snow and stars| jon snow

xx: dorne and ilta

"It's the Dornish." One of the women said roughly. "Hurry, they're already on the lands." They ran down the halls together, and they nearly bumped right into Odda, who hugged Andromeda quickly.

"They're here."

She knew, the horns were still blowing. "Yes." She breathed out. "Where's Pandora?"

"I haven't seen her."

"Your Grace! We have to get to the safe house!" The guard said, finally snapping Andromeda out of that panic and into a new one. Her stony face matched her voice, not a sign other than urgency in it. "They're already on the grounds, seconds from storming the castle."

   They walked fast before their pace turned into a sprint, running up the steps to the tall tower, the second highest one. This was the safe house Andromeda had made, a place for when siege would inevitably happen. They had food for days and water for even longer in the room, which wasn't exceptionally large. It would hold enough, though. They opened the door to see lots of people already in there: breastfeeding mothers, children, elderly people, cripples, and everyone else who was physically unable to fight. But who she didn't find was Pandora, or the Stark women.

   "Where is Pandora?" She yelled at the front of the room, getting everyone's attention. The feeling in the room was constricting, the fear choking anyone who stepped in. Panic had its own scent, and it was all over this room. When that question got no answers, she got more anxious, letting the feeling in the room overtake her momentarily. "Has anyone seen Arya or Sansa Stark?"

   One of the few soldiers guarding the door spoke up ashamedly. "I'm afraid that all three are missing, Your Grace."

   "No." She said, storming towards the door that they blocked immediately. "Let me out."

   "Your Grace."

"That is My Hand and my ally's sisters down there!" She shouted. "If I don't get them, who will?"

  "There are a number of people who will recognize their importance and have the intelligence to bring them to the safe house." He reassured, his dark brown eyes giving her a once over. "You need to sit down, Your Grace."

    "Move." She commanded, her voice almost making the occupants of the room tremble due to the sheer power in it.

    "It's just you, Your Grace." He said again. "If you die, Ilta is gone forever."

"And if they die, so is the North." And my love, she thought to herself. He would always resent her deep inside for not getting his sisters. "I must go."

   "Queen Andromeda." Odda said, stepping forward. Her sweet eyes did almost nothing to calm down the Night Queen, who was more flustered than anyone had ever seen before. She looked like she was going to scream or cry from frustration, something the public had never seen her do before. "Please."

"You don't understand."

"I do," Odda said, making a gesture that signified a ring. "Somewhat because of that, right? Well, if all three of you are dead, what good are you to him?"

    "I won't die."

Odda pursed her lips. "No one is immortal."

"And no one can turn back the time that we're wasting! At any second, any of those three women who I swore I'd protect could be dead, bleeding out."

   "Wait!" Odda shouted. "Wait ten minutes, Andromeda. They will be here in ten minutes, I swear to you."

  "I can't wait anymore." Andromeda said, her eyes welling up with tears of anger. "I waited years to take Ilta back for myself, for my family. Between those years Ilta went backwards, and that was my fault. I waited too long."