Part of me just wants to skip the finale… then I can still hold on to my illusions.
*sigh*
Anyways, thanks to all the guests who've reviewed but I cannot reply to and thanks to anyone I might've forgotten. I think I got everyone, but there's always room for error. I definitely appreciate all the feedback and response!
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Her hands and face were half-frozen when the dragon landed. The Night King dismounted and stood on the ground, looking up at her expectantly. Sansa wanted to stay put and let him drag her off if he wanted, but something in his face told her it would be wiser to just comply. She didn't know quite how she did it, with every bone in her body stiff and cold, but she half-climbed half-slid off Viserion.
He walked and she followed. Part of her wondered if she was awake or dreaming. Was this real? Had Bran really just died? Where was Jon?
He stopped suddenly causing her to run into the back of him. He turned.
Stay.
Then he walked away, leaving her to stand in the middle of nothing but cold snow. Was he leaving her to die?
She waited for what seemed like an eternity before he finally came back. He walked past her, coming to a stop a few feet away, and reached out his hand toward the ground. Very slowly, the snow on the ground began to move and swirl, coming together and solidifying before Sansa's eyes.
When he was finished, an icy structure large enough for her to walk into sat displayed to her complete shock. It was magic. It had to be. Of course, he had magical abilities, she thought. Of course.
The Night King turned back to her and raised his arm toward the structure, his face expressionless. She swallowed hard and moved toward it. Anything was better than being in the ice and cold.
Would it even keep her warm?
She didn't dwell on the fact that he was bothering to keep her warm at all and what that meant. He wanted to keep her alive.
When she passed, he grabbed her arm, stopping her movement for a moment. His ice blue eyes bored into hers.
She knew better than to ask what he wanted. He wouldn't tell her anyway.
Then he smiled, ever so slightly, and released her arm. Instead of leaving her, however, he followed her into the ice room. She stared in amazement all around. There were seats carved into the ice walls on either side of the room and she hurriedly took one. He took the other.
The Seer can no longer interfere with my plans.
She started at his voice in her head.
Now you will stay with me until… He paused.
"Until what?" she whispered, voice hoarse.
This time his mouth moved. His voice was raspy and harsh. "Until … I decide … your fate."
She was almost sure that wasn't what he was going to say, but why would he hold back? Nothing he said or told her would have any impact on him. She would never be able to escape and she couldn't stay with him forever. She needed things that he never would. Food, shelter, warmth…
So she started talking. Foolish or not. "You want me for something," she said. His face didn't change. "I know you want me alive." She gestured around them, the ice walls providing a measure of safety and warmth. "If you were a normal man, I would say I know exactly what you want. But you're not."
No, I am not.
She started again, slowly. "I thought at first you wanted me so that you could lure my brother, Jon. But if that were true you would not have let me go in the first place. And you would not have taken me from my home." She paused. "Is Jon dead?"
The Night King stared at her for a moment.
No.
Relief flooded her chest. "Why not? He would've tried to fight you."
He did. He failed.
"But you let him live?"
He was of no consequence. My focus was elsewhere.
"Of no consequence," she repeated faintly, tears sparking her eyes. "But Bran was. Wasn't he? And you killed him."
The Seer was an annoyance that I no longer tolerated. He played his part well.
"And what was that?"
Instead of answering her, he just sat there, back ramrod straight, hands on knees. Then a feeling like dripping ice slid over her head and shoulders and she knew what was happening.
"No!" she choked out before everything spun. He was inside her mind again.
Come.
She couldn't even resist. Her body moved of its own will.
Closer.
She dropped to her knees in front of him. Her hip scraped the side of the shin plating encasing his boot. Had she angered him to the point of no return? What was he going to do to her? Helpless fear took over every sense. She'd been here before. At the mercy of someone else.
What I want…
His voice slithered across her mind.
...you can't yet give me.
Sansa felt as though he was squeezing her entire body in his fist. Then she was moving again, between his knees. Closer to him. He gripped her face hard and gave a small smile. Then his mouth descended onto hers in a grotesque parody of a kiss. He was hard and unrelenting. His nails dug into her cheeks but didn't break the skin.
She wanted to struggle and scream but couldn't. Her mouth opened, treacherously letting him inside. Her entire body betrayed her, moving as he moved, allowing him to do whatever he wanted with her. It was worse than what Ramsey had done to her. At least then, she hadn't been trapped inside her own mind.
Then he suddenly let her go.
Not physically, but whatever connection he had to her mind was severed. Her body was her own again. His mouth was still on hers, but it was less of a kiss and more of a punishment. It felt like he was taunting her, knowing she wasn't strong enough to free herself from him, but trying to let her anyway.
Sansa didn't waste time trying to scream or hit him. She simply bit down. Hard. To her amazement, he didn't push her away or act wounded. He just held her tight, as if her teeth digging into his tongue was a pleasant experience.
Did he even feel pain?
She let go of his tongue, and he let go of her face long enough to draw back to better see her. There was no blood on his mouth, she noted with fear. He didn't even look angry.
Either you will bow to me or you will die.
She trembled at his words and the fact that he was still touching her.
The living have no place with the dead.
She barely found her voice. The taste of him made her want to retch. "You aren't dead." Dead men didn't … want.
Neither am I truly alive.
Then he let her go and she collapsed at his feet.
XXXXX
"Milord, there's no sign of the Lady Sansa."
Jon turned away from the man and started walking toward his horse.
"Ser, where are you going? Your sister-"
"I know where she is." Jon mounted the horse and took the reins. He looked down at the man. "Send ravens the other northern houses. Tell them to seek shelter in the Eyrie, somehow. Winterfell is no longer safe. The North has fallen."
Then he rode off. The Night King had a dragon and two days head start. Jon would have to ride hard day and night to catch up and even then, he'd be praying his horse didn't drop dead first.
He could only hope that Dany had made it around the army of the dead and was on her way to King's Landing. And that Cersei could be convinced to help them. And that neither Dany or Arya would be killed along the way.
His entire future and those of mankind hinged on his desperate hopes.
Suddenly a screeching and whoosh of air had him pull up tight on the reins. Rhaegal landed hard on the ground in front of him. The horse neighed and tried to buck Jon off.
He stared at the dragon, having never ridden him without Dany present before.
He dismounted and approached cautiously. The dragon seemed impatient, stamping one foot and the leaving the biggest print Jon had ever seen.
"Alright, alright. I understand," he said softly, reaching out a hand to placate the beast.
Then a smile stretched across his face and he realized the odds had just evened out more in his favor.
XXXXX
Sam turned his head to look back one more time.
"You can't help them now," Gilly said gently, putting a hand on his shoulder.
He looked down at his hands that twisted together in anxious fear. "I know. It's still hard." He took another moment to wish for things that could never be, and then sighed and straightened. "You two get in the boat and I'll push."
Gilly climbed over the edge of the small dinghy and sat the rear. Sam handed her Little Sam who she protectively cradled in her lap and braced herself with one hand on the side of the boat. Sam pushed and pushed until the boat was in the freezing water and then he hurried over the edge to take his seat opposite Gilly. The oars were stored underneath the flimsy seats. He took them out and began to row them out to sea.
"Remember," Gilly warned, "stay close to shore until we see Widow's Watch."
"I will." Sam's smile was thin and more than a little sad.
Gilly leaned forward. "Hey," she said, waiting until she captured his attention. "We will be back, I promise. As soon as we find some way to help them."
He nodded but a tear leaked out of the corner of his eye. "I know, but it just feels like we're never going to see anyone we love ever again."
"You're the smartest man I know, Samwell Tarly. If anyone can find a way to help our friends you can." Gilly was firm. "We'll go to Braavos first. Replenish supplies."
Sam nodded. At the very least, Braavos did not have White Walkers. Or dragons. Or vicious queens intent on world domination. His family would be safer. He smiled at his wife and this time there was more warmth in it.
Gilly smiled back and pulled Little Sam closer to her breast. The air and sea were freezing. They'd managed to scavenge from various now-empty castles and strongholds they'd ridden past on the way to the sea, but it was still cold.
Sam had given her a map to memorize in case something happened to him. They'd reach Widow's Watch soon and from there it was south to Baelish Keep, which they assumed would be relatively empty after the death of its Lord. Then due east to Braavos.
Until then, she held her son and treasured these precious moments together. They were still alive.
XXXXX
Drogon raised his head and sniffed the air. Dany looked at him in alarm. Something was coming.
"Get on," she ordered, motioning to the other two. "We must leave."
Both Arya and Jaime were on their feet in an instant, adrenaline pumping through their bodies in anticipation of a fight. Dany let them crawl up her dragon first while she kept watch on the sky. There was only one thing she was afraid of at the moment.
The Night King.
But it was from the wrong the direction, she noted. Drogon was looking toward the north, while the army of the dead was south. Still…
She slid into her usual place and Drogon rose to the sky. It was colder up there but, unless Drogon met with his sibling, safer. They rode in silence for several minutes but nobody relaxed.
Just as Dany thought about her next move, a sudden whoosh whirred at the side of her face.
Her jerked toward it.
There was nothing there.
Then through the fog and clouds, an enormous red-tinged face emerged. Dany's heart leapt to her throat and she veered away on Drogon.
How? was all she could wonder as Viserion barely missed them once again. How was the Night King coming from Winterfell's direction?
She didn't have time for fear to take root. She pressed her knees into Drogon's sides, signaling him to fly faster. He flew forward and them dipped and plunged straight toward the ground. Behind her, Viserion followed. Drogon pulled up at the last second, recovering nicely, while Viserion was less graceful.
"Dracarys!" Dany yelled, and Drogon spewed a stream of fire straight at the other dragon. Viserion shot up into the sky and disappeared again in the clouds.
"We have to get out of here," Arya yelled behind her. "We can't fight him."
Dany agreed. With her heart still racing, she urged Drogon on and up, maneuvering him to fly east instead of south. She didn't want to risk running into the Night King's army and being surrounded. Not with him at their backs.
Then Drogon howled in pain, screeching as he lost flight and fell toward the earth. An icy sword stuck in the side of his neck, just in front of Dany's left knee. He did his best to land without further injury, but Dany and her companions fell off as he skidded over the ground like a skipping stone.
Pain blinded her a few seconds after her body connected with the hard earth. She couldn't breathe. Her vision tinged black and her ears rang. Somewhere in front of her Arya crawled, but she didn't know if it was towards or away from the Night King.
Cold hands wrapped around her throat and pulled her up. She hissed in pain. One arm was broken and she was pretty sure her hip had dislocated. The Night King sneered down at her, one hand coming toward her face.
Something sharp pressed against her cheek. She struggled to get away from him and pulled on the arm holding her by the throat. It was futile.
Suddenly, she was aware of her desire to escape receding. Pushing further and further away into the recesses of her mind until it disappeared completely. Her hand dropped away from the Night King's. Then he released her, setting her on the ground.
She stood facing him, blue eyes staring at blue eyes. Her pain was gone. So was the cold. Hunger, love, desire, vengeance, anger… These were all gone too, at least for the moment.
She felt as if her entire life had been spent coiled tightly in a ball and now… Now she could finally stretch. Nothing could hurt her.
Dany turned around slowly to watch her king stride over to Jaime Lannister and do the same. He put up much more of a fight, having seen what had been done to her. But in the end, he went the same way.
They stood together to watch as their king walked over to Drogon, now screeching with the sudden loss of contact with his mother.
The screeching died away very suddenly and Daenerys gave a hint of a smile. Without the pain of his injury, Drogon crouched on his legs and turned toward his new master.
Drogon.
Dany called him in her mind and he answered by moving toward her.
The King headed back toward Viserion and remounted him. Dany noticed a human on the dragon's back for the first time.
With their mental connection, the Night King knew her question. She belongs to me.
That's all that Dany needed to know and she turned to Drogon and mounted him as well. Jaime silently, and with far more grace than he'd ever managed as a one-handed man, came up behind her to take his place.
The dragons took flight and with their King in the lead, they flew to rejoin the rest of their kind marching steadily toward more men and more death.
Dany intensified her grip on Drogon's scales and relished the thought.
So, some things were left hanging deliberately. After all, gotta have something to write about next chapter. Lol. About the Dany scene, I know it was rushed-like in the show I know she wouldn't (and didn't) go down so easy and fast-but I wanted it over with to continue on the story. She's not a major part of the narrative. Kinda just a loose end. Same for Jaime.
Arya on the other hand has more to do. And the conditions for her to get away unnoticed were SORT OF feasible. After all, the Night King might not have seen her on Drogon's back. He's not all knowing all powerful.
Funny story-the part in the beginning where Rhaegal shows up for Jon-totally last minute addition. I realized when I was done that although he's dead in the show, I'm pretty sure I haven't killed Rhaegal off in this story yet. Pretty sure. If anyone knows differently, let me know so I can somehow change it. But you know, if the dragon's alive why the hell is Jon galloping off on a horse? LOL Had to change it.