The Wars to Come - J.S.

10 - BETRAYAL

— meereen —

The clang of swords echos off the stone walls of the pyramid as the two Mormonts train together. 

Aurora has a smile on her face as she sees an opening, she spins on her toes and ducks under Jorah's outstretched arm all in one movement, and suddenly her sword is at his throat. Neither of them moves as they breathe heavily and stare at each other for a moment before they both drop their swords and Jorah lets out a laugh.

"Very good, Aurora. Very good." he says, his voice tired as he continues to catch his breath after the long sparring session. A proud smile graces his face as she thanks him. 

The Mormont siblings have been getting up early every day to train together and Jorah has been pleasantly surprised by her skills every single time. She sees the weak spots in every fight she is in, it's like her mind is thinking ten steps ahead while her body goes through the motions. He's never seen anything quite like it. 

They sit down on a ledge connected to one of the walls and Aurora takes a sip from her canteen before offering it to Jorah. He quickly accepts the bottle and raises it to his lips.

"Thank you again for doing this with me, I enjoy sparring with you." she says when he hands the bottle back to her. 

"I enjoy it as well." he stands up and walks over to a crate on the other side of the room, he begins to speak as he opens it, "I had something made for you. I noticed you don't have a sword of your own, and I know you'll need one eventually." he turns back around and in his hands lies a sheathed sword. He walks back over to her and hands her the weapon. 

Her eyes are wide and her mouth slightly agape as she pulls the steel from its sheath. Her eyes take in the details of the weapon as she stands up and turns it all around, the light from the windows bouncing off of the blade and onto the walls. 

"Jorah, I don't know what to say, it's wonderful." she whispers as she admires the bears engraved on the hilt of the sword. She runs her fingers over one of them and thinks of her father, what he would say if he could see them right now. Her mind travels back, to a time when she had just finished her training at Castle Black.

"Aurora, I would like to give you something." Jeor said as he sat down beside her. 

"What is it, father?" 

"This sword has belonged to our family for a long time, and it was supposed to belong to Jorah now, but he.. left it behind. I would like to give it to you, my daughter. I don't know what fates left you outside on the night that I was patrolling the perimeter, or what fate let me raise you as my own, but you are a Mormont. And this sword should belong to you." He presents her with Longclaw and the young girl's eyes widen as the sword rests in her hands. 

There is a long silence before she answers. "Father, I can't accept this. I know who I am, I am a Mormont. But this is not my sword. It holds a greater purpose. One that I cannot give it."

She hadn't said any more on the subject and neither had Jeor, knowing that his daughter was as stubborn as he was. 

Aurora is snapped from her memories as Jorah places a hand on her shoulder. She looks up at him and then puts the sword down, then she wraps her arms around him. 

"Thank you." 

—

"You think he was spying on you?" Daenerys asks as she braids Missandei's hair. Missandei having just told them about how Grey Worm had been watching her while she was bathing in the river earlier.