One by one, Shireen knighted the Valkyries in the Great Hall. The brothers watched in amusement and scorn.

"Looks like you have yourself a formidable army now," Jon commented. "So what's next for Princess Shireen?"

"We're going to fight White Walkers, of course," said Shireen. Fafnir beamed with pride beside her.

Sam and Gilly sat apart from them in what seemed to be an intense conversation. "Trouble in paradise?" Fafnir asked Jon.

Jon allowed himself to sit down with them, something that he rarely got to do now that he was Lord Commander. "Sam is going to Oldtown to become a Maester," Jon said.

"A what now?" Fafnir asked.

"Remember Maester Aemon?" Jon asked.

Fafnir briefly recalled the old man grilling him about Japan. "Oh, yeah," he said.

"He died recently," said Jon.

"No!" Fafnir gasped. "When did that happen?"

"It was when you were gone," said Jon. "The Night's Watch needs a Maester. So I've chosen Sam to take his place."

"And he has to go away for that?" Fafnir asked.

Jon nodded. "To Oldtown to study with the other Maesters."

"Huh," said Fafnir. "Will Gilly go with him?"

"It appears so," said Jon. Jon leaned in. "Although Maesters are also supposed to be chaste."

Fafnir laughed. "What is it with you people and chastity? What's a little bit of hanky-panky going to hurt?"

Jon thought. "I don't think it's the sex itself it's the problem, it's what happens afterwards."

"Ah, yes," said Fafnir. "The miracle of life."

"Fafnir," Jon asked, "I've always wondered. Were you born like a person, or did you hatch from an egg?"

Fafnir laughed harder. "You humans are so predictable! You always ask that question eventually."

"Well?" Jon pressed.

"Eggs are the traditional procreation method for dragons," said Fafnir. "But I was a special case."

"Oh?"

"I was born," said Fafnir, "human."

Jon nearly choked on his mead. "What? You're making this up!"

"Am not," said Fafnir. "I stole a cursed ring and transformed into a dragon."

"You are so full of shit!" Jon accused.

"Why, in a world where we have ice zombies, is the idea of a cursed ring so damn unbelievable?" Fafnir snapped.

Jon finished his mead. "I suppose you've got me there, Fafnir."

Shireen tapped Fafnir on the shoulder. "Are you talking about dragons?" she asked.

Jon and Fafnir exchanged startled looks. "How much of that did you hear, Princess?" Fafnir asked.

Jon's eyes fell on her giant goblet. "And what are you drinking?"

"Calm down, Jon, it's apple juice," said Fafnir.

"I used to live in a place called Dragonstone," Shireen said. "It's where the Targaryens used to live with their real dragons!"

"Oh?" Fafnir asked, glancing sideways at Jon. Jon's leisure time had reached its limit, and Olly was dragging him away on some other errand. "Tell me about these Targaryens, Shireen, and their dragons."

"Well, I don't know them," said Shireen. "They were all dead before I was born. I know the Targaryen King was a very bad man. He killed a lot of people with fire. That's why they all got mad at him and usurped his throne and made my Uncle Robert king."

"That's the one who was married to that Cersei bit...woman," said Fafnir.

Shireen giggled. "It's okay, Fafnir. I know what a 'bitch' is."

"Good to know," said Fafnir. "Do you think they were all bad, though, these Targaryens?"

Shireen thought. "I think that people are funny. Sometimes they do awful things. But I don't think anyone is ever all bad all the time. Not even Cersei bitch."

"Young lady, I believe that is the Queen Regent you are talking about," said Fafnir.

Shireen giggled. "I think dragons are cool."

"I think so too," said Fafnir. "Maybe one day you'll even get to see one!"

"No, silly! They all died with the Targaryens!" Shireen exclaimed.

Jon walked back through the hall. "Is Fafnir being stupid, Shireen?" Jon teased.

"Very stupid," Shireen giggled, and then she took a giant gulp of apple juice.


They said goodbye to Sam and Gilly the next morning, and it appeared life at the Wall was slowly returning to normal. Melisandre, Shireen, Davos, Fafnir and the Vakyries, Tormund and the wildlings-they were all just blending into the background. The watchers on the Wall watched, and no signs of trouble greeted their eyes. More experienced members helped train the younger ones. Jon was pleased and at peace.

So when Olly rushed into his study in the dead of the night to tell him that his Uncle Benjen was back, Jon only expected good things. The dream of seeing his uncle again had all but slipped away, so the fact that he would return at this crucial time seemed too good to be true.

And it was, because instead of meeting his uncle, Jon was met by six knives.


"FAFNIR FAFNIR FAFNIR!"

Fafnir awoke to Shireen's frenzied cries. The girl was physically shaking him awake.

"What what what?!" Fafnir mumbled. "Goodness, girl, what is it?"

"It's Jon! He needs you!" Shireen exclaimed. "Come, quick, quick!"

Shireen dragged Fafnir through the halls. There was a great commotion coming from outside the castle. Ghost was howling restlessly.

Dolorous Edd walked out of the room Shireen was apparently going to. He clapped Fafnir on the shoulders. "God speed, Fafnir!" he said with obvious hope. Fafnir prepared himself for another problem that only he could solve...

...and then he saw Jon's bloody corpse laid out on a table, and his heart broke. His dragon blood boiled inside him. "Who did this?" he seethed. He clenched his fists, trying to prevent himself from involuntarily transforming.

"You can fix him, right?" Shireen asked. "Just like you did Davos!"

Davos looked hopelessly at Fafnir. He knew this was not at all the same thing. Fafnir took a deep breath. "Let me see," said Fafnir. He slowly approached Jon's body. Melisandre and Davos were sopping up the blood. "This bleeding must be stopped," Fafnir said. He held his hands over Jon's body and muttered spells. Healing spells were not his specialty, but he could make some headway. He leaned over Jon's mouth to see if his friend was breathing. When he realized Jon was not, he couldn't help himself. His wings sprouted, and his tail emerged from under his cape. Shireen screamed and ran to Ser Davos, who was awestruck. Even Melisandre backed against the wall in fear.

"Who did this?" he asked again. "Tell me, now, that I may burn their bodies to a crisp and rip their limbs apart!"

"No, no, no, Fafnir!" Shireen pleaded. "Just bring him back to life, like you did Ser Davos!"

Fafnir felt his body turning scaly. He threw open the doors and ran down the hall towards the exit to join the fray. The floor buckled beneath his steps. He ran screaming like a banshee out where the loyal brothers were standing off against Alliser Thorne and his cronies. He thrust himself between them, and then he collapsed in the melting snow, crying.

Edd grabbed Fafnir aside as the mutineers mocked him. "I can't do it," Fafnir whispered on repeat. "I can't do it, I can't do it, I can't do it!" Edd listened, trying to understand. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm a fraud, I'm a fraud!" Fafnir looked into Edd's eyes, and the truth came spilling out. "It was a sleeping curse I put on Davos, just a powerful sleeping curse, put him in a coma, make you lot think I'd killed him, just to keep up appearances, and then I woke up him, that's all, that's all I did. I'm not Azor Ahai. I can't bring people back to life. I can't do it. I can't do it. I can't do it."

"Shhh, shhh, Fafnir," said Edd. "It's okay, Fafnir!"

"If I bring him back to life," said Fafnir, "he'll be a zombie, understand! Just like one of your Walkers. It's called Necromancy. It's a very different sort of magic. I can't bring someone back to life for real."

"I understand," said Edd. "It's okay. Let's just get you inside, alright?"

Fafnir went willingly with Edd, still shaking and crying. "I failed, Edd."

"No, no you didn't, there there," said Edd. "Nobody here can do half the things you can, my friend."

"We are friends, aren't we?"

"Yes, Fafnir, we're friends. Now let's get you back to your barracks, there there."

When they reached the door, Fafnir stopped. "Wait," he said darkly. He drew Lightbringer. "Who did it?"


Screams of anguish greeted Shireen, Davos, and Melisandre inside. "What's he doing?" Shireen muttered. Davos stroked her hair reassuringly. "What happened to him? He looked...he looked like..."

"Shhh, Princess," said Davos.

"Like a dragon," she whispered. Despite all the horror, a smile crept across her face as she said the word.

Fafnir and Edd came back inside with Ghost in tow. Fafnir's sword was shimmering red with blood. He sat down on the floor, removed his shirt, and wiped it clean. "Now then," said Fafnir. "What next?"

"Can't you...?" Shireen started.

"No," said Fafnir. "I'm sorry, Princess. I can't."

"There's a lot," said Edd. "We'll need to elect a new Lord Commander. Of course, we'll hold a funeral for..." Edd started to tear up. "Write to Sam. Someone must write to Samwell Tarly."

"I'll do it," said Fafnir. Edd nodded.

"And then," said Edd. "Well, shoot."

"We'll stay and help," said Davos. "At least, until the funeral."

"Noooo," Shireen cooed.

"Shireen," Fafnir said. "I'm afraid I must disappoint you again, my dear. I lied to you before. I lied to everyone. I can't bring people back from the dead."

"But," she started.

"You thought you saw you me bring Ser Davos back from the dead. It was just a very strong sleeping curse. I put him under and brought him back at precisely the time I wanted to," said Fafnir.

Shireen processed Fafnir's words. "But you're still magic," she said.

Tears started leaking out of Fafnir's eyes again. "Yes, my dear. I'm still magic. But I'm not a god. I can't..." He trailed off as he looked at Jon's dead body. He had been hit with so much at the beginning, he hadn't had any time to truly consider Jon's death. He stood up, took a deep breath, and looked at his friend's lifeless form. "Can I please have a moment?" he whispered.


Fafnir and Ghost remained in the room with Jon while the brothers tried to get their shit together on the outside. As Fafnir laid on the floor half asleep beside the direwolf, he stared up at the wall sconce. The candle's flame seemed to be taunting him.

"Well, Ghost," Fafnir muttered. "Back on Earth they said there were five stages of grief. Let's see where we're at, shall we? Denial. That was when everyone thought Azor Ahai could fix it. Check. Anger." Fafnir laughed. "Well, we definitely nailed that one, didn't we, boy? Revenge and justice, check and check. Now, bargaining..." Fafnir stood up and looked into the flame on the candle. "I don't suppose there's anything you can do about this, eh, buddy?" He saw nothing in the flame. "Okay, okay, I get it. I burned that bridge when I impersonated you. Aaaaand when I swore I'd kill you. But if you could..." Fafnir noticed Ghost appeared to be judging him. "I know, I know, I'm talking to a candle. Goodness, I have gone crazy. This world has officially broken me." Fafnir sat back down beside Ghost. "And what do I even do now? What is my purpose here? Do I stay on and fight the Walkers like I promised? Be Ser Fafnir the Weird of House Baratheon? Is any of it even worth it in the end?" He pushed himself off the ground and leaned against the table, talking directly to Jon. "What would Lord Commander Maid Snow do?" He sighed. "Gods, DAMN IT!" He turned around, and he realized Davos and Melisandre were in the doorway. Fafnir faked a grin. "Sorry," he said sheepishly.

"We're going to bring him back," Davos said.

Fafnir shook his head. There's no way he just heard that correctly. "It can't be done," Fafnir said.

"Not by you, perhaps," said Davos. "But by her."

Fafnir looked at Melisandre, and his heart sank. "No, please, let's not torture ourselves further."

Tormund pushed in. "Is it done yet?" he asked.

"Ohhh, stop!" Fafnir said. "Let's just bury him and have a good cry, like normal people! That's the next step! And we'll all heal together..."

"There are some whom the Lord of Light has brought back, if they have a purpose to serve," Melisandre said.

Fafnir stopped, wide-eyed. "Ohhhh?"

"I have never done it before. But I know the ritual. I've seen it," said Melisandre.

Fafnir turned back to the candle. "YOU BASTARD!" he exclaimed, just as Shireen entered the room.

"We don't have to do this, if you don't want it," said Melisandre.

Fafnir considered. He honestly didn't think it was the best idea to just be bringing people back to life willy-nilly. But his curiosity and his selfishness got the better of him. "M'lady," he said, gesturing to the body on the table.

Melisandre began with some sort of purification ritual. She then snipped some hair from Jon's hair and beard and placed it into a fire. Fafnir snickered, imagining Azor Ahai getting an envelope of hair signed "From Melisandre With Love." Davos shot him a dirty look, and he restrained himself…

...until Melisandre started speaking Draconish: "I am a dumb human. I think I am saying a sacred spell in an ancient language. My god is a dragon. I am a dumb human..."

"FAFNIR!" Davos and Tormund scolded him. Fafnir bit his own tongue in attempt to stop laughing. Melisandre kept repeating the "spell."

Fafnir grabbed the candle off the sconce and stared at it menacingly. "Do it, you piece of shit," he thought.

After about twenty repetitions, Melisandre hung her head. Davos and Tormund shuffled out of the room. "Azor Ahai," Melisandre said.

"No," said Fafnir. "Come on. You know that's not me."

"You're as close as they come," said Melisandre. She put her arm through his. "Help me. Please. Say the words with me."

"Oh, m'lady, no," said Fafnir. "This is a sick joke from a sick god. Go home, m'lady."

Melisandre's face darkened. "Perhaps you're right," she whispered. She shuffled out of the room, and Fafnir thought he heard her start to cry. Fafnir threw the candle on the ground, extinguishing the flame.

"Azor Ahai," Fafnir said, "my decision is made. I will stay in Westeros. I will stay so that I can one day destroy you and end this cruel game you are playing with these people. When you are ready to face me, you'll know where to find me." He looked at Jon. "I'm sorry," he said to the body.

He walked towards the door, and as he opened it, he heard Jon gasp.