The sun didn't come up the next day, and soon the combined armies of the North, Free Folk, the Vale and the Lannisters had left Winterfell, and went towards the wall. Arya had gone as well, she had expected it to be a fight, but when it came time to decide, Sansa had told them that Arya would just sneak away anyway, which she had to admit, she was going to. Leaving is the hard part, she hugs her mother, Rickon, and Sansa, as does the rest of their family. She watches Jon kiss Sansa, which bothers her, but with the fate of the world now in their hands, she won't pry.
They arrive at the Wall a fortnight later, just ahead of the main horde. The next day Arya, Jon, Robb and her father ascend to the top of the Wall, which is why she now stood next to her brothers and father on the wall, looking down towards the utterly massive army that stood before them. An army of ice and blue eyes, thousands upon thousands standing in a line, just on the other side of the Wall.
Jon was looking down on the White Walkers, with a face that Arya didn't quite recognize on him, she had seen him talk of the White Walkers before, and the coming battle, and during all of that he had been resolute in his belief that they could be stopped, but now, he wore a face that seemed to show that it had all been bluster and false bravado. He turned and looked at them all, and there was grief and anger in his eyes, she glanced away at the White Walkers, and when she looked back, Jon had replaced his uncertain gaze with a certain one, he was no longer wearing the face of the Jon that she knew and loved, but instead he was wearing the face of King in the North and the King Beyond the Wall, the one that his people looked to during the War of the Bastards, and the one they would now look to lead them through this.
They were supposed to be reviewing the archers and the catapults and trebuchet crews that had taken their place above the Wall. Instead, they had allowed the horde to the north to take their attention. When Eddard Stark turned and announced that they needed to get on with the review, Robb had blinked a few times, as if he was coming out of a trance. Jon had continued staring for a few extra moments, before turning as well.
A few hours passed, and the review was finished, along with the meetings that had come after, they had returned to the top of the wall, just Jon, Robb, and herself. They stood there for a few minutes, taking in the view and the horde that awaited them. She didn't know how long they stood there for, before Jon was talking "This is it, why I was brought back"
It worried Arya to hear him say things like that, that along with some of the other comments he had made, made it seem like Jon didn't expect to survive, she knew that people died in war, that was obvious, Robb and her mother had died fighting for northern independence, and Jon himself had died bringing the Free Folk over the wall. But the way he talked, made it sound different, that he wouldn't die in this New War for the Dawn, but rather he would just stop existing if they won. Jon had at least a few decades left, hopefully many more. "Were going to win" she said, putting as much steel and resoluteness into it as possible.
Days passed, and more and more joined the horde below. The men were getting restless, but this time it was because they knew the threat they were facing and were itching to fight it. Itching to save the world. She spends her time with Gendry, who has come to fight with the army. Her father has commented that he looks just like a younger King Robert, back when he had been in his prime and healthy and strong. And he trains with a Warhammer while she trains with the valyrian dagger she had.
Robb has hardly left Jon's side since they arrived, the King and his brother walk side by side every where they go, and she and her father follows. "This is the largest army that's ever been at the wall" she hears a Maester tell Jon over soup and their bread one evening, or what once can assume to be evening in the Long Night. A horn sound from above, breaking them out of their meal. They all shoot to their feet, and within a few minutes, are being hoisted up to the top of the Wall. The men step out of their way as they see their King and his family and his officers arrive. It's only grown larger, and it looks as if a sea of pale blue is washing up on the Wall. For the first time she is afraid, not of death, but of failure. She looks down as they walkers begin to climb up the wall.
"Archers!" She hears Jon yell. She hears similar yells from her brother and father, but further away. "Ready and light your arrows!" they are climbing higher "Aim" she hears thousands of bow strings being pulled taut, and then there is silence. For the first time since coming up here, she breaks her gaze from the White Walkers and looks to Jon. His scarred face looks down upon them, and she sees an emotion she doesn't think he had ever worn on his face before in her presence. True hate. "LOOSE" he roars and thousands of arrows break free, and many of the Walkers fall. She vaguely hears her father and brother let loose their own commands, and suddenly, the Second Battle for the Dawn was on.
The storm of arrows, stops their initial attack. They pull back after two of hours of trying to overwhelm the defenders. They return with what she guesses is the next day with risen giants. The catapults and trebuchets, loaded with tar and oil, are launched, and catch fire on impact, and that, combined with some dragon-glass arrows, hold off the giants. Every few hours, thousands of new archers come up to the wall, and replace the ones who go back down to Castle Black, where they rest and sleep.
This continues for days, with the Night King throwing his horde at them, and defenders throwing them back. The next day, Jon lets the walkers get up within range of the scythe, which is dropped, and while it doesn't kill the Walkers, it removes them as a viable threat to the army. Oil and pitch are dropped on them from the wall, and fire spreads at the bottom of the wall. The battle continues in this way for days.
By the end of the sixth night, after spending a day on the wall shooting and manning catapults, she has sat down in the Lord Commander quarters, eating her soup quietly as she waits for her family to start conversing with each other. But looking at them, she knows that's probably expecting too much from them. Jon is going through the supplies that the army has left. She's pleased to know that he has a mind for it, because she most certainly doesn't, she might be a fighter, but she couldn't lead the way the rest of her family does. Robb and her father are sitting on either side of him, stealing glances at the papers in front of him and giving their opinions.
Their arrow stock is running out. Even though the smithies in the North have all turned to making arrows and are shipping them and sending them to Castle Black every day, they are running out of them. It also makes Arya laugh, for them to come all of this way, for her family to return, just to lose because they ran out of arrows. It would be almost comical in a way, the same way that it had been funny for her and the Hound to travel all of that way to the Vale, only to find that Aunt Lysa had died.
"We should wait to use the scythe on them, in between we will only use our arrows" Ned Stark says. She watches Jon nod slowly at that, in that way he does when he's thinking and wasn't expecting someone to start talking to him.
"I'll having Lannister bring up one of his infantry platoons, in case any get up on the wall" Jon mumbles to himself. Arya's more than a little worried for him. She can see it written on his face that he isn't doing well, and while none of them having been sleeping worth a shit, she can tell on how the lines on his face have deepened, and the empty stare he sometimes has, that he hasn't slept in days, she knows he's too worried about everything. She wonders if this is what Robb looked like during his war.
The next assault sees their plan put into motion, the White Walkers push on the wall, and the scythe cuts them down. Arrows pours into what remains. The process repeats itself, as fire and arrows and tar are dropped upon them. She sees that they're making a dent, they must have killed thousands of Walkers. Where there had once been a seemingly unending sea of pale blue, there was now staggered lines of it.
Before she heads off to sleep, Bran declares "The Night King is going to throw everything he has at us soon" that puts everyone on edge. Jon puts his head in his hands and makes no sounds after that, Robb and her father pale, and Jaime Lannister, who she doesn't even know why he's here, clenches his jaw.
"Then we will stop them" Arya repeats what she's been saying the whole time. Arya was confident that they could do it. They may be tired and exhausted, they may be running out of supplies and arrows, but she felt it with every part of her being that this wasn't the end. Why would the gods bring her family back, just for them to fail?
The conversation veered towards how to hold them off. Arya was able to slip out. She didn't want to spend what could be the last few nights she had left with Jon's officers, instead she felt drawn to Gendry, who had spent most of his time in the forge since they had arrived. She approached him, and she could see the grimness in his face as he works. She comes up to him, and without thinking, grabs his hands and makes him follow her.
He doesn't ask any stupid questions and doesn't demand any explanations. So, when that finally find a somewhat undisturbed corner of Castle Black, and when the do, she turns around and gets up on her tippy toes and kisses him. The kiss deepens, and soon she's being pressed into the wall.
When they're both done, Gendry lets her down and they just look at each other. Both of them are panting and smiling at each other. She thinks that the last time she was this happy was right before their family split up. She thinks she loves him, which scares her and makes her feel things that she doesn't really understand. But she's happy and she thinks Gendry is happy as well…. And then he goes and ruins it.
"If we survive this, and when we get back, we should get married" She feels the smile fall, and while she can't deny the fact that she could see herself wanting to spend the rest of her life with Gendry, she can't hope to give him the life that he deserves. His own smile drops when she doesn't respond.
"Gendry, please understand that I want to, but I'm not going to live my life as a proper lady, I couldn't hope to spend all of my time in once place" Her face darkens "And I have to kill Cersei, and the rest of them"
He scoffs when she says that "Look I don't care about staying in one place, I don't want you to be the perfect lady, I know you're not that!" He grabs her and pulls her close "I love you Arya Stark"
Arya only nods and hugs him back. "I have to kill Cersei, and then we will decide"
To his credit, he just nods, and that is that. She drags him to her quarters, which while small, are thankfully private, and repeats the act before falling asleep. When she wakes, Men are yelling and she can distantly hear the roar of battle. It has begun.
Jaime Lannister left the Lord Commander's solar in a haze. He wasn't really thinking as he walked either. So much had been discussed, the Walkers and their upcoming assault, their supplies, what they were going to do if they pushed. Jaime brought his left hand up to wipe his brow, here he was, in the middle of one of the coldest nights, and he's sweating. The fact that the Night King was actually coming had seemed to shock and worry the King and the men of the Night's Watch who had seen the Night King.
In truth, even after going beyond the wall with Jon Snow, and seeing the White Walkers in person, he hadn't understood how many of them there were. That first night after they arrived, he stood on the top of the wall and just stared at the thousands upon thousands of Others below. And then the battle had begun, and they spent weeks since fighting and dying to the Others.
He didn't really know where his legs were taking him, he hadn't considered his next stopping place, though he shouldn't have been surprised when he ran into Brienne. She steps back from him with a questioning gaze. "Are you well Ser Jaime?"
Ser Jaime always so formal. He smiled and replied "I am well Lady Brienne" he offered her an arm which she doesn't take, not that he was surprised that she didn't, she had worked hard to make the men respect her and take her seriously, and he wonders why he even thought it was a good idea to offer it. He drops it with a smile and falls in beside her. "What are you doing?"
"The King has asked me to make my rounds, and make sure our guards are alert before I turn in". Jaime nodded at that and decided that he would follow her while she did that.
They only find a few guards who were asleep, and Brienne wakes them and gives them latrine duty as punishment. He follows her until they find themselves outside of her quarters. When she turns around and looks at him, he sees the questions in her face. He beings to talk but she holds up her hand "Whatever you are going to say, then it should wait until we are out of this mess"
Jaime thought that he should probably agree, but he finds himself not wanting to leave her presence so instead of agreeing, he says "Bran says that they're going to come over the wall soon"
The look she gives him is pained and almost impatient. She waits for a few more moments for him to say something, and when Jaime doesn't offer up anything, and just stares at her for a few moments, she grabs the collar of his armor and brings their lips together. After a chaste kiss she pulls back, her face deep in blush despite the freezing cold and says "I'll see you after all of this is over"
As he walks back to his own tent, he can't help but to keep a smile on his face. What they say is the evening hours pass by relatively quickly, and when he awakens, all seems calm. He breaks his fast in his tent, and leaves to discuss the situation with his officers. They add very little to what the King and his newly arisen family haven't already said. It had been a shock for Jaime to see not only the Stark children that he had known were alive, but also to see Ned, Robb and Catelyn Stark? That had been shocking and had left Jaime feeling even worse than he already did for what he had done to their family.
His officers at least no longer question their need for being here, and with the news from the south becoming ever grimmer, Jaime wonders if there is even a possibility of any of them ever going back to the Westerlands even if they survive the coming hours. He can see their worries written all over their faces, and even Bronn, who while far from non-emotive, looks glum at the news.
He's about to launch into a speech about how important what they are doing is, and if the White Walkers come over the wall, then it won't matter who wins in the south, as they will all be dead soon enough, but he doesn't get that far, instead he hears the sound of yelling and screaming outside of the tent. He and Bronn exchange a look and they both draw their dragon-glass swords and rush outside.
A mess of red and gold armor is rapidly forming up around the one who was doing the yelling. The soldiers back off at the sight of their commander, who walks up to the man and asks "What's going on?"
The soldier looks at him a moment, and catches his breath "They are approaching from the south mi'lord"
"Whose coming from the south!" Bronn demands. The look the solder gives Bronn answers the question. He looks at Jaime "How did they get around the bloody wall?"
But Jaime has no answer, and instead he yells out "Form up!" a litany of other voices rings out, and the army begins to assemble. He sends a runner back to Castle Black informing them of the coming battle. Bronn looks at him like he's a crazy person, but he doesn't care, instead he inserts himself at the front of his forces, and they move out.
It's a short march to the coming army. Jaime is relieved to find it not nearly as large as the one that is almost assuredly attacking the wall. For a brief moment, all is still, as the two forces stare across the field. As Jaime does so, he thinks to himself that this would be excellent spot for a pitched battle, nice and flat, with no major obstacles stopping the two armies from engaging. And then the Wights charge, and he and his men charge.
The fighting is fierce as thousands of bodies collide together. He kills several of the wights, and he loses himself in the fighting, blades clashing and armor ringing out from being hit. His own armor takes blow after blow, but he doesn't stop, he carves his way through the White Walkers and their wights. When he gets a moment from the fighting, he takes stock of the situation. From what he can see, the red and gold of his soldiers have pressed and struck true, and they are winning this portion of the battle, but even though, there is significantly less than when they rode out not an hour earlier. King Jon was right; this was going to be a very bloody and intense battle.
He turns back and charges back into the fray, kills a few more wights, and is only stopped when he catches sight of the pale blue skin of a White Walker. It gazes upon him with its pale blue eyes, and it raises up it's blade and charges. Jaime ducks out of the way and moves around him, swiping at the walker's feet as he does so. It just manages to get out of his reach, and as it turns around, Jaime springs forward, and tackles it to the ground. He brings up the sword and stabs it into what he thinks is its gut, and it must have struck true because it shatters. He lays there for a moment, breathing and listening to the sounds of battle. When he finally gets up, he sees that his own army has continued the push, and that most of the wights have been pushed down back from Castle Black.
Bronn, sporting quite the cut on his forehead, comes up to him "A column escaped and is heading for the Castle" he explains quickly. That wasn't good, most of the army was on the wall fighting, leaving very few men actually within the walls of Castle Black, and also to make matters worse, Brienne is there.
Jaime opens his mouth to order his men to pull back and march back when he hears a call out "More Incoming!"
Jaime sighs, and makes his decision, he needs to stop this new force from reaching Castle Black, meaning that they would have to make do without him…. Brienne would have to make do without him. With another sigh, he lets out a shout and charges.
When it began, Ned had been up on the Wall. He had implored Jon to get a few more hours of sleep, and it had taken him and Robb to convince him to get a few a more hours. When it began, Ned ordered for the soldiers to wait like they had taken to doing, and as the Walkers clamber up the side of the wall, they drop the scythe. And then he orders the arrows to let loose. Ned watches as hundreds of wights and some Walkers explode into pieces, but they keep coming. Soon the scythe is back in position, and he orders them to drop it again.
This goes on for what feels like hours, and it doesn't end. The fighting in the dark, the only light coming from their torches and their enemies' eyes. Ned hates it. He thinks back to the Trident, which he had always thought and hoped would be the largest battle that he would take part in, but he's pretty sure that this easily beats it out. Nearly thirty thousand Northerners, Valemen, Lannister and Free Folk had come together to hold them off.
The scythe is dropped again, and it wipes out another line of the Walkers. The enemy is hurting, that much he can tell. They have lost almost half of their force since they arrived a week earlier, and they are still losing wights and walkers. And we are running out of arrows it was as they said the previous night, or what counted for night, the entirety of the North was throwing it's weight into making arrows, but they couldn't make them fast enough.
The wights are nearly up the wall again, so he orders another volley to stop them. The volley comes, and it along with the oil and tar being dropped on top of them keeps them from advancing much further. Ned sighs and runs his gloved hand through his beard. They can't keep up like this. Ned is about to call for a rotation when a yell from behind gets his attention "Castle Black is under attack" Ned quickly turns and jogs down to look down into the Castle. It was on fire and soldiers of all colors were fighting for their lives. The blood drained from his face as his fear took over. His children were down there, Robb, Arya, Bran, and Jon as well. They were down there fighting, while he was up here. He should be down there. He begins to step towards the lift when a yell stops him.
"Lord Stark!" one of the men yelled from the front, he turned around as the soldier slid to a stop, he looked to be one of Lord Manderley's boys, but he couldn't remember the boys name at the moment "Our section is about to run out of arrows, we have enough for a two more volleys!"
"Gods damnit!" Ned yells to no-one in particular. He's worried for his children, but he knows that if the top of the wall falls, then there will be no point in winning the battle down below. So, he turns around from the lift, and pulls out his sword. Others follow suit. As he comes back to the other side, he sees the Walkers are now nearly three quarters of the way up the wall "Drop the scythe!" and he hears the soldiers cut the restrung rope, and as it drops, it cuts through the wights. He waits for them to get back up to the wall, and then he yells for them to loose their remaining arrows. Two volleys string out, and hundreds of walkers disappear.
He picks up a shield, one that had been discarded during the chaos "Shield wall!" he yelled out and took the front of one the formations of Northmen. Lord Manderley's son is there with him on his right. The men look at him expectedly, he knew they were expecting a speech in the seconds before the Walkers came up over the wall "Know this! We today are fighting not just for the North, or the Vale, or the Westerlands, or the Free Folk, what we do, what you do, in the coming hours is for all of Westeros" he paused as he tried to come up with something else to say, he had never been good at these sort of speeches, that had always been Brandon's forte "The oath of the Night's Watch ends with that they are the shield that guards the realms of man, and tonight, You are the watchers on the wall, and you are the shield that guards all of the realms of man!" He turned; they were nearly on top of the Wall. He swallowed and let out a final yell "FOR THE NORTH!"
He heard other yells and shouts "For the Westerlands" or "For the Vale" but most rang out with a cry of their king names "JON! JON! JON!". Ned felt pride for Lyanna's child, and he thought how happy she would have been to have seen him now. But now was not the time for such thoughts, and the Walkers were now on top of the wall.
Ned braced for the incoming strikes and strike they did. He felt blow after blow ring out across his shield, and he heard the blows land on the shields of his soldiers. The wights continued pounding their line. Ned begins to stab wildly, he feels his blade land true a few times, and he continues to fight. He spares a moment to look down both sides of the line, they have only lost a few men, which is good, but Ned knows that a shield wall is only effective as long as most of the men are still up and standing, any hole in the wall is detrimental, of course so would a flanking attack, but from what he could see, they weren't trying to out flank them.
Ned threw his weight behind another stab, and it struck true as well. However, the Walker's had begun to crawl over one another, and had started to get above them. He ordered the second and third lines to raise their own shields above their heads, and as the wights and walkers crawled over them, Ned had to start alternating from stabbing in his front to stabbing above his head. They couldn't keep up like this, Ned realized that, and the men must have too, as they began to shift back towards the lift.
The fighting retreat was slowly done, mainly because the soldiers knew that they had no-where else to go. So they continued fighting, and more and more men fell. Ned thought back to the Trident, that day had gone on so long that he had thought that it would never end, and now here he was fighting in another battle that wouldn't end, but unlike the Trident, this one was going to determine the fate of the life in the world. He pressed on, he heard a yelp of surprise to his right, and turned his glance to see the Manderley boy fall. Ned shifted right to take his place and killed the wight that took the boy.
One of the men, probably the one who came up to replace Ned yelled over the roar and shouts of the battle "We can't fall back anymore Lord Stark!"
Ned grimaced at that, if they couldn't fall back, then the only way was forward. He knew what that most likely meant. He closed his eyes, tuning out the roar of battle and thought of his family, Catelyn, his lady wife who had hurt so, his children, most of who were down below fighting, Sansa who had suffered in King's Landing and in the Vale, and Jon who had prepared for this battle for his life. When he opened them, the soldiers was looking at him expectantly and Ned swallowed and then yelled "WITH ME! FORWARD!"
Robb had been with Jon when the runner from Lannister arrived. Out of breath and breathing raggedly, he had his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "Mi'lords" he finally let out before taking another deep breath "Ser Jaime sent me, our scouts saw the enemy to south and they are marching this way"
The courtyard fell into a tense silence as the Northerners and the Free Folk all looked towards Jon with hope and waiting for orders. Robb also looked at him, but he didn't expect to find answers. Jon had pulled back some from them since his fight with Robb's mother, and Jon hadn't had all that many answers since coming here. But Robb wouldn't pull back from his brother, not after they had just fixed their friendship. So he asked "What is Lannister doing then?"
The runner looked at Robb "He's ordered his forces to meet them head on, Mi'lord!" Robb at least had to give Jaime Lannister credit for taking the initiative, even though he had bad experiences with officers taking the initiative, and he hoped Jon wouldn't regret that.
Looking back to Jon, he had seemed to break out of whatever trance he had been other, and he took control of the situation. Moving forward and passed the runner he yelled out "Prepare for an attack! And form up!" Jon had gone into what Robb had taken to calling being King Jon, gone was the doubt and the worry of the future, now there was only one thing that any of them could focus on, and that was the coming battle.
As the Night's Watch and the Free Folk assembled on the walls, arming themselves with crossbows and bows, while Northerner's and Valemen stood in front of the gates preparing themselves. Robb moved on Jon's right "How did they get across the Wall?"
Jon shrugged his shoulders before turning back and looking at Robb "It doesn't matter, we have to move quickly if we are hold" he looked as though he was about to start moving when they heard the familiar whine of the scythe being dropped. That stopped everyone in the middle of their steps for a few extra seconds "Get on with it!" Jon roared, and the forces got back to it. He turned to Robb "This is it" he said in a quiet voice.
Robb understood. This was what Jon had been working towards since before his first death. The war with the Boltons to reclaim Winterfell had been a sideshow compared to this. This was the thing that had kept Jon alive and willing to fight "Were going to win Jon" was all that Robb felt he could say, because what else was there to say? That they weren't? that that were hopelessly outnumbered and now very much out maneuvered? That wouldn't do anything for Jon.
A shout from behind pulled them out of their conversation, as both the King and Robb turned to look at Arya, who was running up to them with the blacksmith at her side "Jon where do you want me and Gendry?"
Robb didn't respond, but Jon yelled "Go and find Bran and get him to the Lord Commander's quarters, if he is the target, then we need to get him somewhere safe!"
Arya pursed her lips to that. Robb knew she wouldn't like that, and based on the way that Jon was looking at her, he knew it as well. Arya had always wanted to be in on the fighting. "Jon, we need to stick together"
Robb turned and looked around, the army was still busy getting ready, and there wasn't anyone in hearing distance "Jon, Arya's right we need to stick together" he left out that the last time they had split up, he and half of their family had ended up dead.
Arya started loudly agreeing that she would go wherever Jon and him went. Jon looked between Robb and Arya, and the blacksmith before his physically lifted his foot and put it down. "Damnit Arya" Jon glared at Robb as he said it "I'm not your brother right now, I am your King and I am not asking you to do this, I'm telling you what to do!"
Jon hadn't showed this side of himself before, when they had been growing up, he had been broody and sulky but never lost him temper at least not with them. Arya looked like she was going to argue, and she looked angry, but she couldn't understand what Jon was saying, and why he had said it. This wasn't Jon Snow, the boy that they had grown up with, but King Jon, the person who had reclaimed Winterfell. Arya may not be able to understand it, but Robb did, he understood better than anybody, he had been King as well. "Okay Jon, I'll go to take command of the wall" he turned and looked at Arya, and with pleading eyes said "Arya take him and get to Bran"
Arya narrowed her eyes and looked between the two of them before exaggerating a bow saying "Very well Your Grace" Robb watched as Jon's face fell but he didn't say anything else. Arya waited for a moment before turning around with a huff and leaving.
Jon sighed and looked at Robb apologetically "Sorry about that" he muttered.
"I understand" and that was that. Jon and Robb went to the southern wall and observed the coming army. "There going to break through" Jon said with a dour expression. And based on the army that they had. It was most certainly correct assessment. This was not good.
"We have to hold them here; they can't get inside the walls!" Robb motioned for the archers to come forward, and they let loose a volley of arrows at the enemy. Some fell, but overall, both of them knew that this was going to be decided with their swords and not their arrows.
Jon let out a gasp which Robb just barely heard looking over at him he saw that Jon had pales "It's him" Jon said with a snarl. Robb looked back towards the horde, and following Jon's gaze, he fell upon the pale blue form with ice crystals on the top of his head that resembled a crown. "The Night King"
Robb swallowed nervously. Jon had told him a little of Hardhome, and he knew that this would be a hard fight ahead. The horde reached the walls and started to crawl over each other in their attempts to get over the wall. Robb pulled the dragon-glass sword out of its scabbard and threw the scabbard away. Wight's and Walkers came over the wall and forced their way through the gates.
He turned and looked at Jon who was yelling orders and turning to Robb he yelled "Plug that hole!" he pointed the gates which had been forced open, where wights and walkers were coming through. In a fit of irony, Robb found himself leading soldiers wearing the red and gold armor of the Lannisters. In any case, Robb let go of his old prejudices and led them into the battle anyway. They had to plug this gap before they breached the gates. It had to be done.
Jon ran through the courtyard of Castle Black, dodging swings, and attacks from, and fighting when he had to. He had gotten separated from Robb after he told him to plug the hole in the gates. He hadn't seen Arya or Ned either come to think of it. He forced the oncoming worry to the side, as he continued his push towards the Lord Commander's Quarters. Bran was there, and if Jon had to bet, that was where the Night King was heading. He pushes his way past some of his former sworn-brothers as they are heading into the courtyard to join the battle.
The White Walkers had come so quickly, and their attacks had been shockingly effective. Jon was loathe to admit that their armies and been brushed aside so quickly. They had been doing so well. He sighed and pulled himself away from that train of thought. He had to protect Bran and kill the Night King, he only hoped that Longclaw would be enough to kill the Night King.
He wished that there had been time to talk with Arya and the others before this had started, he wished that he had used a different tactic with Arya rather than order her to do something. He knew he had hurt her feelings when he did that, and he also knew that that it had been dumb to try to declare that he was the King, and she should do what he says. He hoped that Arya could forgive them if they survived this. He pushed himself up the first flight of stairs.
His fear returned as he ascended the stairs, and found more and more bodies lying across the stairs and the small platform leading to the now opened doors of the Lord Commander. Jon rushed in to find Arya, Gendry, and Theon huddled around Bran as the Night King advanced. Jon moved to cross the room as the Night King turned to the side to look at both Jon and the others. It apparently didn't consider Arya and the others to be a threat, as it turned it's back on them and rushed Jon.
Jon was just able to bring Longclaw to parry the attack, the flurry of swords and the sheer strength of the Night King forced him back out of the room. The Night King's was easily the strongest opponent that Jon had ever faced, stronger than any of the Wildlings, stronger than any Bolton soldier he had fought, and most certainly stronger than the White Walker he had fought at Hardhome. He just to pull his sword up and parry a strike from the Night King, doing so pulled the blade from it's held out position in front of him and forced it down to the side. Jon wondered where Arya and the others were. The Night King's next attack forced him backwards, yet again, this time up the stairs leading up to some of the higher rooms. It kicked him squarely in the chest, pushing aside Jon's own defenses as it did so. Standing above him, the Night King raised the blade. Jon was going to die. He was going to die here and now near the sight of his first death.
Just as Jon had come to accept that, a Warhammer smashed into the side of the Night King's head. Sending it into one of the adjacent rooms. Gendry appeared over him and held out a hand. Jon took it quickly. Back on his feet, he saw that both Arya and Theon were also there. "Where's Bran?"
"Back in the quarters!" Arya shouted, she no longer had the look of being mad or angry with him, and instead wore a mask of grim determination.
Jon caught his breath "We have to kill it, it's the key to whole horde!"
Arya pursed her lips and opened her mouth to speak when "It's not dead" Theon backed up slowly from the now opened door as the Night King came through. Jon raised Longclaw and charged. It dodged his strike above his head, while it struck at Theon. Jon turned and was able to see the last exchange, Theon caught the Night King's blade in his shoulder, and Jon watched in horror as it cut through him. Theon and Jon may have never been close, but he had saved Sansa and come North to help them against the Walkers, that had earned his respect. And now he was dead, and this lopsided duel was even more lopsided.
Jon pushed forward and let out a string of curses as each of his strikes were easily parried. Arya and Gendry had attacked as well, but Jon didn't see what they were doing. All Jon saw was Gendry being forced over the side of the platform. He heard Arya's cry of pain but pushed on all the same. The two Kings locked blade in each strike, as Arya circled around looking for an opening, but the Night King was slowly pushing the two of them back towards Bran. Just before getting to the door, it's blade caught him in his hip. The pain was tolerable, but Jon was forced to his left knee in its suddenness.
He watched in horror as Arya chose that moment to strike, and watched as the Night King grabbed her, and threw her behind him. Jon struggled to his feet and forced the growing despair down. He couldn't let all of these sacrifices be in vain, so he stood and locked blades with the Night King once again. It was a losing battle, Jon was losing blood from his hip, and the other places that the Night King had caught him, and he was tired. He was soon across the room, and fighting right above Bran, who made no attempt to move. The Night King's blade caught him at the lower hip and cut through parts of the armor to his right shoulder.
The Night King must not have considered him a threat anymore, as it moved away from Jon and stood over Bran, the two of them stared for a few moments, having a silent conversation. Finally, it lifted its blade above it's head and brought the blade down on Bran. Jon, ignoring his bodies pain and brought Longclaw in between Bran and the Night King. He blocked it, and Jon using strength he didn't know he still had, forced it away from Bran. He then forced the blade into it's leg, cutting through it and pinning it to the floor.
Just as he fell and turned over, he saw Arya charging the Night King. She looked worse for wear, and he was pretty sure that her nose was crooked, and it was all he could do watch and see Arya pierce the Night King's armor and then it's chest. Jon stood on wobbly legs, as he watched the Night King slowly turn its head from Arya to Bran and then shatter.
Arya fell to the floor but was back up quickly, looking from where the Night King had once stood, to Bran and then to Jon. She beamed at him, and then the smile fell as Jon could no longer support himself as he fell. He felt the coming darkness slowly consume him, and as Arya came into his vision saying something, but Jon couldn't hear it. Rather he attempted a smile at her and thought of Sansa.
When it finished, Jaime had just pulled his blade back. The second force coming had been met, and this one was far larger than the first. Their lines had quickly been overwhelmed and the battle had become a confused melee.
He was pretty sure he had seen Bronn fall, but he didn't know. All he knew was that they were losing. And then suddenly, all the wights and walkers shattered, and the battle ended as quickly as it had started.
Jaime looked around and was pleasantly surprised to feel the heat of sunlight on his skin. He isn't sure how, but he's pretty sure that they have won.
By the time it's over, most of the combined armies atop the wall have been decimated. Thousands litter the top of the wall, and Ned is surprised to find himself alive. Their counterattack had succeeded at horrendous cost, but they had forced them back over the wall. Ned watches the sea of pale blue shatter down below into nothingness. And then Ned is able to see the rising sun on the horizon. He smiles despite himself. The Second War for the Dawn is over.
Robb pulled himself up from the ground, he doesn't remember when he had been forced down, but by the time that he was back, to his feet, the sun was out and the wights were gone. Cheers and yells of joy were escaping the lips of his soldiers, and men from the Vale, the North, the Westerlands, and the Free Folk all celebrate together.
Robb takes a deep breath when he hears a distinct and scream, not one of happiness, but one of horror. And what's more, he's pretty sure it was Arya. He runs in the direction of the scream, he runs up several flights of stairs and walks over bodies, one of them Theon, who has been cut in half. It's a sickening sight, and while Robb could never bring himself to forgive Theon for what he did, it was still a bad way to die.
He enters the Lord Commander's quarters and sees the source of the scream. Arya sits beside Bran, cradling the head of Jon. Robb lets out a yell "The King is hurt!" he yells it until one of the Measter's arrive, and then he stops yelling, but he watches as the Maester, slowly binds the wounds together.
A/N: Well there's my long overdue update for this. Sorry it took so long, the last few weeks have been crazy for me. But now that this chapter is done, I think my motivation is back as well.
I wanted to respond to jean d'arc's comment on the last chapter. I know that Catelyn came off as vicious and antagonistic, but I truly feel like that is well within character. Catelyn Tully is a vicious person in both the show and the books, and I feel like that this was something that she would do.