In all the noise and chaos and snow no one noticed how wet Edaline was as the ice was melting off her just as they simply didn't register what side of the wall she appeared on. Oh so she thought.
She was helping the men undress and warm Jon as two large hands lifted her out of the way and placed her into the light of the fireplace.
The Hound was staring at her as if trying to burn her to the ground.
He made her feel uneasy.
She was normally very good at reading people once she had a little time with them.
Some, like her brother and (though she hated to admit it) even the dragon queen - shone with strength, goodness or at least fairness, self sacrifice and things ballads were composed about.
Others, like Ramsay, Petyr and a few more oozed darkness. It wasn't always a BAD darkness.
For example she once met a man from who was very calm and quiet. But his darkness wasn't foul. It was in some ways like her king's- who was all darkness.
The man caught her staring at him and made a point to introduce himself - it was a large affair with many important lords and ladies there but he was alone.
She was only 8 or 9 at the time but he didn't make her feel bad like older men could. Just asked her name and why the girl was looking at him.
Actually he seemed a bit surprised she noticed him there at all.
"You stand out to me, where are you from, I never seen you" little Eda said as the red haired man bowed to her
"Bravos, the girl gave an honest answer and I will answer the truth back"
He paused.
"The girl is more observant than most adults but it's better if she speak not of our meeting"
And he smiled and disappeared in the shadows
The strange man was all darkness - but little Eda was drawn to it, it was the good soothing kind - like very cool shade after a sunny day.
Huh, that was the day some lord died tragically falling off his horse in the tawny.
Just fell off his horse and broke his neck.
The Hound, or how to Eda he would forever be known as 'the idiot that threw the rock' was a blank to her.
There was so much darkness there but it wasn't foul or soothing, it just was… there was light there too like but not the obnoxiously shiny glow her brother had. The Hound's soul, or whatever it was that made people into people and not 'NO ONE' was like his face - and looked different from each angle.
Unreadable meant he made Edaline twice as unfortable.
Once he had her he was staring her down.
"Where did you come from, you look familiar girl!"
He was now shaking her.
"You weren't here a minute ago, I was waiting at this side of the door, why are you soaked? Why arent't YOU shivering?"
Edaline was beginning to panic until Ser Davos saved the day - as he often did.
"Back of Clegane, this is Jon's sister Edaline, you didn't see her from your cell when we left. She should look familiar, she was at King's Landing with Lady Sansa while you were Joffrey's watch dog - all grown up she is now I imagine."
The Hound slowly let her go, recognition coming over his face. But he clearly still didn't trust her sudden appearance by the door or other parts of her story.
Jon was going to be fine.
Danaerys wasn't going to be the first person to see him when he awoke completely - not just because Edaline needed to see exactly what he remembered,
But also because she was upset that the mother of dragons failed to rescue her brother thus spoiling her perfect plan.
The rest of the men she didn't know and their death was planned.
Anyone wielding fire like the Brotherhood made her feel terrified for her love and their unborn child.
Something told her a brotherhood that worshipped a fire god was in polar opposite with her… preferences.
But the blonde queen looked so torn up and Eda's rage began to subside.
"Jon, it's me, Edaline" she stroked his cheek.
His eyes flew wide open.
"You are alright! I saw you out there! In the ice! The wights took you, I heard you screaming for me"
Oh gods, she did yell his name pretty loudly when her king finally dragged her away.
"Jon, I am fine, I am here! Maybe you just saw hair that looked like mine?"
"I know what I saw…" he said, but he sounded less certain…
"If I was out there with the Night King he would never let me leave alive"
*I shouldn't have let you leave at all.,*
She heard an icy grumble in the back of her mind - but she knew he wasn't really mad.
*Don't you have a dragon to train?* she shot back without any malice. She missed her king, she wanted to watch the dragon awaken. But…
She looked at the black haired man on the bed - when did her brother start to look like a man?
All those scars...
She thought about her beautiful brave sister surviving in the hands of that monsters like Joffrey and Ramsay to become Lady of Winterfell.
And where was her little Arya! She avoided thinking about her baby sister fearing the worst until she met Lady Brianne arrived news that she saw Arya and Arya was alive.
Eda had been wondering if it was possible to send wight critters across the countryside with her new gift to find her baby sister and bring her home. News that Arya was back hadn't reached them yet.
No, she was still a Stark and whatever else, she loved her pack. She would see this through.
In Westeros she would always stand with the North, die for the North!
Maybe after all this was over Jon would forgive her choosing the other side in the bigger battles to come.
"I will keep the North safe for you" she whispered to no one.
She let the tear stricken Daenerys in, she really did have it in for her brother.
What a whore.
But Eda didn't think the last bit with any malice. Those two made sense in a weird way…
Jon didn't put too much a fuss about Eda coming with them - it seemed he was just going with the flow now.
She briefly said her goodbyes to her king during the night, he was immensely enamoured with the giant dead dragon so he barely tried to convince her to not go yet again.
Eda was a lot more at ease with a DEAD dragon that shot blue icy flames than a live one.
But it was still just a giant puppet and failed to excite her the way it excited the king.
He also got excited about reanimating giants and huge polar bears though he would never admit it and because she had hours and hours of studying that stern face could she tell when he was excited or happy.
For one, his frown disappeared and his eyes got bigger.
There was something strangely endearing about little
bits of humanity hidden in her lord of winter.
She walked over and wrapped her arms around him from the back leaning her head into the stiff armor.
"I don't ever want to leave your side when I am here"
He turned towards her pulling her into his arms.
"I don't understand why you have to" he said, his tone colder than usual.
"But it won't matter soon, do what you think you must. Your brother is correct though, I am coming and winter is here and none of this will matter" he added more with more anger than she was used to directed at her.
But then he kissed her, hard and rough - holding her hair with his sharp nails and letting his other hand freely roam her body.
When she thought she couldn't go on not breathing any more he pulled away moving his lips to her ear.
"Just don't forget you are mine no matter where you go now"
he whispered it so quiet she wasn't sure if he even said it out loud or in her mind.
It sent shivers down her spine.
He was the only one in the world she thought, who could get away saying that to her and live.
He must have heard her thought because he actually chuckled at that.
He stroked his hand over her belly.
"My little night queen"
And he let her go.
It was amazing how simple it was getting back into Eastwatch unseen was as far as Edaline knew.
There simply weren't enough people to man the wall now.
Eda found King's Landing as underwhelming and dirtier than she remembered.
Being this far south was...unpleasant and lonely.
Cercei was…. an oil stain.
Whoever she was when Eda met her before - the monster in black that currently sat on the iron throne was…
She didn't seem human - Eda wanted to gag.
She could only imagine what happened to the queen to change her into this… creature.
Her lover, the Night King, was a creature - a being of pure darkness and ice.
But that was just who he was, cool, icy winter - she missed his soothing presence and velvet cold darkness as soon as she thought about it.
He soothed every fury in her with his blackness and his bottomless glowing eyes.
That soothing coldness was one of the reasons why she loved him.
He took a chaotic world - often too much for her senses with constant flooding of liquid information pouring over her sensitive mind.
And he stopped it like sudden freeze stops a river flow
Made it clear and sharp turning liquid into ice. Something she could hold and examine.
Something beautiful.
Edaline never failed to be disgusted when seeing this much dark and menace on a human being.
There was something unnerving and unnatural.
Gods old and new she needed him right now!
Why was she even here.
She remembered the moment the Hound opened up the box with the wight.
The thing didn't move - it was too far south as she suspected.
Stupid naive Jon Snow - you still know nothing.
She reached out for the tiny threads to wake the puppet up.
She was confused to feel more than one set. Not like in the mists of her lover's army, where it took effort to separate a single wight from the horde controlled by a force that was more like steering a ship (Eda imagined - she never controlled a ship)
But there was a distinct second set and they weren't slack…
She absently yanked on those that were loose - reminding the body how it was to move, those things were pre-designed for chaos so once it awoke it lunges ahead and put in the perfect show her brother wanted.
She wasn't watching, they were more than capable of stopping it.
She was trying to yank on the other strings.
She saw the giant armored figure standing next to the queen suddenly turn his head towards her - as if about to take off and walk in her direction.
She tugged harder and felt some resistance then some slack.
The giant was moving its fingers and has gotten a few steps from his spot when she heard a quiet voice command it.
"Come back here"
It came from the older thin man sitting by the queen - her hand?
And the strings went tight again.
And Edaline realized that the man in the iron suit, the flesh - (the Mountain? Was that his nickname) wasn't entirely alive, and Eda could, if she tried - make it follow her like the dead did.
But, and this horrified Eda more than anything she ever seen her lover reanimate - this thing wasn't No One.
He was clearly still The Mountain, his… whatever made a being a person and not marching meat was still in there.
She was horrified and fascinated at the same time.
She was so busy studying the Mountain and the gossamer strings she could almost grab she didn't even notice the older man in black staring at her like he was trying to memorize every hair on her curly head