XXIII. CROWN OF THORNS
[ 8x02 ]
IT HAD TAKEN HER AN AGE TO FIND HIM, down where the dead laid at rest and the winds ran like whispers. Jon stared up at the statue of a young woman, as if it held the answers of the universe. There was a weight upon his shoulders; it seemed that with every passing day, the toll grew greater. Amodera, Jon -- they'd lost so much. Everyone had. But with the Long Night coming, they had no time to mourn. They had no time at all.
"Jon," Amodera began, placing a hand upon his shoulder as she came to his side. As her gaze fell upon his face, the question caught in her throat -- a distant memory. No, there was something crawling beneath his skin, and she vowed to help him with it. "What's wrong?"
For a while, silence was all that remained, and when he spoke, his voice was but a whisper -- as if he were afraid he might wake the dead. "This is Lyanna Stark," Jon began, his gaze never leaving the statue. "She was the sister of Eddard Stark."
"Your father." Amodera stated, a frown upon her face at the distance in his voice.
"No..." He paused, filtering the cool air between his lips before turning to face her -- taking her hand in his. "Lyanna Stark had a child with Rhaegar Targaryen; a child that would be heir to the Iron Throne. And that child..."
"...is you." Amodera finished, staring at him in disbelief. She had always believed the blood of Kings ran in his veins; now, it was more true than ever. Jon Snow was not just King of the North....he was the true King of the Seven Kingdoms. Amodera parted her lips as worry began to invade her body. "Daenerys cannot know."
"I have to tell her."
"No, you don't." Amodera stated, raising her voice slightly. Wake the dead, she may, but what did it matter -- she just needed him to listen. "If you tell her, you will become her enemy. We don't need any more of those right now."
Jon turned back to the statue, avoiding eye contact with his wife -- not because he thought she was wrong, but because he knew she was right. "It doesn't matter. She deserves to know."
"And you deserve to live!" Amodera cried out, turning his face back to hers. "Daenerys will kill you, Jon. If it's between you and the throne, she will always pick her throne."
Jon stared down at the Wildling woman, at a loss for words. He knew she was right, but he also trusted Daenerys. He was sure she could look past the threat he posed if he could convince her the throne was not his goal. She had to.
"My Lord," A voice sounded from behind them. Amodera turned to see a scrawny steward, a look of nervousness upon his face. As his gaze fell upon Amodera, he gulped -- the words falling from his lips like he feared her wrath. "My Lady."
Amodera couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips at the words. She was many things, but a 'lady' was not one of them. "What's this about?" She questioned, arching an eyebrow.
"The men of the Nights Watch have arrived."
Amodera glanced across at Jon with a smile, knowing that the arrival of his friends was sure to raise his spirits. The two ascended from the crypt and into the bustling courtyard -- greeting the cold Winter air as an old friend. As Jon's gaze fell upon Edd Tollett, he sped up -- stopping a few metres away as he was engulfed in the arms of a flaming ginger. Amodera felt her heart lift at the sight of her old friend.
As he released Jon, Tormund turned to Amodera -- a gruff smile upon his face. "Commander," He began, bowing his head slightly.
Amodera walked over to him, pulling him into her tight embrace. He was her friend, her second in commander....her brother, blood or not. She buried her head in the cold furs across his shoulder -- forgetting for a moment all she could bring herself to. "Our people? The one's at Eastwatch?" She murmured, her voice quiet -- as if she did not want to know the answer.
"They're fighting for the Night King now." Tormund replied, releasing his commander from his arms. "We had to travel around them to get here. Whoever's not here now is with them."
Jon glanced across at them, worry etched into his features. "How long do we have?"
"Before the sun comes up tomorrow."
《》
"They're coming." Jon began, addressing the war council with the harsh truth. "We have dragonglass and Valyrian steel. But there are too many of them. Far too many. Our enemy doesn't tire, doesn't stop, doesn't feel."
"We can't beat them in a straight fight. We've tried many times before, when the Night King's army was a sliver of what it's become." Amodera stated, glancing across the room. "But they're his army. We kill him, then they'll fall."
"If that's true, he'll never expose himself." Jaime Lannister stated, glancing across at them. Amodera didn't trust him much, but Jon had told her he could fight, and that was all they needed right now. Besides, a half-descent Lannister seemed to be the best they could get.
"Yes he will. He'll come for me."
Amodera turned at the sound of a soft voice from the corner of the room; a voice that belonged to the Three-Eyed Raven himself. Bran paused before continuing, "He wants to erase this world, and I'm it's memory."
"We'll put you in the crypt, where it's safest." Jon stated, glancing across at his brother with a careful gaze.
"No." Bran's voice never seemed to change, and yet there was a forcefulness laced within it; one Amodera knew meant he would accept nothing else. She knew better than to take the words of a Three-Eyed Raven for granted. "I need to lure him into the open before his army destroys us all. I'll wait for him in the Godswood."
Amodera paused, watching the fear that invaded the Stark family. They couldn't lose another brother, not after everything they'd been through. "We'll hold the rest of them off for as long as we can." She declared, glancing across at Bran and gifting him a sombre nod. He had her respect, if not much more.
"We're all going to die." Tormund stated, staring at the map in front of them before glancing around the room. "But at least we die together."
《》
AUTHOR'S NOTE;
Okay, I know I said I'd make my chapters longer but I'm lazy and I want to go to bed, lol XD
I'll continue the last part of this in the next chapter as well as having the epic (and I'm sure, heartbreaking) battle that's coming in 8x03!
Also, you may have noticed that I put the episode number underneath the chapter title -- that way people know which episode my chapters will be focussing on, and know whether or not they can watch it (depending on if they've seen the episode).
I thought this would be a better system than people having to ask me or guess, as I'm pretty unstructured in terms of how many chapters represent each episode XD
I know this isn't the most exciting chapters but the next chapter is going to be amazing, even if I do say so myself!
Comment what you thought of this chapter and don't forget to vote c:
Thank you for reading! - CAT