"Do you think it was wise to let the Priestess go to the wall, your Grace?" a knight with a fox sigil on his armor spoke. But he then stepped back with a flinch when his king gave him a cool glance.

"Lady Melisandre has been shown a vision by The Lord of Light and she must do what is needed of her" Stannis Baratheon spoke, grinding teeth against teeth. It was clear that he wasn't all too pleased about the turn of events either. "But she has not left us without protection" the man added and Hope felt her left eye twitch. The knight gave a nod but it was clear that he didn't look all too confident.

That had been the general reaction of Melisandre leaving, Hope notice. Even if they had all seen Hope do what she did for them, from rising from ashes to protecting them all and conjuring fire to burn their enemies, none of them were exactly confident in her abilities without the red priestess there. That irked the young woman. But she could also understand why. She was still a stranger to them, and Melisandre was always there when she performed her feats, whispering and encouraging her.

"Prepare for a siege" Stannis barked the order and the knight left his side. "Hope," he called and the auburn-haired femme straightened slightly, "tell me about your world."

"There isn't much to tell…your Grace" she mumbled, almost forgetting to add the honorific. "I was an only child. My family had a…dark past but they were strong and feared. My Grandmother, Grandaunt, and eldest aunt on my father's side was a witch while the rest of her siblings had untapped witch potentials" she explained. It would be a little difficult to explain that the rest of her family were Vampires, and it might earn her unwanted suspicion from the man. Better to hide that snippet from him.

"And your mother?" the man asked.

"My mother…" Hope gave a small sad smile. "My mother was a leader, the head of her people. She looked after everyone under her and was kind and caring towards them. But she was also vicious against her enemies and did not shy away from bloodshed if it was necessary."

"Do you miss your parents?" he asked and Hope gave a small nod.

"They are both dead, your Grace. Died trying to protect me" her hands clenched into fists at the reminder. Her mother died to protect her from the Nazi Vampires and her father when he took the Hollow from her and sacrificed himself with Elijah.

"Do not blame yourself" the man spoke and Hope looked up in surprise.

"Your Grace?"

"A parent would always lay down their lives to protect their children" he barely spoke in a whisper, now turning to face her. Hope's eyes narrowed on the man, trying to study his face. There were no emotions on his face. His eyes, as hard as they were, showed equal amounts of understanding, grief, and loathing. The last one Hope felt was not directed at her.

"Shireen was my daughter, my heir. It was on me to protect her. What Melisandre spoke of… I could have said no and saved her life. I didn't" he turned away, "that is my sin to live with. My daughter's life brought us you. Royal blood for royal blood. She protected me when it should have been the other way around."

Hope was not surprised at the little dialogue between herself and the man that styled himself, King. She had always seen the regret in his eyes, always present and always eating at him. But to hear him say what his mind whispered to him, she felt pity for the man.

Royal blood for royal blood, Hope let those words play on her mind. It could apply to her case. Her mother was the Alpha of The Crescent Pack and can be considered royalty. Her father was the first of Vampires. He and his family were many things in the years they have lived. Nobility was something that was always a common thing in all of them.

"Your name, your family name I mean. What does it mean?" Stannis' question made her snap out of her musings.

"Mikaelson" Hope spoke the name softly, "it means sons of Mikael. My grandfather's name was Mikael. It was a tradition amongst the people of my father's community that any children born into it would only be given a name as such for their last name."

"But you carry the name of your grandfather" Stannis pointed out.

"The tradition broke when my father's people were all wiped out. Leaving only him and his siblings. They never followed the tradition" Hope explained. There was more to the story of course, but Hope did not plan on explaining everything to the man.

"I see" the man frowned. "If you were to be traditionally named. What would it be?"

"Hope Niklausdottir" she answered easily. It was a thought that had come to her when she was younger, learning about Vikings and the Nordic Mythology that they once followed.

"Daughter of Niklaus I'm guessing," Stannis asked and Hope nodded. "After all of this is over, would you keep that as your family name? Or would you be choosing a different name? You're not a red priestess, even if Melisandre is trying to groom you into one."

"Your Grace," Hope spoke softly, but the steel in her voice made Stannis look at her from the corner of his eyes, "after this is all over, I plan to return to my world."

"I see" Stannis mumbled. There was something in his tone, Hope noticed. But she wasn't sure what that was. Sadness? A sense of loss? At what? Her returning? Had the man grown attached to her or something?

"Your Grace!" the knight from before rushed back inside the tent. "Riders! The Bolton army attacks!"

Stannis shared a grim look with Hope before charging out of the tent with the knight in tow. Hope went to follow but she stopped for a moment. Her eyes fell on the parting gift from Melisandre and she snatched it up before following the rest.

With the red shawl wound around her, Hope strode out of the tent and moved forward to meet the king. All around her men were in a panic, getting their swords out to prepare for battle. When Hope reached Stannis' side, she could understand the panic. Stannis' side was outnumbered by almost triple the numbers.

"Prepare your arms!" Stannis called and all those present pulled their swords out and prepared for combat, none of them looking remotely happy about it. Some were already resigning themselves for death Hope understood.

The femme passed the King and stood alone as a barrier between the incoming force and her 'Allies'.

"Hope-"

"Your grace" the girl gave the man a single glance and the man stood rigid. Dark blue looked into threatening burning amber and the man just gave a nod. Hope glanced back to the approaching enemy, her eyes glowing even brighter. This was different from the eyes that Hope had when tapping into her wolf side. She felt stronger, much stronger than she ever did. It was like someone had injected her with some powerup potion and it was coursing through her, making her magic swell and expand within her.

She waited for a moment, watching as the army approached her. Everything was in slow motion, she could hear every beating heart alongside the beating hooves. She knew the exact numbers that were approaching her, she knew what each of them felt. She heard a single laugh and a comment about a woman being the last line of defense. It held a mocking edge and that made Hope feel the anger build up inside her.

She raised both hands in a cross formation, palms facing forward. A circular motion followed it and then her hand stopped before her, right hand on left, palms facing upwards. A ball of fire appeared on her palms, rapidly growing in size until it was the size of a basketball.

"Ignarious" the witch muttered and blew into the fireball. Instead of the ball of fire shooting forward, a stream of fire burst out from the ball in her hands and impacted right in front of the man's horse that led the charge. The horse let out a horrifying shriek, reeled back, and threw its rider off its back. The fire then spread sideways, moving around the army. A wall of flame rose and surrounded the enemy army. Hope heard the terrified shrieks of man and horse. She heard someone scream for order and the threat of skinning.

"They won't surrender" Hope spoke and Stannis snapped out of his stupor.

"Burn them all" the man whispered and Hope gave a nod.

Stannis and the men that remained with him watched in absolute horror and awe as the wall of fire rose higher and higher before collapsing inwards, like a giant wave from the sea. Except this one was a sea of fire. The screaming of their enemies lasted for only a moment before all was silent, barring the sound of burning. The smell of burning flesh was strong and made Stannis wrinkle his nose in disgust.

"It's done" Hope turned on her heels, her eyes now back to their usual sapphire. But Stannis saw a hint of amber in them, mixed within the threads of blue. Stannis gulped and his men cheered, calling glory to Stannis and the red god. But the King only had eyes on the femme before him.

Maybe the red god has joined us, in the form of a red goddess, he thought.