man is killed, ten more white walkers are butchered in return. There is a glimmer of light in seeing the white walkers being killed off. However my gut tells me this is not enough in witnessing a swarm of white walkers going into the ruins of Winterfell. It appears that they're hunting for something the Night King wants while the rest of the dead are being killed off just like the pawns on a chess board game.
I look up to see Daenerys riding on Drogon, blazing through the skies above. She needs to get to Winterfell and stop whatever is going on. I try to wave her down but she cannot see me. I have to try and stop them myself. I look to William to see he kills off a white walker then sees me.
"Follow me!" I shout to him.
William has a big grin on his face knowing we are going to get into all sorts of trouble together like we use to when I was with the Golden Company. We ride through the massacre when I notice Jaime Lannister and a dark haired man I recognize from the dragon bit is following us to Winterfell too. The horses struggle to get through the white walkers tearing riders off their horses or others running over white walkers.
I can see the flesh of the white walker falling off like the shedding skin of a snake or being ripped apart by what looks like a pack of wild dogs fighting beside the wildling man I went with beyond the Wall. And a wildling girl I do not recognize but she is a skilled fighter with a sword. She almost reminds me of my cousin, Lyanna Mormont with how brutal she is fighting the white walkers.
Suddenly my thought to where my cousin is terrifies me. Is she still alive or is she a part of the dead army? I fear the image of having to kill her as a white walker. I hope that if she is dead, she went down swinging to her last, taking out as many white walkers she can with her. I know she would do that without a second thought.
We all come to a complete stop when a dead giant is standing in our way with what looks like ripped apart bodies in its hands before dropping it to the muddy ground. The horses are backing up in terror of the giant when it starts charging at us. I aim my sword forward ready to swing when suddenly a large weapon flies right past me and impales the giant where it stands. The giant stops moving and is truly dead before it even realized it was shot.
I scream and urge the horse to the right as the body starts tumbling forward, "Move!"
The horse carries me out of the way just in time when the giant's body makes the ground shake a little. I stare at the body of the giant to see the large metal spear went through and through the chest of the giant. My eyes go around wondering who killed the giant until William points to where it came from.
I give a small smile to see it is Arya Stark firing the massive weapon with the help of Gendry and she unleashes another one upon the battlefield. Arya Stark may be just a young woman but she has the fighter that her father, Ned Stark was. I am glad that she does, a way to carry her father with her. Jaime Lannister and the dark haired man are shocked to see it is Arya Stark.
"She is alive?!" Jaime says in shock like he never knew.
"Yes and a damn good fighter, maybe even better than her father, Ned Stark. It is best not to ever get in her way or you will not live to tell about it." A large man comes on horse and I recognize him in the journey beyond the Wall. It is the Hound.
"What in the seven hells are you doing here?!" The dark haired man asks the Hound.
"I am here to help a little bird escape and this time I will throw her over my shoulder by force if she refuses to go with me like last time. Let's get a move on, you cunts." The Hound tells us then rides ahead toward Winterfell. We all look at another one before William shrugs hi shoulders not caring and rides onward. We follow behind the Hound.
We get closer when I see the swarm of white walkers is no longer in the courtyard. They must already be inside Winterfell. We ride through in the hopes to find any survivors. But there is no living man, woman or children. We get deeper into the ruins but stop in seeing pools of blood from the bodies of horses and men from the night's watch all along a case of stairs into the halls of Winterfell. I am stunned in not knowing what it was that killed them. This kind of level of killing is more than what white walkers are capable of.
However there is one white walker is in the courtyard and spots us. It screeches when seeing us and comes for the Hound. I swing his large ax forward, slicing it from the stomach and up. The dark haired man laughs in the enjoyment of how he did that kill. The split body of the dead man falls before the hooves of his large horse.
Then William calls for me, pointing his sword at something in the muddy ground with layers of snow.
"What the fuck are these tracks?" The Hound asks as I run my horse over to it.
I stare at the tracks and see that the strides are larger than any animal I had seen in the North. It is no paw print track of a bear, dog, stag, or polar bear. There is one other beast that the tracks match but Jon Snow's direwolf is not as large as this. I notice what looks like a patch of black fur next to the track. I jump off my horse's back and pick up the patch of black fur.
"Do you recognize this track way, Jorah?" William questions while the others appear shocked in the track way as well. I realize what the patch of fur is and look to the deaths from the beast that did all of this.
"Yes, I do. A direwolf but it is not the Starks direwolf. This must be a direwolf from the army of the Dead. Judging by the paw print, the dead wolf is nearly twice the size of my horse, large killing claws and teeth, killed for sport like it has done this for a living, even centuries older than we possibly know. And it is hunting which means there are survivors inside." I tell them while taking a closer look at the batch of dead black fur in my hand before I look to the barely standing Winterfell before this strange band of warriors.
"Does anyone know the inside of Winterfell? I have only been in there twice to the great hall."
"I do." A voice behind us answers.
We turn to see that it is Theon Greyjoy. He followed us here for the same reason. He grew up with the Starks then betrayed them. He is here to try and make up for it. Theon steps forward next to the Hound, taking a look at Winterfell like this place is a dreadful old friend and foe to him.
"The best place for the survivors would be the great hall. They can barricade themselves in the great hall. If not there, then they will find a way to corner the dead to kill as many as they can if they are unable to hide from them. And if they cannot hide from them, they will have no choice but to go up, maybe even to the Broken Tower where it will be unstable for all of the dead to chase them." Theon Greyjoy says while looking at the scorched castle of the North.
"He is right. Especially if the survivors are who I think they are. They will do exactly that." Jaime says.
I ignore what Jaime says and my attention goes to William. "How would you approach this, William?"
"The Great Hall is a place to go and if not there, the only possible place they can go is up to get out of there. They cannot go down since there is no way to get out. I suggest we go to the great hall and if they are not there, we go up. And if we cannot find them, we get the seven hells out of there,." William tells me.
Theon agrees with William's approach of the situation. My eyes study Winterfell knowing William's approach is the best one. I agree with him. I dismount knowing that if we go on horseback in the castle, we will be heard and hunted down quicker. We need to go in silently and strike when we need to. I have all my weapons then smack my horse on the backend. He takes off out of Winterfell. William and the others with us do the same with their horses.
We all draw our weapons unsure of what will occur but we are ready to fight and get the survivors to safety. I hope Lyanna Mormont is with the survivors because if she is dead, I am the only bloodline left of House Mormont. I may have to take my rightful birthright back and bring honor back that I lost from my father when fleeing Westeros.
Theon glares at Winterfell while I notice his hands are shaking until he grabs his bow and arrows, ready to enter and shot anything that will hunt us inside. Theon lets out a huff, mustering up the courage to move forward. I place my hand on his shoulder and he has a small reaction to me but recollects himself when he sees that it is me. I tell him that he can do this. Theon nods his head then he makes his way up the stairs. Theon leads the way for us.
Ed's POV
I led the way and recall Jon talking about the halls of Winterfell whenever we did talk about our childhood homes while at Castle Black. There are several ways to take but only some large enough for riders to go through like we are. We try to remain quiet however the sound of the shoes on the horses' hooves are echoing through the halls. We stop when we come to a split off in the hallway. I wonder how we are supposed to find them until I see that there is snow covering the stone floor.
I give a small smile in seeing their tracks. We have the horses remain in a walk, following the direction of the tracks. I continue to lead the way as the others are behind me one by one in a line until we see two set of foot prints. One is walking the direction of the hoof prints like he knows exactly where he is going in Winterfell as if he or she has walked these halls more than I can count. The other track is running in the same direction to catch up.
We continue on as I see the walking tracks stop, almost vanished like a ghost. The running tracks seemed to pace back and forth against the wall side like he was trying to find something to how the other disappeared like a ghost. I wonder if there are hidden tunnels since Winterfell was once a larger castle than it was centuries ago. There must be secrets that can be used to our advantage. But we need to catch up to the others.
Out of nowhere, we hear the sound of fighting ahead and yelling but more like a battle cry on a killing rampage. We ride toward the killing to see the Desert Fox fighting the dead. The dead are fighting like they always do with no humanity. But the Desert Fox is fighting exactly like they are when he slashes his spear into the mouth of a white walker.
The Desert Fox fights like he is a heartless demon with no affection or care to who the dead use to be. There are over fifty white walker bodies covering the hall floor like a pool surrounding him. He wipes the guts of the dead on his armor leg then shrugs his shoulders, ready for the next fight. His eyes set upon us.
"The white walkers split off in different ways to find Sansa and the two warriors with her. You all should be going to the army encampment for safety. Why are you still here?"
"We are men of the Night's Watch. We made a vow to be the shield that guards the realm of men from the Dead. We will go on with or without you. It is your choice." I tell the Desert Fox.
"I cannot argue with that. Let's go." The Desert Fox bows his head to me almost like he is showing respect in our decision to stay and fight then walks ahead on foot.
We remain behind him while continuing to follow the tracks in the halls. We stay in a single line, one by one but freeze after hearing a noise further back from us. We all look back in the sounds of running and it is the kind of running to find whatever it can. And the halls are flooded with the smell of rotting flesh making its way to us. The halls are filled with the dreadful sounds of growling. I know it is white walkers and if the white walkers are smart enough to notice the hoof prints on the snowy ground, they will find us.
The Desert Fox turns to face and tell us, "There are times when we stand and fight. And then there are times we have no choice but to run. This is the time of having no choice but to run. So I am only going to say this once to all of you..."
"What are you talking about?" I ask wondering what he means for right no.
"RUN!!" The Desert Fox screams and bolts ahead, still following the tracks in the snow of the hall.
My eyes go back to the men when we hear the white walkers drawing closer from each hallway. We all whack our horses forward. The horses neigh in terror of running with a horde of white walkers chasing after us. I do not know how the Desert Fox is staying ahead of us. But we stay shortly behind him around every corner in the hopes that we find the others before the white walkers do.
Sansa's POV
We keep going riding until the sound of growling fills the hallway. We stop our horses, not knowing which direction they are coming from. I stare to another back hallway we can take but we have to leave the horses behind if we do. I wave to Brienne to get her attention. She looks to me and sees me point to the smaller hallway.
Brienne stares at Podrick wondering if it would be the smart thing to do next. She shakes her head yes until we hear screaming from the direction we came from. The three of us look in terror of where the screams are coming from. And swiftly down the hall is the Desert Fox running on foot toward us.
He runs right past us like a fire is under his ass while yelling, "Run! Run you sons and daughters of bitches! Run!"
Before we could react, more screaming approaches and horse riders go past us. It is the reminder of the Night's watch men. And before we could say anything else, the hall ways are overfilled with white walkers. I shake in fear as we ride on to follow the others. I notice everyone else is following the Desert Fox who is managing to keep up with us on foot. My eyes go down in the strides of my horse running and the sound of thundering hooves pounding against the stone floor.
Before I could realize what was happening, the Desert Fox cuts a turn and most of us manage to do the same but Podrick nearly falls out of the saddle. He grips onto the thick mane of the horse in order to keep himself from falling off completely. He manages to bring himself back on the saddle while the sudden turn causes a few men of the Night's Watch to fall behind us. We struggle to go forward and the white walkers are gaining closer.
The Desert Fox somehow does a simple slide around the corner yelling for us to keep moving. Before we realized how close the dead were, horrific screams lift high toward the roof when a few men and horses are torn apart from their flesh and bone. And their blood splashes all over while the others of the dead keep coming for us, covering the walls and roof like they are insects going for whatever food they can get.
I cry out in the horror of seeing more men butchered like they are animals. I want all of this to stop but I do not know how this can be stopped by us except to keep going in order to escape. I notice the Desert Fox is leading us up higher in the castle. He must have some sort of trick ready just like the Winter Fox and Monsoon Fox have had. We keep on going until my horse struggles around the next corner that the steel horse shoes causes my horse's entire body to slide across the floor.
I yell out in the dread of falling to the floor to be slaughtered myself but I felt like something opens up to swallow me away from the others. I notice the part of the wall opening, taking me within wherever it goes. I scream as this happens of my horse and I falling through it.
Theon's POV
I lead this band of misfits into the ruins of Winterfell with my arrow trained ahead to fire immediately to anything that is not living. I am impressed with the quietness coming from the band of men with me. We all know that if we make a loud sound, the dead will come our way. We are all treating this as a mercenary sent on a paid job to kill an important figure.
I notice that icicles are hanging from parts of the ceilings like it has been this way for years, an abandoned castle to be forgotten by the time and the world. We all ascend up a set of stairs, getting closer to the great hall of Winterfell. But we all stop at the sight of the doors halfway open with several chairs, tables behind it to barricade inside as I suspected they would do. But there is no sign of them here. What made them leave the great hall?
"What now?" The Hound whispers.
My eyes wonder around as the ice and snow clings to every surface ahead of us and where the survivors would possibly go. I notice parts of the roof cracked open allow for a light snowfall to come through as I continue to scan the area. I stop when I see foot prints and horse tracks ahead to know that they are still alive right now.
I motion my arm to the others so they see the prints and they do. William glances back to Jorah Mormont before we press forward, moving in sync. We cautiously move forward with all of our weapons trained for anything that strikes at us. My eyes are focused going deeper and deeper into this frozen hall of a maze.
I recall running, playing in these very halls with Robb Stark and often with Jon when he wasn't in the corner feeling like shit in the ill treatment Lady Stark gave him. During our playing times, Sansa would always scream at us to stop running while she was learning whatever girly thing she was being taught. We would stick our tongues out at her, making fun as she cried. Arya and Bran joined in on making fun of Sansa from time to time before Sansa would go crying for her mother and father.
How I wish I could go back to those days? Everything was much easier, simpler and the promise that we could do anything before the cold, hard truth of the real world set in on us. I softly exhale in those memories when suddenly we all heard movement.
Without a moment of hesitation, we look in the direction the movement came from. I shudder wondering if it could be Sansa as one of the dead now when the movement gets closer. I hear a snarling kind of noise as the arrow end rests on my fingers, waiting to be released as the look of icy blue eyes break through for us to see.
I am about to release the arrow when the dead creature is drawn back by an even larger creature that kills the dead man without making a sound. The remains of the dead man are dropped to our feet after the larger creature finished it off. I shudder in the fact that whatever this creature is, it killed without making a single sound. The eyes of the beast shred through the darkness, it is something like a sharp amber color glow different from how the white walker eyes are. It makes a few of us on our toes on the eyes alone.
I hear it step forward with the snow shifting in its steps as it gets closer in the dark when suddenly a whisper of an unknown foreign language word stops it. The creature backs away into the shadows as the one who gave the whispered command comes forward into the light for us to properly see. I see it is one of those masked warriors known as the Foxes.
"Hello. How are you? What did I miss?" The masked warrior says to us like it is any other day and not in a middle of a fucking war. The dark haired man looks like someone blew him in the worst way in how the warrior is also acting in the situation.
"Which Fox are you? Where did you come from?" Jorah Mormont whispers to the Fox.
"Monsoon Fox. I came in here shortly before you. Let's move." The Fox quietly responds with a large war hammer in hand.
"What was that creature you called off?" Jaime Lannister asks.
"He's a good friend of mine. Let's move." The Fox says with some joy in their whispered tone.
Jorah Mormont uses his sword to take off the head of the dead then kicks the head away from the body. We all move on and we softly step over the dead remains across the floor.
Sansa's POV
The horse slams into a frozen wall. I yell out in feeling all of my body get slammed into the wall then gasping when the rest of my body collides. I struggle to cry out in feeling a terrible, sharp pain run through my whole body. I lean forward in the agony, letting out sharp inhale and exhales of the air getting knocked out of me. I feel dazed in the impact and my ribs struggle to expand in my breathing normal.
I stay leaning forward for a few moments longer before I slowly recollect the reins while the horse becomes steady on all fours. I place my hand on my leg to feel a sharp pain going down my leg, ankle and foot. And now I am injured, this will lessens my chances of getting out alive. It hurts at the touch that I try not to let out a moan. I don't think it is broken but still bad to be injured right now of all times.
I look around in a panic, realizing I have been separated from the others and all of the chaos is dead quiet wherever I am. I shudder in seeing my breath in the cold air of this hidden chamber. I have never seen any of this before. It is completely covered in snow, ice, forever untouched by the world of men in the looks of frozen icicles, cobwebs on the roof, corners and across the walls. I even see a once grand bed, cold fireplace with a stone engraving above the fireplace with some the walls covered in shelves in fallen apart books and stands by the bed and fireplace like someone lived here in hiding long ago.
I click my tongue for the horse to go forward and the horse does so. I take a closer look at my surroundings. My eyes go around seeing if there is any way out of here but there is no evidence of any kind that shows an exit in or out. I feel everything inside me crumble in fear that I am going to die in this forgotten place.
"Help! Brienne! Podrick! Help! Help!" I cry out for them in the hopes that they can still hear me. I place my hand on my forehead in terror that they will die as well.
Until I am drawn towards the stone engraving above the fireplace, covered in layers of snow, I slowly reach for it. I take my gloved hand to it. I move my hand in a back and forth motion with the layers of snow falling to the ground, uncovering the engraving bit by bit. I lean back in shock of what the engraving is. My mouth drops in seeing an engraved wolf howling to the moon amongst a forest like the markings in the Crypt. This is the exact same marking done by the Foxes to their hidden ways in and out of the crypt of Winterfell.
I move the horse back to get a full view of it. But in doing so, the fear inside me grows like a dangerous storm sailors need to stay clear of. I shudder of what is going on. How is the engraving from the crypt in this hidden chamber? Do the Foxes of the Sunset Sea have some sort of dealing with the old Kings of the North? Or this engraving tied to the Foxes and the Night King? My mind races in words the Foxes but mostly especially what the Winter Fox has said since they first arrived to Winterfell to the words exchanged between the Winter Fox and Children of the Forest.
'The Night King in the dark of the Long Night; his revenge so complete there is nothing left to do but look out over the a world without memory, laughter or life and know he did his work well. And that he did it all for his slain love, the Night Queen.'
'I hope you become the Night Queen so I can kill you myself. I will take great pleasure in killing you when it happens.'
'You think you know what Death is? You're still learning what Death is. I know and serve Death.'
'Death is an old friend to all of us Foxes.'
'Orys the 1st answered injustice with mercy, he was a just ruler. Everyone applauded his reforms; nobles and the commoners alike. I remember him well. But I knew his day would come and it did.'
'Almost all death is certain. However mine was not but if I do actually greet Death, I shall tell your father and mother what you have become.'
'I remember you now. You were there. You are Willow and Wind, sisters. You haven't changed a bit.'
'You have changed a great deal.'
'The love of my life, my wolf remains in a losing battle to this very day.'
All of the words echoing over and over again as I glare at the wolf howling at the moon when a sort of vision of some kind floods me. The Winter Fox on her black horse in the Wolf Woods with the Night King and his dead demonic wolf at his side with the full moon shining clear across the Long Night is branded into my mind, heart and soul. The Winter Fox is involved in all of this!
I am going to find out how, no matter what it takes before she sinks her tricks further to Jon and Arya anymore than she already has. Then the sound of footsteps fill the room as the horse snorts, leaning his head up when we both freeze at hearing the sound of someone walking to us. The echo walking sounds get closer and closer when I hear his voice again on the other end of the chamber, calling my name over and over again just like he did to me earlier.
'Come to me, Sansa. Come to me. I have no intention of hurting you. If you come with me now, I will allow those in these coldly rotten walls to live. Come with me. You can change the world in what I have planned for you, my lady.'
I shake my head no, placing my hands on my head wondering how this is happening. Whatever this is needs to stop. I refuse to let him get in my head like he did before. I cannot let anyone know about this strange link between us. His voice creeps in so deep making me powerless to block out his words.
Out of nowhere, he is right across from me as a man, not the cold, dead king. He slowly walks toward me just like I imagine a prince or a King would when picking his chosen princess or Queen. He is not wearing the same Night's watch clothing like before. He is wearing all black clothing like a King of the seven Kingdoms would wear. His face that is handsome as the sunset gazes at me like I am the love of his life. It is becoming harder to resist whatever power he is using to take a hold in me.
I shake my head no to him when he stands just in front of the horse. He stares at the horse then slowly places his hand on the face of the horse, settling the horse like he is not a danger to either of us. The horse manages to go from body filled fear to complete calm like the horse is in paradise. He slowly pets the horse up and down its neck before moving his hands to mine gripping onto the reins for life. His hands softly wrap around mine the way any little girl dreams of when reading stories of the royal women in Westeros first meet their princes or kings.
'You can have and do the good you have always wanted to do for the North. It is after all what you always wanted in returning to Winterfell. Imagine all of the living curled up at the foot of the throne with a crown that everyone will tremble to behold while gazing upon your final beauty. You know that is all you ever wanted.'
My eyes study this thing before me then my eyes goes to the stone engraving of the Wolf and the Moon. The dead king looks to it as well. He sighs almost like he is seeing a ghost of his own. He goes and stands before it, extending his hand to touch the moon like it is a goddess to worship. I cannot believe what I am seeing when his eyes actually have tears in them. He lets out a stifled sob, lowering his head down in grief for whoever his love was.
"What about all you ever wanted? If your moon is still alive, what would you do with me then?" I ask him without hesitation, wanting to know my fate and the possibility that the Winter Fox was maybe his Moon, his goddess, the Night Queen.
He slowly brings his head up with tears streaming his face like a river as if this is the first time he has shown his true heart being trapped in the body of the cold, dead King we all know him to be. He gives a smile like he is remembering it all, almost like their love is as old as the earth itself.
'Oh my moon, I do not feel right when you are gone away. I don't feel myself here anymore without you, my love. But know that my love will never die. My love will go into the Long Night just as your love always had, my Night Queen.'
I immediately know with just his words alone, his Night Queen truly is dead unless he does not know she still lives. But I have to know what becomes of me all the same. "And what becomes of me, Night King? What is to be my fate?"
'A wondrous fate lies before you. You are the only remaining bloodline of the once true kings of the North is why I chose you. Your ancestors are not as noble and honorable as you think them to be through the tales written and told by your Maesters to this very day. Your sole ancestors are cold hearted liars, murderers, but most of all, rapists just to keep their bloodline going, no matter who is hurt, or butchered in the process. My mother and I am one of the many evidences of it and my Moon was the last of their dark legacy when I swore to avenge her by taking the very last true line to the kings of the North. You...'
He walks back toward me and trails his hands up to mine in every word he speaks, forever remembering what they did to him and his loved one long ago. He spoke about his father forcing himself on his mother just to carry on the line if something tragic was to happen to his true born son when I saw him earlier with the survivors. I try to pull away from his grip but I am unable to move. I'm powerless to stop him. I feel the dread of what he is going to do to me just like they did to his Night Queen.
I imagine they beat and raped her on endless nights just like Ramsey did to me. I will not go through anything like that ever again. I will kill myself before I let that happen. I realize there is a knife hanging just below my knee to the right of the saddle. I never thought it would come to this but I will do the deed myself. But I will need to cut my throat so deep so he cannot use my body for his goals at the end. I try to fight out of his grip while he keeps telling me what my fate will be.
'And what better way to avenge my love than to turn you, the descendant of the old Kings into what they made her? You will receive the very same fate and prove that their dark legacy does not conquer the world. But true love conquers all, no matter the means to do so, in this life and the next.'
"And because of that, it makes you no different from those before you! And I will take my own head before I let you do any of those things to me!" I scream in attempting to reach for the knife.
Although he quickly realizes what I am reaching for; he swiftly grabs the knife himself. The knife shatters like ice in his hand before he rips me from the horse. I hang onto the saddle horn with all my might however he overpowers me. His arms wrap around my waist and my feet unable to touch the ground in his grasp. He restrains me against the wall with his upper body against mine and my wrists above my head. I cry out that he is about to force himself on me right here. I feel no strength in my knees, wanting to fall to the ground but he won't let me. He wants me to feel everything he is going to do to me.
"No! No! Kill me! Kill me!" I scream, begging to him to end me before I will forever feel him inside of me just as I will always feel Ramsey in me. But he releases me that I drop to the ground crying, gripping my hands into the cold snow covered the ground. I feel a weight in my body as I cry out with all my might that this is happening to me.
He kneels down on one knee before me almost in sadness that I am begging him to kill me. He sighs as I feel my skin crawl. My stomach turn that I feel like I am about to bring everything in my stomach back up when he moves my hair away from my face, resting his hands on my cheeks, trying to calm me down. His dark brown eyes are not enough for me to stop crying, begging for him to kill me now.
"Please make it quick! Kill me!" I scream to him in between sobbing uncontrollable, looking up to the roof trying to let my mind and wishing for my body to escape the fate he has for me. But he places his hand to the back of head for me to look at him.
'No. Please do not cry, Sansa. I will never treat you the way you are imagining me to do it nor like those before me. I will not force you to do anything against your will, not ever. I want you to come with me by choice, no tricks or mind games. I am going to treat you the way a beautiful woman should be treated. And when I am done, I will give you the death you are begging me for and when I do, I will do it joyfully. All you have to do is nod your head and ask me for your death. I will make sure you know what being alive means that it will not feel like a death of any kind. All you have to do is take my hand and come with me.'
I am shaking in terror of not knowing how his words are able to disarm all of the fear in me. All of my thoughts even pleading for him to kill me become unimportant. It is to the point that I completely forgot myself and the forgotten chamber that surrounded me. I somehow felt like he wanted to be a merciful, joyous deliver of death. But I know he is saying whatever he can to have me come with him by my own choice.
I stare at him when he stands before me with just his right hand extending to me. I try not to let out another sob knowing he will do all of those things to me even though he says he will not. I place my arms over my chest in tear of my body being torn apart of what he will do to me if I do or don't take his hand. I would rather be dead than his willing pawn. I open my mouth ready to tell him to end my life but he stops me before I can.
'And before you give your answer to me, think about all of your options. How do you imagine this will play out? If I kill you now, yes you'll die a quick clean death, a mercy killing but what happens to your companions here? They cannot withstand me or my wolf. No one can. They will all die while I take your body with me. However I do not want to take you by force nor take your body the way my moon's body was taken. You can take my hand and come with me. I am giving you the choice that my Moon never got to make. I will spare them as long as you remain willingly. I am a man of my word, always have been unlike the rightful bastards before me.'
My eyes sink into his knowing that he is the bringer of death; he will never sleep, eat or stop until I am his while alive by choice or he takes my body to still do what he wants with it as his new Night Queen. He is not of this world, unnatural and I would rather save lives than let them be killed for me. Too many have already died in the Long Night. And if I give myself up so the others can live, I will do so. My entire body is shaking as I slowly extend my hand out to his. I gasp in his fingers wrapping my hand into his.
He smiles to me almost like he is in joy of this. He knows my leg is injured so he puts his right arm under my knees while his left arm is behind my upper back, picking me up in his arms like he is a good man. He carries me over to the horse; somehow he has the horse kneel down so he can mount on the horse with me still in his arms. He arranges himself real quick before grabbing the reins. The horse gets back up on all fours, shaking its head and neck.
The Night King takes one last look at the wolf howling at the moon engraving before walking the horse forward. I am shaking in terror while he leads the way out of this hidden chamber. I'm wondering how I am seeing the Night King as a man rather than the ice cold creature he truly is. He leads the horse to a dead end then he places his hand on the wall, pushing it for the wall to go outward, leading back into the hallway I was just in before getting trapped into this madness.
He pushes the door back into place as if the hidden door never existed. My eyes go around the hall in the hopes that Brienne and Podrick will come to help me. But that thought vanishes quickly when I hear snarling of all kinds like the dead has taken over Winterfell and the world is his for the taking.
He wraps his arms around me. I was expecting to find his embrace to be freezing as death but surprisingly I felt far colder than his embrace. He gives me a small smile, brushing my hair over my shoulder admiring me. I am not sure how to feel how he is treating me like he is human when he is not. But his kindness is already ten times better than Ramsey Bolton ever did for me after our vows to his gruesome death.
The Night King taps his heels into the horse's side, having the horse walk on. I notice the long distance snarling of the white walkers completely stop; the Night King is keeping his word of sparing them as long as I am going with him willingly. He appears to actually be a man of his word which is a surprise. A large part of me feared that he wouldn't but he is.
At the end of this, I know the others will live through the Long Night. He is riding us back out and to the fate he has for me and the rest of the world. I am filled with complete dread of what is going to become of me as his new Night Queen at the side of the Night King.173Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡloQ68XkQo7
