Part 2

I couldn't remember how long we had been walking for. We had been walking for quite a while, though, and we were moving a bit slower because of Thoro's injury. But everyone seemed to be thankful for the change of pace — everyone except Jon, of course. Jon remained at the front of the group a couple of feet ahead of everyone else.

I was walking next to Gendry, who in my opinion seemed to be the least offensive person here. Clegane was a harsh, foul man who liked to be left alone. Beric, who was helping Thoro's kept looking at me like I was a god. Jorah kept trying to give me advice to get me to reconcile with my sister and Jon. Jon and I hadn't spoken since our fight earlier if it could even be considered a fight.

I was starting to feel like Jon didn't see me as an equal. I was losing who I was. When I was with Jon, I wasn't Rhaella Targaryen, the future queen. I was Emelya Snow, the moon-eyed stubborn girl from Winterfell, now Jon's woman. Maybe a part of me would always be Emelya Snow, but out here I needed to be the warrior princess Rhaella.

We continued walking, some of the men murmuring amongst themselves until Clegane told us all to shut up. We stopped walking and turned to look at Clegane as he gave a confused look.

"Do you hear that?" he asks, slowly turning his head to look around. A faint clanking sound could be heard in the distance. I followed Jon and Tormund up a nearby hill overlooking the next pass. Jon peaked over the top of the snowy mound and watched for a few seconds before hiding back behind the snow.

"There aren't very many of them," he remarks as Tormund, and I peak over the hill as well.

I stay silent as I see the boney creatures trudge along. I don't know why I thought the army of the dead would look more pleasant. I had assumed it would be ordinary people, dead of course with blue eyes. But not these things with skin hanging off and protruding bones with rags for clothes.

"Well then, let's not waste any time" I mumbled as I move back behind the snowy hill.

"We need to lure them somewhere first, somewhere they can't escape and get the others," Jon says.

"We'll get ahead of them and light a fire to draw them out," Tormund says, causing Jon to nod in agreement.

We make our way back down the small hill and tell our plan to the others. Immediately we begin moving in the direction the Wights appeared to be heading in. We stop at the opening of the narrowing path and get into position while Beric starts the fire. Jon moves to hide next to me while we wait.

"Are you going to ask me to sit this one out too?" I ask as I pull out my sword.

"No, I'm not," he states. We sit in silence for a few awkward moments while Jon pulls out his sword.

"I'm sorry, about earlier. I shouldn't have asked you not to fight. I just wanted to keep you safe." he says softly. I sigh and turn so that my body is facing his.

"I understand why you asked me. But I had hoped that you would see me differently now. I'm not that girl anymore. I've changed."

He places his free hand on top of mine and looks into my eyes.

"I know. But there is always going to be a part of me that will see you as the girl I left in Winterfell" he admits with a heavy sigh. I smile softly at him and lean forward to give him a quick kiss.

"I forgive you," I whisper as I pull away to look back into his eyes. He smiles, but the smile instantly disappears at the sound of crunching snow. They were here. I kept my eyes on Jon as we got our swords into the ready position. He was looking up as if he could see the white walkers out of the back of his head. I waited for his signal, and once he gave it, we all leaped into action.

These things were unlike anything I've ever faced before. There was no method to their fighting. They weren't like most men who fight to live. These things fought to kill. I was able to kill two of them before Jon killed one that destroyed almost all of the others. The one that was left we immediately surrounded for Clegane to capture. But before its head got covered it let out a shrill of a scream. Clegane instantly covered the mouth of the creature with his hand, which resulted in his hand getting bitten by the thing. Quickly it was obtained under control, but while everyone was focused on restraining the creature, Jon was looking behind us all, at an incoming storm.

He moved over to Gendry and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Run to Eastwatch. Send a message to the Queen. Tell her what happened," Jon says quickly. Gendry looks around in confusion.

"Why not her?" he asks, gesturing towards me.

"She knows how to wield a sword. And you're the fastest. Now go!" Jon snapped. Gendry turned to run, but Tormund stopped him by grabbing his hammer.

"You'll be faster without this," he tells him. Gendry nods handing Tormund his hammer and takes off through the snowy hills. Jon starts looking around until his eyes finally land on the narrow pass in front of us.

"We need to go," he announces to all of us. Everyone immediately begins to leap into action and starts running down the pass. I follow with Jon running alongside me.

The snow crunched under our feet. The wind whipped past our ears and stung our eyes, but we didn't care. I glanced behind and saw a wave of white walkers chasing after us. The terrifying sight only made me run faster. Jon was ahead of me only by a little, but when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, he reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me to a stop next to him. I jerked to a halt and looked at him in bewilderment. Was he mad? I followed his gaze down and saw the frozen lake with a crack where he must have stepped. The shrieking sounds were getting closer. I whipped my head back and saw the wave a few feet from crushing us.

"GO!" I screamed and began running on the ice, the others following close behind, towards the small island in the middle of the frozen lake. The white walkers were following and surrounding us. About halfway across the lake, I slipped and fell flat on my face. Luckily I maintained the grip on my sword, so it didn't skid across the ice.

Jon, in a rushed frenzy, bent down beside me and roughly grabbed my left arm, pulling me to my feet. He maintained his grip and pulled me along to the island. The moment we stepped foot on the land, the ice began to break. I glanced over at Clegane, who was holding the hammer over the ice and glanced back at the white walkers surrounding us. The ones who were on the ice were gone, but there were hundreds of thousands surrounding us on the land. We were trapped.

As the hours rolled by, the others began to settle in and get comfortable for the night. The island was a bit small and cramped, but everyone was able to find their own space. I was leaned against a nearby boulder, facing the direction we had run from. Jon was standing a little ways away from me. Shivering, with his arms crossed. I leaned forward and tugged on the back of his furs. He turned around to look down at me.

"You're tired and freezing. Come sit for a while," I say moving to make space for him.

"If the dead try to cross-"

"We'll be able to stand quicker than they can swim" I counter, giving him a pointed look. He gives a heavy sigh but relents and moves to sit next to me. Once he does, I turn to face him and places my hands on his cold cheeks. The cold from his skin burned me briefly before I was able to conjure up enough heat to make a difference. He closed his eyes and leaned into my touch. I slowly made my way down. I was moving my hands from his cheek, trailing down his neck and dipping under the furs to get to his chest. I could feel his heart beating faster as my hands continued their path to his stomach and waist. But once I got down to the waist, I moved my hands back up, over his stomach to rest on his chest.

"Thank you," he whispers, opening his eyes. I move my right hand back up to cup his cheek and smile.

"You're welcome."

I maneuvered myself, so I was resting against Jon's frame. He pulled his fur cloak over us both, and I moved his shirt and leathers, so I was touching as much bare skin as possible. I rested my head in the crook of his neck, so his chin was resting on the top of my head.

"Hey Snow, tell your woman to give me a turn when she's done with you" Tormound called as he walked around us. So after a few more minutes of relishing in Jon, I got up and started making my way through the camp of men, offering my hands up like a warming stone. Once I finished, I made my way back over to Jon, who was standing near the edge of the island, keeping watch.

"Do you think we'll survive this?" I ask as I move to stand next to him.

"I don't know."

That night was freezing, and once morning rolled around, it didn't get much better. Thoros had passed during the night, and Beric burned his body with his flaming sword.

We were all cold and hungry. Our eyes remained on the threat across the lake. They were unmoving and silent, something that became frightening after spending a whole night with their staring. Jon was trying to be hopeful, saying that Gendry had made it to Eastwatch by now and that Daenerys would be here any moment. But as the hours dragged on, we were all losing faith.

I was staring across the lake at one of the wights who was missing half of his face when I saw him.

There, standing halfway between the island and the wights, was Robb Stark. He was older than when I last saw him. The scruff on his face had grown into a beard. He was a harder man who looked a bit more like his father than he used to. I took a couple of steps forward to meet with him on the ice, but a hard jerk on my arm kept me in place.

I whipped my head around to face Jon, who was looking at me like I'd gone mad. And maybe I had. I turned back to look at Robb on the ice, but he changed. Now it was Hope who stood there in his place. Her silver hair was pulled back into a single braid, and she was wearing a dress of purple lace. She was so pale and pure. I wanted to run to her and hold her as I did in Ramsay's prison.

"What are you looking at?" Jon asks. I don't answer and continue to stare at the little girl. Our little girl.

Jon was debating whether he should shake her or not. She was staring at something on the ice. Her eyes were fogged over, and her gaze seemed vacant. He set his hands on the sides of her shoulders and gripped them tightly.

"Don't you see her?" she asked in a voice that mirrored a whisper. Jon glanced again at the frozen over patch, but he saw nothing.

"See what?" he asked, desperately trying to see what she saw. She didn't answer and instead moved her head back to face Jon.

"Nothing...It's probably just hunger getting the best of me" she mumbled with a forced smile. Jon let go of her shoulders, allowing her to walk back to the middle of the small frozen island. Jon glanced across the ice and looked at the wights lined up surrounding them. His gaze shifted to Clegane, who was throwing rocks at some of the dead men.

Jon watched as a rock flew from Clegane's hand and into the jaw of a white walker, breaking it off without the wight so much as flinching. Clegane launched another stone at the wights and Jon watched as it fell short and slammed into the ice and skidded across the slick surface until it stopped at the wight's feet. The lake had frozen back over, and the walkers knew it.

Jon watched in horror as a few started to slowly make their way across the ice and towards their tiny island.

"Emelya!" Jon called looking over his shoulder. She turned around to face him, and her gaze immediately landed on the incoming walkers. She quickly pulled out her sword and moved to stand by his left side.

"Stay close to me?" he asked as he pulled out his sword.

"Always," she told him with what could have been a sad smile. He gave a sad smile in return and turned to face the incoming threat.

He prayed to the old gods, begged them to let them live. Or at the very least to let her survive.

The first couple of wights were easy to kill because they were alone. But after a couple of minutes, they started to attack in waves. Hundreds and hundreds of wights came pouring towards them, and Jon was trying his best to concentrate. He wanted nothing more than to be able to turn his head to the side to check on her. But if he did, he was likely to get stabbed by one of the wights. When there was a small break in between waves of wights Jon moved to the top of the small hill where their captured wight was, and pulled it away from the fray, shouting for everyone to fall back.

When Emelya got the chance, she moved to Jon's left side facing the edge of the cliff where one of the free folk had fallen into the wights. She and Jon began cutting down the wights who were trying to climb up the edge of the drop.

For a moment, the world seemed to stop and slow down before Jon's very eyes. They were surrounded by wights, with no hope of escape. They were going to die here. He looked to his left, where the love of his life was fighting beside him. How could he let her come here? How could he let himself lead her to their slaughter? At the very least they would die together.

After she finished with a white walker, she turned to look at Jon. She looked at him like he was the only thing left in the world. He gave her a soft smile, and she mirrored it, but hers was sadder than he was. She lowered her sword and stepped towards him, closing the gap between them. She placed her right hand on his cheek, warming him up before she moved her hand to lay on top of his fur covered chest.

"I love you," she told him as she gazed up into his eyes.

"I love you too," he replied and moved down to connect their lips for what was probably the last time. Her lips were sweet and soft as they always had been and warm like the sun. He could feel her tears against his cheeks and how they almost burned his skin. He could feel a couple of his tears slipping down his cheeks.

But before they could break away for what Jon thought would be their last breaths, a rain of dragon fire burned the wights surrounding them. They broke away, embracing one another as they looked up at the dragons circling them overhead.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My sister had come with the dragons to rescue us. They circled overhead, burning what wights they could as Dany and Drogon landed on the ice near the island. Jon and I defended the others as they all climbed onto Drogon's back. Visenya was circling over me as much as she could, burning any white walkers that got too close. I watched as all the men climbed on and then I glanced at Jon who was staring at the Night King. I glanced over at the Night King and saw him pull out what looked like an icy spear. Realization dawned on my face, and Jon's as well as he turned to face us.

"GO!" he screamed, swinging his sword frantically trying to get back over here and swinging his sword.

I looked up at Dany and the others as she offered her hand to me. I glanced back at Jon before looking back at my sister.

"I can't leave him," I said a bit frantically. Before my sister could argue the Night King threw his spear, and we all watched as the spear flew through the air and pierced Viserion. The dragon cried as blood gushed out of him, and he crashed into the icy lake.

"GO!" I screamed at her and shouted for Visenya to do the same as I turned to Jon.

The moment my eyes landed on his a group of white walkers ambushed him. Jumping onto him and pushing him back into the frozen lake. I screamed, dropping my sword and ran after him, launching myself into the cold water. My heart stopped in my chest as I hit the water.

I saw Jon a few feet below me, being dragged to the bottom of the lake by the wights. I was able to swim down and help him fight off the wights that were clinging to his furs. I grabbed his hand as my lungs started to burn and tried my best to pull him to the surface. But I couldn't get their fast enough. I gasped for air, and the water came pouring down my throat. My head was starting to get foggy when I felt his hand pulling the collar of my furs up with him. I coughed and gasped for air as my bare hands clawed at the icy surface.

I was able to get out of the water first with Jon's help. The air made me feel the cold even more and smothered what little fire I had. I stood up and turned around to help Jon out of the freezing water. I was about to bend down when I was stabbed on my lower right side, through the back. I cried out and fell to my knees in pain. Jon set his sword on the ice and used it to help him out. I grabbed the sword I had dropped a few feet away from the ice and turned onto my back, stabbing the wight as it moved to cut me again.

I dropped my sword next to me, wincing in pain as Jon dropped to his knees on my right side.

"No, no no," he mumbled, moving a shaking hand to the wound. I could feel the blood leaving my body. The warm substance was staining the ice underneath me. I was going in and out of consciousness, trying my best to concentrate on Jon's eyes.

"Jon," I whispered in a broken voice.

"No, you can't leave me..." he said as I started to fade.

Jon had never felt this much fear in his life. She was bleeding heavily, and she was fading fast. She was going to die right before his eyes, with him powerless to stop it.

"Come on."

Jon was pulled to his feet by a man in a dark cloak towards a horse.

"Not without her," Jon said sternly, motioning towards her. The man pulled back his hood, revealing his face to Jon.

"Uncle Benjen?" Jon asked, unable to fully process what exactly it was he was seeing.

"Get on the horse. I'll get her" Benjen ordered, getting Jon close enough to grab the horses reins. Jon watched as he picked up the bleeding girl and her sword and laid her on the horse with her back to Jon's chest.

"Come with us," Jon croaked, the cold starting to make him dizzy and lose his voice.

"It won't hold three, now go!" Benjen shouted, smacking the horses rear. Jon wrapped his left arm tightly around Emelya's frame as the horse took off towards the wall. Jon was able to hold onto consciousness just long enough to see his uncle Benjen get swarmed by the wights, but after that, everything went dark.

"My Queen" Jorah called softly.

Daeneary's stood on one of the platforms overlooking the haunted forest. She was searching and scanning the woods for any sign of her sister and Jon. She was so focused on trying to find them that she barely registered Jorah standing behind her.

"Khaleesi," he called again.

"Just a little bit longer," she whispered, as Drogon, Visenya, and Rhaegal circled over the forest. They both stood in silence for a few moments more before Dany started to turn away. Just as she was about the exit the platform, the horn was sounded. Dany quickly moved back and looked down, seeing a dark horse and two riders...with a trail of blood behind them.

They were able to get both Jon and Rhaella onto the ship and into cabins. Dany stayed by her sister's side as the East Watch maester came into her cabin and started to clean the wound and bind it, tears coming to her eyes when the maester said she would live. She watched as he gave her milk of the poppy and told Dany that she would sleep for a few days. Afterward, Dany made her way to Jon's room, knowing her sister would want her to make sure he was okay.

He was waking up as Daenearys entered the room and moved to his right side. He was blinking slowly before realization crossed his eyes.

"Is she?" He asked softly, fear in his eyes.

"She's alive, the maester said she'll be asleep for a couple of days," Daenearys said, slowly taking a seat on his bedside.

Jon moved his hand forward to squeeze Daeneary's hand.

"I am so sorry about everything. If I could go back, we wouldn't have gone"

"No...I'm glad you did. I needed to see it," she replied, blinking away the tears that started to well up in her eyes.

"These dragons are the only children I will ever have, and my sister...she is all the family I have left, do you understand?" she asks. Jon nods slowly.

"We will destroy this Night King together. I will fight with you," she pledged with a teary-eyed smile.

"Thank you, Dany," he replied with a soft smile.

"The last man to call me that was my brother Viserys," she said.

"I'm sorry, maybe My Queen would be more appropriate," he said softly. Her eyes went wide at the sound of her title.

"What will the Northern Lords think?" she asks.

"They'll come to see you for the good person that you are, just as your sister has helped me to see it," he answers, making her smile.

"About what I said in the caves...I should never have tried to use my sister against you...or you against her" Dany admits, causing Jon to give her a confused look.

"She didn't tell you?" Dany asks in surprise.

"Tell me what?" he asks.

"About the offer I was going to make you...before all of this happened. I was going to offer you my sister's hand in marriage, in exchange for my allegiance and the North's allegiance," she said. Jon immediately pulled his hand away from her's.

"You were going to make her pick a side?" he asked.

"I didn't mean it to turn out that way but..."

"I think you should go...I need to rest after everything that's happened," Jon said stiffly. Dany rose to her feet immediately and moved towards the door.

"I'm sorry," she said softly as she left the room.

After a day or two of sailing, Jon was able to gather the strength to rise from his bed and make his way to Emeyla's cabin. He stumbled down the halls and steps, bracing himself against the walls from time to time. Eventually, he made it to her cabin door, half naked with his furs draped haphazardly around him. He almost fell into her room as he opened up the door, the ship seeming to jerk about underneath his feet. He was able to stumble into the chair on the left and take a shaky seat. Once he was settled, his eyes landed on the sleeping form in front of him.

She was pale, paler than usual. Her hair was out of its usual braid and instead was cascading around her, the silver hair framing her face and making her seem all the paler. There was a scratch on her left cheek that was mostly healed. Aside from a few bruises on her arms, Jon couldn't see any wounds. Part of him wanted to believe that he only dreamed about her getting stabbed, but he knew better.

He sat and watched her, checking to make sure that her chest was still moving. He didn't know how long he sat there, wrapped up in his furs watching her. He must have dozed off at some point because he jerked in his seat when he felt her fingertips brush against his hand.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," she mumbled, looking at him with a lazy smile. He pulled his chair closer to her and grasped her fragile hand in his.

"How are you feeling?" he asks, rubbing his thumbs over the tops of her warm hands.

"Alive" she stated simply with a slight laugh.

"Gods Jon you're hands are freezing," she said, pulling her hand away from his. She scooted away from him, making room in the bed for him to join her.

"You're still healing. I couldn't..."

"Please? You're freezing, and I've missed having you in bed with me," she offered, doing her best to pull back the covers. He didn't bother arguing with her, knowing he would lose that battle. Instead, he climbed in next to her, adding the furs that were covering him to her pile. She laid her head on his chest, and Jon's body instantly relaxed as her warmth started to radiate through him.

They laid together in silence, both having too much to say to the other, but neither wanting to be the first to speak. As the silence started to become too much to bear, Jon broke the silence.

"I'm so sorry. We shouldn't have gone," he stated.

"No...we probably shouldn't have. But we need to," she replied, slowly moving to face him, wincing in pain the entire time. When she was facing him, Jon moved his hand to cup her cheek, brushing away a few tears with his thumb.

"Your sister told me about her offer..." he mumbled.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she said quickly.

"Don't be...I understand how hard it must have been...choosing a side, and I want you to know I would never ask you to choose between your sister and me," he says.

"I would have chosen you..." she admits, her tears flowing more freely. A smile flashed on his lips. She smiled through her tears, and Jon had never seen her look more beautiful.

"Marry me."

She was taken aback at the statement and looked at him, feeling more confused than ever.

"I couldn't...I can't. After this, I don't know if I can have children, I couldn't give you a family or heirs. You're a King," she mumbled.

"I don't care about all of that...I don't need children or heirs or titles. I just need you by my side," he said, brushing some hair away from her face.

"When we get back to Winterfell...will you marry me?"