Sorry for the long wait...Been having some family troubles. The end is near for this story...just so you know.
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Waiting
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Sansa paced her hut, anxiously awaiting any word from the outside on her husbands condition during the battle taking place. It was known throughout that the White Walkers did indeed have giants upon their army, but according to Joanna, so did they.
"We have giants as well, Sansa. Most died years ago, but some have survived and fight for us. They will be here soon!"
Stark whined and began to move around on the bed as his mother continued her pace, "Giants. Giants can't help us win this war-" She was interrupted by shouting from outside and both women quickly ran to the small window, looking outside at several of the protectors running about. Sansa left Joanna inside the hut with the baby as she rushed through the entrance and into the snow, "Stop! Wait, what is happening?" She grabbed the arm of a large man and he caught his breath, "We must get you safe and on higher ground." He grabbed her arm and tried to lead her back to the hut, but Sansa cried out, "What's wrong?!"
He paused, "There are too many of them. The giants-they are not coming- we cannot fight-" Sansa slapped his hand away and ran into her hut, running past Joanna to grab little Stark. Joanna listened to her ramble as she grabbed her small son, a pack, and the dagger sitting on the table.
Joanna rushed after her, "We must stay here until they return, Sansa!" Sansa and Joanna stood in the middle of chaos as she explained in a hard tone, "What if they don't come back? Am I to be a sad widow that will do nothing but sit alone? No! I will go find him and help." Joanna rolled her eyes as Sansa dropped her pack in the snow, so she took Stark from her arms, "Not with your son." Sansa snapped her head up and looked at her, "Fine."
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How long could it go on? Weeks? Months? Mance wiped blood from his face and onto his furs before leaning against a fallen horse. They have been in battle for several hours, men falling left and right as the White Walkers pushed on, the dead coming back to life and killing all of those who had promised to return to their families. Tormund found Mance on the ground and he slid by his side, "We have to get further away!" Mance shook his head, "We have to keep fighting. If we die today, so be it, but I will not stop until we win." Tormund shook his head as he heard his old friend say those words.
Mance looked to his right and saw the sun setting in the distance, knowing that as soon as it was dark, the White Walkers would retreat to their territory until sunrise.
As the sun set, Sansa was beginning her trek through snow to the battle where she would find her husband dead or alive. As she clutched her furs closer to her body, a faint voice in the distance made her stop. As she turned she saw Shireen running after her with a satchel across her shoulders and a short sword in one hand. Sansa rolled her eyes as the girl reached her, "Go back, Shireen, you don't belong here." Shireen shook her head, "No, I'm going with you. Jon is in as much trouble as Mance is and I want to help." Ah, yes, Jon. The crush that Shireen had on Jon was turning into love and Sansa knew the feeling all too well. She nodded, "Yes, well, if you are coming with me, I hope you are experienced in sword fighting, because I haven't a clue." She thought back to the time of when she and Mance were first together, how he helped train her with a dagger, but never a sword. The one that Sansa carried on her hip belonged to her husband, his name etched on the blade.
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"Sannnnssaaaa..."
A cold hiss echoed through the wood as the snow began to fall onto Sansa and Shireen. Sansa looked up from her fire and shivered, "The light will disappear soon enough. Are you warm?" Shireen looked at Sansa and through a quivering voice, she was able to answer, "Not warm enough. It's getting colder, Sansa. We should just go back-" Sansa snapped her head in her direction, "No! My husband in out there fighting for our lives in this cold and I will suffer the same as he. Besides, we will reach the battle by tomorrow and then I will be able to help him." Shireen began to talk the most sense she had in her young years,
"Sansa, what could you possibly do to help them? You are just a girl, and a mother at that, a mother to the Prince Beyond the Wall." Sansa did not look at her, "You and Mance, you have given Westeros the first Prince Beyond the Wall and you've run off to battle? You're not strong enough to fight these things." Sansa sniffed, "I know that, Shireen, but I want to be there if-if he"
Shireen wrapped her arms around her, "Only the Gods can decide his fate."
Later that night, as the girls slept huddled under a tree for shelter with a fire dying out before them, a tall man of white stood before them, watching as Sansa sighed and pulled Shireen closer for warmth. The White Walker cocked his head to the side before he slowly crouched in her snow before them, trying hard not to wake them. His attempt was unsuccessful as Sansa quickly opened her eyes and saw icy blue orbs looking at her from only inches away. Sansa stayed silent as she stared back at this thing, but as he turned his attention to Shireen, Sansa cried out, "No!" The White Walker quickly reached for the girl next to her, waking Shireen and causing her to scream in fright.
Sansa pushed Shireen to the other side of the tree as she stood before the White Walker, "No! Leave her alone!" The White Walker grabbed Sansa by the throat and pushed her into the tree, hissing in his language, "You are a gift for the King!" Sansa felt her blood run cold and when she looked down at her hands, she saw them turning blue.
"Let her go."
The White Walker dropped Sansa and turned slowly to see Shireen holding a dagger in her hand, a cut on the side of her head from when she was pushed. Sansa watched the two, wondering silently why he had not killed them already, wondering what he had said to her in his language. In an instant, she saw Shireen fall to the ground and when she was able to focus once more, she realized that Shireen was bleeding from her stomach. Sansa cried out and rushed to her, "What happened? Shireen, look at me!" The Baratheon Princess looked up at Sansa and then to her stomach where her own dagger was placed. It had all happened so fast, but the Walker had quickly turned the dagger on her and stabbed into her belly. Shireen looked up at Sansa once more and fell silent as she watched her dear friend get hit atop the head, causing her to pass out. The last thing Shireen saw was Sansa fall to the ground beside her before both were lifted from the ground and placed on a horse.
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As the sun began to rise the next day, Mance stood before his men, his hand wrapped from an injury he received in the battle the day before, and Orell's eagle upon his shoulder. Mance looked at the eagle and with a tired voice, he ordered, "Fly above." The eagle took off in a hurry, watching over his men and the Walkers below. Tormund murmured, "We lost many of them yesterday and they gained nearly half..."
"I don't care. Let them gain more of their dead."
Tormund's nostrils flared, "You'll care when they hurt Sansa and your boy." Mance turned to him and as he went to speak, he heard screeching in the sky as Orell's eagle flew in circles above them.
"We go to battle. Fight by me, Tormund, to the death if we must."
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I was very iffy about posting this chapter. I have been working on this ONE chapter for over a month, and after my moms death, I didn't feel like writing anymore. I'm glad I continued. I was also iffy about writing this chapter like this, because of the horrid feedback I received before. Most of you know what I'm talking about. But here you go.
