Hope woke in a state of cold and surrounded by darkness. She was not sure where she was or how she got there. But what she knew was that she was not alone. All around her she felt shadows standing still, watching her closely. They were studying her, dissecting her with just her gaze.
"Hope Mikaelson"a voice echoed through the darkness, the residual wind making Hope sway where she stood. Her eyes narrowed slightly, her arm covering her face. The voice still echoed around her but she saw no one around. Then there was a flicker and slowly a shape seemed to build before her. At first, it was simply an outline but Hope watched it get darker until it was a solid person standing before her.
Hope stood rigid on the spot, eyes wide and lips slightly parted. She was in obvious shock at the sight of the man before her. "Dad?" she whispered, her bottom lip starting to quiver.
"No" the Klaus Mikaelson look-alike shook his head. "I simply chose this form so you would be comfortable speaking to me. And listening to what I have to say."
Hope's shock had turned to annoyance and anger by the time the look-alike had stopped speaking. She was openly glaring at him, her lips in a thin line. "So you thought I'd be comfortable speaking to my dead father. Over all my other relatives that I still have with me?"
"Yes," the man nodded, "In hindsight, I might have chosen unwisely."
"You think?" Hope scoffed, giving a roll of her eyes. "So who exactly are you?"
"I have been known by many names as the age of men progressed. What I used to be called, is long lost. What I am known as now, would be the Old Gods."
Hope studied the man's face closely, pushing away the disbelief and shock for now. She would normally have laughed at his face and launched some form of magical attack on him. But she was giving him the benefit of the doubt here, after all, she was pulled out of her world by R'hllor. Another being that is termed as a god.
"Gods as in plural" Hope spoke, "but all I see is you."
"Yes well, I am not aware of why the humans termed me in the plural" the deity shrugged. "But we have more important matters to speak on. What do you remember? The last thing you did before coming here."
"I went to bed" Hope spoke, her tone questioning. She saw the deity sigh and her eyes narrowed on him.
"It would seem your memory has yet to catch up to you," the deity spoke. Then he raised his hand and Hope found herself staring at his palm.
There was utter chaos. Men, Women, and Children were rushing. Most women and all the children went into hiding while the remaining people prepared themselves with swords, spears, axes, and other forms of weaponry. Hope was stood on the walls of Winterfell, watching a blizzard approach heart of The North.
"They are almost here" she heard the voice of Jon Snow and looked to her side to see him standing beside her. She gave a small nod, hiding the blush from her face. She could still feel him inside of her, the phantom pleasures of a few hours ago still lingering all over her body.
"Yes" she finally spoke, her voice barely a whisper. "You should go now. Daenerys, Drogon, and Rhaegal are waiting for you" the auburn-haired woman spoke and this time Jon gave a nod of his head. Daenerys had come to Jon's rescue when he went beyond the wall. Hope also knew that something between them had occurred but Jon was reluctant to tell. It didn't matter now, they had a war to fight.
With one last shared kiss, Jon and Hope parted, Ghost choosing to stay behind with the woman. Hope smiled at the wolf, who looked awfully like her own wolf form. She gave Ghost a scratch behind his ear and the wolf let out a content whine.
The sound of a war horn came not too long after Jon's departure and Hope's full attention went to the battlefield before her. The Dothraki were ready to charge, the Unsullied right behind them to form the first line of defense. The blizzard stopped moving and Hope's eyes narrowed in anticipation. She heard Stannis call for the men to prepare themselves behind the gates of Winterfell. The Dothraki charged first, their flaming Arakhs shining against the darkness of the night. But they were taken down in mere minutes. The entire Dothraki army was gone, now part of the Night King's army.
The Unsullied were prepared to take the dead on with their shields and spears. But the sudden burst of blue Dragonfire burned them down in a matter of seconds. It was the Night King, riding on the back of the now-dead Viserion.
Hope cast her spell and a ring of fire erupted around the perimeter of Winterfell. Daenerys and Jon charged the Night King on the backs of their dragons. Brothers fought high above the clouds while the dead rushed into the flames.
"Be ready!" Hope screamed from the top of the walls, " the flames won't hold them back for long!"
True to her words the flames were already being beaten back. The undead Unsullied and Dothraki put themselves on top of the flames while the remainder of the dead crossed over them. Hope cast a second spell and the walls burned hotter and fixed their holes. But she knew it was a temporary fix.
She descended the steps in haste, her hair coming undone from the harshness of the winter winds. She made her way to the gates, fully intent on joining the fight.
"Hope you were supposed to man the firewalls" Stannis hissed when he saw the woman approach.
"The numbers are larger than we thought and they grew even more. The wall won't last forever in this onslaught and wind" Hope explained, tying her hair into a bun and looking straight at the gates with clear murderous intent. She gave herself just a bit of time to wonder what would happen next but quickly dashed the idea when the gates gave a horrible groan. The wall had fallen faster than she had hoped.
"Behind me" she ordered and the men complied. Her eyes burned amber once more as she began to charge her magic. The gates fell and Hope's hand ignited with fire. But the army of the dead did not walkthrough. Hope only had a moment to ponder before she felt a slicing cold rip through her. She looked down and saw the tip of a sword poking out of her belly. She looked behind her and saw a pair of icy blue staring at her emotionlessly. Hope fell on his knees and the horde of Wights rushed in. The last thing she saw before blacking out was a giant's foot coming down on her.
Hope stumbled back, staring wide-eyed at the deity that took her father's face. "I died first?!"
"Amongst the bigger pieces yes" the Old One spoke. "After your death, it was on Daenerys and Jaehaerys to take the Night King down. Alas, their dragons fell like Viserion had and joined the enemy. Nobody stood a chance after that."
"Are they all..."
"Dead? Yes." The Old One nodded. "The Wight that killed you came from the crypts. It was a gross oversight to have kept the crypts open like that, let alone letting people hide in there. After Winterfell fell, the army of the dead moved South and soon took every part of Westeros. The Night King now rules supreme, bringing everlasting winter and a horde of the dead as his slaves."
"So I can go home now, right? With nobody to save there isn't a reason I should remain here," she asked hopefully, but that hope was dashed away when she saw the look on the Old One's face. "You said they were all dead!"
"They are" a new voice spoke and Hope looked to the side. A man came out from the shadows, his entire figure covered in flames, only his amber eyes were visible. "Hello, Hope."
"Let me guess, R'hllor?" Hope asked and the flaming figure gave a small nod.
"Please do excuse him, he's not used to talking with people" a new voice spoke, sounding as if multiple people were speaking in unison. The new figure Hope discovered was a woman her age. But there was something different about her, like the other two figures that were present in the room with her. Her entire body seemed to shimmer and change forms rapidly. Sometimes she was just herself, a woman wearing an elegant white dress, sometimes she was an old woman wearing a worn-out hooded robe. Sometimes she was not a she at all, but a taller muscular man with a tight expression on his face.
"I'm not sure who you are" Hope mumbled softly.
"They refer to me as the seven" the now older-looking woman spoke with a kind smile, her voice still a mixture of many.
"What R'hllor intended to do" the Old One spoke and Hope turned back to him, "it was rash. We did not approve of it, but we saw the benefits of it. You gave us a better chance at beating the darkness than anyone else that was present in that world."
"My associates had their champions" the Seven spoke, "but R'hllor's champion, that is you, proved to be the most useful and the strongest of the lot."
"Brynden was old and Bran too young" The Old One spoke, "So we have decided that you shall be our new champion against the darkness. We will send you back to a time when you can make some changes and prepare the world in time to face what is to come. You will be armed with the knowledge of this world and live amongst those that can effect changes. Do you accept our offer?"
"Do I have a choice?" the woman asked irately. She was tired of this, being forced to do something she did not want to. But once more, she had no choice in the matter. I could save Jon this time though, she thought and found herself in a better slightly state of mind.
"We will not be able to help you once we are done here. But you will have the knowledge and the ability to choose how to manipulate the game. We wish you the best."
There was a blinding flash of light and Hope had to shut her eyes to protect herself. Suddenly the cold was replaced by warmth. She was being pushed she felt, through what she did not know. The cold touched the top of her head first, then her face, and slowly her entire body. When she opened her eyes, she was staring at an aged man with wispy white hair on top of his head.
"Congratulations! Lady Stark. She is a beautiful and healthy child" the man stated with a smile. Hope found herself being passed on over to someone else, this time a woman with coppery hair and blue eyes. She was smiling down at her.
"Welcome to the world, my sweet Sansa."
