I Am Cersei Rose

16

The funeral for Gus was all we could do with what we had. Gort gave a small speech for Gus. 

"We used to have pride, and now we just pilfer and drink and drink about when we didn't. Every man here would die for the chance of becoming that man again. So we follow you, princesses. In life and in death. And we shall have our pride again. On Gus' soul, this I swear". 

Muir's son, Quert, passed me Gus' sword, and I held it at the hilt, nodding to all the dwarves around me. I held onto it tightly, sheathing it in the scabbard and adding it to my belt. When night fell, the dwarves built a fire and prepared Gus for a proper send off. We all gathered around the fire and watched, Quert singing into the flames. 

We burned food and mead and his mini violin to keep him happy in the afterlife, we watched the sparks fly high. 

..........

The next day, we walked. Hundreds of miles, we walked. Through the mountains in the rain, we drank from streams and slept in the cold. Snow was stuck to William like glue, as I was to Eric. We were talking a lot more, getting to know each other better and telling stories of our past to help us forget the sadness we all carried. 

He stood in the middle of the stream and gripped my arm, helping me across. I smiled gratefully at him and crossed on the rocks, which he lead me and only me over. Snow was helped over by William, while the dwarves got slightly stuck. I trudged back and waded slowly through the water, helping each across by keeping their weight even on the slippery rocks. They all said thank you as they passed me, even Beith. 

I got out of the water once everyone was across and back onto land, happily catching up to Eric in the cool rain. I loved the rain. It reminded me of muddy days inside the castle when mother took care of us. Eric was leading us up, up to the point of snow. 

We had to stop a few hours later, huddling up in a circle in the snow, building a fire to keep us going with the remaining pieces of dry rags. The night that fell on us was cold. I slept on the rock next to Eric, while Snow slept next to William. In the night, I must've shifted over, moving into Eric, as I woke up buried in his side with his arm around me and his head on mine. I blushed and shivered, but said nothing. Just reveled in his warm, comforting embrace against the biting cold. 

"Good morning" he whispered from the top of my head, moving only slightly to look at my red face. I smiled as best as I could in the cold, and the fact that his face was centimeters away from mine was making me nervous. 

"Good morning" I replied sleepily, but smiling and whispering nevertheless. He curled his hand around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him, humming as he rested his head on top of mine. 

"You're warm" he whispered, hugging me with both arms. I laughed quietly, pulling my head back to look at him, smiling through my nerves. 

"I thought you were the one who was warm" I whispered back. He smiled at me genuinely, an inch from my face. He nuzzled a little closer and our noses touched, he rested his forehead on mine gently, revealing how cold he was. 

"No. All you, princess" He said, and at this point, my gut was wrenching with nerves. Anticipation coursed through me. I noticed Snow was gone, and pulled away, worry now overtaking the nerves. 

"Where is Snow?" he looked to William's side, finding her gone. William was still sleeping soundly. I grabbed my sword and Eric grabbed his ax, forcing William awake to come with us. 

We ran through the woods with our weapons drawn, my sword, William's bow and Eric's ax. As we ran, we saw a black figure in the distance. We ran closer, seeing Snow on the ground with the queen hovering over her.

We tried hitting her with our blades, only for her to turn into crows and fly away. We hit as many as we could before they all flew off into the day.

On the floor, Snow lay still. Her eyes open, but breathing. I collapsed to my knees by her side and looked into her cloudy eyes, life draining from her.

"No" I whispered, cupping her face with my hands. She didn't move an inch. She blinked and I breathed out a sight of relief. She was still alive.

I held onto her, picking her head up and placing her into my arms, cradling her as I swung back and forth, tears running down my face. She had taken my sister. My only solice.

My hair clung to my face, I looked my sister in the eyes and held her, my own face contorted with tears and pain.

The dwarves had followed us, looking at Snow and I lying in the floor. "What are you looking at? Do something! You’re dwarves, healers! Save her! Help her!" Eric was devastated, I could tell by his voice. He was choked up with tears.

"No. This cannot be" Muir said quietly.

When she closed her eyes, a tear streaked down her cheek. "No" I shook her head. Trying to get her to wake up, I slapped her cheeks lightly. "No. No, no. Snow? Snow! Snow!" I was screaming by this point, desperate for her to wake up. I screamed out in pure agony, my heart had torn in two.

Shattered on the ground, I sat next to my beloved sister. Screaming and sobbing, I looked up to the sky. "Please!" I yelled, hoping God would finally hear me.

I looked back down at her and rocked her, my heart straining against the pain, trying to keep myself together.

"What will we do, Beith?" Gort asked quietly.

"What we promised" was his solid, strong reply.