When the moon rose highest at the night sky, Jon Snow was to meet Tormund and the Night King outside Winterfell.

When Bran came out of his trance he requested to be left alone with his siblings.

Once together Sansa lamented "we get Arya and you back home but lose Edaline and Jon is still away, it is like the Starks are never meant to be united again"

Bran gave her such an icy look that she cut her speech off mid statement.

"I sent Jon a raven, he will be on his way soon, as for Edaline…. "

The seer paused and looked lost and confused - more like the child Bran he once was.

"The Night King breeches the wall and is marching on Westeros but is currently at a standstill - he, he asked to meet with Jon…"

Sansa was the first to look up in horror - Bran shared his visions with her in the past, shared the bits about the Night King, what he, it was.

She also held Jon as he broke down - just once, and cried, recalling Hardhome, recalling the terror and the power and the silence the ancient dead generals filled him when they locked eyes.

The Night King was the one who turned them all, who raised thousands of the dead with just a thought and a flick of his hand.

Sansa had nightmares about it after Jon confined what he felt and saw there, something only a bond as strong as they had now that allowed the strong man, the king in the north to break down and put his head on her lap and let her stroke his hair like their mother never did, but Edaline would often do for him.

It did not occurs to her at that time why Edaline remained in the shadows during that night, for the first time in her life not comforting her favorite brother. But silently watching from the corner of the room, her nails digging into her flesh enough to leave marks.

It simply made sense she was struggling with her own demons of that day.

And she was, hers just had a very different shape and flavor. And the glowing blue eyes in the mist were the only calming thing she could picture to sedate her guilt for spending most of that time unconscious - and ultimately being at the core of a lot of that death.

"He..he can speak?" Sansa finally said in a dead flat tone.

"He speaks…the ancient language of the Andals… and the common tongue apparently…and probably more….Tormund is alive and with him, captured…he wanted to speak to Jon and only Jon.

...about Edaline"

Arya's sword was out in a flash.

"What does he want with our sister". Fierce eyes studied his face like he was hiding the truth.

The look on Bran's face was… unreadable. He finally realized who his sister was kissing in the snow in the misty vision. He was grateful he didn't see all of it or the man uncovered from the mist.

Because while he was now the three eyed raven and no more Bran Stark in any way his family could grasp.

Bran Stark was still inside of him, and that part of him was grateful he didn't know of this until the Night King let him see the truth. He wasn't sure he wanted to know this now.

He wished he found out Edaline was dead instead.

Perhaps she was.

To his sisters he simply said in a flat voice, the one he used all the time now anyways.

"I don't think Edaline is an any danger from him.." was all he said.

"But she is no longer welcome here"

Sansa finally spoke slowly and flat looking at Bran

"She is still our sister - and it may be our best chance to get her free from Cercei"

Bran looked like he was going to vomit.

"He is the lord of the dead who wants to wipe out every living thing under the sun!" He finally lost some composure.

"And he has an unending army that currently isn't killing only because he wishes to speak to our brother about Eda! There is no more wall! Just that!" Sansa practically yelled.

Arya appeared puzzled, she was away for so long she had not seen the somehow different Edaline, the battle scarred John, or the walking dead.

But she had seen every other kind of dead, the dead did not scare her.. she used the dead herself all the time, didn't she? And if this king had a whole army of dead faces to use…

So, when the moon rose highest at the night sky, Jon Snow went to meet Tormund and the Night King halfway to Winterfell.

Sir Davos and others were to wait a mile away.

Bran's note was long and specific, but Jon knew what was at stake. He also sincerely did not expect human trickery from this enemy.

It simply did not make sense. He did bring the last note from Eda, the one with the blood. Something told him it was important.

The Night King smelled the sweet scent of Her blood way before his preternatural senses or hidden wights saw Jon riding up the snowy path.

Blood magic was a human creation, crude and imprecise - rarely achieving even a shadow of the actually sorcery intended.

But this was the second time she resorted to this crudeness and both times it actually did achieve a result.

It screamed "I am alive, I need you, this is where I am"

For blood did hold power on both sides of the wall, and he wanted that scroll, wanted to touch that bit of her that was close to him.

"Are you… alright?"

The Night King halted on his horse, Tormund Giantsbane was staring at the deadly necromancer and clearly his ancient face betrayed enough to have this captive human overcome his fear and dare speak.

Stupid oaf.

Tumund clearly had a death wish, as he continued talking to him.

He was beginning to think mortals all really craved a quick death. They acted without any self preservation - that included his clever queen at the very top of the list.

"So, little Edaline, I can't say I blame you - I always said that girl had enough fire in her to melt a glacier even if other lads were saying she was made of black ice..."

"I liked it better when you stayed silent Giantsbane"

They road in silence a bit more.

"It matters not that she is pleasing on the eye to your kind.

She alone is worth more than all of your lives combined a thousand times over"

"So you have shown my people at Hardhome" the red giant interrupted darkly.

The Night King who never in his existence bothered about ...meat, answered before he had a chance to stop himself.

"I was looking for her, she went missing once she came down"

He was so shocked he said anything out loud at all he actually stopped on the spot and stared at the ginger man thinking that he should kill him right here and now.

Turmound in turn also stopped, having been the one who found Eda and kill the lord of bones he was also never under any other ideas that she wasn't brought there by him or this is where she spent all that time she was missing.

He clenched and unclenched his fists.

"I killed the one who hurt her, none of my people hurt her… they didn't need to die"

The Night King looked at him blankly and with such contempt / like he was a tiny mouse, and Tourmond was quickly reminded this was no man he was speaking to.

But all the king said was.

"Yes, she told me, that is why you are still alive"

And he rode off ahead.