A/N from MaryEvH: So…yeah. That took a ridiculous amount of time, we know. To be fair, the battle of Castle Black is basically an hour-and-change action scene, and neither Anne nor I are great at that. Not to mention that Covid and job searching have definitely thrown a wrench into our plans.

That said, we do hope you enjoy this chapter!

Jon was barely aware of following Margaery up to the walkway over the gate, and stared in astonishment as the golden rose on a green banner flew in the cold wind. That can't be possible. Lady Olenna would have sent some advance warning...wouldn't she?

His eyes found Margaery, and she looked overwhelmed. And then her eyes rolled up and she fainted. Quickly, he reached for her before she could fall, and looked her over. She had some shallow scrapes, but nothing too serious. It was most likely exhaustion and emotional turmoil that had caused the fainting spell. "Open the gate," he said to the man who had questioned the Tyrells' arrival.

He swept Margaery into his arms, ignoring the rush of his blood and the pounding in his ears, and made for his chambers. He'd lay her down before ensuring that the battle was truly over, and speaking to her brother. The day wasn't over yet.

/*/

Loras had never seen Castle Black before, and hadn't known exactly what to expect, but it hadn't been this frozen; dilapidated building. This is where his sister had been hiding out all this time? She must have been going out of her mind.

As soon as he and his group had entered the courtyard, he dismounted, dismayed as he saw the signs of battle all around him. There were bodies of Night's Watchmen, and what he assumed to be dead Wildlings. How had this many of them made it into the castle? He knew the Night's Watch was understaffed, but this…

"Where is the Lord Commander?" he demanded. Jon Snow had a lot to answer for.

"I'm here," a terse voice called out, as a heavily cloaked man walked out, sword in hand. "But with all due respect, my lord, I don't have time for you," the man went on unapologetically. "I have Wildlings at my door, and I'll need to see to them first."

Loras was once again taken aback. He'd seen the signs of battle, saw some fires still burning, but he hadn't thought it wasn't over yet. For a fraction of a second, he thought about demanding the return of his sister, before setting off again. But the look of the castle, and especially the exhausted men, made the decision for him. "Should you require it, my men and I are at your service," he said firmly.

The Lord Commander eyed him suspiciously. "Your men are tired, and half frozen," he stated.

"With all due respect," Loras replied, throwing the other man's words back at him - as if this was a place where "due respect" meant the same thing as it did in Highgarden - "your men appear to be more so. Tell us where we can help."

And with that, a minute bit of tension seemed to drain out of the man as he nodded. "The Wildlings are not riders, nor have they much experience with horses. Your company could bring them to their knees if you were to ride out."

Loras nodded and signalled Garlan to get the men ready. "Then we know where to go. How do we get to the other side?"

Jon swore to himself. The outer tunnel had collapsed when Grenn had taken down that giant, and they didn't have time to clear it. Not to mention the dangers of doing so with a host still on the other side. "That's going to be more complicated than I first thought," he grimaced. "Our tunnel to the other side has collapsed. Giants," he explained, causing Loras to raise an eyebrow.

"Giants?" Loras muttered incredulously, before Garlan spoke, less jarred by the mention of mythical creatures than his captain.

"Could we help to clear it?" he asked. "Perhaps we could divide our forces - some of our men could stay up here and help drive the Wildlings back, and some could go with pickaxes to clear the tunnel."

The Lord Commander's brow furrowed thoughtfully. "It could work. Edd!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. A dour-looking Night's Watchman answered the call, hurrying to Jon Snow's side. "Get some pickaxes and as many men as you need from down here to clear the tunnel. Find Lady Brienne, too, she can help. Ser Loras, if you could divide your men, have them standing by to charge through the tunnel. The others will have to come up to the top with me to reinforce our archers."

Loras nodded, accepting the Lord Commander's sovereignty and orders on the Wall, and motioned for Garlan to lead his half of the men after the Watchman, who was saying "This way, Ser."

What a place we've happened upon, he thought as they made their way to the lift. "Lord Commander, if I could ask one thing of you -"

"Queen Margaery is safe," Snow replied immediately. "She's resting in my personal quarters, behind a locked door."

Loras nodded, satisfied for the time being. "Thank you…for looking after her. Father and I were both beyond anxious after she disappeared." He grimaced momentarily. "Grandmother, though…"

Jon chuckled. "From my brief communication with her - and from what your sister told me - she's…" he trailed off, but Loras still nodded in agreement, also chuckling. He knew exactly what the other man meant. "We're here," the Lord Commander said, gesturing to the lift in front of him.

The ride up was mostly silent; Loras had the feeling that the Lord Commander was slightly more reserved when he wasn't actively in command of his men. And there was an odd tension in the air, probably due to the army at the other side of this massive Wall. "Erm…exactly how big is this thing?" he asked.

"700 feet," he replied casually. "And it's stood for over 8,000 years."

Loras saw several of his men gaping silently at each other. No wonder we're still moving, he thought. Once at the top, Snow made his way quickly to the other edge, peering over.

"They're still coming, Lord Commander," said one of the men stationed there; Loras detected a note of panic in his voice. "But the collapse of the tunnel is slowing them down."

Snow nodded approvingly. "Have we enough arrows left? Any oil?"

"No oil. We have arrows, but…" the man trailed off, his hand going to his own quiver. "Not nearly enough."

"Go down and collect whatever usable arrows you can from the dead, and fetch the rest of Ser Loras' men. They should be waiting in the courtyard," the Lord Commander said, turning to Loras for confirmation.

He immediately nodded, turning to the men who were with him. "Split up, half to each side. Fill in the ranks wherever you can, and be sure to leave room for the rest."

There was a lull in the battle, with those below regrouping, and the ones on the Wall fortifying their positions. Even though Loras hadn't been there for the first part, and hadn't been in many - or any - battles in his life, he could tell that their situation was…not great.

"Can they get up here? Now that the tunnel is closed?" he asked, peering down into the darkness of early dawn. He wasn't quite used to being so high off the ground yet, though the view from up there was remarkable.

"Some of them will try to force their way through the ice, I'm sure," Snow replied tiredly. "The mammoths won't be able to get through though, thank the gods."

Loras balked, stammering incoherently for a moment. "Mammoths?" Once again, he cast his eyes down, and, sure enough, there were shapes moving there that far surpassed the size of a horse. Surpassed even the size of 4 horses. One lifted a large, furry trunk and roared. Loras shuddered, and hoped it would be attributed to the cold.

"Everything you heard about the lands north of the Wall - well, nearly everything - is true," Snow said. "Except for the bits about grumpkins and snarks; I've yet to find any of those here."

Loras would have laughed if not for his shock. He really would have to discuss all of this with Margaery later. If they survived that long.

/*/

Never in a thousand years would Jon Snow have imagined that he'd be standing atop the Wall with Ser Loras Tyrell, coordinating the defence of Castle Black against Wildling invaders. Especially not with both their sisters asleep down below.

His heart panged again as he thought of Margaery. He had all but admitted to himself that he was in love with her. But what could be done about it? He was the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch now; that was a post not lightly abandoned. Especially because he knew what horrors lay beyond the Wall. His oath bound him to defend the realm - to defend her - from them. Now I understand the line in the oath about taking no wife, Jon thought ruefully.

What was it Maester Aemon had said? The old man's creaking words came back to him. "Love is the death of duty…what is honor compared to a woman's love? And what is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms? Or a brother's smile?"

Gods, I want her, Jon thought. But he'd broken his oath once, he couldn't do it again…or could he?

He shook his head to clear it as the loft rattled back up to the top of the Wall. Soon, more Tyrell men were running down the sides of the ranks, bows and arrows at the ready. There would be time to fret over Margaery later. He still had a battle to win. "ARCHERS, NOCK!"

He waited for the command to ripple its way down both sides. "DRAW!"

The sound of what was now a few thousand bowstrings creaking back - stronger than it had been before - gave him a tiny flicker of hope as he raised Longclaw again. "LOOSE!"

The arrows rippled away, and Jon watched more of the Wildling company fall than before. His mood bolstered by the Tyrell reinforcements, he turned back to Ser Loras. "I know you're a swordsman; your help with the riding company would be greatly appreciated."

The knight nodded. "However I can help, Lord Commander."

/*/

Margaery awoke with a cry. Her whole body ached, but she still reached for her quiver.

"It's alright, you're safe."

Finally, Margaery noticed where she was; back in Jon's quarters with Sansa and Gilly. The latter was rocking a whining Sam in her arms, while Sansa sat next to Margaery, her face pale and worried. Pyp was laying on a makeshift cot on the other end of the room, pale and unconscious, but breathing. Margaery thanked the Gods for that.

Laying back down, Margaery tried to make herself relax. She'd survived the battle. She went to run a hand over her hair, but her hands were stiff and painful. Her back was killing her, as was her head, but she didn't think she had any major injuries. So what had happened?

"Jon?" she asked, her voice a mere croak. Gods her throat was dry.

Sansa held out a goblet, almost as though she'd heard her thoughts. "He's fine, as far as I know. He brought you here, but he didn't say anything else. What's happened out there?" she asked, clearly concerned. Gilly walked over, still rocking little Sam.

Margaery did her best to sit up. Her hands were bandaged - most likely Sansa's doing - but she managed. "I… it wasn't good… But, we managed. I remember seeing Pyp and Sam," she said, looking at Gilly.

The other girl smiled broadly. "Sam's really brave. He'll come back," she said with conviction, almost as if saying it could make it so.

Margaery remembered the red-headed archer being taken down by young Olly, remembered Jon's face. Closing her eyes, she moved on. She'd ask Jon about that later. "I… think we were winning, at least on this side of the Wall." Something else occurred to her. "There was a sound, a horn." Margaery's heart suddenly started pounding, her hands fisting in the furs that covered her legs. "It was my family," she breathed. "Loras is here."

"Your brother? Here?" Sansa asked, astonished. "Why would he come here? Did he know you were here?"

Margaery shook her head. "I have no idea. Regardless, I'm happy to know that he's close, even if the battle isn't over yet."

For a moment, none of the women spoke. "Will he take you away?" Gilly asked quietly. She was still walking around with little Sam, trying to soothe him.

Margaery blinked. She honestly hadn't considered that. She'd gotten so used to living at the Wall, to being Bethany Flowers, and spending time with Gilly, and Jon and his friends… she hadn't allowed herself to consider the future. But now… Would Loras take her back to Highgarden? Her desire to be Queen had not dimmed, but still, she'd found more important things here in this desolate icy castle. Would she have to go back to being the perfect Lady; poised and gracious, never wielding a bow, and pretending that she didn't know what it was like to take a man's life?

Would she have to leave Jon?

"Bethany?" Gilly said, having come over to stand beside her.

"I don't know. The battle must be won first. Let's not worry about anything else for the time being," she said, holding out her arms for the squirming infant.

But as she held little Sam close, she couldn't help but wonder. Did she even want to leave anymore?

/*/

There were blisters on his blisters, but still Podrick gritted his teeth and shovelled snow. He was exhausted, and blood coated his armour, but the battle wasn't over yet.

"Just a little more, men!" A Night's Watchman shouted. He was in charge of clearing out the tunnel, but Podrick hadn't caught the man's name.

Beside him, Lady Brienne worked as tirelessly as any of the men. Her face looked grim, but she moved with the same energy as ever, while Pod felt ready to fall down. "I hope the ladies are okay," he said quietly, so only she heard. Podrick remembered Lady Margaery going out, despite his protests, and he hadn't seen or heard from her since.

Pausing for a moment, Brienne shot him a glance. "They didn't breach the castle itself, I think, only the courtyard." Then she resumed her work, handing icy blocks to the men behind her.

Podrick frowned. "The Wildlings, or the ladies?"

The distinctly unamused look Brienne sent him gave him his answer. "It was a fair question," he argued. "For once, you weren't the only woman fighting. On our side, I mean, I think I saw plenty of them on the other side."

"You should never have let Lady Margaery out," she hissed, low enough that the other men in the tunnel wouldn't hear. After all, from what Pod had been able to gather these past few days, the Lady was here in disguise, hiding from the Crown.

"She's alright," he said, though he did feel a twinge of guilt. "And she helped, distracted the Wildlings enough for me to get a few of them. It's not like we could afford to turn away the help."

Brienne shot him another look, but didn't reply as they kept moving blocks of ice. The Lady's face could be hard to read, but Podrick wondered if she agreed with his assessment of the situation. He shivered a little in the cold, adjusting his grip on the shovel as he continued working. The Night's Watch - and their allies - weren't free from danger yet.

A/N from MaryEvH: So, what did you think? This was a little more introspective than the previous chapter, but we felt like it was a necessary breather. And Loras is here! Anyway, while we can assure you all that this story isn't going to be abandoned, we're afraid that updates are going to continue to be sporadic. Both our lives are really busy (as they were before there was a global pandemic), we have other fics we're working on, and we do live on opposite sides of an ocean, which makes finding time to write a little hard. But we do want to thank each and every one of you for sticking with us, and giving us all this positive feedback! We love you guys!