End Game// Tormund Giantsbane (3)

21. I Need You

"You need to get your girls safe." Caro whispered. 

"I'm sure my people will already be putting up defenses." Tormund remarked. "They will be protected."

"They need you." Caro corrected him. 

"So do you." Tormund rasped. Caro looked to him through teary eyes. "You have me." 

"I hate this." Caro whimpered. "I was supposed to protect him and now... and I... he just..." she couldnt form a complete sentence. It was too hard when her brain was malfunctioning. 

"I cant, he can't be... Tor... Tormund he can't." Caro whimpered out. 

"I'm so sorry Caro... we will avenge him." Tormund assured her. "He will get justice." 

+

"Ser Davos, we have no cause to fight. We are both anointed knights." Alliser remarked.

"Hear that, lads? Nothing to fear." Davos agreed, he glanced at Caro and he had only ever seen her fierce and brave, bold but now she was broken. 

"I will grant amnesty to all brothers who throw down their arms before nightfall. And you, Ser Davos, I will allow you to travel south a free man with a fresh horse." Alliser added.

"And some mutton. I'd like some mutton." Davos remarked.

"What?"

"What the fuck is he doing?" Tormund hissed. 

"I'm not much of a hunter. I'll need some food if I'm gonna make it south without starving." Davos informed him calmly.

"We'll give you food. You can bring the Red Woman with you if you like. Or you can leave her here with us, whichever you choose. But surrender by nightfall or this ends with blood." Alliser demanded.

"Thank you, Ser Alliser. We'll discuss amongst ourselves and come back to you with an answer."

Davos looked around the room, Jon laid on the table in the middle Ghost still whimpering.

"Boys, I've been running from men like that all my life. In my learned opinion, we open that door--" Davos began.

"And they'll slaughter us all." Tormund agreed.

"There is no horse, no mutton, you can't be this stupid." Caro hissed. "You know what they are going to do after they kill you lot?" Caro questioned as she used all her strength to stand up. "They are not going to kill me, they are going to try to rape me. Notice I said try because I would rather die than have Alliser's cock anywhere near me. So when you all get murdered I see two choices, I slit me throat or I stab alliser eight times, eighty maybe then I slit my throat."

"You arent dying." Tormund corrected. "And I wont let them touch you." 

"Thats sweet but you will be as dead as Jon." Caro corrected and he pulled her to him as she buried her face in his chest. 

"They want to come in, they're gonna come in."

"Aye, but we don't need to make it easy for them." Tormund agreed.

"Edd is our only chance."

"It's a sad fucking statement if Dolorous Edd is our only chance."

"There's always the Red Woman."

"What's one redhead gonna do against 40 armed men?" Tormund countered.

"You haven't seen her do what I've seen her do." Davos countered.

"Burn little girls for the hell of it." Caro offered glancing back at him. "Shireen. Killed. Because of your redheaded witch whore of a woman deemed it."

"What?" Davos questioned. 

"No. You knew Shireen longer than I yet you are so willing to let this woman back in and forgive and forget. What will she want?" Caro pondered. "A sacrifice. My life to bring him back?" Caro offered. "Just as she deemed Shireens death would give Stannis power. Well he's dead too so I'm not so confident in her powers."

"I dont understand." Davos questioned confused. The red woman stared back at her.  "What happened? What happened?"

"People like to talk and a pretty face has them spewing what they saw." Caro hissed. 

"What I did, I did for the good-" the red woman spat. 

"Horrible things for horrible people." Caro spat. "Jon is- was." Caro corrected stiffly. "A great man, a great leader and he is my family. Possibly my last family out there and he's gone. He's dead... I suppose Stannis was right about one thing." Caro whispered as she turned back to Jon. "He should have sent Allsier THrone far, far away."

That night the red woman striped down and aged significantly, her hair thinned, her skin sagged, her eyes drooped, before crawling into bed beside the fire. 

Caro leaned into Tormund that night as Ghost sat curled up at her feet. Tormund wrapped his arms around her as she shed silent tears. 

"I dont want him to be gone." Caro whispered as Tormund held tight to her. "I feel like I lost them all." 

"Keep fighting Caro." Tormund begged against her ear. "If not for yourself for Tumi and Tyanna." Caro sniffled a thick breath. "Dont lose that fire. You are Carolina Stark. Dont let anyone take that from you."