The Northern Dragon

CH 35: THE RAINS OF CASTAMERE (1/3)

I finally finished this chapter😭

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. I'll try to finish the rest of Season 3 as soon as I can.

 

"And so he spoke~ And so he spoke, that Lord of Castamere~ But now the rains weep o'er his hall and not a soul to hear~"

Rhaenys turned around in the direction where the voice appeared to be coming from. "Who's there?"

Despite being in her nightgown inside a large hall made of grey stone, the architecture following the aesthetic of Westeros rather than of Essos, Rhaenys didn't seem to find anything wrong with her situation. Only that soft yet eerie voice had startled her.

Rhaenys turned in circles while standing in the same place, searching everywhere for the owner of the voice, but other than her, there was no one else in the hall.

There were no doors to go in or out, or windows on the walls. The only sources of light were the flickering candles, but their effect was minimal, making the grey hall appear even darker.

"Lord Eddard Stark said that the lone wolf dies while the pack survives. Say, what is a lone young wolf meant to do while being surrounded by enemies so far away from home? Its pack is gone. The woods where it roamed are gone. What a poor wolf. Don't you think so as well, little dragon who grew up in the North?"

Rhaenys took a step back, nearly falling back as her bare feet stepped on a pool of water on the floor. Rhaenys steadied herself and looked down, moving her feet away from the water so that she wouldn't fall again. As she did, wet footprints formed on the floor.

Except, the more Rhaenys looked at the water that had suddenly spread all over the floor, the more she realized what it actually was. The candles continued flickering, barely reflecting the dark crimson that had stained the stone floor.

The liquid on the floor wasn't water. It was blood. The blood of who knows how many people for it to have spread like this, forming pools all across the room.

The pools were like lakes and they were all connected by smudged tendrils that were like thin rivers. Rhaenys followed the direction from where the blood was flowing with her eyes.

At the very end, in a spot that was previously empty, a woman suddenly appeared. She wore a long, pure white dress with long sleeves. The skirt flowed behind her. Her face was impossible to see as she wore a thick veil that hid her head and hair, reaching past her chest.

The dress would have been beautiful despite the lack of detail if it weren't for the blood staining it.

The bride tilted her head to the side, the veil following her movements. "Well? What do you think, little dragon? What will be of the young wolf without its pack? I think... it will die."

Rhaenys snapped her eyes open. As her sight adjusted to the darkness around her, she recognized the ceiling as that of the tent where she slept. She wasn't inside that stone hall anymore.

Rhaenys tried to regain her breathing as she focused on what she had seen, trying to remember any details that could help her understand what it meant.

It was only when Rhaenys felt a cold touch on her hand that her mind stopped running. She lowered her sight, finding Lady with her head lying on the bed, her snout touching Rhaenys's hand and soft whines coming out.

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you as well?" Rhaenys moved to sit on the edge of the bed and stroked Lady's furry head. The fur was kind of thick despite it having been shaved just a couple of days ago. It seemed like it would have to be trimmed again to avoid the direwolves getting too hot in the climate of Essos.