Ser Davos
The defeat of Ser Alliser and the other traitors brought great relief to him. But, the feeling was outweighed by the distraught of the death of Jon Snow. He stood next to Jon's body as Edd returned with the red-haired Wildling named Tormund. He saw Jon on the table, his clothes still stained with his blood.
"Took a lot of knives." Tormund said quietly. "Are his dragons safe?"
"You heard about them?" Davos asked.
"I heard rumors, then this one told us more when he found us." Tormund pointed to Edd.
"Jon sent them with Grenn to be half the world away from here. Least, until their bigger."
"Good. We'll need their fire when the dead come." He turned back to Jon's bodies, taking one last look. "I'll have my men get the wood for a fire. Bodies to burn." He walked out of the room leaving Edd within the room with Davos.
Edd turned to leave the room. "You should get some rest."
Ser Davos shook his head "If everything you've all been saying about White Walkers and an Army of the Dead were true, then he was the last hope." Edd stopped, turning back to him. "His brothers and little sister are dead. Sansa's married to Roose's bastard. The last heir to one of the greatest houses of Westeros, gone. All because he did the right thing. Hard to rest after things like this happen."
Edd looked to the ground, ashamed. They still had the allegiance of the Wildlings, but without the North, at least, it wouldn't mean much against the numbers that were coming. "Then let's make sure what he died for doesn't fall apart."
The Cold Cells served their purpose well in the night. The ice and steel had not a shred of warmth anywhere. The cloaks of the traitors were confiscated as were their boots. Bowen Marsh and Othell Yarwyck had begun calling out for mercy after only a couple of hours, Their voices echoed throughout the castle but no one cared to listen. Olly hadn't muttered a single word, he only shivered alone in his little space. Never before has one so young had to be confined in the cells.
Ser Alliser was the only one who's pride was overpowering the cold. He shivered alone in the corner of his cell, but he scowled the entire time, not breaking. He was strong willed.
Davos joined Edd and Tormund to visit in the middle of the night. The mutineers were to be executed, that was absolute. But the others wanted to know why they did what they did when they know of the bigger problems north of the Wall.
"Have a nice night?" Edd asked as the light of his torch illuminated the cells.
"Please, let us out!" Bowen Marsh pleaded. "It's so cold!"
"You think mutiny and murder is punished with half a night in a cold cell?"
"He betrayed the oath!" Othell called out through his cell.
"Which part?" Davos asked openly. "You swore to be the shield that guards the realms of men. And north of the Wall is a realm where men lived."
Ser Alliser stood up from the corner and went to the bars of his cell. "The Wildlings have been reeving and raping the kingdoms for thousands of years. A man so far south of the Wall would never understand the atrocities these savages commit."
"If you saw what was out there," Edd intervened, "You wouldn't be saying that. While you were staying warm in Castle Black, I fought at the Fist with three hundred hardened men. How many of them are still alive?"
"I believe the dangers that are out there." Ser Alliser admitted. "But I will not believe the word of Wildlings to help us fight the White Walkers. As soon as the horn blasts three times, they'll tuck tail and run now that they have somewhere else to go." He retreated back into his corner, ignoring Tormunds words while he did. "You can kill us, but better a death by execution than a knife to the throat in your sleep."
"You think the Free Folk are like you southerners? We don't break our promises or murder our leaders unarmed." Tormund pressed his face to the cell bars, getting as close to Alliser as he could. "You best hope you die soon because I'm going to kill you if they don't."
"You're a liar!" Olly finally spoke. "You butchered my family and everyone I knew! Snow would never see the truth and gotten us all killed!"
Tormund turned his attention to the lad. "Aye, I killed your people before you became a crow and I killed many more after you did. And if Jon Snow hadn't offered peace for allegiance, I would keep killing all until this Wall was behind me and my people."
There was silence among many of them. Edd didn't respond to that and neither did any of the prisoners.
Davos cleared his throat. "Tonight is the last night you'll ever see. Tomorrow, you'll be greeting death. How would you like it? Rollin heads or strangulation?"
"Hanging." Ser Alliser said immediately. I won't have my body desecrated before I burn."
The other prisoners agreed to a hanging as well.
"Very well. Have a pleasant night, gentlemen." Edd, Tormund and Davos made for the exit, but Ser Alliser spoke up one last time.
"At least Lord Snow was intelligible enough to send Aemon's dragon away. They don't belong to a traitor's bastard."
Davos returned to his quarters and fell onto his bed, gazing at the roof above him. He couldn't focus enough to fall asleep. There had been far too much happening. 'So that's it then. My time serving leaders is done. Guess I should be heading home. Though with what's coming, I think it won't be there for much longer.' His thoughts drifted to his wife and his dead son. Then he thought of the Princess Shireen. 'What was the point of it all? So someone could sit on a fucking chair of swords? How many died for five men's lust for power?' He then thought of Jon Snow. 'He never fought for power. He didn't even want to be elected Lord Commander, but he accepted the position anyway. So they could survive what's coming. He knew he would be hated for bringing the Wildlings south, probably knew he would get killed for it, yet he did it anyway. Because it was the right thing to do.' He couldn't help but laugh at that thought. 'That's the kind of man I could call king. And know he's dead. If there really are gods, they're cruel.'
Ser Davos had a sudden epiphany. The first time he was in Castle Black, he heard some men talking about a group called the Brotherhood without Banners. The followed the Red God and were led by a man rumored to have died many times, but a red priest brought him back each time. Stannis got up from his bed and immediately left his room. He found himself at the door to Melisandre's solar. 'I always told Stannis not to listen to her. And yet here I am, about to put my faith in her.'
Ser Davos knocked on the door and heard a soft voice speak. "Come in." He entered slowly and saw Melisandre sitting by the fire, staring into it.
"Sorry my lady, didn't mean to interrupt."
"You interrupt nothing." He noticed that she was wrapped in a fur. She'd never needed furs before, she said she always had the lord's fire in her.
"I assume you know why I am here?" She always had an arrogant divination about such things and usually, they were right.
"I will after you tell me." All the faith she once had was gone from her. There was nothing left but a woman betrayed by her god.
"It's about the Lord Commander."
"The former Lord Commander." Melisandre corrected.
"Does he have to be?"
Melisandre looked up at him from the flames. She didn't show it, but he could tell that she was miserable inside. "What are you asking?"
He hesitated a moment before responding. "Did you hear of the rumors? About the dragons that hatched?
"I did. Jon Snow hid them from me and was right to. I might have tried to convince Stannis they were meant for him if he were victorious. God or no god, I wish I could have seen them born."
"From what I was told, the eggs were petrified into stone, And yet they hatched anyway. If that's not magic then what was it?"
"What do you want, Ser?"
"Do you know of any… magic that could help him? Bring him back?"
Her eyes went back to staring into the flames. "If you want to help him, leave him be."
No, Davos wasn't going to let her give up so easily, especially after her years of persistence that did not yield to anyone. "Can it be done?"
She sighed out and shook her head at the flames. "There are some with this power."
"How?"
"I don't know."
"Have you seen it done?"
"I met a man who came back from the dead, but the priest who did it… it shouldn't have been possible."
So it was true after all. "But it was, it could be now."
"Not for me." She stood from her chair and walked away from him.
"Not for you? I saw you drink poison that should've killed you. I saw you give birth to a demon. And now dragons have hatched from stone. It seems to me that all the magic is where you tend to be."
"Everything I believed, the great victory I saw in the flames. All of it was a lie." Her voice was starting to break as she continued on. "You were right all along. The lord never spoke to me."
"Fuck him then, fuck all of them. I'm not a devout man, obviously. Seven gods, drowned gods, tree gods, dragons, it's all the same." He walked right up next to her, as if to make sure she heard his next words. "I'm not asking the Lord of Light for help. I'm asking as a man who has seen dragons and heard them sing to the woman who showed me that miracles and magic exist."
She looked at him, still in denial of herself. "I've never had this gift."
"Have you ever tried?"
She looked away, pondering that maybe she could. How could she know if she never tried to before? "Bring me to him."
Ser Davos was joined by Edd and Tormund. They assisted Melisandre in stripping Jon to nothing except for a cloth over his nethers.
Jon's direwolf, Ghost was laying near the table his master's body rested on. He didn't make a single movement or watch Melisandre perform.
Davos watched her clean the blood from Jon's naked body. All the while she did, Melisandre was muttering a prayer in High Valyrian. "Zyhys oñoso jehikagon Aeksiot epi, se gis hen syndrorro jemagon." It was like watching her perform a funeral rite and at the same time a baptism.
They watched as she trimmed hair from his head and tossed it into flames. She then poured water through his hair and let it drip into a basin. "Zyhys perzys stepagon Aeksio Oño jorepi, se morghultas lys qelitsos sikagon."
They watched as she placed her hands on his body and uttered some words in Valyrian over and over. "Hen syndrorro, oños. Hen ñuqir, perzys. Hen morghot, glaeson." They watched has Jon remained motionless as she tried. "Hen syndrorro, oños. Hen ñuqir, perzys. Hen morghot, glaeson… please."
But there was nothing. Jon did open his eyes, his body did not move, the flame burned as they had. It had failed. Melisandre looked to Davos, for an answer or giving one that she tried.
Tormund had seen enough and left as he had seen Jon remained as he was. Melisandre and Edd followed him out, but Ser Davos gave one last look at Jon before leaving himself. He closed the door behind him and stood there. 'There really is no hope left without him.'
Before he could even take a single step forward, his body had frozen and something greater than a shiver ran down his spine when he heard someone gasping for air in the room he just left. But he was the last one to leave, so the one gasping had to be... He opened the door and walked back inside, watching as Jon's body began to rise.
