The Dragon and the Rose | Daenerys Targaryen

The Long Night (M)

At the break of dawn, the survivors stood outside the castle wall to burn the corpses of those who died fighting alongside them. Even with the dragons aid in the battle, one third of the united army were perished. The long night they have survived might have changed everyone as things they saw were enough to scar them for life.

They were the shields that guarded the realm of men. They were the first to set aside their differences to fight together so that the others may live. As the funeral ended with smoke of the burned bodies darkening the gloomy sky of Winterfell, Laena held her queen's hand as she mourned the loss of her oldest advisor, Jorah Mormont.

Some say death is not felt by the dead but the living. Despite the harsh truth, they have to keep on going forward with their lives while remembering the ones they have lost.

In the Great Hall, the survivors of the Great War had a feast together without a shred of desire to celebrate. After almost losing her queen during the battle if not for the sacrifice of Jorah, Laena was in a state where she can't comprehend what was happening around her. The moment that almost stopped heart still flashed in her mind everytime she closed her eyes.

The sudden cheer filled the hall after Daenerys appointed Robert Baratheon's son Gendry as Lord of Storm's End. Grateful to the queen's benevolence, the feast turned into a delightful one as everyone's morale seem to be heightened.

The drinking, laughing and the toasts to honor the heroes overwhelmed Laena to the point she had to leave the madness of their joy when the smell of the burned men were still lingering in the air. Chugging the last drop of her wine, Laena threw the goblet into the snow as she found herself near the godswood.

The commander knelt down out of despair and screamed at the top of her lungs. She didn't lost anyone that meant anything to her unlike some who are already smiling out of drunkenness or fucking another to feel alive. However, the feeling of helplessness she felt when Daenerys almost died reopened her wound she has ignored far too long.

She wasn't able to save her family when they burned to death. She wasn't able to bury their remains in her family crypt. There was nothing she could do and it seems to her it has always been like that despite her consistent efforts and continuous battles to gain power.

"My lady?" Selmy's voice startled the young Tyrell who wasn't aware of the knight that followed her. Ludwig stared at her lady worriedly as he saw the tears on her face when she turned to him.

"I almost lost her last night just like how I lost my family. What can I do? Who should I become to not lose anymore of my loved ones, Selmy?" Her voice cracked much like her pitiful self kneeling on the snow covered ground of the North.

Approaching the rose withering away in front of him, Ludwig consoled her, "But you have done so much. You have become Lady of Highgarden. You have become the commander of the greatest army this realm has ever seen."

"Yet, it is still not enough." Laena shook her head as the pain she has hidden from herself is emerging to the point she felt as if she is drowning.

"Laena Tyrell I know will not break down like this." Ser Selmy put his hand on her shoulder, "She is the most resilient, graceful and powerful person. You still have her, Laena. You still have your promises to her. After the long night, that is more reason to move forward stronger than we have ever been, my friend."

The two friends of the warm Reach held each other in the cold land of the North. From innocent children who enjoyed playing with wooden swords, they grew up together to tell the tale of the battle between dead and living.

"I need you to send raven to Yara. Let her know we won the war and request her report on the siege. The Last War still awaits us." Laena ordered after calming down and regained herself, "Also, send another to Tyene Sand in my name."