Hello!
The reception to the last chapter was really positive and I have no will power to hold these chapters back anymore so hope you like Arc III.
Please enjoy a surprisingly Stark heavy chapter :)
Chapter 87: The Last Stark at Winterfell
A hour later …
Throne Room, Red Keep, King's Landing, Seat of power of House Baratheon (Lannister/Tyrell) in the Crownlands, Capital of the Seven Kingdoms
The screams of the wright bounced off the walls of the Throne room. Jon slashed the crawling skeleton to pieces before it could start crawling up the steps to where Tommen sat on the Iron Throne surrounded by his family.
"I wasn't lying your Graces," Jon said as he sheathed Longclaw, "The Long Night is coming and the dead come with it."
Tywin recovered first, "You say an army of these things are marching on the Wall?"
"Aye, hundreds of thousands of them. The Night King has been adding to his army for millennia," Jon responded.
"And how do we hope to kill all of them?" Kenna asked from the side of the room, her eyes still on the pile of bones at the bottom of the steps.
"We can kill them with fire and dragonglass or Valyrian steel as I did. But our best strategy isn't to kill all the wrights but target the Night King himself."
"Why?" Tyrion inquired from his position in-between his brother and his Father who stood just off Tommen's side.
"The Night King made the White Walkers that in turn made all the wrights. If he falls so does his entire army," Jon replied, walking away from the remains of the wright to stand with Robb, Bran, Arya and Benjen before the Iron Throne.
There hadn't been this many Starks in the Throne room since Rickard's burning at the hands of Aerys, a fact Kenna doubted was lost on the Starks.
"We must kill the Night King then," Tommen looked from his Grandfather to Jon.
Kenna was impressed how the young King was handling the situation, she had expected him to be creating a puddle of tears on the floor but it seemed under Tywin's tutelage and Margaery's influence he had become a much more confident and assured young man. He was showing much more control than his father-in-law.
Mace Tyrell hadn't uttered a single sound since Benjen had opened the wooden box and freed the decapitated wright while Loras seemed to be following his sister's lead in observing and internally digesting what was going on.
Kenna broke from Lord Royce and Artys to approach Jon in the middle of the chamber. She noted how Arya's hand rested on the handle of her thin sword and the watchful expression the younger girl wore on her face.
"What does the Night King want?"
Jon took in a breath but Bran's voice smothered his response, "He wants an endless night, to erase this world and bring forth a darkness that will swallow the dawn."
"How, exactly, does he hope to achieve that?" Tyrion chipped in, "I assume the Wall has prevented him and his army from descending upon the South since it was built. Why will it fail now?
"The Night King can cross the Wall now," Bran said, and a slither of remorse could be detected in his tone but only for a second.
"And how does he bring a never-ending night even if he breaches the Wall" Jaime asked. He had been trying to remain silent and avoid bringing attention to himself but he wanted to know the answer.
Bran shifted his gaze to the man that had crippled him, "He kills everyone and everything."
Kenna clenched her fist and walked directly up to Bran, "Talk straight or do not talk at all."
Bran kept his blank expression unlike Arya, who's dark eyes were flashing at Kenna's aggressive stance and tone.
Bran slowly lifted his head, "He will kill me and the Children of the Forest then he will reign over an eternal winter."
Kenna managed to push away her frustration at another cryptic answer to keep focused on obtaining the information she needed to understand the new situation she was faced with.
"Why kill you? You are just a crippled boy."
"He is the Three-eyed Raven," Leaf said as she crawled over the back of Bran's wheelchair causing Kenna to take a step away from them in shock, "He watches you. All of you. All your lives, what you have done, what you will do and if the Three-eyed Raven dies there is no more history, there is no more future."
Kenna's eyes went to Robb's but his face gave nothing away. She returned to Lord Royce and Artys and they began to whisper between themselves.
Robb stepped forward, "My sister is bringing refuges from the North and Riverlands south. Will you allow them entry to King's Landing?"
"King's Landing is already full to the brim, it cannot take much more," Margaery stated, "but the Reach has plenty of space and Oldtown is further south than King's Landing."
"The question of where the refuges settle doesn't matter until we know where the battlefield will be," Tywin's voice boomed throughout the open chamber.
Leaf cupped a hand to Bran's ear and he nodded at her hushed words.
"We will make a stand at Casterly Rock," he stated.
"Why would I allow that?" Tywin scoffed.
Bran dark eyes locked onto Tywin's and for the first time since his childhood he felt unnerved by another's stare.
Bran's gaze lifted from Tywin and wandered over the assembled Southern rulers, "The only hope for survival is to kill the Night King. The best chance to do that is a battle staged around Casterly Rock."
"Yes, but how do you know that? Why should we trust your word?" Tyrion asked, on behalf of the Southern alliance, "Why not fight at the Twins or Moat Cailin?
"Both would be tactical defensive points against a human enemy but the Night King brings winter with him. He would freeze the Trident and the swamps at the Neck. His army would simply walk over the ice negating our advantages," Jon supplied.
"What makes Casterly Rock so special?" Tommen remarked.
Leaf dropped from Bran's wheelchair and stared up at the current King of the Seven Kingdoms, "Casterly Rock was a sacred place for the Children of the Forest for many thousands of years before the First Men came. It is where my kind will be at their strongest and the Night King at his weakest."
"It is a natural stronghold and I can't think of a better structure to defend against waves of undying men," Jaime added, thinking through the military reasons to settle on Casterly Rock.
"We can defeat the Night King at Casterly Rock. We can't beat him anywhere else," Bran said definitively.
"Even if we do decide to face the Night King at Casterly Rock how do we know he would engage with us and not just ravish the rest of the Realm while we are holed up there?" Loras asked, finally speaking his mind.
Robb and Jon both looked down at Bran.
The young Stark placed his hands in his lap, "The Night King marked me; he can sense where I am and I him. I am the greatest threat to his existence. He will come for me first."
Kenna leaned against a pillar as she contemplated all the new information about this new war for life over death but she couldn't quite leave the war for the Iron Throne behind.
"Daenerys Targaryen knows all this?" she asked taking everyone's attention away from the crippled boy.
"Yes," Jon replied.
Benjen, sensing Kenna's animosity to her fellow Queen, stepped forward to stand before the Iron Throne.
"We do not have time to be in disagreement, The Night King is coming and he brings death for everyone. We need your armies. We need Queen Daenerys's dragons. We need to fortify Casterly Rock and when the Night King comes, we need to kill him."
Kenna saw how all the Starks nodded at Benjen's words but the distrust lingered on the faces of the Crown alliance.
Kenna took a deep breath, someone had to make the first move, "The Knights of the Vale will ride to Harrenhall to join the forces of Queen Daenerys and Prince Trystane."
Robb understood what Kenna had committed to and jumped on her words, "I will march my host to Harrenhall as well."
Tommen leaned towards his Grandfather who bowed down to hear his Grandson's quiet words after a few quick exchanges that ended with Tywin softly nodding, the Old Lion straightened up.
"The armies of the Westerlands and the Reach will fight against the Night King and Casterly Rock will be the battleground," he announced.
Kenna nodded her agreement. There really had been no other choice available if they were to believe what they had just seen with their very own eyes. And if they were to believe that dead men walked at the command of a long since forgotten ice creature why not trust a crippled boy who claimed to see the past and the future. If Bran was wrong, they were all dead but if he was right there would still be a war with Daenerys to win and a chance to plunge her hidden blades deep into the Dragon bitch's belly for what she had done to the Vale and the Eyrie.
"You said you could sense the Night King?" Kenna addressed Bran, "Where is he?"
"He is in the Haunted Forest, waiting for his entire army to reach him before he walks on the Wall."
"Then we have no time to lose," Kenna said, turning away from the Crown and the Starks to make her way to the exit.
Same day, a few hours later …
The Walls of Winterfell, Winterfell, The North, Westeros
Sansa's stopped her mare just off the side of the King's Road. Her long red hair blew in the wind as she watched servants, farmers, fishermen and the occasional bannerman trudge past her. It hadn't been easy to convince the remaining Lords and Ladies of the North to uproot their people from their homes and move South but there was no argument to be had once the five Children of the Forest were revealed and foretold the nature of the coming threat.
Sansa looked back at her childhood home. She had fought so hard to return to Winterfell and now she was leaving it. She didn't know if another Stark would set foot within its walls again.
Sansa shook her head at the thought of being the last Stark in Winterfell.
"My Lady?"
Sansa turned her head to see Jojen Reed approach her on a horse that was the same size as her own. The Reed boy had spent most of his time in the company of the Children of the Forest since Bran had departed Winterfell with Jon and Arya. He was nearly as aloof as Bran, only speaking up on matters concerning the Night King when Sansa asked questions.
"It feels wrong to leave Winterfell."
"It would be certain death to stay."
Sansa sighed, "I believe that the Night King is coming it is just hard to leave the only place you ever felt safe in."
"In my experience, Lady Sansa, it is people not places that make you feel safe."
"Wise words," Sansa acknowledged watching the downtrodden people of the North trudge past them, "I look forward to seeing my family again."
When Jojen remained, silent Sansa returned her focus to him, "We will pass through the Neck on our way South. You will be able to see your Father."
Jojen gave no indication of his feelings on reuniting with his father.
"Are you like my brother? Lost the ability to speak?"
Jojen gave a slight smile, "It is hard to remain … present sometimes when you can see events which others cannot."
"So, you can do what he can? Warg into anything, see the past and the future?"
"I am not a skinchanger, just a Greenseer. I sometimes dream about events yet to pass and can reach out to Bran when necessary."
"What do you mean?"
"I can show you?" Jojen said, settling his mare next to Sansa's and moving his hand towards her.
Sansa looked at the offered hand for a beat before curling her fingers around the crannogman's, not knowing what to expect.
Same time …
Maegor's Holdfast, Red Keep, King's Landing, Seat of power of House Baratheon (Lannister/Tyrell) in the Crownlands, Capital of the Seven Kingdoms
"Tell me does your red headed wildling love you?" Robb prodded.
A shy smile graced Jon's features but he nodded all the same.
"And do you love her," Robb pushed, not missing the opportunity to recapture some of the banter they had before Eddard Stark had left Winterfell.
"Yes," Jon answered, casting his eye around the chamber.
Benjen was standing near the open window, taking in the sun's cold rays while Arya was hovering near Bran, flicking a knife in her hand every few seconds.
Robb followed Jon's eyeline and refocuses his thoughts on why all the Starks were all gathered together.
"Sansa will soon join us but we need to act as one. As a pack. I will march the forces of the North to Harrenhall to join with Queen Daenerys and the Lannister, Tyrells and Queen Kenna will do the same. But this is not a friendly alliance or one forged to last. We can trust no one but ourselves."
Arya eyes darted between Jon and Robb. Her cousin understood her movements. It was time that Robb too knew who he really was.
"Robb," Jon started before hesitating, "I have always considered you a brother and I always will but I know who my parents were."
"You know who your mother was?"
"My parents were Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen," Jon revealed, his eyes never wavering from Robb's.
Robb's eyebrows scrunched up and his mouth slackened into a fine line, "What?"
But no one answered him, they all just waited for the information to sink in.
Robb's face swirled in confusion as he looked to his little sister and brother but they offered him no respite.
"But Aunt Lyanna died in the Tower of Joy," Robb scrambled, trying to work his way through the confusion and shock.
"Giving birth to me," Jon answered simply.
"You are my bastard cousin?"
"He isn't a bastard," Bran spoke up.
Robb turned to the wall, "You are a Targaryen. You are Rhaegar's son … you are a claimant to the Iron Throne!"
"I don't want it," Jon quickly asserted, "I want to help my family. I want to help the Starks and the North."
"I .. this is a lot to take in Jon," Robb said in a hushed tone as he turned back to his siblings, "This … you … changes everything."
"I change nothing if the Night King wins."
Arya stepped away from Bran, "There is something else you need to know."
Robb lifted his head back in exasperation, "What? Is Sansa actually Lysa and Petyr Baelish's child?"
"No," Arya replied, placing her knife back underneath her outer cloak, "Jaime Lannister isn't the father of Queen Kenna's children."
"Really? Who is the father then? Tyrion?" Robb blustered not believing Arya for a moment.
"Tywin Lannister," Arya deadpanned.
Robb was ready to laugh off the suggestion but something in the back of his mind stopped him.
"Sansa didn't want to tell you," Arya continued, "She feared your reaction but there should be no secrets amongst us and we need to know who are enemies and friends are."
"Kenna Arryn is no enemy to the Starks," Benjen stated from the window.
"She isn't Kenna Arryn anymore and she isn't an enemy to the Lannisters either, she is one of them," Arya snapped back.
"Kenna has vowed to ride with me against the Lannisters if they and we are still alive to do so."
"How can you trust her?" Arya practically shouted, determined to make Robb think on the nature of his partnership with the Arryn Queen.
Because she made a promise! Robb wanted to retaliated but he knew better now. Vows, honour, pacts, and promised didn't mean as much as mutual interests and common goals.
"All these conflicts you speak off mean nothing," Benjen railed as he left the window to stand between Robb and the rest of the Starks. "Our focus should be on the Night King and surviving the Long Night. That is the only thing that matters!"
Robb was about to reluctantly agree when Bran's detached voice cut through the air.
"The Night King is moving. He will reach the Wall soon."
Bran's words seemed to take the air out of the room. The Night King was no longer a looming threat, no longer just a monster in one of Old Nan's tales. He was real and he was coming for them.
Bran watched as Benjen followed his siblings and cousin out of the chamber.
"Are you going to stay up there all night?"
There was a creaking of the wooden beams overhead before Leaf dropped down onto the floor in front of Bran.
"Why didn't you just show them the past?" the small creature asked.
"Because Sansa is here and she should hear what we have discussed."
Leaf stayed on the floor on all fours, looking up at Bran then surveying the room, "I sense her and … Jojen."
"They are here," Bran said looking to the corner of the room, "The lone wolf dies but the pack survives."
Author's Notes:
Looks like the Night King has done the impossible and united Westeros against him but don't think the newly forged alliance will go smoothly ;P
The Starks are sitting on two quite explosive secrets, and secrets get you killed xD
There is a reason why Casterly Rock has been chosen, other than being a much easier castle to defend that Winterfell lol.
I tried to make Jojen's abilities clear in this chapter but just so there is no confusion. He is a greenseer, meaning he has prophetic green dreams and can look into the past like Bran but crucially he can't warg/skinchange or 'freeze' the wrights (See end of Chapter 73) in the same capacity as Bran can. I have also added the ability for Bran and Jojen to be able to 'communicate with each other' in like a shared vision reality that they can see and take people into (This could work while they are dreaming as well). I am aware I am bending the rules a little with this but please indulge me.
Reviews:
Pupyluv247 – Woah! Your vicious xD I'm not going to reveal my ending or the bloody turns the story takes to get there but I've done my best to satisfy my bloodthirsty tastes so hopefully yours will be satisfied as well!
Mister LaGuardia – I agree that Littlefinger and Lysa were to Kenna like the Freys were to Robb. The animosity between Dany & Kenna stems from two things; Kenna's desire to stay independent and the destruction of the Eyrie/Vale. The animosity between Robb & Tywin is due to the Red Wedding(s) and partly just all the Stark vs Lannister hatred, including what happened to Ned but not limited to that.
Supremus85 – I think the only character that would have got killed would have been Kenna if she had actually tried to kill Dany. I don't think she would have gotten past Ser Barristan, Ser Jorah and Daario!
Guest (commented 26/01/2021) – Yes, as much as Dany is against rape, I don't think she would be able to curb the Dothraki's traditions and without her personal direction they would revert back to what they normally do after victory. It is a bit like when Artys tried to wipe out the Drowned God faith on the Iron Islands, it just isn't going to happen in a few months or even a few years. People hang onto traditions. Kenna controls the virtuous Knights of the Vale; they don't commit rape.
Guest (commented 26/01/2021) – They are both bastards really! In this story it has already been established that Robin is most probably Littlefinger's son.
Guest (commented 26/01/2021) – Thanks!
NightlyRowenTree – Your welcome :)
Antares Graceford – I love the spirited energy! Kenna and Daenerys are certainly going to clash!
Tohka123 – Thanks, it will get pretty action packed soon.
DannyBlack70 – You should like the ending of this chapter then :) There will be a lot more Dany & Kenna tension! But there is so much tension between so many characters! I'm trying to do justice to all the dynamics that will be on display next chapter especially! Thanks :)
Guest (commented 29/01/2021) – They started out with differing opinions on the Night King's existence and that highlighted some underlying issues they were having with each other. Robb understands why Kenna considers Dany a threat (because she is to Independent Kingdoms) but has less personal animosity towards her. The reveal of Kenna's twin's parentage is a big blow to their relationship though, not sure Robb will be able to get over that/Kenna be able to justify it in his eyes.
Not saying who dies or who survives ;) There is something to be said for people who can just get the job done! I'm sure the dragons will be … (sinister voice) dealt with .. or at least people will try!
Guest (commented 30/01/2021) – Thanks, will do!
Shadow Wolf 15846 – They aren't going to be friends, let's put it that way! She already knows why Kenna hates her (Assassination attempt/Eyrie/Vale) and vice versa (Independence drive/Dragon Stone) but Dany justifies what she does because she believes she will be a great ruler for the masses of the Seven Kingdoms and likewise Kenna justifies her actions because she thinks she is the best ruler for the Vale.
Next Up: A massive chapter! - Tensions flare at Harenhal as Kings and Queens come together, Robb demands the truth from Kenna, while darkness gathers at the Wall.
If you are enjoying this story please *Toss a coin to your writer, Oh valley of readers* and review, follow and favorite!
