Chapter 14

There were even some concerns that her life might end by her own hand. That day when her brother returned home, he restored her will to live.

Ashara was surprisingly eager to go along with Gregor Clegane's plan. She was willing to enforce the claim that she and Brandon were Jon's parents.

In fact, she went so far as to offer to accompany Lord Howland's party north.

When questioned on her motives, she just said that helping Brandon's sister and Elia's daughter would give her a renewed sense of purpose.

Lyanna happily accepted the Dornish beauty's offer for aid.

At Harrenhal, she had gotten very close to Ashara.

That was due in large part to their relationships with Brandon and Elia.

To account for Ashara's disappearance, it would be said that she had flung herself from a cliff. It was not a dignified fate for her to have, but what mattered was that it was a believable one.

Given how much tragedy Ashara had witnessed recently, including the supposed loss of her brother at the Tower of Joy, one could not blame her for finally breaking and taking her own life.

In his first life, Gregor would have classified it as an instance of post-traumatic stress.

Ser Arthur Dayne kept a very profile whilst he was in Starfall. He managed to commission a ship to take his sister and the others north. After watching the ship sail into the horizon, he swiftly mounted his horse and rode for Sunspear.

Lord Eddard Stark, Ser Gregor Clegane, Prince Jon Targaryen, Wylla, Ser Gerold Hightower, Lord Willam Dustin, Martyn Cassel, and Gregor's men-at-arms went directly northeast. They were headed for King's Landing.

While all of Gregor's men-at-arms knew that Aegon and Rhaenys were still alive, none of them were even aware of Jon's existence yet.

For Jon's safety as well as theirs, both Gregor and Eddard were hoping to delay them finding out for a while.

So they had Wylla and Ser Gerold ride at the front of their column, and the men-at-arms brought up the rear. That way Jon was hidden at all times.

The march to King's Landing took about three weeks.

In the early phase of their journey, Gregor noticed Eddard was very morose. It was not difficult for Gregor to guess why.

His father, his brother, and many of his friends had died in the last year. That by itself was something he could cope with.

But to discover that all those deaths were actually the result of a misunderstanding concerning his ister… that was incomprehensible to him.

Gregor could not fault Eddard for harboring some feelings of resentment towards his sister.

If Sandor died because of a reckless thing Ellyn had done, he would probably be cross with her, too.

But he would love her no less.

Personally, Gregor thought Lyanna had made the right decision to go with Rhaegar.

Considering what was going to happen north of the Wall in about twenty years, his belief in the apocalypse might not been wholly irrational.

All the same, Eddard had no way of knowing that. As such, he was inwardly fuming over his sister's actions.

Eddard was not as easy to provoke as his late hot-tempered brother, but he was equally capable of being enraged.

Gregor decided to do something about that. He felt the wolf lord had enough worry about without harboring a lasting grudge towards his sister.

Five days after their departure from the Tower of Joy, Gregor made a solemn effort to open Lord Eddard's mind.

He waited until nightfall, when the group made camp. Polliver and Chiswyck were guarding the horses, and Wylla was tending to Jon in her tent.

Eddard was sitting alone in front of the camp's fire. Nearly everyone else had settled down for the night.

Gregor walked over to the fire and sat down opposite the wolf lord. Eddard was staring intently into the flames, as though he was a red priest.

Gregor could tell he was not really trying to look into the future; he was simply lost in thought.

The Mountain gazed at the radiant embers, as well, and the two men sat in almost total silence.

Finally, Gregor remarked softly "I would ask you not to be so hasty to judge your sister, Lord Eddard."

Eddard did not look up, but Gregor did not doubt that he was listening. He asked "Why is that?"

Gregor leaned back, folded his arms, and firmly stated "For all we know, there may very well be some stock in that prophecy."

That made Ned shift his gaze upwards. He bore the countenance of one who is stunned. "I did not take you for the superstitious type, Ser Gregor."

"Because I am not," Gregor claimed. As he fed a log to the fire, he muttered "What are your house's words? 'Winter is coming?'"

"They are," Ned affirmed.

"Have you ever pondered on their meaning?" Gregor inquired, "Or why they are your words?"

"Of course I have," Eddard professed, "I believe they serve as a reminder. A reminder that no matter how prosperous and beautiful life can be, there will always be suffering and hardship in this world. Like or not, we must all face our own trials and tribulations in time. Attempting to avoid them would be futile. The proper course is to face them as they come."

"You've a wise and heedful interpretation, my lord," Gregor admitted, "But it could mean something more. Perhaps they are a premonition."

"A premonition of what?" Eddard enquired, suddenly more interested in the conversation.

Gregor blew on the flames thrice to feed some air into them. After that, he spoke bluntly "I assume you are familiar with the Long Night?"

"I am," Ned responded, "It happened long ago, during the era of the First Men. It brought about a seemingly endless winter, which in turn threatened the demise of sunlight and the end of all life. There was no hope of it ending until the Night's Watch chose to ally with the children of the forest. Together, they repelled the Others and defeated the Night's King."

Gregor could not recall if Eddard's version of how the Long Night ended was in accordance with the widely-believed version of its resolution, but that was not what was really important.

What really mattered was that Eddard was willing to talk on it.

"So you do not think the Long Night is a myth?" Gregor presumed.

"No," Eddard contended, "The world was young then. Momentous wonders and unspeakable horrors alike were commonplace in those days."

The fact that Eddard was not denying the Long Night as a historical event helped Gregor considerably here.

He tossed some dried leaves into the bottom of the fire pit, and he commented "According to Rhaegar's prophecy, when the apocalypse comes, it will bring with it coldness, darkness, and death. What does that remind you of?"

Eddard quickly caught on to what Gregor was implying. For a moment, he appeared to be aghast. Then he eased down and said dismissively "The Long Night is centuries over, Ser Gregor."

"Who's to say it cannot happen again?" Gregor countered, "The Night's King was not destroyed; he was simply banished beyond the Wall. Eight thousand years would give him plenty of time to regain his strength and build up his forces. Think of all the watchmen and wildlings that have died in that timeframe. There must be millions, and every one of them could rise again."

By now, Eddard was at full attention. He sat up straight and murmured inquiringly "That's why you're willing to consider the validity of that prophecy? You believe 'winter is coming' is actually a warning that the Long Night will relapse?"

"Your ancestor Brandon the Builder erected the Wall," Gregor replied for emphasis, "If he made it solely to keep out the wildlings, he could have stopped at seventy feet. He stopped at seven hundred. No one builds an obstruction that massive unless the thing they wish to keep out is an absolute monstrosity. So I say he knew that the Long Night never actually ended. It merely went on hiatus."

Ned gradually returned his gaze to the flames. He stared longingly into them, as though they had become the world's last rays of hope.

He mumbled in a chillingly calm voice "If that's true, then the war we just fought is nothing against what's to come."

"Do not lose faith, my lord," Gregor beckoned him.

Throughout the conversation, the fire had gotten larger, warmer, and brighter.

The Mountain used his sword to prod the branches around and replenish the kindling.

He then pronounced "Westeros survived the Long Night once. It can do so once more."

"Aye, it can," Eddard conceded. He rested his chin on his hands and muttered "But suppose it returns during our lifetime. Will we be ready when winter finally comes?"

"That is entirely up to us," was Gregor's brief yet straightforward answer.

'Us, and a trio of airborne, fire-breathing reptiles. Rhaegar was right about That much, at least.'

Gregor was certain that by the following morning, Eddard would regard the second Long Night as little more than a probable occurrence.

Within a month, he would most likely shove his newfound anxiety over it to the back of his mind.

For now, Gregor was content with that.

****

Power Stone!!!

send power stone for maintaining the ranking.

And don't forgot to add this fanfic to your library if you are new or you haven't.

Thank you. 🐣🐣