Happy Monday!
finished this chapter with minutes to spare! not gonna say much about this but a quick TRIGGER WARNING.
nothing too terrible happens but rather prepare the people. enjoy.
Jon, Tormund and their 12 warriors rode as fast as they could with no break to Widow's Keep. Ghost ran side by side with the horses, following them as they traveled. They broke the normal travel time in half with their speed and arrived quicker than usual. There was no moon to give then light when they arrived because giant rain clouds had gathered in the sky. It started to pour as they neared the keep.
"Jon!" Tormund called out and got him, and the rest of the men to stop. They all gathered around him to hear what he had to say. "We should walk from here, if we ride into the Keep there could be an ambush waiting for us."
"Good thinking," Jon nodded the okay to the rest of their men and they all dismounted their horses. "Quietly, men." They left them tied up and trod carefully on foot to the Keep. As they got closer all they could hear was the rain. They could barely make out the keep as they approached the homestead. There was not one light in any window or smoke blowing out of any chimney. The Keep felt deserted.
"Where are they?" Jon could hear one of his men ask.
Jon looked to Tormund who nodded to move forward, and he obliged. They move quietly and carefully through the front gate. Jon looked for any sign of life. Any sign of Daenerys. It was the only thing on his mind. As they walked they could here one of their men whistle for them. They went back to see what it was and came face to face with five dead bodies. Three of them were women of the Keep, the other two were Thenn. All the bodies were bloody, mutilated and covered in mud and it was hard to tell who was who.
"Turn them over," Tormund whispered. Jon's heart was pounding as they flipped each of the Keep women over. Luckily, none of them were Daenerys, Rosemary, Parsley or Thyme. Tormund looked back and sighed, "It ain't any of them."
"Good." Jon tried to remain calm on the outside for his men, but inside he was panicking, the grip he had on Longclaw tightening.
Two other of their men approached them, "The silver woman isn't in her home, your grace."
"We check the main house next," Tormund told Jon. He nodded okay and led the way.
When they got to the door of the main house they all froze. Rotten dead rabbits were nailed all over, and it was drenched in blood. Some of the boys gagged to its stench. Jon covered his nose as he tried to open the door, but it seemed jammed. He looked to Tormund, and with a nod, the two of them worked together to get the front door open. It took a couple of tries, but the last push got them through. As they both fell through the entrance lightening quickly brightened the room. In front of him, he could see most of the women of the Keep. Rosemary stood in front with her longbow ready, behind her was Parsley, and to her right was Thyme also equipt with a longbow. And to her left, alive and well, was Daenerys.
She's okay.
"Your grace." Rosemary lowered her bow as the two men stood up.
Without a word, Jon went straight for Daenerys. He wanted to throw his arms around her, to hold her tight and never let go, but now wasn't the time. She's okay. She's okay. His thoughts were on a loop. All he could concentrate on was the fact that she was still alright. She was covered in a bit of blood but didn't seem to be hurt. Jon sighed in relief, "You're alright."
Daenerys nodded, a slight smile on her face. "I am."
Jon smiled briefly back then turned back to Rosemary, "How many were lost?"
"Maybe 10? I'm not sure." Rosemary approached them so her conversation wasn't heard by too many, "They attacked while most of us were asleep. Luckily most of us have slept in the main house since Mum died, but those who didn't or were outside…"
"I'm sorry…" Jon told her sincerely. "Losing siblings is painful…"
"We could hear them screaming, even above the heavy rain," Rosemary went a bit pale, "I-I… I can still hear them…"
"I'm gonna kill every one of those Thenn cunts," Tormund growled from behind her.
Jon put his hand on Rosemary's shoulder, "Do you know where they are now?"
"I think," Rosemary shivered, "I think they're in here. We've boarded up all the two doors that lead into the rest of the main house, as well as the front… if you all didn't come…"
"But we did," Jon reassured here as he let go, "We are here, now, and we are going to end this."
"I think they are on the right side of the house, where your old room is." Rosemary explained, "We heard some noises, but no one dared check."
"That's where we'll go then," Tormund declared for all of them, "I can't wait to kill that fuck."
Rosemary looked at Tormund and then back to Jon. "You all go on, I'll stay here and watch my sisters."
Jon nodded okay, "This ends tonight. I swear it."
Tormund whistled to the clansmen and the group of them headed to the door that led to where Rosemary thought they would be. He looked back at his men, all of them with swords drawn ready to give their life for him if need be. The thought filled him with a bit of sorrow, but it was the price of being king.
"It's the good Kings that men die for with their heads held high and their swords dripping in blood."
Tormunds words rang in his ear. If his men died tonight, would they die like this? Or would they regret raising their swords for King Crow? Not that it mattered at this moment. Here they all stood ready to fight. They would worry about death when it came from them.
"Four of you stay here and make sure that the women of the Keep stay safe," Jon spoke the command to his men with confidence he didn't have before, and with his words four men nodded yes and went back to Rosemary. It was at that moment he noticed Daenerys was standing with his men. "Go on, I'll follow behind you all." Tormund opened the door and the rest of the men went through. Just as Daenerys tried to walk past him, a longbow in hand, Jon grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "You aren't coming."
"You don't have the right to tell me no," Daenerys told him. There was a fire in her eyes. She wanted to fight.
Jon sighed. He wasn't going to argue with her tonight. "Do not wander far. Stay close, okay?"
Daenerys nodded and walked through the door. Jon was the last go through.
Before she closed the door behind him, Rosemary looked Jon in the eyes. "Be careful, my king… For the night is dark-"
"And full of terrors… trust me, I know." Jon nodded and she closed the door. He could hear Rosemary boarding up the door on the other side. Quietly they made their way through dark halls. The storm outside was so bad there could barely see in front of them. Jon could barely see Daenerys walking in front of him. His only inclination of her presence was the sound of her footsteps walking slowly through the halls. Every crack of lightning had them on their heels, stopping to see if anything popped out at them in the light of the thunder. At on point, he could have sworn that he heard a scream just barely cry out over the sound of the storm.
When it was as loud, Daenerys turned around. "We need to split up."
"I'm not letting you-" Jon was cut off by another boom of lightning.
Daenerys got closer so she knew he could hear her, "We have no choice. People are dying."
Jon made a bitter face as he took a deep breath, "If anything happens."
"I'll scream." Daenerys nodded, "Go. I can do it."
Daenerys had been walking on her own for a while now. The inside of the main house was even that large, but walking around in the dark made her feel like she was wandering a maze. This had been her home for months but even now she could barely remember the layout of these halls. To get a feel of where she was, Daenerys entered the nearest room she could find. As the door closed behind her the room she was in turned pitched black. The darkness overwhelmed her but it was a familiar feeling. It reminded her of death. As she moved quietly through the room, she could feel her heartbeat pick up. She started to panic as she looked for the wall and tried to feel for a window. After a couple of excruciating minutes, she found the shutters and pulled them open. Just as she did another clash of lightning rang across the sky and for a moment the room was lit with the light of thunder.
As the room lit up behind she was hit with this horrible feeling deep in her chest. She wasn't alone.
As Daenerys turned around the room darkened once more. Without a second thought, she pulled a dagger from her belt and held it tight. It was too dark and too close quarters for her to use her longbow. She started to feel a rush of fear as she waited in the dark for lighting to strike one more and give her a better view of what exactly was going on in the room with her. Her grip on the dagger tightened as she stood there, anxiety on the rise. Any moment now it should hit.
BOOM.
The sky rumbled and seconds later the room was illuminated again. As she glanced the room over her eyes finally met with the presence she sensed in the room. It was Skinna. Daenerys froze as he smiled at her, dropping the weapons in his hand. He was playing with her. Just as quickly as the room was lit it grew dark and once again Daenerys lost sight of her surroundings. Instead, now she knew who was there. She could hear movement but had no idea where he went. Daenerys raised the knife in high above her chest. If he was to attack, she had to be ready. Before lightening could strike again she was hit from the left, a body tackling her to the floor. The knife flew to her hands as she fell, and the body ran off. Skinna was playing with her. Hunting her. This was a game to him and she was the prey.
But Daenerys would not scream. She was ready to face death head-on.
Daenerys got to her knees and crawled forward, trying to find anything she could to defend herself. In the dark, she could feel Skinna pulling at her legs, and she kicked as hard as she could to keep him away. She must have hit him in the face because after a bit he did let go. It gave her time to crawl away, eventually finding something she could use. It had some weight to it, whatever it was in her hands. Daenerys figured it was a tiny chair, but a weapon was a weapon at his point. She waited until she heard footsteps coming for her, and then she swung the chair with all her might. Something must have been hit because she could feel the flimsy chair fall apart as it made contact. Above the storm she could hear a grunt, it was definitely Skinna. Daenerys turned around to reach for something else but Skinna found her first. He slammed into her body until both of them ran into something hard. Whatever it was it had something sharp hanging from it, and Daenerys could feel it puncture her arm as she collided with it. The pain of the wound made her cry out, but only for a moment. Skinna then grabbed her by the hair and threw across the room, and this time she hit something low, but the impact wasn't nearly as bad. From its touch, Daenerys figured it was a bed. A moment later lightning struck again and Daenerys could now see Skinna coming for her. He was still smiling and now it started to worry her how much he enjoyed this. Skinna pulled her more onto the bed and crawled on top of her. Daenerys' heart started to race now that she could see all the was happening. She tried to fight him off as best as she could but he was much heavier than her. Skinna fought her hands back with one of his and just as the light was fading she could see him going for her trousers with the other hand. Finally, Daenerys wanted to scream but nothing came out. The room went dark, and she tried with all her might to kick and push him away but she was powerless. It was a terrifying feeling. One she hadn't felt in so long. She could feel his hand go under her dress her eyes became flushed with tears as she felt his hand move closer to her. Daenerys closed her eyes, and lightning flashed again.
She could hear the clash of thunder and then something else. Her body shifted and the weight above her was suddenly gone. Daenerys opened her eyes to the sound of someone grunting. As she jumped off the bed, she could see Skinna on the floor and above him was Jon. The sound she heard was Jon punching Skinna over and over. He continued on and on until his knuckles were bloody. Until Skinna's face was no longer recognizable. Long after he took his last breath, Jon continued to lay into him. Daenerys approached him slowly, putting a hand on Jon's shoulder. Without a word he stopped, his hands shaking as he pulled back. The storm was finally settling and the moon brightened the room.
The darkness was over, and it's terrors were gone.