Melisandre would not call herself brave, but she was without fear. She was loyal to R'hllor and he would protect her if it was his will; if she was harmed then, indeed, she must have done something to anger her Lord. And if she had, she would take his punishment.
The Lord of Light protected her, for the night was dark and full of terrors. Some terrors, the workings of the Great Other, and some terrors the workings of evil men. But by the will of R'hllor, she was untouched.
And so, when some men would try to kill her, she would look upon them, unflinching, unafraid.
Yet there was one person who scared her.
When she had gone to retrieve Stannis' nephew, to sacrifice to bring Azor Ahai his victory, she'd met a person who'd scared her.
It was a mere girl. Little more than a child-in all likelihood the girl hadn't bled yet. But Melisandre could see inside her, could see what was to come.
"You witch!" Melisandre heard as she was grabbed from behind, and turned around. "You're going to hurt him."
Melisandre had been insulted many times, had encountered many who would hinder her goals. But the moment Melisandre saw this girl…
Melisandre was frozen-her blood turned to ice. She grabbed the girl's face, making her look her in the eye, ignoring the girl's expression.
"I see a darkness in you," Melisandre announced. Darkness the likes of which she had never seen. A blank abyss, inescapable. So deep, a dragon could fly and fly, and never get out…Not even the dragon's flame could bring light to that darkness…
"And in that darkness, eyes staring back at me," she continued. So many eyes… "Brown eyes…blue eyes…green eyes…" Melisandre stood by her king as he fought a war-she had seen armies. And she was looking at an army of eyes in this girl.
"Eyes you'll shut forever," she finished. Her eyes were piercing as ever, but they now widened, showing something they never had before: fear.
This girl, this child, would claim many lives. Perhaps not now, perhaps the girl would go a little longer before blood ran down her hands, but some day the girl would show the darkness Melisandre had seen.
And Melisandre knew, suddenly, that not even R'hllor would be able to protect her from the girl, should she set her sight on Melisandre.
For the night was dark and full of terrors; this girl was no terror. She was the night.
"We will meet again," Melisandre announced, then she turned away and left.
So yeah...
That scene just really sticks out to me: Melisandre, who sets people on fire, is always with a king, creates shadow demon baby thingies, and has an amazing track record for surviving attempts on her life (poison, for crying out loud!) is more freaked out than any other scene by Arya.
That said, I just had to right this. I...would really love some feedback on this. I'm mostly using the tv show, and I have a hard time with Melisandre's character, so yeah...
Um, review for the satisfaction of helping a writer?