AN: Thanks to- enuj1799, igl, gossamermous101, nzOptimist, Panth3ra for your reviews. I really really appreciate your support and insight. They help me a lot while writing. They help me make improvements. This is the last chapter for this story. Please read and please review. The chapter is rather long so there may be some grammatical mistakes. Sorry about that in advance. The sequel story will start from second season. I'll be uploading soon I hope. Please let me know of your opinion. Constructive criticism in welcome. Thank you once again for all the support. Looking forward to hearing from you :)

Chapter 25: Birth Of Dragons

Hope was watching the men of the night's watch leave for their expedition beyond the wall. Lord commander Mormont wanted to find out for himself what was really happening in the wildling villages. Rangers have been reporting troubling news for months now. Also the king beyond the wall, Mance Rayder seemed to be gathering an army. It was high time for the lord commander to take some action. Apart from this sudden plan of going beyond the wall, a lot had happened in last twenty four hours. It all started with Jon receiving the news of his father's death. He didn't break down crying at first; neither he screamed in pain and anger. The first thing Jon did was find Hope. Not to seek comfort from her or even confront her but to kill her. And he really meant to do it.

Flashback

Hope was walking down a hallway, unaware of an enraged Jon looking for her. Unfortunately he found her. As soon as she saw him, Hope knew that Jon was feeling murderous. Yet, she did not try to runaway. Instead she stood still and let Jon strode over to her. If there was a knife in his hand, he would have stabbed her to death. She really thought that Jon would draw his Valyrian steel sword and hack down her head. But instead his fingers wrapped around her neck. He wanted to choke the life out of her. Hope tried to pry away his hand but it was a futile attempt. Jon was really using his strength. A little more pressure and he could permanently damage her windpipe. Or maybe break a few bones of her neck.

Jon was so blinded by rage that moment that he didn't even stop to think, why Hope wasn't setting him on fire when she could easily do it. Why she was letting him strangle her? Hope on the other hand started seeing blackness around her vision due to the lack of breathing. She would lose her consciousness any moment now and meet death. But thankfully Pyp, Grenn and Sam found Jon right then. They were actually looking for him. Sam told Grenn and Pyp about Lord Stark's death so they started searching for him. They saw what Jon was doing and went to rescue Hope right away. They pulled him away from her. Thankfully it wasn't too late. Hope was still very much alive and conscious as well. Though she started coughing violently as she could breath in suddenly. She also had to hold onto the wall for support as she couldn't even stand on her own that moment. Jon on the other hand was struggling against the boys. All he could think about was avenging his father which apparently required killing Hope first. And then king Joffrey.

"Jon, have you lost it? What the hell are you doing?" Pyp asked sounding shocked. He couldn't believe that Jon was really trying to kill Hope.

"Aye, I have lost it. She killed my father!" He shouted out. Of course he blamed Hope for his father's death. She knew about it, yet said nothing, did nothing. Jon believed he could've saved his father if he knew about it from beforehand. It was certainly Hope's fault that he didn't know. So even though it was king Joffrey who killed Ned Stark but Hope was no less guilty in Jon's eyes. She deserved to be punished just as much as that monster of a king.

"Let me go. I will kill her!" Jon struggled more against his friends. But overpowering three men wasn't easy. Sam barely looked over his shoulders.

"Go!" He said to Hope sounding very worried and scared.

"We will take care of him. Just go." Hope was still breathing loudly and her heart was still beating fast. Despite feeling shaken and numb, she forced herself to walk. She understood that it was best for her to leave. Looking at her face would only hurt Jon more. Hope wasn't mad that he attacked her and tried to kill her. She felt that she deserved it. After all she truly did nothing to prevent Ned Stark's execution. A man who cared about her, prayed for her well being. A man who was her family.

End Of Flashback

Hope raised her hand to her neck. She had a scarf wrapped around. It was to hide the bruises on her skin. Jon really had a tight grip on it. She loosened the scarf a bit and traced her fingers over the sore spots. It still hurt a little. Even speaking caused a bit uneasiness but not much. Hope's throat hurt but not nearly as much as her heart, not even close. The bruises on her neck would certainly disappear with time and the pain would be gone even before. The only thing that wouldn't go away was Jon's hatred for her. Because his hatred was as deep as his love was. It seemed that hate merely replaced the love.

It was torturous for Hope to see the loathing for her in his eyes. It was the only reason she was glad that Jon was leaving with the lord commander and going beyond the wall. The only reason she wasn't gonna follow him to assure that he was safe. Hope understood her responsibilities towards Jon. She understood that she must protect him, keep him safe. She'd even worry about him every moment; in her wake and in her sleep as well while he'd be roaming around in the wildling territory. But underneath all that maturity, wisdom and magical powers, Hope was still just a seventeen year old girl. And that girl was hurting realizing that she was doomed to suffer Jon Snow's hatred for the rest of her life.

And what made this worse was the reality that Hope brought this on herself. Quite literary. She needed Jon to hate her and stop loving her. And she made it happen. Yes, she made it happen. It was no coincident that Rast was in the storage chamber when she and Sam were talking about her dream depicting Ned Stark's death. It wasn't a tragedy for Hope that Rast told Jon about it, exposing her as a culprit in the process. Everything that happened was a well thought out plan. Hope's plan.

Flashback

Hope was looking for Ghost. She found the beast wondering around near the stables. Seeing her, Ghost walked up to her. She patted his head and neck which the direwolf enjoyed very much.

"I need your help Ghost." Hope said to him.

"You are the only one incapable of betraying my trust." Saying that she put her hands on both sides of Ghost's head. Then she closed her eyes and said some spells. When Hope was done, she opened her eyes again and removed her hands. Ghost looked at her. He was completely under her control and would remain so till she released him from her spells. If she asked Ghost to come forward three steps, he would do that. If she asked him to jump, he would. Why Hope needed to control Ghost like this? Well because she needed him to do something for her but there must not be any mistakes. That was why even though Ghost was a smart beast and always listened to Hope, she felt the need to control his every move. After all being smart and loyal and obedient didn't change the fact that Ghost was still only an animal. He couldn't do exactly what she wanted him to do without guidance.

"Come." Hope said and Ghost obediently walked with her. What Hope was doing with the direwolf was different than what wargs do with animals. She wasn't inside Ghost's head. She was merely controlling his movements with her magic. Hope learned to do it when she tried to control the wight. Though the spells she used on Ghost were a little different but the way of casting the spells was similar. And the fact that Ghost was no being of the darkness or black magic for that matter, made it very easy for her to control him unlike how it was with the wight. Hope hid behind a wall with Ghost and watched the boys in the training yard. She scanned the crowd and spotted Rast. He too would help Hope with her plan. Though completely unknowingly of course. She picked up Rast for a reason. He had a nasty mind and he hated Jon.

Later, when Rast was returning to the sleeping chamber after the day's training, Ghost blocked his path. The rapper already feared the direwolf. So when Ghost bared his fangs and glared at him with his ruby red eyes, Rast was on the verge of pissing in his pants. He started running away in the opposite direction and Ghost chased him. Before Rast knew it, he found himself hiding inside the storage chamber. Ghost didn't try to get inside but he remained right outside the door as if guarding it. Rast wouldn't dare to come out as long as he was there. The rapper couldn't understand for the life of his why the hell the beast was suddenly after him? Also Jon Snow wasn't anywhere around. The direwolf was after him on his own but why? Neither Rast nor anyone else would ever know that Ghost was after Rast because Hope wanted him after Rast. And he was trapped inside the storage chamber because she wanted him right there.

End Of Flashback

So that was how that happened. Everyone knew what happened afterwards. Sam came into the kitchen to work. Hope took him to the storage chamber to talk, being completely aware that Rast was right inside. Sam didn't see Ghost because Hope had released him from the spells right before reaching the storage chamber along with Sam. Once Ghost was no longer under any spells, he had no reason to linger there. He walked away right before they arrived there. It was quite clever of Hope to use Ghost in her plan. He could never tell anyone, so no one would ever know what she did.

The entire plan was well thought out. Hope had considered everything that could have gone wrong. The only thing she didn't take into account was her own feelings. She thought that she could handle the hatred Jon would show her afterwards. That his ill feelings wouldn't affect her so much. Clearly Hope overestimated herself. Cause once Jon started looking at her with hateful eyes rather than love, she understood exactly what she had condemned herself to. A life full of tears and pain. Still Hope didn't regret what she did. It was something that needed to be done. She could not allow Jon to love her and unknowingly commit sin in the eyes of his gods.

And that was exactly why Hope ensured that Jon would not only hate her for the time being, but he'd keep hating her and never think about loving her ever again. How she managed to do that? By revealing her identity to Jon of course. Yes, Hope finally told him who she really was and more.

Flashback

Lord commander Mormont was looking at Jon angrily while Jon sat before him with his head lowered. He had a stoic expression on his face and his eyes were hard. The lord commander could only guess what he must be feeling inside. After all it was hard times for the boy. His father was dead, his brother has started a war and someone he trusted very much, betrayed him. Though it didn't make the lord commander sympathize with Jon. He would have if Jon hadn't done what he did.

"You should be punished for what you did." Lord commander said using stern tone of voice.

"I know my lord. I remember my oath. It will never happen again." Jon said, strongly meaning it but the lord commander frown at him more angrily.

"I'm not talking about your moonlight riding. You attacked Hope." This time Jon didn't speak up to defend himself or apologize for that matter. The mere mention of Hope's name made him want to destroy everything around him.

Last night when he tried to leave, Sam, Pyp and Grenn went after him. Sam repeatedly apologized to Jon for his part. He felt guilty and ashamed. And at one point Jon couldn't help but forgive the poor lad. After all it wasn't his fault that he kept the secret. Hope had made him do it. Not to mention lord commander himself ordered him not to say a word to anyone. Jon may have forgiven Sam but after what happened he'd certainly have a hard time trusting anyone really. It wasn't easy to bring him back to the castle. It took a lot of talking and knocking sense from his friends for Jon to come back. But truth to be told, the real reason he came back was taking revenge on Hope for what she did. Once he helped her stay on the wall. Now he had every intention of making her stay at Castle Black as difficult and as miserable as possible.

Somehow Sam was able to sense what was going on in Jon's head. Therefore, later in order to lessen his hatred for Hope, Sam told him everything he knew. He told Jon, why Hope didn't tell him anything about his father's death? It was because she didn't want him to leave and get himself killed. She merely wanted to protect him. But the explanation Sam gave, only angered Jon more. Who was she to protect him? He was no damsel in distress that needed protection. He was a man of the night's watch. Yes, once Jon found Hope's protectiveness endearing but as it cost his father's life, he couldn't forgive her for caring about him. She should have told him everything. He could have saved his father's life. Hope had known his father was going to die for weeks. Weeks! How could she do this to him? Jon would never know or understand for that matter. Not to mention she betrayed him while claiming to love him and care about him. Obviously after what happened Jon believed that she may have been merely pretending with him. It was true what Hope said to him once. He truly didn't know her at all.

"Explain yourself boy!" Lord commander almost yelled at Jon as he remained quiet.

"King Joffrey killed my father but Hope is equally responsible. She knew about it but did nothing." He said. In another words, Jon didn't regret attacking Hope. He only regretted failing to kill her.

"I knew about it too and did nothing. Maester Aemon knew as well and did nothing. Are we guilty in your eyes too? Do you want to kill us as well?" Jon's head snapped up at that question. Then he slowly shook his head.

"You and Maester Aemon are men of the night's watch. You have taken an oath not to interfere in the matters of the realm. I understand that. She hadn't taken any oath, did she?" He asked. Theoretically Jon should have felt angry at the lord commander, Maester Aemon and even Sam as well but strangely all his anger and hatred was focused on Hope only. Her betrayal cut Jon deepest because he was in love with her. He trusted her the most and had expectations from her of loyalty. Neither lord commander nor Maester Aemon owed him any loyalty. Not even Sam for that matter. But Hope did.

"What would you have done, if Hope had told you about it? You'd have gone to the king's landing as a deserter and rescue your father? Something tells me, he'd have been the one beheading you for desertion." Lord commander said. Then he inhaled a deep breath and softened his voice before speaking up again.

"There was no way to help him Jon. He was surrounded by enemies. Even a message could have put all our lives in danger. Hope understood that. Also she didn't tell you anything because I told her not to." He said. Jon stayed quiet for a moment, then he said-

"She managed to stay on the wall because she wanted to. No woman has ever been able to do that before. Believe me lord commander, if SHE really wanted to tell me something, nothing could have stopped her from doing it. Not even your order."

"You are right. Maybe I couldn't have saved my father even if I knew about it. I would have gotten myself killed too. But at least I would have had an opportunity to try. She took that away from me. I can never forgive her for that" said Jon. This time lord commander couldn't help but shake his head to himself at Jon's stubbornness. It seemed impossible to reason with him. Though the old bear recognized his feelings. Jon was more heartbroken than vengeful. But he was expressing all that pain as anger.

"You wish to keep hating Hope? Hold a grudge against her? Fine, hate her all you want. But if you ever attempt to harm her again, I'll have your head and I'll cut it off myself. Am I clear?" Lord commander asked. Jon nodded his head once. After that the discussion was over and then lord commander informed him about his plan to go beyond the wall. He wanted Jon and Ghost to come along. Not only they were needed in this expedition, but lord commander felt that it would be best to keep him away from Hope for the time being. The boy was too angry for his own good. But he believed with time, Jon would be able to overcome his anger and even forgive Hope. Little did he know that whatever damage already happened to Hope and Jon's bond was merely the beginning of it? Things were about to get worse between the twins. Much worse.

Later in the day, Jon was looking for Ghost. They must make preparations as they'd be leaving tomorrow. His search led him to an abandon tower. It was the same tower where not long ago, he professed his love for Hope and she returned his feelings. Jon felt his throat becoming dry at the memory and a bitter taste filled his mouth. He wanted to turn around and leave but then he heard someone singing. It was none other than Hope. She wasn't singing very loudly or clearly but to herself. After all she was forbidden to sing in the castle. Jon heard her only because he came to the tower. The song Hope was singing expressed loneliness and sadness. Unwillingly Jon found himself walking towards the source of that hypnotizing voice rather than turning around and leave like he intended to. When Hope came to his sight, he found Ghost as well. She was leaning against the old wall with her legs spread in the front and Ghost had his head resting on her lap as she stroked his soft fur. She seemed lost in her own thoughts while she sang and hummed to herself and Ghost.

Jon almost didn't want to interrupt her singing. He almost wanted her to finish. But then he shook his head vehemently as if to snap himself out of her enchantment. Then Jon rather rudely, interrupted Hope.

"Ghost, come here!" His angry voice snapped Hope out of her thoughts and made Ghost raise his head and look up at his owner. She and the direwolf both stood up together.

"Go." She softly said to the beast before looking back at Jon again. The direwolf left quietly. And if one had looked closely, he would've found that Ghost looked rather sad. And why wouldn't he be? The bond his owners had between them was breaking apart.

"Stay away from Ghost." Jon said to Hope with a dark tone of voice and anger in his eyes.

"What if he comes to me?" She asked calmly and rather nonchalantly as if Jon wasn't speaking to her with hatred.

"He won't." He snapped. Jon could barely keep his temper under control that moment. How dare she speak to him as if nothing happened?

"He is my wolf." Jon stated, more firmly than necessary. This only made Hope smirk at him.

"Like you claimed to be mine just two nights ago?" She said. The statement made Jon's blood boil. Not only she betrayed him but she had the audacity to mock him for loving her. Not to mention it seemed she wasn't even considering apologizing to him for what she did.

"You are SO despicable. How did I not see that before?" Jon asked himself with disbelieve in his voice.

"Because you were being blind. Love tends to do that to men." Hope said it as a matter of fact. And her attitude only confirmed Jon that she was indeed only pretending to love him and care about him. Though Jon's anger towards Hope only increased that moment, he stood still instead of just leaving and getting her out of his sight. There was something he really needed to know now.

"Tell me something, why didn't you really tell me about my father? You've told everyone else that you didn't do it because you care about me so much that you couldn't bear to watch me putting my life in danger. But that's not true, is it? You never loved me and you certainly don't care about me. So why? Tell me the truth." Jon demanded it. He wasn't going to leave without getting the truth. What he didn't know was that Hope has already decided to give it to him.

"The truth. The truth is always so complicated Jon." She said rather thoughtfully and more to herself.

"Do not speak to me in riddles." Jon said angrily. He had no time for word games.

"Oh but I must. Tell me Jon, why do you hate me?" Hope asked. She was playing a very interesting game with him. Cruel but interesting nonetheless. Jon's nostrils flared up in anger. How he wished to hurt her, the way she was hurting him.

"You betrayed me." He accused.

"How?" Hope asked rather innocently but her voice was nonchalant nevertheless. "I've always told you that I'm keeping secrets from you."

"You killed my father." Jon spat out hatefully and angrily. He was breathing heavily too, feeling overwhelmed with his emotions and feelings. Hope was feeling all of that as well but she was able to keep herself calm and act indifferent.

"King Joffrey killed your father." She stated flatly.

"You are equally responsible." He said as he had stated it many times before. A moment of silence interrupted this heated confrontation. But the silence was similar to the calm before a deadly storm. Hope spoke up vanquishing that silence.

"So help me understand if you are allowed to hate me because I'm responsible for your father's death; why was it wrong of me to do nothing about your father's death since HE was responsible for MY father's death." What Hope said confused Jon to no limits. He frowned at her with confusion and looked baffled.

"What do you mean? Who was your father?" He asked anxiously, really wanting to know and understand what she meant.

"Remember you asked me once if I was a Targaryen supporter?" Hope asked Jon instead of answering his question.

"You said you weren't. You lied to me, didn't you?" He stated, feeling certain about it.

"No, I didn't lie to you. I'm not a Targaryen supporter Jon. I AM a Targaryen. My name is Hope Targaryen. First of my name. Daughter of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark." To say that Jon looked shocked would be the understatement of the century. Hope stared at him quietly, letting him register this truth in his mind. It was the only truth he would know about her until he learned the real truth. The truth about himself. But that wouldn't happen anytime soon. It took Jon quite some time to overcome his shock. And the first thing he said was-

"That's why you let my father die. You are taking revenge on the Starks." Hope however rolled her eyes at that.

"If I wanted revenge, I'd have gone for Robert Baratheon first. I didn't plot Ned Stark's death. I was merely unwilling to put MY life in danger trying to save someone who was a dead man way before the execution happened." And it was indeed true. Ned Stark's fate was decided the moment he agreed to become the hand of the king. Hope grieved his death and felt guilty about it as well but she couldn't show it to Jon, hence the cold and unsympathetic remarks. Jon obviously didn't believe her. He began thinking that everything Hope did up until now was to destroy his family. And by doing so, take her revenge.

"You think I'll believe anything you say. And what's your excuse for pretending to love me and care about me? You were even willing to lay with me." He couldn't keep the disgust from his voice as he spoke about it.

Hope was well aware of the fact that once Jon learned about her parentage, he wouldn't be thrilled about falling in love with someone who was so closely related to him by blood. After all being Lyanna Stark's daughter made her Jon's first cousin. Though love relation between first cousins wasn't considered incest in Westros, neither it was strictly forbidden by the gods but Jon wouldn't care about that. Because she was not only Lyanna Stark's daughter but Rhaegar Targaryen's daughter as well. A man who he knew to destroy his family once. Rhaegar had abducted Lyanna and raped her in the past and now his daughter was playing cruel revenge games with him who was a Stark by blood. It was almost like history repeating itself. Finally Jon had a real reason to absolutely hate her. And Hope's selfish ignorant attitude wasn't going to make things any better.

"Since you've already decided not to believe anything I say, this conversation is rather pointless; don't you think?" She asked.

"I want answers." Jon growled out at Hope making her sigh out impatiently. It appeared that she was getting bored of this interrogation.

"What do you want to hear? That I was taking revenge on your family by seducing you." She said with incredulous tone of voice.

"Why not? I'm a man of the night's watch. You knew if I break my vows, I'd not only be punished but I'd be disgracing my father as well." He said. The mere thought of it enraged Jon. How stupid he was never to doubt Hope's intentions for a moment.

"That would've been possible if you were Jon Stark. You are forgetting that you are Jon Snow. If I really wanted to bring shame upon your father and House Stark, I'd have gone after Robb Stark instead and seduced him." That earned Hope a disgusted glare from Jon. He couldn't believe she just said it. It also hurt him because even though Jon had accepted it a long time ago that he was no Stark; still when she reminded him of that, it really hurt.

"Then why are you playing these games with me?" This time Jon couldn't help but yell out at Hope.

"I have absolutely no reason to play any games with you." She clarified very calmly. Making the statement all the more unbelievable.

"Sharing a few intimate moments with a person isn't playing games." Hope said. Jon stared at her for a moment with a dark glare in his eyes. Then he asked-

"Then what was it?"

"You tell me. You are accusing me of seducing you but if I recall correctly, it was you who made the first move. I simply went along with you." She said it with a shrug of her shoulders as if whatever was between them, meant nothing to her. Jon on the other hand though couldn't deny what she just said, but immediately defended himself.

"That's only because I didn't know who you really are. But you knew that we are related. Yet you never stopped me."

"And you should thank me for it. Really. The way I see it 'cousin', I was doing you a favor. A bastard boy who never received enough love and affection from his family. For me, it was almost like fixing a broken thing." This time Jon couldn't hold himself back. He stopped being honorable for a moment, pulled back his hand and slapped Hope. It wasn't particularly to hurt her and it didn't. The slap was really a reply to the insult. Hope knew she deserved that after what she said. Seven hells, she deserved much more than a slap. Any other man would have done much more. But Jon wasn't any other man. And so she smiled to herself. Jon however was fuming with anger. How dare she call him a broken thing. Because in a twisted way, it was kind of true. Which was why it hit a nerve.

"That was a very dishonorable way of saying thank you." Hope commented sarcastically.

"You repulse me." Jon said with as much hatred as possible. Instead of feeling ashamed Hope looked back at him, unaffected.

"As expected." She said right back.

"I told you, didn't I? The truth will destroy any love you bore for me." Hope took a step closer to Jon and locked eyes with him. Finally she had a very serious expression on her face.

"Take this as a lesson Jon Snow and the next time you give away your heart to someone, be careful about it." With that she started walking away from her oblivious twin. But Jon's voice stopped her.

"Would you've ever told me all these truths if Rast hadn't overheard you?" He asked.

"No." Hope answered straight away without thinking about it for a second.

"I would have kept you in the dark. A vengeful bastard was the last thing I wanted to deal with." Unfortunately that was exactly what Hope would be dealing with from now on.

After that Jon had nothing else to ask and Hope didn't have anything else to say to him. She finally left the tower and returned to her chamber. Once inside, she locked the door behind and finally let herself cry. She mourned the loss of Jon's love and friendship. He would never care about her again. And it hurt so much. Truth to be told, Hope didn't have it in her to feel Jon's hatred anymore. Specially now that his hate would increase tenfold after learning the truth about her. It scared her so much that for the first time, she made an effort to break the connection between them that allowed her to experience Jon's feelings. In that desperate moment, she didn't even care that without the connection she wouldn't know if Jon was well or in danger. Hope only thought about protecting herself forgetting her responsibilities. And unfortunately with help of spells and magic and an intense desire to make it happen; she succeeded.

End Of Flashback

As Hope stood on the balcony and watched Jon leave, she no longer felt anything from him. It was such a relief for her. Even though it was like sealing off a part of her but not experiencing Jon's hatred was worth it. Still Hope wanted him out of her sight as soon as possible because she may not be feeling his emotions anymore but she could still see the hatred in his eyes for her. And it was no less painful. Deep down Hope was feeling guilty though; about letting Jon go like that beyond the wall when she was supposed to watch over him. But if Jon was going to be king one day, he needed to learn how to be on his own. That was what Hope told herself anyway, to not let the guilt took over her.

As Jon walked out through the gates along with Ghost, Hope exhaled a deep breath. She felt both relieved and sad. And of course worried. But what's done is done. There was no going back. And thinking about it certainly wasn't going to change anything. So putting herself back together as much as she could, Hope busied herself with the day's usual chores. Though her work was much less now since many men were gone from the castle. Throughout the day she tried to concentrate on her work, on reading and on training as well but for some unknown reason she was feeling very restless. Hope thought it was because Jon was out of her sight. That her restlessness was the result of her concern for him. She even went to Maester Aemon thinking that talking to him would help her calm down. But it didn't.

At night it got worse. She couldn't even lie still on the bed as she struggled to sleep. She was sweating unnecessarily and her heart was beating very fast. At one point Hope got worried thinking that it might be the side effects of breaking her connection with Jon. Or was he in danger and her body was trying to tell her about it since her mind couldn't any longer. Hope got up from the bed, unable to lie down any longer. Suddenly she felt something unexplainable in her body. The feeling was so foreign and mysterious that it frightened Hope, more than hurting her. She ran out of her chamber. She needed to find Maester Aemon. Thankfully the old man wasn't asleep, actually he was standing on the balcony right outside his chamber.

"Maester Aemon-" Hope felt a tightening in her throat and difficulty in breathing.

"Hope, you are still wake. I couldn't sleep myself" said Maester Aemon.

"Something. is. happening to me." Hope barely managed to say it out.

"What? What is it?" He asked worriedly. He found Hope's face with his hands. But just as he touched her face, his hands got burned. Hope was burning like fire. Quite literary.

"Aah!" A whimper escaped her breath. She held onto the railing of the balcony to support herself.

"What is happening to me?" Hope asked as she screamed out in pain. Unfortunately the Maester had no answer for her.

"I don't know child. What is it you are feeling?" He asked worriedly. He couldn't even touch her that moment, how was he supposed to help her?

"I don't know. I can't explain. Mmmm." Before Hope knew what she was doing, she started running away. Soon she found herself near the gates. Most men were sleeping that time but there were some still awake who were on the watch duty. Suddenly Hope fell on her knees and she started to scream at the top of her lunges. Her screams were so loud and terrifying that they woke up every man, horse and raven within the castle. The horses became restless and the ravens started acting crazy in their cages. And the men came out of their chambers to see what the hell was happening. Some steward helped Maester Aemon come down to the yard.

"Where is she? Take me to her." He said to the steward. Hope was writhing in pain across the yard.

"Maester Aemon I don't think-" The steward hesitated to obey the order. Something was definitely wrong with Hope and it was scaring everyone.

"Do it" said Maester Aemon interrupting the steward. But before the steward could take him to Hope, she suddenly got up and ran up to the wall. No one knew what she was thinking. It was doubtful that Hope herself knew what she was doing. But she put her hands on the wall. And then the most bizarre thing happened. The ground shook and it was as if the wall came to life. The magic that was within the wall became visible to the naked eyes of men. The entire wall glowed as blue northern light. A powerful aura surrounded Hope as well. Men couldn't blink their eyes. They were too awestruck to fear what was happening. However no one saw what Maester Aemon saw. Despite being blind, he saw something other than darkness for the first time in a very long time. He saw flaming figures. And knew what they were.

"Dragons!"

The End

[The Sequel Is Out. Hope II: The Rising.]