Hello, hello!

The battle for the living is fast approaching.

I hope you like the chapter!


Myrcella

Myrcella was glad for Sansa's support. They had agreed to rule Winterfell together for Sansa did not want to usurp her goodsister but Myrcella was in no way up to the task of running a castle she did not know at all. She still got lost sometimes.

Sansa introduced her to all the staff. The steward, the cooks, the maids, the stable boys, even the kennel master. Myrcella was amazed to see how respected Sansa was, they treated her like a Queen, though they also slowly warmed to their actual young Queen. She found with surprise that what won her the most sympathy was the fact that they saw her as the victim of the dragon queen. They only called Daenerys that or worse: the Mad King's daughter. It was actually visibly a relief for the smallfolks of the Winter Town when the Queen and her dragons departed. The atmosphere was much more serene though they still glared at the Unsullieds and Dothrakis.

Almost as soon as Jon had left, the letter and raven scrolls had started to pile up in her solar. From Castle Black, the Shadow Tower and Eastwatch by the sea.

Your Grace,

The wights are visible. Some groups wander around the Wall at night. We have pushed them backs by throwing flaming barrils down on them but we do not think it will hold them long. Once the Bay of Seals will have frozen, there will be nothing we can do.

That one had come from the Shadow Tower but Eastwatch said the same thing. Only with a different bay. The Night's Watch seemed certain that the dead would cross and attack the Realm. Sansa had asked her, as she was Queen, what they should do.

"Inform the forge, have Gendry teach those who can how to make weapons from Dragonglass. The others will make armour." Myrcella had looked at Sansa for reassurance though the girl was as frightened as she was, no doubt. "Ask Lady Brienne and Arya to teach all the volunteering women and children how to fight."

They were currently inspecting the yards together with the maester, a slightly useless man named Wolken. "How much do we have?" Myrcella asked.

The maester seemed embarassed, he stumbled on his words. "Hum… well… I'd say…"

"We don't have enough do we?" Myrcella interrupted him.

"We don't, your Grace." He confirmed.

"Send a raven to King's Landing, for Lady Margeary, tell her of the food situation and how much you think we should need. We will see how she reacts." From the corner of her eyes, she saw Sansa nod.

They passed near the forge. Sansa stopped. "Are they covering these breastplates in leather?", she asked.

"No, my Lady." One of the men reponsible for the forge overheard her.

"You should. For when the cold settles in truly." She said then turned to Myrcella. "Don't you think your Grace?"

"Of course, very wise Lady Sansa." She gave the man her approval.

Jon

Even stopping at Castle Black was a matter of debate with Queen Daenerys. Her impatience was getting on his nerves as she acted like a child to whom he would have told 'no'. The sense of entitlement was amazingly strong in this woman, it was as if everything was owed to her, simply because of her family name. A name Jon now shared though he was not sure he liked that. Eventually, she consented to stop for the night but decreed that they would leave, first thing in the morning.

Edd welcomed them, somehow warmly for Jon but the young King in the North could see the toll the war against the dead was taking on his old friend. What he could also see was the rage of the brothers of the Night's Watch when they realised that Daenerys did not take the threat seriously. They did not say anything, no doubt fearing the dragons, but Jon had spent enough time with them to know that they were furious. Thankfully, the Queen retired early and left Jon to catch up with Edd. It was clear that his friend did not want to talk about the White Walkers, he only said that fewer and fewer ranging parties came back so they had to stop them. However, he was very interested in Jon's life since he left the Wall. He asked how the capital was, how all the pomp and pageantry felt. He also seemed quite surprised that Jon had taken a wife.

"I thought you would never get over that redhead wildling of yours!" He japed when Jon told him of Myrcella. Jon could only give him a sad smile. The truth was, he was still mourning Ygritte in a way and what he had with her, he did not know if he would ever get it with Myrcella.

In the morning, he gave his former brothers an early farewell for the Queen was already in a foul mood. She wished to leave earlier but Jon had refused to go before the sunrise. They both mounted their dragons and took to the sky accompanied by the riderless Viserion. Being lighter, the golden dragon was the first over the Wall, quickly followed by Daenerys and Drogon, the latter probably pushed by his mistress' anger. However, when Jon tried to follow, Rhaegal refused. Just above the Wall, he turned around. Jon tried twice more to get the green dragon over the Wall but it was as if he great ice structure had an invisible extention above it. He landed where he had started in great confusion. Daenerys had seen that he had not followed and soon came down beside him.

"What is it this time, King in the North?" She hissed in a fury, she had to be thinking that he was delaying them on purpose.

"Rhaegal won't go over the Wall." He told her trying to remain calm.

She scoffed. "Why would my son do that?" She spat, not letting go the occasion to remind him that, in her mind, Rhaegal was still hers.

"Maybe he feels the danger." Jon shrugged. He petted the dragon and tried to understand but it was not easy to focus with all the rucus caused by the Queen.

"Well then, suit yourself, I'm going." She declared and Drogon flew up followed by Viserion.

"No wait! Daenerys!" Jon went after them but when they crossed the Wall, Rhaegal stopped again. The King in the North watched in horror as the Queen of the South flew away. She had never seen the Army of the Dead, she did not know the deep North and she was wholy unprepared. He could not help but think she had just signed her death sentence.

When Rhaegal landed, he ran back inside Castle Black. Edd was confused and slightly panicked. "Rhaegal refuses to go over the Wall. The Queen is out there alone. I need to get on top to see if I can see her from there." The Lord Commander nodded slightly and ran with the King to the cage they used to get to the top.

He did see the two dragons from there, they were already above the haunted forest. The sky was clear until the level of Craster's Keep where Edd guessed the van of the Night's King army would be placed. The Night's King usually came with snow storms so it made sense. Jon had rarely felt so powerless as he was standing on top of the Wall watching his most-needed ally fly to the danger.

Viserion

Crossing the big ice wall had not been easy… It was not right somehow, he felt. His mind wanted to go forth but his body called for him to turn back and he had a deeping freezing sensation that creeped under his scales. His green brother must have felt it too, he did not cross. But his black brother went on and with him, the human they had been with since birth. He had nothing against the new male human, but he did not know him well. His brother had a bond with him so he would not want to leave without him, but he had no bond. So he followed the human who had been good to them… Most of the time anyway. Except when she imprisoned them in a dark cave for weeks. He had not understood why. But then, she had fed them tasty fat humans, so it was forgiven, but not forgotten.

In any case, he knew he had to follow. His black brother was wild and stubborn, he did not want anything bad happening to him. He wondered if he felt it too, the chill and the danger. It got worse, as they flew toward to the big black cloud that laid in front of them. It was a weird cloud. It appeared out of nowhere in the clear blue sky. He guessed underneath it must be dark like the nighttime. He did not want to go into the black cloud. Actually, he did not even want to fly over this cold white mantel and the pine trees below him.

But the human on his black brother would not stop. He had rarely seen her like that. He did not know what it was. She looked angry, like his brother when he was hungry.

Inevitably, they entered the black cloud. It was difficult to follow his brother now. He did not see very far ahead. They had to fly lower to get out of the cloud. His brother seemed to think the same thing as he plunged downwards. They emerged and finally he could see the frozen ground. There were preys down there, thousands of them. But… they did not smell right… they smelled like the dead sheep the little human had given to them once in the cave. They did not smell fresh, as if they had been killed a long time ago. But they were moving. It was all terribly confusing. And they did not make the usual sounds of preys either. They sounded like he and his brothers were the preys, they were not afraid as usual. They even tried to attack.

He hissed toward his brother. Trying to get him to turn around. It was to no avail. His black brother kept going, deeper and deeper into the storm. It was then he saw them. Or rather, he smelled them before. They smelled like rot and ice mixed together. It was very strange. Overall, he decided they smelled of danger. He got a sight of them. They were similar to humans, but blue and they did not seem to fear the cold. He understood that it was them who led the moving dead preys. His instinct wanted him to flee as fast as he could.

Myrcella

From the gallery, she looked down at the training yard alongside Sansa. Down there, Arya Stark was sparring with Brienne of Tarth. Despite herself, Myrcella sighed. It reminded her so much of Dorne.

"Is something the matter, Myrcella?" Sansa asked, she was glad that the woman did not call her 'your Grace' when they were alone.

"They remind me of my happy years." She said.

"Two women fighting remind you of your happy years?" The lady repeated doubtfully and a little mockingly, it appeared. "You should join them." Sansa said.

"I am not sure the northmen would like seeing the Queen who was imposed on them fight." Myrcella sighed again.

"Have you met Lyanna Mormont?" She did not wait for the answer. "It would make them respect you."

Maybe she was right. She was in need of training and how could she ask for volunteers amongst women if she herself did not make the sacrifice? She thanked Sansa and went to find appropriate clothing. She did not have much, the best she could find was her riding attire and even with that, the top was too long for her liking. She emerged in the training yard with a sword she had borrowed from the armoury just as the two opponents came to a draw.

"Anyone still has energy for me?" She asked and could see the curious looks on the women's faces.

"Your Grace?" Brienne had a deep frown but Myrcella tried to reassure her with a smile. "It would be my honour."

At first, the big woman went slow on her, as one might treat a child in the training yard. It did not surprise the Queen in the North, but it annoyed her a little. She did not hold back her blows and soon the woman from Tarth picked up to a real fight. Myrcella was out of practice and even at her best, she doubted she would have bested the woman. She yielded after a few minutes when she was disarmed and thrown on her arse in the mud.

"Well done, your Grace." Her opponent praised while helping her to her feet.

"No need for courtesy, Brienne. I am way out of training and I will require you to get me back into shape." Myrcella took notice of the people of Winterfell who had stopped whatever they were doing before to watch their Queen fight. Then, she looked at Arya, the girl had a serious face.

"Who taught you?" She asked. She had to have noticed that her fighting style was different from Brienne's. The big woman fought the traditional way of southern knights while Arya fought like a Bravosi. Myrcella's technic was Dornish.

"Prince Oberyn." She saw the girl's eyes widened, so did those of many soldiers watching around. "And later his daughters, the Sand Snakes." Arya nodded, deep in thoughts.

Viserion

He saw his black brother unleashing his fire on the dead preys at the human's command. At least that seemed to stop them from moving. But there were so many of them, he could not even see them all. His brother's efforts were useless, he knew. And deep down, he felt like they should be going back to the huge ice wall. He had felt safe on the other side. Though, why exactly did he feel unsafe? Nothing had ever been able to hurt him.

As he flew, he noticed the human turn to him. She ordered him to spit fire as well. It was pointless but maybe, if he did what she asked, it would make her turn back quicker. So he destroyed columns of dead preys. They kept trying to attack him despite that. It was as if they did not feel fear at all. They might really be dead, he thought. But that did not make any sense, dead things did not move. He had never felt any prey move in his belly anyway.

In his blind rage and the fury of his destruction, his black brother was getting closer and closer to the blue… things… beings? He himself did not want to go there so he accelerated and tried to obstruct the way so that his brother would turn. It triggered the anger of the human who shouted for him to move. Maybe she was right, she had always known what to do before and he had always followed her, but it did not feel right. So, he did not obey. He kept trying to stop his brother, but he did not want to fight so they kept flying ever closer to the blue beings. He tried to keep an eye on them but between his brother's hissing and roaring, and the human's commands, it was getting difficult.

At one point, to try and appease the human, he burnt a few of the dead preys, losing sight of the blue ones. It was then that he felt a sharp, excrutiating pain in the side of his neck. The fire caught in his throat and escaped from the gaping wound. The pain was agonizing, he could not function anymore. He heard some cries but could not identify where they had come from. He fell, thinking he saw his brother turn back at last. The last thing he felt was his bones shattering on the frozen hard ground before all went dark.

Jon

Hours, he had been waiting on the Wall for hours. He paced back and forth so much that Edd tried to jape and remind him that he would not get down quicker by digging a hole in the Wall. It did not make the King laugh and honestly the Lord Commander's laugh seemed forced as well.

When he was losing hope as the sun started to decline, he finally saw something emerge from the storm. It was a dragon, Drogon in fact. It meant that Daenerys would have survived. But he started to panick when he did not see the golden dragon behind her. He jumped a little when Rhaegal, who had taken to the sky and was flying higher then they were roared. He must have seen the same thing as Jon. Only one of his brothers was returning to them. As the minutes passed and the black dragon flew closer, Jon decided to go back down to the castle. Daenerys would land on this side and he would need to talk to her immediately. His mind was racing as he tried to come to term with what Viserion dying on the other side of the Wall could mean.

As could have been anticipated, when Daenerys landed she was hysteric. She screamed saying dead things killed her son, confirming Jon's fears. She also accused him somehow. Her accusations were confused. It was either that he did not stop her (which he tried to do), or that he should have warned her (which he did), or again that he should have dealt with this threat before (which he could not have done before). As she ranted and raged, Drogon's behaviour mirrored hers. He was unstable, threatening towards the men, he even threw flames in the air. Jon grabbed one of the stewards of the Night's Watch.

"Go get milk of the poppy or dreamwine or anything. We need to calm her down before her dragon burns Castle Black to the ground." The boy did not need more details. He ran inside.

Soon after, he came back with dreamwine. Since Maester Aemon's death, they had no Maester and their supply of milk of the poppy had ran dry. Jon forced the dreamwine down Daenerys' throat himself as she struggled against him. He would bruise from her kicks and punches but at last she fell asleep. This time, he asked another brother to get her to her rooms and tie her to the bed. The man started to protest but Jon was quick to remind him that he was King in the North, hence, more able to give orders here than her. When he let her go, he realised that his hand where he had held her arm covered in blood. He would need to get her some medical attention but there was not too much blood, it could wait for Winterfell. He noticed also that a little blood was dripping from the black dragon's wing. When it touched the ground, it smoked. The dragon was injured as well but not too much, it did not seem to bother him.

Edd joined him as they watched Drogon calm down. "I thought we still had a few moons but if they have a dragon…" It was as if he had read his mind. Jon was thinking the same thing. Now, they would have to deal with the Night King mounted on a dead dragon.

"They will be here in a fortnight." Jon confirmed. "And the Wall will fall. Tomorrow, when Queen Daenerys is rested, we will abandon Castle Black. You and your men will come to King's Landing. Send word to Eastwatch and the Shadow Tower to do the same."

Edd nodded then smiled a sad smile. "As you say, Lord Commander." Jon mirrored his friend's smile.


What do you guys think of having the POV of a dragon? I thought is would had a nice touch to the chapter.

On Wednesday: Getting ready for the Long Night!