Day 4: The Long Night

The wall was down. The dead were coming. And there was no coming back. The long night was upon them and they needed to fight. Life against death. Light against darkness. Day against night. How they were going to do it they didn't know. Yet they needed all the help they could get to defend themselves and bring the dawn like the last hero had done all those centuries ago. They needed to be strong, to be united or they would never stand a chance.

When Jon had received a raven from Bran, he had not expected the battle to be so soon. Even in his wildest nightmares, he had never imagined that the wall could fall down. And he certainly had never imagined that It would be his fault. Because it was, he realized. If he had not been foolish enough to lead the capture of the wight to convince Cersei to join them, Daenerys would never have gone to rescue him, Viserion would have never died and above all he would have never been awoken by the Night King.

"...He rides Viserion, the ice dragon..."

When Daenerys had heard the news from Jon she had not reacted for a moment. Jon had even thought that she was having an attack. How could Viserion, her child, be against her, against the living, against everything she had been fighting for? Why had destiny chosen to play such a trick on them now that they had even the slightest chance to defeat the Night King and his army? Why now that she had finally found Jon? She had been mad. But she had also been deeply saddened. Not only for herself but for Jon. She had known him well enough now to see that he had been blaming himself. She had tried to reassure him: as she had told him before she didn't regret them going beyond the wall. She had needed to see in order to believe. And so had all the other people that had seen the wight. Besides, he wasn't the only one to blame. They had all agreed on this plan. They had all thought it was their only chance to convince Cersei and the other lords to join their fight. The young man hadn't objected nor agreed and they had never talked about it again.

When they arrived in Winterfell, the northern lords were as stubborn as expected and fussed like a group of small children over the fact that Jon had pledged allegiance to Daenerys. Yet when they heard from Bran that the wall was down they fell dead silent, no one daring to say anything. Jon made them realize that now wasn't the moment to argue over anyone's right to be king or queen but that it was time they all united their forces and fought together. After much discussion, it was decided that everybody – even the women – needed to have a basic training in fighting so as to fend themselves and their children off the potential threats.

Lady Sansa Stark, Lady Lyanna Mormont and Daenerys led by example when they enrolled in a training process with Arya Stark and Brienne as their tutors. They were quick learners and soon were even able to beat some of the northern lords in one-to-one battle. Jon was proud of his lover but also worried as their little secret was starting to become more obvious by the weeks. He never let the opportunity to be with her pass and often trained her. It ended up building their ever-growing need of each other which meant more amazing nights of love and passion when it happened. They knew people were getting suspicious but they would have already been married if the war wasn't upon them.

Furthermore, the revelation of Jon's true parentage had only brought them closer if that was even possible. Of course Jon had had to process the information for a few days but eventually their Targaryen bond had been stronger. He had grown very protective over Daenerys even more so after she had told him about their little bundle of joy growing inside of her womb. They had decided to keep it a secret, as well as their love, but as the weeks passed by and Daenerys' stomach got rounder and rounder, they feared that someone might discover it and above all that Dany and the child might be endangered.

After months of battles, after having successfully prevented the dead to come further south, fate started to turn around as the dead gained more territories and got further south. As they did, despair and fatality started to spread around the troops of the living. They all seemed to think themselves lost. The dead were at their doorstep and there was no going back now. Everywhere, people started saying their goodbyes to those they loved. Families and friends gathered, enjoying the last few hours or days they would be living and so did their lords. Jon also decided that if he had to die, he wanted at least for his child to be safe and to bear his name. He wanted to unite his life to the love of his life even if for a few hours or days. Then he would make sure she flew away and lived. On Dragonstone he knew the dead would never have her nor their child.

The day came when they joined their fate and life together. They chose to be wed in front of the weirwood heart tree. They had chosen to share this moment with only Daenerys' closest advisers as well as Jon's family and friends. Missandei, Tyrion, Jorah, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Sam, Gilly and little Sam, Brienne, Podric and Tormund gathered around the couple. Davos, as Jon's most faithful adviser and friend presided the ceremony. They chose to be wed under the faith of the Old Gods as well as the Faith of the Seven. Just before saying their vows, they heard a crowd coming. Everyone turned around to discover most of their allies were coming toward them and gathered behind them. They all stood still and silent. One of the northern lords took a step forward and declared with force that they had all come to see the union of their king and queen and that no evil force would prevent them from doing so. Jon and Daenerys were deeply touched by their gesture. They looked into each other's eyes, their hands intertwined as they recited their vows.

"Father, Smith, Warrior, Maiden, Crone, Stranger. I am hers and she is mine. I am his and he is mine. From this day, until the end of my days."

Once passed the brief shock of hearing Jon's Targaryen name, everybody knelt in silence in front of the couple before effusions of joy exploded from every part. The couple was congratulated by every northern families and allies, as well as received many blessings for their new family. They all knew somehow – the couple realized – even though Daenerys' huge bump was still covered and hidden away by her thick winter fur coat. When the couple had retreated to their chambers, they could still hear the music and cheers of the celebrations going on. Somehow, their wedding seemed to have sparkled a new hope for everybody. That night, Jon and Daenerys made love like never before, like it was their first and last time. Bran had told them that the Night King and his army would be there by dusk. The last battle was at their doorstep. The next day, they would either win or die trying.

When the sun rose on the castle of Winterfell the next morning, Jon rolled to his side to watch his beautiful wife sleep. She seemed so young when she slept, her face devoid of any concern, of any pain. They often forgot that they were still young, the weight of their responsibilities ageing them prematurely. His eyes travelled from her face to her belly. She would soon be going into labour and their child was starting to move less, being so crowded inside. Yet that morning Jon could see him or her moving around and making waves under its mother's skin. He put a soft hand on the bump and he could feel it move. He stroke it gently, whispering soothing words to their unborn child, urging him or her to be kind to its mother, to take care of her.

"I love you little dragon."

His voice seemed to soothe the babe as he only felt small bumps just under his palm. He kissed it softly and as he did, he felt Dany's hand in his hair. He brought his face to hers, kissing her softly on the nose, the cheek, the eyes and finally the lips. She chuckled as he did and he tried to engrave this beautiful and pure sound in his memory forever. They stayed embraced for a moment, listening to each other's breath and heartbeat, stroking their baby through Dany's bump, just enjoying these moments together. After a while, Jon decided to break the silence. He wanted to convince her to flee, and fly to Dragonstone with Missandei and Tyrion. Of course she refused. She wasn't going to abandon all those she cared for and the man she loved. She needed to ride Drogon or they didn't stand a chance and he knew it. He didn't try to argue with her. He didn't want them to be angry with each other. They needed to be strong and more united than ever. They laid in bed for a few minutes more before they finally got ready for what would probably be their last day in Winterfell.

The council room was crowded and noisy when the royal couple entered. Everyone fell silent and bent the knee. Jon quickly told them to stand up and everybody did as commanded waiting patiently for the king to speak. They all decided that it would be best if they drove the battle as far away as possible from the castle. Children and women would stay inside its walls for safety while the armies, lords and everyone willing to fight would march towards various strategic points surrounding the castle. Up north towards what they called Tumbledown Tower – an ancient watchtower in the Wolfswood with no villages around – where Bran had last seen the army of the dead marching, Jon and Daenerys would ride their dragons and lead the attack with the Dothraki and Unsullied. A part of the northern army would defend from Holdfast, and should the dead try to circle them, the other part of the army would be waiting at Cerwyn. Jamie Lannister who had joined their fight with some of the Lannister armies would join in the defence of the Wolfswood.

Once everything was settled, the king encouraged his troop, more goodbyes were exchanged and a heavy atmosphere surrounded the castle for a few hours. Dany and Jon retreated in the secret of the Godswood and embraced. They inhaled each other's scents, trying to carve it deep inside their brains, soul and heart. Daenerys caressed his hair, letting a tear fall down on her cheek – the last one she would be shedding – while he was kneeling in front of her, an ear on her bump, whispering to their child. They both vowed to him or her that they would survive, that they would make the impossible for him or her to be born in a better world than the one they were brought up in. They vowed to each other that they would reunite again here, in the sacredness of this Godswood when all would be over, when they would have defeated the army of the dead. And as they called Drogon and Rhaegal and heard their screeching sounds from up in the sky they kissed one last time.

When both dragons landed, Jon and Dany broke their kiss but left their foreheads joined for a second. Jon kissed her belly one more time before he kissed her forehead. He made her look into his glistening eyes.

"We will defeat the Night King and his army. I promise."

"I know. We'll do it together."

They both nodded. No more kisses, no more tears were shed as they both knew what they had to do. They walked hand in hand towards their dragons. Jon helped Dany get on Drogon's back then settled on Rhaegal's. With one last look toward each other the dragons soared into the air and disappeared in the clouds. When they finally reappeared their armies on the ground were already marching out of Winterfell. They were marching toward death but upon hearing the dragons roaring above them a new light started igniting inside of the soldiers' chest. A small murmur started emanating from their ranks slowly becoming a song of courage and hope.

The battle would be long, many would die but at least they would have done the impossible to protect the living. They would fight for those who couldn't fight. They would be the shield that guards the realm of men.

And that was all that mattered.

Hello. Thank you so much for the reviews on the last one. I really felt I could keep on writing it but for now I don't have the time to do so unfortunately. But i hope in the future I will. I hope you liked this one as well. As always, let me know your thoughts about it. This whole appreciation week was a way to experiment a bit with my writing so I hope it showed. Have a great week! -Sarah