บท 73: Strange
(Aerion's POV)
Maybe it was all a bad dream.
Maybe none of that happened. How else can I explain everything? I don't remember how we got out of there, I don't know how we were able to just walk for more hours in the darkness, somehow not running into any danger.
The cold was the most dangerous thing about that Night. It almost killed us.
I don't know what happened, but somehow we were not dead.
Yes....it was probably a dream. It was all just a bad dream.
I wish it was. Maybe I wouldn't feel so guilty. About not finding out the truth of Waymar's death. Why did they chase the criminals all the way out here? Will we ever know the truth? I don't know.
I wouldn't feel this guilty, almost dying to walking corpses and white demons, while my wife and children waited for me on our island, confident that I was fine.
Yes....It had to be a bad dream, that's all. A bad dream. Everything was so fast, so erratic, so.....chaotic. Nothing made sense, nothing. Yet.....I.....I don't know.
Was it?
Was it a Bad Dream?
Do I want it to be a dream? Do I want this not even to happen? The Corpse in The Wall? The White Walkers? The Wights? Do I want that to be just a folk tale that scares Northern children?
"Aerion." I heard a voice call for me
I opened my eyes, seeing the glow of the fireplace on the ceiling above the bed I laid in.
I saw that Willam was looking down at me, "Y-Yea?" I said
"I got a stew." He said as he held a steaming bowl, "You need to eat."
"Hm..." I said sitting up, "Yes..."
He handed it to me as I straightened up, "Eat." He said, "It's a good thing Vermithor didn't fly off. According to the guards, he was acting crazy, firing flames into the air as he flew alongside the border of the wall..."
"Ah..." I said as I ate the stew with the wooden spoon, "I see...."
That's right....we made it back to Shadowtower, somehow. I vaguely remember. My mind was a complete haze after the Corpse looked at me. Willam said it was some sort of Sorcery. I think he had to carry for a couple of miles, I completely blacked out for a bit.
Vermithor was roaring in the air when we reached the Shadowtower, completely agitated. He must have sensed that I was in danger, but was not crossing the Wall.
Why? What's so special about the Wall?
Wait...that's right...
It's meant to keep something out....built by Bran the Builder when he founded the Night's Watch. Normally, one would think that they built it to keep the wildlings out...but now...I think I understand. They built it to keep Death out. I think it could be imbued with magic or something of that nature. Maybe it keeps Death on that side of the Wall while it could keep Fire on this side....
I....
I'm not thinking right. I don't know. It's all too strange to me. I cannot get that image out of my head; the Corpse just looking at me. It looked like a Man....but a Walker at the same time. What were they, anyways? Where did they come from? From what I understood, they're the reason Wights exist; reanimated corpses that turned into vicious monsters. But what's their deal?
I....
I need time to process this.
"Are you alright?" Willam asked
"I don't know." I said as I looked at the bowl of stew, "Why are we here, Willam?"
"To find out what happened with Waymar." He said as he was sitting on a chair next to me
"We already know what happened to him." I said, "He was killed by a Wight."
"That we do know now." He said as he sighed, "But why was he here? I don't know. I'm sorry, Aerion, I shouldn't have given him leave. He was quite adamant about it and I was preoccupied with other matters. I.....this is my fault."
"It's not." I said as I looked at him, "It's mine."
"What? No." He said, "You...You have your own duties, Aerion. You're Prince-Consort."
"I'm also Lord of Runestone." I said as I looked ahead, "It's my duty to take care of my people."
"You have been taking care of us, Aerion." He said, "You have. We know that. We will never forget that. You and the Princess have visited Runestone, and spent time there for a while. You haven't forgotten about us."
"Yea, well..." I said, "I...I don't know, Willam."
"This....." He said with a gulp, "This is crazy, what we've been through. It's....nobody will believe us, Aerion, nobody. Only those here, in the Night's Watch. And maybe the Northerners. But back home? In the Vale? In the Crownlands? Nobody."
"A Bad Dream..." I said softly
"Y-Yea..." He laughed, "This is all a Bad Dream, Aerion...."
"We're flying back to Winterfell." I said, "Now."
He looked at me, "What? You need rest." He told me
"As do you, I'm sure." I said handing him the bowl and getting off the bed, "But we're going back."
"Jorah rode to Castle Black." He said, "That crazy bastard. He's going to push himself to death, we all need a bit of sleep and warmth, Aerion."
"You can sleep on Vermithor's back if you want. He'll be plenty warm." I said ,"We're going."
"No, You need sleep." He said sternly, "I'm serious."
"I need to tell Lord Stark of what happened." I said, "And I need fucking answers, Willam. What the fuck was that thing on the wall of ice? How was it able to use sorcery on my mind?"
"I...." He started, "Aerion, just rest. We can go on the Morrow. I insist."
I sighed, "Fucking hells, Willam." I said, "Fine..."
****************************************************
[Winterfell, The Following Day]
"You're.....serious?" Cregan Stark said as he looked at us
I nodded, "Yes." I said
We stood outside his walls, in front of Vermithor who was vocalizing loudly. I had flown us all the way out here, Willam included despite Vermithor's protesting growling. Willam never liked heights so not wanting to take rides with me was expected. Also, a non-Targaryen being atop a Dragon is not something said dragon would approve of but I'm Vermithor's Rider and what I say goes.
He looked down, "I can't believe this...." he said, "You killed a White-Walker....."
"And you think I can?" I said, "I have a difficult time believing it myself, Lord Stark. But I demand answers. What are these White Walkers?"
He stopped and looked at me, "They're the source of Death." He said seriously, "It is they that raise the Death. When a Wight rises, it means a Walker is near. Nobody knows how close or how far, but they're in the vicinity. You survived an onslaught of Wights.....in the Skirling pass? That's a bit close to the Wall. I must go to Castle Black and make sure the Lord-Commander has the necessary things to defend it."
"The source of Death?" Willam said, "They're demonic beings, that I am sure of."
"We don't know what they truly are, Ser." Cregan said, "All we know is that they're old, very old. They're the reason that we burn our bodies. We can defeat Wights, yes, but White-Walkers? No, it's unheard of....how did you do it?"
I shrugged, "I swung my sword at it." I said, "It died nearly instantly. I don't know."
"That is Strange..." He looked down with a bit of surprise, "I.....I need to look into it...study the ancient scriptures. There should be something in the pages..."
I walked forward to him, "Lord Stark." I said, "I need you to understand something. Whatever is out there, Beyond The Wall, it's not pretty. My own Dragon did not want to cross it, I do not know why. It felt that I was in danger, it felt it well....."
"I am aware of the dangers." he said, "But....look, I apologize, I brought you into this mess. But I have to ride to Castle Black at once."
I nodded, "It's fine." I said, "I understand."
"We need to fly back home at once, as well."
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