The red priestess approaches them holding a torch—it's the Long Night, everyone walks with torches these days. "I had hoped to find Lord Tyrion with you."
"No, my lady", the man who joined them in Meereen, Daario, replies. "Out of Queen Daenerys' group, only I remain. The others died over the years."
"I knew of Her Grace's death", she comments, "along with others of her party who died around the same time. But not of Lord Tyrion's."
Daario glances at her and nods. She turns to the priestess. "He died in his birth home", she explains, "when it was set on fire by an undead dragon."
The woman's face falls. "I see. Well, follow me. We are not hiding in Asshai, but in an underground city up in the hill. Stygai."
Daario speaks up once again. "I was under the impression Stygai was a ruined city, not an underground one. Isn't it Nefer, up in northern Essos?"
"That one too, but Stygai was rebuilt underground over the centuries. It used to be exclusively populated by practitioners of dark magic, but now it's a safe haven for all Essosi survivors."
She looks at her mother, Bronn, Bran, Pod and the few others who are with them. Mother sighs. "I see no other way", she declares. "Your Grace?"
"I'm king of nothing, Ser", Bran replies—truthfully; Alys has long stopped referring to him as king, in and out of her mind. "I'd rather you drop the titles. As for trusting Lady Kinvara… I agree, it's our only option."
It takes half a day until they reach Stygai. On the surface, it's covered with a greenish liquid. "Poisoned water", Kinvara explains as she guides them to the entrance of the tunnels. "That's why Asshai'i citizens had to buy it."
When they reach the actual entrance of the underground city, Alys is blinded by the amount of light surrounding it. Of course, it comes from torches and lanterns, but it's still more light than she grew used to in the last years.
Over the days, they settle in among the other refugees. Most of them don't speak Common Tongue, but she is fluent enough in High Valyrian at this point to make it through the days—although she spends most of it with Bran, getting as much information as she can in order to go back in time.
She still doesn't know why the former king thinks she is the best choice. He says it's mostly a gut feeling (which he learned to trust, being the Three-Eyed Raven and all), but he also claims that sending someone foreign to the past will make things easier—which, well, is a valid point.
Kinvara joins them a few times and explains what she knows, or at least finds it safe to assume, about the Night Queen and her Court. "Essos has faced similar threats before", she explains. "The Wall is only one of the hinges of the world, where the line between what is natural and what is not blurs to the point of blindness. Beyond the Five Forts, similar enemies arise every few centuries. There are tales from Ulthos and Sothoryos, and who knows what lands beyond the world we know."
Reports from outside Stygai reach them, and everyone knows the Night Court is approaching. Bran decides it is time for her to leave. Kinvara asks for one last meeting. "Your former king cannot see what lies beyond this reality, but I might be able to."
They sit by the fire, and the red priestess grabs her hand. "I see butterflies", she begins, and Alys frowns. "I see a flaming sword of tales of old." Then it's Kinvara's turn to frown. "I see… three must join against the enemy. One is not enough, two is not enough either. It must be all three."
"What does that even mean?", she asks.
"I don't know", she admits. "It could be referring to people, or to things. Oh! I see three tears. Tears of grief, tears of guilt, tears of relief." She takes a deep breath. "And, my lady? Don't feel guilty or ashamed of what happened or will happen in this realm. Everything will turn out the way it was always meant to."
The memories of Stygai—the last place she settled in for any period of time before traveling to the past—come unbidden as she fights. Around her, living and dead fall, some silently, others screaming. Drogon clears much of their path, but poor Queen Daenerys must be careful to avoid burning living humans in the process, so not as many wights are killed as they wished.
She has to rely on other people's flaming swords to see the field, for Melisandre was not able to set Valyrian steel swords aflame. "Lightbringer must be a dragonsteel sword", she concluded after many failed attempts. "I do hope it reveals itself in time."
So far, she has yet to hear about any of the Valyrian steel swords present to catch fire, so she keeps sending prayers to whatever gods are up there listening.
At one point, she stumbles upon her mother, who informs her to have killed a Night Court member. "Just like my Ser Brienne", she says proudly, and runs back to the fight.
Someone shouts that 'the lightning lord' managed to slay another Night Court member before dying. Only one more to go, she thinks, and then we can get to the Night Queen.
She can already notice the impact of these two deaths. There are many more fallen wights than moving ones, easining Daenerys' job to burn them before they can be brought up to 'life' once more. It fills her heart with hope. We can make it, we can make it!
How long has it been since she felt truly hopeful for a good future? Back in her world, when the Night Queen burned Winterfell, it soon dawned on everyone that they were doomed, and running away was their only hope—one that got smashed as the oceans froze and the undead crossed the Narrow Sea to Essos. Back then, she only allowed herself some hope when Bran charged her with going to the Children of the Forest and submit herself to a ritual to go back in time—and even so, by the time she reached them, she was more driven by a duty she owed to her fallen mother than any real hope of succeeding.
Although her new eyes drew more attention than she wanted, they served for masking her nervousness in many of her first interactions. The Queen of Thorns was so busy trying not to have a heart attack upon seeing her that she never noticed her shaking hands, and her father was too distracted to realize she was sweating.
Seeing Father alive for the first time nearly brought her to tears—it should have, if she hadn't forgotten how to cry so long ago. Getting to know him through Bran's visions had been a blessing itself, but being able to talk to him, hug him, live with him? She never thought she'd see those days, which turned out to be her happiest in years. She even allowed herself to act childishly at times, in order to get a taste of what it could have been.
And then her parents got together! For real, with marriage and everything, and now without Aunt Cersei standing between them to threaten their happiness. She was overjoyed at their wedding, and for the first time allowed herself to dream of a future where she had both of her parents raise her together with love and care. Despite their occasional fights, they were a united trio, and she couldn't ask for a better outcome.
Now, though, she can truly see change in the horizon. I'll come back home, she hopes. A home where I have a living mother, a living father, and perhaps even siblings. No unnatural threats looming over our heads, and no wars to tear our family apart. It's a sweet dream, almost utopic, but she indulges herself. It fuels her motivation to keep fighting. This is for humanity's future as a whole, not just mine.
Just as she reminds herself of that, she cuts her way through it—oh, she remembers that Night Court member very well. It had killed Meera Reed, and would have killed her if Mother had not jumped in front of her and pierced its chest. It's my turn to get rid of you know, huh, she thinks as she charges.
There are no wights or White Walkers standing between them, so their swords clash immediately. The creature is fast and smart, making it difficult to hit, even with two swords—and then Blackfyre is thrown far away in the blink of an eye.
The ice demon attacks viciously after that, and Alysanne nearly trips three times before she actually falls on the snowy ground. It raises its ice spear and aims at her heart, but she's faster than that and cuts his leg with Dark Sister. It doesn't shatter, but it loses balance and drops its spear, allowing her to sit up and pierce its belly.
Then it shatters.
It's windy when she finds herself alone with her parents on the field. They had managed to slay many of the Night Queen's White Walkers, but their vision is so blurred, they can't be sure if there are more around. It feels like they're fighting for two straight days now; she can feel exhaustion creeping in, but she can't let it happen—they are so close!
Her mother is limping, favoring her right leg, and her father is holding her arm tightly. Normally, she'd take her time to appreciate the loving bond her parents have, but right now she must focus. She may never have seen the Night Queen up close, but she remembers enough to know she doesn't look like her Court members at all. Her skin is moon-like white, her hair is of a similar shade, and her eyes as blue as Alys' current ones. She can easily hide herself in this snow and wind, she realizes, which is probably the reason behind this abrupt change in weather.
Then, her father gasps. She turns to follow his gaze and finds it. The Night Queen stands before them, seemingly unarmed. Mother lets go of Father's hand and, ignoring her obvious pain, charges at the creature. The Night Queen grabs her sword and holds it until Mother is able to slip it out and attack again.
With a roar, Father charges as well, only for the Night Queen to use her other hand to defend herself. It goes like this for some time—her parents lunging at her only for her to block their attacks—until Alysanne joins them and aims at her head. The Night Queen doesn't even seem to notice when Dark Sister hits her head, though, and the sword bounces away. It distracts her as well as her parents, and she takes advantage of it to push them away. All three of them.
She doesn't know how she does it, but suddenly Alysanne is lying on the ground, almost losing sight of the Night Queen amidst the strong wind. She hears a scream and sees a figure behind the ice creature, carrying a flaming sword. Before she makes out who it is, the Night Queen turns and grabs them by the neck with one hand. Alys tries to stand as they seemingly fail to kill her with the fiery sword, only to find out her right femur is broken. Her parents are not quick enough to stand up either, and the Night Queen digs her nails into the soldier's throat, throwing them far away immediately after.
Her parents go back to fighting her, meeting her blow by blow and protecting each other as best as they can. It won't work, she realizes as her father is pushed away, leaving her mother to fight the Night Queen alone. Is this how it ends? With us so close to a win but not enough? Valyrian steel was not enough, flaming dragonglass was not enough—
She gasps, remembering Kinvara's words in another lifetime. One is not enough, two is not enough either. It must be all three. They must find a way to use dragonglass, Valyrian steel and fire at the same time to defeat the Night Queen! But how?
She glances at her father, who is standing up with difficulty. He carries Widow's Wail in his hand and the dragonglass hook she gifted him on his stump. He has two of them already, but how to get fire? How—
"I see a flaming sword of tales of old."
"Lightbringer must be a dragonsteel sword."
"I see three tears. Tears of grief, tears of guilt, tears of relief."
"Ser Alysanne, I should warn you before you go… I had visions and dreams that led me to believe Azor Ahair is someone that completely lacks Targaryen blood."
Her eyes burn with unshed tears, and her heart sinks. Finally, she understands why she is still here. Why she has yet to fade, even after killing the Night Queen's last horcrux. "Father!", she calls him. He turns to her, and his go wide when he notices she's on one knee, unable to stand up. "You remember the legend of Azor Ahair and Lightbringer?"
"Yes!", he shouts back, looking confused.
"It must be you!", she shouts back. "We need all three to bring the Night Queen down: dragonglass, Valyrian steel and fire. Only you can have the three out of all of us. You must become Azor Ahai!"
"But how?"
Eyes burning even stronger, she tears her chainmail open. "You know how", she replies. Everything will turn out the way it was always meant to.
He shakes his head, tears already falling. "Don't ask me to do this!"
"You must! Look at Mother!" Both turn to where her mother still stands against the Night Queen, but, as strong as she is, it's clear it's a losing fight. "If you kill me now and destroy the Night Queen, I'll be born again! If you don't, Mother will die, and so will us all! Please, Father!"
He turns back to her. A sob escapes through his mouth. She smiles encouragingly at him. "It's okay", she says. "You can do this. You've made impossible choices before, you can make this one now and save humanity. Make Widow's Wail a sword to speak proudly of."
Tears running down free, he shakes his head. "Not Widow's Wail", he counters, coming closer to her. "Peacebringer."
In the blink of an eye, she feels her chest being pierced. It hurts, but, aside from a loud gasp, she manages to swallow a scream for Father's sake.
She doesn't immediately die. Rather, she manages to stay on her knee long enough to see her father jump at the Night Queen, shave Brienne aside and, in seemingly one single movement, bury his hook into the creature's neck and bury the flaming sword into her midsection.
As the Night Queen shatters, she feels herself lighter. She looks down and sees her hands dissolving into butterflies. Smiling, she raises her teary eyes to see her parents running to her.
They never reach her in time, but it's okay. They'll have a whole lifetime for hugs now.
